prillalar | OTP

OTP

I'm making with the questions today. Because I think that's the best feature of LJ: getting other people to come write smart things in my journal. It saves wear and tear on my brain, since then I don't have to be smart myself.

What is an OTP? I know what it stands for: One True Pairing. But recently I've begun to wonder if I've been using it wrong.

To me, it means "the pairing I especially like to ship". Hermione/George is one of my OTPs. Remus/Kingsley. Merry/Pippin. Daniel/Jonas. But I write other pairings and I read other pairings and if you don't ship my OTPs, I'll still be your friend.

Is an OTP more exclusive than that, the only pairing that you'll entertain for that fandom? Or can it mean a pairing that's accepted by most of the fandom, like Jack/Daniel, Harry/Draco, Gimli/Galadriel? (OK, maybe I'm the only one who ships Gimli/Galadriel.)

When you use "OTP" what do you mean? And who are your OTPs?

Be smart for me now. :)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

My sense is that somebody who seriously espouses One True Pairing believes that X and Y are meant for each other and no-one else and would refuse to read about, say, how Galadriel fell in love with her husband, since she's obviously meant to be with Gimli and any other suggestion denigrates their pure, true love.

My own attitude towards the OTP concept is better expressed by the icon of

franzeska's which can be viewed, for example, here (http://www.livejournal.com/~franzeska/42927.html).

I always thought that OTP, when not used facetiously, was something only them crazy H/D types had. Just think about the acronym: One True Pairing tends to exclude the possibility of any others. I also associate OTPs with fandom socializing. Someone who is just a good writer will probably experiment with various pairings or gen fics after a while. The real OTP is the one you discuss endlessly with likeminded friends, the one you join mailing lists on, the one you look for fic of, the one you make a terrible web shrine to with animated GIFs that make me want to throw my computer out the window.

Re: CoffinSex Forever!

prillalar - 2004-01-23 08:05 (UTC) - Expand

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prillalar - 2004-01-23 08:02 (UTC) - Expand

I'm probably not the best person to answer this question. I'm a Swiss shipper. I only use OTP as a joke - because I don't believe in them especially for HP.

I think die hard shippers use OTP in a very strict sense. And the rest of us use it with more caprice. But there are probably a thousand shades of grey here. It interesting the way some people jump from ship to ship, while others stay firmly on only one ship, forever.

I suppose the way one uses the term OTP says a lot about her character. Me - I'm a smart ass.

I only use OTP as a joke - because I don't believe in them especially for HP.

There are just so many characters -- it's fun to shake them up and see who falls with whom.

I suppose the way one uses the term OTP says a lot about her character.

Very true, judging by the comments so far.

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musesfool.livejournal.com - 2004-01-23 18:06 (UTC) - Expand

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ari-o.livejournal.com - 2004-01-23 21:04 (UTC) - Expand

I tend not to use the term OTP in HP fandom. It feels completely exclusive to me -- for example, Fraser/RayK is my Due South OTP. If there are two characters I cannot read unless together, I feel like that is an OTP. Not just that I *prefer* to read them together, although that is a valid use of the term.

words, words, words!

If there are two characters I cannot read unless together, I feel like that is an OTP.

I suppose by that standard, Merry/Pippin is a true OTP for me. Because I don't read them with anyone else. I never really thought about that before. It's actually rare for me to be that exclusive.

OTP for me falls somewhere between your "pairing I especially like to ship" and "it makes a deeper, more satisfying kind of sense than other pairings I also like". So, in the Buffyverse, I quite enjoy, say, Wes/Gunn and also Buffy/Angel. But my OTP is Giles/Oz. I'll read many, many other pairings, and derive a great deal of pleasure from them. But Giles/Oz means something *more* to me, something mostly ineffable (which I'll now go on and try to define since I'm contrary like that).

I don't believe in most romantic twaddle -- soulmates, enforced monogamy, lifetime commitment blahblah -- yet I derive a great deal of what I can only term satisfaction from this pairing. For me, they fit, they make sense, they complement each other, they can (if done well) epitomize what I like best about love. In HP, I feel the same way about Sirius/Remus; I probably read, on average, more non-S/R pairings than S/R fic, but nothing speaks to me quite as deeply.

Maybe it's the lycanthropy, not the OTP. Huh.

I probably read, on average, more non-S/R pairings than S/R fic, but nothing speaks to me quite as deeply.

That's a really good insight; I think I feel much the same way about them myself. They just *are*.

Maybe it's the lycanthropy, not the OTP. Huh.

You're a lycanthropophile. Or something. *g*

I ship Gimli/Galadriel. But it's not my OTP. Legolas/Gimli is my OTP.

I've come to think of OTP as meaning a pairing that a) I believe, deep down in my fannish heart, is the primary romantic relationship for one or both (or all three or all five) of the people involved during a specific period during (or before or possibly post, I suppose) canon. and b) makes me feel joy on a primal level when the characters interact in a way that is representative of their romantic relationship as I perceive it. (i.e., it makes me squee.)

I recently listed all my 'ships (that I could think of. Here they are, with the ones I'd consider OTPs bolded:

Canon: John/Aeryn, Max/Logan, D'Argo/Chiana, Stark/Zhaan, Daniel/Sha're, Diamond/Original Cindy, Willow/Tara, Tyr/Beka, Harper/Rommie UST, Rommie/Gabriel, Jack/Sara, Ron/Hermione, Sam&Jolinar&Rosha/Martouf&Lantash, Daniel/Ke'ra, Aeryn/Veloreck

Extra-canonical: Jack/Daniel, Sam/Daniel (I realize that J/D and D/S are mutually exclusive OTPs, but I ship them both anyhow.), Jack/Maybourne, John/Scorpius, John/Harvey, Scorpius/Braca, Tyr/Harper, Dylan/Rev, Holmes/Watson, Sam/Frodo, Legolas/Gimli, McGonagall/Hermione, Sirius/Remus, Snape/Lupin, Sirius/James, Sirius/Harry, Harry/Ron/Hermione, Harry/Ron, Jim/Blair, David/Jonathon, Ruth/Naomi, David/Saul,

Picard/Q

Pure Silly: Trance/Thor, Trance/Tonks/Tinky Winky, Teal'c/Tanith, Jack/Thor, Sam/Thor, Jack/Sam/Thor, John/Rygel, Aeryn/Rygel, Stargate!Jack/LotR!Sam

Um, right. Picard/Q should be bolded and not in a line by itself.

I can type, I swear.

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prillalar - 2004-01-23 08:17 (UTC) - Expand

(deleted comment)

There are many moods to OTP.

This explains why I've been confused. I think the term has been so diluted by being used tongue-in-cheek that it's really very nebulous now.

Lucius/Dudley

I had to read this three times before I was sure it said what I thought it said. :)

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not-vacillating.livejournal.com - 2004-01-23 15:18 (UTC) - Expand

I'm somewhere between the only pairing I'll entertain for those characters and the pairing I most like to ship. An example of the first is Aragorn/Arwen and Legolas/Gimli. On the other hand I like Paris/Kim better than Paris/Chakotay but I believe in both. Same for Garak/Bashir and O'Brien/Bashir.

I think the term OTP came from fandoms where one relationship was favoured by a strong core of fans and edged out all others. It might have been a little derogatory used by fans who did not hold the OTP.

Legolas/Gimli

What? Not Galadriel/Gimli and their Illicit Affair of Hotness and Dwarf Kink? *g*

Actually, LotR seems made for OTPs. Most everyone has their Best Pal.

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copracat - 2004-01-23 08:32 (UTC) - Expand

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wisdomeagle - 2004-01-23 09:05 (UTC) - Expand

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copracat - 2004-01-23 09:15 (UTC) - Expand

For me, OTP means a "pairing I especially like to ship." Mine would include Remus/Sirius, Merry/Pippin, Percy/Oliver, Harry/Ron, Horatio/Archie, Will/Bran, and Nicholas/Smike. (There's a definite trend in that list.) But I read other pairings, including these characters with different partners. I don't get upset when I see fics that break up these ships.

Though with Remus/Sirius & Merry/Pippin, I don't think any fic author could convince me that these characters don't love each other. So I could enjoy a Sirius/Snape story, but not if Sirius was characterized as completely uninterested in Remus.

Percy/Oliver

They're quite nice, aren't they?

Though with Remus/Sirius & Merry/Pippin, I don't think any fic author could convince me that these characters don't love each other.

I totally get that. In fact, I'm not sure I could read Merry or Pippin with anyone else. Which kind of freaks me out -- I thought I was so open. R/S has become canon to me and so any story about either of them has to take it into account.

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semielliptical - 2004-01-23 17:04 (UTC) - Expand

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prillalar - 2004-01-23 21:49 (UTC) - Expand

I know there are people who use OTP in a true-believer sense and who hold a great deal of antagonism toward people who dare to espouse a belief in other pairing possibilities within a given fandom, but when I use OTP, I intend one of the following:

1. As a joke. So...Mrs Norris/Crookshanks are an obvious OTP, except...not. Their personalities aren't a good match (hee...watch as Beth tries to turn this silliness into a rational argument *G*), I don't want to see the pairing, there's no canonical basis for the pairing, etc. But come on...two cats: it's obvious they must be in love.

2. As shorthand for "I like to see XXXXXXX together to the exclusion of all other pairings." Now, with a fandom like HP, I don't even bother with the OTP designation, since I'm much more willing to read (and write) many different combinations of people than I am in other fandoms (e.g., Due South, in which Fraser and RayK are my OTP, despite the fact that I have friends in the fandom who 'ship' many other pairings). When I was heavily invested in Highlander, my reading OTP was Duncan/Methos, but now that I'm no longer really involved in the fandom, I don't think of them as my OTP anymore, which distinguishes them from the following category....

3. A way to signal pairings that are obviously right for each other (no, *not* Mrs. Norris/Crookshanks!), even if I have little or nothing to do with the fandom in question and which seem to be the *only* pairing that makes sense (this is all subjective, of course). Starsky/Hutch, for example. Not my fandom, but the pairing is obvious, despite the fact I have no interest in reading it. Or Holmes/Watson and Aziraphale/Crowley and Jim/Blair (all pairings I like now or at least did once upon a time).

This seems very close to the way I've been using it my self. People -- or at least people in my fannish circle -- seem to be very flexible.

Oh, and: Mrs Norris/Crookshanks are an obvious OTP? U R SICK!!!1!!!!1

My (limited) understanding of it is the One True Pairing meaning--someone with an OTP can't stand to see either half with another character, and won't read (let alone write) stories in which either half is paired with someone else. I only use it in a joking sense.

I see people using 'ship' as a verb to describe the type of thing you've mentioned--you ship Hermione/George, but they aren't your OTP. (Does that sound right? Not sure myself...)

In HP, I tend to focus on individual characters--for instance, I'm on kind of a Snape, Remus, and Ron kick right now, so I've been reading a bunch of Snape-centric, Remus-centric, and Ron-centric stories regardless of who they're paired with.

Now you've got me thinking about "ship" too. I think it used to be a lot closer to an exclusive thing. But now it seems to be more "I like them together". I do tend to use "ship" more about characters I would like to see together in canon. Maybe that's the difference.

And still loving that icon.

Ron/Hermione is my HP OTP, not because I can't see them with anyone else--I mean, the Ron/Harry subtext is there, etc.--but because it just feels *wrong* when they are. It feels like they're cheating on each other.

That's an interesting way to put it! I can see that in some of the other pairings I like, especially Merry/Pippin.

I don't think I've ever seriously used the phrase OTP. This probably says something about me, but I'm not sure what.

In X-Files, I was satisfied as long as Mulder and Scully were together. And by "together" I'm talking geography. I would rather they were together and hated each other, than separated and in love. Stories or episodes with only Mulder or only Scully rarely interested me.

In Smallville, well, of course it's Lex and Clark forever. I'd say more, but it'd probably include egregious exclamation points, so I'd better not.

In X-Files, I was satisfied as long as Mulder and Scully were together. And by "together" I'm talking geography. I would rather they were together and hated each other, than separated and in love. Stories or episodes with only Mulder or only Scully rarely interested me.

I can't say I was the same way about fic -- slasher to the core in TXF -- but onscreen, yes, very much so. And I think if I were approaching the fic now, I'd want to see their relationship dealt with a lot more in slash than it was.

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runpunkrun - 2004-01-23 22:25 (UTC) - Expand

I tend to think of OTP as having a somewhat negative connotation, in the sense that I think it denotes a somewhat...rabid and stubborn attitude. Generally I associate it with people who believe something like "Character A and Character B are obviously meant for one another, I won't read/write/ship anything else, and if you don't agree you're blind/stupid/missing something." (See also 'canon shipping')

I realize there are other fans who use OTP that are not so crazed (or are, but are nicer about it ;P ), but that 'rabid antagonistic fan' image is still what often comes to mind. I'm...trying to work on that. Heh.

I don't often use it myself--I tend to be extremely pairing flexible, with a few exceptions--except maybe somewhat jokingly.

I realize there are other fans who use OTP that are not so crazed (or are, but are nicer about it ;P ), but that 'rabid antagonistic fan' image is still what often comes to mind. I'm...trying to work on that. Heh.

That's really what I'm seeing with this thread. Most people see a negative connotation to OTP, but use it themselves in a less restrictive or joking way. Clearly, we are all the most reasonable fans in fandom!

To me an OTP is a pairing that I especially love. I... strongly prefer to read them together. I'll read them in other pairings, but only if the story is exceptionally highly recced, or that the pairing I prefer them in is somehow involved.

But I don't OTP very often. There are pairings I like, and pairings I prefer, but I very rarely have pairings that I feel that strongly about.

In fact, the only ones I can think of, are John/Aeryn, Legolas/Gimli, and Remus/Sirius - which are also, in my mind, all canon.

And yet, I don't read fiction for any of those pairings very often.

In fact, the only ones I can think of, are John/Aeryn, Legolas/Gimli, and Remus/Sirius - which are also, in my mind, all canon.

And yet, I don't read fiction for any of those pairings very often.

Part of why I don't read fiction for pairings I see as obviously canon is, well, the love story is there in canon, thus it needs no fic. I feel that way about both John/Aeryn and Legolas/Gimli, as well as a few other pairings.

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prillalar - 2004-01-23 15:52 (UTC) - Expand

*snicker*

Would you believe I have a whole category of memories devoted to this topic? (http://www.livejournal.com/tools/memories.bml?user=musesfool&keyword=OTP+and+shipping&filter=all)

I am a diehard OTP shipper. I can read the characters I like with other people, due to extenuating circumstances (er, Sirius is either dead or in Azkaban. I don't expect Remus was/will be celibate, nor do I think he can never ever love anyone else. I just strongly prefer him paired with Sirius. Or Bill.)

Or, to quote one of the entries I put in my memories for just these discussions:

For *me*, and I can't, obviously, speak for anyone else, but for me, a One True Pairing pairing has to be visceral.

It has to reach in and grab me by the heart, guts, lungs, emotions, with its possibilities, its rightness, its "They're so Meant For Each Other that it actually hurts *me* when they're not together" (hurt being a relative term, but I do have somatic reactions to reading pairings I dislike, and I do get queasy over really sad/angsty fic about one of my OTPs).

There will be people who demand that their OTP be the OTP of a fandom. I tend not to be one of htose people. I have an OTP (or something similar) in each of the fandoms in which I participate (Willow/Xander, Josh/Donna, Legolas/Gimli, Clark/Lex) but for most of them, I will also read fic in which one of hte characters is involved with someone else (Xander/Anya, Legolas/Aragorn, Chloe/Lex, etc.).

It's when I read a story and continually think "But Logan belongs with Rogue!" or "How can Sirius be with that person? He loves Remus!" even when there's no textual evidence in the fic itself (and, in fact the author may be trying to convince me that Sirius loves Snape, and my whole Sirius loves Remus theory is completely antithetical to the author's intent), that I know it's a *true* OTP.

Also, squicks play a part here. I cannot stand Logan/Jean. Can't even read it. It literally nauseates me. I can only read it if I know it will end up Logan/Rogue.

Again, I can read Snape/Lupin, but only as a gateway pairing to Lupin/Black. (though I don't have the same intense physical response to Snape/Lupin that I do to Logan/Jean. I'm just very very anti-Logan/Jean for no rational reason whatsoever. And I think Snape/Black is just ridiculous as a pairing.).

I mean, I want Rogue to be happy, and it's my belief, based on my reading of the two X-movies, that she would be happiest with Logan. In the same way, I want Remus to be happy, and my reading of the books tells me that he is happiest with Sirius.

Both Rogue and Remus can be happy with other people, and I'll enjoy fic where they are, but I"ll be left with a nagging sense that something's wrong.

Logan and Sirius, otoh, had best not stray, or my wrath (as a writer) will fall upon them (usually in the way of killing off loved ones or causing them serious angst).

To sum up, there's no moment when you say, "Hey, I'm going to choose my OTP." *It* chooses you. Or me, rather. Just reaches out and grabs you by the shorthairs and demands your emotional investment.

As for who my true, deepdown OTPs are: Logan/Rogue, Legolas/Gimli, Xander/Willow, Remus/Sirius.

Would you believe I have a whole category of memories devoted to this topic?

My dear, of course I would. :)

I am a diehard OTP shipper. I can read the characters I like with other people, due to extenuating circumstances (er, Sirius is either dead or in Azkaban. I don't expect Remus was/will be celibate, nor do I think he can never ever love anyone else. I just strongly prefer him paired with Sirius. Or Bill.)

Does the Remus/Bill have to take Sirius into account? That's how I am about any Remus/other or Sirius/other fic. I seriously ship Remus/Kingsley, but it's got to be post-R/S or deal with R/S somehow. Because you can't get away from that.

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musesfool.livejournal.com - 2004-01-23 18:22 (UTC) - Expand

I've never used the term before, though I must admit to feeling it. I write XF, and for me, the OTP, if you like, is Mulder/Skinner. Not because I can't imagine Mulder with Krycek, or Frohike, or an OC, or hell, even Pendrell or Doggett for that matter--I've read 'em all at some point or another. I just see M/Sk as the "true love", I guess, be it in my fic or just watching the show. Something about that pairing calls to me...but that's just me, and so I think OTP is completely subjective, and no one can say that their OTP is *the* one. It's just the one for me.

M/Sk was always my default pairing for reading, though strangely I barely wrote any myself. But then Doggett came along and he and Skinner just had this THING and I knew that they had found true love. I can still totally get off on M/Sk, but not at any point in the timeline after Doggett shows up. So, I guess Sk/D is another one of my OTPs.

Something about that pairing calls to me...but that's just me, and so I think OTP is completely subjective, and no one can say that their OTP is *the* one. It's just the one for me.

Exactly. :)

I use OTP to mean both pairings that I like to read/write and pairings that make the most sense to me based on my interpretation of the source material. I will read stories outside of my OTP, but if they involve one of my OTP with someone other than the other half (third, fourth, etc.) of my OTP, I still read them through the lens of my OTP. For example, I will read a Snape/Lupin story, but it will be filtered through my belief in and fondness for Sirius/Remus. If the author does not actually write Remus feeling a lack or mourning Sirius' loss, I will fill in the blanks myself. If the author writes Remus as never having loved Sirius or never having been attracted to him, or as having been in a relationship with him and feeling a lack in it that Snape fills, I consider that a weakness in characterization. Or rather, I care that's it a weakness in characterization. Authors change or ignore things in the source material all the time, but I only tend to get peeved about it in certain instances. One of those instances in when what is being ignored or changed is something of significance to my OTP.

That said, most of the time when I use the actual term OTP, I'm being very tongue-in-cheek. After all, I consider myself and my icon space the OTPiest of OTPs. *G*

I think I've seen more comments about Sirius/Remus than anything else here. They seem to inspire a very "canon" approach -- in me too -- where, as you say, fic about either of them must take the other into account. I must say, I like that. :)

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ranalore.livejournal.com - 2004-01-28 06:23 (UTC) - Expand

I don't use OTP, mostly because I most associate it with the type of wackos who are so obsessed with their OTP that they actually write TV show writers/producers in the belief that they'll miraculously change their minds if the OTP'ers harangue them enough. Oh, and who believe that anyone who *doesn't* believe in their OTP is a) crazy and b) ought to be shot.

Plus, I'm fairly flexible about pairings. I mean, sure, I have certain pairings that I love above all others and think make sense, but if a writer (fan or pro) wants to stick one of the pair members with someone else, I'm OK with it as long as it makes sense. Which is the really key point, of course. That said, examples of those who I could consider OTP are: Mulder/Scully from XF (yes, I was a romo, thank you, before Carter stomped on me, the bastard), Blair/Jim from The Sentinel, Buffy/Spike from BtVS, Fraser/Kowalski from Due South. There's a few more, but I'm not remembering them at the moment. In HP, I used to be all about the Harry/Severus, as that was the first pairing I ever read, but I've read enough other pairings that I can mostly go with whomever the story is about. As long as it's good, anyway.

I don't use OTP, mostly because I most associate it with the type of wackos who are so obsessed with their OTP that they actually write TV show writers/producers in the belief that they'll miraculously change their minds if the OTP'ers harangue them enough.

It's scary to think about being that out of touch. I mean, I'm plenty obsessed. But I like to think I have a good idea about how other people are going to react to my obsession. *g* Now I'm remembering the psychos in TXF fandom who hated (and still do, from what I hear) Doggett SO MUCH that they blacklisted people who wrote them. I still believe that I was TOSsed from Tripod because the anti-Doggett brigade reported me.

I've only ever used OTP in a joking sense (see icon). I think I'm more likely to have anti-OTPs: the notion of Jack/Sam in Stargate makes no sense to me unless it's an AU or the future, Clark and Lana should never speak again, Ryan and Marissa are doomed . . .

Hmmm. 'Ships I've shipped:

Stargate: primarily Jack/Daniel, although I've read Daniel/Davis and Jack/Thor and Daniel/Sam and Daniel/Teal'c and tons of others.

Smallville: primarily Lex/Clark, but I'll read Lex paired with anyone.

The O.C.: primarily Ryan/Seth, but I have a real fondness for Ryan/Anna and I'm jonesing for Ryan/Luke.

Angel: I don't really read Angel or Buffy fanfiction. I don't know why.

Harry Potter: Remus/Sirius is probably the closest thing I have to an OTP in this fandom, but I've read very little of the fanfiction.

due South: Fraser/RayK all the way. I just can't slash Fraser with Vecchio.

I know there are others, but my memory is gone.

In Stargate, I ship everyone with everyone. It's so hard to focus -- they're all so pretty together and they have such deep bonds.

But I do, you know, have my favourites...

It seems that OTP means many things, depending upon who you talk to and what fandom they're in. *g* Mostly, I see people use it in the sense of 'this is the only pairing I really love in this fandom, and none of the others do it for me.' That's pretty much how I personally feel about it. But I have seen people generalize it to everyone in fandom around them and try to force others to see only their favorite pairing as canon, or as the only viable pairing, or whatever. That, to me, is very annoying. I wouldn't presume to tell a Daniel/Paul or Jack/Thor person *cough* that Jack/Daniel is all there is. It's just all there is for *me*. :-)

I have *very* few OTPs, and even when I have them, I can see other pairings working just as well from a certain point of view. Out of all the fandoms I've been in, I think my only OTPs are Jack/Daniel and Clark/Lex.

I was all about the Jack/Daniel... until my evil brain decided that Jack/Harry was more fun.

Why, Brain, Why??? *sob*

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prillalar - 2004-01-24 03:13 (UTC) - Expand

As a primarily anime/manga fan, I have to say, to me OTP means "run away screaming right now". I rarely see the term used in such jesting and benign ways as it seems to be among domestic media fen. The denotative meaning may be the same, but the connotative meaning in the places I encounter it seems to be "this is the only conceivable pairing/only pairing supported by canon/any other pairing is blasphemy". "Canon" interpreted extremely loosely in these cases, I might add. GW was, regrettably, a prime example of the bad results with this particular use of OTP.

Hence, I don't use it at all.

Of course, in the terms of the less loaded "blank-shipper" formula, I'm an any-shipper. Even the denotation of OTP doesn't particularly grab me.

As a primarily anime/manga fan, I have to say, to me OTP means "run away screaming right now". I rarely see the term used in such jesting and benign ways as it seems to be among domestic media fen.

The difference in fandom culture seems very interesting, if a little disconcerting. I wonder why that is.

I use the term myself to mean that the pairing feels very right and special and means a lot to me, and I'm not interested in casually breaking the guys up and putting them with someone else. But I have wondered what it means to other people, because it seems that the term OTP is used a great deal by wackos who send nasty e-mail to anyone who dares to write one of "their characters" sleeping with a character they don't approve of, or who will persecute people for not writing the OTP pair "correctly." So I'm not sure what it means in fandom overall. For me it just means "special pairing that I really love." Somebody else can write one of the guys with somebody else and it's OK with me.

It's been really interesting to get everyone's take on this! I'm glad we're in the more reasonable portion of fandom. :)

I really, really dislike the term OTP. It gives me the hives, unless it is used in a totally goofy cheeseball sense, i.e. Jayne-N-Vera-4EVAH!!, etc. I know a lot of people use the term loosely for 'the pairing they prefer reading over others' and I've got no problem with the concept. Hell, I've got my pairing preferences as well. But the word has accumulated such negative connotation in the corner of the fandoms I've lurked in over the years that I am no longer able to look at it objectively. To me, OTP is inseparably tangled with the facet of fannish activity that I detest the most, i.e. the Pairing Wars. I'm sick of them. It makes me want to kick random passerbys on the shin. Plus, the phrase, "One True Pairing" is...ecch, it sounds so twee and junior high, unless you're saying it with your tongue firmly pressed against the side of your cheek. Even in the height of my X-Files obsession when I was consuming MSR fic in gallons, I used to get irritated when people expressed outrage at writers who *dare* put Mulder or Scully with anyone else but with each other. ::rolls eyes:: I mean, sure, fine, whatever. Don't read the stories if they aren't your cup of tea, but don't try to convince other people that your way is the *only* way. Oh! Now I see why it bothers me so much. The expression is laced with a kind of creepy evangelical fervor that gives me the willies, something similar to "Jesus is your only savior!"

Geez. I didn't realize I felt so strongly about the damn thing until I wrote this out. Sorry for regurgitating this all out on your LJ. After all, it's possible that my tragically short attention span simply doesn't allow me to dwell on one particular pairing long enough to develop OTPs of my own.

The expression is laced with a kind of creepy evangelical fervor that gives me the willies, something similar to "Jesus is your only savior!"

That's a really good way to put it. It's not the obsession, but the way it's directed outward that's so disturbing.

And may I give you this pamphlet about the how the True Love of Merry & Pippin will save your soul?

i only have a few OTP's (harry/draco, remus/sirius, nomar/derek <--yes baseball). these couples truly make me smile and their love and companionship (and the angst inbetween) make sense in my own, slanted opinion. especially h/d and r/s. i truly hope that JK sees the light and opens the closet doors revealing these pairs. i might have giggle fits for the rest of my life. an OTP, for me, is something that fits like a glove, that i can see working and working out. i'll read any kind of pairing, but these are the ones that have nestled into my heart.

i might have giggle fits for the rest of my life. an OTP, for me, is something that fits like a glove, that i can see working and working out. i'll read any kind of pairing, but these are the ones that have nestled into my heart.

Fits like a glove -- I like that. Some just seem *right*, don't they?

(no subject)

willysunny.livejournal.com - 2004-01-24 18:12 (UTC) - Expand

When I first came across OTP it was used in a derogatory way to signify those people who were so single minded about their OTP to the extent that it offended them if stories with other pairings even existed. I think it got co-opted into normal use to describe one's preferred pairing in a fandom when people who were normally sane, and still are, realized that there are fandoms where there really is only one pairing that they enjoy reading and they're not evil, sad, deluded nor trying to force their ways down other people's throats, it's just that that's what they want.

I think it got co-opted into normal use to describe one's preferred pairing in a fandom when people who were normally sane, and still are

Fandom seems to do that a lot -- co-opt silly expressions like that into mocking usage that becomes mainstream pretty fast. Though I imagine it happens more in fandoms with a greater age spread, like HP.

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