8 Tips to Start Shipping

Now I know that most people who have watched anime, movies, read books, manga, even listened to a certain band for a while know what it’s like to have a (or many…) ships. “Shipping” is to have an… affinity you could say, for a fictional couple. Now, what if you want a ship or have a ship but you’re unsure if you really like it or not? Well, behold! My top 8 tips to start really shipping that ship you’re unsure of or
getting one for the first time! Now, I am a hardcore fangirl and can rarely watch an anime without having one or two ships minimum, but I can understand that shipping is not for everyone. But if you think shipping is for you, then read on!

   

     1. Find a fandom and get to know the characters.

Now I know this sounds like a pretty obvious step but I’ve found that people sometimes love or hate a ship even if they know practically nothing about it. They may have just heard of or read about the ship in a shipping war and think that’s enough to have a solid opinion on that ship. I think that you have to watch/read the show/book first and then see if you do think the two characters are cute together or not because you might end up shipping a completely different couple once you see it for yourself.

   

    2. Find yourself a ship or two.

 

Once you’re reading or watching, you’ll probably find the ship that you love. Whether the couple actually gets together or not doesn’t matter, if you think that they make a good couple then you are shipping! Usually I start shipping when two characters seem to really care for each other, have a cute moment together or when it’s just totally obvious that they are in love! It’s hints that get us shipping but the feels that keep us shipping. So! How do we get feels?

      3. Read fanfiction.

 

Fanfiction is when a person writes a story based on their fandom (anime, book, TV series or other). There are plenty of websites out there where writers can post fanfiction for shippers like you to read! Websites like fanfiction.net, archiveofourown.org, quotev.com or wattpad.com have lots of fanfiction from a variety of fandoms. True there is fanfiction out there that is simply terrible, poorly written or changed the characters too much (OOC = Out of Character) that it’s less enjoyable to read but if you persevere, there are good fanfiction too!

        4. Look at fan art.

It’s always nice to see your ship in cute scenes like walking in the park hand-in-hand or kissing under the light of the moon… Sadly, it’s very rare for those scenes to actually happen in canon (officially, in the show/book)  so there’s fan art! Fan art is everywhere, so long as you type in the ship on the search bar. Good fan art gives a shipper lots of feels and makes us love our ship even more!

    5. Watch an amv

 

An amv is short for “anime music video” and while this seems to only go for anime, I have seen amvs of movies and TV series too. Amvs give a new perspective on scenes between the two characters, lets us discover new songs and makes our ship seem canon!

   

6. Rant

It is something fan girls do all the time. As soon as we see our ship interacting in canon or when we find a really cute fanfiction that’s got our heart filled with feels, then we have to let the emotions out! The best way to do that is  by ranting about our ship to someone, like our best friend for example. Now be aware that most people will probably find you weird when you start talking about all the feels your ship gives you but hey! It’s normal and there are plenty of fan girls out there so just try to find someone like you (who hopefully has the same ships…)

7. Get in shipping wars

 

Usually this is something we try to avoid but it’ll come about sooner or later. Someone will insult your ship and you’ll try to defend it and BOOM! A shipping war has started. But don’t worry they happen all the time and it’s a nice way to get to know your ship better, as well as does of others.

     

    8. Get bored and find a new ship.

 

It inevitably happens that you eventually get over your fandom. You’ve read nearly all the fanfiction for your ship out there, or you just get bored of your ship in general. That’s fine! Just watch another show, read another book, get to know other characters…and before you know it right back at step one!

Have fun shipping~