Bowie/Raj

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Pairing
Pairing: Bowie (Total Drama)/Raj (Total Drama)
Alternative name(s): Rajbow, Bowraj
Gender category: Slash
Fandom: Total Drama
Canonical?: Canon
Prevalence: Popular
Archives: n/a
Other: n/a
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Bowie/Raj, known mostly as Rajbow or Bowraj, is a popular pairing within Total Drama fandom. The ship is between Bowie and Raj, both prominent characters.

Bowie/Raj was the first canonical same-sex relationship to appear in the entire Total Drama series, becoming canon during the run of Total Drama: Island (2023). The pairing was a big hit with fans, both for their chemistry and what them being together meant for the future of the show.

Raj's best friend Wayne is very supportive of the pairing canonically, and many fanworks for Bowie/Raj feature him. Although these works may be labelled under Raynebow by fans, the name for the poly ship Bowie/Raj/Wayne, poly for the three characters is rare and these are usually gen Bowie/Raj works. The term Rainbow Trio has been coined for their gen relationship, but this sees limited use.

Bowie/Raj was a juggernaut ship in TDI2023's fandom on Archive of Our Own for around a year until Julia/MK works caught up with it in 2024.

Common Tropes

  • Opposites Attract: Bowie is fashion forward and competitive while Raj is a sporty jock who is the more "plays to have fun" type, though was still determined to win TD despite this. Fanworks may describe them as having different love languages.
  • Fluff: Far more common for them than angst in fanworks; many have them go on dates and sleepovers. Domestic works are also common.
    • Angst works for this pairing often focus on Raj coming to terms with his sexuality, with Bowie being his crush.
  • Hockey: In fanworks, Bowie may attend Raj's hockey games.
  • Post-Canon Reunion: Before TDI2024, works may have made Raj dislike how Bowie put a wedge into Millie and Priya's friendship to get ahead of the game and have him confront Bowie about this in a post-canon reunion. Although TDI2024 made this canonical, some fans believe this arc was mishandled and address the issue in their fic differently as a fix-it. Other works may have Bowie invite Raj to the large, fun parties he's used to after the show ends, which Raj is certainly unfamiliar with.
  • Outfit Upgrade: Bowie may convince Raj to wear different outfits besides his jersey in fanworks.

Bowie/Raj Fandom

BNFs for Bowie/Raj fandom include weezerfan123[1], saarrraaaahhh[2], ichionthego[3], canonically47[4] and CremDotEXE[5].

In June, Rajbow Week is celebrated in r/Totaldrama.

Pairing Names for Bowie/Raj

The portmaneaus "Bowraj" and "Rajbow" were both coined as pairing names for them in 2023. By the end of the year, Rajbow surpassed Bowraj in use due to sounding like rainbow. As of 2024, Rajbow is the most common and recognized pairing name for them, though Bowraj is also used.

td-scary-c2h4's Goth Scene AU

In the later half of 2023, td-scary-c2h4 created a "Total Macabre Island AU" for Bowie/Raj with their edits of screenshots from the show redrawn to have Bowie as a goth kid and Raj as a scene kid. The AU inspired some recursive fanworks with the same designs, such as sparkanonymous's fanart, Archived version. td-scary-c2h4 fanart can be seen under its Tumblr tag, Archived version.

Example/Notable Fanac

Fan Communities/Fan Events

Fan Art

Fan Vids

Fan Mixes

Memes

References/Further Reading

  1. ^ https://www.tumblr.com/weezerfan123/
  2. ^ https://archiveofourown.org/users/saarrraaaahhh
  3. ^ https://www.tumblr.com/ichionthego/
  4. ^ https://www.tumblr.com/canonically47
  5. ^ https://archiveofourown.org/users/CremDotEXE/pseuds/CremDotEXE
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