If you read this article, then most likely somewhere in the comments on the Internet you came across the word "shipper". What is this mysterious term, and where did it come from?
Fan fiction: how to quickly become a writer
Did you ever feel after reading the book that in fact everything should end completely wrong? What should the heroes do differently, otherwise interact with other characters and as a result turn the plot in the other direction?
So, in modern Internet culture there is such a thing as fan fiction - from the phrase "fan fiction" or fan literature. These are, as a rule, short works created by fans based on original scripts. Moreover, fan fiction can be created not only from the book. Movies, television series, anime, comics, and even computer games also lend themselves to alteration. Fan fiction is usually laid out by authors on thematic sites. For example, in forums or in groups dedicated to the original work.
Why do people write fan fiction and what does the word "shipper" have to do with it? What kind of need is pushing people to write stories based on well-known works is easy to understand. Everyone needs creative expression. It is much easier to write something based on an existing storyline than to invent from scratch. But is it always a matter of creative impulses?
Fanfiction and personal life
Often the theme of fan fiction is the relationship between the characters. The authors of such fan fiction, as a rule, are girls whose personal life is not too full of emotions. They always want everything that happens between the characters to be covered in great detail. Therefore, most often fan fiction is a remake of any work into a female novel. This is where the word "shipper" appears. What kind of female prose is it without immersion in the feelings and emotions of the heroes, without the intensity of passions and love affairs?
The authors of fan fiction embody the most sophisticated fantasies in their work, reduce and breed characters in love ups and downs. The storylines of their works may have nothing to do with the events depicted in the original. Moreover, often the authors of fan fiction do not even pay attention to the gender of the characters. Non-standard relationships are not uncommon in fan fiction. It’s as if there’s an unwritten rule that any heroes can be “ship”.
Meaning of the word “shipper”
When the author of the fan fiction describes the romantic relationship between the characters, it is customary in the Internet jargon to say that he “shippers” this couple. You can also meet the word "pairing" or "pairing" - from the English word "couple". And "shipper", in turn, comes from a noun denoting a relationship, that is, "relationship".
The reason for this can serve as the existing relationship between the characters, and any random clue in the text, thanks to which the reader is given an easy hint of a possible novel. In the end, there can be no reason other than the fanfiction of the author’s own fantasy.
Why do you need to “ship”?
So, you have learned the meaning of the word "shipper". What does this word allow us to say about those who use it? Developing the theme of alien, albeit fictional relationships, the author of the fanfic thereby fills the void in his personal life and meets his needs. It is interesting that often schoolchildren who simply have not yet grown up to a real relationship are engaged in the sinking out of interest.
There is another answer to the question of what to mean “shippering”. This is not only the process of creating a pair in a work. Young people can use this word in real life. When a teenager says that he “shipper” someone, he implies that he acts as a matchmaker.