My Thoughts on Shipping

Hermittpad Shipping - Okay or Wrong?

Sam Bird | 15/09/2020 | 8:52 PM

Almost everyone on the Hermittpad Fandom has argued about shipping Hermits at some point in their life on their announcement boards. As neutral as I can be, I decided not to write about what I like, but to write an article about all of it and also because I hope @HermittpadRecap notices and asks me to send them this Google Doc draft so that they can post it on their books.

Shipping is known to be a common tradition in most fandoms, it not only creates arguments between people, but it also creates friendships, one friendship back in 2019 was created by an author who wrote a book about Grian x Mumbo, which caught the attention of an artist who drew out a scene from a specific chapter, the author took notice of this and immediately made personal contact with the said artist, kicking off a great friendship. Shipping brings out opinions that others relate to, creating a constantly growing team that some even consider family.

Yet there are people that criticize shippers, saying that it is "Inhumane", "Gross", "Disgusting" etc. In some ways, these people are understandable. Some ships can be seen as "Wrong", especially if YouTubers have already announced that they are uncomfortable with it and ask for it to stop. Those who say that they are "only shipping the YouTuber's personas" are seen as someone making nothing but an excuse. Some shippers take their ships too far in a sexual way, which could make YouTubers uncomfortable.

But there has been one YouTuber from a Minecraft SMP series called MermitCraft who has announced on a social app called Tumblr that it is okay to ship them if people feel that way. They also mention that if one doesn't appreciate shippers, then they don't have to go out and throw hands if they have the option to not respond and simply block the said shipper without causing issues. If the YouTubers ever announce that they are uncomfortable with them being shipped, then the shippers will stop. They're still people behind the screens, they do know their limit.

In the end, every fandom splits into two for specific reasons, that doesn't mean we have to argue with each other all the time. The internet is the internet. People are still people; They will argue at some point. Everyone must stand their ground at some point, not everyone will agree with others, but that doesn't matter, there will still be at least one person who agrees, and if they are loyal enough to stay with your opinion, then the number of people who agree with you will eventually agree. That's important to remember because, in the end, we're all people, we can easily work things out if we try. Throwing hands, arguing, violence, etc... it's not the answer, trust me, there are better ways.