{{Shipping}} gone fanatical. The One True Pairing (usually abbreviated as {{OTP}}) is the couple that a fan or group of fans prefers over all other 'ships. {{Canon}} and logic do not necessarily apply, and {{crossover}} [=OTPs=] are not uncommon.

The degrees to which this is taken varies wildly. It can mean anything from "I just like [[KimPossible Drakken/Shego]] best" to "I won't read FanFic that pairs [[BuffyTheVampireSlayer Anya and Xander]] with anyone but each other" to "[[FinalFantasyVII Cloud always and still loves Aerith]] and they made love to each other in the flower field at the end of the movie" to "All the canon evidence that [[HarryPotter Harry and Hermione]] are not going to get together is a lie spread by the Harry/Ginny 'shippers, who must be stopped before their evil [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt destroys the universe]]."

All examples chosen at random, but the last two really are that scary sometimes. (Which made it all the funnier when one of the Harry/Ginny shippers was [[OfficialCouple the author]].)

OTP ShippingWars are second only to SubbingVersusDubbing for heat and violence. The degree of fanaticism displayed for a particular OTP is usually proportional to their distance from the OfficialCouple and/or the WordOfGod for the work in question. One fan wrote an irate letter to [[HarryPotter J.K. Rowling]], demanding to know ''why'' she was willfully ignoring the subtext indicating a [[DracoInLeatherPants Malfoy]]/[[FoeYay Hermione]] pairing. For those of you who've never read ''HarryPotter'', Hermione is an intelligent and capable, if rather nerdy, young lady. Malfoy is a whiny, [[FantasticRacism bigoted]] little prick. They actively despise each other ([[CrowningMoment/HarryPotter she punched him once]]), and are on opposite sides in a bloody, vicious war.

In general, holding their preferred characters to completely different standards than the official pairing is an excellent mark of OTP shippers. If someone argues that you need to show that X and Y got married to prove they're in love, and the rings on their fingers don't count, but they know that X and Z love each other because of 'chemistry', they're definitely defending their OTP.

Despite the fact that it makes your inner [[GrammarNazi grammar teacher]] twitch, it is technically possible for a person to have multiple [=OTPs=].

Some people refer to their favourite [[LoveTriangle threesome ship]] by OT3 (One True Threesome). Or perhaps OT + if they're even more ambitious with the number of people involved.

Often the term "OTP" is used in a more joking manner, a parody of shipping, or in sarcasm. Especially if it involves an unconventional pairing, or a character and their [[TrademarkFavoriteFood favorite food]] ("[[Series/{{Heroes}} Hiro/Waffles OTP]]"), etc etc.
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