Ships That Pass in the Night: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

So you like to ship Bob and Alice. The only problem you have is the fact that Bob and Alice have exchanged little more than a few lines with one another and there seems to be little to no interaction between the two.

 

 

It's especially [[Mood Whiplash]] if no transition period is shown and the couple is suddenly [[Strangled by the Red String]].

** This may have something to do with the fact that [[Theme Pairing|they are of similar ages and have similar and/or identical professions]].

*** And with the fact that, even before the time skip, some people responsible for Naruto merchandise had seemingly latched onto this fan preferred couple and produced an astounding number of merchandise with only the two of them (these included, back in 2006, posters, mousepads and mugs).

** Some fairly well-known ships are between characters who never speak '''at all'''. Sasuke/Hinata (pictured above) is one such example, even though Hinata only talked about Sasuke once in the manga. Of course, a fair potion of that ship's popularity might stem from the fact that it [[Pair the Spares|removes the two competing love interests]] for the the Naruto/Sakura pairing.

** Also, Naruto with ''[[Launcher of a Thousand Ships|nearly every female and male character]]''.

* Eriol and Tomoyo from ''[[Cardcaptor Sakura]]'' are a textbook example. They have a handful of conversations, all about other people, and the numerous fans take that as a sign of deep connection and possibly also current affections. Not to mention the fact that in the manga, Eriol/Kaho is indicated as canon and Tomoyo was in love with Sakura. The less popular ships Touya/Tomoyo, Touya/Meiling, and Eriol/Meiling are even better examples, as the two halves only interact on one or two occasions.

* Asuka/Kaworu seems to have some popularity in ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' fandom, despite the two never interacting in canon. This is probably because of a combination of non-Shinji/Asuka writers [[Cleaning Up Romantic Loose Ends]], and the comedy value of Asuka's [[Tsundere]] nature struggling against Kaworu's [[Dissonant Serenity]].

*** Shinji/Hikari isn't ''too'' implausible, but naturally needs some kind of push to make it work in canon since the two characters almost never talk directly to each other. There ''are'' several fanfics for this pairing that have been well-written enough to end up on the [[Fan Fic Recommendations]] list.

** Rei/Kaworu also qualifies; they never talked, and Rei said exactly two lines relating to Kaworu. There are people who find this squickier than Shinji/Rei... although, to be fair, the squick factor of the latter depends on {{spoiler|how much of Shinji's mom's genetic material you think was used to make Rei.}}

** Notably, Yuuno is the main competitor with Fate to Nanoha's heart and Hayate is one of Nanoha's best friends, meaning that Yuuno/Hayate is a good way of getting the two characters involved in a fic without interfering with the [[Girls Love|Fate/Nanoha]] or resorting to more... [[Die for Our Ship|vindictive]] measures.

* The ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]]'' fandom can be justified in doing this, since the characters are countries and the story is based off of [[Real Life|history]]. Even if the author has not covered a time where the nations interact, fans can call upon their history classes or [[The Other Wiki]] for evidence of their ship for fan works. A list of them can be found [[Axis Powers Hetalia/Ships That Pass in The Night|here]]

*** There's also a small following for Renji/Orihime, mixing with [[Ship Mates]] if it comes from Ichigo/Rukia fans who don't want bash them to get them out of the way. While it ''is'' true that Renji followed Ichigo's quest to save Orihime alongside Rukia, they haven't really interacted either

** Another pairing that's become extremely popular in fanfics recently is Toshiro/Karin, despite the fact their only interaction was in an anime-only filler episode.

*** Yeah, but it was kind of cute filler. What about the Kenpachi/Unohana shippers out there? People only give this pairing any consideration because they figure the two have ''had to'' interact with each other at some point because of how prone Zaraki is to getting huge, bloody wounds.

** Ukitake/Nemu seems to be gaining a nice following. As does Byakuya/Yachiru, thanks to their interaction during the Shinigami's Cup omake, as well as a severe case of [[Older Than She Looks]] as Yachiru is apparently close to fifty years old.

** Most of the Arrancar pairing are like this, as they rarely interact with each other. Stark/Harribel (who appeared several times in the same rooms, but never spoke to each other) and Grimmjow/Nelliel (who canonically never interacted with each other) are the two most famous examples.

* ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'''s Silent Shipping. The one little scene where Seto and Shizuka interact sent many fangirls' hearts aflutter: according to the shippers, Kaiba agreed to get medical treatment for Bakura because Shizuka openly begged him to do so (as shown by how he makes the decision shortly after Shizuka speaks up), showing that he holds her in higher regard than the rest of the cast.

** Another good example is Ryuzaki and Shizuka, who have never met and probably don't know the other even exists. The pairing was likely spawned PURELY out of the fact that Jounouchi would flip a shit, causing angst (or lulz, depending on the writer).

* ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro ni|Higurashi]]'' has Keiichi/Satoshi shippers... even though not only do the two never meet (until Kira comes out), but Keiichi is more of a [[Lovable Sex Maniac]] and Satoshi was a more serious [[Expy]] of Keiichi to begin with.

** Sakaki doesn't talk much at all, so there's that too. And they do talk a little at least once ([[Crowning Moment of Funny|"There's bear in that."]]).

** They're also both cool-headed, much more so compared to the other girls, which can definitely count as an appeal in a show full of quirky people like Azumanga.

* Back in the day, Matt and Mimi from ''[[Digimon Adventure|Digimon]]''. They never interacted at all. They ''did'' stand next to each other a few times, though. The reason they were such a popular ship was because everyone paired all the characters according to "hierarchy": Tai and Sora because they were the male and female leads (and because they had actual [[Fan-Preferred Couple|chemistry]]), TK and Kari because they were the two [[Toy Ship|youngest]], and Matt and Mimi because... they were [[Pair the Spares|the only boy-girl pair left]]. There were Izzy and Joe, of course, but they were both [[Hollywood Nerd|really nerdy]], and weren't [[Troubled but Cute]] like Matt. (And yes, this meant that Izzy and Joe were often [[Slash Fic|paired together]] - even though ''either'' of them would have been a better match for Mimi).

** They both digged music as well. Or at least had something to do with music. Matt with his harmonica and Mimi with her singing. Not sure if any fanwork took advantage of it, but there's that.

* ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'' has a small fanbase dedicated to Greed/Riza. Who have appeared in the same CHAPTER maybe all of twice.

* ''[[Gundam Wing]]'': Trowa/Relena is a decently popular het alternative for [[OTP|Heero/Relena]] (at least among those who don't want Relena to [[Die for Our Ship|die in a fire]]); however, the sum total of their interaction throughout ''Wing'' canon is nine lines of dialog, all related to Heero. Then there's the fact that such a ship could be seen as [[Loving a Shadow]], since Trowa and Heero are remarkably similar [[The Stoic|personality-wise]], an idea quite a few 3XR fanfics run with.

* ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' has its fair share. One of the most popular ones is Hotaru/Shingo due to their similar ages. They’re never actually seen together, though as Chibiusa's close friends, it is plausible that they have met off-screen. Sometimes it is done [[Pair the Spares|to allow Ami (whom Shingo crushes on) to be in with someone else]].

* Someoka/Fubuki seemed to have become extremely popular in the ''[[Inazuma Eleven]]'' fandom a long, ''long'' time before the two shared any decent amount of screentime, having spent an arc and a half (about 50 episodes) taking turns getting [[Put on a Bus]] starting shortly after Fubuki's introduction. Most of the shipping seems to have stemmed from a single scene where the two share a heartwarming friendship moment conversing on the Inazuma General Hospital rooftop. It'd be another two dozen or so episodes after that before they actually end up as simultaneously active teammates for any prolonged period of time.

* One of the more hilarious plot twists in the most recent ''[[Haruhi Suzumiya]]'' novels was the revelation that {{spoiler|[[Casanova Wannabe|Taniguchi]] once dated [[Humanoid Abomination|Kuyou]] for a short time.}} The two had never interacted before this and the pairing was [[Crack Pairing|so out there]] that this could be considered a canon example.

* [[Loveless]] fans have the suprisingly popular [[Perpetual Smiler|Kio]]/[[Ill Boy|Yayoi]].

* Jon/Dany is probably one of the most popular ships in the ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' series, despite the fact they live on different continents and that the former [[Celibate Hero|has taken a vow of celibacy]]. It helps that they're probably the closest that the series has to protagonists, and may well be the "Ice" and "Fire" referred to in the title.

** It's also expected that they'll have lots of interaction later on in the series considering that Jon has essentially dedicated his life to defending the realm against the Others and the popular theory that Dany is destined to fight them also.

** Also some quite suggestive symbolic dreams.

** An odder ship seen though is Arya/Edric Storm. They haven't even met yet.

* Molly Carpenter/Carlos Ramirez is a fairly popular pairing in the ''[[The Dresden Files]]'' fandom. The sum total of their interactions consist of Carlos offering Molly a hand grenade.

** One possible factor is Carlos having expressed his appreciation of Molly's looks to Harry and goes on about what he'd like to do with her. Though bear in mind that Carlos [[Casanova Wannabe|fancies himself a ladies' man]] and Molly [[Hello, Nurse!|is just that hot]].

* [[Atlanta Nights]] does this to itself. One chapter features two characters who have never spoken before or since running away to get married, and another has a character contemplating suicide over his unrequited love for a character he has never shared a scene with.

 

* On the third generation of ''[[Skins]]'', there is a rare canon example with Franky and Matty, who have exchanged relatively few lines for people who are supposedly ''destined'' to be together.

** There are lots of fandom examples too. Cook/Katie, Effy/Emily, James/Paddy, Tony/Cassie, etc. There are even some across the generations, like Tony/Katie and Naomi/Michelle.

* The ''[[Grimm (TV)|Grimm]]'' fandom features a sizeable fan base for Barry Raeb/Roddy Piper. The two have never met and would most likely be natural enemies (one is a bear, the other is a rat), but they are both [[Cute but Troubled]].

* There is an anthology of [[Suite Life On Deck]] stories called The Strange Love Collection which exists pretty on this trope. Examples include [[Wizards of Waverly Place|Alex Russo]] and London's [[Stalker with a Crush]] Corrie, Addison and the Russian chess champ Sasha and Bailey and Jessica (which actually [[Hilarious in Hindsight|preceded]] their [[Les Yay]] in a later episode

* ''[[Fire Emblem]]: Rekka no Ken'' fandom was quite fond of Wil/Florina for a while.

* ''[[Star Ocean: Till the End of Time]]'' has Albel and Nel, two soldiers from warring kingdoms. Plenty of opportunities for [[Foe Yay]], but they mostly ignore each other in the script. Doesn't stop the shippers from using Albel as the [[Gay Option|Straight Option]] for Nel.

* Any and all Organization XIII shipping in the ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'' fandom. It's not so bad for the members who appear in ''Chain of Memories'', but the members in ''[[Kingdom Hearts]] 2'' have essentially no interaction and only appear by themselves. The Director's Cut edition adds a few scenes between them, but all they do is [[The Omniscient Council of Vagueness|growl about The Plan]].

** ''358/2 Days'' may help with this, provided you're not trying to ship the Castle Oblivion group and don't mind emotionless hatesex. However, it still doesn't explain the absurd popularity of the Zexion/Demyx ship. Never in ''any'' of the games do the two of them ''ever'' interact with one another.

* A fair number of ''[[Danny Phantom]]'' fans support [[Opposite Sex Clone|Dani]]/[[Creepy Child|Youngblood]], even though they never meet in the series. The logic is that they're the only two recurring "kid" characters; everyone else is a teenager or adult.

* A lot of ''[[The Princess and the Frog]]'' fans seem to ship [[Spoiled Sweet|Charlotte LaBouff]] and [[Witch Doctor|Dr. Facilier]], even if they never canonically interacted. This also ignores the detail of Facilier trying to kill Lottie's beloved father.

* A small number of ''[[Hey Arnold!]]'' fans pair [[Stalker with a Crush|Brainy]]/[[Parody Sue|Lila]] as a [[Ship Mates]] for [[Official Couple|Helga/Arnold]]. It's [[Pair the Spares]] to be sure, but when you consider that Lila liked Arnie, who's possibly even ''weirder'' than Brainy, it actually makes a bit of sense.

* In the season 22 finale of ''[[The Simpsons]]'', Ned Flanders and Edna Krabappel, two of the few characters in the show's [[Loads and Loads of Characters|large cast]] who have never interacted, start dating.

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Shipping Tropes]]

[[Category:YMMV Trope]]

[[Category:Ships That Pass in the Night]]