There's a lot to love about The CW's "The Flash." There's the superheroics, the heart, Grant Gustin's awesome central performance as Barry Allen... And of course, the ships.

"I'm afraid of shipping, I'm going to be honest," Danielle Panabaker, who plays Caitlin Snow on the show told MTV News back at San Diego Comic-Con. "This is my first experience with it, and I appreciate the enthusiasm of the fans... But it's crazy."

Shippers, for those of you not in the know, are intense. They love what they love, and they love it dearly. And though most of the time it's constrained to the realm of fun speculation, sometimes it spills over into the real world -- and can affect actors in a very real way.

This is something we've talked to both Panabaker and Candice Patton, who plays Iris West on the show, about before; and both have had mixed experiences with shippers.

"The shipping thing is new to me, just as a human being, and to have that all bombarded at you every day..." Patton recalled. "Sometimes it's disappointing to see how vitriolic it can get."

To be clear, shipping, like most of fandom, can go both ways. "The Flash" crew has seen their fair share of passionate supporters; but some sections of the population haven't been as kind.

"It's disappointing for me, because we're just trying to write a great show, and be part of a great show," Patton continued. "We're so much more than shipping. Our characters in particular, as women, are so much more than the men that we're associated with."

Preach, Patton. It's a fair point that gets lost in fan's shipping -- and on a show like "The Flash," characters are fleshed out enough that, like in the real world, they don't need to be defined by just their relationships.

That said, sometimes it's kind of fun.

"Well, I ship Snowstorm, so..." joked Carlos Valdes, who plays Cisco Ramon, about the fan favorite pairing of Panabaker and Robbie Amell's characters.

"Snowstorm!" Panabaker shot back, laughing. "Oh, I love it so much."

"And I love WestAllen, just because it's so iconic," Patton ageed, "but there's so many great relationships in this comic book series that will be explored."

Sounds like in season two, we won't just be seeing the pairings we've come to expect, which opens up a whole new section of the shipping fanbase. Just don't forget, gang: characters are people, too.