I have been doing some thinking about shipping today...

[dragonheart]

 Actually it goes back several weeks to a discussion on Tumblr on whether shipping a couple that had absolutely no chance of ever becoming canon (because it's slash or because one of them is dead or one of the characters is no longer on the show or anything else that would prevent a canon relationship) was harder or easier than shipping a couple that had a possibility of becoming canon.

The general consensus was that it was much easier to ship a couple that had no chance of becoming canon and I have to agree with that, but then the lovely karaokegal   threw a little monkey wrench into my thought processes and I can't seem to shake it.  I am paraphrasing here (and correct if me I wrong M) but she said that's actually the only kind of ship to have - one that has no possibility of ever becoming canon.  I tried to go back and find her actual words, but Tumblr stinks at archiving.

But, those words keep coming back to me at the oddest fangirl moments...

I really want my Tony/Ziva ship to become canon and I think there is a good possibility it will eventually happen, but when a ship does become canon - when the ship docks so to speak - does it stop being a ship and become a relationship?

Because some folks think there is a clear difference between the two... and further more...never the twain shall meet.

So, here are my two questions dear friends:
1. is shipping only for non-canon couples?  Can you really ship a canon relationship?
2. and for those who say yes! and actually ship a canon relationship - is it as much fun after the ship has docked?

I definitely come down on the yes! side, but it is food for thought.

Comments

[whiteink]

I grew up shipping Fran/Max on The Nanny, Kelly/Zach on Saved by the Bell, Lois/Clark on Superman, Mulder/Scully on X-Files. I have always shipped cannon ... always. And when they get together it's so much sweeter!

Before Harry Potter I don't think I ever shipped a not cannon pairing. Harry Potter got me into all sorts of strange ships and my favorite ships are not cannon ... and that makes it a little bittersweet but I don't love them any less.

I think knowing Nell/Callen isn't going to be cannon will one day make me cry ... :(

[klingonlady]

Same as Rae here too.. I have always shipped cannon ships too.. The squee worthy moments are awesome. My main ship that went from "you're a pig" to married and having a baby is Tom Paris and B'Elanna Torres on Star Trek Voyager. It didn't become any less exciting once they became canon. I loved every minute of it.


I am excited to see how they play out Castle and Beckett being together now next season!!

I still call it a ship.

[alidiabin]

I ship nearly everything on NCIS. So I don't know what would be harder.

I think it depends on the show. NCIS is too big and has to many non-Tiva shipping fans for them ever to get together unless its the last five minutes of the last ever episode.

And when the ship becomes cannon and the show continues it can be heartwrenching and you get all the feels. *points at Pan Am*

[proseac]

To answer your questions:

1. Of course you can ship canon pairings! You can ship whatever you please, IMHO. I shipped Mulder/Scully and Riker/Troi hard back in the day.

2. I think it depends totally on how well the writers handle it. Riker/Troi turned out fine - we got the lovely wedding scene in Nemesis which IMHO was the only decent part of the whole movie. Mulder/Scully they totally ruined in the second movie - it just fell totally flat.

[lenancisfan.livejournal.com]

I don't really know what "canon" means, but I think I understand what you are thinking. Usually, we create stories in our minds of things we want to happen, that are not happening... It's what we're wishing for, sort of. So, we ship Tony and Ziva because we want to see them together and we believe they could have a relationship... and if that comes true? Do you want to continue to write about them or watch it with your own eyes? The problem is that maybe you'll like it, maybe you won't. That's the problem about shipping - we create expectations, we imagine idilic scenarios, and if it does happen on TV and it's less than what we imagined how will we feel? I guess that's why I can't write Tony and Ziva ships like many of you, including some stories like Sammy's... I prefer to write moments between them, but not really entering the into the "I love you", and "kissing" world... I leave that to the writers.. Some fanfiction is fun to read, other... I just roll my eyes and think: "Oh, this is just silly..." So, I wrote a lot, but I didn't give you a straight answer...lol

[turnerwolf.livejournal.com]

1. is shipping only for non-canon couples? Can you really ship a canon relationship?

No, I don't think it is only for non-canon couples and yes, I do believe you can ship a canon couple- some of my favorite ships are canon couples! (although many aren't LOL)


2. and for those who say yes! and actually ship a canon relationship - is it as much fun after the ship has docked?

It all depends on the characters! The characters and either the author (many of canon ships are books) or the show's writers. If the writer or author is worth their salt, they can make an actual relationship just as exciting and interesting as the courtship.

I will say there are some ships that are better left as non-canon because actually, the most exciting and valuable part of the ship is the UST and 'will they or won't they' excitement. Some are beyond the writer's control.

[unega-waya.livejournal.com]

Me not great writer, not even good but me have one rule for me writing story, poem, what ever it be. Me write what in heart, what me feel there. Me write for self. Me know no can please every one so me please me. May be this not good way be but when said, done, me happy if follow heart. Be happy, write what want, way want to.

[karaokegal.livejournal.com]

Since I instigated this examination, let me take it a bit further.
I might have be a little tongue-in-cheeky when I made the "only kind of ship to have" statement, BUT there is a reason why one of the classic criteria for "Jumping The Shark" is "They Did It," with the two most famous examples being Sam and Diane on Cheer and David and Maddie on Moonlighting. Both of those shows had other issues going on. Moonlighting had issues in SPADES, but the fact is the couples were never as interesting after the consumation.

In my very personal case, since I'm all about angst, my preference will always be for "impossible pairings." (They may be impossible pairings with some occasional cute stuff like Gibbs/Fornell, but if it were a possibility...it would never be a possibility, if you know what I mean.)