Duncan/Gwen
Pairing | |
---|---|
Pairing: | Duncan (Total Drama)/Gwen (Total Drama) |
Alternative name(s): | Gwuncan, DxG, DunGwen |
Gender category: | Het |
Fandom: | Total Drama |
Canonical?: | Broken Up |
Prevalence: | Popular Pairing |
Archives: | n/a |
Other: | |
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Duncan/Gwen, also known as Gwuncan, is a popular pairing within Total Drama fandom. The ship is between Duncan and Gwen, both prominent characters. It has been popular since 2007, when both were paired by fans during the run of Island (2007), and was canon from 2010 to 2013. An infamous love triangle during World Tour, which had Duncan cheat on Courtney with Gwen, paired them up. When they returned for All-Stars, however, their relationship was slowly declining due to Gwen not appearing to be interested in Duncan any more and being more focused on repairing her friendship with Courtney. Their relationship came to an end during the fifth episode of All-Stars, as Duncan's obsession with grabbing Courtney's attention infuriated Gwen because he still into his ex-girlfriend, leading to her dumping him. The love triangle arc of World Tour has overshadowed the ship itself since.
Duncan/Gwen and Courtney/Duncan and are inseparable as pairings, as is Courtney/Gwen, and the vast majority of fans have seen fanac of all three ships. Ship war between Courtney/Duncan and Duncan/Gwen fans specifically has existed since 2009, though Gwen/Trent and Courtney/Gwen shippers are not to be ignored from the equation.
Common Tropes
- Codependency - Gwen helps Duncan cheat on Courtney in-universe. Fanworks may expand upon this dynamic.
- Shared Hobbies - as Duncan is Punk and Gwen is Goth, some fanworks may expand upon these subcultures. Referencing specific musicians and/or horror movies they both may enjoy within fanworks is not unheard of.
- Historical AUs - more so than other pairings, as former Duncan/Gwen BNF Dalhia-Gwen[1] regularly featured them in her fanart.
- Height Difference - Duncan is taller, Gwen is shorter.
Duncan/Gwen Fandom
Before Duncan/Gwen became canonized, ship war between Duncan/Gwen and Gwen/Trent fans was somewhat prevalent, more so than with Courtney/Duncan shippers. Trent's behavior during Action soured many Total Drama fans to his character, and canonically Gwen and Trent broke up while Courtney and Duncan wouldn't until World Tour. Confrontational Duncan/Gwen fans may have flamed the sinking ship.
Immediately following World Tour's I See London... airing, which canonized Duncan/Gwen, newly invigorated fans may have also flamed the sinking ship of Courtney/Duncan.
i HATE how the people who dislike DxC are soooo disrespectful, i mean i hate DxG with a passion, but i would never in a million years run around their club obnoxiously stating how much i hate DxG, i do this because i know that it would just start fights and and that they dont want to hear how i love DxC and wish that DxG would go live in a hole, seriously guys if its a club FOR a certian couple dont state how much you hate this couple[2]
By the time later seasons such as Revenge of the Island aired, the flames directly from World Tour cooled.
Many fans of both ships also agree that the relationship's breakup during All Stars was rushed and poorly written, like the rest of the season, though neither of these sentiments are ubiquitous.
As of 2020s' Total Drama fandom, some fan circles consisting of mostly younger users such as Wattpad and TikTok may invoke flames, but communities such as Reddit and Tumblr are more sympathetic on all sides. Fanon ships getting into the ship-war picture, whether Het, Slash or Femslash, is rare but not unheard of.
Gwen's attraction to Duncan is implied to be stronger than the reverse canonically. Duncan fans may believe that the relationship is more mutually beneficial to both parties than his relationship with Courtney, which was always tumultuous. Fanworks for Duncan/Gwen tend to focus more on Gwen than Duncan, though not by a significant margin. Some BNFs for Duncan/Gwen fandom include noyoucantpinmedown[3] and hella-marshmella[4].
October 23rd is Gwuncan Day on Chefhatchet's Appreciation Calendar.
Fan Opinions
Because everyone who watches the show knows about Duncan/Gwen post-World Tour, fan opinion regarding the pairing varies greatly.
Perspectives are split into Watsonian and Doyalist for convenience on this article, as both are prevalent in meta.
Largely Watsonian
I've been where Courtney's been, so I'm really not gonna be able to give a position on this that isn't biased or un-objective. I had no problem with Duncan and Gwen together BEFORE WT, strictly by how it was done. If it had happened any other way, that wouldn't have bothered me. But now I can never look at the couple like I did before, because all I see is that betrayal and the pain it caused Courtney to be back-stabbed by TWO people she trusted. I just can never support the two, no matter how "cute" they act. If anything, it makes me even more sick.[5]
Anonymous asked:Im NOT a gwuncan fan and this is 13 year old drama but... I never see any gwuncan shippers EVER. not one. What's that about. Someone has to like them??
blainerificapologist replied:
#gwuncan is cute#i like it about as much as gwourtney and duncney#but in completely different ways lol
camptv-era replied:
#Gwuncan#i think it's cute and neat#friends to lovers is always cute#but a lot of the attraction was said/done off screen#i loved the interaction we got and casually being chaotics together#i think they had the advantage over gwent with more natural chemistry + more things to talk about#wt moments were sweet.#the conflict on they got together was interesting#but then the writers chickened out.#eliminated gwen?.. ok. odd. duncney winning the wedding challenge (they fought the whole way but.. that's ship tease. duncney's whole thing#is arguing. literally their thing.)#i will not get started on All Stars.#basically though Island!Duncney>Action+WT Gwuncan>any other Duncney...<Gweoff 💙#tldr: as a multishipper i can enjoy gwuncan and other ships that are 'better' or 'worse'[6]
One of the reasons why I despise Gwuncan is because of the way Duncan abused Trent and Leshawna and made them look "stupid" then said things about them to Gwen that were not true.Also, Duncan only liked Gwen for her similarities (according to Drew Nelson) and he was actually more into Courtney.
It's very likely that Duncan intentionally deceived Gwen by tricking her into loving him for shallow reasons and into betraying the others.[7]
Largely Doyalist
Gwen and Duncan actually do have decent chemistry in TDI, TDA, and even TDWT. The problem with TDAS is that it writes Duncan as totally dismissive towards Gwen's feelings as he tries to push his ideas onto her. It comes across as very jarring.However, I do think it opens interesting avenues for why Gwen and Duncan might not work longterm, though. Duncan is really bad at taking things seriously and would rather everybody get over themselves. While he was drawn to Gwen as a cool girl who didn't judge him like Courtney did, this also meant he didn't know how to deal with Gwen's insecurity. Having him go back to Courtney so bluntly made him look even more unlikeable, but I think he got bored in a stable relationship and wanted to push someone's buttons again. Thank goodness Courtney turned him down -- that was the best moment of the season, IMO.[8]
Example/Notable Fanac
I Wanna- Gwen And Duncan tribute by moni1210, Archived version, an AMV on Youtube which features several fic recs in its description.
Fan Communities/Fan Events
- TDI's GwenxDuncan, Archived version, a large Fanpop community.
- Gwuncan Week 2014, a fanweek hosted on Tumblr.
- Gwuncan Week 2020, a fanweek hosted on Tumblr.
- DunGwen-fc, Archived version, a community on DeviantART.
- GwuncanFanClub, Archived version, a community on DeviantART.
- Anti-DuncanGwen-Club, Archived version, anti-Duncan/Gwen club on DeviantART.
- The Duntrent Den has a channel for Duncan/Gwen.
- Gwuncan Community.
- Gwuncan (Discord server).
Aesthetic Edits
Blogs
- gwuncan-exhibit on Tumblr.
Collections
- Gwen and Duncan by XxEmoEmoSchneiderxX, Archived version, a collection of 119 fanarts on DeviantArt.
- Pro-Fics DxG, [Unable to archive] a collection of Spanish Duncan/Gwen fanfiction on FanFiction.Net.
Fan Art
- Bouncey, Archived version by sallychan as part of her Bouncey series. (27 Nov 2013)
- Goth and punk in 70/80s by lwlizzard, Archived version, Duncan and Gwen in outfits fit for the 1970s-80s punk and goth scenes.
- I recently rewatched Total Drama Island and I love...them by plentyblush, Archived version.
- When the dream comes true... by Kirakiss478, Archived version. Wedding fanart, featuring Duncan in a tuxedo and Gwen in a dress.
Fan Fiction
- A drabble for this pairing was featured in Total Drama Crack before it became canon.
- The Big-Ass DunGwen Fanfiction started by by duncanlovR, Archived version, an attempt at a community-created fanfiction on Fanpop. It has a sequel, Big-Ass Gwuncan Fanfiction 2 started by Gwendolynx3, Archived version.
- New Beginnings by LittleMissyGalPal, [Unable to archive] an English work-in-progress (likely abandoned) longfic which takes place in a boarding school AU. It is the most favorited fic for Duncan/Gwen on FanFiction.Net as of September 2023.
- Breathe by happy mess inside a cup, [Unable to archive] an English completed fanfiction where Duncan "gets caught in the middle" of Gwen/Trent. Written before I See London... premiered, the episode which canonized Duncan/Gwen.
Playlists
- TDs; Gwuncan by noyoucantpinmedown, Archived version, a fanplaylist on YouTube.
- Gwen and Duncan (Gwuncan) by Darina Klimentova, Archived version, a fanplylist on YouTube featuring mostly AMVs. It features 199 videos total.
- Situations by ju5t4n3rd (2013)
- gwuncan by totaldramagothgf (2018)
Meta
- Have you a DxG fan ever trashed or anything about dxc to make a dxc fan or anyone mad? by starlabair, Archived version, a discussion on Fanpop from early 2012.
- why Gwuncan is a good couple, Archived version, an essay on DeviantArt by Striddums, somewhat of a Total Drama BNF.
- Gag Me. by TDIn6teenPwn, Archived version, a DeviantArt post with 39 comments archiving fans' reactions to the kissing scene in I See London... soon after it aired.
- remember when duncan told sierra to make more gwuncan videos at her elimination at all stars? that made me realize(...) by td-hateblog, Archived version (2021)
References/Further Reading
- ^ https://www.deviantart.com/dalhia-gwen
- ^ i HATE how the people who dislike DxC are soooo disrespectful, Archived version undated, likely 2010-2012; posted by [rubberduck2] on Fanpop
- ^ https://noyoucantpinmedown.tumblr.com
- ^ https://hella-marshmella.tumblr.com
- ^ I've been where Courtney's been, so I'm really not gonna be able to give a position on this that isn't biased or un-objective, Archived version [ironbloodaika]; posted October 18th, 2013 on DeviantArt
- ^ Im NOT a gwuncan fan and this is 13 year old drama but... I never see any gwuncan shippers EVER, Archived version posted February 2nd, 2023 on Tumblr; Anon on real-total-drama-takes
- ^ One of the reasons why I despise Gwuncan is because of the way, Archived version [GothikaXenon]; posted April 22nd, 2022 on Reddit
- ^ Gwen and Duncan actually do have decent chemistry in TDI, TDA, and even TDWT, Archived version [hyperjengirl]; posted April 8th, 2023 on Reddit