[Interesting Trope] Attempts at fanservice/virality that failed not because they were hated, but because nobody noticed them or cared at all.

[u/mp3help]

1) Hoopy the Hoop, Portal (2007) When you defeat GLaDOS and her room is destroyed at the end of the game, debris rains down in the final cutscene, including a big metal hoop that bounces around a bit. Developer Erik Wolpaw said the team dubbed it "Hoopy the Hoop" and expected it to become the big meme of Portal. Of course, none of the fans paid much attention to the hoop since "The Cake is a Lie" became the biggest meme of the game, and overall one of the biggest video game memes of all time.

2) Burgh, Pokemon Black and White (2010) When designing Burgh, developer Yusuke Ohmura said Gamefreak had many of their female employees give input on his design to create their ideal handsome man. However, as someone who's been in the Pokemon fandom for almost 3 decades, in the 15+ years since Pokemon Black and White released, I have personally never seen any fans swoon over Burgh, or even mention him in general. If anything, characters like N and Colress are far more well-known within the fandom as the most handsome and beloved male characters of Pokemon Gen 5.

[u/Stoneheart7]

For Disney's Encanto, the merch was focused on Isabela, the pretty sister who can make flowers sprout around her at will.

Nobody gave a shit about her.

Instead everybody was into Luisa, the very butch sister with super strength.

[u/GetToWigglin → u/Stoneheart7]

I watched Encanto shortly after my mom passed away. She made me the executor of her will/trust because I was the oldest and most capable and I felt like I was drowning under the responsibility. When she opened up about how she felt, I cried like a baby. Luisa will hold a special spot in my heart for the rest of my life.

[u/Boccs → u/GetToWigglin]

"Give it to your sister, your sister's older. Give her all the heavy things we can't shoulder-"
"Give it to your sister, your sister's stronger, see if she can hang on a little longer-"
"Give it to your sister, it doesn't hurt and see if she can handle every family burden-"
"Give it to your sister and never wonder if the same pressure would have pulled you under."

Her lyrics straight up hurt at times. I'm the youngest sibling, and a boy, but I'm very very often the one thrust into roles of responsibility and her song really hit a spot on me too.

[u/Sickpup831 → u/Boccs]

I love Encanto so much because the antagonist is literally family trauma.

[u/Olya_roo → u/GetToWigglin]

Interesting because Luisa is the middle child, but her song was basically given to older children in media rep

[u/Budsygus → u/Olya_roo]

I spent a long time thinking she was the oldest because of that line in her song.

[u/Brilliant_Ad_6637 → u/Budsygus]

The eldest child is treated as a golden child, so the middle child ends up having to take all the responsibility.

Also, if you read it in a certain way, the very prissy pretty eldest daughter needs to be married away just right, and the not as pretty rougher middle daughter gets to do all the work because fuck if she'll get a good husband so we might as well work her to the bone while we dote on the princess.

[u/Bulletsoul78 → u/GetToWigglin]

Pressure like a drip drip drip...