Cliches are addictive if done right, no one will deny that.
Yep, I feel like an omnipresent creator hovering over them and looking after them as they grow...
I can't talk about who my ships are without spoiling them for readers. There are definitely characters I like together and intend to have get together, but I'm really interested to see who readers ship together, and whether it differs from my "canon" choices for pairings! I think some pairings that don't happen in the story could hypothetically happen in an alternate universe! 
It's actually the same reason a lot of people want to keep it hush hush XD I for one really want people to ship my characters, just because that tells me they care a lot. I just hope someone starts shipping the weird ones too XD Cuz the obvious ones are cute and all but getting all bizarre can be even more fun! Though I feel like mostly, readers have different tastes than the writer and that's what makes it interesting ^^ To see everyone's own ideas.
What do I think about shipping.... I mean, I'm illustrating a romance comic here 
. I like to ship characters that don't get along at first but can fall in love over the course of a series. Extra spicy if it happens at a different rate and we can clearly see attraction vs. mutual respect develop. I'm not the writer for my comic but I do hope/think that's how things will work out (no question of who is getting shipped for us because it's intended as a short/pilot series so it's the 2 mcs).
Aww if only I could draw well... One could never stop me XDDD That's definitely a fun archetype to have them go from hating eachother to liking eachother but i realize I don't think I actually have a ship like that. I've read quite a few stories with those kinds of ships and always enjoyed it though <3 And don't worry! Secrecy is respected here too 
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) 
I'm hearing an evil laugh in the background as I read this Well, that is a valid point. In general, I have way too much fun setting up traps for my readers and giving them all kinds of different leads and directions things could point to
I have pure paranormal romances, meaning every story has its own couple... haha so every story a ship I guess
HAHA! See? @Dysis I'm not the only one 
You're all so evil. So evil. 
Don't do this to me. I always end up shipping the non cannon ones and end up feeling their unrequited love first hand.
Ship per story lol! idk why I've never actually done that. Guess my style is to just throw everything in a massive bin and call it a story filled with drama and awkward romance 
yeah hahaha.
I have six stories that make up the series arch. and every book has a character/romance arch
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 