OTP Tag

Let’s talk about love. A weird and wonderful phenomenon is how we obsess over and feel for fictional couples. We love them for all sorts of reasons. And what better way to explore those reasons than this tag? So… let’s just get on with it, I guess.

1. Pick an unpopular OTP you ship.

Elain and Azriel from A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas. It’s not that they’re necessarily unpopular, but they’re less popular than the other Elain ship. But I think these two would be great together. They’re both soft, but misunderstood. And they had such natural chemistry, unlike Elain and her supposed mate. Azriel was the first fae Elain was comfortable with. In fact, she seemed to never experience any discomfort with him. She would help Azriel open up. Plus she says he’s beautiful and it touches him so deeply. They already seem to get each other in a way no one else does. Also, I’d really love to see the mating bond be rejected in favor of love.

2. Pick an OTP that you didn’t ship at first but do now.

Ron and Hermione from Harry Potter. I don’t really know why I didn’t ship them, but for some reason I didn’t. And then Rowling said she shouldn’t have put them together. I immediately came to their defense and have shipped them ever since. But they really do complement each other well. They each look at things in different ways and work really well together. Plus, they were friends, so we know they like each other, as well as love each other. I mean, Hermione was always already at the Burrow whenever Harry would get there. Interesting… Once they got through that period where they didn’t really know how to deal with their feelings, they were a great couple.

3. Pick your most hated NOTP.

Hanna Donnelly and Niklas Malikov from Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. I don’t need to reiterate how much I hate this book. You all know. But I haven’t talked enough about this disgusting ship. Niklas hits on and asks out Hanna repeatedly, despite the fact that she has told him no. She feels so threatened and disrespected, she once broke his arm to defend herself and get him to leave her alone. And yet he still doesn’t stop. And somehow they get together by the end of the book. I don’t care whatever else happened, Niklas Malikov is a piece of shit who only cares about what he wants. If he really cared about Hanna, he would’ve respected her wishes even if it came at a detriment to him. Plus, this sends an awful message. It tells boys they can ignore when a girl says no because she’ll eventually give in. It tells girls they owe a guy something if he likes her. It’s gross and disgusting and I hate it so much.

4. Pick an OTP that took waaayyyy too long to get together.

Kestrel and Arin from the Winner’s trilogy by Marie Rutkoski. I get why they didn’t, but ugh! At least it gave us the iconic line, “Marry him, but be mine in secret.” Kill me now.

5. Pick your favorite non-canon OTP.

I highkey hate myself for it, but Manon and Elide from the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas. I mean, they made so much sense. First of all, Manon is a lesbian. Second of all, she goes totally soft for Elide. She gives her protection, lets her sleep in her room, and runs through a castle in chaos just to rescue her. Third of all, Elide is demisexual. She didn’t have feelings for anyone until she got close with Manon. Fourth of all, everything in Empire of Storms was ludicrous and completely out of character for both of them. Fifth of all, they are in love and that’s that on that.

6. Pick your favorite BROTP.

Will Herondale and Jem Carstairs from The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare. They are the epitome of what parabatai should be. Like… how do you even explain them? Their relationship is just too beautiful for words.

7. Pick an OTP you adored in the books but not as much in the movie or TV adaptation.

I want to do two different kinds of answers for this. The first is the question as it is. Harry and Ginny were so good together in the books and you could clearly see why they were together. But in the movie, they had no chemistry and just felt uncomfortable.

I also want to answer the opposite of this question. I didn’t ship Clary and Jace in The Mortal Instruments. I accepted them as inevitable, but didn’t ship them. But then the City of Bones movie came out. I shipped them so hard in that movie. I feel kind of gross saying that because there are rumors that Jamie Campbell Bower was the guy Lily Collins was in an abusive relationship with, but nothing was confirmed and it could’ve been someone else. But, damn. They had some serious chemistry.

8. Pick a popular OTP that, no matter how hard you tried, you just can’t ship.

Rose and Dimitri from Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead. I can’t really see either of them with anyone else, but I don’t ship it. Part of it is that I don’t really like Dimitri. And then there’s the whole student/teacher thing. I don’t know, I’m just not into it.

9. Pick your favorite LGBT+ OTP.

Denna and Mare from Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst. Part of the reason is because it’s an actual canon F/F relationship that’s front and center. I also love what a slow burn their relationship is. They start off barely tolerating each other, then become friends, and then they fall in love. Mare is rough and Denna is soft, and they make each other better. Plus, they’re princesses. Also, Mare invented stealing her brother’s fiancé.

10. Pick your all-time favorite OTP(s).

Kaz and Inej from Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, Emma and Julian from The Dark Artifices, Kestrel and Arin, Shahrzad and Khalid from The Wrath & the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh, Tessa, Will, & Jem from The Infernal Devices, Sydney and Adrian from Bloodlines, and so many more. We don’t have enough time for this.

 

And so those are my thoughts on fictional love. What are your biggest OTPs? What about NOTPs? Do you have any answers to any of these other questions? Let me know in the comments!

 

Catch you later, Strangers!