Every reader has seen it…in the summaries of a story, the author points out the pairings of two video game characters (sometimes more than one). Some will see things like, ‘RyuChun,’ “Xiayin,” “Julin,” etc. In this article, certain things will be pointed out and the one question may be answered…why?

I will also speak in my own personal view as well. What prompt me to write this article was because of two flames from another fic. I spent until three in the morning reading this fic and I loved it very much despite a few errors. It involves a Jin and Julia (Tekken) pairing. Both of the flames came from Jin and Xiaoyu fans who’d probably want to rot in hell before they ever see a Jin/Julia pairing. Not only is this a huge display of immaturity, but they don’t seem to get the picture that not everyone is going to pair up their favorites.

Now don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against any form of Jin/Xiaoyu pairings and I have read a few of those fics before. The point is that everyone should accept the pairings an author decided to do. If you really hate it that much, then simply do not read the fic. Not only are you wasting the author’s time, but you are also wasting your own.

Authors have two ways of creating pairings. They either follow the official storyline or mix and match two characters who they believe make a good couple.

Most people would follow the official storyline. Whether the characters really were together or just acquaintances, writers take the next step in creating a unique story, whether the story focuses on their relationship or the relationship is part of a back story. Examples of these are Trigun’s Nicholas D. Wolfwood and Milly Thompson. They met during their travels and near the end of the series, it was obvious that they had feelings for each other. The series never officially confirmed it, but it opened up many doors for writers to speculate what could’ve been. Another example is Mortal Kombat’s Liu Kang and Kitana. In MK4, it made obvious hints that these two had something going on whether they are just feelings or something really did happen during that timeline. As if of MK Deception, it seems that something had happened as you may see in the second picture frame of Ermac’s ending. Again, writers speculated and wrote what could’ve been. Pairings based on official storylines seems to speculate the relationship between the two characters.

Then there are the pairings who have little or no relationship in the game/series at all in the official story. The most famous out of these are Street Fighter’s Ryu and Chun-Li. In comics, movies, etc. they had some sort of contact in the tournament, but that was it. Even as much as I myself like this pairing, I don’t believe these two will ever be together in the official storyline. Again, most writers use their own speculation of how it may had gone if this pairing actually happened. Another example of this type of pairing are Jin and Julia. Indeed they make a cute couple (and yes these are my two favorites of Tekken), but in truth, they’ll never be actually together in the storyline. Some reviewers who bash need to realize this and it’s only for fun. They are true fan boys/girls if they take it seriously.

With the second example of a pairing, I usually bend towards this. I’m quite into doing the locked room test…throw in two people in one room and then see how they interact. One of my speculations was the Kenshi/Kitana pairing in my fic Her Protector. Neither one of them have any relationship in the official story whatsoever. A signature in a forum inspired me to make such a story. With these two, I played the locked room test. The results were two people with dark pasts and barely have anyone to hold on to. They would be shy around each other at first, but then they would slowly open up to each other and eventually talk of their past. Though it seemed fast paced in my fic, that was what I came with.

Making pairings like Kenshi/Kitana is fine, but the trick is that you must have a very good reason for this. Play the locked room test in your mind and try to make out a good result. And for this, always put Alternate Universe in your summaries to avoid bashing from reviewers who think you must die simply because you altered something they don’t like.

Oh yes, and there are the Game Character/OC pairings. In a short note, this is okay in my opinion, but the important thing is make sure the characters are still in-character (don’t make the anti-hero Scorpion become a whiny brat). Also, make sure that your OC is not a Mary Sue/Gary Stu because then you’ll run into trouble. Take a look at Veronica and Jasmine Brewer in my fic Street Fighter II V: Resurrection. They are the best examples of Mary Sues…they were completely flawless (despite the past)…and you wondered why Wagner was the only one of the three who continued in other fics afterwards.

Unless reviewers truly believe that the author didn‘t put enough effort in making the non-related pairings work (and should state why and give suggestions), there is no reason to criticize to make the author feel bad. Bashing them and saying stuff like, ‘They will never be a real couple! You must die!’ isn’t going to push the author away (for many, it just makes them want to write more), plus saying ‘you must die’ is very immature. You, the reviewer, put a bad name on yourself, not the author. Even if it’s just an opinion, you should be more mature than that. If you truly think it sucks and feel the need to bash the author, then click that back button…it’s a very good tool.

On a final note, set the standards before writing the fic. How will this pairing actually work? What would happen if I put these two in the same room for a month? Speculate and keep the characters in character…once you’ve done that, you are on your way to possibly creating a unique fic.