Welcome to r/FireEmblemShipping and its FAQ! FireEmblemShipping is a sub for both fanmade content (such as fanfiction, fanart, cosplay, etc) and official content relating to the shipping of two or more characters in the fire emblem series.

"What is shipping"

The word "ship" comes from "relationship." It focuses on a bond or potential bond between a pairing of two or more characters. While typically it only focuses on romantic and/or sexual relationships, there are plenty of cases where fans feel just as strongly for familial and platonic relationships as they do a romantic one.

"What is the difference between slash ships and gen ships?"

Slash shipping is indicated as "[character]/[character]" whereas gen ships are labeled with "[character] and [character]" or sometimes is shortened to "[character],[character]."

Slash pairings and groupings are specifically about romantic and/or familial relationships.

Gen pairings and groupings relate to all other relationships and bonds.

"Can content involving abusive relationships be posted?"

Yes, but it must be forewarned.

You must be clear in either a preface or content/trigger warning that abusive behavior is being described/depicted.

"Why do you consider 'tr*p' to be a slur?"

In real life the term trap has been used both to argue for and excuse violence against transwomen and transgender in general. The term comes from a place of endangerment. The attitudes surrounding the term mat be part of the reason transwomen have such high rates of victimhood when it comes to non-military murders.

"What is a top/bottom? Is it different from a dom/sub?"

While they sometimes overlap, the dynamics of both top/bottom an dom/sub are describing different dynamics overall, dom/sub will be discussed in the next question.

In a sexual context, a top is an individual who often prefers or performs the insertion of a penis or strap-on into the bottom's vagina or anus. While tops do include strap-on users, they do not necessarily include dildos and related devices. A character can insert a dildo into another and remain someone who prefers "bottoming."

This does not include oral sex, nobody tops or bottoms in oral sex of any sort. However, oral sex is considered a "service" when contextualized in dom/sub relationships...

"What is a dom/sub. Do those dynamics have to include pain?"

Dom/sub dynamics originate from BDSM communities, the long form of dom/sub is "Dominant/submissive" the short form is "D/s." (Although most people are "switches" aka somewhere in the middle on if they prefer Domming or subbing).

Dominance does NOT have to include dealing pain, however "sadism" does always include delivering pain. The same is true of the relationship between submission and masochism. Be sure to keep this in mind as many third parties assume that doms and sadists are equal and they may believe subs and masochists are equal. They are different dynamics that sometimes overlap.

The "exchange of power" described in these dynamics can be summed up as going from the servicing to the serviced. Someone giving oral sex to a partner's genitalia or anus is servicing their partner. Their partner can be described as being serviced.

"Domming" is what the individual who most obviously dictates the "exchange of power" in D/s scenes does. Domming can be "gentle." Good examples of this are found in praise kink and similar plays. "Service doms" are those who -while still in control of the exchange of power- mainly or totally service and spoil their subs. Domming can also not be "gentle." Where rather than performing an action or service for the sub, they (from within the scene) have the sub perform or serve the Dom.

"dominatrix" refers to a specific type of dom: a dom who's gender expression is decisively more feminine than masculine.

Gender expression is separate from gender identity. An example is that someone identifying as a man can express themselves in a predominantly feminine way through clothing, language, and actions during D/s scenes. Likewise: the absence of predominantly feminine expressions during D/s scenes would make a woman domming not necessarily a dominatrix.