DPP - I ship, you ship, we All ship ...
Sep. 14th, 2010 02:33 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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no_takebacks.... but WHY?
Okay class, today's DPP is a thinky-thought one (sort of).
In the same spirit as![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
shah_of_blah's wonderful "Friending Meme" about a month ago, I want to throw this out and see what everyone has to say.
1. Why do you ship?
2. What is it about shipping that appeals to you/is fulfilling?
3. Do you have personal criteria for shipping, i.e., what particular character traits draw you to ship them?
4. (Since this is a Pilots comm), why do you ship K/L specifically? What is it about THEM in particular that fits your answer to the three questions above?
5. How did you become a shipper?
6. What was your first ship?
All answers are optional. Don't feel the need to answer each question individually. Your answer can be as complicated or as simple ("I ship K/L cuz they're pretty") as you want! This is just so we can all learn a little bit more about each other ...
I ship because I love the passion, the excitement, the energy between whoever my OTP might be. That fluttering feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when your ship is right there in the moment? Yeah. That’s what I love. So really, I ship because I miss having that little flutter. You know, that first flush of love, of lust, of wanting to be with someone so badly that it physically hurts? Well, once you’ve settled down and spent a few years with your partner, that is replaced with a softer, warmer glow. The adrenaline rush is no longer there and and I get that rush through my ships.
I am always drawn to the female character first, so my criteria for shipping is it has to involve a strong, independent, doesn’t-take-crap-from-anyone woman (not girl; WOMAN). Of course, having an attractive man is the second criteria. Muscles and hip dents and beautiful eyes and smiles are a must ☺ Physical attractiveness aside, they also have to be able to call each other's crap, not be able to "hide" from each other and basically be, as cliche as it sounds, made for each other. They should compliment each other in every way.
I didn’t start out shipping Kara & Lee. I know, I know. Don’t start throwing things at me, please. When I started watching BSG, I did it in one ridiculous marathon. I think I saw the whole thing in less than a week and that included Razor & The Plan. I was so engrossed with the plot and wanting to know what would happen next, that I wasn’t too focused on shipping. After I was done watching, I started reading fic and THAT’S when it all came to light for me. I went back and re-watched all the Pilot scenes and started shipping them for two reasons: one, Kara kicks ass and is my kinda girl, and Lee is just … well, hot and could get under her skin (See my criteria above). The two of them together were sexy, passionate, there was angst and UST and the fluttery feeling in my stomach; basically, all the things I love about shipping so, voila! I do have a lot of issues with Lee in general (I'm 100% a Kara girl), but that's a whole other discussion. As far as shipping is concerned, for me personally, there really was no other couple but K/L to ship.
I guess I became a shipper when about 10-12 years ago, I came across a website where post graduate students published “continuations” to Pride & Prejudice, exploring Lizzy & Darcy post marriage. There were also quite a few "what if" type of stories there and I absolutely loved them. I didn't realize my interest (okay, obsession), was called "shipping" until years later, when I discovered fan fiction in general, found the fanfiction.net site and just couldn’t stop reading the P&P fic. North & South was my next ship and I felt the same way about Thornton & Margaret that I felt about Lizzy & Darcy. I still didn’t really think of my obsession as a “ship,” well, because the couples were already together, so there was no angst. But I still got the flutters and that was enough for me. It wasn’t until my guilty pleasure, Grey’s Anatomy, introduced Owen Hunt’s character (the yummeh Kevin McKidd) as a love interest for Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), yet another totally badass character, that I became a full-fledged shipper. That’s when I went down the rabbit hole of LJ ☺
Okay class, today's DPP is a thinky-thought one (sort of).
In the same spirit as
shah_of_blah's wonderful "Friending Meme" about a month ago, I want to throw this out and see what everyone has to say. 1. Why do you ship?
2. What is it about shipping that appeals to you/is fulfilling?
3. Do you have personal criteria for shipping, i.e., what particular character traits draw you to ship them?
4. (Since this is a Pilots comm), why do you ship K/L specifically? What is it about THEM in particular that fits your answer to the three questions above?
5. How did you become a shipper?
6. What was your first ship?
All answers are optional. Don't feel the need to answer each question individually. Your answer can be as complicated or as simple ("I ship K/L cuz they're pretty") as you want! This is just so we can all learn a little bit more about each other ...
I ship because I love the passion, the excitement, the energy between whoever my OTP might be. That fluttering feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when your ship is right there in the moment? Yeah. That’s what I love. So really, I ship because I miss having that little flutter. You know, that first flush of love, of lust, of wanting to be with someone so badly that it physically hurts? Well, once you’ve settled down and spent a few years with your partner, that is replaced with a softer, warmer glow. The adrenaline rush is no longer there and and I get that rush through my ships.
I am always drawn to the female character first, so my criteria for shipping is it has to involve a strong, independent, doesn’t-take-crap-from-anyone woman (not girl; WOMAN). Of course, having an attractive man is the second criteria. Muscles and hip dents and beautiful eyes and smiles are a must ☺ Physical attractiveness aside, they also have to be able to call each other's crap, not be able to "hide" from each other and basically be, as cliche as it sounds, made for each other. They should compliment each other in every way.
I didn’t start out shipping Kara & Lee. I know, I know. Don’t start throwing things at me, please. When I started watching BSG, I did it in one ridiculous marathon. I think I saw the whole thing in less than a week and that included Razor & The Plan. I was so engrossed with the plot and wanting to know what would happen next, that I wasn’t too focused on shipping. After I was done watching, I started reading fic and THAT’S when it all came to light for me. I went back and re-watched all the Pilot scenes and started shipping them for two reasons: one, Kara kicks ass and is my kinda girl, and Lee is just … well, hot and could get under her skin (See my criteria above). The two of them together were sexy, passionate, there was angst and UST and the fluttery feeling in my stomach; basically, all the things I love about shipping so, voila! I do have a lot of issues with Lee in general (I'm 100% a Kara girl), but that's a whole other discussion. As far as shipping is concerned, for me personally, there really was no other couple but K/L to ship.
I guess I became a shipper when about 10-12 years ago, I came across a website where post graduate students published “continuations” to Pride & Prejudice, exploring Lizzy & Darcy post marriage. There were also quite a few "what if" type of stories there and I absolutely loved them. I didn't realize my interest (okay, obsession), was called "shipping" until years later, when I discovered fan fiction in general, found the fanfiction.net site and just couldn’t stop reading the P&P fic. North & South was my next ship and I felt the same way about Thornton & Margaret that I felt about Lizzy & Darcy. I still didn’t really think of my obsession as a “ship,” well, because the couples were already together, so there was no angst. But I still got the flutters and that was enough for me. It wasn’t until my guilty pleasure, Grey’s Anatomy, introduced Owen Hunt’s character (the yummeh Kevin McKidd) as a love interest for Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), yet another totally badass character, that I became a full-fledged shipper. That’s when I went down the rabbit hole of LJ ☺
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Date: 2010-09-14 10:28 am (UTC)And Kara girls FTW!! (Although I gotta say I love me some Lee too.)
Will post more once I've actually slept...it's 6:30am here and you peeps write too much good fic...I will never catch up but I continue to try.
(BTW, great job so far with the DPP, babe! <3 )
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Date: 2010-09-14 03:12 pm (UTC)Kara girls RULE!!!! I knew there was more than one reason I liked you ;-)
(Thanks for the compliment bb and thanks for commenting. I admit, I was a bit nervous Sunday night, but I'm having fun with it now. *mwah*)
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Date: 2010-09-14 12:37 pm (UTC)I can't put my finger on what specifically appeals to me about it, beyond the above reasons. I've 'shipped in general since I was little. We were an NBC soaps house growing up and I remember storylines that apparently date to when I was 6. I checked some show dates at Wikipedia and it looks like my first 'ship of note might have been Hawkeye and Hotlips on M*A*S*H, followed by Bo and Hope on Days of Our Lives, and David and Maddy on Moonlighting. Oo! And Fallon and Jeff on Dynasty! Rita and Chris on Silk Stalkings, Mulder and Scully on X-Files, Cass and Frankie on Another World... Um, er, *deep breath*. Yeah, I 'shipped.
My first write-fanfic-and-talk-about-it-on-the-internet 'ship was Janeway and Chakotay on Star Trek: Voyager. Something about Captain Janeway (and Kate Mulgrew's performance) really resonated with my post-college self. She was strong, in charge, and so damn lonely. A lot of what I wrote for her focused on how she wouldn't let herself be friends with her crew, and how being the highest ranking officer in the Quadrant and top representative of Starfleet for every new race wore her down. She had nowhere to take time off, no one to talk to that didn't ultimately report to her. *sigh*
But then there was Kara. When Lee turned up in the brig in the mini, I was already a Kara fangirl. Then there was the unspoken something between them and the vague and intriguing backstory that got hinted at... And they bantered. Um, yeah. And if I wasn't already on board, the handshake-that-never-ends in the "I thought you were dead" scene clinched it for me. I came to the LJ fandom looking for the fanfic I knew would already be here and the rest is history.
I only follow one other 'ship (half-heartedly) on LJ right now- Castle/Beckett (Nathan Fillion FTW!), but I ship House/Cuddy in my heart (and just don't want to see what fans do to the medicine and my favorite curmudgeon).
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Date: 2010-09-14 03:23 pm (UTC)OMG, Bo & Hope! David & Maddy! (well, before the writers REALLY screwed them up) Janeway & Chakotay! (we've talked about them. &hearts).
You know I realized something else today too, reading through everyone's response ... I don't go in to a show looking for a ship. It has to happen organically for me, I guess. There are a lot of shows out there with "shippy" characters, which I just can't seem to ship. Lost is a perfect example. I didn't really "ship" anyone until Sawyer & Juliet. That's when it clicked for me.
Thanks for sharing bb!
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Date: 2010-09-14 01:03 pm (UTC)It's like begging, really. Hoping beyond hope that my two characters will live happily ever after. I need that. I need to immerse myself in the possibility of love and passion and that remarkable connection that we get to see on the screen.
Kara and Lee embody all of that for me and more. Their romance is FRAKKING EPIC and keeps me wanting more and more and more until I can't even understand that urge in my belly because it's overwhelming sometimes. I need to ship them because I can't do anything else. They've inspired so much in me that I cannot let them go. Eeeeeeeeeee!
(My very first ship was probably Jo and Fredrick in Little Women when I was a tween. I love them still.)
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Date: 2010-09-14 01:34 pm (UTC)Unfortunately, I am not a L/K shipper. I love Kara despite having been dead set against the new BSG for the longest time. (My first "crush" was Dirk Benedict as Starbuck, so..... yeah....I got hung up on the whole "Starbuck is a GIRL??!!?? WTF?????" thing.
You see, I am a jealous fantasy-dream-guy person. I HATE Dee, (she should have been with Billy, dammit) I like Kara, because I am able to pair her with Sam, so that leaves Lee all to me. Mine, mine, mine, I'm not sharing! Nah-nah-nah-nah-boo-boo!
So, anyway, to get to the point; while I respect all of your points, and can see and admire the validity of them, none of it matters in my world because Kara loves Sam, and Lee is mine, lol.
;p
I'm just here for teh pretty. :D
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From: (Anonymous) - Date: 2010-09-14 05:32 pm (UTC) - Expand(no subject)
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Date: 2010-09-14 03:31 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2010-09-14 03:55 pm (UTC)I need to immerse myself in the possibility of love and passion and that remarkable connection that we get to see on the screen. THIS. I guess that's why I ship characters who have already gotten together by the end of the arc. I know that sounds weird, but I just love to explore the connection more. What happens after "they lived happily ever after" is also a favorite, along with "what ifs" (which we've talked about)
Ah shipping! What a roller coaster ride it is!
Thanks for commenting bb! &hearts you
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Date: 2010-09-14 02:42 pm (UTC)I don’t really, really ship very often because my criteria is kind of crazy. I have to be attracted to both the character and the actor of both sides of the couple, starting with him. There must be good writing. I like a certain amount of angst. I’m usually disappointed when my OTP gets together. Because of all this I am the queen of “almost ships”. Usually I vastly prefer the male half of the couple, Buffy/Angle and Spike and Olivia/Peter or the writers ruin it somehow Scully/Mulder or the show just plain starts to suck Veronica/Logan.
So why the pilots specifically? Hot, hot, good writing and I knew before the end of the first season that the likelihood of them getting together onscreen was slim to none. Kara and Lee were pretty much destined to be mine.
I’m pretty sure my first ship was Apollo and Sheba from the original BSG. Oh and Leia and Han.
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Date: 2010-09-14 03:00 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2010-09-14 04:13 pm (UTC)Thanks for commenting hon!
PS Haven't forgotten about you. Expect an email later today/tonight :-)
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Date: 2010-09-14 03:21 pm (UTC)Life (fictional and real) is just more interesting when there's love. I've always loved romance and romantic stories and (sob) happy endings. When I was a teenager I gobbled up YA novels and then moved on to adult romance novels. I shipped Anne and Gilbert (Anne of Green Gables) and Tom and Polly (An Old-Fashioned Girl) and probably even before that in the kiddy books I read too. On TV, watching my Nickelodeon shows, I shipped Brad/Ted (Hey Dude--Brad was a girl), Clarissa/Sam (Clarissa explains it all). When I grew up I worked for a magazine that covered romance novels. I'm a little bit in love with love. (Libras often are.)
2. What is it about shipping that appeals to you/is fulfilling?
The anticipation of it all. The connection. The ways people discover they are interested or aligned or destined. The whole soulmatey/found my other half kind of thing.
3. Do you have personal criteria for shipping, i.e., what particular character traits draw you to ship them?
I enjoy me some long-nurtured pining. Usually this is only on one side of a pairing--but when it's both sides (and I do kind of think it is for K/L even though Kara doesn't OPENLY pine) that's usually what makes it epic. I admit to enjoying bad-timing/missed chances, years-long romances (draws out that anticipation). I like backstories, esp. complicated ones. But I also like when the couple are friends, esp. best friends, first.
4. (Since this is a Pilots comm), why do you ship K/L specifically? What is it about THEM in particular that fits your answer to the three questions above?
Because they are everything to each other. Their relationship is so incredibly complicated: rivals, lovers, friends, coworkers, family. I love that they can go from passionate arguing to laughing really hard together. They have chemistry and an amazing synchronicity in everything they do. (They kind of even screw up in unison, albeit in different ways).
5. How did you become a shipper? 6. What was your first ship?
Kind of answered above but I didn't know it had it's own fancy nickname "Shipping" till I entered LJ/fandomland. I have always shipped. I always look for the potential to ship. ;)
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Date: 2010-09-14 04:19 pm (UTC)I really like "bad-timing/missed chances" too. I'm a huge fan of the "what if." One little word said at a different time, one little gesture, and the whole game is changed. Love it.
Thanks for commenting bb! &hearts
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Date: 2010-09-14 03:36 pm (UTC)well, i wasn't aware that's what i was doing. After i watched BSG, i was sent a "BSG recovery kit" from a friend of my daughters. It included both videos and fanfic. I started reading them and the more i read and watched, the more i got into the entire thing. Then i started lurking around and it was a bit intriguing so i followed up by answering the friends poll thing. At first, i couldn't even figure out what a "ship" was.
2. What is it about shipping that appeals to you/is fulfilling?
I'm a fantasizer. Always have been. At 16 i started reading romance novels and have always loved that type of thing. I guess i sort of miss the yearning of the beginning of a relationship ... that little flutter in your stomach. Shipping has that.
3. Do you have personal criteria for shipping, i.e., what particular character traits draw you to ship them?
I have to like the characters for their strength, weaknesses, something has to appeal to me. They have to be seriously good looking or i don't care. There has to be a connection that you can actually feel.
4. (Since this is a Pilots comm), why do you ship K/L specifically? What is it about THEM in particular that fits your answer to the three questions above?
I love Kara/Lee because they push each other's buttons. It's never easy but i feel they belong together. There are times in the series where i hate them both and i despise them for their weakness in not being able to overcome their frakked up emotions but still, i heart them. I'd also take Lee in a heartbeat and if he shows up at my door, i'm naked in about 2 seconds.
5. How did you become a shipper?
You guys sucked me in. I used to have a life before this. Thanks so much for that.
6. What was your first ship?
Other than my romance novels, i would have to say Michael and Nikita on Le Femme Nikita. I loved, loved, loved them. Their chemistry was the bomb. K. I'm done
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Date: 2010-09-14 04:13 pm (UTC)Also...
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Date: 2010-09-14 04:34 pm (UTC)2. What is it about shipping that appeals to you/is fulfilling? Honestly, I mostly find it frustrating, but it's not like I can stop. But I do like the feeling of connecting with other people who just get a ship like I do; it might seem silly for it to mean so much, but the type of relationships that really captivate you can sometimes say a lot about who you are.
3. Do you have personal criteria for shipping, i.e., what particular character traits draw you to ship them? I tend to ship all over the place, but I generally get the most bored with pairings involving people who are too much alike (YAWN). That may occasionally mean that I get the most invested in the type of couples who in real life couldn't have pretty practical relationships, but I don't give a damn. I ship people together who are way more than just potential lovers, who have a fine little dance between who they are as individuals and who they are with each other (or in the case of less canon-friendly couples, relationships that have a lot of potential to be).
4. (Since this is a Pilots comm), why do you ship K/L specifically? What is it about THEM in particular that fits your answer to the three questions above? It seems like I fall the hardest for the ships that start out as this glimmer of opportunity where I'm not sure if they'll ever take it there or not, and to this day I love to remember that I was never sure at the outset if Kara and Lee were ever even going to kiss. And they're definitely doing something right with writing a relationship if something in me was perking up whenever Kara and Lee had a scene together long before the point when I thought I really wanted that to happen.
5. How did you become a shipper? It was probably Harry Potter fandom, even when I wasn't really involved in it, that first made me realize that shipping is basically a sport, and everyone has a team, and you can root for whoever you want no matter how ridiculous it might seem. Before then there were a lot of couples I definitely wanted together, but it wasn't until I got into fandom on the internet that I got into the acceptance of non-canon ships and the (occasionally) fun near-competitiveness of it all.
6. What was your first ship? I think I have to say Max/Liz from Roswell. I have a feeling if I went back and rewatched the show I wouldn't care for them as much now, LOL.
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Date: 2010-09-14 07:00 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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From:Part 1
Date: 2010-09-14 06:13 pm (UTC)1. Why do you ship?
Interesting question, and one that I have to admit I've never really thought about it beyond "I ship X/Y on Z movie/TV show." I love watching people interact, studying what makes them tick, and people in love (or people who I think are in love) always seem to have that extra little layer of intrigue in their interactions that I find intensely interesting. I don't always have a preferred ship - or ships plural - when I'm watching or reading something, and sometimes I can't say what draws me toward a particular couple, or two characters that I believe should be a couple. It just kind of ... happens. Often I don't ship in the same way others do (multishipping, etc.), which leaves me wondering if I'm a bit deranged, but I've learned to live with it. ;)
2. What is it about shipping that appeals to you/is fulfilling?
As I said above, seeing the characters interact is what really draws me in. That's not to say I don't go for hotness as well (I'd definitely be lying if I said I didn't!), but it's kind of a secondary thing in some respects. A character interacting with their love interest often says and does things they wouldn't ordinarily, and in a way it opens up a whole new side of them for the audience to see. Even better if there's angst involved, because that has the potential to make characters yet more multidimensional. Certainly, none of this is to say that a character can't have a fulfilling story and multiple sides if they aren't in love. But since this question is about why I ship - well, it's all about the layers, baby. ;)
3. Do you have personal criteria for shipping, i.e., what particular character traits draw you to ship them?
Well, for one thing they need to have interacted, i.e. been in a room together for more than thirty seconds and preferably exchanged two or three words. I know that might sound like a weird thing to say, but there are ships in the Star Wars fandom comprised of characters who didn't even MEET, let alone talk to each other! So there has to be some canonical basis.
I'm usually drawn to one character first, rather than the pairing itself. Typically that character is female, and she also draws me into the series or movie as a whole. I discover pairings later, and usually I ship more than one pairing with the same character, though not always. The relationship itself doesn't necessarily have to be wholly healthy, although I do have my limits where that's concerned. It's quite honestly kind of hard for me to say what draws me to specific ships and pushes me away from others ... I like different things about different ships and sometimes it even depends on what mood I'm in. I ship because I like character interaction, I guess, and whatever ship brings out the most interesting sides of the characters in question is likely the one I'll be drawn to.
Part 2
Date: 2010-09-14 06:14 pm (UTC)I love what they bring out in each other. I love how they challenge each other, yet they can also be incredibly tender when the spirit moves them. And of course there's the angst, and the very small hint of "this is wrong!" because she was engaged to marry his brother. He tries to take care of her, she balks, and yet there's also an overwhelming sense that she has to take care of him, to make sure he doesn't succumb as Zak did. I wrote bunches more on why I ship K/L in my Shipper Manifesto (http://community.livejournal.com/het_reccers/184308.html) for
5. How did you become a shipper?
I was a shipper even before I knew what shipping was - years before, in fact, since I started "shipping" at age five. :) Again, it just kind of ... happened. I thought the two characters in question, whom I mention below, would fit well as a couple, and so I hoped valiantly that they'd get together. Alas, they did only in an alternate universe - preparing me, I suppose, for future shipping disappointments in years to come. ;)
6. What was your first ship?
That first ship was Picard/Crusher, on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Interestingly, while I shipped them, I did so in a very childlike, platonic manner. (I know, I know, I WAS a kid at the time - shut up. XD) Picard was a father figure to me, and I really looked up to him and idolized him. Beverly Crusher, meanwhile, was the object of my very first crush on a woman, though I wouldn't have been able to articulate that at the time. But she was somewhat of a parental figure too, and so to this day I have a kind of weird mental block about reading Picard/Crusher smutfic - it feels like I'm reading about my parents having sex! Yeah ... I know ... bizarre. Heh.
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Date: 2010-09-14 06:47 pm (UTC)Kara and Lee was an all-consuming need. While I'm totally a Lee-girl (penance for thinking he was too pretty & looked like a soap opera junior lead during the first few seasons' promos), it was Kara's uniqueness that made me ship them madly. Their vibe together was so multi-faceted, their shadings of the characters, the nuance between them.
I liked the Second_Banana as a character but never for Kara, but their was just two jocks going out like in every high school there ever was.
If it weren't so busy today, I would love to write more and better. I feel as if I'm being prosaic when my love for them makes me feel sublime. Ah, RL, *shakes fist*
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Date: 2010-09-14 07:15 pm (UTC)PS Every time you call Sam Second_Banana, I get an ego boost. EVERY. TIME. LOVE that you like it so much that it's what you use for him now. &hearts bb.
Thanks for sharing and your post is great. You totally conveyed how you really feel here and it's all that's needed.
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Date: 2010-09-14 06:49 pm (UTC)I'm not really sure? I can fall completely in love with a work without loving a ship. And I don't really consider myself as shipping something unless my affection for the ship goes beyond what's seen onscreen. When I was busy fangirling Buffy, I considered myself a Buffy/Angel and Willow/Tara shipper, but really I loved all of the canon ships (including Willow/Oz, Buffy/Spike...hell, I even liked Buffy/Riley). BSG was my first fandom in which my love for the ship sort of overtook my love for the actual show...although I think that has more to do with the different ways I viewed those two shows than with the ships themselves. Maybe.
2. What is it about shipping that appeals to you/is fulfilling?
It's all about the characters. Anyone who has ever spent any time on my journal probably knows that Kara is my One True Character, the reason I stuck with the show and pretty much the only thing I care about when it comes to fanfiction. So...I guess shipping appeals to me because it's about exploring possibilities with characters that I love. And in the case of BSG, it's also about exploring things that were never properly fulfilled in canon.
3. Do you have personal criteria for shipping, i.e., what particular character traits draw you to ship them?
Well, I have a weakness for powerful women, and I am often drawn more to the woman in the relationship than the man (if it is a man--this rule does not work with Willow and Tara, except for the fact that I am drawn to both). And as I said before, I'm all about the Kara love. So anyway, I think I was saying that I have to like both of the characters, and love at least one of them. I also have to believe that they love each other. This is a big thing! I can't really get into non-canon ships (except for crossover ships, for some weird reason).
4. (Since this is a Pilots comm), why do you ship K/L specifically? What is it about THEM in particular that fits your answer to the three questions above?
I love Kara and I believe that she loves Lee. Lee loves Kara, so he's clearly got good taste.
5. How did you become a shipper?
Um...it just happened?
6. What was your first ship?
That I was really invested in fandom-wise, Buffy/Angel. But if we're talking childhood daydreams, Martin/Rose from the Redwall books.
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Date: 2010-09-14 07:57 pm (UTC)Now ... on to your comment: I guess shipping appeals to me because it's about exploring possibilities with characters that I love. THIS. Very well put and I agree 100% As a Kara girl myself, her unbelievable "presence" in every episode she was in was so overpowering and magnificent that I just fell in love with her.
We're obviously on the same page about being drawn to powerful women. For me, it's also important that their being powerful doesn't mean that they have turned into a bad version of a man. That they still retain some of their vulnerability and their feminism and I feel Kara definitely does both.
Thanks for sharing bb!
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Date: 2010-09-14 07:58 pm (UTC)If I'm being brutally honest with myself? Probably because I see something about the characters that I identify with personally, and when I want them to be happy and OMG IN LOVE FOREVER, well, it's (at least partly) an expression of a wish that I have for myself, too. And, too, I like to see the people I love find happiness, whether they're real folks or fictional folks. If I think that being with another person or persons will make those people happy, then I hope that they find that and that they live happily ever after.
2. What is it about shipping that appeals to you/is fulfilling?
See answer to #1. Love, endorphin boost, etc. Fic in particular is a nice little happy escape from Life for me. Often, though, it's just as much an introspective tool as it is an escape-- I think I learn a little more about what makes me tick with every story that I write.
3. Do you have personal criteria for shipping, i.e., what particular character traits draw you to ship them?
It'll be something that I can identify with, but what that might be varies greatly.
4. (Since this is a Pilots comm), why do you ship K/L specifically? What is it about THEM in particular that fits your answer to the three questions above?
I love them (for sentimental reasons, ahaha). I wanted them to be happy, and I wanted them to have what they wanted, and I felt like they wanted each other. That's pretty much it.
5. How did you become a shipper?
Uh, I was born. ;)
6. What was your first ship?
Oh god. Um. Let's see here. Does anybody remember Mathnet? Because I shipped George and Monday like FedEx. They may have been my first little proto-ship. Oooooh and dude, this is so embarrassing, but the Babysitter's Club books? Logan/Mary Ann? Yeah, I shipped that. Oh dear. And about that same time, Star Wars came into my life, along with Indiana Jones, so, Han/Leia (FOREVER♥) and Indy/Marian (I was so confused when she was not in the second two films, y'all-- probably a great deal of my love for the fourth movie stems from the fact that she's back in the films).
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Date: 2010-09-14 08:35 pm (UTC)If I'm being brutally honest with myself? Probably because I see something about the characters that I identify with personally, and when I want them to be happy and OMG IN LOVE FOREVER, well, it's (at least partly) an expression of a wish that I have for myself, too. And, too, I like to see the people I love find happiness, whether they're real folks or fictional folks. If I think that being with another person or persons will make those people happy, then I hope that they find that and that they live happily ever after.
Thanks for writing part of my answer for me, bb. ;)
p.s.--I think I watched Mathnet too. *huggles my fellow nerd and brain twin*
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Date: 2010-09-14 08:39 pm (UTC)I ship because I love the excitement, the chemistry, the tension between the characters. The flirting around the edges of what we all know is to come, even if our characters won't admit it. I love the story of how they get there, although sometimes I wish they just would. And I also love the after, them being together and how that works out. I love it all.
And let's face it. Shipping is fun.
2. What is it about shipping that appeals to you/is fulfilling?
I'm a hopeless romanic, in both meanings of the word. I want things all neat and pretty with a bow, especially my ships. That never actually happens, but that is exactly why we have fanfic right? So, I love the romance, the story, both before they are together and when they are. I love stories of all kinds and romance is the best. It's got action, adventure, and pretty characters. What more could you ask for?
3. Do you have a personal criteria for shipping, ie, what particular character traits draw you to ship them?
I have realized while thinking about these questions, that my favorite characters are often different then the ones I ship. My favorite characters are often the socially awkward nerds (ie Reid and Castiel) but that's probably cause I want them for myself. The people I generally ship are the Bad-Ass and the Brave Heart. Whether its Kara/Lee, or Tony/Ziva or Booth/Brennan, or even my own characters, most of them fall into that category. There are some exceptions that prove the rule, but for the most part, all of my ships fit that criteria.
4. (Since this is a Pilots comm), why do you ship K/L specifically? What is it about THEM in particular that fits your answer to the three questions above?
As I said above, Kara and Lee are a prime example of the Bad-Ass and Brave Heart. While, actually, I shipped Kara/Sam for a little (the scene on New Caprica really killed me) but it was Scar that really solidified Kara and Lee for me. It was the passion in that brought me over to the dark side, never to leave. (Not that I would want to)
5. How did you become a shipper?
I blame my mother. When I was young (and still today) I would watch old black and white romantic comedies with my mom. So even as I kid, I was shipping, even if I didn't think of myself that way until BSG. But even since then, I've been a shipper. My best friend often laughs at me and my rose colored shipper goggles, since she's not nearly as bad as I am. This is my first ship that I've totally done through LiveJournal and haven't even looked on fanfic.net for any stories. This is also my first where talked in a comm like this.
6. What was your first ship?
First ship in general: I actually have no clue. I've been doing it so long that its hard to remember. But if I had to pick one it'd be either Leia/Han or Wesley/Buttercup from The Princess Bride. Or quiet possibly CK Dexter Haven/Tracy Lord from A Philadelphia Story.
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Date: 2010-09-14 08:55 pm (UTC)Okay, P.S., Castiel? As in I'm-an-angel-of-the-Lord-and-totally-awesome Castiel? Haha, another SPN fan in the K/L corner of fandom. \o/
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Date: 2010-09-14 08:46 pm (UTC)1. Why do you ship?
Oh man, I have no clue. It doesn't always happen, I can tell you. I've watched shows and completely enjoyed gen dynamics (or just accepted whatever canon pairings were there). I think the best answer I can give is that I watch/read something and my little UST radar *pings* and I'm all THEY NEED TO HAVE SEX OR SOMETHING WHERE IS THE FIC. And it degenerates from there.
2. What is it about shipping that appeals to you/is fulfilling?
Honestly, it's never particularly a happy experience. Mostly because I ship things that will NEVER HAPPEN in canon, or get monumentally fucked over. Although, that's not so bad since it does feed the scores of ANGSTMONKEYS that live and party inside my brain. (They have gorged themselves on BSG and SPN, I will tell you. Those two are like all-you-can-eat buffets.)
But anyways, it's actually the fandom experience. I love going online and rambling about characters and ships and all that good stuff. Part of me seeks out ships just so I can get in on the action.
3. Do you have personal criteria for shipping, i.e., what particular character traits draw you to ship them?
Definitely gotta have UST/chemistry. And banter. (And I like a bit of the pining aspect, I've found.) But other than that, I have no set criteria. I can watch two shows that have similar prospective pairings and ship the one while hating the other. *shrugs*
4. (Since this is a Pilots comm), why do you ship K/L specifically? What is it about THEM in particular that fits your answer to the three questions above?
They're really ridiculously good-looking. Especially when they're next to each other. Other than that: the whole buddycops thing, the incredible levels of angst (their HISTORY omg), the fact they bring out both the best and the absolute worst in each other, and of course the chemistry.
5. How did you become a shipper?
BSG sparked the whole shipping thing for me. And actually, it was the first TV show I really watched. (I used to read books! And not be attached at the fingertips to my computer! Dammit BSG why did you make me obsessive sobbbbb.) *cough* I watched S1, but didn't ship them (although the KLG1 scene caught my attention, oh yes it did). It wasn't until Scar that I shipped them. That episode aired, I made a beeline for my computer, and lo and behold, I stumbled into the world of fandom, for better and for worse.
6. What was your first ship?
Kara/Lee.
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Date: 2010-09-14 10:32 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2010-09-14 11:38 pm (UTC)Why do you ship?
I think I started shipping at around 16 because I wasn’t dating and was looking to have some form of romance – some what vicariously though it may have been (Don't worry, I did start dating ... at 22). And why have I continued? Because I think I learned that there was a place for the romance, the passion, the angst (which I seem to love) and all the emotions that I had grown to love both in real life and in fiction.
What is it about shipping that appeals to you/is fulfilling?
I love the interaction between characters, how their perceived personalities are written about and the “what if” scenarios that make you wonder if it really could have happened that way, what would have happened to the series as a whole. As a writer (though I have only written twice in this fandom) it’s working how my perceptions can lead to certain scenarios. Though I must admit to much rather being inside someone’s mind, though that may be more to do with the fact that I love psychology. When it comes down to Kara and Lee, it is compounded by her fire and his reserved nature. I love seeing where that goes in terms of interactivity between them
Do you have personal criteria for shipping, i.e., what particular character traits draw you to ship them?
I am going to sound totally superficial. I have to be attracted to the guy physically. When it comes down to the female component, it becomes more about the personality and the psychology of the character. I suppose I have an appreciation for the character with a hidden past, or comes from a background that makes me learn more about the world (I am thinking Chakotay for Star Trek Voyager, and Native American history there.)
(Since this is a Pilots comm), why do you ship K/L specifically? What is it about THEM in particular that fits your answer to the three questions above?
In the Kara/Lee fandom, I love Kara for just the force of her. Her presence just announces itself and is on some levels playful and others just so flawed that there is always some new facet to her that keeps me coming back to her
How did you become a shipper?
How??? I went to college when I was 16 and discovered the internet. At first it was just a neat little place to score half a ton of pictures of Backstreet Boys (We are talking 13 years ago peeps) Then I distoveredStartrek.com and then I found … fan fiction. I read Janeway/Chakotay, Torres/Paris (that one did become canon – yay) then I shipped Seven/Chakotay. I wound up in the LFN fandom purely as a lurker. And every show I seem to watch I have managed to find some pair to ship.
What was your first ship?
My very first ever ship was Janeway/Chakotay - I wrote a truly awful fanfics for that when I was 20, and when I was 22 began my writing fandom which will forever be returned to at this point (Sam/Martouf of Stargate SG1) So my first writing ship was Stargate.
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Date: 2010-09-15 03:01 am (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2010-09-15 12:24 am (UTC)I love, love, love this -- description, sentiment, the whole thing. Very well put.
Why do I ship? Because relationships, in all their variations, fascinate me. What makes two people click and give it a shot? What makes them stay together? And I have shipped all over the spectrum. My only real criteria is that I need to feel that 1) the female is appreciated and valued by her partner (and this goes for girl-girl pairings, too) and 2) both parties are somehow challenged and forced to be their better selves within the relationship.
Why do I ship K/L? Lee is not perfect, but I think that in many ways he worships Kara. Not in an "I'll lick your feet if you let me" kind of way, but more in a "I recognize just how amazing you are, and can't imagine my life without you" kind of way. Even when he's trying to push her away, it just makes him miserable. Also, I think that Lee and Kara really do push each other to be more, to be better than they are individually. They bring out the best in each other, even if they bring out the worst at the same time. Those who know and love us best always seem to.
I can't remember a time in my life that I wasn't a shipper. I think my first real ship was probably either Dr. Quinn and Sully (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman) or Tori and Riker (Star Trek). But then, I also have memories of reading Heidi when I was... 7 or 8? Barely literate, anyways, and really thinking that Heidi and the boy with the blind grandmother -- was his name Peter? -- should get married when they grew up.
And no, I did not know that made me a "shipper" before I found Kara and Lee and the shipper community here.
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Date: 2010-09-15 03:08 am (UTC)I especially love that you mention how K/L challenge each other to "be better than they are individually". That's essential for me. And agreed, those who really know and care for us do tend to do exactly that. :)
Thanks again for expressing what I couldn't get onto paper today. :)
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Date: 2010-09-15 01:48 am (UTC)Now, your questions.
1. Why do you ship?
That is very difficult to answer. I guess the simplest answer is because deep down I'm a hopeless romantic and fiction provides me with regular doses of romance, which is so hard to find in RL. RL is hard enough and everyone needs a little escape now and then.
2. What is it about shipping that appeals to you/is fulfilling?
This one is even harder to answer. I guess I'm terribly attracted to UST and angst (in fiction). RST and angst works for me too. LOL. I may root for a fictional couple here and there but the ones I really, really ship have a chemistry, a level of understanding of each other that only true soulmates experience.
3. Do you have personal criteria for shipping, i.e., what particular character traits draw you to ship them?
I have a thing for troubled characters who keep their head up in face of difficulties and maintain a strong coherent set of values and (almost)unwavering integrity (The almost part is very important here because I want my beloved characters to feel true and human). Wry sense of humor is also deeply appreciated, including self-deprecating humor. Usually the pairs I ship seem to be very different but if you look real close you see they have more in common that what meets the eye. And they challenge each other and complement each other and somehow just instinctively "get" the other. Mutual respect is also a must.
4. (Since this is a Pilots comm), why do you ship K/L specifically? What is it about THEM in particular that fits your answer to the three questions above?
They have amazing chemestry. They are both troubled, messed up people, yet they are truly good people, loyal, honest. They challenge and tease and support each other constantly. I love their banter and their sense of humor and the fact that they bring the best and the worst in the other. I love that they have different personalities but they are no so different deep down. They respect each other even when they fight and hate other. Whatever is going on between them, their feelings for each other never dies. I could go on and on, so I'll just stop here.
5. How did you become a shipper?
I fell for them in the mini. I loved their first scene together in the brig. And when they were reunited after Lee almost died.
6. What was your first ship?
I have rooted for other couples in the past, but my only other real, real ship was Mulder and Scully. I loved them as much as I love Kara and Lee. But the writers there managed to completely destroy the series in the end. In BSG, they tried, but didn't succeed. ;)
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Date: 2010-09-15 06:57 am (UTC)I love that they have different personalities but they are no so different deep down. This is very true and a lot of people who don't ship them, or who don't understand why I do, can't really see that. They both really have the same "type" of hang ups and they both just need to get out of their own way!
Thanks for sharing hon!
Late to the party
Date: 2010-09-15 02:29 am (UTC)1. Why do you ship?
For me it's all about the perfectly imperfect relationship. L / K can frak up, mess up their lives, make each other crazy and STILL have each others' backs when things get tough. I think that's why the ending left me so unhappy. Building that sort of connection for years then throwing it all away seemed like a terrible disrespect to both characters.
2. What is it about shipping that appeals to you/is fulfilling?
The community aspect has been great! I've loved getting to know other people who had the same reaction to the series and to this particular aspect of canon.
3. Do you have personal criteria for shipping, i.e., what particular character traits draw you to ship them?
(I'm tired Naz... sorry. So my answer will be lame.) I think for me to ship anyone, I have to have a real sense of spark and connection. I'm not sure there is anything else. *head desk* You should go read Rachel's and Damao's posts... I want to be able to write like THEM! :>)
4. (Since this is a Pilots comm), why do you ship K/L specifically? What is it about THEM in particular that fits your answer to the three questions above?
Again, it's that spark of connection and the perfectly imperfect nature of their relationship. It is so beyond charisma and lust. (Though that factors in too.) I just loved the angst-filled back story and the idea that even with all these obstacles they could work it out.
5. How did you become a shipper?
Am I one? I guess so. Probably when I started posting to LJ. *shrugs* I just consider myself a science fiction nerd and techmo who obsesses over BSG.
6. What was your first ship? Han and Leia probably ROFL. So funny in retrospect. BTW, for those of you who have only recently discovered the internets, I'm totally going to suggest you go watch George Lucas in Love. (One of my fave parodies of all time.)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5058529870025933880#
Re: Late to the party
Date: 2010-09-15 07:04 am (UTC)That clip was awesome! I haven't seen it before. "Maybe you just weren't made to write agricultural space tragedies." LOLOLOL.
Thanks for posting bb. I know you've been busy. &hearts you.
Re: Late to the party
From:Later still... but fashionably so, I hope.
Date: 2010-09-16 02:59 am (UTC)It all started because the very first online fanfic community I got involved in, at the super young age of 12, generated a lot of fanfiction about a non-canon(ish) couple. I had LOVED this pairing when they were briefly together in the books, and hated the fact that the heroine ended up with someone else by the end of the series. So I guess online 'ship communities and fanfic was the only way for me to get the ending I wanted out of an otherwise much beloved series of young adult books. Ever since then (and countless fandoms later) I find I become very attached to my favourite characters, be they from novels, tv or movies, and am I'm not ready to give them up just because the gods of canon say so.
2. What is it about shipping that appeals to you/is fulfilling?
It's about continuing that connection to the characters. And probably living a little vicariously too. Not to say my life is boring, but it certainly will never be as varied or exciting as all the myriad lives one gets to live through a good story.
3. Do you have personal criteria for shipping, i.e., what particular character traits draw you to ship them?
I'm the same as a lot of the people here, in that the main prerequisite seems to be a strong female character that I can admire. Generally I like to see characters that are gutsy, not afraid to take care of themselves and intelligent. It always helps if the guy is rather lovely to look at. A common thread that has always run through pairings I've 'shipped is a high incidence of conflict between the couple. I'm not afraid of complicated romances (in fact they usually make for the best reading) or angst. I tend to enjoy reading about pairings that suffer from emotional barriers to their getting together, so I suppose L&K fit me to a tee.
4. (Since this is a Pilots comm), why do you ship K/L specifically? What is it about THEM in particular that fits your answer to the three questions above?
Oh so many reasons! Firstly, as I explained, I have a weakness for emotionally messed up pairings. They had great chemistry on screen, and a ton of issues to work through. The romantic in me probably thinks the more insurmountable the obstacles to a relationship, the more amazing the couple's dedication to one another is. I think another thing that was really appealing about the L&K pairing was the varied overlapping, and often conflicting, roles they played for one another- i.e. almost siblings, best-friends, lovers, antagonists etc. While this complicated things for them, it also brought a kind of depth and totallity to the relationship that you don't often get to see. They were absolutely dedicated to one another in a way that went beyond romantic attachment, which I thought was kind of incredible.
5. How did you become a shipper?
See above, #1. I discovered 10 years ago that fanfic resolved some of the difficulties I had with relationships which were unfulfilled or broken up in canon. Often I think some fanfic authors do a better job of exploring characters and relationship dynamics than the original writers. Plus, I'm probably a bit of a sap deep down somewhere.
6. What was your first ship?
Alanna & Jonathon in the Song of the Lioness Quartet, which I read at the age of 12. Since then, I think there's been roughly fifteen other pairings that I've avidly read and shipped. I've still got a soft spot for most of them and occasionally drop back into those fandoms to say hi. But for now, K&L own me.