Fandom School (2nd period): Ships

For those of you new to a fandom, you might be confused when someone says "I totally ship them!" or talks about their OTP. What is shipping, you ask? That's what this class is all about.

I know, right?

What is shipping?

Shipping is when a member of a fandom romantically pairs two or more characters. To see my pairings, also called "ships", check out this post. Sometimes people will even come up with a name for their ship. For example, some people ship John and Sherlock. They call this "Johnlock". 

Why do people ship?

Often, when people fall in love with the characters, they begin romantically pairing them in their head (come on, we've all done it). Then, they feel the need to share their pairing with the rest of the world. This is shipping. As for why people pair the characters in the first place, it may be because one or more of the characters in question is lonely, or simply because the fan sees two characters and just thinks they would be good together. 

What is an OTP?

OTP stands for "One True Pairing", and it refers to a fan's favorite ship. OTPs are usually reserved for serious fangirls and fanboys. 

More on shipping later when this class resumes. Next week's topic: lunch. Come again to see what the cafeteria at Fandom School looks like and go sit with your favorite fandom. (Remember, please leave suggestions for classes you'd like to attend at Fandom School, and I will take them into consideration.) See you all later!