They don't have to have the same status and skills; it's more that the story shouldn't treat one character like they're superior to their other half, there should be opportunities for both to display their particular fields of competence and rely on each other's strengths, they should both get chances to save each other, etc.;

*nods* Enemy pairings totally tie into this, because they're about two people both competing as equals and competing on the same field.

And for #5, another of my biggest long-running narrative kinks is portrayal of alien cultures/POVs that are truly alien.

I need to send you a link to this - because I've got a sci-fi story on a back burner and one things I'm currently tripping over is how to make the hero alien in both realistic, interesting, and consistent ways.

And would you mind talking about how Lireal tweaks the 'unhappy orphan' sterotype?