Shipping makes the world go round. It’s one of my favourite parts of the fandoms I’m a part of - whether it be She-Ra, Arcane, The Owl House, Amphibia, or Our Flag Means Death. There is nothing better than finding passion in a world and its characters that goes beyond the original experience, inspiring us to write our own stories and define relationships in ways that either build upon what came before or seek to explore entirely new possibilities.
For years now, shipping has been a fundamental part of life on the internet. If a show, film, game, or book is popular - there is a very good chance that fanfiction and fanart will emerge as a consequence. Most of the time these acts are wholesome and welcoming, while others border on invasive when you consider the individuals fans project themselves onto.
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A fan has compiled a list on Archive Of Our Own that claims to represent the ‘Top 100 Ships of 2022’ thus far, which aims to represent the overall popularity of pairings published on the platform. It has also included rankings that are split by gender, sexuality, and all manner of other categories that allow select fandoms to see where their favourite characters happen to fall. Some results are safe and expected. Catradora and Lumity continue to pull in huge numbers, while the usual suspects like Harry Potter, Marvel, Stranger Things, and Supernatural are littered across most lists largely due to how widespread their fandoms happen to be.
Unfortunately, even taking a single glance at the list I mentioned earlier is enough to elicit a continuous stream of suppressed cringe. It’s a reminder that fandoms can be weird in the worst ways, and will
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