https://www.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/comments/2pxsm3/what_the_hell_is_shipping/
created by pdoxney on 21/12/2014 at 02:17 UTC
5 upvotes, 3 top-level comments (showing 3)
I've seen it mentioned a few times on reddit. Usually the people that mention shipping are talking about two or more fictional characters. I'm completely baffled.
Comment by [deleted] at 21/12/2014 at 06:09 UTC
10 upvotes, 0 direct replies
the 'ship' in shipping stems from 'relationship.' it's like some kind of fanfiction scenario analysis between two or more characters of a book, tv show, etc. if they were to pursue each other romantically
Comment by Cole-Spudmoney at 21/12/2014 at 06:55 UTC
8 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Shipping when fans of a particular movie/TV show/book/etc. really like the idea of two of the characters getting together -- whether they really want the characters to enter a romantic relationship or just like the idea of them fucking. They tend to advocate for the relationship occurring in the actual canon, and sometimes write fanfiction or draw fanart about their "ship".
For example, if you're a fan of Harry Potter and you like the idea of Harry getting together with Hermione Granger, that means you ship Harry/Hermione (or, in abbreviated form, "H/Hr"). Some popular ships have (often revolting) portmanteau nicknames: for example, with *Avatar: The Last Airbender* Aang/Katara is also called "Kataang" while Zuko/Katara is also called "Zutara".
A note about punctuation: a slash ( / ) denotes a romantic or sexual pairing while an ampersand ( & ) denotes a platonic pairing. So a fanfic about Kirk and Spock fucking would be a "Kirk/Spock" fic, while a fanfic about Kirk and Spock being bros would be a "Kirk & Spock" fic. This dates back to very early Star Trek fanfics from the 1960s and 70s, which were mostly published in zines. (It's also why gay pairings are called "slash" pairings.)
Comment by ScrewYouMorbidPanda2 at 21/12/2014 at 14:54 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Shipping means pairing characters together. For example, if I ship Levi and Eren (LevixEren), that means I want them to get together.