Happy Valentine’s Day! Love is in the air or that could be the pollen from flowers that I’m sneezing at. Anyway, each year GLAAD puts together statistics of LGBTQ characters and the percentage of representation. I could go into that, but truthfully, I want to focus on the positive things in life. Specifically, what ships we love and why we love them so much.
Personally, I love Xena and Gabrielle. Yes, I know they might be from the 90s and never officially were together on screen. I’ve also never referred to them by an actual ship name, although I’ve heard Xabby floating around. Beyond all that, they had a real chemistry from their humor to the serious issues. I mean, who hasn’t had a rip roaring fight with the one they love? Granted, my wife and I never did it in song or with mystical creatures, but the result was the same. They made up. Xena and Gabrielle lived on the road and remained steadfast to one another. That is until that series finale, which I refuse to accept, happened. It doesn’t hurt that I met my wife at a Xena convention, but love is love no matter where you find it.
That being said, I can easily follow SwanQueen, WayHaught (because Dominique Provost-Chalkley, Katherine Barrel, Emily & the writers are all in on this relationship - it feels so authentic) and so many, many more. Let’s see what some members from QFX Events said:
Shivy: CLEXAAAAAAAA
“Fav LGBTQ+ ship of all time because they developed so naturally over three seasons and fell in love despite their people’s differences and it was further proof that you cannot stop love from happening when it is meant to be.”
Antje: SwanQueen
“I was going through a rough break up when I discovered Once (early second season) and immediately fell in love with Regina. Their chemistry was undeniable, and the fandom was so so talented. I love love love SwanQueen FanFics.”
Jill: SwanQueen
“It was one of the first ships I talked to anyone out loud about - revealing my potential gayness to a new friend who eventually became my wife.”
Nikki: Emisue
“Because Hailee Steinfeld LOL.”
Ashley: The Tenth Doctor and Rose: I can’t put it into words, they are everything together.
Jadzia Dax and Worf: The love and respect they have for each other isn’t something I feel like you see very often. They are both very strong characters, but they don’t try to dominate each other, they really support each other and I really like that.
Xena and Gabrielle. They are goals. Best friends who would literally die for each other.
Nicole and Waverly: This needs no explanation.
Kara and Lena: I think falling for your best friend can be hard not to do, especially with women like Kara and Lena.
Alex and Sara: One they are hilarious together. But they also are a good balance for each other. Alex is really serious and by the book, whereas Sara is definitely more spontaneous.
Kara and Barry: I love Superflash. There aren’t many characters who I think are completely perfect for each other, but these two definitely are. They are so sweet, smart and caring.
Divina: Yorkie & Kelly
I have many, but one that really will be special to me is Yorkie and Kelly from San Junipero. That Black Mirror episode gutted me after I watched it. It hit me way harder than I thought it would. In fact, it introduced me to YouTube reaction videos. I had to see if other people felt the same way I did. Soon after, I started my own reaction channel and the rest is history.
Ria: Clexa (Clarke/Lexa of The 100) - The Clexa Ship of dreams that was taken away too soon, however it gave us amazing content to get creative with. There is something about a disaster Bi and secretly soft Lesbian that just pulls me in.
Quinntana (Quinn/Santana of Glee) - My HBIC OTP. There's nothing more intense than watching 2 strong individuals go from enemies to friends to lovers. They're secretly soft with each other and only each other.
Youstina: Right now my favorite ship is Deanoru aka Karolina Dean & Nico Minoru from Marvel’s Runaways. I’m a huge sucker for the light/dark or sun/moon dynamic and they are literally the embodiment of the light and the dark, so how can I not love them?? I also love that it’s an interracial ship. I think for a long time most sapphic ships on tv consisted of two white women, so having diversity is nice! Some honorable mentions though: Cazzie (Casey & Izzie from Atypical), Kadena (Kat & Adena from The Bold Type), Clexa (Clarke & Lexa from The 100), & I really love Elena & Syd from ODAAT.
Gloria: Marvel’s Runaways doesn’t get enough love from the LGBTQ+ community and that makes me so sad. This show ran for 3 seasons, centered their plots around the queer couple, both characters were individually developed, they had their own journeys and struggles independent from one another. They NEVER sexualized them, and yet easily portrayed them as intimate and always affectionate. Neither character had to come out, not to their friends nor to their families, and nobody went to a Pride parade or got kicked out of the house for being gay. It was so goddamn refreshing to see our stories told without focus on our sexuality. This is how we operate out in the real world, I don’t understand why more TV shows don’t reflect us as regular people with normal struggles outside of who were romantically attracted to in 2019. Anyway, I don’t know if I’m ever gonna get this back so yeah, I’m feeling the loss. WATCH RUNAWAYS... And then pick up the comic books at your local shop, they’re hella cute in the current run as well and we definitely want Rainbow Rowell to keep writing about them so show her some love while you still can.
I hope you all enjoyed our thoughts on the team’s favorite ships, but I want to know… what are yours? Comment below to tell us all about them!
** Until next time, this is Kimberly “this is the way” Amato, signing off. **