Rick Sanchez x Pearl — Split image of Pearl from Steven Universe and Rick Sanchez together in two scenes

Rick Sanchez x Pearl

2020shipping meme / fan artdeclining

Published November 9, 2026

Rick Sanchez x Pearl is a shipping meme pairing Rick from Rick and Morty with Pearl from Steven Universe, launched by DeviantArt artist Nilseypro123 in October 2020. Screenshots of the fan art went viral on Tumblr and Twitter in August 2021, and by late 2022 TikTokers were cutting fancam edits of the duo set to dramatic music.

fandom shipping memes fan art memes rick and morty memes deviantart memes cartoon network memes

Overview

Nilseypro123's fan art portrays Rick and Pearl as lovers in a parallel universe, with lore that expanded to include Ricky Junior, the pair's fictional son3. Drawings appeared across DeviantArt, Instagram, Tumblr and Twitter under the handles Nilseypro123, nilseycreator and @nilseyart, mixing earnest shipping imagery with Rule 34 content5. Outside viewers usually react with disbelief, amazed by one artist's dedication to an unlikely cartoon pairing.

Posts about Rick Sanchez x Pearl usually screenshot or repost Nilseypro123's drawings next to incredulous captions praising the artist, as in iggykoopa666's 'literally this person is so powerful'4. TikTok edits apply fancam conventions, with dramatic music and slow-motion cuts of Rick and Pearl that stay sincere in tone despite the ridiculous premise9.

Origin & Background

Platform
DeviantArt / Tumblr (viral spread)
Creator
Nilseypro123
Date
2020

On October 7th, 2020, Nilseypro123 uploaded a drawing titled 'Rick and Pearl adventure's' to DeviantArt that imagined the two cartoon leads as lovers in a parallel universe1. The artist re-posted the same image to Instagram the same day under @nilseyart, where it drew seven likes in its first two years2.

Over the following year, Nilseypro123 released more fan art across platforms and introduced new characters to the ship's canon, including Ricky Junior, said to be Rick and Pearl's son. On August 21st, 2021, nilseycreator posted a Tumblr drawing titled 'Rick and Ricky Junior giving Pearl a surprise,' gaining about 20 notes over two years3.

How It Spread

On August 28th, 2021, Tumblr user iggykoopa666 (previously known as rockbusted) posted two screenshots of Nilseypro123's work with the caption 'literally this person is so powerful,' gaining roughly 23,600 notes over fourteen months4. Iggykoopa666 cross-posted the screenshots to Twitter the same day and collected about 50,800 likes6.

Twitter reposts drove the ship further. On August 29th, 2021, @PlutoIsNotReal tweeted the 'Ricky Junior' drawing and earned around 21,000 likes7. Other DeviantArt users joined in soon after: on September 13th, 2021, g4lleon uploaded an original Rick x Pearl piece that drew roughly 10,000 views and over 85 favorites8.

Going into 2022, the ship moved onto TikTok fancam edits. On October 12th, 2022, @abrell_animates posted a fancam of the pair that gathered about 12,100 plays and 1,900 likes in six days9, followed by a second edit on October 15th with roughly 21,800 plays and 3,700 likes in three days10. Instagram user @nonbinary.tomboy posted a carousel of Nilseycreator edits on October 17th, 2022, earning around 6,500 likes within a day11.

Timeline

2020-10-07

Nilseypro123 uploads 'Rick and Pearl adventure's' to DeviantArt, the earliest known Rick x Pearl ship art.

2021-08-21

Nilseycreator posts 'Rick and Ricky Junior giving Pearl a surprise' to Tumblr, introducing the ship's fictional son Ricky Junior.

2021-08-28

Tumblr user iggykoopa666 posts two screenshots of Nilseypro123's work with the caption 'literally this person is so powerful' and cross-posts to Twitter, gaining about 50,800 likes.

2021-08-29

Twitter user @PlutoIsNotReal reposts the 'Ricky Junior' drawing, earning around 21,000 likes.

2021-09-13

DeviantArt user g4lleon uploads their own Rick x Pearl fan art, drawing roughly 10,000 views.

2022-10-12

TikToker @abrell_animates posts the first known Rick x Pearl fancam edit.

2022-10-17

Instagram user @nonbinary.tomboy posts a carousel of Nilseycreator edits, earning about 6,500 likes within a day.

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How to Use This Meme

Posts about Rick Sanchez x Pearl typically repost one of Nilseypro123's drawings or edit a TikTok fancam set to dramatic music. Captions often praise the artist's dedication instead of the ship itself, with 'literally this person is so powerful' becoming a template reaction4.

Frequently Asked Questions