I have always loved the show Avatar the Last Airbender: it’s entertaining, the cartooning is fantastic, and the story and characters are incredibly inventive. However, when watching the series I was extremely disappointed that Katara (the main female character) ended up with Aang (the main male character) instead of Zuko (the original villain who turns good). I could not believe that in such an imaginative show that they would just stereo-typically put the main boy with the main girl even though I believed that they were completely wrong for each other. But apparently, the writers felt that the finale had to be all perfect and hunky-dory: Aang miraculously didn’t have to kill anyone to create world peace, and he magically got the girl he’s had a crush on even though he had previously made a move and she wasn't into it. I thought that Zuko and Katara would be adorable together, and it would have been a perfect twist! I went online and found that I was not alone in my opinions; there was a multitude of people who felt the exact same way that I did! I mainly found the Zutara (Zuko + Katara), and Katang (Katara + Aang -- a much less catchy nickname if I do say so myself) pictures and blogs from a site called Tumblr. After I made this amazing discovery I joined the site and entered a vast world of shippers, and fandoms; I have never looked back.
I learned this pairing of Zuko and Katara was something called shipping; and, that it happens between almost all fictional characters. Shipping is when fans of a fictional story, such as a movie or a tv show series, pair two characters from that story together, or one character with a character from a different story. These pairings can range from true in the show to completely ridiculous and impossible, like thinking that Sonic the Hedgehog is the ideal match for Shrek. There are so many different types of ships and an incredible amount of vocabulary to learn in order to fully follow all of the shippers online. Shipping is the whole concept and the practice of pairing two fictional characters together. A ship is the imaginary relationship between the two characters chosen. A shipper is the person who pairs, or “ships”, the characters, and is part of the larger fandom. A fandom is a community of fans specific to a series, book, or some other kind of story like there are Harry Potter and Sherlock fandoms. A fandom consists of bloggers, artists, and just plain enthusiasts who all just enjoy a certain subject and who typically meet and share about their fandom through the internet. A crack ship is a ridiculous, horrifying, or impossible pairing (like Cinderella and Bumblebee the transformer). A slash is a homosexual pairing (which is extremely common,) and a pirate is someone who attacks other ships for no apparent reason. There are many more terms, but possibly the most important term to know would be OTP (One True Pairing). A real shipper’s OTP is very important to them, it is the ship they hold most dear and true above all of their other ships. Never insult a shipper’s OTP unless you like the smell of flaming dog poop, don’t mind being handicapped for the rest of your life, or you enjoy dealing with hackers or constant irritating messages from that shipper and all of their fellow shippers you also dissed with your comments.
People, and especially teens, have an incredible amount of stress these days, and shipping can be a great way to release stress and get away from it all. Shipping gives you that great, gushy, “in love” feeling to escape to without having to deal with a boyfriend or girlfriend lying or cheating on you. Your ship will always be there for you. You can decompress and relax by day-dreaming about those two lucky fictional characters that you've chosen to be together. Or take it easy and watch or read the story you've chosen them from. You could also keep your mind off the real world by writing fanfictions and completely immersing yourself in your fantasy world of choice. If you're a hothead you could go online and argue with all of the other fandoms and ships, while at the same time defending your own from slander. Shipping is an escape from real world pressures and imperfections into a alternative universe. They let your brain think about trivial matters like will whether or not the Pumpkin King ever notice Sally and her love for him; It gives your brain some much needed rest after a busy or aggravating day.
Another fantastic thing about shipping is that it leads people to this marvelous community of fans of which everyone has something is common. I've met multiple close friends through these ships and fandoms. There are so many different types of people who like each fandom that you are sure to find some people you really connect with. You can join multiple ships and can connect with hundreds of people. You can meet people all across the country, all across the world, who share your specific interests and ideas. People there understand a girl whose natural reaction to first learning that the second Thor movie is coming out is to squeal at the top of her lungs and jump up and down for a full five minutes. People there don't judge you because you'd rather attend Hogwarts or the academy in death city than go to high school in Boise, Idaho. Fans love to spread the word about their fandoms, you can also find about so many different fandoms and discover amazing things that you otherwise, would never have come across; for example, I discovered my love of classic Disney princess movies through Tumblr and fandoms.
Most people don’t see these benefits of shipping, and shippers are overlooked or are often scoffed at. Fandoms and shippers are constantly being thought of as a lower social class simply because they enjoy Game of Thrones or Pokemon over college basketball. Even people who are considered regular nerds look down on shippers quite often. I don't know why -- just because a few shippers are those "obsessive freaks" doesn't mean that you should stereotype all of us shippers. Nearly everyone ships! You can ship even when not knowing what you are doing is shipping. It just means that you are into the story. If you thought Kaniss should have ended up with Gale over Peeta, or you think Daisy and Gatsby should be together forever, then you have shipped! Yes, those are less extreme cases if you only thought about it for a day Instead of regularly but the point is that shipping is a natural reaction. Shippers are just engaged in the story, and are expanding it the way they want to. Shippers are a community; and they stick together. shippers should be respected and embraced. Everyone should try their hand at shipping, it's more enjoyable than you would think!
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