Fandom terminology can be hard to fathom and tricky to explain. I sometimes blurt out things while watching TV/movies, only to receive strange looks from the uninitiated. Like… “I ship them so hard!” Or… “Well, that’s awkward. Did their OTP just go OT3?” As a veteran alt shipper and ficcer, I’m sometimes asked by newbies what OTP means… or if I have one. So let’s go there.
“Ship” is short for relationship, and it’s used as a verb.
“I ship InuKag.”
“I will ship MirSan forever!”
“Inucest is shipping Sesshoumaru with Inuyasha.”
“No one ships Jaken. Unless he’s a taiyoukai.”
“Why do you make me ship Kagome with Hisoka!?”
One who ships is a shipper. “I’m a MirKag shipper.” In fandom, you have canon shippers (those who want true love for the story’s main pairing) and alt shippers (those who enjoy playing mix-and-match with the story’s cast). In the IY fandom, the canon ships are well-established: IxK (Inuyasha and Kagome) and MxS (Miroku and Sango).
I ship everyone… or no one. Take your pick.” —forthright
OTP stands for One True Pairing. So if you lived for the moments when Inuyasha’s gruff affections made Kagome’s cheeks go pink, then IxK is your OTP. But if your heart went pitty-pat whenever Naraku’s tried to claim Kagome for his own, you might be a NxK shipper with a much rarer and darker OTP.
What’s my OTP? My first multi-chapter fanfic was Miroku x Kagome, Unsought. And for the sake of nostalgia, I still call the monk & miko my OTP. The watercolor header for this blog is for a MxK oneshot called The Monk in the Cherry Tree. (There’s a small pile of other oneshots, plus the Incorrigible collection.) I even went back to MirKag for a second full story, The Cursed Monk. But I’ve explored the possibilities of several other pairings:
- Inuyasha x Kagome – Unexpected, Inevitable
- Kouga x Kagome – Miracle on 34th Street, Savvy
- Shippo x Kagome – Reckless
- Kohaku x Kagome – Faint Heart
- Jaken x Kagome – When You Wish Upon a Shard
- Sesshoumaru x Kagome – Impeccable, Imperceptible, Pale Shadows, Troved, Unspoiled, Lord Charming
Why so much SessKag in my life? Practical necessity. I was the founder and moderator at Dokuga_Contest on LiveJournal for a few years, and I participated in all the contests. That’s also why so many of my stories are drabble based. I used the weekly prompts and deadlines to add to a larger storyline… and boy, did it add up! ::twinkle::
Fandom’s all about exploring possibilities. What about you? What’s your OTP?
FORTHRIGHT 
Hey there, Forthy!
Yes, I’m *stalking* you. 😉
::kidding!::
Found the link to this site off of an updated “Lord Charming” chapter. So yeah, of course I joined in the fun.
Anyway… my OTP? Inu no Taisho X Midoriko. Two obscure characters that leave their backgrounds wide open for a fanfic author’s interpretation. Why not? 😉
That reminds me, I *seriously need* to dust off my old Word files and finish my story on those two.
::such a procrastinator!::
BTW– just what happened to LJ? It’s all but a dead link now… o.O
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::laugh:: I’m pretty sure the link on today’s chapter was an invitation to stalk. I’m so glad you’re jumping right in. Starting something new can be a bit daunting.
Aaah! InuPapa x Midoriko is decidedly rare, but rife with possibilities. You should dust off and dabble! : )
I haven’t logged into LJ for … huh. It has to be three years now. Participation was dwindling even then, so I quietly closed up shop. One of the reasons I started up this website was because I missed the mix-and-mingle with fandom friends. Writing can be so… solitary.
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You’ll never be alone with us stalkies- er, fangirls…umm…those of us who really REALLY like your stories?
Aheh…^^
Anyhoo, it’s not only great to see you’re still around and doing your thing, but now we can get blog glimpses into what you’re thinking about currently, and that’s always cool. In this particular entry you concisely explained about ships, shippers and OTPs, and I just wanna throw my 2.5 cents in:
There are two anime/mangas that I was originally a canon shipper for, but have since turned to my favorite alt pairings, and those are Slayers, and, of course, Inuyasha. Once upon a time I held many WAFFs close to my heart for Lina Inverse and Gourry Gabriev, as well as Kagome and Inuyasha…now I am a staunch supporter of Lina and Zelgadis (or Zelgadiss; however one chooses to spell his name), and Kagome and Sesshoumaru.
I have to admit that it was well-written fanfics (such as yours!) that won me over, as it were, though I also have to admit that I’d never given a SessKag ship any thought before…especially on Sesshoumaru’s part. He was the aloof, somewhat murderous older half-brother of Inuyasha, and later on in the storyline he adopted Rin and became a bit more compassionate without losing his deadly edge. Who woulda thunk that he actually makes a great partner for the Shikon no Miko?
Open minds are a wonderful thing. ^___^
As a closing note, I’d like to say that my job involves building LEGO models, and if I could ever build a decent one of Sesshoumaru and Kagome – heck, ALL of the main players of IY – my fangirl squees would *never* die down. And as I work with a bunch of fellow nerds and fanpeople (gaming, Star Wars, anime, you name it), the squees would probably roll on forever.
One more thing – I also need to finish the few fics I’ve started, for myself as well as for the folks who like ’em. I have waaaaay more stories as favorites than I do written, but there’s always this nagging feeling in the back of my mind that I need to at least finish the first Soul Eater fanfic I started a few years ago.
Okay, that’s it this time! Seriously! *wry grin*
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A well-told tale can shift one’s whole perspective. Words are powerful things. (Use them wisely!)
And I must say … a LEGO-related job with fellow fanfolks sounds ideal!
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Not a writer here, just a reader! But I originally started reading fanfic because I found so many of the main pairings in the anime I was watching to be so unsatisfactory.For me, I find a pairing to work the best when the couple creates a dynamic whereby one or both people are able to grow, mature, and possibly improve in some way.
I also like well-written crack pairings *immensely*. I read a fantastic (but smutty) Kisame/Sakura in the Naruto fandom. That one…I don’t think I’ve ever disliked a pairing as much as I did Sasuke/Sakura. It makes me grind my teeth.
As for an OTP…that’s harder. I tend to think of people being more versatile than only being able to be with one person. But for Inuyasha, I just really, really like the scenarios the best when she is paired with Sesshoumaru. Although “Unsought” is a favorite re-read of mine. I just have to make sure I have kleenex on standby!
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I love the possibilities that fanfics provide. And for me, it doesn’t have to be about romance. I’m a huge fan of friendship / buddy!fics across multiple fandoms.
In IY, my favorite would have to be Miroku & Sesshoumaru (a la Tolerable & Matching Wits & Resolve).
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My OTP? I don’t think I can choose. Initially I was Inu/Kag shipper. But after reading some amazing fanfics of Kagome with other characters(most of the stories are written by you though) I became a fan of Mir/Kag, Kouga/Kag and Sess/Kag? Let’s not just go there! Even the crossovers! As you did Kurama/Kag in ‘Affinity’. Now I love Any ship with Kagome; just the story have to be well written.
A question though; will you write any Naraku/kagome fic anytime? It is the only shipping you have not experimented yet.
Let me know if you ever think about it. And keep writing! wink::
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My OTP would have to be Link and Zelda from the Legend of Zelda…we’ve had thirty years to fan squee about them, even before I knew what fan squeeing was. Or the internet, for that matter.
I’m usually a monogamous shipper per fandom, but for Inuyasha it’s like…SessKag, InuKag, MirKag, MirSan, KikInu, KohaRin, KogaKagome, … anything goes but Naraku. He’s a bit of a perv, and not in the same way as Miroku is.
Other otps: TifaxCloud, ChihiroxHaku, IchigoxRukia, GrayxJuvia, MakoxKorra, LothirielxEomer, EowynXFaramir, and strangely enough–HermionexSnape. And maybe a Jack Frost x Elsa.
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Inuyasha was my first true anime love, so I think the Kagome and Inuyasha pairing will always be close to my heart. But I love playing with KougaxKagome and SesshoumaruxKagome as well. As far as writing goes, I’ve always stuck with Inuyasha because I know it so well, and the characters are SO fun to play with. But I’ve also written a bit of SakuraxGaara, and I fell in love with HermionexDraco and always kind of wanted to do a Harry Potter fic. I think my true OTP is MixukixIzumi from Hana-Kimi, though, with HikarixKei from Special A a very close second. There’s just something about the high school dramas that make my heart flutter.
Also, I have to say, I love reading your perspective on writing, Forth; you’re so talented and your publisher is lucky to have you. You have the knack for writing and characters that draws readers in and keeps them hooked. I think you have the rare ability to tell a story with the perfect amount of pacing and energy, and your years of practice at drabble writing have developed your word choice and conciseness to a point where I believe it’s almost unparalleled in the fanfiction community. I’ve enjoyed reading your works for years, and you inspired me to branch out in drabble writing myself, which helped me improve much more quickly than I would have in probably any other way. Thanks for sharing your talents (and this blog)!
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Ah, such lovely ships! I adored Hana-Kimi and have rewatched Special A several times. Good stuff!
I agree that drabbling can hone a writer’s skills. It’s an excellent way to refine your thoughts and distill the essence of a scene.
…and thanks for the blush-worthy compliments.
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No problem! It’s true! And after reflecting on it a bit more, I actually think drabbling is one of the most perfect writing exercises available. More so than even poetry, which can help bring out emotion, or long-form prose, which can just develop word choice and storytelling ability in general. I think if I were ever to teach a writing class, especially like some of the ones I took in college, I would utilize the drabble format before allowing longer stories, because they force one to be careful about word choice and details. I think they make for good reading exercises as well, as you’ve demonstrated with some of your most common FAQs, because readers must pay attention to every detail as things simply can’t be spelled out like they can in wordier formats.
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NarKik and InuKik are my OTP’s. I can’t have a literal “one” true pairing for this anime.
(I’m literally stuck between NarKik and InuKik. I can NEVER decide on which is better!) I’m also one of the very few Western fans that doesn’t despise Kikyo. She’s one of my absolute favorite characters. Kagome is just too selfish for me to feel sympathy for. I never really cared for the “leash” relationships. Punishing their partners for even the slightest of mistakes.
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Sorry to double post, but I forgot a pairing… InuTaisho and SessMom (I call her Kisara.)
I just freaking love those two!
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