I think it’s okay to ship Finn and Noah.
Please give me the benefit of the doubt. This is gonna be a long post.
I don’t think real-person-shippers are bad people, like some of you often insinuate (or blatantly state). Here’s how I view this:
We often tend to daydream about our crushes, right? Picture ourselves in situations with them, plan our lives and even analyze our dynamic and compatibility as a potential couple. We wonder if they like us back and/or how we could make them like us back. That even includes questioning the sexuality of the crush.
That’s shipping ourselves with this person.
We also do it with our friends. ”Ohh I wonder if this person likes you back… you two would be so cute together!”
So we also ship our friends with their crushes. (unless our friends have horrible taste)
Reading the possible/potential signs of mutual attraction is not only okay but necessary in the dating scheme.
Imagining you and your crush as a couple is also necessary, because that’s how you can learn if you’d even like the relationship and what exactly would it need for you to like it.
Why do we ship fictional characters? Byler for example. There are many answers, but let’s summarise it in ”We like their dynamic.” Just like we’d like the dynamic of ourselves with someone or our friend with someone.
Not all people are ”dynamics-enjoyers.” Not all people are shippers. But if you are, you can’t really help it. Certain dynamics are just so appealing to you. I’d say it’s natural.
We can’t control our thoughts but we can control what we say. I know there are a lot of Byler shippers who also ship Foah but don’t admit it out loud. Some of them are ashamed for it, some are just hiding from the bullies.
There is nothing wrong in finding Finn and Noah’s dynamic cute. There is nothing wrong in wondering if they’re together. There’s nothing wrong in wondering if it’s possible for them to be together some day. There’s nothing wrong in wondering if Finn is queer. (<- Before you wanna argue about that, check the disclaimers.)
Because there’s a difference between shipping and harassing. We can enjoy the dynamic and talk about it without it crossing the line.
What is the line, then? I’d say the line is when the people in question can’t ignore it. Here’s some examples:
A tiktok edit of cute Foah moments?
A tumblr post analyzing Finn and Noah’s behavior around one another?
A reddit comment saying ”Foah is so cute together 💕” ?
Very ignorable (it’d get downvoted so fast that they likely won’t ever see it)
Harassing their real life partners (if they got those) for ”forcing them into a relationship with them against their will?”
Pestering them with questions about them everywhere they go together, making it uncomfortable for them to be seen together?
Spreading your own interpretation of them like a proven fact, refusing to admit that you don’t actually know?
Can’t ignore. (there’s always people who won’t fact check and will just help spreading it)
Forcing them to come out?
Commenting 25 GIFs of their characters kissing under every single instagram post they make? (iykyk 🙃)
Possibly can be ignored but I’d still find it disturbing.
One might argue that it’s easier to just draw the line in no real-people-ships at all, than trying to draw the line based on semantics and posting platforms.
But one might also argue that it’s easier to just not ship fictional characters either to avoid all complications it may cause.
I’m not one. I ship Byler and I ship Foah too. The extent of my shipping is different between those ships, since Byler is permanently renting room in my brain and Foah is something that comes and goes, but I find enjoyment in both dynamics. I know that my interpretations of the dynamics are just mine and I don’t expect others to see what I see, Noah and Finn themselves included, but if someone does see what I see, I’m happy to appreciate the ships together.
In conclusion: Shippers’ poor behaviour is not shipping. It’s just poor behaviour. Shipping is shipping and as such it’s okay.
Disclaimers you need to read before commenting:
I’m not saying that everybody should ship Foah/real-people-ships. I’m just saying that the ones who do so are not necessarily hurting anybody and therefore shouldn’t be shamed for it.
I’m also not saying that shipping real people is the good/right thing to do. I’m just pointing out that it’s not that different than any other ”form” of shipping.
I understand that there are a lot of different situations to which what I said can’t be directly applied to. We can discuss those, but there’s no need to intentionally come up with the most complex cases possible just to challenge me or ”prove me wrong.”
I know that me saying this might make people uncomfortable for various different reasons. Take your time!
This doesn’t excuse anyone who has been shamed by real-person-ship -antis to shame them back.
If someone manages to point out something I haven’t thought about and it ends up changing my mind, then I do.
I won’t lose my marbles if Foah never really happens.
Thank you for reading! Have a nice day! 💚
