Short for "relationship," refering to a romantic couple of characters in a book, tv show, movie, etc. The pun on "ship" is often also used to refer to a boat, as if the fans who support a particular pairing were all sailing together and occassionally even waging war on other ships.
Something that seems rather unique to the Avatar fandom is the practice of combining the names of the two characters in a pairing to form a single word. For example, the most well known pairings in the Avatar fandom are "Zutara" and "Kataang," formed from combining "Zuko" & "Katara," and "Katara" & "Aang," respectively.
Disclaimers:
1. I do not own Avatar or any of its characters or ideas. I don't think I can say this enough. All belongs to Mike, Bryan, and Nick.
2. I mean no offense to anyone who supports any of these pairings. I am mainly a Zutara fan, and I also support several other ships, so any comments are my own reactions to the ships suggested. If it offends you... well, you're free to have the same reactions to the ships I support, now aren't you? ;)
3. Many of these I thought up myself, but some I found the idea for and/or the title of online from someone else's work. I don't think we're really worrying about who came up with the terms "Kataang" and "Zutara," though, are we?
If you have another pairing or another abbreviation for an existing pairing, feel free to leave a note in the Guestbook with it in it! =)
The List!
Aanph - Aang and Toph
See also Taang
-
Azhao � Azula and Zhao
>_O;;
-
Azokka � Azula and Sokka
Whoa. Just� whoa O_O
See also Sokkla
-
Blutara - Katara & the Blue Spirit
This pairing is based on Zutara and is the idea that Katara would fall in love with Zuko's masked alter-ego the Blue Spirit. Usually, the two are thrown together for some kind of fighting-for-their-lives-and-saving-each-other's-skins type mission that has them forming an attachment of some sort, anywhere between companionship of necessity to all-out romance, but there is always the question at the end: what will Katara think when she sees who's under the mask?
See also Zutara
-
Grankku � Gran Gran and Pakku
See also Pakkana, Kanakku
-
Granoh � Gran Gran and Iroh
This pairing just cracks me up. I mean, seriously, cute old people love!
-
Jinko � Zuko and Jin
Okay, so this one is actually canon. For, you know, the five minutes that it lasted. And it was cute. For those five minutes. And now that the five minutes are up, I want to move on to bigger, better things (coughZUTARAcough)
-
Junoh � Jun and Iroh
-
Kanakku - Kana (GranGran) and Pakku
See also Grankku, Pakkana
-
Kataang � Katara and Aang
-
Katiroh � Katara and Iroh
AAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!! IT�S SOOOOOOO WROOOONNNNNNGGGGGG!!!!!!!!! DX DX
-
Maiko � Mai and Zuko
-
Pakkana - Pakku and Kana (GranGran)
See also Grankku, Kanakku
-
Sokkla - Sokka and Azula
Honestly, I don't know where this ship came from. It kinda freaks me out. o_o
See also Azokka
--
Sokkue - Sokka & Princess Yue
See also Yukka
-
Sukka � Suki and Sokka
-
Taang � Toph and Aang
See also Aanph
-
Tokka � Toph and Sokka
Hee... I have to admit, I've become a bit of a Tokka fangirl ^__^; And omygosh, it's totally canon! Or at least as canon as Kataang is, anyway ;)
-
Toko � Toph and Zuko
Omygosh� I saw this one online� and screamed >_O;; Although... I don't think it would ever happen, but it would make for a very interesting pairing, if it was done well. You know, I really wouldn't mind seeing more fan work exploring the possible relationship between these two =)
-
Tykka � Ty Lee and Sokka
Honestly, the only way I see this one happening is if Ty Lee bound and gagged Sokka and had her way with him. Or, I suppose, if Sokka went on some kind of depressed everyone-I-fall-in-love-with-dies, make-out-with-the-first-girl-I-see binge and Ty Lee happened to show up and oblige him. But even those two theories seem a little far-fetched to me ^_^;
See also Ty Lokka
-
Tyko � Ty Lee and Zuko
-
Ty Lokka � Ty Lee and Sokka
See also Tykka
-
Urzai � Ursa and Ozai
-
Yukka � Yue and Sokka
Yay for actually canon pairings! I have to admit, though, Yue got on my nerves at first. She was just so... whispy. That's the only word that comes to mind that isn't as harsh as 'weak.' Because she wasn't actually weak - she actually ended up being a fairly cool character in the end. So yay, canon romance! :D
-
Zong � Zuko and Song
This one actually could have been cute, I think. Song made a good opposite for Zuko and I think could have made a good permanent match for him...you know, if he hadn't stolen her ostritch horse and run away >_<; Personally, I think Zuko just wasn't at a point, character development-wise, to be able to open up to someone like Song. Maybe if he met her later in his journey or if Iroh made him stay there for a longer time, but as the canon is, I just don't see anything happening with this :\
-
Zuki � Zuko and Suki
This is another one that I recoiled from at first... but the idea's grown on me. I mean, again, I don't think it would ever happen, and I definitely support other pairings (coughZUTARAcough) over this, but their personalities are such that if it's done well you could get some really interesting interactions and could make for some really interesting fanfiction =)
-
Zun � Zuko and Jun
-
Zutara � Zuko and Katara
I... Yeah... I don't think it would be a good idea for me to go on a schpiel about this pairing, because if I do, I may well never stop. I'm a Zutara fan. Let's just leave it at that for now.