User blog:Thewritersdiary/Enough With the Shipping Wars

This issue has always been at the back of my mind but with the start of Season 3 it has been especially present in my mind and it has come to the point that I can't just ignore it anymore and if I don't get this off my chest (and I would never dare to go to Twitter to do this or I would undoubtedly receive no end of hate) or I may actually go insane.

These shipping wars have gotten completely out of control. I am not naive. I know that on any TV show, it is unavoidable to have some level of animosity between passionate fans who ship different couples, but it seems that every single article, page, form of social media, and forum the majority of conversations revolve around people arguing over their ships (except maybe this Wikia, which is the only reason why I feel comfortable writing this here). For The 100, it's gotten to the point that I no longer even want to share that I ship a certain couple because I know that I will receive no end of passionate messages, many of which will be negative.

First of all, The 100 is not about the romance. It is about survival. Period. Yes, there are romantic subplots, but they are subplots. That is it. I'm beginning to question why people are really watching this show. It's concerning. Honestly, sometimes I will see a comment online and am seriously frightened for their sanity.

Probably the most prominent shippers in this feud are those of Clexa and Bellarke. The Bellarke shippers accuse Clexa shippers of insulting their ship whereas Clexa shippers accuse fans of Bellarke. To set something straight: it is not that one fandom is right and the other is wrong - both are equally guilty. To quote some of these shippers (and please excuse my language), a lot of Bellarke shippers constantly shit on Clexa and, likewise, a lot of Clexa shippers shit on Bellarke all the time. Not all of them, but a very loud and passionate minority. Both fandoms are in the wrong and both need to give their head a shake.

These pointless arguments lead to nothing. You insult one person's OTP, you have to expect them to get defensive - that's just how it works. If someone asks you why you do or do not ship something, it's fine to explain why, but you are just an idiot if you visit a Bellarke or Clexa fanpage with the intent of dragging on their ship. What are you looking to gain? A pat on the back? A "congratulations, you successfully created an angry mob of fangirls who want to hunt you down"? I'd say you achieved the latter pretty damn well.

I'll go on Jason Rothenberg's Twitter to check for some news about Season 3 and 90% of the comments revolve around Clexa or Bellarke and a number of other comments under those tweets explaining why their ship is "better". Seriously? It's pathetic and, frankly, it's ruining the experience of enjoying the show. Even though I don't necessarily agree with some of the ways that the writers and actors (mostly the writers) have chosen to communicate with some fans, I can't blame them. How do you deal with a lunatic? That's what I'd like to know. With how it is in the fandom, I wouldn't be surprised if neither Clexa or Bellarke end up happening, just to spite the people constantly on Jason and the other writers' backs about it.

The only thing I can see these shippers from receiving in return for their constant nagging is their ship getting thrown out of the window. Congratulations, you guys. You just blew it for everyone else who chose to root for a couple silently from afar, all because of your pointless meanderings about Clexa vs. Bellarke and which one is better. People are so incredibly dense. Asking the writers (or demanding, more like) to make your ship happen isn't going to do anything. I can guarantee that when the writers get together to decide on a new plot point, they don't go, "@bellarke_sucks123 asked me to kill off Bellamy and write a consummation scene between Clarke and Lexa. We better do it then!" To anyone who has done this before, let me ask you: what do you think you are going to gain from begging Jason Rothenberg to make your ship canon?

Absolutely nothing.

Personally, I think that all the writers know exactly what they're doing. They may act like they don't know what they'll do with the characters, but I think they have a pretty good idea of who ends up with who, if anyone. Remember, they wrote these characters and despite what you may think, probably understand them way better than any of us can.

Another thing that irritates me to no end is that people don't know how to tag their crap properly. Nearly half the things under the Bellarke or Clexa tags aren't even about either of those ships. They're just dragging them. If you are writing a rant about Clexa or Bellarke, fine - these things are bound to happen - but for the love of God, what satanic desire drove you to insult Clexa (or Bellarke) and then literally tag it to their fans so that they will all see it? Are you looking to start a fight? Because you're going to get one.

My greatest wish is that people will learn how to enjoy their ship without having to constantly prove that it is better than someone elses. Stop comparing ships. They are different. You can't just compare everything. You love Bellarke? Cool, go watch Bellarke fanvideos and read Bellarke fanfiction or create another Bellarke hug gif to accompany the thousands of other nearly indentical gifs - whatever the hell makes you happy. Don't go read a Clexa fanfiction just to get those two seconds of satisfaction from pointing out that a certain scenario hasn't happened. It's fanfiction - of course it hasn't happened. Relax. You're a die-hard Clexa fan? Nice, go express it all over forums or fanpages or whatever - so long as they're dedicated to Clexa fans, not Bellarke.

The thing is, it's fine to disagree with other people and to have your own opinion. It wouldn't be an opinion if people didn't disagree - that would be a fact. It's fine to dislike a character or even a ship; not everyone is going to be happy all the time. But just because you don't agree with something, doesn't make it right to attack and insult it. If it comes where you have to express your opinion on a certain ship, do it respectfully - don't say "Clexa is so stupid. They have no chemistry whatsover." Let people have their happiness and enjoy their ship. Because even if you were disappointed that, say, Clarke and Lexa kissed, it also made a lot of other people really happy. Let those people enjoy it! The same goes for Bellarke - that kiss on the cheek and hug may seem like nothing to you, but try to avoid going to Bellarke fanpages just to point out that it's only platonic. Those type of things really dampen the mood among the fandom and only serve to make things worse.

I truly think that fandoms are a wonderful thing. It is the only ideal way to express how you feel about characters and plot twists and explain all your theories to people who understand and are interested, versus your little brother who has never even watched the show. Fandoms keep people connected and create a community. Unfortunately, a few expressive people can manage to turn an online forum discussion into feeling more like work than fun, leaving a bitter taste in everyone's mouth who was involved.

I just feel that these ship wars are really creating a divide among The 100 fandom. The question used to be: are you a fan of The 100? Now it's: do you ship Bellarke or Clexa? How I see it is this: we're all fans of The 100, we all want our favourite characters to be happy, we all want the show to be renewed and I think that the writers should do whatever is going to achieve those things. As long as the show is still interesting, that's all I ask, even if it means that my ship doesn't happen and someone else's does. Why does there have to be this division among us? A message to the shippers out there: enjoy your ship and don't insult others. Let everyone do what makes them happy and try not to take anyone or anything on the show too seriously (yes, I know it's harder than it sounds sometimes). At the end of the day, it is just a fictional world, even though it may not feel like it. Stop nagging Jason and the other writers and harassing other fans. This fandom could benefit from a little more love and support for the other fans, and a whole lot less strife and negativity. My favourite things to see are when I see Bellarke shippers saying things like "wow, I think it's so great that The 100 has all of these LGBT presences on the show" or Clexa shippers who say "Bellamy and Clarke have such an awesome friendship". Not everything has to be negative. And yes, it is possible to praise a ship that isn't your own: I've seen it before. I've even seen fanpages for one ship that have posts dedicated to another in appreciation for them. That always makes me very happy. Everyone needs to stop with the accusations and take a look at the bigger picture. The 100 is a show about survival. That has been consistent from the start. There are hundreds of other shows that you can watch and pour your heart and soul into a couple, like Gossip Girl or The Vampire Diaries. The 100 isn't that show. Don't ruin the experience for everyone else. That is all.