TheRiverScribe

Shadowhand “I’ll do it for a 12 roll” Essek

also

I would like to preface what I’m about to say by stating that this is not meant to be a condemnation of any ships, this is not about the ships themselves. But I’ve seen a trend recently in people stating that Fjord, Caleb, and Beau canonically have romantic feelings for Jester, and while there’s nothing wrong in interpreting their words and actions as romantic, there is also no definitive evidence that any of that is canon. So far, there is nothing that any of the above characters have said or done in canon that is undeniably romantic. And this is coming from someone who loves the idea of beaujester. I definitely ship that. But up until just this last episode (84), I hadn’t seen anything that could definitely be very possibly more than friendship, and even now I still think it’s possible that Beau doesn’t canonically have romantic feelings for Jester, as much as I would like it if she did. She could find Jester attractive and be jealous of Jester confiding in Fjord instead of her, and those feelings are not automatically romantic. Fjord and Caleb have thus far done nothing that says to me personally that they even might have romantic feelings for Jester. And I don’t think that’s just because I don’t have shipping goggles on for those pairings. Though they clearly love her, I see all of their words and actions up to this point as platonic. That’s not me saying it’s definitely not there, just I cannot see where people are coming from when they assert Fjord and Caleb’s interpreted feelings are canon. I know some people are joking when they say that, but it seems increasing common for people to say that seriously. 

To be clear, I’m absolutely not saying that things that happened in canon can’t be interpreted as romantic or used for shipping fuel, it’s just very weird to me how popular the idea that these characters have canon romantic feelings for Jester has become. And the only reason I’m vaguely concerned about it is that this is an improvised story with several storytellers. Anything might happen, and that includes the possibility that a popular ship never becomes canon, and that one character never did have romantic feelings for another. Most people I think understand that. I guess I’m just a little worry about some individuals being disappointed if it’s ever proven that their interpretation of a character’s feelings was incorrect. I might be wrong about all of this. It’s very possible one of more of these character does have feelings for Jester. But I remember what happened when Marisha said Beau wasn’t in love with Yasha in canon and how hurt and surprised some viewers were by that news, and I guess I worry about something similar happening again. 

It’s Canon vs Head Canon vs Not Canon.

Canon: the characters and events of a universe as they are presented to the audience, confirmed by creators to be true

Head Canon: a set of truths held by a reader/viewer that shape how they interpret canon. (Usually co-exists with current canon without breaking it.)

Not Canon: Ideas/events/characters that either oppose canon or simply don’t exist. This is where you get your fanfic and fanart and speculation...the good stuff!! Add characters, change settings, share ideas about past AND future things! SHIP A FLEET OF SHIPS!!!

All three categories are amazing to explore, but it’s important to know the difference. It not only provides a constructive and safe framework for dialogue within the fandom, but it also trains our brains to think critically!