Shipping

In fandom-related contexts, shipping is a term derived from the word "relationship", which refers to the act of being invested in the idea of certain individuals being romantically interested in and/or involved with one another. It can also refer to the depiction of romance between those individuals. Platonic shipping is also not unheard of, but is rare. A combination of characters who are being shipped is known as a ship.

Shipping normally takes place between pairs of fictional characters, but celebrities are also sometimes shipped, and polyamory sometimes occurs. A pair of characters who are being shipped is known as a pairing. A person's preferred pairing is known as an OTP (One True Pairing), and a person's preferred ship involving three characters is known as an OT3 (One True Threesome). A preferred ship involving more than three characters is referred to as an OT4, OT5, or an even greater number.

Shipping, as a phenomenon, can occur for many reasons, such as perceived romantic overtones in the characters' canonical interactions (whether these were intended by the original creator or not), simple investment in the characters, or interest in a particular type of relationship dynamic.

Many fan videos involve ships which the video's creator is invested in, or which fit the rest of the intended content in some manner.