First shipping encounter (Re: Ye Gods...)

[Milz]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at y..., Amber <reanna20 at y...> wrote:
<snip> 
> <grin> Ya know what? Before I discovered the lists, I never thought
> about potential romantic relationships amongst the characters. I 
mean,
> I saw the possibilities but never really bothered with it. Then I 
read
> fanfic, where there are *wild* speculations, and read some posts 
about
> shipping. Amazed I was...and a bit intrigued, I must admit. Have I 
been
> tainted?
> 
<snip>
> Okay, all fun aside, I quite agree. I probably won't care much what
> happens ship-wise in the canon. I just find the whole debate fun
> somehow. When it isn't brutal, that is.
> 

I think my first encounter with Net based shippers was the "Christy" 
fans. "Christy" is a novel written by Catherine Marshall (it's a very 
good novel, btw). I read it when I was in high school. A few years 
later, CBS TV had a short-lived series called "Christy" based on the 
book. It was a decent dramatization of the book. The novel takes place 
in the Smoky Mountains, Tennessee around 1910. Christy is a 19 year 
old who volunteers to teach at a mountain school. The novel covers her 
first year there. There are two male characters, a preacher (David 
Grantland) and a doctor (Neil MacNeill---I didn't name him!), who are 
Christy's romantic interests. Catherine Marshall never directly writes 
it, but the novel implies that Christy chooses the doctor (lots of 
little clues here and there).

When I first got Net access, I looked up "christy by catherine 
marshall" on a search engine. I couldn't believe there were sites 
devoted to Christy-David and Christy-Neil each with reasons and 
footnotes as to why either relationship was the "one". I remember 
reading message boards with the Christy-Davids fighting the 
Christy-Neils---very emotional stuff, each side with reasons why 
Christy loves David or why she loves Neil, each side citing pages of 
the novel, pages of Catherine Marshall's biography, etc. The fact that 
there was a TV series made some of the arguments even more confusing 
(the tv series didn't kill off some characters like the novel did). 
Anyhow, I was amazed how passionately some of the fans were.

Recently, there was a new mini-series done with the approval of 
Catherine Marshall's estate. I missed it but from what I gather 
Christy marries Neil (the doctor). I haven't had the intestinal 
fortitude to venture onto "christy" sites to read the reactions...and 
something tells me I don't want to either.

Milz