Hooked Wayfinder

Hooked Wayfinder is the friendship between Moana Waialiki and Maui from the Moana fandom.

Canon
When Moana was very little, her grandmother Tala would tell stories of Maui and how he was the one who stole the Heart of Te Fiti from the Island Goddess, which woke the lava demon, Te Kā, and her island killing curse. This would spread from island to island, until Maui and a hero would journey across the ocean together in order to return the heart. Many years later, before her death, Tala reminds her granddaughter of Maui's crime and how Moana must find him in order to end Te Kā's curse before it kills their home. After looking up at a drawing of Maui holding the heart and knowing what she must do, Moana sails towards a consilation of Maui's hook in order to find him, as well as rehearsing the words Tala wants Moana to tell the demigod once she finds him.

After days and nights of training herself to sail her boat and getting caught in a bad storm, Moana wakes up on an island that has been Maui's home and prison ever since he lost his fishhook. Once Moana realizes this, she hides from the demigod when she sees his shadow while he approaches the boat that would grant him his freedom from the island. After lifting the boat up he was startled by Moana's being there. When his startled state caused Maui to drop the boat, he was worried that he might had crushed the girl with it and lifted the boat back up to see if it is so, but Moana had gotten herself clear of it. With her oar by her side, in case Maui tries anything, Moana makes herself known to Maui as she says a few of his known titles, like shapeshifter and demigod of the wind and sea, before saying her name and to say what Tala told her to say once she found Maui. The demigod, however, kept interrupting her, along with thinking that Moana is a fan girl and signs her oar; it is then when Moana decides that she has had enough. As she isn't in the mood to hear Maui's self praises and saying that he is her hero, when he really isn't, since Moana views him as a thief who doomed the world, and just wants to say what she feels she needs to say so they could begin their voyage to Te Fiti. Maui on the other hand didn't want to face the Lava Demon again or to have anything to do with the Heart of Te Fiti. Since it brought him nothing but trouble after he took it from the Goddess, which is why he distracts Moana with his song of all the good things he had done for the humans until he locks Moana in a cave, so he can take her boat. With help from the Ocean, Moana catches up to Maui on the open sea and after a series of being tipped on and off the boat, teases him of being afraid of the heart. Even though Maui is against it, his living tattoo version of himself, Mini-Maui, sides with Moana.

As Moana and Maui encounter the Kakamora, who are one of the many monstrous creatures that want the Heart of Te Fiti, Maui became annoyed with Moana when he learned that she doesn't know how to sail, but still wants to go on the voyage with him. He also wasn't impressed that Moana is self taught. Even though Moana was able to fight the Kakamora on her own while Maui had tried to sail away from them, without Moana until she managed to rejoin him as they both sail away from the small coconut-like pirates. Once they were far away from them, Moana convinces Maui to return the heart with the promise that his actions will make him a hero again, since the world currently remembers him as a villain from what he had done. Maui agrees to go on the journey with Moana, as long as she agrees to make a quick detour to find Maui's fishhook. He is powerless without it and was the main reason why he didn't help Moana fight off the Kakamora. On the way, after some "convincing" from the ocean, Maui teaches Moana how to sail through the art of Wayfinding as a Wayfinder, even though he wasn't very kind towards Moana as she struggled just as Moana didn't approve of Maui's "joke" during their lesson. Because Moana was mortal Maui didn't see her someone who is special like he is, from him being a demigod. That is why he wanted Moana to stay out of his way, until he decided to have her serve as a distraction for his mission to get his magical fish hook back from an former friend. Who wouldn't hesitate to harm the two.

After entering the realm of monsters, a near death encounter with Tamatoa and escaping with the hook, Maui started to act more nicer towards Moana. Who gets Maui to open up about his past, after seeing him lose control of his hook's powers and remembering Tamatoa's mean words to him. Moana helps Maui regain his confidence by telling him that the ocean saved him for a reason, just as it has chosen her. As the two work to help Maui regain the confidence that allows him to use his hook's powers, Moana gets him to start small before moving onto bigger animal. Maui returns the favour by being more kinder and patient during the rest of Moana's wayfinding lessons, as they continue their voyage towards Te Fiti. The two were hopeful when they finally reached the boarders that was guarded by Te Ka, until the lava demon attacks them. During the first round Moana noticed a weakness to the demon, but because Maui's hook was badly damaged he didn't want to hear it or have anything to do with the heart or Moana. Despite all that the two have went through together, Maui didn't want to lose his fish hook for good and tells Moana that the ocean had chosen wrong when she tried to convince him to stay. After a brief separation, that have the two time to think on their separate ends to think, the two try again. Resulting in Maui using Moana's advice to harm Te Ka with water, before his hook gets destroyed to ensure that Moana reached the goddess with her heart unharmed. Seeing Te Ka being focused on Moana, Maui gets the Damon's attention on him in an attempt to save her. Moana, however, realised that Te Ka that is actually Te Fiti, and restored her heart before she could harm Maui. Moana then gets Maui to apologise for his past actions and for him to except Te Fiti's gift, that comes in the form of a new magical fish hook. As the two bid each other farewell before Moana began her journey home, he shows Moana his new tattoo that is of her. Due to her role in their shared story and that it allows a small part of Moana to always be with him. After a brief hug the two share Maui used his hook to become a hawk, he smiles at Moana before he flies away. Hawk Maui passes Moana as she gets her people to return back to their wayfinding roots, through the skills Maui had taught Moana who then passes onto them.

Fanon
Hooked Wayfinder is seen as the main ship of the Disney Moana fandom, as there are many fans who wanted Moana and Maui to have a romantic relationship with each other. With them being the Disney princess and hero of their story, and the fact that many of the early Disney films have those characters end up together. Maui being older than Moana, and Moana being a minor, however, has fans wanting to keep them as friends. Similar to how another group prefer to have the two form a sibling-like bond, due to the vibes they got off of them. After the news of a Moana TV series was revealed, people began to hope that they'll get to see more of the two. Since Maui flying past Moana at the end of the film hints that their paths may continue cross on her new journey across the sea.

Many fanarts, fanfictions, and edits have been made of the two. Most of them are of a romantic or platonic nature, after the events of the 2016 film as the two catch up. On AO3, the ship has 138+ het fanfics and 185+ gen fics. With Moana being added to the sub-fandoms of the main Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons crossover fandom, it sometimes has Maui making appearances in it as well, thanks to his connection with her. Just as Flynn and Kristoffs' connections to their Disney princesses has them appearing in the crossover beside them.

Fandom

 * FAN FICTION
 * Maui/Moana tag on FanFiction.Net
 * Maui/Moana tag on FanFiction.Net
 * Maui/Moana tag on FanFiction.Net

Trivia

 * The ship's title is a reference to Maui's magical fishhook and Moana becoming a Wayfinder with his help, just as she had helped Maui to both reclaim and regain control over his hook.