I don't get shipping...

[NoodleFox 19]

I always liked the idea of Rarity and Fluttershy because it reminds me of a friend of mine that I used to have a big crush on back in high school, but never had the courage to tell her. I like to imagine it's how our relationship would have turned out if I had been more open about my feelings for her.

 

So I guess.... living vicariously through ponies?

[Yellow Diamond 7,575]

Robots aren't biologically functioning beings. No capability for emotion, love, or mechanical intercourse. Id est, nothing to work with.

 

They cannot be bargained with! They cannot be reasoned with! They are robots! They don't know anything!

 

On the topic at hoof, the shipping is due to a number of factors, the central ones being the well-developed characters whose relationships are premised on strong friendships. Given that the ponies aren't normally engaged in romantic relationships, they are open to a variety of interpretations about gender preferences. And since Equestria is effectively a utopia, writers especially can sidestep the social stigmas commonly found in our present society.

 

Plus, the concept of, say, Twilight and Rainbow Dash snuggling next to one another is quite appealing.

[caesar15 231]

When i first saw this thread i thought it was about shipping, you know,sending boxes to each other, then iremebred thsoe shipping videos i watched of spike and rarity.

[Starswirl the Trixie 975]

Shipping is appealing for the added realism. The real world has relationships and sex. To deny the existence of them in fanon Equestria is to create a very unrealistic world.

 

I forgive shows for physical/scientific holes made to advance the plot, as stories are set in universes different from our own. What I hate is unrealistic social groups/interactions in a story. Part of the readon why MLP appealed to me was its realism in depicting interpony interactions, and in creating a society that, if you accept the existence of magic in this alternate universe, is very much believable. Without shipping, Equestria would be incomplete.

[Crispy 5,563]

It comes with any fandom that has anyone over the age of 12, really. If there are people who've experienced relationships in their lives in the fandom, chances are, someone's getting shipped. Period.

[Queen Cassie 3,058]

They cannot be bargained with! They cannot be reasoned with! They are robots! They don't know anything!

 

On the topic at hoof, the shipping is due to a number of factors, the central ones being the well-developed characters whose relationships are premised on strong friendships. Given that the ponies aren't normally engaged in romantic relationships, they are open to a variety of interpretations about gender preferences. And since Equestria is effectively a utopia, writers especially can sidestep the social stigmas commonly found in our present society.

 

Plus, the concept of, say, Twilight and Rainbow Dash snuggling next to one another is quite appealing.

 

You keep this up and sooner or later you're going to be shipping yourself with the ponies.

 

Anyway, I can't speak for others, but for me, the appeal is primarily in seeing how their friendships can expand to something even greater, a kind of extra special connection. Plus, I'm a hopeless romantic and a sap. I like squeeing over happy couples regardless of the genders involved in said couples, and in particular because I like all of these characters I like seeing them together, happy and joyful with their lives.

[Dave247 568]

You keep this up and sooner or later you're going to be shipping yourself with the ponies.

 

Anyway, I can't speak for others, but for me, the appeal is primarily in seeing how their friendships can expand to something even greater, a kind of extra special connection. Plus, I'm a hopeless romantic and a sap. I like squeeing over happy couples regardless of the genders involved in said couples, and in particular because I like all of these characters I like seeing them together, happy and joyful with their lives.

 

I agree with this though I noticed then when I have read a few stories it brings up a longing inside me that I would want to one day experience what they have and fear that it might not ever happen. This can put me off from reading them for a while. Edited April 25, 2012 by Dave247

[Crystal Sparkle 344]

I didn't get it either, but after I saw how cute it was, I adjusted.

[Inkfeather 597]

Well, there's lots of reasons why one might like or dislike the concetp of shipping since it's meant as a romantic theme, and just as everyone doesn't enjoy watching romanctic movies or reading love stories people will to the same degree dislike shipping.

 

Shipping is the concept of pairing up characters in a fandom and placing them in a relationship, hence the term "Shipping" as in Relationshipping. It's all about the romance and exploring various ideas of love between to characters.

 

Personally the reason why I like shipping is because of the fact that I'm a hopeless romantic. I enjoy reading, watching and in general seeing love. The reason I enjoy shipping ponies is because the show make it very easy, we a have a close group of friends, they all enjoy each others company to a certain degree and they're the best of friends. Evolving that friendship into a relationship doesn't take much imagination.

 

some people dislike shipping in MLP because it's mostly homosexual shipping going around, and it's easy to explain why. The main characters are all female, we don't have a lot of male companionship to work with in this series, also one of the reason Bic Macintosh is used as much as he in in the fandom shipping.

 

To give an example, during the event of The Best Young Flier competition, Rainbow Dash saved Rarity's life. This could be the trigger of a development in their friendship, maybe Rarity was amazed that Rainbow would risk such a dive, at such a speed (notice how close she is to the ground when catching her) and this triggers new emotions in the heart of our beloved Rarity.

 

This was just one of the many options to use as a reason for a good ship, others might just say that they think they fit well together, the fandom's imagination being the actual trigger simply because they want to see them together.

 

Again, I like shipping because I generally love romance and I love ponies. A combination of the two is one of the best thing in this world, in my opinion. Romantic stories about the ponies are intriguing to read and my favorite pass time. I actually recommend you to try and read one or two of them simply because it might inspire you to further investigate in the opportunities.

 

You can find a ton of great fiction of romance here: http://mlpforums.com/topic/11903-shipfiction-recommendations/

 

I have posted a few favorites there.

 

Why people in general like shipping may vary a lot. I just explained why I like the concept, that doesn't mean that this reason is why others might find it interesting. It's all a matter of opinion and preferences.

 

I hope this answered some of your questions.

[Yellow Diamond 7,575]

You keep this up and sooner or later you're going to be shipping yourself with the ponies.

 

Only the coldest of showers will suffice.

[Lunatic 1,186]

its just adorable

[ELRealBoredmario64 24]

Seriously what is this?

 

Is she...

 

Are they??

 

 

 

My thoughts exactly.

 

why?

[Xanthous 44]

I guess it's because people think it's cute and it's fun to do so.

 

I like some straight ships myself (sorry, slash is not my thing).

Edited April 28, 2012 by leictreon

[Ezio Auditore 702]

I'm not a huge fan of shipping myself but I don't really mind it except when people write pony *physical relations* stories.... that stuff just creeps me out...

[RockinRarity 1,605]

Dear Lord the quadrents....

 

Shipping is something i'm normally fine with, but MLP annoys me because often that shipping is between two girls. Not that i have anything against that sort of content, but it still seems rather disturbing in my opinion.

 

I found that the main reason why I don't like most shippings in MLP:FIM is because the shippings are usually intermixed within the mane 6, who are best friends. It is extremely important to know how to have a friendship without sexualizing or romanticizing it, and when members of the mane 6 are paired together, it takes the friendship to a level that I don't think it was ever intended to reach. It makes it seem like regular friendship couldn't have been an option in the first place, and that takes away the entire purpose of the show.

 

As for shipping in general, back when I was in high school I was a pretty passionate shipper in the Teen Titans fandom. After that though, I only ever liked canon ships, with the exception of Soul/Maka in Soul Eater, but they're so dang close to being a couple anyways that they almost may as well be canon. And under most circumstances, even when I like the canon ships, I'm not nearly as passionate about it as I was in high school.

[Cosmic Charlie 129]

The ponies have very believable personalities. Romantic love between characters is a thing as old as storytelling. Romantic love between three-dimensional characters (as in, characters with depth beyond simply fulfilling a role in the story) makes for a much more relatable and involving story. Maybe it's strange to ship ponies at face value, but it's all about detecting compatible personalities and hypothesizing how things would play out if they got together. It's the emotional content of it.

[Coco Pommel 669]

Becuase we can. :3

 

I'm a very light shipper. I can see the adorableness in it. I don't care that MLP has mostly same sex shipping. I'm actually kind of a fan of yaoi and yuri, though I read some only every once in a while.

[Guest]

My experience with shipping.

 

*Sees link to article*

 

...