SHIP

“I ship them together!”

“They are my OTP!!”

“My ship is real.”

These are the common things you will hear if you’re actively joining certain fandom. I’m talking about any fandom in general. Directioners, Beliebers, J-Pop or… SONES are all fandoms.

There is nothing wrong with shipping certain pair of people. They look cute together so we ship them. It’s normal.

It’s all good, until you ship them in a hardcore way.

Hardcore shipping is like living in a box where there is only one hole to see outside. And outside that hole is what we want to see. We feel happy to see the pair we ship being with each other, it’s like the light shining down from the hole and lighten up the box we’re trapped in. But when they’re separated or being with other people we don’t like, it’s like the light had been taken completely and it’s all pitch black again.

It’s not a healthy thing. IT’S NOT.

Hardcore shipping will make you believe what you think is real is happening.

Why?

Because you see they are holding hands so often so they must be in a relationship.

They always stand next to each other it must be because they can’t stand being apart from one another.

They exchange glances and smiles in public because they want to make sure their other half was there.

Their hug is different than the others because it is filled with pent up emotions and longing of love.

They poke each other and are playful because they were teasing each other and can’t wait to get alone later.

“It’s just normal things that friends do,” said someone, and you said “Nooooo!”

Why?

Because you and a group of other friends who are also shippers think they are more than just friends. You guys talk about it every day in twitter, chatrooms and forums. You guys even have screencaps of proofs (that you take when they randomly looking at each other) so they must be dating in secret. Heck they even share clothes it must be because they were sharing a room the night before! You even have secret insider info about their secret relationship that you don’t even know where the source came from but who cares? It must be real.

Because you and the shippers agreed it’s real.

Because you read countless of FAN FICTIONS about them being hot with each other and it must be real. Some of the fanfics that your friends wrote even go into detail about what they do in bedroom and how they do it so it must be based from real events!

And then you see your shipped pair onstage with the other members. And you can’t help but to look for ‘moments’ between them. Even when they are separated and doing exactly the same thing they do with each other but with other members, nah you look past all that.

But when your shipped pair suddenly brushed shoulders, then look at each other and smile, IT’S LOVE. I mean, they only look at each other that way. It’s not like you really care about other members interaction (others could be playfully kissing and hugging but they all don’t matter), but you know your shipped pair have something special by just that glance. You just know.

You even relate anything that’s not even related to their relationship. Like when you saw one of them stretched body when they wake up from a TV show, and your mind goes automatically to your shipped pairing. It must be how she stretched when they’re doing it! You even macro it and share it to the world and think it’s cute.

And then you heard rumors about the pair that you ship might dating some guys. You go on hating on that guy and call him names. And when other people agree that one of your shipped pair and the guy are really dating, you call them delusional. Simply because it don’t make any sense to you. Why would she date that guy when she’s perfectly happy in a relationship that you know exist? So others arguments are invalid. Even when the guy and she are spotted wearing couple items and giving blatant hint, you know they are just made up stuffs that the delusionals made. Tsk tsk. Don’t they have a life? You wonder.

And then you go to their TV recordings. Great! You are closer to them. The interviewer asked question about whom their ideal type is and you shout out their names. Of course, right? They are in love with each other so it’s no question. You are actually helping them answering that question. You saw your shipped pair faces turned red and you think it’s because they’re shy.

And then you go to their fan singing events. This is the opportunity you have! It’s finally time for you to prove that your shipped pair is real to the non-believers! So you go up to them with your paper and asked them to sign on it. You asked questions about their ‘relationship’ and asked them to circle the answer. You write sentences in language they don’t really master and asked them to agree on it. And then you share it with the world. So what if your idol just signed in agreement during that less than a minute fansign with her that ‘she’s the bottom in a gay relationship’? It’s funny. And duh, it’s true anyways.

 

 

HEY.

IT’S NOT FUNNY.

IT’S NOT CUTE.

IT’S…

 

 

Okay stop.

Don’t you remember the time when you first discover this group?

You were so happy listening to their songs; they are cute and dancing in sync. You watch that same music videos countless of times just to hear the song and watch them dance. You even imitate the dance when you even hate dancing. You listen to them when you’re sad; you listen to them when you’re bored. They lift you up when you’re down.

This group.

You don’t even know the members name, but you know you like this group…

no, you love this group.

 

But, what happened since then?

Now all you can see and think about is the two members that you ship together. You heart hurts when they’re sitting away from each other when it’s completely normal and became depressed when they are rumored dating other guys when they’re already at the age to date men.

You might not realize it, but you’re neglecting other members and only see your ship. You no longer enjoy their music as much as you did back then; you’re more looking forward to see the interaction of your favorite pair.

And you don’t really care what you did as a hardcore shipper.

Have you forgotten that the group members are human beings too? Have you forgotten that they have feelings? Or that they have life outside their glitz and glamorous job?

It’s not fair for us fans to do this to them. You’re accusing them being in a romantic relationship with each other when they are close like sisters. How would you feel if people accuse you dating your own sister?  Since when does holding hands between good friends translates to a secret affair?

Remember that idols are people too just like us, they have lives. They go out and hang out with group of friends that we don’t know, spend time with their families, go on dates, went through heartbreaks and problems of everyday life. They don’t live like how we picture them do in fan fictions.

Sorry if I talked too much. Some may feel irritated reading this like, what does she know about hardcore shipping? She doesn’t have the right to judge us and all.

Well, the thing is, I know. I was a hardcore shipper once.

And I’m writing this because I feel responsible and I can’t take it anymore. I can’t just sit and do nothing and let the young fans corrupt themselves. You know better to stay away from hardcore shipping and just enjoy them as a group. Or just adore them for their cute and dorky sisterly interactions. If you’re too young to read the smut fanfics, you know you should stay away from it. Even if you’re old enough, too much of it is not good for your mind.

I know I’m being ironic because I’m a writer too, and at times I write a few graphic things in my story but truthfully, I regret it. I know I have young readers and as an adult, I should know better than writing things like that. I’m sorry, I was being irresponsible.

 

I love my fandom.

I know not everyone is like that but I hope those people can be more rational and stop treating the girls as if they’re only objects of people’s imagination.

If you love them, treat them with respect.

They had done so much to make their fans happy, it’s the least thing we can do as fans.