An open letter to all shipping haters
I thought hard and long about if I want to write something about the shipping wars that’s taking over tumblr, twitter, instagram and every other social media platform out there which features differend kinds of ships and for a while I kept quiet because I am normaly a person who lives like ‘don’t like - don’t read. scroll away’ and I don’t participate in attacking other ships, even if I don’t like them. I’m mature enough to see me above the need to compensate my lack of whatever through bad mouthing other people’s ship.
I mean, I have a taste of my own and so has every other person out there as well and I think there is a reason people start to ship ficitional characters with each other and that’s okay. Just because I don’t see or like your ship I don’t go around and try to convince you that your ship is not good enough, not canon, abusive or whatever shit people use as an excuse to go around social media and spread their bullshit.
Maybe you have some good arguments, maybe not. But just because you come around and try to reason with me, you think that I am just going to drop my otp and ship your pairing? - that’s not gonna happening!
For example... I used to watch Naruto a lot. It was my holy grail. I was in love with that Anime, although I liked to read the Manga more because well it was even cooler. And I can’t tell you the exact moment that I began to ship SasuNaru, but I did. I loved that ship, still do.
So I did what every shipper does in that moment. I looked for evidence for their deep connection in the manga, hinted by the mangaka himself in so many different ways that I really hoped that they will end up together in canon. I knew I was delusional since it’s a shonen manga and even though the Mangaka themselve wanted to pair them together, they weren’t allowed to by the publisher so so much for a gay pairing becoming canon.
So I began reading fanfictions, doujinshis, searched for fanart and even wrote a couple of fanfics and did some very horrible drawn fanart for them. I absorbed everything I could from them like a sponge and although they were multiple hints and foreshadowing in the manga with whom they both will end up with, I still loved them. I didn’t stop shipping them!
Sure, I was very disappointed at the end of the manga, and I refused to read ‘Boruto’ because I was still mad about the ending. I mean who wouldn’t be mad if Kishimoto made SasuNaru not only kiss once, but twice. Hint all the deep feelings between them and then pairs them with different people?! And worse, he made a ship happen I despised more then anything else. SasuSaku...A pair I could never see happening and who I hoped would never end up together. They were my NOTP as all those cool internet people call it....
Hinata, I could live with her marrying Naruto because they had a lot of deep interaction in the manga as well. Not the same amount as SasuNaru, mind you. But still. It was a ship I was feeling neutral about. I got why people shipped them and I let them. The manga hinted enough for me to feel okay enough to not rage although I so desperately hoped for SasuNaru!
SasuSaku was the ship I couldn’t get into my head. Not only did I despised Sakura (she had a horrible character most of the time, and she was such a selfish bitch) I even wrote one or two very mean fanfictions about her getting what she deserved in my eyes, I couldn’t understand the hype around her and Sasuke. She never did interact much with him, didn’t leave a big impact on him or his path so I wondered why the hell would Kishimoto pair her up with Sasuke? Why would people ship Sasuke with her although he clearly didn’t really like her, never really giving her so much as a secong glance. Nothing. Most of the manga he was cold towards her and ignored her.
I mean, I would’ve understand if Kishimoto had paired Sasuke up with Karin but Sakura? No, never.
Still, they were married to each other at the end of the manga and I was upset. A lot of SasuSaku shippers came back to my stories and wrote some very mean comments under them, laughing at me and my hopeless SasuNaru ship. Insulting me, my works and well my ship.
I felt down because of this, stopped writing fanfictions and looking into those stories I subscribed to because people were very hateful not only towards my otp but towards me as well. They insulted me on a very personal level just because I shipped a different pairing. They didn’t know me but thought it was alright to send me death threats because I liked SasuNaru more then SasuSaku...
And although I never really shipped Sasuke or Naruto with any other character but each other, I never went around and tried to force my opinion on others even if I had some valid arguments for this ship (people who read Naruto seriously and were not blinded by their own ship or the hate for another). And you know why that is? Because the people wouldn’t have given a shit about my arguments. There is no point in trying to convince them. They have their own arguments, their own moments in the manga they deemed important and that’s fine. I had them too.
If you asked me why I ship x with y I would tell you. Talk about how I see them, why I interpret this scene the way I do or why I think this is more important then that but I would never go around trying to force my ship onto you because like I said there is no use trying to do that. If you only like them or pretend to like the ship because I forced that onto you, you will never enjoy it the way that I do because it’s not the way you see it or want to see but the way I made you see it. Forced you to see it that way.
The reason why I decided to write this is, because there are a lot of very good artists and writers who are too ashamed to post their works of their favourite ships because of people who start attacking them and their work.
It takes courage to admit that you’re into a ship and even more to post your thoughts on them. Those people who put all their heart and talent into their artwork and stories and share them on whatever platform they are on, don’t share them for the haters of that ship but for those who enjoy them. They want to show their love and support for that ship.
Imagine the people of your favourite ship are attacked by haters and they’ll stop with what they’re doing because they’re too ashamed and too scared to do so because some idiots came to hate on them, wouldn’t you be sad that you’re not able to enjoy works for your ship anymore because some stupid useres thought it would be okay to insult them, threatening them or bad mouthing them? You would be angry too if people did that to your ship.
So tell me, why is your opinion more valid then any other? Do you think you have more rights then any other user has just because you ship xy? Would you just sit by and watch how your favourite ship gets butchered and shunned by other users just because they don’t like them? Would you stop posting your work just because other people tell you how wrong they are?
What I hate most about those shipping wars is, that those people who hate other ships and go around the internet to bully those who dare to enjoy different ships are those who post and share posts about love and how to beat racism and that all people and relationships are equal and all that other bullshit but as soon as I don’t like KiriBaku for example and am more of a BakuDeku shipper, those people creep out of their holes, insulting me and my ship, threatening me and trying to convince me how wrong I am. That’s what I call pathetic.
So do yourself a favour.. Chill your fucking base, because you could be in the same position.
If you don’t like a ship, then do yourself and every other user a favour and scroll past that post. Ignore them. Block those hashtags if you feel like it but please, don’t hate on them. You don’t want other people bad mouthing your ship then don’t do it yourself, it’s more easy then you think.
Like I said, people wont stop to love their ship just because you told them to. You wouldn’t do that either. You want to ship your pairings in peace and so does every other person as well. So why do you even bother telling them how wrong their ship is? Use your time more efficent. Draw some fanart, write some stories, share other people’s stuff or get yourself a nice hobby but stop being a whiny little kid and leave people be!
In my opinion, people who feel the need to go around the internet to hate on other ships or insult those who do are nothing more then a sorry excuse for a human being who are dissatified with themselve and their lives so that they feel the need to compensate their lack of happiness through spreading hate and make other people feel as bad as they do.
Stop attacking each other and start loving yourself more! Dragging people down doesn’t make you a better person...
jbbartram-illu
blakekathryn
ellievsbear
janainaart
jacobvanloon
gummygunk
yousharknotpass
