Who comes first?

[campylobacter]

When you read or write fan fiction, does the order of the people listed in the pairing mean anything?

If it's "Mulder/Skinner", does that mean Mulder's topping?

If it's Gandalf/Theoden, does that mean the King of Rohan's the last to come?

If it's "Dubya/Jacko", does it mean the President outranks the King of Pop?

Does it have anything to do with alphabetical order?

Or gender?

Comments

[prillalar]

It doesn't have anything to do with who's topping, at least not in non-anime fandoms. Nor with alphabetical order. But I think it's more about who is more important to the show/book/movie. Or perhaps who has a stronger personality (which is not the same as topping).

So, M/Sk, but Sk/K and K/P.

But it's not always the same for everyone. It's always Harry/Draco but it can be Draco/Ron or Ron/Draco.

And as to gender: Ron/Hermione, but Hermione/George.

Of course, in my theory, this is how these pairings get standardized in the first place -- once that happens, it's just convention to keep using it that way.

[campylobacter.livejournal.com]

I'm glad there's no true logic to convention. I feel like such a maverick when I say "Scully/Mulder" or "Frohike/CSM".