Meet My OTPs

The best books and movies are ones I think about days (or months, looking at you, Avengers: Endgame) afterward. Usually it’s noticing something new about the themes, a line of dialogue, or something as simple as a costume choice. Some of this is due to the communities I run in (nerdy Facebook groups, nerdy Goodreads friends, nerdy, nerdy lovely family), but it also has to do with how deeply I enjoy stories. I am a writer after all. 😉 It is my job to notice, to love, and to set those things I love before others.

One of the things I love most in a story is a great romantic relationship. I don’t read/watch much in the romance genre because my favorites are often a side plot to something greater. A happily ever after after the hard won battle, a friendship in tough times turned quite sweet, a duo against the world and rarely against each other. Friendship, loyalty, banter, and teamwork are recurring themes with my favorite fictional couples. 😉

This post was inspired by Katie Hanna’s blog post about her OTPs. (You can find it here. I don’t agree with a couple ships, but what else is new with shippers? XD 😉 ) I love what she says here about why we collect OTPs, and I couldn’t agree more.

“But for all its excesses, I firmly believe OTP discourse (if I may coin a term) serves a vital purpose: allowing young people, particularly girls, a safe space to thrash out what we believe romance is supposed to look like, using concrete examples.”

So basically, I can hereby say this post is “for science”. 😉 Here are my OTPs (One True Pairings), my ships to end all ships, ranked with a couple honorable mentions. 😉

Beware, spoilers ahead, and I don’t endorse every aspect of these relationships and their stories. If you’re interested in one specifically, I’d be happy to give you a content advisory. 😉

1. Aethelbald and Una, Heartless by Anne Elisabeth Stengl

(I don’t have a picture for this one, so please enjoy this fanart on the author’s site.)

This ship destroys me, and it has one advantage above the others that automatically rockets it to number one. It’s allegorical. The book is dark, shows the darkness of our sin, and how broken we are and how broken we make things, and the storyline of rescuing and redeeming Christlike love is the spot of light. It is amazing and helped me feel more deeply than ever how much we are loved by God.

2. Dawsey and Juliet, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society movie

I’m not sure I would have always ranked this fictional couple as first, but I just rewatched this movie (long-distance with the amazing Kaitlyn!) and was struck by its beauty again. Two people whose hearts and minds seem to know each other even before they met, who share the same goals, and deep, deep respect for each other. I loved their honest, down-to-earth interactions, and their honorable handling of the situation they found themselves in. For me, this movie is about finding home, and it brought tears to my eyes when they discovered home in each other’s hearts.

3. The Doctor and Rose, Doctor Who reboot, series 1-4 and a special

It takes literally one picture on Pinterest to send me spiraling into missing these two. He’s the broken, haphazard adventurer who needs to save everyone, she’s the ordinary girl with the big laugh and even bigger heart who wants to save him. Every time they almost lost each other, every word unspoken, every time they saved the world, all bound together into a strong friendship and a deep love they almost didn’t realize. I love them so much. ❤ Also, they are really flirty, and it’s hilarious to watch. XD

3 (Also). Mr. Knightley and Emma, BBC Emma 2009

I really don’t know how to properly describe this one. They definitely have the banter down since they’re fiercely witty Austen characters, after all, but the things that stands out to me is how they are always there for each other, how they forgive and forget, how Knightley is not afraid to point something out to Emma and how she is eventually willing to take his advice. They are also one of the slowest of slow burns and I adore those, so… 😉 Also, kudos to the actors and makers of the show for making them feel like real people.

3 (Hush, don’t you know ranking is impossible?). Brent and Emily, The Accidental Cases of Emily Abbott series by Perry Kirkpatrick

If you’ve read any of the books in this series, you probably agree with me, they’re that fantastic. A super smart and clever team that always has each other backs and always makes each other laugh. Seriously, I could read an entire story about just the two of them serving coffee and talking for hours on end, no adventures needed, though I love those dearly too.

(If you haven’t read the latest book, yeet yourself to Amazon. It just gets cuter.)

4. Fitzsimmons, Agents of Shield TV show

From the moment these two came on screen, complete with a prepackaged ship name—a smashing of their last names Fitz and Simmons—I knew. I knew they were the reason I was watching the show, and I knew that even if I didn’t want to finish the show (I didn’t, for reasons), I still wanted to find out what happened to them. These two have been so close since they were geniuses in college together (hence the name smashing), they basically share a brain. They also happen to be the only two British team members, so they share that little world too. I love the loyalty between them, the inevitable growth to realizing that they love each other, and how their relationship makes it through anything.

5. Reese and Carter, Person of Interest TV show

Don’t touch me, I’m emotional. Since I finished this show about a year ago, every three months I want to rewatch it for several huge reasons (it’s my favorite sci-fi, splits my brain, has a huge value on life, Jim Caviezel plays the main character, etc.) but also for this one. Every vigilante (Reese) has a police officer (Carter) hunting/studying them, and these two did that for a while before teaming up in the team up to end all team ups. Seriously epic. I love their trust and respect. ❤ If you’ve seen this show, you know just how tragic it is, but it’s absolutely worth it.

6. Emerson and Saria, the Shallows trilogy by Denver Evans (Perry Kirkpatrick)

I love it when characters complete each other so much it’s just like, yes, YES. These two spend a lot of time in the cute, shy stage of friendship, and they’re literally always there for each other or at least inspiring each other when they can’t be. The ending of the trilogy makes me sob for 100 reasons, and these two are 80 of them.

7. Steve (Captain America) and Peggy (Agent Carter), Marvel Cinematic Universe

I will never get over how much these two built each other up and inspired each other, even when their storylines diverged. Peggy saw beyond his overly skinny, unhealthy frame to the heroic heart inside and loved him even before he was “suped up”. When he wasn’t sure of his place, she encouraged him to go on his first mission, and even later (I just watched Civil War) her memory reminded him to always stick to what he believed in and be the man she knew he was. He in turn respected her at a time when she usually had to fight for it, and she named SHIELD after his famous symbol. I get emotional every time I think about the end of their story, and I don’t believe it could be any more perfect. ❤

8. T’Challa (Black Panther) and Nakia, Marvel Cinematic Universe

Can we just appreciate how everyone on the royal staff and in the royal family has a joke about how much of a crush The Black Panther has on Nakia? It’s really quite heartwarming how a man so magnificent and in control of his emotions loves her so much. I especially love their honest conversations and the deep respect they have for each other’s opinions. They’d probably be even higher on this list if I had more content on them, so here’s hoping Black Panther 2 is fabulous. ❤

And folks, I’ve got Funko Pops of them. 😉

Aaaaannnd, honorable mentions. These are ones even less canonical but I couldn’t skip for obvious reasons.

Sherlock and Molly, BBC Sherlock 2010-2017

I hesitate (for mere seconds 😛 ) with this one since it starts out a bit toxic and she’s not even a character from the original books, but I love where it ends up. At the beginning, Molly is irrevocably in love with Sherlock and he either barely notices her or uses that affection to get her to do things for him. As the show progresses, this aspect begins to mend, and while Molly is still fiercely loyal, she’s not afraid to stand up for herself or give him what for when he hurts himself and others, and I honestly think Sherlock begins to truly value her in return, at least as a friend. (It’s all part of his brilliant character arc.) I’ll be forever grateful for that one episode where they solve crimes together. It’s adorable. 😉

Scott and Kayo, Thunderbirds Are Go

(It’s a screenshot, hence the mouse and thing in the bottom corner…)

Yes, I know it’s a children’s show, but it’s a very good one, and I’m highly invested, okay? XD This one I don’t ship very hard, they’re perfectly fine platonic (again, kids’ show), but they also have a very great dynamic and similar goals and are always looking out for each other especially. Also, no one said they had to stand thatttt close together.

So, there you go, those are my OTPs that inspire me and my writing and give me something to occasionally happily sob over. XD This list is subject to expansion, and I hope you enjoyed Kate’s brain. ‘Tis a silly place. 😛 😉 

Tell me who your favorite fictional couples are!