RoseMary
| Pairing | |
|---|---|
| Pairing: | Rose Lalonde/Kanaya Maryam |
| Alternative name(s): | Rosemary, Rosekan |
| Gender category: | femslash |
| Fandom: | Homestuck |
| Canonical?: | Yes |
| Prevalence: | Popular |
| Archives: | AO3 Tag |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Rose/Kanaya is a Homestuck femslash pairing involving Rose Lalonde and Kanaya Maryam.
Canon
Kanaya and Rose first talk after Kanaya is assigned to troll Rose, something she is first very reluctant to do. Kanaya originally learned about Rose when she read her walkthrough, leading her to idolize Rose's online handle The TentacleTherapist. However, her first conversation with her was actually with John (who was at Rose's computer), thus leading her to have misconceptions about Rose. These misconceptions are soon rectified as the two interact more, leading them to quickly become friends. Kanaya often worries about Rose and tries to discourage her risky plans in the early acts of the comic.
Over the three-year meteor journey, in both the pre-retcon and post-retcon timelines, Kanaya and Rose start a romantic relationship. Later the two go on a date which culminates in them kissing, confirming their relationship.
Sometime after the kids and surviving trolls entered the new universe, Rose and Kanaya get married, and subsequently oversee the future propagation of the Troll race together, with Rose helping Kanaya raise future generations of young trolls.
Fandom
Rose/Kanaya is one of the most popular pairings in the Homestuck fandom alongside John/Dave and Dave/Karkat. It became one of the largest femslash ships, although femslash is generally less common than het or slash within Homestuck fandom.
By Act 5 of Homestuck, the series' alien troll characters were properly introduced, including Kanaya. This marked the start of a huge increase in shipping activity as the cast grew to include the twelve new trolls. Kanaya's past, though unsuccessful, relationship with fellow troll Vriska Serket lead many fans to view her as a lesbian early on. Paired with her budding relationship with Rose, the ship quickly become popular. As the story progressed and the pairing became canon, its popularity only grew.
There was much celebration within the fandom when the two were shown to have married each other in the credits.
Statistics
- Rose/Kanaya was on the top 100 pairings on Archive of Our Own ranking from 2014 to 2016:
- Rose/Kanaya was consistently within the top 10 femslash pairings on Archive of Our Own ranking:
- before dropping down to the top 20 six years after the comic's completion:
Bruce Banner Syndrome
One of the reasons for its ongoing statistical dominance is overtagging on non-Rosemary focused works. Because of its status both as a canon ship and a femslash pairing, it is frequently employed as a side pairing and tagged for minor background appearances.
As of October 16th, 2024, only 26% of Rosemary works on Archive of our Own are exclusively tagged with that ship[11], compared to 50% for Dave/Karkat, currently the most tagged Homestuck ship,[12] and 58% for John/Dave, currently the third most tagged.[13]
Many Rosemary fans resent this state of affairs and wish that others would see how compelling their ship is as well, or at least stop overtagging.[14]
Polyamorous Ships
Polyamorous ships enjoyed by Rosemary fans include Jaderosekan (adding Jade Harley) and Vriskanroserezi (adding Vrisrezi).
Example Fanworks
Fanfiction
- Show the Lights by partingxshot
- Coming to Terms by alcoholism
- Amidst General Happiness, A Recollection of Pain by Barkour
- An Earth-Shattering Confession by rememberwhenyoutried
- in inches, in miles, in laughter and strife by infiniteandsmall
- Love Letters in Digital Ink by tactfulGnostalgic
Rec Lists
- rosemary fic recs by sapphonics
Fanart
- EXTREMELY self-indulgent FFXV crossover AU by synodicatalyst, a Final Fantasy XV crossover
- for @rosemarymonth day one by dumbbitche
- it’s been 84 years by chubsintubs
- Last night something so beautiful happened that I cried. I am still crying by aryll
- the lovers as rosemary by dumbbitche, the inspiration for Ladystuck Tarot
- some girlfriends just because by ikimaru
Fanvids
- ＬＩＮＧＥＲＩＮＧ {kanaya/rose by Wieareyou
- Kanaya♥Rose║ ⌡ DEMONS⌠ by the Bronkel
- ♥ » Rose ♡ Kanaya ❋ A little death ❋ Homestuck mv « ♥ by xKittyKat
Lyricstucks/Animatics
- falling 4 u by upward-movement
- I just threw out the love of my dreams by lolcat710
- Kill The Director by cadaverkeys
- not just a girl by floralmarsupial
- Out Like A Light | Meat Rosemary Lyricstuck by Miles Burks
Fanmixes
- MY LOVE MY LOVE MY LOVE by dumbbitche
- sun & moon lesbians by sapphonics
Meta
- What do you think of the fandom stance that rosemary as a ship is 'boring' by roxilalonde (Archived)
- You decide to SEEK COUNSEL from the Rose human’s dark spectacled friend. by thewertsearch
Fan Projects and Communities
Fan Events
- Rosemary Month (October 2016-2018)
Communities
- Rosemary Server Tumblr blog
Zines
- Rosemarried Album, a photo album zine for the Rosemary wedding
Links & Resources
- Rose Lalonde/Kanaya Maryam tag at Archive of Our Own
- Rose/Kanaya search on FFN
- rosemary search on Tumblr
- DeviantArt: rosemary homestuck, rosekan, rose kanaya
- rosemary tag on MSPAbooru
References
- ^ a b 2014 AO3 Ship Stats
- ^ a b 2015 AO3 Ship Stats
- ^ a b 2016 AO3 Ship Stats
- ^ 2017 AO3 Ship Stats
- ^ 2019 AO3 Ship Stats
- ^ 2020 AO3 Ship Stats
- ^ 2021 AO3 Ship Stats
- ^ AO3 Ship Stats 2022
- ^ AO3 Ship Stats 2023
- ^ AO3 Ship Stats 2024
- ^ otp:true search for Rosemary works, divided by regular search (1472/5576)
- ^ otp:true search for Davekat works, divided by regular search (3873/7820)
- ^ otp:true search for JohnDave works, divided by regular search (3194/5496)
- ^ https://roxilalonde.tumblr.com/post/158092811727/tumblr-user-people-who-complain-about