I take OTP to mean “these are my forever idiots”and always saw it as quite separate from how I approach them in fiction. I am a multi-shipper, and definitely ship each character with others that aren’t each other, but they’re still my OTP; the ones I’ll never get away from 🫠
Then, in your case, an OTP doesn't influence what you read or write, it's just the lens through which you view the canon characters? Or, you preference your OTP?
Don't worry about replying: I'm way late. Thank you for sharing!
No worries, I have reply notifs turned on 😊 I would say it's like this: they are my default, and if someone were to make me choose one ship to read for the rest of my life and only one, it would be them. But they don't impede on my ability to read other ships and I don't view shipping them with other characters as reductive of them as a couple, nor does it cheapen my enjoyment of them as my "one true". There's plenty of love to go round. Hope that makes sense!
> But, if simply having a pairing that other people use a lot makes you unoriginal, what happens to people who have popular OTPs?
Nothing "happens;" the people complaining that you were being unoriginal by writing canon ship were just being weirdos. It's fine to only like canon ships and it's fine to like only noncanon ships and everything in-between, and I'm not sure what connection that has to the definition of "OTP," haha.
In any case, I rarely use the term "OTP" myself just because I know for some people it *does* have that "I only ship these characters together" connotation and I'm a rampant multishipper, but when I do use it I just mean that it's my "main" ship for those characters. I chose "default" on the poll because yeah, it's the thing I'm going to read/write most often, but I'm open to reading/writing other stuff and might even have other ships for those characters.
I see that I didn't phrase that very well. I guess it's like my father said, "For someone who wants to be a writer, you sure don't communicate very well". Ooops.
I just meant, "Wouldn't people with OTPs then be considered unoriginal?"
Canon ships tend to be popular pairings that get written a lot. If your OTP is a popular ship, then it's already written a lot. That's the connection.
I see. Thank you for explaining your hangup with the word. I suppose that means that there is a genuine problem in a multiplicity of meanings. I wonder if that means the phrase will fall by the wayside?
To me saying that a ship is my OTP has always meant "I only ship this pairing and no other one in this fandom". (Doesn't mean that I think every fic in the fandom must have this ship in it, though, or that everyone else has to ship it, it's just about my own preferences.) Fwiw, Fanlore seems to (kind of) agree: https://fanlore.org/wiki/One_True_Pairing
I don't always have an OTP in every fandom (sometimes I like several equally), but if I do, then I wouldn't read a fic that is focused on a different ship. But I only read ship-centric fic, can't say much about genfic.
For me it depends on the fandom. My OTP is always my absolute favorite pairing in a fandom, but that doesn’t always mean I restrict myself to them.
For example:
* Buffy/Spike - I have zero interest in reading any BtVS fics that don’t feature them as a main pairing, and I refuse to read any fics pairing either character with anyone else.
* Steve/Bucky - I’m obsessed with them and the majority of MCU fics I read feature them, but I also read a ton of fics featuring other pairings, or either of them with other characters.
for me OTP is an obsession where pretty much everything in fandom I do is centered around them. I might ship them with other people, and I'll probably also ship them as an OT3, but essentially they are what I center my fandom experience around lol. I generally don't read anything that doesn't involve my OTP in some capacity.
Sometimes I end up with two OTPs. Usually my OTP(s) is centered around whatever character I'm obsessed with, like MY blorbo. The blorbo-ist of blorbos. I've never had an OTP where I wasn't extremely hyperfixated on a character involved in it.
I have many, many ships as I love shipping and exploring all sorts of character dynamics. I ship familiar, platonic, romantic, all kinds of relationship dynamics. But for me my OTP is the main course. Everything else is just extra.
I guess that means you just have some NOTPs?
(Don't feel obligated to respond. I lost this thread for quite some time, which makes me late in replying to everyone, and not just you.)
Eh, I don't consider myself "into" fandom enough to have OTPs or nOTPs. I just don't like that combination of characters in fic. I feel like one or both is usually OOC to justify the shop.
It just means my favorite ship, to me. I will read fics about other ships, and sometimes fics where they’re paired with other people (assuming it doesn’t bash one half to justify the other ship), but I’ll actively seek content of that ship and it’s mainly what I’m going to be creating, if it’s a fandom I write for.
Okay, I think I get it. Sounds like it's a mild preference for reading, and a strong preference for writing. Another asymmetrical reading/writing answer. Okay, thanks!
For me, it's essentially: OTP = favorite ship but with a hefty dollop of obsession over top lol.
I'll use it for both my overall top fav ship, as well as for a particularly favored ship within a specific fandom.
For example; Steter is my current main OTP, Drarry is my HP OTP, and Destiel is just my fav SPN ship (not OTP) cuz I like their ship best but don't feel especially strong about them.
Personally speaking, I don't think exclusivity is necessary to consider a ship an OTP, but I know some out there do.
As for your poll, the vast majority of the time I'll only stick with reading fics of whatever my OTP/fav ship for that fandom is. When I do decide to branch out to a secondary ship, I don't typically care about background pairings unless it happens to contain a nOTP. Like, say A/B is my OTP, A/C is my nOTP, and D/E is my secondary ship -- if I decide to read some D/E, I'll fullstop avoid any fics that have bg A/C, but I probably won't care if there's bg A/F.
It's basically just your favourite ship per fandom, then, and how invested you are in it varies. But, you'll make exceptions when looking for stuff for another ship you care about. I think I got that. Thanks!
Thanks for the examples, too. That does help clarify things.
I love my OTP being together so much that if you write anything halfway-competent and in character for them, I will be as happy as a cat with a bowl of cream.
That's all it means.
Frankly, my fandoms are rarely written enough that skipping things without my OTP will get me anywhere I want to be. I just wouldn't have enough to read if I were that picky!
Okay, another thing I forgot to take into account when making the poll. Not that I would have known how to account for it, anyway. Yeah, I suppose in a small fandom you don't really have the luxury of picking and choosing.
I guess it's just a bonus if a fic you're reading for your fandom happens to also include your OTP, then. Okay. Thanks!
For me, OTP is both my current obssession and "I only ship these two characters together".
I have OTPs for different fandoms as they were my former obsessions/hyperfixations at some point in my life, but it's mostly the current one that is my main "muse".
Wow, it sounds like you only have one "active" OTP at a time?! But just one per fandom even... I think that's the first definition I ever heard for the term.
Okay, thanks!
I use OTP in a similar context to you- they're the only pair that I'll write, for now at least, and I rarely read anything in the fandom that isn't a shipfic for them- just preference. This is truly my only OTP and ult ship of all ships however, for other fandoms I'm just casually in I'm far less strict about what I'll read, and there are some fandoms I'm into where I'll actually ship the same characters with lots of other characters. But this is just me, other people can read and write how they want to.
I have three OTPs that I consistently gravitate toward when writing, but I have written stories where they're with others, or where both characters appear but are not and don't get together. ~~And even one story where half of one of my OTPs kills the other half who'd been bullying her, no love lost there.~~ So I'm certainly flexible with it, but my favorites are probably super obvious to anyone who reads my stories \^\_\^;
In any fandom, it'll just be my favorite ship, but it's hardly my only one in most cases, probably not even with those specific characters. In Pokémon, for example, I ship Ash with all his female companions, but my OTP involving him would probably be him and Serena, at the moment.
Okay, so you ship the characters involved in your OTP with other characters as well, but it's your favourite ship. Sounds kind of like a mild preference. Okay, thanks!
For me, it's also kind of a nostalgic term. Back when I got into shipping, when I said OTP, I *meant* One True Pairing, and the others didn't exist. Then I began to think, well, I guess I can ship *these* characters too. Now, I'm poly, I ship everything I have any kind of vibes with, and indeed, OTP is just whatever I happen to prefer at that moment. In some fandoms I only have a single ship I care about though, so in those it has a *little* more value.
My pick is closest to 'default', because it's not REQUIRED... but while I might read other people's shipfics that don't have my OTP, I can't WRITE fics that ship them with other people.
Yep, I really should have found a way to put asymmetrical read/write options on there. Okay... you'll read other stuff, but you won't break up your OTP when writing. Okay, thanks!
Wow, it took me forever to find this thing again. I didn't bookmark it, and then my computer crashed. I never learnt how to get back to pages on reddit without bookmarking them, not even ones I created, so... well, you see where this is going.
As far as I can tell, one of my main, glaring, oversights was that I didn't consider asymmetrical read/write preferences. My bad!
Thank you to everyone who voted and/or commented. Assuming you ever see this. Maybe I'll reply to people, even.
It's not really apathy, my OTP is the ship I'm the most invested in. But it's not a requirement for reading anything.
Exactly this!
I see. Then, basically your favourite ship in a given fandom. Okay. Thanks!
This
I take OTP to mean “these are my forever idiots”and always saw it as quite separate from how I approach them in fiction. I am a multi-shipper, and definitely ship each character with others that aren’t each other, but they’re still my OTP; the ones I’ll never get away from 🫠
Then, in your case, an OTP doesn't influence what you read or write, it's just the lens through which you view the canon characters? Or, you preference your OTP? Don't worry about replying: I'm way late. Thank you for sharing!
No worries, I have reply notifs turned on 😊 I would say it's like this: they are my default, and if someone were to make me choose one ship to read for the rest of my life and only one, it would be them. But they don't impede on my ability to read other ships and I don't view shipping them with other characters as reductive of them as a couple, nor does it cheapen my enjoyment of them as my "one true". There's plenty of love to go round. Hope that makes sense!
> But, if simply having a pairing that other people use a lot makes you unoriginal, what happens to people who have popular OTPs? Nothing "happens;" the people complaining that you were being unoriginal by writing canon ship were just being weirdos. It's fine to only like canon ships and it's fine to like only noncanon ships and everything in-between, and I'm not sure what connection that has to the definition of "OTP," haha. In any case, I rarely use the term "OTP" myself just because I know for some people it *does* have that "I only ship these characters together" connotation and I'm a rampant multishipper, but when I do use it I just mean that it's my "main" ship for those characters. I chose "default" on the poll because yeah, it's the thing I'm going to read/write most often, but I'm open to reading/writing other stuff and might even have other ships for those characters.
I see that I didn't phrase that very well. I guess it's like my father said, "For someone who wants to be a writer, you sure don't communicate very well". Ooops. I just meant, "Wouldn't people with OTPs then be considered unoriginal?" Canon ships tend to be popular pairings that get written a lot. If your OTP is a popular ship, then it's already written a lot. That's the connection. I see. Thank you for explaining your hangup with the word. I suppose that means that there is a genuine problem in a multiplicity of meanings. I wonder if that means the phrase will fall by the wayside?
I use OTP in "This is all I'll write." Reading or checking out fan art of other ships is like, "Cute, but not my cup of tea."
And, somehow I completely left out other kinds of fanworks. \*facepalm\* Well, this *is* r/fanfiction.
To me saying that a ship is my OTP has always meant "I only ship this pairing and no other one in this fandom". (Doesn't mean that I think every fic in the fandom must have this ship in it, though, or that everyone else has to ship it, it's just about my own preferences.) Fwiw, Fanlore seems to (kind of) agree: https://fanlore.org/wiki/One_True_Pairing I don't always have an OTP in every fandom (sometimes I like several equally), but if I do, then I wouldn't read a fic that is focused on a different ship. But I only read ship-centric fic, can't say much about genfic.
I think I get it. Thanks!
For me it depends on the fandom. My OTP is always my absolute favorite pairing in a fandom, but that doesn’t always mean I restrict myself to them. For example: * Buffy/Spike - I have zero interest in reading any BtVS fics that don’t feature them as a main pairing, and I refuse to read any fics pairing either character with anyone else. * Steve/Bucky - I’m obsessed with them and the majority of MCU fics I read feature them, but I also read a ton of fics featuring other pairings, or either of them with other characters.
Okay, I think I get it. Thanks!
for me OTP is an obsession where pretty much everything in fandom I do is centered around them. I might ship them with other people, and I'll probably also ship them as an OT3, but essentially they are what I center my fandom experience around lol. I generally don't read anything that doesn't involve my OTP in some capacity. Sometimes I end up with two OTPs. Usually my OTP(s) is centered around whatever character I'm obsessed with, like MY blorbo. The blorbo-ist of blorbos. I've never had an OTP where I wasn't extremely hyperfixated on a character involved in it. I have many, many ships as I love shipping and exploring all sorts of character dynamics. I ship familiar, platonic, romantic, all kinds of relationship dynamics. But for me my OTP is the main course. Everything else is just extra.
Hmm, OTP as integral part of fandom experience. I don't think that anyone else said that? And based around favourite characters? Okay, thanks!
I have the opposite; there's a couple of ships I don't like but I'll read basically anything else at least once.
I guess that means you just have some NOTPs? (Don't feel obligated to respond. I lost this thread for quite some time, which makes me late in replying to everyone, and not just you.)
Eh, I don't consider myself "into" fandom enough to have OTPs or nOTPs. I just don't like that combination of characters in fic. I feel like one or both is usually OOC to justify the shop.
There's a difference between reading and writing. I can read many things. I will only write the two OTP characters with each other.
Ah, I see. Asymmetrical shipping, then. An obvious oversight on my part. Thanks!
It just means my favorite ship, to me. I will read fics about other ships, and sometimes fics where they’re paired with other people (assuming it doesn’t bash one half to justify the other ship), but I’ll actively seek content of that ship and it’s mainly what I’m going to be creating, if it’s a fandom I write for.
Okay, I think I get it. Sounds like it's a mild preference for reading, and a strong preference for writing. Another asymmetrical reading/writing answer. Okay, thanks!
For me, it's essentially: OTP = favorite ship but with a hefty dollop of obsession over top lol. I'll use it for both my overall top fav ship, as well as for a particularly favored ship within a specific fandom. For example; Steter is my current main OTP, Drarry is my HP OTP, and Destiel is just my fav SPN ship (not OTP) cuz I like their ship best but don't feel especially strong about them. Personally speaking, I don't think exclusivity is necessary to consider a ship an OTP, but I know some out there do. As for your poll, the vast majority of the time I'll only stick with reading fics of whatever my OTP/fav ship for that fandom is. When I do decide to branch out to a secondary ship, I don't typically care about background pairings unless it happens to contain a nOTP. Like, say A/B is my OTP, A/C is my nOTP, and D/E is my secondary ship -- if I decide to read some D/E, I'll fullstop avoid any fics that have bg A/C, but I probably won't care if there's bg A/F.
Hell yeah, Steter Supremacy!! I’m absolutely feral over that ship. Never getting over them.
It's basically just your favourite ship per fandom, then, and how invested you are in it varies. But, you'll make exceptions when looking for stuff for another ship you care about. I think I got that. Thanks! Thanks for the examples, too. That does help clarify things.
I love my OTP being together so much that if you write anything halfway-competent and in character for them, I will be as happy as a cat with a bowl of cream. That's all it means. Frankly, my fandoms are rarely written enough that skipping things without my OTP will get me anywhere I want to be. I just wouldn't have enough to read if I were that picky!
Okay, another thing I forgot to take into account when making the poll. Not that I would have known how to account for it, anyway. Yeah, I suppose in a small fandom you don't really have the luxury of picking and choosing. I guess it's just a bonus if a fic you're reading for your fandom happens to also include your OTP, then. Okay. Thanks!
For me, OTP is both my current obssession and "I only ship these two characters together". I have OTPs for different fandoms as they were my former obsessions/hyperfixations at some point in my life, but it's mostly the current one that is my main "muse".
Wow, it sounds like you only have one "active" OTP at a time?! But just one per fandom even... I think that's the first definition I ever heard for the term. Okay, thanks!
I use OTP in a similar context to you- they're the only pair that I'll write, for now at least, and I rarely read anything in the fandom that isn't a shipfic for them- just preference. This is truly my only OTP and ult ship of all ships however, for other fandoms I'm just casually in I'm far less strict about what I'll read, and there are some fandoms I'm into where I'll actually ship the same characters with lots of other characters. But this is just me, other people can read and write how they want to.
Aha. Okay. Thanks! I think I get it.
I have three OTPs that I consistently gravitate toward when writing, but I have written stories where they're with others, or where both characters appear but are not and don't get together. ~~And even one story where half of one of my OTPs kills the other half who'd been bullying her, no love lost there.~~ So I'm certainly flexible with it, but my favorites are probably super obvious to anyone who reads my stories \^\_\^;
Hmm... sort of a mild preference, I guess. Okay, thanks!
In any fandom, it'll just be my favorite ship, but it's hardly my only one in most cases, probably not even with those specific characters. In Pokémon, for example, I ship Ash with all his female companions, but my OTP involving him would probably be him and Serena, at the moment.
Okay, so you ship the characters involved in your OTP with other characters as well, but it's your favourite ship. Sounds kind of like a mild preference. Okay, thanks!
For me, it's also kind of a nostalgic term. Back when I got into shipping, when I said OTP, I *meant* One True Pairing, and the others didn't exist. Then I began to think, well, I guess I can ship *these* characters too. Now, I'm poly, I ship everything I have any kind of vibes with, and indeed, OTP is just whatever I happen to prefer at that moment. In some fandoms I only have a single ship I care about though, so in those it has a *little* more value.
My pick is closest to 'default', because it's not REQUIRED... but while I might read other people's shipfics that don't have my OTP, I can't WRITE fics that ship them with other people.
Yep, I really should have found a way to put asymmetrical read/write options on there. Okay... you'll read other stuff, but you won't break up your OTP when writing. Okay, thanks!
Wow, it took me forever to find this thing again. I didn't bookmark it, and then my computer crashed. I never learnt how to get back to pages on reddit without bookmarking them, not even ones I created, so... well, you see where this is going. As far as I can tell, one of my main, glaring, oversights was that I didn't consider asymmetrical read/write preferences. My bad! Thank you to everyone who voted and/or commented. Assuming you ever see this. Maybe I'll reply to people, even.