Shipper

A term drawn from fanfiction in general, often written as **shipperfic** or 'shipper, with the apostrophe. Short for "relationshipper," a **shipper** can be used to describe either romance-based stories or their authors and fans. (While shipping does include same-sex as well as heterosexual, discussion of the former is located in slash as that's the traditional term for same-sex and was in use in early fandom.)

When *Daria* was on the air, the most common form of shipper was a match-up between Daria and Trent. By the 2010s, this was considered a trend that had run its course - see also Tired Daria Fandom Tropes - in large part because the show's creators (see below) felt any realistic pairing of the two was not possible for long, if at all. Daria/Tom shipping is handicapped by the troubled circumstances under which the relationship began, though alternate history and post-canon story writers have figured out ways around that.

Though Daria-based 'shippers tend to be the most common, they are certainly not the only source of pairings. Tom/Jane, Kevin/Brittany, Mack/Jodie (see Joma), Quinn/Three Js, Upchuck/Andrea and, of course, Jake/Helen are known couples from canon, and many stories explore those pairings.

In more recent years, the variety of relationship match-ups has expanded considerably, sometimes to absurdity. We have seen pairings for Stacy/Ted, Daria/Kevin, and even Jane/Todd Ianuzzi and they weren't even in the same show.

The Daria/Luhrman combination has been little explored, despite Glenn Eichler's interest in same. That may one day change!

## External Links

#### General Information

* Shipping (with a focus on the *Daria* fandom) on Wikipedia

#### Shippers and Shipping in *Daria*

* CHEMISTRY: Shipping, darkhorses, and 'No JOMA'...: PPMB thread about shipping

#### Daria/Trent (Discussions/Essays)

* First March 2005 interview with Glenn Eichler on DVDaria, in which Mr. Eichler says of the show's fans, “It would have been nice if a percentage of the viewers hadn't gotten so wrapped up in the 'romance' (or non-romance) story lines that they missed out on other things we were trying to do, but that's their right as the audience.”
* April 2005 interview with Glenn Eichler on DVDaria (see individual questions)
* January 2006 interview with Glenn Eichler on DVDaria (see individual questions)
* January 2006 interview with Anne D. Bernstein on DVDaria (see individual questions)
* May 2006 interview with Anne D. Bernstein on DVDaria (see individual questions)

#### Daria/Tom (Discussions/Essays)

* First March 2005 interview with Glenn Eichler on DVDaria, with a long, interesting answer to the question, "Why Tom?"
* “The Other Side of the Kiss: An Examination of the Infamous ‘Love Triangle’” by Kara Wild.
* “Anatomy of a Tom Hater: Why There Is So Much Anger Towards Tom Sloane” by Kara Wild with help from Alan Benard.
* January 2006 interview with Anne D. Bernstein on DVDaria (see individual questions)

#### Daria/Other (Discussions/Essays)

* April 2005 interview with Glenn Eichler on DVDaria (see individual questions)

#### Jane/Anyone (Discussions/Essays)

* “Jane Lane: Hero in the Making? by The Angst Guy (see discussion of past boyfriends)