Unique Adams/Ryder Lynn
| Pairing | |
|---|---|
| Pairing: | Unique Adams/Ryder Lynn |
| Alternative name(s): | Rynique |
| Gender category: | Het |
| Fandom: | Glee |
| Canonical?: | Yes (one-sided) |
| Prevalence: | Rare |
| Archives: | |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Unique/Ryder, or Rynique, is a het rarepair in the Glee fandom.
In Canon
Both Unique and Ryder were created as characters for successful contestants, in separate seasons, of The Glee Project (Alex Newell and Blake Jenner, respectively). They first appear together in Glee as recurring characters for season 4 before being promoted to mains in season 5 and written out halfway through the season. Unique, a Black trans girl, and Ryder, a white cis boy, meet in Glee club when Unique transfers to McKinley and Ryder is recruited to the team. Their main duet is "The Bitch Is Back/Dress You Up" by Elton John and Madonna (respectively). They agree to sing it together as a truce for their earlier fight where Unique defends Marley and Ryder misgenders Unique, but it only makes things worse. Meanwhile, Unique begins catfishing Ryder because she has a crush on him.[1] They become friends in meatspace and begin an online relationship until Ryder realizes what's going on and breaks it off. Unique confesses to being the catfish and Ryder vows never to speak to her again.[2] The plotline is more or less forgotten by the next season, and they seem to be tentative friends, with Ryder properly gendering her consistently now. He comes to her defense when he learns she was attacked in the men's bathroom.[3] Otherwise they are paired together in the background of some remaining episodes or musical numbers but their relationship is never focused on again.
In Fandom
Compared to how prolific the Glee fandom is overall, Rynique is a definitely a rarepair, with only 66 fic on AO3 as of 20 June 2023[4], but it is the most common Ryder pairing (barely beating out Ryder/Jake) and by far the most common Unique pairing. There was a great deal of activity in 2013, slightly dampened in 2014 by them being written out, but interest in the pair was renewed by the series finale in 2015, showing them holding hands after the time jump. Content for the pair is still made occasionally, although between the age of the fandom and the controversy surrounding Jenner, fan activity has significantly slowed. Transformative works often focus either on the catfishing plot and/or explorations of the transphobia Unique faces, or else fluff that gets them together with little attention to the drama between them in canon.
Notable Fanworks
fanfiction
- A For Accessibility, by januarium
- And Then Rynique, by iaminarage
- Blue Darkness, by amber2011
- Construction Site, Beware Falling Bricks, by parsnips
- Misnomer, by artist_artists
Resources
References
- ^ "Feud." Glee, Season 4, Episode 16, 14 Mar. 2013.
- ^ "All or Nothing." Glee, Season 4, Episode 22, 9 May 2013.
- ^ "The End of Twerk." Glee Season 5, Episode 5, 14 Nov. 2013.
- ^ https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Unique%20Adams*s*Ryder%20Lynn/works