History Main / FandomNod

** It does fandom nods a lot, usually in the form of side stories, which usually answer any question from "why did Shizuo dye his hair?"[[note]]Tom talked him into it in middle school[[/note]] to "how do Walker and Erika pay for all that crap they buy?"[[note]]They, despite all suspicion to the contrary, have ''jobs''. Erika makes and sells jewelry while Walker is an ice-sculptor[[/note]].

** ''Manga/NarutoGaiden'' is essentially a TakeThatAudience against the fan-theory that Karin is Sarada's mother because they have similar glasses. Not knowing her father, Sarada learns about Karin and goes on a quest to find out if she's really her biological mother. As it turns out, it was a misunderstanding. [[spoiler:Sakura]] ''is'' Sarada's mom and Karin herself even mocks the idea that she's Sarada's biological mom.

* The manga ending of ''Manga/ZatchBell'' included both movie mamodo in some shots, [[CanonImmigrant making them canon.

* ''Fanfic/MegaManDefenderOfTheHumanRace'' has references to [[WesternAnimation/MegaManRubySpears Guts Man's butt]], which became a meme.

* ''Webcomic/DominicDeegan'' had one with Jacob's golem. When given suggestions for names, he rejected "Patches" - a FanNickname that had cropped up in the forum. He settled on Quilt.

** In the ''Homestuck'' flash [[http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=pony2 [S] Ride]], there is a bonus you can reach by clicking the horseshow at the bottom right-hand corner. This gives a short, silly flash with a couple of random, scratchily-drawn pictures of Roxy as a cowgirl. The last is a picture of [[ShipTease Roxy and Jane kissing]], with pink and blue cotton candy on the floor and a piece of paper reading 'Cotton Candy'. That is the [[IdiosyncraticShipNaming Idiosyncratic Ship Name]] for the Roxy/Jane ship.

* ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar II'':
** In ''Retribution'', telling a commissar to get in a Chimera has him [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hB19tHMS94 say]] [[http://www.funnyjunk.com/funny_pictures/644948/Drive this]].
** One of the orks' anti-armor weapons uses the fanon term for vehicles: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO3MttgvHUY METAL BAWKSES]].

* ''VideoGame/SasZombieAssault 4'' has an achievement called [=NLL=], which abbreviates the phrase ''''N'''o '''L'''ives '''L'''ost'. [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin It is achieved by completing Last Stand without losing any lives.]]

** 'VideoGame/SonicGenerations'':

* ''WebAnimation/BattleForDreamIsland'' has always been open for OfficialFanSubmittedContent. Episode 2 of ''BFDIA'', though, includes a sneaky nod to a particular fan, as seen above. In case you are unaware, [[https://www.youtube.com/user/katyj98 katyj98]] is best known for dissecting BFDI and BFDIA to show all kinds of interesting trivia within the show.

* An issue of ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'' put to rest the fan theory that [[spoiler:Black Belt]] was going to be brought back to life. The theory: resurrect a discarded copy of the character who had been turned to stone by a spell. The resolution: LudicrousGibs in the form of the top of the character's head having eroded off due to being submerged, upside down, in a lake. Resolved ''again'' in a second (joke) strip when Black Mage gathers up the pieces of the original [[spoiler:Black Belt]] and casts [[EpicFail '''LYFE''']] (which he learned from some bathroom stall graffiti). The result is a borderline EldritchAbomination proclaiming that each second is nothing more than a thousand agonies before it is [[MercyKill put out of its misery.]]

* In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'', the [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2GunsOfThePatriots Raiden]] {{Expy}} is largely hated by many of the characters, echoing the fandom's then-legendary hatred of the guy.

* ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' has "hero units", essentially walking cheat-code soldiers. They consist of the various project leads, Creator/SidMeier...and Otto Zander, the main character of an X-Com LetsPlay.

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'':
** The people Control Freak chats with online about the Titans and Titans East in the episode "For Real" as well as the {{shipping}} that frequented the ''Titans'' fandom.
--->'''Random Fan:''' Robin and Starfire 4ever!\\
'''Know-it-all Fan:''' Starfire should be with BB.
** Amusingly, they avoid mention of Raven, who's by far the most controversial character when it comes to shipping.
** In another episode, Jinx spells out her name for Madame Rouge. This might have something to do with the fact that many fans keep misspelling her name as "Jynx."
** One of the post-series shorts has the Titans trying to unmask Red-X; Beast Boy speaks for the fandom by saying that he's ''obviously'' [[Comicbook/RedHood Jason Todd]].
* Some of the more irate comic fans believed that Eastman and Laird sold out the ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' by "kiddifying" them for animation back then. In the [[MilestoneCelebration 25-year anniversary movie]] ''WesternAnimation/TurtlesForever'', [[ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesMirage Mirage Raphael]] calls all of his counterparts "sellouts".

* The creators of ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'' pay very close attention to their fans, which is why the season two finale and third season features several nods towards the famous fic, ''{{Fanfic/Total Drama Comeback|Series}}'', such as Beth inexplicably eating cookies, Noah, Izzy, and Tyler having to complete a challenge featuring a goat, and the same trio falling asleep under a tree, which is an almost ''exact'' replica of a scene from the fic, minus the blanket.
** Noah and Cody returning to the competition was in response to their [[EnsembleDarkhorse unexpected popularity]] among the fans, Chris even lampshades this by looking straight into the camera and introducing them as, "returning favorites". Ezekiel is similar in that regard (thanks to the aforementioned ''Comeback'' fic making him a major character), although he doesn't last much longer than he did the first time.
** Tyler complains about being the least talked about contestant amongst fans, saying that even more-minor-than-minor [[WeHardlyKnewYe Ezekiel]] has more fans, which is completely true. Thankfully for Tyler, being in World Tour fixed this, and he has since become a fan-favourite.
** During World Tour, when the supposedly FanPreferredCouple Duncan/Gwen became [[{{Canon}} canon]]. Such a pairing was alluded to often in the second season, but almost immediately led to a BrokenBase among fans due to the circumstances that gave rise to the pairing becoming canon.

** For example, a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTPqjKk_xCo promo video]] on Creator/TheHub not only gave a ShoutOut to the FanCommunityNickname ("bronies"), but also a FanNickname for a [[OneSceneWonder minor,]] but [[EnsembleDarkhorse extremely popular]] character ([[TheRockStar DJ Pon-3]]).
** In "Lesson Zero", Big Macintosh, a grown stallion, is revealed to [[RealMenWearPink really like little girls' pony dolls.]] The same happens to Spike in "A Canterlot Wedding".

** In season one, fans noted that a recurring background pony had an hourglass cutie mark and a mane resembling Creator/DavidTennant's hair -- earning him the FanNickname [[Series/DoctorWho Doctor Whooves]] and inspiring many fan works where he has adventures across time and space. The show creators acknowledged this in the episode "The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000", by giving him a tie and a timekeeping job with an hourglass. Later, he was featured [[AllThereInTheManual on an official trading card.]] revealing that his canon name is Time Turner and that he's ''[[TimeyWimeyBall "the pony responsible for...pretty much all things timey-wimey'.]]'' At least one of his toys gives him the alternate name Doctor Hooves (no "W").\\
His companion in fan works is most often Derpy, and the two are frequently [[{{Shipping}} shipped.]] In the Valentine's Day episode "Hearts and Hooves Day", [[ShipTease the two are seen spending the day together.]] and [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E9SliceOfLife "Slice of Life"]] displays them as at least very close friends. The latter episode even gives him the Fourth Doctor's scarf and the quote, "Allons-y!"\\

** Fluttershy's remark that she'd "like to be a tree" in "Over a Barrel" [[MemeticMutation sparked the "Fluttertree" meme,]] which maintains that Fluttershy either is or desperately wishes to be a tree. In "Hurricane Fluttershy", she disguises herself as a tree in an attempt to avoid attending a town meeting. Rainbow Dash sees through it instantly. In "Magic Duel", she is smuggled out of town in a tree trunk.

** Background pony Cloud Kicker's [[https://www.derpibooru.org/1017654 Enterplay trading card]] is a quite thinly-veiled ShoutOut to the FanFic ''Fanfic/TheLifeAndTimesOfAWinningPony'' that features Cloud Kicker as the main character.
--> Everypony appreciates the '''bang'''-up job pegasi do keeping the clouds and weather in line. Most pegasi do enjoy a little weather duty, so everypony '''wins'''!
* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'': In [[AllThereInTheManual The Allspark Almanac II,]] it's stated that Red Alert developed a cure for [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Gold_Plastic_Syndrome Gold Plastic Syndrome,]] a fandom term for the phenomenon where some earlier toys that were made of gold plastic were brittle to the point of shattering under minimal stress[[note]]If you care: technically, it's not gold plastic, it's brown plastic with gold fleck. When there's not much plastic in the plastic, you get a figure that will be more fragile, ranging in severity from "have a bit of care with Transmetal Megatron's waist" to "Try to take Generation 2 Electro out of his package and you'll be holding nothing but gold dust no matter how careful you are". With improvements to the technology, you probably needn't fear it with any figure newer than '03.[[/note]]
* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'':
** Fan art includes about a million pictures of [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Bill Cipher]] as a human or semi-human, almost always [[ManOfWealthAndTaste wearing a nice suit]] (to match his canon [[NiceHat top hat]]). In "Sock Opera", he actually gets a human body ([[spoiler:[[GrandTheftMe specifically Dipper's]]]]) and the plot finds a reason for him to get dressed up in the third act. WordOfGod later depicted Bill Cipher in a human form as looking rather grotesque rather than the popular {{bishonen}} interpretation.
** A scene in the episode "Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons" has the main characters watching the season finale of ''[[ShowWithinAShow Ducktective]]'' and complaining about the huge twist being predictable. This is in reference to a [[WhamEpisode previous episode]] where it was revealed that [[spoiler:Grunkle Stan was working on the portal to save his twin brother, who is also the Author of [[GreatBigBookOfEverything the Journals.]]]] Such a twist was something that the fanbase had been theorizing about ''[[IKnewIt for almost two years.]]
** One of Grunkle Stan's ex-wives was a woman named Marilyn who he described as having very pale skin, an abnormally sharp tooth and a shirt saying "Over Thirty and Very Flirty" in the Complete Series commentary of "Land Before Swine." Two years after that complete series boxset was released, ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' premiered and featured Eda, a character who fits most of that description and owning a mug saying "Thirty and Very Flirty", making many fans believe she actually is Marilyn. In that show's second season episode "Yesterday's Lie", it's confirmed that Eda would often visit the human world under the name Marilyn, [[ConnectedAllAlong either confirming this theory]] or being a playful nod to it.
* Right before ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'''s GrandFinale movie, MTV played a marathon of every episode, some of which had new short intros where [[TheSnarkKnight Daria]] and [[CoolLoser Jane]] address the audience (these are available on the [=DVDs=]). In a few of them, the characters hint at [[HoYay the popularity of pairing them together,]] including one where they're dressed as a bride and groom and another where Jane says she could draw Daria nude from memory.
* After the cancellation of ''WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow'', the cast moved back to ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' and met the Griffin family. Stewie immediately dismissed Rallo as a ''[[WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks Boondocks]]'' rip-off, echoing common criticisms of the character.
* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' has Rhonda saying Arnold wears a "weird little skirt thing," which causes him to lift up his cardigan and say it's a plaid shirt. This is a ShoutOut to a common belief that Arnold wears a skirt or kilt.
* Supposedly, the skit in ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' episode of "The City of Clipsville" where the girls are ValleyGirl teenagers was intended to mock fan-depictions of the girls as teens. The fact went over shippers' heads and they still unironically use the designs. Another episode has Keane and Utonium pairing up but shows how ''awful'' it would be. Keane and the Professor is one of the most popular pairings in the series.

* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'': "Stop Team Go" has Shego temporarily turning good and befriending Kim. This alludes to the ever-popular idea of "What if Kim and Shego were friends?". Their bonding can also be seen as a bone throw to [[FanPreferredCouple the fans that want them together]].
* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' showed (of all things) '''[[{{Jumpscare}} Red Mist Squidward]]''' from the creepypasta "FanFic/SquidwardsSuicide" in the episode "[=SpongeBob=] in Randomland". [[{{Bowdlerise}} This scene was completely cut from the UK airing of the episode.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': In Episode 135, the main four make their own TV show and it's clearly a parody of the actual show. Stumpy asks them whether the characters based on Kaeloo and Mr. Cat will end up as a couple or not, which is a reference to the multitude of fans on the Facebook page who bombard all the posts' comment sections with questions about whether Kaeloo and Mr. Cat will ever admit their feelings for one another or not.
* The ''WesternAnimation/LegoJurassicWorldLegendOfIslaNublar'' episode "The Power and the Peril!" has Dr. Ian Malcolm visiting the park (the series is set three years before the events of the film ''Film/JurassicWorld'') to promote the biography ''Life Has a Way: Chaotic Reflections of a Rock Star Mathematician'' and being welcomed at the dock by his fan club (re: GroupieBrigade) and other admirers, one of whom [[CreepySouvenir asks for one of his chest hairs]] and is turned down. With the A-plot seeing the mysterious power outages affecting the park keeping Malcolm from getting to his big lecture on time, the B-plot sees a desperate Masrani trying every means possible to stop a full-scale revolt by the impatient crowd. Beyond the CharacterExaggeration of Malcolm's [[TheRockStar rock star]] tendencies, this is a spoof of Malcolm's status as the (human!) BreakoutCharacter of the Franchise/JurassicPark franchise ''and'' the fandom of the actor who originated the role, Creator/JeffGoldblum, which saw a serious uptick in TheNewTens.

* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'':
** The Scout has an audio clip which references the fact that many forum dwellers noticed his resemblance to [=ShamWow!=] commercial pitchman Creator/VinceOffer.
--->'''Scout:''' Look at this! Just caved in yer skull, my bat's still dry. No clumps of hair, nothing!\\
'''Scout:''' You see that? You seein' this? No other class's gonna do that.\\
'''Scout:''' If ya order now, I'll throw in a second beatin', absolutely free!
** When the SDK models for the props from Meet the Sniper were released, a sticker was found on the front bumper of Sniper's truck reading "My other camper is a Sword Van", which is a reference to [[http://kcgreendotcom.com/CC/comics/cc-tf2.gif this]] ''[=TF2=]'' fancomic which experienced MemeticMutation.

* In ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'', after completing the Modern version of Chemical Plant Zone, Tails will slowly remember [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2 the first time he went through the level]], pointing out how nervous the pink water still makes him (along with most of the fanbase).
** In the same game, Sonic receives [[VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog that DAMN fourth Chaos Emerald]] from fighting Shadow.

* ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' has "hero units", essentially walking cheat-code soldiers. They consist of the various project leads, Creator/SidMeier...and Otto Zander, the main character of an X-Com LetsPlay.
* Ever since ''VideoGame/SonicDrift'', fans have been asking "Why does Sonic need a car?". During a trailer for ''[[VideoGame/SegaSuperstars Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed]]'', GuestFighter WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph asks the same question.
* In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'', the Raiden {{Expy}} is largely hated by many of the characters, echoing the fandom's then-legendary hatred of the guy.
* Creator/BlizzardEntertainment has been using the phrase [[ZergRush "the rush begins"]] in some of the advertising for ''VideoGame/StarCraftIIHeartOfTheSwarm'', including in banner ads seen on Wiki/ThisVeryWiki.
* In ''VideoGame/NarutoShippudenUltimateNinjaStormRevolution'', [[RobotMe Mecha-Naruto]] calls his organic counterpart "Naruturd", which is a play on "Narutard", an insult usually leveled towards fans of the series.
* In ''VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird'' during a Mayhem mission, Kenzie mentions that the company in on the insurance scam is a fence company. Fence as in yard fencing, not selling stolen goods. This is a reference to ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'''s Mayhem missions, where thanks to the way the game tracks sections of fence as independent objects, [[GoodBadBugs hitting a fence with an explosive could net you tens of thousands of points]]. Likewise, the achievement for completing every instance of Mayhem is "Fence Killa 2011".
* In ''VideoGame/Persona4 [[UpdatedRerelease Golden]]'', new character Marie believes that beefsteak should be shortened to [[Webcomic/{{Hiimdaisy}} "'fsteak"]] instead of just "steak".
* ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar'' II: In Retribution, telling a commissar to get in a Chimera has him [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hB19tHMS94 say]] [[http://www.funnyjunk.com/funny_pictures/644948/Drive this]].
** One of the orks' anti-armor weapons uses the fanon term for vehicles: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO3MttgvHUY METAL BAWKSES]].
* [[VideoGame/TheAmazingSpiderMan2 The tie-in game to]] ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'' has Spider-Man note how much of a bad idea of the name "Shocker" is.
* ''VideoGame/SasZombieAssault 4'' has an achievement called [=NLL=], which abbreviates the phrase ''''N'''o '''L'''ives '''L'''ost'. [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin It is achieved by completing Last Stand without losing any lives.]]

* ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosU'' has lots of references to ''VideoGame/BrutalMario'', and even uses the "villain transforms Peach's Castle into hellish landscape" plot from that game.
* ''VideoGame/MinecraftStoryMode'':
** Some of the Redstone machines in Redstonia have actually been created in Minecraft proper, like the Redstone flying machine and mech.
** The Wither Storm's weakness brings to mind a popular player tactic that fairly easily nets a Nether Star. [[spoiler:Swarms of Endermen weaken the Wither Storm, much like how Withers, when spawned in the End, are outnumbered by Endermen, who can make very short work of it.]]
** The very way the game's animated brings to mind similarly styled Minecraft fan animations.
* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'': Many of the Events love to reference fandom jokes and discussions.
** In the Moon Viewing event, Sasaki Kojiro is shown hanging out with a group of dragon-slaying heroes (and the group wonders briefly why he's there), despite his legend having zero dragons in it. The reason being that Kojiro is one of the best Servants available from the limited early game pool for taking on the large numbers of dragon-type enemies in the France chapter, leading to the "Sasaki Kojiro: Savior of France" meme. A craft essence would later follow up on it, with Kojiro and Siegfried placed together in the AlternateUniverse idol unit "Prince of Slayers".
** The "Saber Wars" event revolves around a version of Altria (the original Saber) getting angry at the large number of characters that look similar to herself, and going on a mission to murder all of them. She refers to her {{Expies}} as "Saberfaces", the FanNickname for such characters.
** Whenever da Vinci is featured in an event, the player character is almost guaranteed to complain about the high cost of the "Mona Lisa" craft essence sold in da Vinci's store. It costs 1,000 Mana Prisms, an amount that can easily take weeks or even months to gather, and which pisses off many fans of the game.
* In ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soulcalibur II]]'', there was an extra character called Assassin [[MovesetClone who had the moves of Hwang]], a character from the previous game that was dropped. This led to the fan theory that Assassin is simply Hwang in disguise. ''VideoGame/SoulcaliburVI'' decided to lampshade this theory in Seong Mi-na's Soul Chronicle by having Hwang be in a disguise exactly like the Assassin character.
* Later releases of ''VideoGame/CorpseParty'' include name tags that belong to characters from the fan-made prequel ''VideoGame/CorpsePartyZero''.
* One of Mileena's pre-fight lines in ''Videogame/MortalKombat11'' is "A million souls cried out for my return", acknowledging the legions of fans who begged for her return once she was not on the original game -- but was brought in as DLC.
* ''VideoGame/TotalWarWarhammerII'' has a few noteable examples:
** Empire players who conquer Pigbarter can get a special follower named Sir Man Delour, in tribute to the review of the game by WebVideo/MandaloreGaming, where he mentioned conquering the city as every faction.
** Oxyotl starts with a hero who has a unique trait that references one of the franchise's youtube content creators, ''Loremaster of Sotek''. The hero has a Troglodon mount named C'hloe after his dog.

* In ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney - Trials and Tribulations'' Dahlia Hawthorne's nickname "Dollie" is a reference to a [[FanTranslation fan effort to translate]] the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance version (which only managed to cover the first case before the official localization was announced). In said fan translation, Dahlia Hawthorne was called Dolores Willow, and her nickname was "Dolly".
* Similarly, in the English version of Maki Harukawa's first free time event in ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'', Kaede says she was expecting "some kinda Super-Duper High School Level Ultimate childcare technique!" "Super Duper High School" was the title used for students in the Project Zetsubou fan translation of [[VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc the first game]] instead of "Super High School Level" or "Ultimate."

* ''WebAnimation/BattleForDreamIsland'' has always been open for OfficialFanSubmittedContent. Episode 2 of BFDIA, though, includes a sneaky nod to a particular fan, as seen above. In case you are unaware, [[https://www.youtube.com/user/katyj98 katyj98]] is best known for dissecting BFDI and BFDIA to show all kinds of interesting trivia within the show.

* ''Webcomic/DominicDeegan'' had one with Jacob's golem. When given suggestions for names, he rejected "Patches" - a {{Fan Nickname}} that had cropped up in the forum. He settled on Quilt.

** After enormous fan pressure to [[NeverFoundTheBody bring Oasis back]], a non-canon strip depicted Torg wheeling in a charred corpse and exclaiming "Look who's back!", to drive home the point that 'Oasis is dead, dead, DEAD, and isn't coming back EVER.' ...of course, it didn't stick...

* [[http://starslip.com/2008/01/28/starslip-number-705/ This]] ''Webcomic/{{Starslip}}'' strip was posted shortly after someone commented on the forum that the monster from ''Film/{{Cloverfield}}'' looked like a Cirbozoid.
* In the ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' flash [[http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=pony2 [S] Ride]], there is a bonus you can reach by clicking the horseshow at the bottom right-hand corner. This gives a short, silly flash with a couple of random, scratchily-drawn pictures of Roxy as a cowgirl. The last is a picture of [[ShipTease Roxy and Jane kissing]], with pink and blue cotton candy on the floor and a piece of paper reading 'Cotton Candy'. That is the [[IdiosyncraticShipNaming Idiosyncratic Ship Name]] for the Roxy/Jane ship.
** The popular {{Fanon}} of Bro and [[spoiler:Dirk]] being anime geeks has been referenced a couple of times, such as when [[spoiler:Dirk]] made a comment about 'roaring manga fireplaces' shortly after his introduction.
** The popular paring of Jade/Davesprite (originally Jadesprite/Davesprite) was acknowledged in a lategame scene...[[ShipSinking showing the tail end of their relationship]]. It didn't work out.
* An issue of ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'' put to rest the fan theory that [[spoiler:Black Belt]] was going to be brought back to life. The theory: resurrect a discarded copy of the character who had been turned to stone by a spell. The resolution: LudicrousGibs in the form of the top of the character's head having eroded off due to being submerged, upside down, in a lake. Resolved ''again'' in a second (joke) strip when Black Mage gathers up the pieces of the original [[spoiler:Black Belt]] and casts [[EpicFail '''LYFE''']] (which he learned from some bathroom stall graffiti). The result is a borderline EldritchAbomination proclaiming that each second is nothing more than a thousand agonies before it is [[MercyKill put out of its misery.]]

** The episode "[[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheEmberIslandPlayers The Ember Island Players]]" in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' had several, such as Sokka noting [[HesJustHiding the vagueness]] of Jet's death when Suki asks for clarification, and a cheeky acknowledgement [[FanPreferredCouple Zutara]] pairing by way of the playwrights promoting it (which makes Aang sad and the characters in question to scoot away from each other).

** "Remembrances," a season four ''Korra'' episode and spiritual successor to "The Ember Island Players," does this in spades. Among its jokes are some of the characters berating Mako for his role in [[RelationshipWritingFumble the sloppy]] LoveTriangle during the first half of the series, and Varrick claiming that even the other villains Korra has faced wouldn't want to acknowledge Unalaq's existence due to how lame he was.

* ''Literature/LittleWomen'': When Laurie begs Jo to marry him in ''Part Second'', he desperately insists, "Don't disappoint us! Everyone expects it!" No doubt whom "[[{{Shipping}} everyone]]" means... Too bad Alcott was determined to [[ShipSinking sink that ship]] mercilessly. Sorry, Laurie.
* Franchise/StarWarsLegends:

* The {{Novelization}} of ''Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture'' contains a nod to the [[HoYay Kirk/Spock]] [[SlashFic shippers]]--apparently there are rumors about the relationship even in their universe. Kirk's response to these rumors (in a footnote, since the book is presented as an in-universe dramatization of actual events) is that, while [[NotThatTheresAnythingWrongWithThat he has no moral objections to "physical love" in any form]], he himself prefers women. (K/S shippers are quick to point out that Kirk doesn't say he is ''only'' interested in women.)

* The S.D. Perry novelizations of ''Videogame/ResidentEvil'' are ''full'' of these, many of which are justifications or nods to complaints about the games. Some include: Characters tend to avoid shooting out locks unless necessary due to how dangerous it actually is, Jill solves a puzzle by simply breaking the glass rather than attempting to move the statues like she would have to in the game, and Claire describes Steve Burnside as "looking like [[Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio that actor]] from [[Film/{{Titanic 1997}} that film]] about the sinking ship"[[note]]Steve looking like [=DiCaprio=] was before Code: Veronica was ported to the [=PS2=][[/note]].
* In ''Literature/PinkiePieAndTheRockinPonypaloozaParty'', Limestone Pie very often reacts by blinking, and special attention is paid to the first time she does so in the story. Before this book named Pinkie's sisters, Limestone's FanNickname was ''Blinkie'' Pie.
* ''Literature/TwilightSparkleAndTheCrystalHeartSpell'':
** Several background ponies are given mention, including Berry Punch and a certain grey Pegasus who asks for muffins.
** The phrase "Love and Tolerance" is mentioned as well.
** Its also mentioned in the book that Twilight used to build [[WebVideo/FriendshipIsWitchcraft "book forts"]] as a filly [[spoiler: She apparently amasses one at the climax as the amulet is corrupting her by amplifying her negative feelings.]]
* About 20 years after the alt.fan.[[Creator/TerryPratchett pratchett]] injoke/meme of the [[http://www.lspace.org/fandom/afp/timelines/holy-anorankh.html Holy Anorankh]] began, the "anorankh" finally gets mentioned in a book; ''Mrs Bradshaw's Guide to the Ankh-Morpork and Sto Plains Hygienic Railway'' uses it as an affectionate term for Ankh-Morpork's {{Rail Enthusiast}}s.
* ''Literature/WarriorCats:''
** Vicky admitted to naming several characters from ''Code of the Clans'' after users of Warrior's Wish (the most famous forum) and Wands and Worlds (a site that held webchats with the authors). Among them is Blizzardstar of [=ShadowClan=], named after Blizzardclaw ("Blizz"), the founder of Warrior's Wish (whose favorite Clan was [=ShadowClan=]).
** Several nods were given to errors in the books that became well-known in the fandom:
*** There was a [=ThunderClan=] elder in ''Into the Wild'' that didn't appear in the [[DramatisPersonae Allegiances]] (Rosetail, who was killed by Blackfoot and mentioned by name afterward); she was specifically referenced in ''Secrets of the Clans'' when Goldenflower used her as an example of elders still being able to defend the Clan.
*** After fans noted how Rowanclaw changed from female to male, the authors made him Tawnypelt's mate.
*** In the original series, apprentices had to travel to Highstones before they could become a warrior. Fans noticed that this never happened with the Moonpool later on, and in a later book, Leafpool mentioned, "We seem to have left that tradition behind when we moved to the lake...."
* ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'': It is not exactly a secret that the series has some minor timeline inconsistencies, especially in the earlier volumes when the dates given don't always match up. Less positive but vocal opinions go as far as claiming that it makes no sense at all at times. This has actually spawned a fandom meme, namely "The timeline does not matter." -- to the point where this is one of the first things new readers of the series are confronted with. Along comes the ninth volume, ''Literature/DustOfDreams'', and captains Kindly and Skanarow discuss captain Ruthan Gudd's backstory. Skanarow's argument for not believing everything he tells them is that "his timeline makes sense".
* The [[Literature/{{CradleSeries}} Cradle]] series has a number of nods to the fandom.
** These are common in the non-canonical "bloopers" at the back of the later books.
*** One blooper has a character ask "how did a bunch of Jades kill the Sword Sage", a plot point left from the first book that was asked so often that it became a meme, particularly on the cradle subreddit.
*** Another blooper mocks the perennial fandom debate over whether or not Lindon would ever split his core again.
** After not revealing the name of the Sword Sage for multiple books, Wintersteel reveals that his name is "Timaeus Adama" a bit of AscendedFanon, as the fandom had taken to calling the character "Tim" (in likely reference to Monty Python).
** Wintersteel also has a scene with characters discussing a name for Yerin's blood shadow: once character suggests "blerin", the internet's nickname for the character, and receives blank stares from the other characters in response.

* ''Series/{{Lost}}'':
** In the episode "Eggtown," Jack mentions that the Oceanic Six started out as eight survivors, but some died before they were rescued. The producers [[WordOfGod repeatedly stated]] that the identities of the dead were unimportant, because Jack was lying anyway. However, fans continued to speculate, so the season finale expanded the cover story to reveal their identities. They were Boone, Libby and Charlie by the way.
** The episode "Dave" was partly made to address the popular fan theory that the Island was a shared hallucination or a virtual reality simulation. The story is kicked off when Hurley begins experiencing hallucinations of his old {{imaginary friend}}--which leads him to believe that he's still locked away in the psychiatric ward, and that he hallucinated the plane crash. He drops that theory after Libby convinces him that it's complete nonsense.
** The Season 2 finale features Sawyer briefly speculating that the Others are aliens, which actually ''was'' a popular theory about them in the early days of the show. Jack and Kate just roll their eyes when they hear it.
* Sylar's now infamous comment on how brain-eating is "disgusting" in ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' was a Fandom Nod to the prevailing [[EpilepticTrees theory]] that Sylar stole his victims' brains to eat them to [[PowerCopying gain their powers]]. Turns out he just studies them, although writers originally ''planned'' for him to eat them.
* In the ''Series/{{House}}'' episode "Unfaithful", House refers to Foreman and Thirteen by their FanNickname "Foreteen".

* ''Series/TheXFiles'' named an FBI agent "Leyla Harrison" after a popular and prolific fanfic author who had recently died.
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': "The Monster at the End of This Book" has a series of books that eerily resemble our Heroes' exploits, named "Supernatural". About five minutes into the episode, Sam happens upon the fansites, specifically [[SlashFic Wincest]]. When he explains what it is to Dean, the older brother looks perturbed and goes "They know we're ''brothers'' right?" Also in the episode is a fan declaring "[[ManlyTears It's best when they cry.]]"
** In fact, the episode strains the fourth wall throughout the episode, with [[ShoutOut shout outs to specific fans]], friendly ribbing of viewers ("for fans, they sure do complain a lot" "hey look, there are Sam-girls and Dean-girls!"), even the writers themselves (after realizing they've lived "the bugs" and "the ghost ship", the stricken writer cries, "Horror is one thing, but to be forced to live bad writing!").
** The episode also throws a shout out to the PeripheryDemographic that the series picked up (i.e. women who watch for the attractive stars). The cover of the books have bodice-ripper style artwork depicting a very buff Dean and Sam, one in a very tight shirt and the other shirtless.
** Castiel [[spoiler:molotoving Michael with a bottle of Holy Oil]] in "Swan Song" may have been a nod to the question the fandom has been asking ever since Holy Oil was first introduced: Why don't they just [[KillItWithFire set angels on fire with it]]?
* The first ten minutes of ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'' episode "Ranger Blue" addresses a bunch of common fan questions, fielded by the Rangers themselves to a confused Doctor K. These including the likes of "Is it completely necessary for us to scream "[[ByThePowerOfGrayskull RPM, Get in Gear!]]" when we morph, and why does the ground explode behind us when we do?" Also, Dr. K gets [[BerserkButton very, very angry]] if you call the suits spandex.
* ''Series/PowerRangersWildForce'' has PromotedFanboy Amit Bhaumik on the writing staff, so a bunch of places are named after his fellow fans; even the names of the three Mut-Orgs from the ''[[Series/PowerRangersTimeForce Time Force]]'' team-up two-parter are modifications of names of fans (though they weren't actually named on screen- [[SubliminalSeduction all the Mut-Orgs' dialogue was reversed so it sounded weird and untranslatable]]).
* ''Series/LoisAndClark'' finally got married on the show, after a long series of fakeouts. Just when their "[[DeusExMachina Heavenly Helper]]" is about to begin the ceremony, Clark stops him to say that they have to let everyone know that this is not a clone or a dream or something else, or there's going to be a riot! Also, bonus points for the episode title: "Swear to God, This Time We're Not Kidding".
* ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'':
** In a Season 10 episode, Joel returns to the Satellite briefly and spends some time with Mike and the Bots. After learning how well Joel's life has gone since he escaped, Mike fumes "What's he got that I don't?!" Tom and Crow urge him not to make such comparisons, saying "it ain't healthy", a nod to the fan debate of who was the better host which raged on the early days of the Internet.
** Earlier, during ''Film/TimeChasers'', Mike is replaced by his deadbeat brother Eddie (ItMakesSenseInContext), who complains that his job (and thus the show) has sucked since "the sleepy-eyed guy left."

* ''Series/ICarly'' and the episode "iStart a Fan War". The first preview trailer used the PortmanteauCoupleName of the two major pairings. The episode itself included in-universe representations of those 2 major pairings. However, the portrayal wasn't especially flattering to said fandom, and caused a firestorm of criticism. WordOfGod Creator/DanSchneider dropped an Anti-Shipping anvil at the end of the episode, basically mocking the fans who made his show popular online, and then following it up with Carly mouthing something that could have come from one of his blog posts, which basically boils down to 'shut up about romance and watch the show for the comedy'.
* ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'':
** This nod to the SlashFic community:
--->'''John:''' Well, I'm glad no-one saw that... You, ripping my clothes off in a darkened swimming pool. People might talk.\\
'''Sherlock:''' People do little else.
** Even better, in "A Scandal in Belgravia", after having his sexuality questioned yet again, John explodes with "Who the hell knows about Sherlock Holmes but for the record, if anyone out there still cares, I'm not actually gay." Irene Adler insists that they are a couple, even though John denies it.
** "The Hounds of Baskerville" is basically addressing everything amongst the fandom.
** "The Empty Hearse" includes several scenes where Sherlock's in-universe fan club spouts various (incorrect) fan theories about how Sherlock survived his death. No, John wasn't hypnotized into seeing Sherlock jump, Sherlock didn't have a hidden bungee cord tied to his waist, he didn't drop a masked dummy from the rooftop, and he didn't fit a corpse with a latex mask of his face. Also, Sherlock and Moriarty weren't lovers, and [[ShipSinking Sherlock didn't make out with Molly immediately after surviving his death]].

* In ''Series/{{Fringe}}'', a large portion of the plot is driven by the existence of two parallel universes. Characters present in both universes generally have the same name, which necessitates a FanNickname to easily distinguish them. These nicknames sometimes make it into the show, such as when Walter referred to his alternate self as "Walternate", and the alternate Olivia as "Fauxlivia".

* ''Series/GameOfThrones''
** Season 4 includes a throwaway reference to a First Sword of Braavos named "Elyo Grivas", who is not mentioned in the source novel series, ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''. This is a likely reference to Elio García, webmaster of the Westeros.org fansite and co-author of ''The World of Ice and Fire'', an atlas of the world depicted in the novels.
** In Season 3, [[spoiler:Gendry]] escapes in a rowboat and is not seen again for several seasons. This led to numerous jokes among the fandom that he'd been rowing nonstop the whole time, which eventually became a meme that even the actor referenced. When he finally turned up again in Season 7, another character says to him, ''"Wasn't sure I'd find you here. Thought you might still be rowing."''
* ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'':
** In "The Only Light in the Darkness" it's revealed the orphanage Skye grew up at named her "Mary Sue Poots." Skye had previously been accused of being too OP detractors (though she grew out of it by that point).
** At one point Skye says she can't believe people think Ward is boring after she sees him perform a badass action beat. Prior to TheReveal that [[spoiler: he was TheMole for HYDRA]], Ward was frequently criticized by fans and reviewers for allegedly being a FlatCharacter.

* ''Series/{{Arrow}}'': In Season 4's "Restoration" Felicity refers to herself, Oliver and Diggle as "Original Team Arrow" while the other characters are away and even comments how long it's been since the three of them have had time alone. Original Team Arrow or "OTA" is a long-standing fan nickname for the fan-favorite trio, and a major complaint during Season 3 was that their dynamic was sidelined to accommodate a new batch of heroes.
* In ''Series/MrRobot'', [[HoYay Tyrelliot]] is a very popular ship found throughout the fandom. In the third episode of season 3, the show's creator Sam Esmail seems to address these shippers directly through the very characters in the ship.
-->'''Tyrell''': Thank you, Elliot. I love--
-->'''Elliot''' ''(as Mr. Robot)'': Some things are better left unsaid. Subtext. You know?
* In the ''Series/{{Community}}'' episode Paradigms of Human Memory, the Gravity shipping video between Jeff and Annie was inspired by a video of the same two characters and song uploaded to Youtube after Debate 109.

* ''VideoGame/DeadlyRoomsOfDeath'': Some players on the forum suggested new game elements that were completely out of place in the DROD world. These kinds of ideas came to be called "rayguns" among the forum users. Finally, a raygun actually appears for a JokeLevel in the fifth game. {{Lampshaded}} when you unlock said level, the game amends the announcement text with "Yes, that's right!"
* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'':
** The Scout has an audio clip which references the fact that many forum dwellers noticed his resemblance to [=ShamWow!=] commercial pitchman Creator/VinceOffer.
--->'''Scout:''' Look at this! Just caved in yer skull, my bat's still dry. No clumps of hair, nothing!\\
'''Scout:''' You see that? You seein' this? No other class's gonna do that.\\
'''Scout:''' If ya order now, I'll throw in a second beatin', absolutely free!
** When the SDK models for the props from Meet the Sniper were released, a sticker was found on the front bumper of Sniper's truck reading "My other camper is a Sword Van", which is a reference to [[http://kcgreendotcom.com/CC/comics/cc-tf2.gif this]] ''[=TF2=]'' fancomic which experienced MemeticMutation.

** The first game did this with the ''WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty'' fandom. Fans argue over whether Aurora's dress looks better pink or blue, and at one point in the early 2000s, imagining it as purple was a popular compromise. So Aurora wears a purple version of her dress in the game.
* In ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriorsOnline'' any character can use any weapon, and all weapons have a description. The flute descriptions, Zhen Ji's preferred weapon is the flute, will throw out jokes about how completely over the top weapon designs are. This is not just targeted on the games own fandom, but rather anybody who thinks that weapons or items in media can be odd, and sometimes just miss the point. Dynasty Warriors is still a clear target for this, though.
** "A flute specifically designed for battle. Can also be used to play music."
** "An iron flute with dazzling ornamentation. Also useful as an instrument."
* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' had some DownloadableContent called [[VillainEpisode ''The Darkspawn Chronicles'']], which named the party's dog Barkspawn after the name ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'' gave it. The ExpansionPack, ''[[VideoGame/DragonAgeOriginsAwakening Awakening]]'', included a mage staff called Lamppost in Winter, after a [[MemeticMutation memetic]] DoubleEntendre from the original game. ("Have you ever licked a lamppost in winter?")
* At one point in ''[[VideoGame/BlazBlueCalamityTrigger Calamity Trigger Reconstruction]]'', Bang wards off his own men by warning them not to fight Jin - the reason being that they're no match for his [[FanNickname Ice Car]] spam.

* [=MadLeomon=]'s death in ''Anime/DigimonFusion'' wasn't a surprise, considering that [[OnceASeason a Leomon dies in every series]]. So considering that he was the StarterVillain and dies in episode 3, it seemed as though the writers just wanted to cover the obligatory death as soon as possible and move onto other things.

* The manga ending of ''Manga/ZatchBell'' included both movie mamodo in some shots, making them canon.

* A much speculated Creator/KeyVisualArts question was answered in an episode of the ''VisualNovel/{{Clannad}} After Story'' anime. What will happen if [[LethalChef Sanae's bread]] and [[VisualNovel/{{Kanon}} Akiko's]] [[GargleBlaster jam]] [[WeaponOfMassDestruction were used together?]] As Nagisa innocently said: "It's the ultimate combination!" Knocked-out members of Kazuto Miyazawa's gang is what we get.
* The ancient rivalry between [[VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}} Arcueid]] and [[VisualNovel/FateStayNight Gilgamesh]] among Nasuverse fans got a major fandom nod in the crossover game VideoGame/{{Battle Moon Wars}} when Gil snubs Arcueid as being unworthy of his notice at the tail end of Act 3 (Super route), only to get utterly creamed by her late in Act 4 (with some help from Saber and Avalon).
* At the end of a scene in ''[[Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion Evangelion 1.0,]]'' where Misato and Ritsko ride a chairlift down a shaft, Misato remarks, "My butt is freezing!" This would be funniest among fans who had been affectionately referring to the short shorts she wears as part of her uniform as her 'butt-freezers'.
* The [[PortmanteauCoupleName KonoSetsu]] fandom in ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' is so large, they were actually referred to by name [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-rNKfXCJ8U in one of]] [[AudioAdaptation the Drama CDs]] of ''[[AlternateContinuity Negima!?]]''
** Chisame later goes {{Yandere}} in a reference to the fairly famous {{Doujinshi}}. However, unlike [[DownerEnding the Doujinshi]], it's PlayedForLaughs.
* The creators of ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'' acknowledged a popular {{ship|ping}} in one episode when [[YaoiFangirl Erika]] {{Squee}}s about how Shizuo and Izaya ''must'' be [[HoYay in love]]. The other characters' [[{{Squick}} disgusted]] reactions to the idea are [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments absolutely hilarious]] (Shinra also thinks Shizuo/Izaya is possible, but Celty shuts him up before he can say anything else).
** It does fandom nods a lot, usually in the form of side stories, which usually answer any question from "why did Shizuo dye his hair?"[[note]]Tom talked him into it in middle school[[/note]] to "how do Walker and Erika pay for all that crap they buy?"[[note]]They, despite all suspicion to the contrary, have ''jobs''. Erika makes and sells jewelry while Walker is an ice-sculptor[[/note]].
* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
** It appears that Kishimoto acknowledged the fan theory that Kushina was the nine-tailed fox in chapter 498. When Naruto [[spoiler:finds his mother while trying to gain control of the nine-tailed fox]], he accuses her of being the kyuubi's true form. [[{{Jossed}} This earns him a punch from her]]. There's also all the fanart depicting the Ninetails as a red-haired woman.
** ''Manga/NarutoGaiden'' is essentially a TakeThatAudience against the fan-theory that Karin is Sarada's mother because they have similar glasses. Not knowing her father, Sarada learns about Karin and goes on a quest to find out if she's really her biological mother. As it turns out, it was a misunderstanding. [[spoiler:Sakura]] ''is'' Sarada's mom and Karin herself even mocks the idea that she's Sarada's biological mom.
* ''Anime/TigerAndBunny'' has a recurrent gag in the OnTheNext segments where either Kotetsu or Barnaby will disclose entirely inconsequential bits of trivia about themselves. Kotetsu eats the ice in his drinks and brushes his teeth in the bath! Barnaby has a normal body temperature of 35.7 Celsius and drinks milk before going to bed!

* The ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'' [[SuperDeformed SD]] Character Theater gag shorts nod to the jokes about Kira and Athrun being [[HoYay a little too close]] by showing them holding hands and [[SayMyName saying each others' names]] while love hearts appear around them, [[{{Squick}} to the confusion and disgust of Shinn, Rey, and Lunamaria]]. They also contain a potential nod to "[[FanNickname Darth Lacus]]" by having her get shadowy and super-scary when confronted by a stray dog. Likewise, ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriorsGundam'' has a non-canon story path where Lacus jumps in a Gundam and kicks her boyfriend Kira's ass, proving who really wears the pants in the relationship.
* It's a common rumor that ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' that Riza's name was meant to be "Lisa" but was incorrectly translated and never fixed. In the manga "Lisa" is a secret identity she uses when spying.

* ''Manga/FairyTail'': At first, certain sections of the fandom bemoaned the idea of an anime filler arc following the conclusion of ''Grand Magic Games'' arc, and this kind of reaction is nothing new to anime in general and {{SHONEN}} in particular. Though a good portion of these fans have since come around to at least being more open-minded about the filler arc after finding the new character designs for the [[spoiler:Eclipse Celestial Spirits]] interesting, the first actual episode of the filler arc was positively chock-full of references and {{foreshadowing}} for the then-upcoming ''[[DarkerAndEdgier Tartarus]]'' [[DarkerAndEdgier arc]], including [[MemeticMutation Happy getting an afro]] and CharacterDevelopment for Lucy and Aquarius' relationship (and given what happens in the ''Tartarus'' arc between the two, this can [[spoiler:very easily be considered a {{Tearjerker}} to those who have read it]]. It's hardly a secret that the fandom had been eager to see Tartarus animated, and if these {{Mythology Gag}}s are any indication, the studio is well aware of this.

* ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' had a scene in which Mr. Popo uncharacteristically threatens Vegeta should he break the Time Chamber again, with an extreme close-up on Popo's eyes while he made that threat. This seems a bit ''too'' similar to the way ''WebVideo/DragonballZAbridged'' [[AdaptationalVillainy portrays Mr. Popo]] to be coincidence, and many fans have guessed it was a reference. This would be surprising if true, since Toei (the copyright holders for the ''Dragon Ball'' anime) have a notorious hatred of ''Dragon Ball Z Abridged''.
* Chapter 219 of ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'' features a scene where Kaguya mentions how [[spoiler:Hayasaka gave her a condom as a "good luck charm"]], something which was lifted directly from a {{Doujinshi}}.

* ComicBook/GreenLantern:
** After being returned to Green Lantern status after the Sinestro Corps War storyline, many comic fans believed for various reasons that Kyle Rayner would become a Blue Lantern, at least temporarily. When he inevitably didn't (and the offer for leadership of the Blue Lanterns was extended to Hal Jordan instead), there was a minor internet backlash from parts of the fandom. When ComicBook/BlackestNight rolled around, there was a brief line wherein Guy Gardner mockingly suggested Kyle exchange his green ring for a blue one.
** In Blackest Night, there was speculation leading all the way up to the event that there would be White Lantern that would be the one to defeat the Black Lantern Corps. As the event grew closer and every new storyline involved Hal Jordan at one point or another putting on or being consumed by different rings, it became obvious it was meant to be him. [[spoiler: While Hal Jordan did eventually merge with the White Entity, Sinestro did it first, making it look like ''he'' was going to be White Lantern. While this might've been pre-planned, there's no denying Sinestro being on the cover of one of the Green Lantern issues, as the White Lantern, and saying directly to the camera "You were expecting someone else?" wasn't intended to poke fun at the fan assumption Hal was going to be the White Lantern.]]
** In ''War of the Green Lanterns'', Kyle finally puts on a blue ring, and Ganthet takes a moment to tell Kyle what a bad idea that was. (He's not too happy with John, Hal, or Guy's choices either.)
* The text pages in the ''ComicBook/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' comics, in issues 13-24, were mostly this. And they did venture into ContinuityPorn territory at times. John Jackson Miller apparently referenced the obscurest things he found on Wookieepedia.

** In Issue #3 Vinyl Scratch's eyes are red like they were in fan-art, rather than magenta/violet like they are in the show. Colorist Heather Breckel [[http://forum.idwpublishing.com/viewtopic.php?p=335260#335260 confirms]] this is intentional.

* ''[[ComicBook/SecretWars2015 Secret Love]]'' has a big dance scene showing a bunch of popular {{Fan Preferred Couple}}s, including some HoYay[=/=]Les Yay ships that would otherwise never be shown in an official comic. These include: [[ComicBook/XMen Charles Xavier]] and ComicBook/{{Magneto}}, [[ComicBook/MsMarvel Captain Marvel]] and ComicBook/SpiderWoman, [[ComicBook/MsMarvel2014 Kamala Khan]] and [[ComicBook/AllNewGhostRider Robbie Reyes]], [[ComicBook/YoungAvengers Kate Bishop and America Chavez]], ComicBook/CaptainAmerica and Natasha Stark (a Rule63 version of [[ComicBook/IronMan Tony Stark]]), ComicBook/SheHulk and ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}, and a prominent shot of [[ComicBook/YoungAvengers Prodigy and Speed]] straight up making out.

* After Richard Rider, the original ''ComicBook/{{Nova}}'' was killed off, his fans developed a reputation for being somewhat rabid and vicious towards his replacement, Sam Alexander, and any creator who they felt was to blame for Rich's fate. When Richard finally came back, the writer threw in this line:
-->'''ComicBook/{{Ms Marvel|2014}}''': The original Nova! I've read so much about you on the forums! Your fans are...intense.

* Scott Adams announced in his newsletter, once upon a time, that if Dilbert ever had sex, his tie would fall down straight. And sure enough, in one strip in 1994, about how Dilbert has gotten suddenly serene, during a period when he had a girlfriend, Liz, it did.

* ''Fanfic/MegaManDefenderOfTheHumanRace'' has references to Guts Man's butt, which became a meme.

* In ''Fanfic/TheBankCalledYourRealityCheckBounced'', Kyouya explains that the fanfic can't refer to the pairing of Edward Elric and Winry Rockbell as Edwin because it would be too much of a nod to the established fandom. (The fic is a crossover between ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist: Brotherhood'' and ''Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'', but only Kyouya realizes that they're ''in'' a fanfic.)

* ''Fanfic/ADiplomaticVisit'': In chapter 2 of the sequel ''Diplomat at Large'', Octavia references the long-debunked fan theory that she's one of Pinkie's sisters all grown up, wondering why people think they're related.

** Also, the Muggle erotica in Sirius Black's bedroom in book 7. Despite his "special friendship" with James (and possibly Lupin), Rowling assures us that Sirius was a red-blooded manly man who loved boobies. ([[NoBisexuals Or the]] [[TakeAThirdOption third option]].)

** In the penultimate book of the series, [[spoiler:Albus Dumbledore]] dies. At once, a number of fans [[HesJustHiding tried to come up with excuses for how he could've survived.]] In the final book, [[spoiler:Mad-Eye Moody]] is killed under similar circumstances, and Ron attempts to find reasons he might still be alive, using many of the same arguments. Naturally, these are all shot down.

* In ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soulcalibur II]]'', there was an extra character called Assassin who had the moves of Hwang, a character from the previous game that was dropped. This caused a fan theory that Assassin is simply Hwang in disguise. ''VideoGame/SoulcaliburVI'' decides to lampshade this theory by having Hwang in one part of Seong Mi-na’s Soul Chronicle chapter be in a disguise exactly like the Assassin character.

* One of Mileena's pre-fight lines in ''Videogame/MortalKombat11'' is "A million souls cried out for my return", acknowledging the legions of fans who begged for her return once she was not on the original game - but was brought in as DLC.
* ''Videogame/TotalWarWarhammerII'' has a few noteable examples:

* After being returned to ComicBook/GreenLantern status after the Sinestro Corps War storyline, many comic fans believed for various reasons that Kyle Rayner would become a Blue Lantern, at least temporarily. When he inevitably didn't (and the offer for leadership of the Blue Lanterns was extended to Hal Jordan instead), there was a minor internet backlash from parts of the fandom. When ComicBook/BlackestNight rolled around, there was a brief line wherein Guy Gardner mockingly suggested Kyle exchange his green ring for a blue one.
** Also in Blackest Night, there was speculation leading all the way up to the event that there would be White Lantern that would be the one to defeat the Black Lantern Corps. As the event grew closer and every new storyline involved Hal Jordan at one point or another putting on or being consumed by different rings, it became obvious it was meant to be him. [[spoiler: While Hal Jordan did eventually merge with the White Entity, Sinestro did it first, making it look like ''he'' was going to be White Lantern. While this might've been pre-planned, there's no denying Sinestro being on the cover of one of the Green Lantern issues, as the White Lantern, and saying directly to the camera "You were expecting someone else?" wasn't intended to poke fun at the fan assumption Hal was going to be the White Lantern.]]

* The episode "[[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheEmberIslandPlayers The Ember Island Players]]" in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' had several, such as Sokka noting [[HesJustHiding the vagueness]] of Jet's death.
** Of special mention is the show's acknowledgment of [[FanPreferredCouple Zutara]], which makes Aang sad and the characters in question to scoot away from each other.

** "Remembrances," a Korra Season 4 Recap Episode and spiritual successor to "The Ember Island Players" does this in spades. The recap did go out of its way to acknowledge some of the fandoms complaints such as the [[RelationshipWritingFumble the sloppy]] LoveTriangle in Seasons 1 & 2, and Unalaq being an unpopular villain.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce'', Ben is watching a marathon of ''Sumo Slammers: Hero Generation'', which he says takes place five years after ''Sumo Slammers Classic'' and [[SelfDeprecation isn't really as good as the original,]] especially because a villain made an unrealistic HeelFaceTurn...
** Doubles as a DevelopmentGag if you consider that "Hero Generation" was ''Alien Force''[='s=] original title.
*** Later on in ''WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien'', we get in one episode [[spoiler:Young Ben]] complaining that Swampfire, as a plant guy, is just a copy of Wildvine. Ben replies with "Sure, remember the time Wildvine did this"? before [[GreenThumb wrapping the enemy in vines.]] Another episode has Kevin asking Ben why he shouts the name of the aliens when he transforms. The answer? [[spoiler:"It strikes fear into my enemies."]] Both of these naturally were some of the main complaints that fans had about the updated show.

* The ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'' [[SuperDeformed SD]] Character Theater gag shorts nod to the jokes about Kira and Athrun being [[HoYay a little too close]] by showing them holding hands and [[SayMyName saying each others' names]] while love hearts appear around them, [[{{Squick}} to the confusion and disgust of Shinn, Rey, and Lunamaria]]. They also contain a potential nod to "[[FandomNickname Darth Lacus]]" by having her get shadowy and super-scary when confronted by a stray dog. Likewise, ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriorsGundam'' has a non-canon story path where Lacus jumps in a Gundam and kicks her boyfriend Kira's ass, proving who really wears the pants in the relationship.

** In the episode "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E12TheSoundOfDrums The Sound of Drums]]", Martha wonders if the Master is the Doctor's "secret brother". His reply? "[[YouWatchTooMuchX You've been watching too much TV.]]" Although this had been a fan theory at times, it may also have been a MythologyGag about the fact that early versions of what became the 1996 TV movie included the idea, which got very mixed reactions from fans at the time when the information leaked.
** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E3PlanetOfTheOod Planet of the Ood]]", the Doctor notes that the Oodsphere is in the same system as Sensphere, homeworld of the Sensorites. The fandom came up with that theory a few years earlier, due to the aliens looking somewhat similar.

** In "The Only Light in the Darkness" it's revealed the orphanage Skye grew up at named her MarySue Poots. Skye had previously been accused of being a MarySue by detractors (though she grew out of it by that point).

** In "The Only Light in the Darkness" it's revealed the orphanage Skye grew up at named her MarySue [[UnfortunateName Poots]]. Skye had previously been accused of being a MarySue by detractors (though she grew out of it by that point).

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* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' had a {{DLC}} called [[VillainEpisode ''The Darkspawn Chronicles'']], which named the party's dog Barkspawn after the name ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'' gave it. The ExpansionPack, ''[[VideoGame/DragonAgeOriginsAwakening Awakening]]'', included a mage staff called Lamppost in Winter, after a [[MemeticMutation memetic]] DoubleEntendre from the original game. ("Have you ever licked a lamppost in winter?")

** The ''Citadel'' DLC for [[VideoGame/MassEffect3 ME3]] is ''full'' of these; for example:

* The creators of ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'' acknowledged a popular {{ship|ping}} in one episode when [[YaoiFangirl Erika]] {{Squee}}s about how [[FoeYay Shizuo and Izaya]] ''must'' be [[HoYay in love]]. The other characters' [[{{Squick}} disgusted]] reactions to the idea are [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments absolutely hilarious]] (Shinra also thinks Shizuo/Izaya is possible, but Celty shuts him up before he can say anything else).

** "The Empty Hearse" includes several scenes where Sherlock's in-universe fan club spouts various (incorrect) fan theories about how Sherlock survived his death. No, John wasn't hypnotized into seeing Sherlock jump, Sherlock didn't have a hidden bungee cord tied to his waist, he didn't drop a masked dummy from the rooftop, and he didn't fit a corpse with a latex mask of his face. Also, [[FoeYay Sherlock and Moriarty weren't lovers]], and [[ShipSinking Sherlock didn't make out with Molly immediately after surviving his death]].

* [=MadLeomon=]'s death in ''Anime/DigimonXrosWars'' wasn't a surprise, considering that [[OnceASeason a Leomon dies in every series]]. So considering that he was the StarterVillain and dies in episode 3, it seemed as though the writers just wanted to cover the obligatory death as soon as possible and move onto other things.

** And similarly, ''Manga/{{Eyeshield 21}}'' often answers rather mundane questions about the characters (like what they eat for breakfast, how much they study, how often a certain character doesn't wear pants...) in a similar question-corner.

* The [[PortmanteauCoupleName KonoSetsu]] fandom in ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' is so large, they were actually referred to by name [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-rNKfXCJ8U in one of]] [[AudioAdaptation the Drama CDs]] of ''[[AlternateContinuity Negima!?]]''

* The creators of ''{{LightNovel/Durarara}}'' acknowledged a popular {{ship|ping}} in one episode when [[YaoiFangirl Erika]] {{Squee}}s about how [[FoeYay Shizuo and Izaya]] ''must'' be [[HoYay in love]]. The other characters' [[{{Squick}} disgusted]] reactions to the idea is [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments absolutely hilarious]] (Shinra also thinks Shizuo/Izaya is possible, but Celty shuts him up before he can say anything else).

* Feeling nostalgic, Ash would suddenly call in his [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Charizard]] late in the ''Best Wishes'' saga of ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}''. Iris makes the assumption that Charizard is a Dragon-type, much to the disbelief of everyone, mirroring those who don't know Charizard's actual typing (fire/flying), and the fans who would repeatedly correct them, respectively.

* ''[[Comicbook/SecretWars2015 Secret Love]]'' has a big dance scene showing a bunch of popular {{Fan Preferred Couple}}s, including some HoYay[=/=][[HoYay Les Yay]] ships that would otherwise never be shown in an official comic. These include: [[Comicbook/XMen Charles Xavier]] and ComicBook/{{Magneto}}, [[Comicbook/MsMarvel Captain Marvel]] and Comicbook/SpiderWoman, [[Comicbook/MsMarvel2014 Kamala Khan]] and [[Comicbook/AllNewGhostRider Robbie Reyes]], [[Comicbook/YoungAvengers Kate Bishop and America Chavez]], ComicBook/CaptainAmerica and Natasha Stark (a {{Rule 63}} version of [[Comicbook/IronMan Tony Stark]]), Comicbook/SheHulk and Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}, and a prominent shot of [[Comicbook/YoungAvengers Prodigy and Speed]] straight up making out.

* After Richard Rider, the original ''Comicbook/{{Nova}}'' was killed off, his fans developed a reputation for being somewhat rabid and vicious towards his replacement, Sam Alexander, and any creator who they felt was to blame for Rich's fate. When Richard finally came back, the writer threw in this line:
-->'''Comicbook/{{Ms Marvel|2014}}''': The original Nova! I've read so much about you on the forums! Your fans are...intense.

* In ''FanFic/MegaManRecut'', Roll calls Dr. Petto "Dr. Pedo," a common fan mishearing of his name.
* ''FanFic/MegaManDefenderOfTheHumanRace'' has references to Guts Man's butt, which became a meme.

* ''Videogame/DeadlyRoomsOfDeath'': Some players on the forum suggested new game elements that were completely out of place in the DROD world. These kinds of ideas came to be called "rayguns" among the forum users. Finally, a raygun actually appears for a JokeLevel in the fifth game. {{Lampshaded}} when you unlock said level, the game amends the announcement text with "Yes, that's right!"

* ''Videogame/MassEffect3'':

* In the ''{{Webcomic/Homestuck}}'' flash [[http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=pony2 [S] Ride]], there is a bonus you can reach by clicking the horseshow at the bottom right-hand corner. This gives a short, silly flash with a couple of random, scratchily-drawn pictures of Roxy as a cowgirl. The last is a picture of [[ShipTease Roxy and Jane kissing]], with pink and blue cotton candy on the floor and a piece of paper reading 'Cotton Candy'. That is the [[IdiosyncraticShipNaming Idiosyncratic Ship Name]] for the Roxy/Jane ship.

** The background pony named [[AllThereInTheScript Berryshine/Berry Punch]] (with grapes and a strawberry as her mark) is believed by fanon to be a heavy drinker. In "The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000", she is visibly distraught when told that there's "not a drop of cider to be found".

* In ''VideoGame/NewStyleBoutique'', lots of fanon characters have been created. An example is Main/Shabnam.

* ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' had a scene in which Mr. Popo uncharacteristically threatens Vegeta should he break the Time Chamber again, with an extreme close-up on Popo's eyes while he made that threat. This seems a bit ''too'' similar to the way ''WebVideo/DragonballZAbridged'' [[AdaptationalVillainy portrays Mr. Popo]] to be coincidence, and many fans have guessed it was a reference. If true, it was most likely a GettingCrapPastTheRadar moment, since Toei (the copyright holders for the ''Dragon Ball'' anime) have a notorious hatred of ''Dragon Ball Z Abridged''.