TOP ideal couples according to fans: Vee and Johnny Silverhand, Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield, Captain Jane Shepard and Jack

Players love to make lists of pairings of varying degrees of drama, but non-canon ones tend to be left out. There is nothing strange about this, but, unfortunately, not all of our favorite characters are destined to be together. And this is where gamers get down to business: ficwriters write romantic and erotic fan fiction, artists draw mind-blowing art, and modders change the game for others to enjoy. We decided to recall such fan pairings that contradict the canon.

Attention, this article contains spoilers for the following games: Cyberpunk 2077, Resident Evil, Firewatch, Dragon Age 2, Tomb Raider.

Of course, the extraordinary duo of a rocker-terrorist and a reckless mercenary could not go unnoticed by shippers, which is why players have been bombarding CD Projekt RED with requests to add a romance between the heroes since the very release of Cyberpunk 2077. However, the script cuts this idea in the bud: the heart of the ghostly scoundrel is occupied by two girls at once, whom V also meets during the course of the plot. And this is clearly not the dramatic circle in which the mercenary should find herself. And the specifics of the ending do not give the V-Johnny couple any hope for the future. But, let's be fair, there is someone to pay attention to in the game even without Silverhand.

Another contender for the hearts of players is Saburo Arasaka's personal bodyguard, the corporation Goro Takemura. Goro is one of the most popular characters in the Cyberpunk 2077 fan community: he has a distinguished appearance, a strong character, and grumbles all the time, like an ancient grandfather watching the news. So the desire to have an affair with this hero can hardly be called unexpected. However, even though DLC is waiting for players ahead, this option is unlikely: Takemura-san is too old for such feats.

Jill and Chris appeared as main characters in the very first Resident Evil, and even then their scenes together were food for shipping. However, to all the fans' questions, the developers answered that the guys were just partners. This is also confirmed by Redfield himself in Resident Evil 5, when Sheva asks him a question about his relationship with Jill.

But fans can understand: the series has existed for almost 25 years and during this time the Redfield-Valentine duo has come an incredibly long way, from researching the underground laboratories of Umbrella to fighting bioterrorism under the banner of the BSAA. In the end, Jill risked her life for Chris and was considered dead for a long time, and he, in turn, almost abandoned his mission out of fear for her health.

Of course, Jill hasn't appeared in the games in the series for a long time (the remake doesn't count), but Resident Evil is still alive. Therefore, there is some chance that the long-awaited novel will still take on real features.

The pair of Henry and Delilah arose, rather, because of the love of the gamers themselves for the girl, rather than for any other reason. She really turned out to be very lively, sincere and sarcastic, even though we cannot see her. However, both the atmosphere of Firewatch and its script prevent this idea from being brought to life.

This deep and heavy game raises completely unchildish themes: escape from reality, difficult decisions and their consequences, inner emptiness... And Henry and Delilah are no longer teenagers who can fall in love with each other while talking on the walkie-talkie. They are more like fellow travelers who get off at different stops, but at the same time retain warm memories of their intimate conversations. So the ending of the game is quite logical, even if it upset many players.

Let's be honest: Lara Croft's adventures have never had much luck with interesting characters. In almost all parts of the series, this is ordinary cardboard, which either helps the main character or opposes her. However, Tomb Raider (2013) was able to give shippers a pool of characters who were paired in turn with the main character.

For example, Lara and Samantha are an almost canonical pairing. In essence, the 2013 game is the story of how a young adventurer became a real prince for her close friend. Moreover, the game itself is not shy about demonstrating the tender relationship between two friends. Later, the Tomb Raider: Inferno comic was released, in which, according to rumors, they planned to finally bring the girls together, sealing the relationship with a kiss, but for some reason this never happened. Sam did not appear in subsequent games, and the main character remembered her very rarely, so fans can only be sad about the missed opportunities.

Another cute couple from this part is Lara and Alex. A modest techie guy and a warrior maiden are an interesting combination, especially since Alex obviously sympathized with Lara, as you can read about in his diary. But the guy had a sad fate: he never made it out of Yamatai Island. So the tomb raider only had nightmares with his participation as memories.

The female version of Shepard, like the male one, has an impressive list of potential partners: Garrus, Kaidan, and God forgive me, Jacob. But even in this situation, the developers' decision to deprive the lover of shops on the Citadel of a romance with Jack looks very strange. The biotic girl is very passionate by nature, and, based on her past, she sees nothing wrong with same-sex relationships.

However, recently one of the developers of Mass Effect 2 admitted that the romance with Jack, who, by the way, was planned to be pansexual, was cut out at a late stage of development. The authors were afraid that they would be criticized again, as was the case during the romance between Jane and Liara from the first part. But one way or another, players are still reaping the consequences of this offensive decision, building a love relationship between Shepard and Jack only in a modified version of the game.

In the case of the Dragon Age series, one can argue for a long time about the absence of various couples: Morrigan and a female Gray Warden, Solas and an elf Inquisitor, Cullen and a male Inquisitor, etc. But it's still hard to blame Bioware for the paucity of novels; not a single part was left without bright love relationships.

However, Dragon Age 2 introduced perhaps the most beloved character among fans of the series — Varric Tetras. They meet Hawke at the beginning of the first act and pretty soon become good friends. Moreover, the dwarf is so imbued with the main character that he begins to glorify her exploits in his books.

However, their romantic relationship only happens in fan fiction, which is very upsetting for fans, because, according to the canon, there can be nothing but friendship, even a close one, between them. Mostly because Varrick already has a rather complex and sometimes dramatic love story with his longtime girlfriend Bianca.

The Inquisitor has the same story: he can only be friends with the gnome. But let's be honest, the touching relationship between Hawke and Varrick is still much more suitable for pairing.

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Of course, this is not a complete list of non-canonical couples. Fans ship different characters: sometimes even those who have never met, like Dorian Pavus and Anders from Dragon Age: Inquisition, or simply heroes from different universes: Nathan Drake and Lara Croft, Dante and Bayonetta. Players, as it happens, do not always agree with the developers, and for them bringing together their favorite heroes is a matter of honor. But there's nothing wrong with that. After all, not all games necessarily need love stories, and not all cute pairings need to be canon.