Guidelines
to Sane Shipping
2. Do not obey the
Rules of Rabid Shipping. The Rules of Rabid Shipping are: (1) If two
characters like each other, ship them. (2) If two characters hate each other,
ship them. (3) If two characters have never even met, ship them. Never obey the
last two rules. This goes for people with their OT3’s as well.
3. Try to adhere to
canon. Canon is canon for a reason. Don’t trash it. Respect it, even in the
midst of the most insanely or gloriously AU fic of all time. Remember, if it
were not for the canon, you would not even be a fan.
4. Look for canonical
basis for your ship. Unless you are going for a completely crack pairing,
only ship characters who should be shipped. Ask yourself: (1) Do they like each
other? (2) Do they get along, more or less? (3) Do they work well together as a
pair? Will their pairing cause no major havoc to the story and other
characters? (4) Am I shipping them because I genuinely think they are a cute
and/or awesome pair, or because I am a creepy fan who thinks I can play God and
arrange everyone how I like regardless of their own preferences? Am I doing
this to suit my own whims and to get vicarious satisfaction out of the ship? If
you answer no to any of the first
three and yes to the last, you should
probably reconsider your shipping. You should probably also go home and rethink
your life.
5. Don’t derail a
character to get the ship or drama you want. This is one of the more
unforgiveable crimes in a fandom. Even crack pairings can be made to work (more
or less) when those involved are kept in character and everything works out
realistically. However, even the most established and canonical pairing can be
turned into a parody of itself by fans who want the characters to act or react
in a certain way that is not in character for them. Remember, OOC Is Serious
Business. Avoid it.
6. Don’t hate on
another ship or character just because you think it or they interfere with your
OTP. Character bashing is another of the more unforgiveable crimes in a
fandom. Just because you think Tom is better off with Susie than Stacy does not
give you the right to change Stacy into a horrible, self-serving whiny person
and Susie into a paragon of virtue and awesomeness. Now, if they already have
those personalities in canon and you honestly believe the author should not
have paired them up, write a respectful
AU fix-fic to work out your feels.
7. Remove the
Shipping Goggles. Not every character is out to find his or her true love.
Do not see romance where there is none. Not every sign of respect, trust,
affection, or friendship is an invitation for the characters to be shipped!
Only ship when you know there are good grounds for a romantic relationship.
Nothing is worse for a sane fan than to find that other fans have taken a good
friendship between two characters and turned it into a groundless, off-putting romance.
Ship only when necessary!
8. Leave families
alone. Please. A shocking characteristic of rabid shipping is its callous
disregard for family bonds. Siblings, parents and children, uncles and nieces
or nephews – all are rabidly and groundlessly shipped. Do bear in mind that
such pairings are sins and crimes in real life. The family is meant by nature
to be a wholesome unit; do not pervert its sanctity with cruel and unnatural
ships. If you realize that you are guilty of this, please go home and rethink
your life.
9. Enough with the
pointless OC’s. It is perfectly fine to bring in OC’s in your fic to do
some minor job when no canon characters are available. However, make them
normal people with personalities and limits. Leave the saving-the-day heroics
to the canon people. Also, while it is perfectly permissible to explore unnamed
or unmentioned characters, do not introduce random OC’s just so the canon
character of your choice can find his or her one true love. Do not justify such
a shoddy ship by saying the canon character deserves to find happiness.
Pointless, stupid romances remain pointless, stupid romances. They also
generally derail the canon character until he or she is unrecognizable and are
thus to be avoided.
10. Ship sanity above
everything else. Do think about what you are shipping sometimes. Thoughtful
and reasonable fans, not the blindly and rabidly adoring fans, are the best
fans. Keep your head, bear yourself with respect, and go out and prove that
your fandom still has some sanity left. Good luck!
Let's see sane shipping take the world's fandoms by storm! Spread the word!
In Pace Christi,
Elyse
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