Non Canon Pairings

Posted by Susan in State of the Fandom with Sarahbella | 0 comments

What exactly is a ‘non-canon pairing’?  A non-canon paring is any pairing that differs from ‘canon’, or the way the original author wrote the book.  BellaxJacob, AlicexEmmett and CharliexBilly are all examples of  Twilight non-canon pairings.

Part of the appeal, at least for me, lies in the forbidden. The characters aren’t meant to be together, but it hurts so good.  You know what I mean?  You take characters with personalities so different that the original author couldn’t see fit to put them together, and you make them work.

If you’re not eighteen or older, please read no further.

One of my favorite examples of a non-canon pairing is Paris, by Penn Ames.  Paris is a BellaxJacob story that follows canon for as long as it can before diverging.  When it does diverge, it remains canon parallel, where the events mirror what happens in canon, but with different players and occasionally, different outcomes.

You also generally end up with non-canon pairings when you read or write slashfic or polyfic.  There are a few males in the Twiverse that are unmated, and a few that are undefined, and the same can be said for many other fandoms.  In that vein (pun intended), those characters could be portrayed as gay, or bi-sexual, and the argument could be made that the fic is still canon compliant.

I have a giant list of favorite slash – and femslash – fics.  Top on that list is probably Tre by Megsly.  It’s poly, Demetri, Felix and an OFC named Ashlea.  It’s also very well written and sucks you back in for more.

Because many books series are still in progress, you have more leniency in terms of canon pairings.  Also, in many series, your protagonists is in multiple relationships throughout the course of the stories (Sookie, anyone?).  These series lean more heavily toward multiple pairings because everyone can choose their favorite and still remain canon – or something like it – whereas in a series like Twilight, SM made sure that Edward and Bella are perfect for each other (IMHO).

Also, in a series where the protagonist has multiple relationships, I think there tends to be more inspiration for different pairings.  A single look or touch can provide the motivation for a fic, and when the protagonist is interacting in a romantic way with multiple characters, there are more touches, more looks, more opportunities.

So, take a flying leap into the unknown and read a non-canon pairing fic.

<3 SB