History Main / WriterInducedFanon

* The [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Striaton Trio]] from Manga/PokemonSpecial really being the mysterious [[TerribleTrio Shadow Triad]] of Team Plasma, due to the overwhelming hints. The fact that it's a common theory for the games and anime helps.
** [[spoiler: And despite all those hints, this theory is eventually jossed with the Striaton Trio battling the Triad.]]
** For an example dating back all the way to the first generation, it was assumed for years by fans that Mr. Fuji, of Lavender Town, was the scientist who created Mewtwo in the games, who then retired to the Pokémon Tower to repent. Though Mewtwo's creator in [[Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie the movie]] is called ''Dr.'' Fuji, [[YouDontLookLikeYou he looks nothing like his game counterpart]] and their personalities are very different -- however, this is par for the course for the early anime, so it deterred no one from thinking that it is true in game canonicity as well as anime canonicity. Despite one line of dialogue that might ''possibly'' suggest that Game!Fuji was at Cinnabar Island at the time that Mewtwo was cloned[[note]]though all it says is that he is friends with Blaine, and [[PixelHunt few people would have read it before the remakes came out]][[/note]] there was still no clear evidence that Mr. Fuji even knows of Mewtwo's existence. However, the ''Anime/PokemonOrigins'' special ''does'' have him be the only person in Kanto who knows about Mewtwo, but still does not go out and say that he in particular cloned him. Most fans have taken it as confirmation, though.

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' and ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'' are made by different companies for different demographics, but both have characters ([[ScienceHero Ford]] and [[MadScientist Rick]]) who travel between dimensions, with implications that they've been to the same dimensions and/or met. ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=821TmxO95iE For example...]]) GF creator Alex Hirsch has implied that these references were meant more of a joke, but you can find plenty of fanart and fanfics that take the concept seriously.

* ''Film/RebelWithoutACause'' by Creator/NicholasRay has Sal Mineo's character Plato harbour a visibly obvious crush on Creator/JamesDean's Jim Stark. The film's bisexual love triangle had long been canonical before outright admitted by Nick Ray in a TV interview where he admitted that he, James Dean and Sal Mineo (who was himself gay) established the subtext and joked about how "this is for the movie buffs in France".

* KenAkamatsu's ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'', ''Manga/LoveHina'', and ''Manga/AILoveYou'' are ''heavily'' implied to be set in the same {{Verse}}. He can't outright state this because of legal issues.

* Someone on the fan list for ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers'' (where several of the show's writers lurk) brought up the disturbing possibility that the Queen didn't put Zachary in the Psychocrypt right after his capture, but decided to [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty take out some frustrations on him first]], especially since the scene where she's standing over his unconscious body was dripping with some disturbing FoeYay. One of the writers delurked to admit that the writers themselves had very off-color speculations about Her Majesty's sex life. It's about a 50-50 split in the fandom whether she "just" used MindRape, or went for something more... inappropriate for a animated show.

** Hitchcock's ''Film/{{Rope}}'' is an adaptation of a play written by a gay author (Arthur Laurents), starring a gay lead actor (Farley Granger) and based on the Leopold and Loeb case of thrill-seeking homosexual dandies. The film doesn't mention homosexuality once anywhere in the film (thanks to UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode) but it's incredibly obvious from the setting, the context and the dialogue.

* ''Film/BenHur'' had a famous example in the case of the Ben-Hur and Messala rivalry. Creator/GoreVidal admitted that he and William Wyler when considering what backstory to provide that might justify Messala's sudden and inexplicable betrayal of Ben-Hur settled on the idea that the two were male lovers in their youth but drifted apart and Messala persecuted Ben-Hur because he believes he has been rebuffed. Wyler instructed Vidal to tell actor Stephen Boyd but not Charlton Heston, which is why much later Heston innocently denied this claim and tried to downplay Vidal's contribution to the film.

Of course, there are alternate explanations for both of these situations, but really only one that explains them both, and the show has already hinted at it repeatedly. This is where writers want to include an idea -- any element contributing to the plot or a character -- in canon, but don't want to explicitly state it. As a work-around, the writers hint at the idea until it's [[{{Fanon}} accepted by most of the fandom]]. These hints are usually strong enough that most of the fandom gets the right idea fairly quickly, but not so strong that they can't be ignored or attributed to something else if the viewer dislikes the idea being hinted at. The point is, after all, getting the idea across to a large portion of the fandom while offering a less convenient, but still plausible, alternative explanation for those viewers who don't want to believe.

If the hints are particularly weak or ambiguous, it can be difficult to determine if they are deliberate or merely a coincidence. Short of a WordOfGod confirmation of intent, the easiest way to establish this is if the idea is built on as if it was canon. Bear in mind also that, for this trope to apply, the fanon has to result from the hints. If the fanon existed with more than a few supporters before the idea was hinted at it's just fanon.

** For an example dating back all the way to the first generation, it was assumed for years by fans that Mr. Fuji, of Lavender Town, was the scientist who created Mewtwo in the games, who then retired to the Pokémon Tower to repent. Though Mewtwo's creator in [[Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie the movie]] is called ''Dr.'' Fuji, [[YouDontLookLikeYou he looks nothing like his game counterpart]] and their personalities are very different -- however, this is par for the course for the early anime, so it deterred no one from thinking that it is true in game canon as well as anime canon. Despite one line of dialogue that might ''possibly'' suggest that Game!Fuji was at Cinnabar Island at the time that Mewtwo was cloned[[note]]though all it says is that he is friends with Blaine, and [[PixelHunt few people would have read it before the remakes came out]][[/note]] there was still no clear evidence that Mr. Fuji even knows of Mewtwo's existence. However, the ''Anime/PokemonOrigins'' special ''does'' have him be the only person in Kanto who knows about Mewtwo, but still does not go out and say that he in particular cloned him. Most fans have taken it as confirmation, though.

* ''Film/RebelWithoutACause'' by Creator/NicholasRay has Sal Mineo's character Plato harbour a visibly obvious crush on Creator/JamesDean's Jim Stark. The film's bisexual love triangle had long been canon before outright admitted by Nick Ray in a TV interview where he admitted that he, James Dean and Sal Mineo (who was himself gay) established the subtext and joked about how "this is for the movie buffs in France".

** The idea is further used throughout the seventh and eighth seasons to help develop Ziva as a character, as well as her relationships with other characters, most substantially Gibbs, Tony, and her father, but remains non-canon.
* Renee Walker having been raped on ''Series/TwentyFour''. While it was pretty evident that she was raped by Vladimir Laitanan during the events of Day 8, the writers never more than hinted at the idea that she was also raped when she was undercover with the Russians before. This is one of the most widely accepted pieces of fanon in the 24 fandom, many fans even considering it canon.

** The Seventh Doctor brought with him the Cartmel Masterplan, an attempt to infuse the character with more mystery and power after decades of Gallifrey stories had robbed him of his uniqueness. The implications the show played with were stark, casting the Doctor as a PhysicalGod of Gallifrey who stepped down and fled in a past far more distant than had been implied before. The further implications were made clear in the ExpandedUniverse, where the Doctor was revealed to maybe be the re-incarnation of the Other, one of the holy trinity of the Time Lords (the other two being Rassilon and Omega, the BigGood and BigBad of earlier episodes), but the books are of ambiguous canon.

** Likewise, in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' it's never outright stated that [[spoiler: Shadow is Relm's father,]] but it's implied strongly enough that it's regarded as canon.

** The fact that ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'''s [[CrapsaccharineWorld Ooo]] is supposed to be our world AfterTheEnd when TheMagicComesBack was this until fan-favourite episode "I Remember You" in season four made it explicitly clear, where we see [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Marceline]]'s childhood with ParentalSubsitute Simon Petrikov ([[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity before he fully became the Ice King]]). After this episode, the show isn't shy about discussing this piece of trivia.

* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'''s creator [[WordOfGod confirms]] that [[CrapsaccharineWorld Ooo]] is supposed to be our world AfterTheEnd when TheMagicComesBack, but the show never states it outright. It does offer hints, though--backgrounds include ruined pieces of society, characters make reference to things from before "the Great Mushroom War," etc. A flashback to [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Marceline]]'s childhood seems to be set when the disaster is in progress.
** Confirmed in writing as of "I Remember You," with [[spoiler: Simon Petrikov's]] letters speaking of being left alone in the "wreckage of the world" with [[spoiler: toddler Marceline]] and another outright mention of the war.
** Another example is the VERY popular theory that Princess Bubblegum and Marceline used to date. WordOfGod has gone back and forth on this one, and the writers try to sneak in as much [[LesYay subtext]] as they can.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' episode "Rose's Scabbard", a flashback shows Pearl affirming her loyalty to Rose Quartz [[spoiler:implied to be just before the battle against the Homeworld Gems for Earth.]] The scene contains a symbolic representation of a knight swearing loyalty to a monarch, making it clear at least Pearl was deeply loyal to Rose. However, some lines could be interpreted as romantic, at least on Pearl's end. This presents her highly-protective, almost motherly behavior towards Steven in a very different light. Most fans assume Pearl is genuinely in love with her, though WordOfGod has so far remained ambiguous. This series is written and created by Rebecca Sugar, who wrote many aforementioned Marceline and Princess Bubblegum episodes stated above, interpret that how you will.

* ''Series/{{Community}}'' has dropped some heavy hints that Britta was molested as a child by a man in a dinosaur costume, with [[AllInTheManual her online character bios outright confirming it.]]

* At no point is it ever actually stated that ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' is set in the author's hometown of Nishinomiya. [[NoCommunitiesWereHarmed It is just very strongly implied.]]

Of course, there are alternate explanations for both of these situations, but really only one that explains them both, and the show has already hinted at it repeatedly.

This is where writers want to include an idea -- any element contributing to the plot or a character -- in canon, but don't want to explicitely state it. As a work-around, the writers hint at the idea until it's [[{{Fanon}} accepted by most of the fandom]].

These hints are usually strong enough that most of the fandom gets the right idea fairly quickly, but not so strong that they can't be ignored or attributed to something else if the viewer dislikes the idea being hinted at. The point is, after all, getting the idea across to a large portion of the fandom while offering a less convenient, but still plausible, alternate explanation for those viewers who don't want to believe.

This tactic is most often employed when writers want to include an element such as mental illness, rape, in older shows, homosexuality, or another sensitive topic in a plotline or a character's backstory as a means of plot or character development, but don't want to explicitly state it to avoid controversy or alienating certain viewers.

For when this happens with a ship, see ShipTease. Can result from intentional CanonFodder. Contrast with WildMassGuessing.

* Film/TaxiDriver has Travis Bickle as a Vietnam War veteran. In the film this is casually hinted and not specified. Scorsese and Schrader discuss the subtext as if it had always been part of the film.

** Likewise, in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' it is strongly implied but never outright stated that [[spoiler: Shadow is Relm's father.]]

* It is hinted several times in ''{{Slayers}}'' that Naga is Amelia's older sister.

* Jude Law and RobertDowneyJr discussed the HoYay between Franchise/SherlockHolmes and [[TheWatson John Watson]] at length in interviews to the point of leading several groups into believing (with either [[YaoiFangirl positive]] or [[HeteronormativeCrusader negative]] reactions) that the gay subtext between the characters would actually become ''text'' within the film. The [[Film/SherlockHolmes actual film portrayal]] is a fairly straightforward {{Bromance}} between two HeterosexualLifePartners who both have female love interests.

Can result from intentional CanonFodder. Contrast with WildMassGuessing.

* Jude Law and RobertDowneyJr discussed at length the HoYay between SherlockHolmes and [[TheWatson John Watson]] in interviews to the point of leading several groups into believing that the gay subtext between the characters would actually become ''text'' within the film. The [[Film/SherlockHolmes actual film portrayal]] is a fairly straightforward {{Bromance}} between two HeterosexualLifePartners who both have female love interests.