What makes an OTP?

[No one]

So I've been thinking lately about why I love certain characters together and other couples just don't click, either in romantic books or when romance is just a subplot.
What do you guys think is key in romantic chemistry?

[Theresa]

I love witty banter that heats up the chemistry....in other plots I love the small romantic gestures that really signify that the characters are paying attention to one another...I absolutely love when the couple challenges one another to be the best version of themselves.

[Johanna]

I love witty banter as well, but thinking about it, I believe for me there are two main ingredients. The two characters need to support and challange each other equally. I think these are the two parts that make a great working relationship in a book. They have to be there for each other but also call each other out on their crap and help each other become better people. One of my favorite classical couples are Lizzy and Darcy. She makes him want to be a better man and he challanges her perception of the world and herself. She supports him in trying to keep his sisters secret and he helps her with her sister's troubles.
Stuff like that is what makes for a nice relationship. ^^

[No one]

Theresa wrote: "I love witty banter that heats up the chemistry....in other plots I love the small romantic gestures that really signify that the characters are paying attention to one another...I absolutely love ..."

Absolutely! Caring about each other is key. I like that too, when despite how much they argue, you can see that they are looking out for the other person and pay attention. Like they are a team

[No one]

Johanna wrote: "I love witty banter as well, but thinking about it, I believe for me there are two main ingredients. The two characters need to support and challange each other equally. I think these are the two p..."

You know what? I had never thought about this but your comment made me realize that all the couples I like have this balance of power that has nothing to do with jobs or any kind of official authority. It doesn't matter if one is the boss, or the leader, or older; the other has to feel like they can call them out on their crap (politely?) without it being an issue between them.

Maybe to all this I would add a common project. They have to be happy with where the relationship is taking them. In my opinion, at least.

[Sarahxox]

Now that I'm thinking about this, I think that one aspect that every one of my favourite couples have is realism. Their conversation, their characteristics and their love between each other should feel real.

Authors do this in different ways.
Characters with contrasts.
Characters with family/school/physical/ mental problems.
Conflicts.
Travels.
Finding each other.
Simply being.

That's the beauty. Simply creating real characters that simply love each other.

[Xandia]

I can't really add anything to what's already been said. I totally agree with all of you, but especially about the relationship feeling real and the looking out for each other.

On the opposite hand - what makes a NoTP so to speak - I hate when there's a difference in power between the two characters. Oftentimes when the male protagonist is supposed to be portrayed as some kind of "hero", he can be very controlling and that's one thing I can not stand

[Sara]

I think that the best couples need to overcome a struggle in order to be together. One or both characters must be "hard to get" in some way. That makes it all the more satisfying when they finally end up together.

[Johanna]

Xandia wrote: "I can't really add anything to what's already been said. I totally agree with all of you, but especially about the relationship feeling real and the looking out for each other.

On the opposite han..."

Agreed! Especially in contemporary books! There is this strange thing that many people, especially young women, seem to mistake abusive behavior for romantic!

[Evita]

Johanna wrote: There is this strange thing that many people, especially young women, seem to mistake abusive behavior for romantic!

Exactly!! That's why I can't still wrap around my head the success of 50 Shades. Some say it was the bored housewives who make it so, the ones with "healthy, but boring relationships", but I don't know. To glorified a controlling relationship, to me, is a No, No. With so many great romantic stories, why go to the dark side? Isn't that the opposite of the definition of the Romance genre? Well, I don't know. I will stick to my Jane Austen's and when in need of very PG rated reads, where the couples seem to be real, there are some books worth mentioning:
-Love, Rosie
-A Walk to Remember
-Me before You
-Just like Heaven
-Time Traveler's Wife
-Something Borrowed
-The Magic of Ordinary Days

[No one]

Sometimes I think that the problem with abusive relationships portrayed in fiction is that the authors try to go with a Bad Boy With a Heart of Gold and somewhere along the way they lose the heart of gold and we are stuck with plain a**holes.

[Adi]

I agree with a lot of what has been said, but I think what a lot of people miss is that an imbalance of power isn't always a boy abusing a girl. For example, I was obsessed with the Percy Jackson series for years, but recently I realized that there's a lack of two-way respect. Feel free to disagree, but I think that Annabeth doesn't respect Percy nearly as much as he does her, and this creates what makes me feel isn't a stable relationship.

Another thing about OTPs is that the relationship has to develop slowly. I hate stories where two people fall in love instantly; first they need to get to know each other and connect.

[Kyla]

TBH, in Cruel Beauty, I really enjoyed that they were constantly trying to kill each other but they were attracted to each other; I have absolutely NO CLUE why. I just think it's endearing, I guess. :)

[Irina's]

I really enjoy couples that balance each other, I agree with what has being said before, they have to be equals, and I usually love them when they are witty, sarcastic and bad asses (both of them).

I think the best examples I can give are two of my favorite OTP:

Violet & Lincoln from The Violet Eden Chapters

Alex & Aiden from the Covenant Series

These have their struggles, but always try to do the best they can for their other half, they support one an other even when they disagree, and their love is always true and it grounds them.

Come to think of it, I do know that I hate couples that are purposefully mean to each other, like when they treat the other poorly to "fight their feelings" or some crap like that. The only way I can remotely stand this is when it is to keep the other safe, (view spoiler)[as Will thought he was doing in TID (hide spoiler)]

And I do have to recognize that a good author might make me feel different with a well developed character, but this is my general opinion.

[Sharadha]

Well, straying from the culture of books, I'd say that I've had some memorable OTPs in the world of television & cinema. Am listing a few of my absolute favourites:

Stefan and Elena - The Vampire Diaries
Barry and Iris - The Flash
Allie and Noah - The Notebook
Chandler and Monica - F.R.I.E.N.D.S.
Bellamy and Clarke - The 100
Lily and Marshall - How I Met Your Mother

When I look back at all these OTPs (there are more but I can't recall them all now), a few similar characteristics come to the fore:

1. There is an inherent need to not dominate and submit over/to each other but to complement each other instead. They complete their partners rather than expect perfection from the other. And this applies in real life too.

2. There is more than just love there, there's profound care for each other. They'd protect each other, stick up for the other when necessary, and stay together through troughs.

3. I used to be a huge fan of enemies-to-lovers trope but found that it doesn't relate well in real life (that truncated my list of OTPs to nearly half) and now I find these toxic (Damon and Elena, The Vampire Diaries). The above listed pairs have cemented their relationship in love right from the beginning and learn to let go when they realise that one of their love is not enough to hold them together. They abhor the idea of holding someone close against their will (Anastasia & Christian, 50 Shades of Grey).

4. They have a matured outlook in their relationship. They have outgrown the need to be sappy and romantic 24x7. They instead prefer the companionable silence and good-willed humour.

5. They aren't possessive or abusive of/in their love or its demonstration thereof, and enjoy celebrating it with friends and family alike. That's precisely what our lives is too, privacy is overrated, real joy is in the company of the many you love as opposed to your daunting loneliness. As they say, the more the merrier.

6. They are best friends, period.

7. They have immense respect and trust for each other.

I think these are all the qualities that make into my list of OTPs. I find it all verifiable in real life - a steady marriage over a fancy proposal, a loving partner over a bad-boy crush, a best friend over a stranger-married-in-Vegas. Pick reality for yourself :-).

[Sharadha]

Johanna wrote: "Xandia wrote: "I can't really add anything to what's already been said. I totally agree with all of you, but especially about the relationship feeling real and the looking out for each other.

On t..."

Or stalkers for that matter. There are too many of them to even count with bleeding fingers. Why such characters are lauded and encouraged is beyond me. If someone were to stalk me IRL to profess their undying love, I'd still be creeped out to no end. Don't find ANYTHING romantic in such action whatsoever. Can anyone enlighten me on why the case is otherwise for teens today?

[- ̗̀ jess ̖́-]

so i have two (heterosexual) couples i adore, which are percy/anabeth and kaz/inej, and i think the common thread between them is i like slow burn. i need them to be friends for a long time before any romance happens, because otherwise it feels too fake and unrealistic. in both couples, i love that they work well together, always respect each other, and immensely care about each other even before any romance starts.

i don't mind tension, but for the most part, i can't stand when a couple gets together in less than, say, half a book. are you even friends first? i hate it when, to show a couple is a couple, they spend all their time kissing and all over each other.

so many couples are rushed and/or border on abuse. it's not cute when the guy's overly possessive of the girl and won't let her do things, or when he's always angry at her. it's not romantic when they start saying they love each other after 50 pages. and it's not romantic when he keeps pursuing her after she's said "no" a million times. (i use pronouns because it's the most common, but really, this kind of behaviour isn't romantic or cute whether it's a girl doing the bad behaviour or same-gender relationships too.)

all i ask for in romance is development. i do tend to gravitate to m/m or f/f ships and give them more leeway, but they tend to be significantly more well-written and there are so few canon ones that i should support the ones that exist. nico/will, jesper/wylan, magnus/alec are all wonderful ships and on my OTP list because for the most part they're healthy, loving relationships, but if they were heterosexual, i probably wouldn't be invested in them because they're not PERFECT like percabeth and kanej are.

[Sejal]

1. Needs to be a healthy, loving relationship, or I need to believe that it will be a healthy, loving relationship in the future.
2. Witty banter.
3. I have to love both of the characters.
4. They are best friends AND a couple, or I believe they would be if they were a couple.
5. They treat each other as equals.
6. I honestly love it when a couple starts out as "enemies", which would probably not be very realistic, but, hey, it's a book, anything can happen.
7. They help each other grow.

That being said, here are (a few) of my OTPs, these may not adhere to all of the above points, but whatever:

*I take the term OTP very lightly, basically to me, an OTP is just any couple that I will ship till the day I die*

In no particular order:
Feysand (ACOTAR)
Rowaelin (ToG)
Elorcan (ToG)
Nessian (ACOTAR)
Moriel (ACOTAR)
Percabeth (PoJ/HoO)
Malec (TMI)
Wessa (TDI), I ship Jessa too, just slightly less, so not an OTP
Clace (TMI)
Sizzy (TMI)
Kinej (SoC)
Jylan? (SoC) Idk what their ship name is
Kinder (TLC)
Cresswell (TLC)
Wincin (TLC)

and many more!

[Lina]

Their chemistry, body language. But the chemistry is very important, because there has to be something for those two characters to click.