42 replies to this topic

[Super Boom]

I've been pondering this question for a while, and I thought I'd make a thread for it. Even though I've been on this site for over half a year now, I couldn't really figure out where would be the best spot to post this topic. I was originally planning on putting it in the Otaku section, but the question is not necessarily limited to manga/anime. If a mod wants to move it somewhere else, go right ahead.

Basically, my question is: If you ship two (or more?) characters together when reading a fictional story, for what reasons do you do so? Do you just like the characters, and cross your fingers that the author will put them together? Do you insantly ship the main hero and main heroine (or secondary hero/heroine, if you prefer yaoi/yuri) together? Or do you only ship them once it seems likely or probable that they will end up together? I offered a few reasons in the poll, but several overlap, and there are probably many reasons I didn't put in, but I'm basically just curious why people join certain shipping fandoms. I've always been sort of curious why shipping is such a volatile subject with some people, and why some people get attached to their chosen ship to the point of rabidness.

Anyways, I should probably explain my own reasons, since I've gone to the trouble of making the thread. Although I've enjoyed many pairings in different series, Naru/Saku is one of the only fandoms I've become really involved in. I've definitely shipped for every reason I've posted though. If I ship a couple early on in the plot, it's almost always due to the first two reasons, but I've jumped ship a few times if the romance became a key/notable point of the story, and the 'canon' pairing became obvious, or if plot elements changed to make a certain pairing seem more likely. Naru/Saku is probably the best example of that (I shipped Naru/Hina for a while when I started on the series, but I wasn't that fervent about it), but I guess I'd say Bleach and Code Geass are also fitting examples to a lesser extent (I jumped from Ishi/Hime and Suzaku/Kallen to Ichi/Hime and Suzaku/Euphie respectively). In all of those cases, I'd say I started through vicariousness or just liking the characters better (those two choices will probably overlap quite a bit ), but changed my mind based on either one or several key moments in the story.

So, if you like, feel free to state why you've shipped certain couples in the past, and why you chose to do so, or if there is a general rule you tend to have for every pairing you've shipped. You can give examples, but I'd prefer it if people don't get into shipping arguments. Or if you do so, try to keep a cool head about it.

Edited by Boom...Winning, 13 December 2011 - 02:02 AM.

[tricksie]

Basically, my question is: If you ship two (or more?) characters together when reading a fictional story, for what reasons do you do so? Do you just like the characters, and cross your fingers that the author will put them together? Do you insantly ship the main hero and main heroine (or secondary hero/heroine, if you prefer yaoi/yuri) together? Or do you only ship them once it seems likely or probable that they will end up together? I offered a few reasons in the poll, but several overlap, and there are probably many reasons I didn't put in, but I'm basically just curious why people join certain shipping fandoms. I've always been sort of curious why shipping is such a volatile subject with some people, and why some people get attached to their chosen ship to the point of rabidness.

great, great topic. I think shipping is an interesting (and often important) part of how a reader/viewer/users perceives the book/show/whatever.

For lots of people, shipping is what keeps up the interest in the storyline. I often see people chat about the subtle nuances of one jutsu over another, and it blows me away. I think, they must really be into this story for the detail or the action. On the flip side, I love to turn over the relationships in my head, see which would work, which wouldn't. And I'm sure those folks look at my posts and think, man, has she got some time on her hands!

So to add to your questions, I wonder how high up shipping ranks in the interest in Naruto? If the shipping were resolved early on, or removed altogether, would you still follow it as closely?

On a personal level, growing up and watching kids cartoons in America, shipping just never happened. Or rather, romantic relationships didn't happen. I remembered being so surprised watching hayao miyazaki's Valley of the Wind that there was a hint at something romantic. It was tantalizingly close, but not over-the-top. And I wonder if that's a difference between American storytelling themes and Asian (or other nationalities). That the children's narratives are kept scrubbed free of romantic plots where in other countries maybe those plotlines are allowed to seep in.

anyway, so interesting, and I can't wait to see what other people respond with!

[Miss Soupy]

I chose three options: 1) Emphasizing, 2) Cannon, 3) Dynamic.

Generally in a story, I will find a character I can emphasize with most. Most of the time it is a female character, one that has something about them that draws me in. It's probably not a stretch to say it's a character I consider like myself in some way that makes me drawn to them. I have to say I'm pretty loyal to the female characters I end up liking, and I don't usually like multiple characters in one story at the same level. I guess I just end up with my favorites that I support and go all fangirly for and I don't usually spend a lot of time on others in the same way. So once I have that character I like the best, I look at both cannon and dynamic to judge who, in my eyes, fits well with them. For me these two things almost go hand in hand, because pairings that lack cannon generally will be more short lived for me. Crack is fun, but it doesn't motivate me as much as the cannon material added to the awesome dynamic I noticed.

As far as jumping ship, yeah I've done it, though not that often. A lot of time this is influenced by cannon, because that can most easily affect the dynamic between characters. I used to like Allen/Lenalee in D. gray-man, but I got a bit bored with Allen and started liking Kanda/Lenalee. It had a little cannon material, but Lenalee started appearing very infrequently so I stopped being as into D. gray-man pairings altogether.

I used to ship IchiHime and IshiHime, but as bleach progressed, IchiHime lost most of my support and IshiHime all but disappeared and (obviously) UlquiHime got my full support due to cannon material and how awesome their dynamic is.

[shadow_Uzumaki]

I chose favorite characters, canon, and character dynamics.

I've also jumped ship, really.

One of the biggest examples is watching the various DC cartoons that came out. At first, I was a BatmanxCatwoman shipper, but in Justice League, with the lack of Catwoman, the tension between Batman and Wonder Woman was quite obvious and it does seem like they'd go well together. Plus, the whole Knight and the Princess theme they got goin' on. Another one was me switching from RobinxStarfire to RobinxRaven in the Teen Titans cartoon. As the cartoon went on, I just found that Starfire seemed much too chirpy for Robin and Robin and Raven also just seemed to connect well together. It's really obvious on the Raven's birthday episodes, the Trigon arc, and when Robin was fighting a Slade hallucination.

[KonaKonaFan]

For me, because it's fun.

No, that's it. Seriously.

Edited by KonaKonaFan, 13 December 2011 - 03:52 AM.

[Greed-Sama]

I like the dynamics of certain pairings, being close to canon doesn't hurt either, but evidence isn't always necessarily the end relationship.

Example? Tai x Sora. Sad day when they didn't get together.

Also...any crack pairings I'm fond of? Edward Elric and Lust. XD

[Anguyen92]

I don't know, I just ship because I enjoy the dynamics of the pairing, and probably try to relate the pairing at hand to real life and if its similar to what I had in relationships in the past, then of course, I'm going to root for that. As for if I ever jump ship, the easy answer is no, but in all fairness, I'm pretty neutral to all the pairings options that there is to offer, and if there's sufficient evidence that favors one pairing over the other, then I'm going to go ahead and support it because I think that's what the author wants to project, right?

Edited by Anguyen92, 13 December 2011 - 03:59 AM.

[Ani]

I chose 1, 2 and 4.

I always like finding romance in stories and I love seeing the dynamics in relationships and characters each one brings. There might not be anything romantic about two characters, but I'll love their interaction and will start to ship them. It could also be based on one character liking the other and being so devoted to them, even if they won't love them back. I don't ship solely on whether it will be canon, either. I like some pairings that I don't think will happen and still like them anyway, because I feel that pairing is better. Though it is always nice when a pairing you like does happen in the end.

[Derock]

*puts on his romance googles on*

What did you expect for watching so many movies that has romance in them, whether they are either animated or live-action?

So why I have these googles on? Because after watching so many Disney movies (ex. Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King) that romance is either part of the plot or subplot, I always know who will be the canon couple.

So mainly, my choice is canon couples and future ones based on the following:

1) Introduction, 2) Interaction, 3) Development/Progression/Spatial Relations (this one is a biggie), 4) Climax and 5) Closure: Hit or Miss. (Hit consider the following: a kiss, a baby/family, marriage/official relationship, might as well add sex/making love into this section)

In my lifetime, I had seen it in many stories. Lois and Clark from Superman, Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson from Spiderman are good examples of this because these couples had followed this route in original and in different forms of media. We had seen this in other animes, Kenshin and Kaoru, Inuyasha and Kagome, hell, Goku and Chi-Chi actually followed the route, despite the fact romance wasn't part of the plot.

Now my ships right now are NarutoXSakura, KnucklesXJulie-Su with SonicXAmy and AntoineXBunnie on the side for Archie Sonic comics, OgaXAoi from Beelzebub, and IchigoXOrihime. Now I chose those to stay on those ships because they are or somewhat for one of them following the same route for canonicity (well, 2 of my Sonic ships are already canon) and they have the dynamics of a loving relationship. Plus, most become my favorite characters so favoritism comes to play, especially towards main characters.

Now, there are some that I ship for personally for fun (looking at SonAmy for the Sonic series and Ryu/Chun-Li for Street Fighter) or stay neutral (Ichigo/Rukia and Sonic/Sally, due that they also tend to follow the route).

I wouldn't ship if I either doesn't care or like the said character(s) and/or their personalities are in disfavor.

[Muffins?]

I like boats...

[Catwho]

I'm a canon shipper, with some pretty wacky exceptions.

One of my first serious fandoms was Gundam Wing. (Yeah, I'm old. hehe) Now, if you're not familiar with the algebra that is GW ship wars, let's just say the equations could get pretty intense.

I was a very VERY rare 1XR shipper. Relena is one of the most unfairly despised characters in anime, but I liked her a lot. She had a quiet dignity about her, and as one of my favorite expository essays explained, she was the only character to really act her age throughout the series. All the young men, and more or less the entire cast under the age of 30, acted waaaaay too mature. Relena acted like a slightly spoiled fifteen year old, which she was.

Ahem, I digress. My exception to this was the decidedly non canon (but might as well be canon) 3x4, or Quatre/Trowa. Their characters just clicked, in a way that no other characters in the series really did. Quatre, the friendly and trusting and open one. Trowa, the closed and guarded and suspicious one. They made a fabulous team, and in my opinion, a fabulous couple as well.

So I'm willing to go with non canon pairings provided:
- I'm not breaking up a canon couple to do so
- The couple in question makes sense in terms of their personalities and interactions in the series, even if no romance progresses between them in canon.

I only "jump ship" when the author forces me to do so. Like in Fruits Basket... came down totally on the wrong side of that one.

[Yoshimoya]

It's an extension of my soul lol. And narusaku tells me my soul believes in no perfect love, but one that is perfect because of its flaws. A love that grows and deepens with time.

[MonkeysTotallyRock]

First of all, this is a GREAT question, so kudos to Boom...Winning! Certainly living up to the userName.

For me the potential for character interaction to form unique romances is the most intriguing. The wonderful thing about fanfic is that it can stray from realities of canon, so the ability to form awesome relations with characters in new ways always fascinates me.

I've definitely jumped ships. I used to be an AVID, staunch NaruHina fan, and after two-three years I moved to NaruSaku. These days I've strangely moved to more crack pairings like NaruIno, etc because I think I'm more curious about different character interactions than the main ones that I find are over-done. (A good example being NaruTenTen, etc.) I think I just like trying out different pairings.

[Madz]

I love romance, and I love a hint of romance in a story/ movie (Though paradoxally, I don't like 100% romantic movies or books! My preferences are adventure, sci-fic, suspense etc).

Honestly, I never had a pairing / shipping preference before. I always used to follow where the writer lead - for example - I was/am happy with the Harry Potter pairings etc. I never used to create an alternate/fantasy pairing in my mind, I always used to follow cannon.
For Naruto, I emphasized with Naruto's love for Sakura- and I hoped for him to get his love, but was not a narusaku / or any shipping fan per se. I was alright with waiting to see where Kishi will take the story, because I was / am still more interested in the adventure side of the Naruto series than anything else.

THEN I watched the Bleach episode 141 - the filler episode featuring my most favorite character Toshiro - with Karin. That episode made me hungry for more between the two, specially since it was so far-fetched and most probably would never happen in canon. I was curious and googled up the two, which lead to me discovering FANFICTION.net (My FFnet name is an expression of my love for Toshiro ).
And I was 'introduced' to shipping and shipping wars, lol. So, for me, I would say it's Fanfictions which had gotten me into the shipping world!

[alexander]

Well, the funny thing is that I really don't enjoy romance stories that much, for some reason they easily start to feel shalow and melodramadic, and for that reason, I mostly enjoy romance into series that are not supposed to be romantic at all, so I'm more for an subtle relationship were everything slowly develops over time. All in all, for me it's about the dynamics, it wouldn't be interesting if the characters looked dull every time they talked to each other, would it? I also like to keep canon, so if I see that an pairing is about to sink, I abandon ship like an good sailor. So yeah, I jumped ships a few times.
I'm specialy atracted to tsundere relationships, so these one usually are one-hit kills for me, as long as they are developed well. There is just something so unique about tsundere characters, that it's hard to describe it with words.

[Super Boom]

Wow, so many well-thought out posts! Thanks everyone! This topic has always sort of held interest for me, since I've found it odd how so many fans, myself included, could be so passionate about something like this, which, at least to me, doesn't seem that important at first glance. Especially with stories that have a much bigger focus on action/adventure over romance.

great, great topic. I think shipping is an interesting (and often important) part of how a reader/viewer/users perceives the book/show/whatever.

For lots of people, shipping is what keeps up the interest in the storyline. I often see people chat about the subtle nuances of one jutsu over another, and it blows me away. I think, they must really be into this story for the detail or the action. On the flip side, I love to turn over the relationships in my head, see which would work, which wouldn't. And I'm sure those folks look at my posts and think, man, has she got some time on her hands!

LOL, I'm the same way. I'd have to say that's one of the reasons I keep coming back to this site and this fandom. Some people here seem to be able to pick up on subtle romantic nuances that go way over my head, and others seem like living Narutopedias with how much they can keep track of concerning the story and jutsu logistics. So it's nice for someone like me, who would tend to miss these things otherwise.

So to add to your questions, I wonder how high up shipping ranks in the interest in Naruto? If the shipping were resolved early on, or removed altogether, would you still follow it as closely?

I'd definitely say that the shipping subplot in Naruto is a major catalyst for fan interest. I'm not sure how many fans read the story solely for the pairings, but it seems to me like the shipping subplot definitely increases fan interest. I might be speaking for myself, but I tend to become more interested in the overall story when something related to the pairing subplot is brought up. But that might just be because I spend so much time on this site now.

On a personal level, growing up and watching kids cartoons in America, shipping just never happened. Or rather, romantic relationships didn't happen. I remembered being so surprised watching hayao miyazaki's Valley of the Wind that there was a hint at something romantic. It was tantalizingly close, but not over-the-top. And I wonder if that's a difference between American storytelling themes and Asian (or other nationalities). That the children's narratives are kept scrubbed free of romantic plots where in other countries maybe those plotlines are allowed to seep in.

I'm not sure if it's due to cultural differences or if there's just a broader theme among Western authors, but it does seem to me like romantic pairings don't occur as often in Western stories. Of course, there are countless exceptions, but I've been much more disappointed shipping in Western cartoons/books/movies/etc. than I have in Japanese works. Though I'm probably going off on a limb saying that, since my manga/anime resume is pretty pitiful.
If I had to take a guess, I'd say its a matter of Western writers being more likely to be influenced by editors and fans, or just being more prone to change their minds concerning their respective stories. In the case of Western comics, I'd say the way that some characters get tossed from author to author has a big effect on that too.

I suppose it's probably pretty asanine to bring up, but, in the case of non-animated stories, the actors themselves can affect the chosen pairing of the story pretty drastically. For example, I was/am a big Chase/Cameron fan in House, M.D. In retrospect, the formula was pretty reminiscent of a certain Naruto pairing: guy likes girl, girl likes troubled genius, girl eventually falls for first guy. Anyways, I was happy when they finally got together, and I was even happier when they got married. Then, they suddenly got divorced in Season 6 for what seemed to me like a completely contrived reason, and it seemed pretty obvious that Jennifer Morrison just wanted to get off the show. Anyways, I'd say I tend to avoid shipping in shows like that now because of that whole experience.

I've also jumped ship, really.

One of the biggest examples is watching the various DC cartoons that came out. At first, I was a BatmanxCatwoman shipper, but in Justice League, with the lack of Catwoman, the tension between Batman and Wonder Woman was quite obvious and it does seem like they'd go well together. Plus, the whole Knight and the Princess theme they got goin' on. Another one was me switching from RobinxStarfire to RobinxRaven in the Teen Titans cartoon. As the cartoon went on, I just found that Starfire seemed much too chirpy for Robin and Robin and Raven also just seemed to connect well together. It's really obvious on the Raven's birthday episodes, the Trigon arc, and when Robin was fighting a Slade hallucination.

Ah, I forgot about JL and Teen Titans. I watched both of those shows when I was middle school, and I definitely broke my "No shipping in Western shows rule". I also liked Batman/Wonderwoman. I don't have much knowledge of the source material for those characters outside of the animated series, but I thought they made an awesome couple in that particular show.
In Teen Titans, I was really into Robin/Starfire, but I can see where you're coming from with Robin/Raven. I guess my main reason was that the first episode I saw was actually the second episode of the series (or whatever episode Blackfire was introduced in), and I recall that being pretty heavy on the shipping stuff. Plus, I remember having very basic knowledge of Robin and Starfire's relationship in source material (very basic, as in I probably just read DG's, Starfire's and Nightstar's Wikipedia pages ), and I also remember how one of the writers pretty much flat out stated the two would kiss at some point. So, in retrospect, I guess I was too busy canon-shipping to really consider anything else.

On a side note, I stopped watching that cartoon sometime when I was in high school, and I only found out about a year ago that the series ended with a movie. Heh heh, that was nice surprise. Especially for Robin/Starfire shippers.

Edited by Boom...Winning, 14 December 2011 - 01:13 AM.

[Nate River]

I'm a canon shipper, with some pretty wacky exceptions.

One of my first serious fandoms was Gundam Wing. (Yeah, I'm old. hehe) Now, if you're not familiar with the algebra that is GW ship wars, let's just say the equations could get pretty intense.

I was a very VERY rare 1XR shipper. Relena is one of the most unfairly despised characters in anime, but I liked her a lot. She had a quiet dignity about her, and as one of my favorite expository essays explained, she was the only character to really act her age throughout the series. All the young men, and more or less the entire cast under the age of 30, acted waaaaay too mature. Relena acted like a slightly spoiled fifteen year old, which she was.

Ahem, I digress. My exception to this was the decidedly non canon (but might as well be canon) 3x4, or Quatre/Trowa. Their characters just clicked, in a way that no other characters in the series really did. Quatre, the friendly and trusting and open one. Trowa, the closed and guarded and suspicious one. They made a fabulous team, and in my opinion, a fabulous couple as well.

I didn't initially ship when I was first introduced to fanworks. I think Gundam was the first series I did and I have no idea why I did. It could have been simply what I came across because I don't remember seeking it out until after getting introduced to it through fiction. I tend to agree you about Relena. I didn't like everything she did, but I think she got the short end of the stick and was unfairly bashed.

The first ship I remember being a part of (and the first crack one) was 2XR. Every once in awhile, I still seek out some 2XR stuff.

GW was also the first time I discovered yaoi. Oh man, the ones that come to mind were 1+2/2+5 fics that bastardized Duo so bad. It's how I found out what the word meant. He always seemed to be one of the more poorly understood characters in general, in and outside of yaoi.

For me, fanworks are the chance the explore the unexplored, so I'm easily bored by cannon pairing, especially in popular fandoms where works exist by the truck loads. That is not to say, I never ship them, but I tend to be more of a crack shipper because of that. I also ship a fairly wide range of pairings because of it.

HEN I watched the Bleach episode 141 - the filler episode featuring my most favorite character Toshiro - with Karin. That episode made me hungry for more between the two, specially since it was so far-fetched and most probably would never happen in canon. I was curious and googled up the two, which lead to me discovering FANFICTION.net (My FFnet name is an expression of my love for Toshiro ).

I ended up shipping them for the same reason.

Jump Ship? Not really. I've never ended hating a pairing I like or vice versa. I do get bored easily, so my search for different types of works will change frequently, but I've never jumped. I usually make it back eventually.

Oh, and for the record, I stand with shadow on the Robin/Raven thing.

[Super Boom]

For me, fanworks are the chance the explore the unexplored, so I'm easily bored by cannon pairing, especially in popular fandoms where works exist by the truck loads. That is not to say, I never ship them, but I tend to be more of a crack shipper because of that. I also ship a fairly wide range of pairings because of it.

That's interesting, I guess I never really thought about that sort of perspective. I always enjoy crack-shipping in fanfiction/art, but for me to actually call myself a serious shipper of that couple, I guess I generally need something substantial included in the canon. I've had multiple cases where I would prefer a crack pairing over a canon one, but I would never really consider myself a shipper of that pairing if there wasn't substantial basis in the actual story. That's just my personal opinion anyway. I like how crack pairings tend to be more pliable in fanfiction, but if too many liberties are taken outside of the original story, I guess I just tend to lose interest.

On a side note, I've always wondered what exactly a 'crack pairing' truly is, or if there even is an exact definition. My first thought would be that it's simply a non-canon pairing, but I have a tough time thinking that way about pairings in stories in which several relationships are intentionally given focus. For example, were Naru/Hina to become canon by some chance, would Naru/Saku proceed to become a crack pairing? Or is it more so the case that crack pairings tend to be 100% based in fanworks, with no focus given by the author whatsoever?

Oh, and btw Nate, do you mind if I ask what crack pairings you enjoy/enjoyed in Naruto? I recall you mentioning on another thread that you preferred at least one crack-ship over Naru/Saku.

Oh I loved them.

Oh, and for the record, I stand with shadow on the Robin/Raven thing.

Hmm, it sort of surprises me how many people shipped opposing couples while watching that show. Mainly due to how one pairing was given much more focus than any of the other potential ones (other than Terra/BB perhaps), and how the source material for the series pretty much reinforced that same pairing (I'm not 100% on it, since I don't really read western comics, but apparently DG and Starfire have a daughter in one of the multiple D.C. universes). Of course, my surprise isn't negative, in fact it ties into the question I asked in the title of this thread. It seems like character dynamics really do resound louder than canon evidence for many shippers.

That being said, concerning the TT shipping fandom, I guess I really enjoy the straight man/silly girl dynamic those two seemed to have, so my basis for shipping in that case would be a mixture of enjoying the dynamic as well as canon-shipping. I have similar thoughts towards Haru/Elie on Rave Master, and IchiHime on Bleach (although we see a lot more of that dynamic in the former than the latter).

Edited by Boom...Winning, 16 December 2011 - 03:29 AM.

[Nate River]

That's interesting, I guess I never really thought about that sort of perspective. I always enjoy crack-shipping in fanfiction/art, but for me to actually call myself a serious shipper of that couple, I guess I generally need something substantial included in the canon. I've had multiple cases where I would prefer a crack pairing over a canon one, but I would never really consider myself a shipper of that pairing if there wasn't substantial basis in the actual story. That's just my personal opinion anyway. I like how crack pairings tend to be more pliable in fanfiction, but if too many liberties are taken outside of the original story, I guess I just tend to lose interest.

On a side note, I've always wondered what exactly a 'crack pairing' truly is, or if there even is an exact definition. My first thought would be that it's simply a non-canon pairing, but I have a tough time thinking that way about pairings in stories in which several relationships are intentionally given focus. For example, were Naru/Hina to become canon by some chance, would Naru/Saku proceed to become a crack pairing? Or is it more so the case that crack pairings tend to be 100% based in fanworks, with no focus given by the author whatsoever?

Oh, and btw Nate, do you mind if I ask what crack pairings you enjoy/enjoyed in Naruto? I recall you mentioning on another thread that you preferred at least one crack-ship over Naru/Saku.

There really isn't a solid definition. Usually it means all non-canon and stuff that either had no odds or really long odds of becoming so. The stuff I consider crack usually doesn't get much focus. Like, I don't consider RobinRaven crack because the show provided focus and ammunition, so it's not totally out there, but it is non-canon. Something like RobinTerra would be, because there really isn't anything.

I have a pretty loose definition of shipping. Pretty much anything I genuinely like (more than just a passing interest or curiosity) I am willing to say I ship, so that may be part of it.

Naruto: Crack ships? There are actually two Narutoshippings I like more than NaruSaku: NaruIno and NaruHanabi. Other Naruto pairings I ship, NaruSaku. SasuTem, SasuTen, NaruTen, LeeHina. There are a bunch of others I like, but I wouldn't say I ship.

Hmm, it sort of surprises me how many people shipped opposing couples while watching that show. Mainly due to how one pairing was given much more focus than any of the other potential ones (other than Terra/BB perhaps), and how the source material for the series pretty much reinforced that same pairing (I'm not 100% on it, since I don't really read western comics, but apparently DG and Starfire have a daughter in one of the multiple D.C. universes). Of course, my surprise isn't negative, in fact it ties into the question I asked in the title of this thread. It seems like character dynamics really do resound louder than canon evidence for many shippers.

I'm not familiar with the source material and had never heard of it prior to watching that show. I have no problems with RobinStarfie, I just liked RobinRaven better. I always thought the personalities meshed better, but I don't recall precisely why I first started liking it. Of course, given how I feel about canon in general, it's probably no surprise that it happened.

As far as canon, I don't deny the obvious writing on the wall. I wasn't surprised by RobStar and I expect the Kataang ending Avatar had (I'm a Taang shipper, not Zutara). But I generally feel if I want canon, I'll go to the source. Watching people constantly regurgitate canon or mirror source material eventually bores me. That has even happened with NS from time to time. With plenty of fan works available for the canon material, I want to see someone try something different. I seek this stuff out because its different and how well it gets put together often goes a long way into whether I end up shipping them. It's not always the case, but it happens often for me.

2XR was that way for GW. I read a fic I actually though was 2XH, and quickly morphed into 1XH with 2XR coming in later. It had a pretty significant impact on how I saw them characters because I liked the story so much. So, I ended up being a 2XR shipper.

I suppose I end up shipping in the end because I become interested enough that I want to see more of a particular ship. Canon has a much harder keeping that interest because of the volume and because I see plenty in the source. When I seek fan works, I want to look at the relationships that are not as obvious or harder to work with. There are particular themes I like or types of characters I focus on sometimes and it can be as basic as want to see the possibilities for that character.

[Smiter]

This is a great topic, why did I not spot this earlier?

Advance warning - it's early in the morning here, and I'm drugged up on medicine to fight off a heavy cold. So, please excuse any sloppiness that appears in my post. ;

NaruSaku is actually my first ever shipping. Before it, I never actually expressed interest in a romantic relationship. Of course, I had read/watched plenty of stories with romance in them, but I had never singled out relationships. For me, it was watching the relationship between Naruto and Sakura develop that captivated me so much, the way their interactions changed over time, the way Naruto tried so hard for Sakura, and Sakura's changing attitude towards Naruto.

NaruSaku just grew and grew for me, and I was firmly hooked by the time Naruto made his Promise of a Lifetime (with good guy thumbs-up included!). That was when I decided to seek out fandom forums for the first time in my life, and eventually ended up stumbling into hokuten's NaruSaku FC on the old NarutoTalk forums. I would definitely say that NaruSaku has had a strong influence on my enjoyment of the series - the relationship dynamic made the story feel more personal to me.

I have shown an interest in crack-pairings and ships from other series, but not as strongly as NaruSaku. Maybe it's partly because I have less spare time these days? The next strongest ship in animanga would probably be ToumaMikoto from the Majutsu no Index series. There are literally sparks flying.

Hmm, I just realised that the pairings I like are those where the male and female characters are pretty much equal, and there's a little zip/zest in their relationship. NaruSaku, ToumaMikoto, and NaruIno are examples. There are others, but I'm too sleepy to remember any more, sorry! I'm very picky about any fanfiction written for pairings that I like, it definitely needs to have a little spark in their interactions, and keep true to their personalities. If the stories just plod on or feel OOC, then I stop reading.