Bwen
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On the "Mature Ben or Cocky Ben" discussion page, I mentioned that I'm going to discuss the fan popular concept of Ben and Gwen having a romantic relationship with each other, even though they're cousins (also known as the concept of a Bwen pairing in fan art and fan fiction, hence the name of this page) as well as my own opinion on this concept. Well, here it is. This is going to be a long post as well so feel free to take your time going through it and understanding this concept and my opinion on it.
This is quite a popular concept among fans of the Ben 10 series. So popular that there are just tons and tons of fan art and fan fiction focused on this very concept. Hell, my most favorite Ben 10 fan fiction series actually uses this concept. It's also quite a weird and controversial concept since that it obviously involves well two fictional characters in a cartoon show, that are cousins to each other, being in a romantic relationship with each other and there are a lot of people that will try to counter argue this concept by mostly saying that Ben and Gwen are cousins and that is the reason why it will never happen in the Ben 10 series. However, there's a lot more to this concept than what I believe many have missed out and that is one of the points about this that I'm going to discuss. As for my own opinion on this concept, while I did find this concept as weird, I thought about it quite a lot and I actually agree with the idea of having Ben and Gwen as a romantic cousin couple for the series. I believe that this is a great idea for Ben 10.
Let's start with counter arguing the excuse that this concept will never happen in the series because Ben and Gwen are cousins. Apparently, people that give this excuse seem to only reflect the cultural views of the United States, yet they never seem to take into account of Cartoon Network's international audience and viewers. Mostly in Central and South America, Asia, and even Europe. Cultures around the world all have some level of difference from each other. Many, if not most, cultures and industrial areas and countries around the world are even willing to accept cousin romantic relationships. Even in the US, even though cousin romances are viewed as taboo, there are still many states that have laws that support cousin marriages. Most often first cousin marriages and some states have some restrictions. Cousin romances are still largely accepted around the world and has been quite common throughout history as well. Personally for me, I don't really mind. It's anyone's choice in their lives as to what they want to do regardless of what others think. If someone wants to be in a relationship with their cousin, I wouldn't really mind about it and would even say "If that's what you want to do, who am I to stop you from doing what you think is right in your life."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cousin_marriage
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cousin_marriage_law_in_the_United_States_by_stateCousin romances are also not that scarce and uncommon in entertainment media either. TvTropes actually lists quite a lot of examples of cousin romances in other forms of media from films to TV shows to comics and etc. Marvel's superhero Black Bolt is actually to his cousin, Medusa. Mark Millar's post-apocalyptic Wolverine story, "Old Man Logan," established that a future version of Hulk and his cousin, She-Hulk, have bred and produced offsprings. There's some examples involving the Superman comics that TvTropes listed as well. In the show, "Wolverine and the X-Men," Silver Samurai and Mariko Yashida are married to each other even though it was established in the comics that they're cousins. I'll leave a link with the rest of the examples since that there are so many that TvTropes listed down. Either way, there are many various prominent and subtle examples of a cousin romance in many forms of entertainment media and literature, many even having justifiable reasons for their implementation that TvTropes also mentions, which further shows how more accepting this concept is in our cultures. With all these factors applied, the argument that this concept will never happen in Ben 10 because Ben and Gwen are cousins is pretty much debunked and can very much likely happen in the series.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/KissingCousins
Okay, with that out of the way, let's focus on why I think Ben and Gwen having a cousin romantic relationship is a great idea and concept for the Ben 10 series. Well, let's take a look at the characters themselves. Ben is impulsive, fun-loving, and egocentric yet in the Original Series, he lacked the focus and determination to work hard and stay on track; especially with certain stuff such as school. Ben also lacked proper hand-to-hand combat training and experience considering that most of his attacks tend to be more improvised most likely based off of his likes towards Sumo Slammers. As for Gwen, she is intelligent, hard working, and strong focused. She also has proper hand-to-hand combat training and experience due to her taking karate classes. However, what Gwen lacked was that she doesn't get much fun in her life. She works too hard and thus doesn't give herself enough chances to just sit down and relax for once. Most of the time we see her reading a book or researching on her laptop at moments where she should be having fun. Heck, Gwen even wanted to go to a computer camp for the Summer and even makes plans for pretty much almost everything she does. For example, in the episode "Camp Fear," while Ben and Gwen are arguing about their birthdays, Gwen shows her birthday plans all set up in a book. She does something like this again, to a lesser extent, in the episode "Ben 10,000" with her planning Max's birthday. Pretty much the most amount of fun that she ever had was that very summer road trip in the Original Series. Ben likes to have fun but he lacks the focus he needs to work hard and stay on track; Gwen has a strong focus that allows her to stay on track and work hard yet lacks having fun in her life. Notice something there. These two characters are actually structured in a way so that they benefit off of each other and fill in what they're both missing in their lives. Ben's impulsive and fun-loving nature is what Gwen needs to balance out her life while Gwen provides the focus that Ben needs to help improve himself in school, his battles, etc. They suit each other's needs and designed in a way that they fit very well together. Hell, I didn't even realized this until I read a Ben 10 fan fiction series as well as went back and watched the Original Series quite a while ago. I can also factor in their relationship in the Original Series. Initially, Ben and Gwen had a pretty hateful relationship as they constantly get into fights and arguments with each other. However, as the series progressed, their relationship improved to the point where they've grown to like each other and even help one another out when they necessarily needed it. Yeah, they still argued but Ben and Gwen grew to really, truly care for each other. These are my very reasons why I say that Ben and Gwen being in a romantic relationship with each other, despite being cousins, is actually a great idea.
So, there's my opinion on the concept of Ben and Gwen being in a romantic cousin couple. If anyone has any thoughts and opinions of their own on this concept and/or on my opinions on this concept, feel free to leave a comment on this discussion page. Feel free to also leave a comment as to whether or not anyone wants to see this concept happen in the Ben 10 Reboot or if there's anything about this concept that you want to discuss yourself.
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Uh, No. Just no.
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@chronosapien234 Your opinion and I'm fine with that. Mind explaining why though?
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I'm gonna go into further detail about my thoughts of the concept of Bwen, pointing out how it fits the style that was used in the Ben 10 Original Series and that Man of Action is known for implementing in most of their works as well as how a cousin couples relationship fits into the Tennyson family's recent history with their relationships with other alien species.
Think about it. If anyone thinks that Ben and Gwen being a couple despite being cousins is weird enough, take a look at a couple other members of the Tennyson family in the series that have much more bizarre relationships. Most notably Max and Joel Tennyson. In the Original Series, Max is in a relationship with Xylene, a reptilian-like alien. As for Joel Tennyson, the episode "Big Fat Alien Wedding" shows Joel marrying Camille Mann, a Lenopan alien that is really just a living, breathing pile of mud or sludge or whatever she's made out of. Overall, Max and Joel's relationships with Xylene and Camille respectively are actually much more bizarre than Ben and Gwen being in a cousin relationship with each other and thus the Tennyson family had built up a history of having bizarre relationships like this. Therefore, because Ben and Gwen being in a relationship with each other despite being cousins is so bizarre, it fits with the history of the Tennyson family and the relationships that they've built.
A cousin relationship between Ben and Gwen also fits in with the style of the Ben 10 Original Series as well, considering that a major component of the style of the Original Series is that there are many elements that build up a weird and bizarre universe within the series and Man of Action is known for using and implementing this style into most of their other works, as I mentioned and discussed in my "Addressing the Ben 10 Reboot" page. The world of Ben 10 is by far bizarre. The relationships that Max and Joel have with Xylene and Camille are prominent examples of this. That is another reason why Ben and Gwen being in a cousin relationship can work for the Ben 10 series because it fits the Original Series style.
There is some more points that I want to make though. For anyone that disagrees with Ben and Gwen being in a cousin relationship with each other because, well, they're cousins and Cartoon Network wouldn't allow it, that is why I posted the link to the Kissing Cousins page on Tv Tropes. There are many many examples of cousin romances and attractions throughout many forms of literature and entertainment media. That includes examples of the Kissing Cousins trope that have either a prominent or subtle portrayal of it. Many examples include kid-friendly works, including comic books by Marvel and DC and cartoon shows. Even those aired channels such as Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, and Disney. Anime also has some very prominent examples of cousin romances and relationships because that is part of Japanese culture. Cousin couples relationships are allowed and accepted in Japan. All these works have been around for years. Maybe even at least one or two decades. This is not new. If the concept of Bwen is even implemented into Ben 10, then it's not the first time that a cousin romance has ever been used and neither will it be the last. Overall, this is not a big deal at all. Will there be controversy? Of course because the values that most, if not all, cultures have are different from each other and no matter how good any product is, there will always be criticisms and disagreements about it.
The show doesn't even have to show Ben and Gwen getting intimate with each other or show them making out or something. Just show their relationship with each other develop and improve like how it did in the Original Series. Just show them hanging out with each other. Show them spending time with each other. Show how much Ben and Gwen care for each other. Show just how important Ben and Gwen are to each other. Is a simple kiss scene between these two characters really such a big deal? In my opinion, no, it's not. As long as Bwen is done the right way, it can very much work for the Ben 10 series and greatly benefit the series and I already explained how.
I didn't really like Gwen and Kevin's relationship with each other in the sequels because it doesn't even make any sense and they are just really not a great match for each other. Kevin can absorb energy and is constantly wanting more for himself and Gwen's powers are Mana based and Mana is the life energy of every living being. Already that spells disaster and the end of season 1 of Ultimate Alien showed that disaster very much happening. As for Ben, Julie felt more like an ally than being Ben's girlfriend and I never felt a connection between them, Ester was obviously temporary and I never felt a connection between her and Ben as well, and Kai is really another option because of Ben's future son, Ken, and that's it from her. There really is no other character in the series that are suitable enough to be in a relationship with either Ben or Gwen. Therefore, really, the only option left would be for Ben and Gwen to pair up with each other and, again, I already explained why they suit and fit each other in a relationship so greatly, if not perfectly, in my main post.
This post has already gone on long enough so I'll end it here for now. If anyone has any thoughts and opinions about this concept and my thoughts and arguments on it, feel free to leave a comment or post on this page.
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I really don't mind Bwen pairing and originally Man Of Action was going to make Gwen Ben's classmate but CN changed it, but I pretty much like pairing Ben with any girl in my Fan fics (in the show and Crossover)
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@Rexfan1333 Here's something that recently came to mind for me in regards to the season 4 Original Series episode, "Big Fat Alien Wedding" and this is about Gwen. In the episode, Gwen was really looking forward to Joel and Camille's wedding and she really wanted to be the Flower Girl only to end up very disappointed when she found out that Lucy was going to be the Flower Girl instead. Yet here is where things get really interesting and thought-provoking. We find out in the episode that the Flower Girl would dance with the Ring Bearer. Ben was the Ring Bearer at the wedding.
Since that Ben was the Ring Bearer at the wedding and Gwen knew this before they both got to the wedding, don't you think that Gwen would rather not want to be the Flower Girl and/or not be looking forward to the wedding because of this. Now yeah, their relationship has improved to them being more friendly towards each other at the time of this episode but they still tend to tear at each other's limbs just enough. Now we could say that Gwen didn't know about this little fact but this is Gwen we're talking about here. Gwen is Gwen so I doubt that she didn't know that if she were to be the Flower Girl, then she would have to dance with Ben.
Now okay, maybe this is the case. Maybe Gwen didn't know that the Flower Girl would have to dance with the Ring Bearer at the wedding. She definitely does know that Ben is the Ring Bearer, though. Twice it was revealed that the Flower Girl and the Ring Bearer would dance together at the wedding. Once by Joel in one scene when Gwen finds out she would not be the Flower Girl and the second time being stated by Lucy. Both times Gwen was there to hear and discover this yet she showed no sign of realization and shock of this info and maybe some thankful relief that she would not be the Flower Girl and thus would have to dance with Ben. Again, when Joel told Gwen that Lucy would be the Flower Girl, Gwen was very disappointed about that.
What even got me thinking even more was how Gwen was so willing to help teach Ben how to dance for the wedding instead of just sitting back and just letting Ben look like a fool when the actual dance happens. Willing and even quite well prepared to teach Ben considering that Gwen knew how to dance from taking dancing lessons for three years.
What do you think about this?
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With me I support the bwen pairing and the reason I support with how they are in the show they seem like a couple plus I am more open minded than most of my family
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Here's an interesting page on FanFiction.net that recently got posted at this time that opens up more on the concept of Bwen. If anyone is interested in looking it up, here's the link to it.
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There were even some aspects about Ben, Gwen, and Kevin that I didn't even think about that's in that link.
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@Tactical-Ochoa I just invited the writer to our fanfiction.net forum and our group here.
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@car54 Nice.
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@Tactical-Ochoa Are you planing on joining the group.
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Tactical Ochoa what did you think of the bwen defense paper because I agreed with it
Keep running
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@KorseBLI-ND Well, I linked it on here for a reason. I say it further adds to my argument on this page.
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Ah sorry tactical just I was half asleep writing that pervious message just I am going to bed because I am seeing double at the moment
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@Tactical-Ochoa I'll be honest, I prefer Ben with any girl (including Gwen and Lucy), so I'll look it up. It's way better than all the crappy Yaoi based on the show. No offense to people who like that kind of thing,
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So if anyone has read my discussion page about the comparisons between Ben and Gwen Tennyson and the Spider-Man characters Peter Parker, Gwen Stacy, and Mary Jane Watson, I mentioned that I would discuss a bit of the aspects in regards to these characters that could be connected to Bwen. So in regards to Bwen, there are the very similarities between the main characters of Ben 10 and the main characters of Spider-Man that I did mention in the other topic page. Another thing to point out is that, noting those very similarities, Peter Parker does end up in a relationship with Gwen Stacy and then later on with Mary Jane Watson after Gwen died. This could add as further evidence to my theory that Man of Action wanted to pair Ben and Gwen together as a romantic couple since that, as also mentioned, Man of Action are former Marvel comic book writers and artists and considering the major similarities between Ben and Gwen Tennyson and Peter Parker, Gwen Stacy, and Mary Jane Watson to the point where Ben and Gwen could be very much likely based and/or inspired by those very Spider-Man characters. This is all that I really want to take note of for now. If anyone is interested in wanting to read the topic page about the character comparisons analysis, here is the link to that very page.
http://ben10club.org/topic/99/ben-10-and-spider-man-main-character-comparisons-analysis
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I'm making this post to discuss how Ben and Gwen's relationship and partnership with each other affects the show and the characters themselves, further explaining how it works so well. A lot is pretty much what I discussed before already but I wanted to discuss more about this and why most fans favor the partnership between Ben and Gwen in the show. This mostly came into mind after thinking back to Ben and Rook's partnership in Omniverse.
Why does Ben and Gwen's relationship and partnership work so well for the Ben 10 series, especially when Ben, Gwen, and Kevin don't work just as well together and neither Ben and Rook's partnership? It's about balance. How well they fit together and how well they work off of each other. I previously mentioned how Ben and Gwen have certain characteristics about each other that helps fulfill each other's needs. How they both have a gap that can be filled in through having the very relationship and partnership that they're in.
Ben and Gwen work so well with each other because they balance each other out. They keep each other in check. Gwen is there to keep Ben focused and to keep him out of trouble. Whenever Ben acts out of line, Gwen is there to put him back in line and keep him straight. Much like Max, Gwen is also like a mentor to Ben. As for Ben, as stated before, he's there to allow Gwen to have that much needed rest. Ben keeps Gwen from working too hard. To give Gwen the very breathing room that she need. To allow her to have some fun in her life. They both give each other what they're missing in each other's lives. As a result of this very balance and fulfillment, the series was able to build up a lot of great chemistry between them. To build up their relationship with each other very well. To make their partnership with each other work in favor of them and the series itself. That very balance that they've formed and built in their relationship is what allows the series to go very well with it's characters. It's what greatly helps hold the series up. If that balance is broken, then things can fall apart greatly here with the Ben 10 series, and that's what happened in Alien Force, Ultimate Alien, and Omniverse and this is mostly in regards to Ben.
Ben and Gwen alone work off of each other very well. However, when Kevin stepped in to join these two characters, that's when that balance that's been built starts to get broken. Kevin pretty much interferes with that balance that Ben and Gwen built and formed with each other. With Kevin being Gwen's boyfriend, Gwen ends up spending more time with Kevin and less time with Ben, thus preventing Gwen from being able to keep Ben in check as often as before. With Kevin being Ben's friend and ally and hangs out with Ben, thinking back to it, he more often reinforces Ben's out of line behavior and makes it worse and since that Gwen has to deal with keeping both Kevin and Ben in line, she ends up finding herself in a two on one situation and therefore her outspoken nature has less of an effect on Ben. It certainly doesn't help either that Gwen ends up more of a complainer in the sequel shows than an outspoken individual that keeps Ben in check, acting as the voice of reason for Ben. This is another reason why Kevin just doesn't work well as an ally for Ben and Gwen. Again, he just ends up interfering with that very balance that both Ben and Gwen built and formed with each other.
It pretty much got even worse in Omniverse as well when Gwen ends up leaving for college and Ben ends up being paired with Rook. With Gwen going off to college, Ben won't be there to keep Gwen in check and allow her to have that fun in her life that she's been missing. Even worse, Gwen will barely even be there at all to keep Ben in check and in line and Rook certainly doesn't do that well of a job of keeping Ben in check either. Rook may be more trained than Ben but he doesn't have that much authority over Ben and he's not as outspoken towards Ben as Gwen is and we see the result of this. Ben goes around and pretty much almost does what he wants. He more often, if not constantly, ends up more out of line and less focused than when he was with Gwen and therefore, he ends up in more trouble than he's supposed to be in. I won't discuss Ben and Gwen's grandfather, Max, though because he doesn't interfere with Ben and Gwen's relationship and partnership. Max doesn't interfere with that balance that Ben and Gwen have with each other because Max acts as more of the mentor for Ben and Gwen. Max doesn't step into their relationship and partnership but instead he works alongside it.
Even though the Ben 10 series is about Ben and that Ben is the main character, the same goes with Gwen as well. Gwen is also a main character and the series is just as much about her as with Ben as well. Gwen leaves just as much of an impact on the Ben 10 series as Ben. Again, Ben and Gwen have great chemistry with each other. They have a great relationship with each other. They have a great partnership with each other. They balance each other out and like I stated before, if that balance is broken, either through bringing in a third factor, separating the characters from each other, and/or replacing one of the main characters with a new character and reducing said main character to a more minor role, that's when the series starts to fall apart especially in regards to the main characters. If anything in Omniverse, Gwen and Rook's roles should have been switched. Gwen should be the main character and keep that partnership with Ben (regardless of her reason for leaving) and Rook should have been a more minor character that occasionally pops up from time to time to help Ben and Gwen out. If anything in Alien Force and Ultimate Alien, as I stated before, Kevin should have not joined Ben and Gwen as their ally so that he doesn't end up interfering with that very balance between Ben and Gwen.
This also further acts as another reason as to why I don't think a Gwen spinoff show likely wouldn't work very well. Either it would have to keep Ben and Gwen together and keep them as the main characters of the spinoff show and thus it would just end up being Ben 10 but in Gwen's point of view or it would have to make Ben a more minor character and thus interfere and/or break that very balance that Ben and Gwen have with each other. The former option would just end up making the Gwen spinoff show pretty much unnecessary while the latter option would likely end up being like Omniverse but with Gwen. That's just my take on a Gwen spinoff show though.
Either way, regardless of whether or not Ben and Gwen end up together, what the series definitely needs is for Ben and Gwen to have a great relationship and partnership with each other to keep each other balanced well with no other factors to interfere with that balance and thus break it. That very balance between Ben and Gwen needs to be maintained in order for the series to work well especially in regards to its main characters.
If anyone has any thoughts and opinions about this topic, feel free to leave a comment here if you want to.
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