Chrobin Ship Manifesto
Jan. 31st, 2018 01:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kaysperSo here we are guys, one month into the new year and in Year 6 of the Chrobin ship. And I figured it’s about time for me to at least write a small ship manifesto on why this pairing still is going strong and on why people remain thirsty for blueberries and birds.
So go get a snack and make yourself comfy.
First off, a brief overview of the canon.
The In-Game Stuff.
The original game laid a lot of solid groundwork to make the ship WORK when it comes to canon. Even if Chrom and Robin stay platonic in-game, they stay significant and… honestly very sweetly supportive of the other.
It’s a nice platonic ship with a lot of respect on both sides; something that probably appeals to a lot of people. It's genuinely nice to see Chrom consistently turn to Robin and ask "what do you think we should do?" And have Robin support and encourage Chrom when he falters. There's that scene in the end of Chapter 10, when Robin says "If you fall, I'll be there to pull you back up." And that? Is the perfect sum up of their relationship; they're always there for the other, through the great times and when the other hits absolute nadir.
They make for an amazing set of buddies. Even as they blunder into each other in the bath and have fraught conversations about the risks Chrom takes. Their dialogue in supports tends to run on the comedic side, while the game scripts bring out more of the respect. It does a good job providing different moods.
BUT? You put the romantic shipper googles on? OH, THE FEELS.
(Do I care that this meme is outdated and run into the ground? Not especially.)
The ship becomes tragic, triumphant, and “their love will kick your ass” in equal turns.
The opening cutscene sets the tone quite well, with beats of triumph when defeating Validar, surprising amounts of heart string tugging when Robin takes a hit for Chrom (and he helps them up) and then of course the emotional gut punch that is Chrom dying at Robin's hand. Small wonder people love the tragedy and drama this pairing brings with them.
From a mechanics perspective, the two can also pair up quite well and do a good job on maps. (It's actually how I stumbled into the pairing!) It certainly helps support the idea that these two are badasses and highly competent at what they do.
And THEY GET TO RAISE A FAMILY. You don’t often get to see OTPs do that in canon proper. It’s also an OP as hell family, which is always nice.
(None more adorably OP.)
The kids do bring something extra to the relationship as well. Whether that something is laughter, tears, or just "punch your heart" depends on the situation. Lucina puts on a stern mask in order to be a competent soldier, but with a hidden sweet side. Morgan meanwhile is a bundle of sunshine, despite whatever traumas he's faced and forgotten.
They both take after their parents in surprising ways, with Lucina being more pragmatic like Robin, while Morgan thinks a lot more with his heart, much like Chrom. The Falchion support with those two works surprisingly well... As does the scene with Lucina facing Robin as a parent, after chapter 21. Morgan and Lucina add an extra dynamic to the pairing, expanding the interactions by a fantastic degree.
As well as bringing the old "well they had to come from SOMEWHERE didn't they?" prompt for the more thirsty people.
I think that the combo of high drama feels, plus the fact that the ship fills a niche (a dedicated, committed relationship? WITH KIDS?) that isn’t often filled. Thanks to that, the canon lays down some fertile ground for imagination and fan works.
As an aside, it’s also fun that the game lets you either pursue the relationship via supports, OR it can spring it on you at the end of Chapter 10 once the blue haired dork panics and proposes to whoever has the highest support rank with him. I like that. We’ve gotten a lot of fun gamer anecdotes from both routes for that.
So, the official game does a good job of this… and then the side games take that one step further. Between Warriors and Heroes, (and Smash!) this means that Intelligent Systems is routinely putting out material for people to eat up and remix into fanworks.
(Do people remember Kingblingweek MONTH, where an isolated twitter art post of Chrom in some kingly regalia created reams of fan art? I do.)
And while to a degree it might get a little exhausting to keep getting new content… it also does mean new fanworks are getting inspired from it. The fandom is rarely resting on its laurels because of this, for better or for worse.
Speaking of fandom, that segues neatly into the next topic.
The fandom.
Diversity sometimes seems like a mixed blessing. Diverse options can lead to camps and factions beating the “our choice is best/right” war drum. Grudges can crop up from bad interactions, and people with different choices rubbing others the wrong way. Essays have been written on why ship wars happen, and FE:A has weathered more than a few.
…Though at the end of the day, right now I’ll take the mixed blessing. Because I’d sooner people have the OPTIONS and the problems that go with those options, instead of feeling like they’re locked into only one choice.
Because the thing is, I do honestly believe that the diversity of options HELPS with the longevity of the ship. If someone wants to ship m/m, they have the option. If someone wants to ship f/m, they have the option. If someone wants to ship f/f… well they have less of an option, and I’d honestly like to see that AU of fem!Chrom with F!Robin gain more traction. But at least that option, small as it is, still exists and has an opportunity to grow. There’s also a growing movement of non-binary or gender queer Robin, and full power to it. We might start to see other readings on the character; we’ve already had takes on Robin with a disability and the like.
In this, there’s some similarities to Mass Effect having options on Shepard. (And both female options benefiting from the fact that they were written from a dominant default AND THAT IS A WHOLE OTHER ESSAY written by more erudite people than me.) That one option trickled down into extra choices and creations for the ME fandom, I think that results in something similar for the Chrobin shippers.
(Nintendo playing a fairly closed lipped game on which Robin is canon in the early years didn’t hurt either.)
If someone enjoys BOTH versions of the ship then they have the best of both worlds and works. But I also like to think that there’s at least SOME “ship and let ship” in the fandom going on as well, and maybe even a little give and take in terms of inspiration between fanworks.
…Now if the fandom could curb the ship wars between m/m and m/f entirely, we’d be in a pretty great place. But that’s very much a work in progress. It doesn’t appear as bad as it was in years past, but it’s still a problem that seems to simmer underneath the surface.
BUT stepping away from that aspect, I think there are other things helping to hold the ship up. From what I’ve observed so far, there seems to be a very easy going attitude among sharing fanons and ideas. Outright stealing is frowned upon of course, but if someone wants to draw inspiration from one work for another, people tend to be fine with it.
In terms of linguistics and terminology, I haven’t seen A TON of jargon crop up from in fan works. In fact in terms of creating new jargon, the fandom seems pretty tame or unsure about doing so. At least beyond the actual ship name.
And in terms of AUs, it seems like the modern AU is by far and above the most popular. Ranging from high school, coffee shop, police, mobster, etc. Weirdly urban fantasy hasn’t found much of a toe hold YET. But behind that, fairy tale and similar high fantasy AUs seem favored as well. Also there seems to be an even split right now between angst and comfort-fic. The ratings also run the entire range, so once again it looks like there’s something for almost everyone: gen, teen, erotica, hard OR softcore porn, etc.
(A snapshot of the Chrom/My Unit tag on Ao3, January 31st 2018)
Due to this diversity, I think the reason the ship has continued and even prospered for 5+ years is because of the relative chillatude in the fandom and the amount of options.
It’s not a massive circle where everyone holds hands and sings, but in my experience there also isn’t a ton of backstabbing, aggression, or drama. When or if there is (such as the Warriors wank over Male Robin getting prioritized over Female Robin) it tends to get snuffed out pretty damn quick. Usually by people making more fanwork. And because of that, fanwork creators appear to have a longer lifespan in the fandom, with a lower rate of burnout.
As for what can be done to keep this Not-Quite-Happy-Circle-But-Close-Enough thing we’ve got going? Well…
The original Chrobin Prompts is in something of a hibernation right now, but there’s plenty of of entries put up on it, available for browsing and creating.
Chrobin Week may or may not get another year out of it, but it has done an excellent job of keeping the fandom stimulated and producing, and is worth visiting and reblogging.
Several FE:A anthologies/fanzines have been successfully completed, and are worth checking out for content.
In terms of new events, a Big Bang or the like may be worth considering. If someone DOES get an idea sparked for doing that, I heavily recommend checking with other projects such as Chrobin Week to ensure there isn’t too much overlap, and do a general interest check.
Out of The Big Four (FF.net, Wattpad, Tumblr and Ao3) Ao3 has the most visible presence in creating new fanworks, and I personally encourage people to post and kudos there. Though if you want to post to one of the others, then you do you.
Finally and perhaps most key, the general attitude of tolerance is going to be VITAL going forward. People will need to feel welcome, or at the very least quietly accepted, if they are going to continue producing fanwork.
Because once again for the people in the back: DIVERSITY AND TOLERANCE IN THIS SHIP IS A GOOD THING.
Again, the chillatude seems to be going pretty strong, which along with the source material means a steady stream of fanwork, everyone gets a slice of cake, and people are for the most part happy.
(…For a certain value of “happy.” There’s a reason Angst is second in the tag sorting categories.)
Now, I HOPE that I’m correct in these observations. I also hope that in 2018 this continues to be the case, because there’s a pretty good thing going for the ship. And I think people need some good things right now, so why not get a few nice things from a ship about blueberries and birds.
Further Resources:
The Chrom/Robin Ao3 Tag. Note that it includes both genders; you can use the sidebar to further filter content, if you want one or the other.
FF.net Chrom/Robin pairing.
Chrobin Tumblr Tag. Tumblr may be setting itself on fire, but there is still a chance to find some stuff on there.
クロルフ or Chrom/Reflet on Pixiv, under the general tag. Please note that if you click the "ALL" button on the top right, it shows the NSFW stuff. Ditto the "R-18" button. Browse responsibly, you thirsty people.
(ETA, December 20th. I went in and cleaned up the text a bit more, added a few more points, and resources. Might as well give this ship the TLC it deserves!)
So go get a snack and make yourself comfy.
First off, a brief overview of the canon.
The In-Game Stuff.
The original game laid a lot of solid groundwork to make the ship WORK when it comes to canon. Even if Chrom and Robin stay platonic in-game, they stay significant and… honestly very sweetly supportive of the other.
It’s a nice platonic ship with a lot of respect on both sides; something that probably appeals to a lot of people. It's genuinely nice to see Chrom consistently turn to Robin and ask "what do you think we should do?" And have Robin support and encourage Chrom when he falters. There's that scene in the end of Chapter 10, when Robin says "If you fall, I'll be there to pull you back up." And that? Is the perfect sum up of their relationship; they're always there for the other, through the great times and when the other hits absolute nadir.
They make for an amazing set of buddies. Even as they blunder into each other in the bath and have fraught conversations about the risks Chrom takes. Their dialogue in supports tends to run on the comedic side, while the game scripts bring out more of the respect. It does a good job providing different moods.
BUT? You put the romantic shipper googles on? OH, THE FEELS.
(Do I care that this meme is outdated and run into the ground? Not especially.)
The ship becomes tragic, triumphant, and “their love will kick your ass” in equal turns.
The opening cutscene sets the tone quite well, with beats of triumph when defeating Validar, surprising amounts of heart string tugging when Robin takes a hit for Chrom (and he helps them up) and then of course the emotional gut punch that is Chrom dying at Robin's hand. Small wonder people love the tragedy and drama this pairing brings with them.
From a mechanics perspective, the two can also pair up quite well and do a good job on maps. (It's actually how I stumbled into the pairing!) It certainly helps support the idea that these two are badasses and highly competent at what they do.
And THEY GET TO RAISE A FAMILY. You don’t often get to see OTPs do that in canon proper. It’s also an OP as hell family, which is always nice.
(None more adorably OP.)
The kids do bring something extra to the relationship as well. Whether that something is laughter, tears, or just "punch your heart" depends on the situation. Lucina puts on a stern mask in order to be a competent soldier, but with a hidden sweet side. Morgan meanwhile is a bundle of sunshine, despite whatever traumas he's faced and forgotten.
They both take after their parents in surprising ways, with Lucina being more pragmatic like Robin, while Morgan thinks a lot more with his heart, much like Chrom. The Falchion support with those two works surprisingly well... As does the scene with Lucina facing Robin as a parent, after chapter 21. Morgan and Lucina add an extra dynamic to the pairing, expanding the interactions by a fantastic degree.
I think that the combo of high drama feels, plus the fact that the ship fills a niche (a dedicated, committed relationship? WITH KIDS?) that isn’t often filled. Thanks to that, the canon lays down some fertile ground for imagination and fan works.
As an aside, it’s also fun that the game lets you either pursue the relationship via supports, OR it can spring it on you at the end of Chapter 10 once the blue haired dork panics and proposes to whoever has the highest support rank with him. I like that. We’ve gotten a lot of fun gamer anecdotes from both routes for that.
So, the official game does a good job of this… and then the side games take that one step further. Between Warriors and Heroes, (and Smash!) this means that Intelligent Systems is routinely putting out material for people to eat up and remix into fanworks.
(Do people remember Kingbling
And while to a degree it might get a little exhausting to keep getting new content… it also does mean new fanworks are getting inspired from it. The fandom is rarely resting on its laurels because of this, for better or for worse.
Speaking of fandom, that segues neatly into the next topic.
The fandom.
Diversity sometimes seems like a mixed blessing. Diverse options can lead to camps and factions beating the “our choice is best/right” war drum. Grudges can crop up from bad interactions, and people with different choices rubbing others the wrong way. Essays have been written on why ship wars happen, and FE:A has weathered more than a few.
…Though at the end of the day, right now I’ll take the mixed blessing. Because I’d sooner people have the OPTIONS and the problems that go with those options, instead of feeling like they’re locked into only one choice.
Because the thing is, I do honestly believe that the diversity of options HELPS with the longevity of the ship. If someone wants to ship m/m, they have the option. If someone wants to ship f/m, they have the option. If someone wants to ship f/f… well they have less of an option, and I’d honestly like to see that AU of fem!Chrom with F!Robin gain more traction. But at least that option, small as it is, still exists and has an opportunity to grow. There’s also a growing movement of non-binary or gender queer Robin, and full power to it. We might start to see other readings on the character; we’ve already had takes on Robin with a disability and the like.
In this, there’s some similarities to Mass Effect having options on Shepard. (And both female options benefiting from the fact that they were written from a dominant default AND THAT IS A WHOLE OTHER ESSAY written by more erudite people than me.) That one option trickled down into extra choices and creations for the ME fandom, I think that results in something similar for the Chrobin shippers.
(Nintendo playing a fairly closed lipped game on which Robin is canon in the early years didn’t hurt either.)
If someone enjoys BOTH versions of the ship then they have the best of both worlds and works. But I also like to think that there’s at least SOME “ship and let ship” in the fandom going on as well, and maybe even a little give and take in terms of inspiration between fanworks.
…Now if the fandom could curb the ship wars between m/m and m/f entirely, we’d be in a pretty great place. But that’s very much a work in progress. It doesn’t appear as bad as it was in years past, but it’s still a problem that seems to simmer underneath the surface.
BUT stepping away from that aspect, I think there are other things helping to hold the ship up. From what I’ve observed so far, there seems to be a very easy going attitude among sharing fanons and ideas. Outright stealing is frowned upon of course, but if someone wants to draw inspiration from one work for another, people tend to be fine with it.
In terms of linguistics and terminology, I haven’t seen A TON of jargon crop up from in fan works. In fact in terms of creating new jargon, the fandom seems pretty tame or unsure about doing so. At least beyond the actual ship name.
And in terms of AUs, it seems like the modern AU is by far and above the most popular. Ranging from high school, coffee shop, police, mobster, etc. Weirdly urban fantasy hasn’t found much of a toe hold YET. But behind that, fairy tale and similar high fantasy AUs seem favored as well. Also there seems to be an even split right now between angst and comfort-fic. The ratings also run the entire range, so once again it looks like there’s something for almost everyone: gen, teen, erotica, hard OR softcore porn, etc.
(A snapshot of the Chrom/My Unit tag on Ao3, January 31st 2018)
Due to this diversity, I think the reason the ship has continued and even prospered for 5+ years is because of the relative chillatude in the fandom and the amount of options.
It’s not a massive circle where everyone holds hands and sings, but in my experience there also isn’t a ton of backstabbing, aggression, or drama. When or if there is (such as the Warriors wank over Male Robin getting prioritized over Female Robin) it tends to get snuffed out pretty damn quick. Usually by people making more fanwork. And because of that, fanwork creators appear to have a longer lifespan in the fandom, with a lower rate of burnout.
As for what can be done to keep this Not-Quite-Happy-Circle-But-Close-Enough thing we’ve got going? Well…
The original Chrobin Prompts is in something of a hibernation right now, but there’s plenty of of entries put up on it, available for browsing and creating.
Chrobin Week may or may not get another year out of it, but it has done an excellent job of keeping the fandom stimulated and producing, and is worth visiting and reblogging.
Several FE:A anthologies/fanzines have been successfully completed, and are worth checking out for content.
In terms of new events, a Big Bang or the like may be worth considering. If someone DOES get an idea sparked for doing that, I heavily recommend checking with other projects such as Chrobin Week to ensure there isn’t too much overlap, and do a general interest check.
Out of The Big Four (FF.net, Wattpad, Tumblr and Ao3) Ao3 has the most visible presence in creating new fanworks, and I personally encourage people to post and kudos there. Though if you want to post to one of the others, then you do you.
Finally and perhaps most key, the general attitude of tolerance is going to be VITAL going forward. People will need to feel welcome, or at the very least quietly accepted, if they are going to continue producing fanwork.
Because once again for the people in the back: DIVERSITY AND TOLERANCE IN THIS SHIP IS A GOOD THING.
Again, the chillatude seems to be going pretty strong, which along with the source material means a steady stream of fanwork, everyone gets a slice of cake, and people are for the most part happy.
(…For a certain value of “happy.” There’s a reason Angst is second in the tag sorting categories.)
Now, I HOPE that I’m correct in these observations. I also hope that in 2018 this continues to be the case, because there’s a pretty good thing going for the ship. And I think people need some good things right now, so why not get a few nice things from a ship about blueberries and birds.
Further Resources:
The Chrom/Robin Ao3 Tag. Note that it includes both genders; you can use the sidebar to further filter content, if you want one or the other.
FF.net Chrom/Robin pairing.
Chrobin Tumblr Tag. Tumblr may be setting itself on fire, but there is still a chance to find some stuff on there.
クロルフ or Chrom/Reflet on Pixiv, under the general tag. Please note that if you click the "ALL" button on the top right, it shows the NSFW stuff. Ditto the "R-18" button. Browse responsibly, you thirsty people.
(ETA, December 20th. I went in and cleaned up the text a bit more, added a few more points, and resources. Might as well give this ship the TLC it deserves!)
no subject
Date: 2018-12-21 02:48 pm (UTC)Thanks for giving nb!Robin a mention. I'm nonbinary myself, so the lesser known nb!Robin is important to me.
no subject
Date: 2018-12-22 02:34 am (UTC)Oh absolutely! NB isn't something I have a ton of experience on, but I've seen it in enough fanworks that I figured it was worth a mention/shout out.