To OTP or not, that is the question

[lunabee34]

As part of the fascinating discussion over in sga_talk, one of the things we've been talking about is OTP and it got me to thinking (which, yes, is dangerous).

I am not an OTPer. In the beginnings of my fannish days, I was very devoted to Spike/Xander but after some time I began to suffer from Spander fatigue and had to search out other pairings. While I always enjoy the popular pairing of a fandom (Sam/Dean, Jack/Daniel, John/Rodney), my propensity for pairing fatigue still remains. At this point in my fannishness, what I am mostly coming to the table for is to be convinced that these wonderful things (whatever they may be--plot, backstory, pairing, secret, possible future) that never occurred to me are indeed plausible and OMG WHY DID I NOT THINK OF THEM? For that reason, I am very interested in rare pairings and in tangential characters; I think that predilection is neatly summed up in my Bates/Kavanagh fascination. :) So while I love to read and write McShep, I also really wish Sheppard was doing it with Caldwell. (I will not again subject you guys to that detailed fantasy.)

I do not approach fandom through an OTP lens. I'm okay if John and Rodney aren't together; I'm okay if they are angry with each other or mean to each other or if they break up with each other or if *gasp* they never even meet each other. I like for my characters (both written and read) to behave in ways that can be extrapolated from their canon characterization, but that's really about it for me in terms of requirement.

I like to be *surprised* by fanfic. The way I define fanfic for myself is taking the bare bones of canon and building up layers of new flesh so that the animal I create is subtly (or sometimes drastically) different than the animal canon gives us. And after awhile, if all I am reading is one pairing, I stop being surprised. Does this keep me from writing or reading said pairing? Hell no. :) But it does make me long for a wildfire of Lorne/EVERYFREAKINGBODYOMG to sweep through fandom and it does make those main pairing fics that manage to do something completely unexpected that much sweeter.

The only pairing that perhaps approaches the OTP for me is Sam/Dean, mostly because at this point in SPN canon I have a very difficult time believing that either of them could have successful relationships with anyone but each other. But, boy, do I like to read about them trying! LOL

So my question for y'all is this: Are you an OTPer? If you OTP, do you have only one (METHOS!) or do you have an OTP for each fandom? How do you think being an OTPer affects your fannish experience? If you're not an OTPer, why not? How do you think not reading/writing through that lens affects your fannish experience?

Comments

[sharpscissors.livejournal.com]

I really used to consider myself an OTPer. Since being introduced to "Supernatural" half-way through the first season, I was only into SAM/DEAN, and then later when the RPS bit bit the rest of us, JENSEN/JARED. I had always had these ideas of the perfect pairings in various fandoms (from Mal/Simon to Piper/Leo to Daniel/Jack and more), but since I began branching out into Livejournal, I have, you could say, had my 'eyes opened' regarding pairings. I have been surprised, and while some of them are just wrong in so many ways and not believable at all, most pairings that I read or that catch my eye turn out to be interesting.

For instance, I never really entertained the concept of Sam/Ellen before I read a certain story (can't even remember it now), but since then, I can't get enough of it!

I love reading new stuff, and if it's believable (you're right, a certain pairing would just not work), I grow attached to it. I think I have lost my OTP ways and no longer get angry if someone dare pair one of my favorite characters with someone else outside the designated OTP.

I really hope this comment made sense; I wrote it quickly on my way out the door.

[lunabee34.livejournal.com]

No, this makes a lot of sense.

Most of the time, I think of fandom as a kind of journey. Not everybody's is the same, but a lot of people's fannish journeys seem to follow roughly the same trajectory. (mine did)

You enter fandom and become heavily invested in a single fandom, usually a single pairing within that fandom, and then gradually over time your interest opens up to other pairings in that fandom and then other fandoms.

[sharpscissors.livejournal.com]

Exactly.