Shipping (fandom)

Shipping, initially derived from the word , is the desire by fans for two or more people, either real-life people or fictional characters (in film or literature) to be in a relationship, romantic or otherwise. It is considered a general term for fans' emotional involvement with the ongoing development of a relationship in a work of fiction. Shipping often takes the form of creative works, including fanfiction and fan art, most often published on the internet.

A ship that has been confirmed by its series and is true is called a canon ship. Canon means "true to the series". A canon ship might be a romantic couple actively portrayed, or only understood as canon due to the creators of the media confirming it as true.

Shipping can involve any kind of romantic relationship between any character. A pairing between characters who are unlikely to be together, including those who come from different series, is called a crack pairing. A character paired with an inanimate object is called a cargo ship.

OTP stands for one true pairing, and generally refers to an individual fan's particularly heartfelt love for a pairing. Other variations occur, such a OT3 which usually applies to poly relationships (especially love triangles in canon), and NoTP, which refers to the fan's least favorite pairing.

Shipping usually refers to romantic relationships. Applied outside of romance, the term is controversial. Some fans apply can also refer to simple friendships; this subset is sometimes known as a "BrOTP" (a portmanteau of the terms bromance and one true pairing). Shipping in fanfiction between a same-sex couple is also known as slash fiction, an older term and concept that dates to the late 1970s.

In anime/manga communities, shipping is more commonly referred to as pairing(s); in Filipino pop culture, it is frequently called loveteam(s). In East Asian contexts, the practice is also referred to as coupling or CP.

The activity of fans creating relationships for fictional characters far predates the term. Though the word "ship" is a truncation of "relationship", where and when it was first used to indicate involvement with fictional relationships is unclear. The first "ship" that became widely popular and accepted was the characters Kirk and Spock from the television show Star Trek. This began in the mid-1970s, and was often referred to as Kirk/Spock, and later "K/S". This is why relationships between two men are now often referred to as "slash".

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