Before anyone asks, I couldn't think where else to put this list except "off-topic discussion".
As you guys probably know, I'm a fan of shipping. Although like any fan of any franchise, I don't always agree or like some of the ships that people have come up with, I myself have often though up my own potential pairings that I'd like to see in fiction. As such I'd like to discuss some of my favourite ships from some of my favourite shows, books etc and why I like them. This list will be in no particular order or preference.
Please bear in mind that some of these discussions will include spoilers for their various franchises.
Twilight sparkle and Flash Sentry - My Little Pony:
Okay, let's get the obvious one out of the way first. Yes, I'm aware that these two didn't exactly have the most engaging of relationships in the brief time they had together, and yes, I do prefer the idea of Twilight being together with the pony version of this character rather than his human version (to non-MLP fans, trust me when I say that's a LONG story), but I'd be lying if I said it didn't have potential. I'm aware that many of the show's staff, including series creator Lauren Faust, have gone on record saying that there will be no romance in the show, but I would be very curious to see how they would handle such a thing in the show, having their main protagonist go through a long-term romance with another pony .I know it'll probably never happen, but given how much fanfic I've come up with for them it's a ship I won't be giving up on anytime soon.
Also, this will be the only MLP ship I'll talk about here, because if I didn't limit it to one per franchise for this list, it would be dominated by ponies.
Human noble warden and Queen Anora - Dragon Age: Origins:
Okay, many fans of the game will call foul on this one as Anora wasn't technically once of the game's available romance options. But I still like it regardless. In the game, choosing a human noble as your player character gives you the option of marrying Anora, Queen of the country the game is set in. Although few romantic things happen between the two, their interactions with one another gives me the impression that Anora was rather fond of her new suitor. Plus, with the human noble having the kind of background he did, it was more than likely that he'd have been raised with the kind of attitude that would hold someone like Anora as an ideal woman to strive for. Strong-willed, politically-minded, a member of a powerful and respected family, and several other qualities. Plus, given that it was rumoured that her previous husband was unfaithful to her, I always liked the idea that my character was able to give her the more faithful marriage she would have once wanted.
Dragonborn and Serana - Skyrim:
Serana, daughter of one of the game's main antagonists, has a very interesting personality as far as female characters in video games go. She's, in many ways, damaged, not only by being a vampire but by having her family torn apart by the actions of her parents, and it's through her involvement with the player character that she's been able to get some semblance of happiness, or at the very least some closure in her life. That connection between Serana and the PC makes me view them as a rather cute couple. Now, granted, when she is given an offer of marriage from the PC, she declines, but I like to interpret that as being her aversion to being in temples rather than any dislike towards us personally.
Aang and Katara - Avatar: The last airbender:
And every Zutara supporter on the internet suddenly hates me. Yes, I'm a Kataang supporter. The relationship these two had throughout the three seasons of Avatar was just brilliant to watch. In many TV shows I've seen, romances are handled very badly. But here, it works great. It's never over done to the point where it became the focus of the show, nor did it get too little screentime so as to make us forget about it. And the fact that it was done so well whilst also being in a show for kids was an added bonus, as romances in children's media is often even more difficult to pull off. Even though true love didn't really blossom between them until the final few episodes, the build-up was done so well that you believed it when it finally happened, and the fact that the two went off to have three kids years later brought an even bigger smile to my face.
Artemis and Hippolytus - Greek mythology:
Okay, be warned, this one is a little educational. In ancient Greek mythology, Hippolytus, the son of famed Greek hero Theseus, once swore to devote his life to being an acolyte of Artemis, goddess of the hunt, forests, childbirth and several other things. But Aphrodite, goddess of love, felt angry that he chose to be an acolyte of Artemis instead of her. So, in that convoluted way that only ancient Greek gods and goddesses could do, she wound up having him killed. Artemis, who had grown quite fond of Hippolytus because of his devotion to her, asked from him to be brought back from the dead. Now given how old this story is, there's a lot of variation of who did what to who, but the idea of a mortal man earning the love, or at least admiration, of a goddess (one who wasn't being spiteful for once), really intrigued me.
Raven and Robin - Teen Titans:
If my supporting Aang and Katara was controversial, then this one REALLY has people angry. In the Teen Titans animated series, the characters of Robin and Raven had a fair few close moments with each other, most notably during the season where Raven was the focus. Their moments together seemed really sweet to me and I preferred the idea of them as a couple more so than the more popular pairing of Robin/Starfire or Raven/Beastboy because I just liked them more as characters and felt that they had greater chemistry together than the characters moist fans liked to pair them up with. Plus, the fact that both have, to some degree, had an element of tragedy in their backstories gives them even further common ground for a relationship to be built on.
Finn and Flame Princess - Adventure Time:
This one managed to be both cute and tragic at the same time. Finn and Flame Princess' interactions with each other on the show were pretty much spot on for how two young teenagers who'd never been in a relationship before would act. But there was also an element of tragedy to it as, being made of fire, Flame Princess was never even able to touch Finn without seriously injuring him. That was pretty risky for a kids show to do, and I admire them for not copping out on that at some point. Plus, the fact that they didn't go the obvious route and have them stay together forever was a welcome change. True, I liked this pairing and would have liked them to be together forever and all that stuff, but having it end where it did and just have them be friends seemed more natural.
Hiccup and Merida - How to train your dragon/Brave:
Okay, this one is probably the least likely out of all of them given that they don't ever meet, and that they're from two different movies made by two rival animation studios. But I still like the idea of these two being together in some way, mostly from my liking of the old cliche of the "tough girl" hooking up with the somewhat scrawny boy. I know there's much more to these two than that but that basic idea of these two contrasting personalities, the doer and the thinker, really appeals to me. Also, there is some historical precedent for Scots and Vikings having interacted with each other. Okay sure it was when they were at war, but that would at least add a sort of starcrossed-lovers angle to the whole thing. And before anyone asks, yes I do rather like the idea of these two hanging out with Jack Frost and Rapunzel.
Well, those were some of my favourite pairings. If you have some favourites of you own I'd love to hear about what they are and why you like them.
As you guys probably know, I'm a fan of shipping. Although like any fan of any franchise, I don't always agree or like some of the ships that people have come up with, I myself have often though up my own potential pairings that I'd like to see in fiction. As such I'd like to discuss some of my favourite ships from some of my favourite shows, books etc and why I like them. This list will be in no particular order or preference.
Please bear in mind that some of these discussions will include spoilers for their various franchises.
Twilight sparkle and Flash Sentry - My Little Pony:
Okay, let's get the obvious one out of the way first. Yes, I'm aware that these two didn't exactly have the most engaging of relationships in the brief time they had together, and yes, I do prefer the idea of Twilight being together with the pony version of this character rather than his human version (to non-MLP fans, trust me when I say that's a LONG story), but I'd be lying if I said it didn't have potential. I'm aware that many of the show's staff, including series creator Lauren Faust, have gone on record saying that there will be no romance in the show, but I would be very curious to see how they would handle such a thing in the show, having their main protagonist go through a long-term romance with another pony .I know it'll probably never happen, but given how much fanfic I've come up with for them it's a ship I won't be giving up on anytime soon.
Also, this will be the only MLP ship I'll talk about here, because if I didn't limit it to one per franchise for this list, it would be dominated by ponies.
Human noble warden and Queen Anora - Dragon Age: Origins:
Okay, many fans of the game will call foul on this one as Anora wasn't technically once of the game's available romance options. But I still like it regardless. In the game, choosing a human noble as your player character gives you the option of marrying Anora, Queen of the country the game is set in. Although few romantic things happen between the two, their interactions with one another gives me the impression that Anora was rather fond of her new suitor. Plus, with the human noble having the kind of background he did, it was more than likely that he'd have been raised with the kind of attitude that would hold someone like Anora as an ideal woman to strive for. Strong-willed, politically-minded, a member of a powerful and respected family, and several other qualities. Plus, given that it was rumoured that her previous husband was unfaithful to her, I always liked the idea that my character was able to give her the more faithful marriage she would have once wanted.
Dragonborn and Serana - Skyrim:
Serana, daughter of one of the game's main antagonists, has a very interesting personality as far as female characters in video games go. She's, in many ways, damaged, not only by being a vampire but by having her family torn apart by the actions of her parents, and it's through her involvement with the player character that she's been able to get some semblance of happiness, or at the very least some closure in her life. That connection between Serana and the PC makes me view them as a rather cute couple. Now, granted, when she is given an offer of marriage from the PC, she declines, but I like to interpret that as being her aversion to being in temples rather than any dislike towards us personally.
Aang and Katara - Avatar: The last airbender:
And every Zutara supporter on the internet suddenly hates me. Yes, I'm a Kataang supporter. The relationship these two had throughout the three seasons of Avatar was just brilliant to watch. In many TV shows I've seen, romances are handled very badly. But here, it works great. It's never over done to the point where it became the focus of the show, nor did it get too little screentime so as to make us forget about it. And the fact that it was done so well whilst also being in a show for kids was an added bonus, as romances in children's media is often even more difficult to pull off. Even though true love didn't really blossom between them until the final few episodes, the build-up was done so well that you believed it when it finally happened, and the fact that the two went off to have three kids years later brought an even bigger smile to my face.
Artemis and Hippolytus - Greek mythology:
Okay, be warned, this one is a little educational. In ancient Greek mythology, Hippolytus, the son of famed Greek hero Theseus, once swore to devote his life to being an acolyte of Artemis, goddess of the hunt, forests, childbirth and several other things. But Aphrodite, goddess of love, felt angry that he chose to be an acolyte of Artemis instead of her. So, in that convoluted way that only ancient Greek gods and goddesses could do, she wound up having him killed. Artemis, who had grown quite fond of Hippolytus because of his devotion to her, asked from him to be brought back from the dead. Now given how old this story is, there's a lot of variation of who did what to who, but the idea of a mortal man earning the love, or at least admiration, of a goddess (one who wasn't being spiteful for once), really intrigued me.
Raven and Robin - Teen Titans:
If my supporting Aang and Katara was controversial, then this one REALLY has people angry. In the Teen Titans animated series, the characters of Robin and Raven had a fair few close moments with each other, most notably during the season where Raven was the focus. Their moments together seemed really sweet to me and I preferred the idea of them as a couple more so than the more popular pairing of Robin/Starfire or Raven/Beastboy because I just liked them more as characters and felt that they had greater chemistry together than the characters moist fans liked to pair them up with. Plus, the fact that both have, to some degree, had an element of tragedy in their backstories gives them even further common ground for a relationship to be built on.
Finn and Flame Princess - Adventure Time:
This one managed to be both cute and tragic at the same time. Finn and Flame Princess' interactions with each other on the show were pretty much spot on for how two young teenagers who'd never been in a relationship before would act. But there was also an element of tragedy to it as, being made of fire, Flame Princess was never even able to touch Finn without seriously injuring him. That was pretty risky for a kids show to do, and I admire them for not copping out on that at some point. Plus, the fact that they didn't go the obvious route and have them stay together forever was a welcome change. True, I liked this pairing and would have liked them to be together forever and all that stuff, but having it end where it did and just have them be friends seemed more natural.
Hiccup and Merida - How to train your dragon/Brave:
Okay, this one is probably the least likely out of all of them given that they don't ever meet, and that they're from two different movies made by two rival animation studios. But I still like the idea of these two being together in some way, mostly from my liking of the old cliche of the "tough girl" hooking up with the somewhat scrawny boy. I know there's much more to these two than that but that basic idea of these two contrasting personalities, the doer and the thinker, really appeals to me. Also, there is some historical precedent for Scots and Vikings having interacted with each other. Okay sure it was when they were at war, but that would at least add a sort of starcrossed-lovers angle to the whole thing. And before anyone asks, yes I do rather like the idea of these two hanging out with Jack Frost and Rapunzel.
Well, those were some of my favourite pairings. If you have some favourites of you own I'd love to hear about what they are and why you like them.
but maybe that's just me.
