| Shipping (fandom) |
Article Index for Shipping |
Website Links For Shipping |
Information AboutShipping (fandom) |
|
Shipping can involve virtually any kind of relationship — from the well-known and established, through the ambiguous or those undergoing development, and even all the way to the highly improbable and the blatantly impossible. People involved in shipping (or ''shippers'') assert that the relationship ''does'' exist, ''will'' exist, or simply that they would ''like'' it to exist. ETYMOLOGY AND USAGE OF TERMINOLOGY Though ''ship'' is undoubtedly a derivative of the word ''relationship'' in some way, where and when it was first used to indicate involvement with fictional romance is unclear. A common belief is that the term originated in the Fandom for the Anime series '' Pokémon '', with two American fans who, in discussing their belief in a romance between series villains, Musashi/Jessie and Kojirou/James (Known together as '' Team Rocket ''), hit upon the pun ''RocketShipper'' as a way to combine ''rocket ship'' and ''relationship''. However, the archives of the Newsgroup ''alt.tv.xfiles'' show that the word ''shipper'' was already in established use among fans of '' The X-Files '' as early as May of 1996 {Link without Title} —just three months after the first Pokémon games were released in Japan. It would not be until 1998 that any of the Pokémon games, manga, or anime would be translated to English, where the relationship/rocket-ship pun would exist (the first known uses of the term in the Pokémon fandom were during mid-to-late 1999). It seems clear that the Pokémon fandom was not the sole or first inventors of ''shipping'', as is sometimes claimed; but regardless of that, it may well have played a larger role in the development of the term as is known today, by separately developing and popularising it. Regardless of its origins, the term ''ship'' and its derivatives in this context are now in wide and versatile use. ''Shipping'' refers to the whole phenomenon; a ''ship'' is the concept of a fictional couple; to ''ship'' a couple means to have an affinity for it in one way or another; a ''shipper'' is somebody significantly involved with such an affinity, and so forth. Various naming conventions have developed in different online communities to name the couples themselves, probably due to the ambiguity and cumbersomeness of the "Frick and Frack" format. The most widespread appears to be putting the slash character (/) between the two names (''Frick/Frack''), but many other methods exist:
INFLUENCE IN ONLINE SOCIETY Popularity Though it takes many forms and influences different communities in different ways, the phenomenon of shipping is practically ubiquitous. Searching any forum discussing an ongoing work of fiction is bound to yield comments, discussion threads and even whole active forums and communities dedicated to the subject. There are several factors which are believed to be responsible for the high popularity of shipping:
The influence and prominence shipping has on a specific online community will, mostly, be the projection of two factors: The way the author of the work-in-progress at hand treats the subject of romance in their work (intentionally and unintentionally), and the preexisting tendencies of the specific target audience likely to both come in contact with said work and discuss it online. The many combinations of those sole two factors possible already make the actual manifestation of shipping in online communities amorphic and hard to define, sometimes to the point of hardly being recognisable as different instances of the same phenomenon. Teenagers, in general, appear to be the most eager target audience to engage the subject, while a roughly equal mixture of males and females in the work of fiction will lend itself to more prominent shipping discussion than otherwise (and even more so if these characters are all coming of age, which is one of the most powerful ship discussion stimulator). These sorts of differences are the factors which shape how "shippy", and in what ways, an online fan community will be. Non-conventional ships Though they certainly tend to be the most commonly encountered, heterosexual relationships are not the be-all and end-all of shipping. The most prominent example of this is the wide support of Homosexual relationships (also known as "slash" or the borrowed Japanese terms Yaoi (Male homosexuality) and Yuri (Female homosexuality), with stories of male homosexuality, thanks to their large fanbase, being by far the most prominent. There are even online groups affiliated with romance that is considered Taboo by many, such as Incest and Bestiality . The term "slash" itself predates the use of "shipping" by at least some 20 years. It was originally coined as a derogatory term to describe Kirk / Spock (or "K/S") Homosexual Fan-fiction , which has been a mainstay of a segment of Star Trek fandom since the early 1970s. For a time in the late 1970s and early 1980s, both "K/S" and "slash" were used to describe such Fan-fiction , regardless of whether or not they were Star Trek related. But as homosexuality became more accepted in society, so too did the terms lose their derogatory connotation. "K/S" eventually fell out of use altogether, but "slash" became a universal term to describe all homosexual themed fan works. Cohesion and conflict online In some circles, thanks to negative connotations associated with Shipping and Shippers due to public perceptions of their often flame filled debates, and/or highly non-conventional/taboo Ships, a number of fanfic writers prefer to not call themselves Shippers, or their work Shippy. In these communities, there tends to be a very strong distinction between a fan (Fanartists, fanfic authors and general supporters) and a Shipper (For lack of better terms, a general all around flaming debating nutcase, at least in the public eye). yet to be written --> Discussion and debate One of the more universal manifestations of the shipping phenomenon is the degree to which the subject is discussed and debated. Much like the extent of shipping in general, the extent of ship debating in an online community is the product of several factors, though more specifically the amount of romantic ''conflict'' and ''potential'' in the relevant fictional work influences the amount of involvement in ship debates more than any other aspect. Both couples with no potential and conflict whatsoever and perfectly happy, "outed" couples with no conflict left to be resolved will tend to get little debating attention. Fictional potential couples with clear ''driving forces'' that are counter-balanced by ''obstacles'' tend to get the most attention in that area, especially if two such possibilities are mutually exclusive, thus making one's driving forces the other's obstacles. Ship debates almost always basically occur on two levels — on the "what will happen" level, where dry, neutral prediction is attempted, and the "what should happen" level, where participators confront each other with their points of view regarding where the canon should go if it wants to create the most convincing, emotionally powerful or otherwise aesthetically appealing narrative, complete with reasons for why this is. These two planes of reasoning are not quite mutually exclusive — firstly they have the same origin line where they intersect, authorial intent, and it is usually possible to make limited inferences as to what the author would consider a "better" story and thus be likelier to write; secondly, arguments valid on one plain might affect the other one. Shippers commonly resolve that a relationship the author is portraying as positive must be positive by definition, and change their emotional point of view accordingly (or at least, try to); and even more commonly, shippers let their personal preference dictate a less than neutral distribution of the benefit of doubt regarding what is objectively less or more likely the author is trying to convey. Thus, ship debate has a reputation of containing much of what typically results when logic and emotional luggage intersect in predictive verbal conflict, namely Fallacious Logic , outlandish theories and factionalism that in extreme cases can become so nasty it overshadows the debate that spawned it. Most people who have been participating in ship debate for long enough tend to be aware of this to some degree and often keep debating for the sake of sportsmanship, loyalty to their faction or "spreading the truth"; newcomers, on the other hand, tend to step in blissfully unaware of this situation, share their opinion and be shocked at the polarized response, typically containing extremes such as enthusiastic approval or sarcastic mocking with little middle ground. This form of conflict has led to the shipping phenomenon often being featured in Fandom Wank , a well-known Weblog hosted at Journalfen.net which specialises in mocking fan over-reactions. Ship debates tend to go in circles, a culture characteristic of the medium that usually hosts them, online forums. As online forums have no arbiters to speak of, unlike in true Debate , online discussions rarely reach any conclusions beyond what is trivially evident from the discussion subject matter, usually amounting to heaps of disorganised points and counterpoints conceived Ad-hoc to interfere with one another. Like most other emotionally charged online discussion ship debate tends to eventually die out of participant starvation rather than experience swift logical knock-outs - if only because the aforementioned points and counterpoints are harvested from the vast realms of possibility, allowing for a hefty number of alternative theories for explaining virtually anything, to be chosen from at the shipper's leisure (see The Underdetermination Problem ). Depending on the scope of the series in question ship debates can go on for even years on end, dragging the participants into further personal investment in the subject that they likely did not initially plan on; though there usually are general indicators of which side has the general "advantage", most notably popularity polls, they do not truly cease to exist until the point where Canon supports one pairing to such a degree that believing in any other would require inhumane suspension of disbelief. Even then, it could be argued that the difference between this "conclusion" and the previous state of the debate is merely quantitive rather than qualitative, and the resolution isn't as much about one side being proven "right" as it is about social dissipation due to the involved individuals' fading interest, having no future resolution to look forward to. Fan works In Fan Fiction circles, authors often let their shipping tendencies influence their work and espouse a certain romantic pairing between two particular characters in their fiction; in fact, the pairings found within are considered such a defining factor that story summaries in fiction archives often notify the potential reader of them while neglecting other important features. The extremity of this phenomenon can be found in certain sections of the fanfiction archive fanfiction.net , and many other fan fiction archives, where fanfiction is searchable by rating, length, genre, date, language, and ''pairing''. While this in part reflects an emphasis on shipping by many fan fiction authors, it is also considered a useful service to those readers who only wish to read about certain pairings (or conversely, wish to avoid reading stories involving pairings they dislike). Though to a lesser degree, this influence still exists in other fan works. Since Fan Art , for example, is by nature more focused on a particular scene or character(s) and allows for less flexibility in terms of theme integration, it is usually either without shipping influence at all or wholly a tribute to a certain pairing. Shipping-Conflicted Fandoms There are many works and sagas which have evoked different levels of shipping; some, though, have clearly crossed the line, large portions of their fandoms' dominant undercurrents being shipping agendas. Fandoms past this line are usually easy recognisable; discussions of unrelated issues will often be sidetracked by somebody gratuitously intervening with negative or positive comments on one side or the other resulting in a spiral towards a pairing debate, a disproportionate amount of discussion threads will be dedicated to the matter to begin with and the community as a whole will be self-aware of this, making statements and taking jabs at their opposition even outside of official "battlegrounds". Fandoms noted for a shipping "situation", past or present, include: All Grown Up fandom The All Grown Up fandom has, in its relatively brief existence, had explosive shipping conflicts centering around the relationships among the ensemble cast. The strongest debate came amongs supporters of Tommy Pickles having a relationship with either Lil DeVille or Kimi Finster . These two fanbases dominate the debate and have caused endless arguments among authors, artists and fans alike. An off-shoot of this debate is the conflict between supporters Tommy / Kimi , and the supporters of a relationship between Phil DeVille and Kimi Finster . Strangely, the other major ship in the fandom, Chuckie Finster and Angelica Pickles , has never been involved in a real conflict. fandom Shipping development commenced soon after the series began. Most revolves around the main female character, Katara , with most of the debate and oppositional support centering around possible relationships with Aang and Zuko , the apparent implausibilty regarding these pairings often being perceived as responsible for a hefty portion of rancor in the fandom. The ''Zuko and Katara'' pairing ("Zutara") is criticized because the characters involved have been portrayed as Antagonists , while ''Aang and Katara'' ("Kataang") is criticized for its male component (Aang) being twelve years old, is simply too young for Katara or too young for any kind of relationship. Some of the more recent arguments that emerged after Season 1 is that the former has no 'proof' especially with the limited time the two spent together while the latter has been in the throes of 'only friends'. The Aang x Katara ship is focused on their friendship, while the Zuko and Katara ship tends to be more sexual (as in fanfiction). There are four episodes used by both sides. In episode 9, ''The Waterbending Scroll'', Zuko and Katara had an encounter in which Zuko tries to tempt Katara into leading him to Aang in exchange for her lost necklace. In episode 14, ''The Fortune Teller'', Aunt Wu predicts Katara marrying a "powerful bender." This does not prove either to be canon, as both Aang and Zuko are powerful benders. However, later in the episode, Sokka makes a remark about Aang being "a powerful bender," and Katara seems to think this over. In episode 15, ''Bato of the Water Tribe'', Zuko hires Jun to track Katara using her necklace. Jun scoffs at Zuko, believing the necklace to belong to a girlfriend who ran out on him. After returning Katara's necklace, stolen in a fight with Prince Zuko, Aang receives a kiss on the cheek. In episode 22, ''The Cave of Two Lovers'', Aang and Katara may or may not have kissed, a fact which is left up to the audience's discretion. The issue was even the subject of a televised "Ask the Creators" Bump . The question was, "Will Aang and Katara ever become more than friends?" The creators (obviously not wanting to leak out any information on future romances), answered that we should "focus on the Momo and Appa relationship". Others pairings include , which was an on-screen romance that spanned multiple episodes and not merely speculation. There is a dedicated fandom for incestuous pairings such as Sokka x Katara ("Sokkara") and Zuko x Azula ("Zucest"), but these pairings are generally appreciated by their diehard fans alone. The Big O fandom Known for much rancor in its shipping community, this fandom has frequent clashes between fans of two particular pairings, both of which have been hinted at in-show. One pairs the main character of the series, billionaire negotiator ''Roger Smith'' with the show's female lead, an android named ''R Dorothy Wayneright'', while another pairs him with a female anti-hero ''Angel''. Due to the symbolic and interpretive nature of the show, and storylines left unfinished due to a premature cancellation, followed by a Series Finale that still left many questions unanswered, fans of the series are known for their eagerness to "read between the lines", often crossing over to blatant overanalysis. Critics of the Roger/Dorothy pairing argue the infeasiblity of a physical relationship, postulating that Dorothy is not "fully functional" (nude prototypes of her show a body structure similar to that of a Barbie doll). Others believe the pairing to be inherently pedophiliac in that Dorothy is built to resemble a teenage girl. The strongest opposition to this pairing comes from those fans of a Roger/Angel pairing. Much vitriol as to which "hints" are more valid or verifiable permeate the shipping debates, sometimes characterized by outright ad-hominem attacks and accusations of insanity that extend well outside community battlegrounds. '' Code Lyoko '' fandom Throughout ''Code Lyoko'' there has been much debate regarding pairings. The most obvious canon pairing of all is definitely the Yumi / Ulrich pairing. They almost kissed in the Desert Sector in the episode "Routine" after arguing, which made the episode one of the most popular, but a Return Trip was activated right before the kiss. Second is the Jeremie / Aelita (also known as J/A) pairing, almost as popular as Yumi/Ulrich (Y/U). In Season 1, Aelita was thought to be a computer program instead of a human, and Jeremie worked on her Materialization so she could live on Earth. In Season 2, Aelita has a series of strange visions and dreams, leading to the discovery that she was Franz Hopper 's daughter. Often these dreams weakened and confused her, and she had to lean on Jeremie for support. Daria fandom ''Daria'' fandom was marred through its entire run by 'shipper debate. From the series' first season, the main conflict was between people who thought that the title character, ''Daria Morgendorffer'', a wisecrack-loading, green-jacketed, cynical, intellectual teenager, should have a relationship with ''Trent Lane'', a slacker rock band frontman, whom Daria met through his sister, her closest friend ''Jane Lane'' (a slightly less cynical artist), and people who thought that such a development would signal a turn away from the more subversive aspects of the Daria character, and thus the show, notably represented in such episodes as "This Year's Model", where Daria sends armed mercenaries to a modeling agency tryout. The show's writers responded by having Daria develop a crush on Trent, even having Daria go as far as to get a piercing because Trent encouraged her on (Daria thought the better of it eventually; the hole closed soon after Daria took the piercing off), as well as having her get rashes on her head as the sight of Trent. Trent, however remained involved with his off-and-on girlfriend ''Monique'' (who also was in a rock band), who immediately became a target of 'shipper ire. The crush ended in the third season's finale, "Jane's Addition", when Daria realized that Trent lacked a professional work ethic. In that very same episode, the viewership met, for the first time, ''Tom Sloane'', a charming and intellectual son of privilege who nonetheless drives a Ford Pinto . Although Tom became Jane's boyfriend, threatening Daria and Jane's friendship in the process, Daria and Tom warmed up to each other throughout the fourth season, leading up to its finale, "Dye! Dye! My Darling," broadcast August 2, 2000 {Link without Title} . With Jane and Tom's relationship in crisis, a heated argument between Daria and Tom leads up to not one but two kisses. With Daria indecisive as to whether this relationship should be pursued further, Daria and Jane's friendship was in tatters for the rest of the episode. (Tom and Jane broke up.) In the made-for-TV movie "Is it Fall Yet?," Daria decided to begin a relationship with Tom, and Daria and Jane patched their friendship together. The uproar this caused was instant. The 'shipper faction having won the initial debate (in fair part having do with other artistic decisions ''Daria'' made after Season 1, such as a musical episode, "Daria!" extended dream sequences laden with 70s-80s detective show references ("Murder, She Snored"), and human representations of the major Holiday s (and Guy Fawkes Day ) manifesting themeselves in Lawndale in "Depth Takes A Holiday"), conversation now turned to whether Tom was more appropriate than the long-dismissied Trent. The conversation ran in favor of Trent. The debate was satirized by the show's writers in a piece on MTV's website. {Link without Title} In the series finale made-for-TV movie, "It is College Yet?", Daria and Tom break up over the fact that they are going to different colleges. The debate was over, and so was the series. In interviews done after the series' run, series creator Glenn Eichler revealed that "...any viewer who really thought that Daria and Trent could (have) a relationship was just not watching the show we were making," Tom came about because "...going into our fourth year...I thought it was really pushing credibility for Daria to have only had one or two dates during her whole high school career," and "teaser" episodes like "Pierce Me" were "...intended to provide some fun for that portion of the audience that was so invested in the romance angle. The fact that those moments were few and far between should have given some indication that the series was not about Daria's love life." [http://www.the-wildone.com/dvdaria/glennfollowup4.html fandom Though it died down with the later seasons, the first two seasons of Digimon were rife with shipper controversy, especially once the finale to Season 2 aired. Some felt that the finale canonized many of the more popular couples debated (such as Taichi Kamiya / Sora Takenouchi , Yamato Ishida /Sora Takenouchi]], among others), while others felt that the finale is non-canon, as the last part of the finale was rumored to have been made long after the episode was done (evidenced by what some fans feel are sudden shifts in development for the characters – for instance, Matt Ishida abandoning his band and love for music to puruse his childhood dream of becoming an Astronaut ). Further complicating matters are the arguments over shipper pairings of the human characters' Digimon, even going so far as to have inter-species shipper couples. Considering how much the cast of the show has shrunk with each season, it's little wonder how most of the shipper debate is kept in the first two seasons. it should be noted that with the Exceptions of Joe/Yolei and Matt/Sora, no other couples are considered in any way 'official' in the context of the show, thus leaving the debate between various shippers highly active. Friends Fandom While most of the show officially revolves around Ross Geller and Rachel Green , many fans (long before Season 5) thought that Chandler Bing and Monica Geller should hook up. When they did, the only possible coupling left was Joey/Phoebe. Fans hit the roof when he proposed to her at the beginning of Season 8. Other than that, not much else happens in the shipping department, thought there were hints of Rachel/Chandler or Rachel/Joey in Season 8. Harry Potter Fandom Probably the most infamous in this regard, the Harry Potter fandom had been the home of a conflict--ongoing since as early as 1999--between supporters of Harry / Hermione and supporters of Ron /Hermione (and Harry/ Ginny ). The former faction often blamed the latter of adopting a "shallow" interpretation of the series and espousing incompatible couples; the latter faction often blamed the former of digging for ad-hoc farfetched "evidence" and ignoring authorial intent. The fandom practically erupted in ship-related verbal fireworks when Book Six was released and Harry/Ginny became canon, on one occasion even receiving coverage from the mainstream media {Link without Title} . Megaman EXE fandom With all the characters the leads, Lan and Megaman, run into, it's obvious shipping relationships will occur. Common characters for Lan are Mayl, Chaud, Raika, Miyu, Sal, Pride, Jasmine, Tamako, Ribbita and Iris. For Megaman it's Roll, Protoman, Bass and Medi. There are many other pains for the other characters as well. Those include Chaud and Mayl, Dex and Mayl, Yai and Chaud, Mr. Match and Maddy, Raika and Pride, Roll and Protoman, Higsby and Ms. Mari, Masa and Ms. Mari, Medi and Protoman and so forth... Megatokyo fandom Moonlighting fandom Naruto fandom Because of the huge number of characters in this universe and no canon relationship(s) (yet), there are a lot of shipping debates. The pairings include Ino and Shikamaru (ShikaIno), Temari and Shikamaru (ShikaTema) (often referred to as TemaShika as well), Kiba and Hinata (KibaHina), Hinata and Neji (NejiHina or also Hyuugacest), Hinata and Hanabi (HinaHana, also Hyuugacest), Tenten and Neji (NejiTen), Sakura and Lee (LeeSaku), Sakura and Sasuke (SasuSaku), Naruto and Sasuke (SasuNaru, most popular in fandom) (or NaruSasu, although not that common in that order), Kakashi and Iruka (KakaIru), Itachi and Sasuke (ItaSasu or Uchihacest), Gaara and Naruto (GaaNaru), or Gaara and Lee (GaaLee). One of the biggest debates is between the fans of the Naruto and Hinata (NaruHina) pairing, vs the fans of the Naruto and Sakura (NaruSaku) pairing. Pokémon fandom Though rather weak on the actual romantic plot department, the Pokémon fandom has given rise to various debates, the most notable of which were regarding whether Ash had feelings for Misty (PokéShipping) or Gary (PalletShipping), a debate which continued virtually non-stop for 3 years, until culminating on "The PokéMasters" (a.k.a. TPM) message boards in late 2001. Debates around whether there is a relationship between Jesse and James of Team Rocket or not have also had a large part in the fandom, and are still unresolved. While shipping debates faded from the active fandom for the years since the end of the Poké/Pallet debates, recent events in the canon have seen the birth of a new, 4-way debate between the PokéShippers, AdvanceShippers (Ash/ May ), ContestShippers (May/ Drew ), and OrangeShippers (Misty/ Tracey ), which has reinvigorated shipping in the fandom once more. Star Fox fandom Though not nearly as dominant as other fandoms, the introduction of both Fara Phoenix and Krystal into the Star Fox series has created some debate amongst fans over who should be paired with Fox McCloud . Also, in an interesting display of Slash Fiction shipping, pairing discussion about the Star Fox team with their Star Wolf counterparts is also very much present, with the most popular being Falox (Fox/ Falco Lombardi ), Wolox (Fox/ Wolf O'Donnell ), and Faleon (Falco/ Leon Powalski ). Falat (Falco/ Katt Monroe ) is also very popular in the fandom, though it's lost some of its followers after her appearance in the ''Star Fox'' 2000 comic. Curiously, Slippy Toad , Peppy Hare , and Andrew Oikonny are very rarely involved in shipper debates, with Andrew pairings being almost non-existent. Star Wars fandom While not very active on the debate front, the Star Wars fandom is home to supporters of many pairings, including Obi-Wan/Amidala (Obidala), Obi-Wan/Sabé (known as Sobiwan or Sabewan), Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan, Luke/Camie, and many more. Perhaps the most intriguing and unlikely is the Grievous/Shaak-Ti ship. The Star Wars expanded universe though has a more interesting debate front. Many fans argue over who should end up with Leia and Han's kids Jaina Solo and Jacen Solo. Pairings have included Jacen/Danni Quee, Jacen/Tenel Ka (J/TK), Kyp Durron/Jaina (K/J), Jaina/Zekk (J/Z), and Jaina/Jag Fel (J/J). Interestingly, even though Jacen and Tenel Ka have been canonically paired up (not to mention had a child together) discussions have still continued at a high rate. Teen Titans fandom fandom The ''Xena: Warrior Princess'' fandom saw often nasty "shipping wars" that turned especially intense due to spillover from real-life debates about Same-sex Sexuality and Gay Rights . Shortly after the 1995 debut of the action/fantasy series about a woman warrior seeking redemption for a dark past, some viewers began to see hints that of a romantic attraction, or possibly a sexual relationship, between Xena and her sidekick/best friend Gabrielle . Toward the end of the first season, the show's producers began to play to this perception by deliberately inserting usually humorous lesbian innuendo (the Subtext ) into some episodes. The show acquired a cult following in the lesbian community. However, Xena had a number of male love interests as well, and from the first season she had an adversarial but sexually charged dynamic with Ares , the God of War, who frequently tried to win her over as his "Warrior Queen." While subtexters (Xena/Gabrielle fans) were the largest single group in the active ''Xena'' fandom, Xena/Ares shippers were a visible presence as well; they were joined by Gabrielle/ Joxer shippers after Joxer, a bumbling warrior wannabe who sometimes followed Xena and Gabrielle on their adventures, fell in love with Gabrielle. The debates among fans of these "ships" were frequently tinged with sexual politics. Many straight fans strongly rejected the idea of a sexual relationship between Xena and Gabrielle, for a variety of reasons. Some felt that such a relationship would play into the stereotype that strong women who live independently of men have to be lesbians; some supported other pairings; some simply did not see a sexual dynamic between the characters; and some were generally hostile to same-sex relationships. Meanwhile, many lesbian fans felt that Xena belonged to the gay community as a lesbian icon. Some claimed that any nonsexual interpretation of the relationship between Xena and Gabrielle, and any support for a heterosexual pairing for either of the heroines, was either actually motivated by homophobia or objectively contributed to the oppression of gays. These conflicts came to a boiling point in the fifth season, when the show's producers played down the lesbian subtext somewhat and introduced an overtly romantic Xena/Ares storyline in which Ares fell in love with Xena and offered her his help in a conflict with the other Olympian gods (caused by a prophecy that Xena's newborn child would cause their downfall). The official Studios USA Netforum became a site for ferocious battles between Ares/Xena shippers and subtexters, who were concerned that Xena and Ares would end up as an official couple. In the sixth season, the subtext was ratcheted up again, to a point where many subtext fans felt Xena and Gabrielle were "outed" as a couple. However, several sixth season episodes also played up the Xena/Ares dynamic, and the ambiguity of both relationships (whether Xena and Gabrielle were lovers and whether Xena reciprocated Ares' feelings) continued to fuel the "shipping wars" on ''Xena'' message boards. These wars did not abate even after the show ended; with no fresh material from the show itself, both Xena/Gabrielle and Xena/Ares fans looked for new ammunition in (often contradictory) comments made by the actors and writers. In recent years, however, the ''Xena'' fandom has also seen a growing number of "bitexter" fans who embrace and appreciate both relationships. |
|
|