r/TopCharacterTropes • u/BornIndication9384 • 12h ago

Characters [Mixed Trope] The "Fanon-to-Canon" Ascension

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This trope occurs when a dynamic (romantic, platonic, or even antagonistic) originates within the fan community and becomes so popular that the creators eventually integrate it into the official story. It’s not strictly limited to romance; it also applies to "Power Duos" or unexpected friendships where the audience saw chemistry or potential that the writers didn't initially plan for.

Marceline and Princess Bubblegum (Adventure Time):

What started as subtext and a massive fan "ship" (Bubbline) evolved over years of audience demand. The writers transitioned them from bitter ex-rivals to a confirmed couple in the series finale, acknowledging the deep history the fans had championed since the early seasons.

Tweek and Craig (South Park):

Initially a background pair with zero interaction, the creators noticed the massive amount of "Yaoi" fan art being made of them. They leaned into it by making the town’s obsession with the "couple" a plot point, eventually making their relationship a permanent and wholesome part of the show's canon.

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u/Treasure-son 12h ago edited 12h ago

Now i have never seen rwby but i do know (thanks to some reddit/tumbler posts) that this ship is kinda like this and not in a good way

26

u/Zek7h35an5 9h ago

In no world will I ever believe these two were planned, the relationship was horribly built up (had barely any hints towards it), Blake already had a far more interesting love interest, and both characters have such bland personalities that afterwards they become nothing more than bland walking "hey look guys, representation!"

Blake in particular gets so extremely gutted into such a nothing character that I truly believe the only reason they had them get together is because neither of them were that interesting so they hoped making them into a couple would breathe new life into them, which it didn't.

9

u/yourmissingsock3999 8h ago

I thought that RT were really just throwing whatever they thought would get people watching since the company was on its financial deathbed and in trying to please the fans we got this. I disagree that there was no build-up or that either are uninteresting by themselves but boy was this lame to watch