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. Early in this fandom's history, the most common form of shipper was a match-up between Daria and Trent (a.k.a., Daria/Trent). In more recent years, the variety of relationship match-ups has expanded considerably, sometimes to absurdity.

Gay or lesbian shippers written about same-sex character pairs are called slash fiction or "slashfic," for the slash mark separating the names of the two lovers when referring to such tales. The term arose decades ago in Star Trek fanfic that posited a homosexual relationship between Captain Kirk and Science Officer Spock. Daria/Jane is probably the most common form of slash in Daria fandom. Further discussion of slash fanfic appears under that heading; the remainder of this article discusses only heterosexual match-ups.

Tired Daria Fandom Tropes contains a detailed overview on the history of and problems associated with writing any new Daria/Trent shipperfics, which many in fandom feel is a trend that has run its course. Even 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. Daria/Ted shipping is intriguing in post-canon writing, though the Daria/Luhrman combination has been little explored, despite Glenn Eichler's interest in same.

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, Quinn/Three Js, Upchuck/Andrea and, of course, Jake/Helen are known couples from canon, and many stories explore those pairings. Other, less traditional pairings include Quinn/Jane, Jane/Jesse, Quinn/Sandi, Stacy/Ted, Stacy/Quinn, and Stacy/Upchuck, to name only a few.

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.
 * “The Fall of Tommunism” by CINCGREEN.
 * 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)