I love shipping characters with one another - just going through all the possibilities, thinking about which ones would fit well with one another is so much fun, though it definitely depends on the execution of their relationship.
Totally get what you mean, I've gone through all kinds of pairings. There are a few canon couples that I'm looking forward to seeing my readers' reaction of, but most of the time I hint at them and take my time to slowly "set the stage" for the romance part should it come to that. Just love letting things up to my readers' imagination at first and who knows if it will be revealed as canon later on It's both interesting and exciting to see other people reacting to possible pairings and it's often quite eye-opening as it gives you some sort of feedback on how the chemistry between two certain characters is according to someone else other than yourself.
It's definitely great to take your time with it and properly set the stage The one thing that could go wrong is that a reader might get it wrong. I actually feel like that's a thing that might happen to me a lot (in fact, I just realized it already did) XD What can I say? I'm evil and set traps knowing well how
a shipper's heart works (being one myself)
HAHA! See? @Dysis I'm not the only one
this is a great thread! ive definitely been through it with ships, but the main pairing of Stains is by faaaaarr my favourite, and came through super organically (i was writing a different au as writing practice and the MCs were roommates and well, they turned out to be perfect for each other). Casper's original romance is one that, since getting more realistic with my relationships, turned from being a 'guy forgets his troubles for his bf' ship, to realising that it'd actually just be an ... awful, awful relationship no matter that it sort of sticks, and so Jack's become almost an antagonist in the current novel.
Casper and Cain might still be 'good for each other and no one else', but they hit off each other SO WELL and they end up communicating too well when i write them to even write the 'miscommunication causes relationship issues' angle to stuff. I just can't even make it believable that they wouldn't sort stuff out before storming off and almost ruining things (hence the somewhat 'external' conflict to the romance in stains)
Drama is definitely really important when it comes to ships and i can seriously feel that from the way you describe your characters. it honestly makes the pair look even more authentic if or when they get back together The only times it can also break hearts is when things end even worse than you could think initially
So I ship together my two characters Hali and Conan. They maybe have a large age difference and have very different backgrounds, but they both are very creative types. He is a baker and loves music. And she is an artist and also has a great love of music. Together they have a strong connection based on their ability to fully trust the other and their willingness to protect the other from danger and make sacrifices. They encourage each other to grow and find strengths within their weaknesses. They never put down the other or discourage each other and communication their thoughts and needs.
I think as a content creator you kind of have to be prepared for someone to eventually ship characters together that isn't necessarily canon. It scares me slightly though, as there is a canon shipping in my story, only not present as of yet .
I made a small chibi drawing of them a while ago while I was at my last workplace !
My comic team definitely has ships for our characters! We do have the classic canon ship between two of our main characters, Kit and Tamal. They have a fun dynamic of Kit being a reckless criminal who is trying to keep everything secret from Tamal, meanwhile he tries everything in his power to snoop and figure out why she's so stand offish all the time. We like to refer to their ship as Olive Garden, since Tamal has plant powers and Kit is Italian.
But we do also ship Kit with her friend Birb. The two of them are both pretty reckless and have a rivalry together. They like to spar together. Their ship name is Time Flies, since Kit can control time and Birb has wings. I got some art commissioned of them a couple years ago.
vainglory is a multishipper's paradise. the primary conceit is that vainglory is pansexual and nonmonogamous, and the vast majority of characters featured are either in a relationship with her or one another. but it's not just all for fun. the extended canon was really developed as a way to explore the more interesting, less-discussed aspects of romance - no slow burn, will-they-won't-they here. only the weird stuff
One of my unfinished stories has an eventual pairing, but as I was figuring out some of the other characters, I realized that I shipped my main with a secondary except it also works really well for the story to have them get together and then realize that’s not the kind of relationship they need or want from each other, thus showing my main that the initial love interest is actually more who she’s looking for
I don’t usually do love triangles, but this one legit wrote itself in