Oh, ship indicators.
I did not know that Saiyuki was one of those fandoms where numbers represent people in ships.
Because I saw "10K" and thought of something else entirely, because Kingdom Hearts does that weird "Numbers = People in ships" thing with the Organization-plus-Namine, which makes fourteen, so I instantly thought of Luxord/Kairi, and I would've been able to say that I've seen Kairi paired up with all thirteen members.
Then I realized it was a Saiyuki fanfic, and I was sad because I've been out of that fandom for a long time, so I had no idea what the hell was going on.
And then there is Gundam Wing. I love Gundam Wing and its algebraic equation ships. :D
But one thing bothers me. There's the five pilots, plus Zechs, and that's six. Then there's Noin, so we skipped seven and eight and get nine. Then we skip all the other numbers and go all the way up to thirteen 'cause of Treize. Poor numbers ten, eleven, and twelve. No one likes them. :( No one likes seven or eight, either.
And then there are the name-squish pairing indicators, and a lot of fandoms do it. I haven't been in a fandom that hasn't. Buffy does it, KH does it, FF8 does it, and so does FF7 and...fuck, I forget. All I can say is saying "CloTiRis" out loud is fun. :D TRY IT!
But wait! There's more.
In what other fandom than Pokemon do you see (letter of person A's name)A(nd)(Letter of Person B's Name)L(ove)? It's a great indicator of Shit I Don't Wanna Read. I will happily avoid AAML fics because they tend to suck and Ash is magically buff and hot and Misty is a wibbly damsel. Hey, that sounds familiar...
Or (random word that relates to one, the other, or both parties in the ship)shipping? I like that system. More fandoms should do it. :D Keyshipping can be Sora/Roxas! :D
But yeah. Ship indicators can be fun. They can be a little weird. And if the same fandom uses a similar system, it can get a little confusing.
Because depending on the fandom you're in, it can be irritating to type out their whole damn names, especially if you have limited character space on archives like FF.net.

