In Which Our Heroine Has Chatted At Length About Shipping...
I talked with William at length today about the fact we're being shipped.
We came up with these little facts.
1) When one ships real people, and said real people are aware of the shipping, said people are going to be unable to join together as you would like them to. When you back them into a corner, they are unlikely to settle down in that corner and start making out. They are much more likely to spend their time trying to escape. As William noted, "If we wanted to get together, we simply wouldn't be able to."
1.5) One be aware of the personalities of those one chooses to ship IRL. Real people are not as easy to alter as fictional characters are in works like fanfiction. Real people, especially those of a particularly argumentative persuasion, are likely to fight more against any possible attachment simply because they are being pushed toward it.
2) When one ships a pair of people who aren't particularly romantic (I have my moments, but I'm generally the sort to try to logic my way out of things if I am able), the ship-ees may find themselves becoming, as Tvtropes would call it, The Straight Will And Grace. They will, likely, form a network of inside jokes regarding the shipping and talk to each other more as a result of having the shipping to talk about. Yes, this may be seen this as twu wuv, but the shipees are unlikely to pursue the romantic route of relationship upgrade. See above for reasoning.
3) When one is being shipped, there are very few ways to cease the flow of alternate interpretations for one's actions. Thus far, we have conceived of this list (with the help of others' input, of course)
~VERY publicly date and/or make out with someone who is not a fellow shipee
~Stop talking to one's fellow shipee.
~Fake date one's fellow shipee and then have a horrendous public breakup.
~Make up a story about a previous failed relationship attempt.
However, these methods require a rather ruthless willingness to deceive one's shippers. Those who try the path of honesty, however, are terribly likely to fail.
4) One can react in two ways to being shipped. One can view it as a minor annoyance/amusement, or as disrespectful. There is, of course, a mix of the two which can be applied on an incident-by-incident basis.
5) Being shipped sucks.
6) Shippers fall into one of two categories: casual and nutjob. When one has only casual shippers, one has an easier time being merely amused by their ridiculous antics. Nutjob shippers, on the other hand, tend to be rabid about their opinions and unafraid to do anything possible to ensure that their One True Pairing achieves the relationship upgrade so desperately desired. The latter breed are much more difficult to reason with, and it is generally better if they are simply avoided altogether.
We came up with these little facts.
1) When one ships real people, and said real people are aware of the shipping, said people are going to be unable to join together as you would like them to. When you back them into a corner, they are unlikely to settle down in that corner and start making out. They are much more likely to spend their time trying to escape. As William noted, "If we wanted to get together, we simply wouldn't be able to."
1.5) One be aware of the personalities of those one chooses to ship IRL. Real people are not as easy to alter as fictional characters are in works like fanfiction. Real people, especially those of a particularly argumentative persuasion, are likely to fight more against any possible attachment simply because they are being pushed toward it.
2) When one ships a pair of people who aren't particularly romantic (I have my moments, but I'm generally the sort to try to logic my way out of things if I am able), the ship-ees may find themselves becoming, as Tvtropes would call it, The Straight Will And Grace. They will, likely, form a network of inside jokes regarding the shipping and talk to each other more as a result of having the shipping to talk about. Yes, this may be seen this as twu wuv, but the shipees are unlikely to pursue the romantic route of relationship upgrade. See above for reasoning.
3) When one is being shipped, there are very few ways to cease the flow of alternate interpretations for one's actions. Thus far, we have conceived of this list (with the help of others' input, of course)
~VERY publicly date and/or make out with someone who is not a fellow shipee
~Stop talking to one's fellow shipee.
~Fake date one's fellow shipee and then have a horrendous public breakup.
~Make up a story about a previous failed relationship attempt.
However, these methods require a rather ruthless willingness to deceive one's shippers. Those who try the path of honesty, however, are terribly likely to fail.
4) One can react in two ways to being shipped. One can view it as a minor annoyance/amusement, or as disrespectful. There is, of course, a mix of the two which can be applied on an incident-by-incident basis.
5) Being shipped sucks.
6) Shippers fall into one of two categories: casual and nutjob. When one has only casual shippers, one has an easier time being merely amused by their ridiculous antics. Nutjob shippers, on the other hand, tend to be rabid about their opinions and unafraid to do anything possible to ensure that their One True Pairing achieves the relationship upgrade so desperately desired. The latter breed are much more difficult to reason with, and it is generally better if they are simply avoided altogether.