shipper

noun

Etymology: From a clipping of relationshipper. Relationshipper emerged in early online fandom of the television series The X-Files as a term for fans who supported the possibility of a Mulder/Scully romance. It was shortened to r'shipper, then 'shipper, and finally shipper. By surface analysis, ship (“to create a fictional romantic relationship”) + -er.

1. A person who supports a romantic or sexual relationship between fictional characters or real people.

   “For creative fans and committed 'shippers^([sic]), fanfiction continues the interaction — the dialogue, the conversation, the story […]”