Grumpy Character and the Sunshine Character
| Tropes and genres | |
|---|---|
| Synonym(s) | Downcast/Sunshine, Pessimist/Optimist, Red/Blue, Sun/Moon |
| Related tropes/genres | Childhood Friends, Rivals to Lovers, Pairing Opposites |
| Related articles on Fanlore. | |
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Grumpy Character and the Sunshine Character is a common relationship trope where two characters have contrasting personalities, with one lively and outwardly happy while the other is more stoic and grouchy, but despite this contrast, they are close friends and/or lovers.
In fanfiction, some writers will put together two characters with conflicting personalities together, ranging from the subtle to the utmost-extreme, and attempt to extrapolate how their dynamic and mutual connection plays out, with varying results. In some cases, such as in longfic, this character dynamic may eventually blossom into a variation of enemies to lovers or a similar trope as a fic progresses.
This trope is also present in visual fanworks as well, and may be represented with a literal sun and cloud over the characters' heads or with very contrasting expressions.
Although this trope has been in fandom in some form since its beginnings, it only became widely identifiable after the popularity of ship dynamic memes on social media sites such as Twitter and Tiktok in the 2020s. In a way, it's more identifiable in fannish spaces as a ship dynamic than as a trope. It also may have started with the popularity of the Haikyuu!! fandom, wherein the main characters Kageyama and Hinata have these characterizations to almost exaggerated degrees. As Haikyuu's popularity occurred in the mid 2010s, this may have started the rampant art memes on TikTok.[citation needed]
The trope is a sub-trope of opposites attract and it's almost never seen in ships which may be considered enemyslash.
Related Tropes
Childhood Friends
This article or section needs expansion. |
Rivals (Enemies) to Friends
This article or section needs expansion. |
Example Fanworks
- My only contribution to the fav ship dynamic discourse by Kf1n3, Archived version (2019)
- i know what ship dynamic im about by pngdraws, Archived version (2019)
- everyone knows this is my fav ship dynamic 🐶😾 by yukeymura, Archived version (2019)
Example Relationships
- Kageyama/Hinata from Haikyuu!!
- Sakura/Syaoran from Cardcaptor Sakura
- Erasermic from Boku no Hero Academia
- Elsanna from Frozen
- Aziraphale/Crowley from Good Omens
- Kel/Aubrey from Omori
- Clarissa/Nona from Oxenfree
- Alex/Ren from Oxenfree
- SoulSilverShipping/HunterShipping from Pokémon Heart Gold and Soul Silver
- Erk/Serra from Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade
- Tharja/Henry and Gerome/Cynthia from Fire Emblem Awakening
- Python/Forsyth from Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
- Felix/Annette from Fire Emblem: Three Houses/Warriors: Three Hopes
- Zelkov/Kagetsu and Alfred/Rafal from Fire Emblem Engage
- Kyon/Haruhi from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
- Jonas/Alex from Oxenfree
- Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street
- Noah/Owen from Total Drama
- Allison/Saturday from vivid/statis
- Andy Dwyer/April Ludgate from Parks and Recreation
- Wednesday Addams/Enid Sinclair from Wednesday
- Glinda/Elphaba from Wicked
- Sora/Riku from Kingdom Hearts
- Mai/Ty Lee and Azula/Ty Lee from Avatar: The Last Airbender
- Lumity from The Owl House
- Pat/Pran from Bad Buddy