>>130209007>with artists both drawing because they like the ship or they know the ship is crazy popular and tracks people with moneyThis part is also very crucial for such a change to happen. It isn't just the rich coommissioner, if there are no artists willing to support the ship or exploit it, it usually just dies as a niche thing.
Following your own example, if it wasn't for the likes of Bigdad and Michiyoshi, TailsRouge would probably remain a relatively popular, but still niche crackship. Those two are responsibles for spawning most of the art and the artists that support/exploit it.
Heck, 10 years, if someone drew a lewd/porn of Rouge with a male character, said male character would have been Shadow or Knuckles. Nowadays, they will usually think of Tails, unless their personal tastes get in the way.
In a way, it is truly fascinating how such pairings' popularity explodes by first becoming a meme, that later is taken too far/seriously.
