Do you Pre-ship?

[shrimpzilla 3]

On 2/17/2022 at 9:33 PM, Pepper said:

If I may?

 

What is pre ship?

When before the characters interact with each other in game you and the other writer have decided they will get together.

[Pepper 10]

3 hours ago, shrimpzilla said:

When before the characters interact with each other in game you and the other writer have decided they will get together.

 

Ahhh....

 

Thank you shrimpzilla!!!

 

Now that I KNOW what "pre-ship" is, I do NOT. I prefer to let the story go where it will. 

[Erin_ 1]

I have witnessed this happening on other sites I have written on. The second-hand cringe has been so strong that I avoid this as much as I can. My usual strategy is to plot through ships or at least define an NPC ship for my character before fully creating and writing with them.

[Lorelai 6]

I will, but normally only if there's a very specific scenario/dynamic that I'm looking for. Otherwise, I usually find that organic ships are just way better. They usually have more chemistry, a fun dynamic and they usually end up being my favorite ships. 

[Stcrmwcrning 2]

I do not usually pre-ship unless we've talked beforehand and planned out the ship or I know the other writer and ship other characters with them. 

 

My reason for this is because I've had problems in the past with shipping when my shipping partner has gotten angry with me when real life keeps me away for a few hours to a day and or they don't like me being friends with or chatting with anyone but them.

 

That has made me cautious about who I ship my characters with so I prefer at least chatting and plotting beforehand.

[Troupe_Master_Grimm 3]

I usually make my characters Ace or some form of Demi/Sapiosexual in hopes that people avoid trying to get in their pants.

I also use odd FC's that may not be as popular as a well-known FC. As both a further prevention method, and because it's fun.

[Lost Boy 18]

Rarely, honestly its only with a player I know pretty well. Even then its more of a 'they have the hots for each other but not together...together' then we see if our pre planned 'chemistry' actually shows up in our posts. If so, then we go for it, if not, well, it was fun.

[Prophecyte 0]

I think it's okay to plot, to an extent, because that's what you need to engage your partners sometimes. Now I enjoy sudden connections that happen by writing about how a character might feel about them, rather it's a surprise to the writer or not. Personally I prefer not to preplot relationships unless they're in the past rather than the future.

 

Overall, it's not bad, but personal preference.

[Untold Tales 2]

On 10/12/2020 at 4:55 AM, Morrigan said:

So I've been roleplaying for.... lets just say a really long time.

 

As it stands one of my biggest pet peeves of RP is sometimes "expected ships". You have this PB so you must be my XYZ!!!! Normally XYZ is my significant other. So the person has no idea what your character is about, if your characters are compatible or hell..... anything more than you used a face they are, in fact, in love with.

 

For me its a daunting thing. I don't choose a lot of PBs that people see and by default demand a romantic or similar relationship with but when I do.... its like they expect me to drop everything and fill their fantasies.

 

As such, over the past few years I've developed RP partners and tactics to avoid this.

 

How? you may ask?

 

Well for me I utilize my RP partners as exclusive ships for particular reasons. So I don't leave romance up to "OMG YOU'RE USING THAT FACE!" I additionally choose to have most of my characters in an existing relationship, even if the character is an NPC. It limits the crazy of people trying to ship with me based on nothing more than a PB it also makes my characters easier to play because I'm not there to jump on someone sexually in every thread.

 

So... for me... Do you pre-ship? Do you have RP partners that you exclusively or mostly exclusively ship with? How do you get around the "I want to bone your PB" dilemma but still get to enjoy your RP?

Honestly, it really just depends. There are a couple of peeps I do pre-ship with while there are times I prefer to let things happen naturally with whomever. I don't think there's any right or wrong, here- I think it's whatever fits the character and what will help unwind their story accordingly. After all, some ships don't work out, writers drop and life happens. 

[Nypromi 1]

I can go with either or.

 

Though, some pre-ships tend to fail a lot faster then random ships because the other player will ghost the site or just leave meaning my character is left in the dust but that can be turned around and the ship can be altered.

 

I like going in blind at times, it brings in a challenge to develop my character from scratch on a site with other people. I am not apposed to pre-ship but I like the abilities and challenges both bring. Either side has good and bad to it. Randoms may never happen and you could just be developing on your own with NPC's which has happened before and its fine. We are writing to create a story and a character the way we want, so if that is what it takes then that's what it takes. 

[amaikaorii 0]

yes, I am an exclusive shipper with my current rp partner of nine years. I've had soooo many bad experiences with people wanting relationships and then getting weird and clingy in an ooc way that I just don't risk it anymore, and it's been the same for him too, so we pre-ship our characters together, and it definitely works for us. I do find though that sometimes people seem a little intimidated, or less interested in rping with us because there's no chance for romance, which is disappointing. Romance is fine and all, but it shouldn't be the be all and end all of relationships between characters. I have just as many married friends as I do single, and I don't chase after them in real life wanting romance, so..can't we just be friends? Enemies? Pack mates? Work friends? Acquaintances? Family members??? So many other options!

[Rhindeer 217]

I only pre-plan romance with my closest writing partners (my husband, close friends), because we know each other, our characters, our likes and style, enough that we can create characters for each other and just know they'll have chemistry. It's super fun to do it in those cases! Pretty much, when I play with those people, we pretty much know our characters are getting together except in rare cases, lmao.

 

In other cases, nah, I like to feel it out and see what happens.

[Reaper 3]

Ok, so I have a little bit of an odd answer to this. I have to and I don't at the same time. 

 

I have to be at least attracted to the character's faces in order to see if shipping is possible. Some faces have onscreen partners that are fun when looking at the chemistry. However, I can't and don't fully ship ahead of posting. I kinda look at like potentials. I'd like to see if they mesh well for a romance story line. I've had many stories were I started preshipping characters before they played together and it end horribly. I've had one memorable time where I had preshipped and that character went and fell for someone else. The original player I was shipping with was fine and even happy to see what they would do with an unrequited romance and I found alot of fun with the player my character connect with. It's a funny world out there and I don't think it's good or bad to preship. I just think looking at two faces and be like "Oh it might be fun to try this out" and go from there. I feel more connected shipping and plotting with other writers than I ever do with their actual characters, so there is that. 

[Katie Bell 1]

I actually very strongly dislike pre-shipping. I won't do it, especially if its just based on the characters pb's. Even just a general overview like on an app doesn't really tell me much about how a character is actually going to act or interact with my own. 

 

My preferred type of roleplaying in general is without pre-planning much. I want the freedom to develop my character as I go & see how other characters respond to mine and how they get along before anything happens. I've actually went so far as to make my site organic & having no shippers or want ads to help create the free environment I have been craving. Some of my best stories I've written with others had no plans whatsoever. 

 

When it comes to writing with specific partners I have no preferences for it. I'm very open and happy to write with anyone & everyone. Its all about how our characters get along and the stories we create together. 

[Shade 0]

I understand why people might want to "pre-ship", but I don't think I ever have. I prefer relationships of any kind to develop naturally through play, otherwise for me it's hard to get a sense of how they interact without it feeling contrived

Edited July 29, 2023 by Shade