IBARW: On Writing Gunn: 10 Reasons Not to Write Him Debunked

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It's probably no secret that I love Charles Gunn from AtS. He's pretty much my type. I write a lot of Gunn and prefer to write stories about him, in general. When I'm having conversations about writing Gunn, usually with people who love him too but don't write him, here are a few reasons that I've heard people say or imply why they don't write him:

1. He's from Southern California.
2. He's black.
3. He's poor.
4. The lawyer talk in S5.
5. He's straight.
6. He's in a relationship with Fred for a season and a half.
7. He doesn't have antagonistic relationships.
8. He's not all emo.
9. I just can't related to him.
10. He's not interesting.

Now I will debunk these reasons. *waves my magical wand*

1. So is Buffy, Xander, Willow, Cordelia, etc., and not that many people seem to have problems writing them. I realize that I'm from the Pacific Northwest and many of the ways that people from SoCal talk are also in my vocab. To remedy this, I'd suggest a good beta, watching the episodes to hear how he talks, and doing some research about L.A. Just like you would for any character.

2. Okay, no one actually has said this to me, but it's implied. It falls somewhere between racism or fandom hates black people™, being worried that the Fen of Color will come after you and f_w you for bad characterization and no knowledge about culture, and a lousy excuse. First, as my grandma says, excuses excuses. I'll be honest and say that no, you're not going to get as much feedback from fandom compared to writing the angsty white cock™, but don't let that get in your way. And as for the Fen of Color, generally I find that if you do make an honest mistake, it's going to be pointed out and not f_w'd, unless you respond like a jackass or if others on your flist jump in and respond for you like jackasses. (I often see the latter instead of the former when it comes to concrit.) There are many essays out there on how to not respond badly, but I would take it like you'd take any other criticism of your work. You learn, you apologize if needed, you improve, you research what you don't know first hand. If you can write stories about robots in the future or aliens or historical Fang Four fic or men (if you're a woman), you can do this.

3. Gunn identifies more as lower class than black. Gunn lived with his family, then on the streets, then with AI, and finally with W&H. Now you will have to sit down with yourself and figure out where you are on the class system and figure out your own biases. Key points that you might want to think about with Gunn and class (and on some of these, his race too): His feelings like he's only the muscle. Leaving his crew to be with Angel and company and moving up in the world. Pride and shame of where he came from and where he went. That while Wesley and Cordelia became poor, Gunn was the only one who was truly lower class. And how he responds to the police - from Kate to zombie!cop - as a young poor black man.

4. That's why you're a creative writer, not a transcriber. If you write in other fandoms like House or Grey's Anatomy, you're used to faking being a doctor. Fake being a lawyer too. Do a little research where you need to and make it up in the middle. Or get a beta who has legal training if it's that essential to your fic. Possibly sit through some Law & Order to figure out how other creative writers who are not lawyers use a tiny bit of the law and jargon to make a fulfilling story.

5. This one is specifically for the slash writers who have told me this. Yes, Gunn is shown only in heterosexual relationships; however, this has never stopped you all before. Canonically, only Willow, Tara, Kennedy, and Larry are gay in the Buffyverse, and Angel and Spike have Joss' blessing. If you can write about Xander, Wesley, Doyle, and Giles as gay or bisexual men, you can write about Gunn too.

6. This is one of those "well, I can't ship him with anyone else and I don't like him with Fred or don't like Fred." Again with the has this ever stopped you before?

7. In Buffyverse fandom, I've noticed that a lot of the pairings are antagonistic hate sex relationships - Buffy/Spike, Angel/Spike, Wesley/Lilah, Xander/Spike, Angel/Lindsey, etc. And Gunn/Fred is fluffy, until their ending and Fred's death, and I can see how a slash fen all about the hate sex is not going to be grooving on the bff sex vibes of Gunn/Wesley. However, have you seen his relationship with Angel? If that's not antagonistic, I don't know what is. Or what about Kate or even him and Fred in S4 post-killing the professor? Or after Wesley stabs him?

8. Just because Gunn doesn't brood like Angel, mope like Spike, or go crazy like Wesley, doesn't mean that he doesn't have angst. His sister was killed and vamped and Gunn killed her. He also does the thing where he puts everyone else above his own personal welfare and doesn't want to hurt them or get them killed. He kills the professor so Fred doesn't have to and sacrifices part of himself and their relationship. He sells his soul to get a truck that will save the lives of his crew because he believes that's more important than his life. He was responsible for Illyria's coffin getting out of customs. He had his heart ripped out every night and was stabbed by his crazy best friend. He had to chose between Angel and his crew and almost got everyone killed. His best friend took a bullet for him and almost died. Those are just a few points.

9. I find that when you're writing a character that you don't automatically relate to, you can find some common ground and then you fill in the rest of the gaps with learning about something new. People often forget that Gunn's has a big love for video games and comic books, so there's a geeky starting point. When mallyns was trying to get me to write Angel to her Wesley, I started off with "Angel and I both like peanut butter and chocolate together" and worked from there. If nothing else, you can give Gunn some trait, like, or tradition that you have that your reader will not read as OOC or Mary Sue-ing. My Gunn, he has a secret love of country music, which he totally admits isn't cool, that he picked up from Fred and has the same tastes in comedies that I do. He also totally would side with Captain America in Marvel's Civil War. These are all things that I gave him about me, which I can justify with his characterization or a situation in my fanfic about him.

10. No, just no. There's not a single main and secondary character in the Buffyverse that I've found uninteresting or boring. I might dislike a character and chose not to write about him or her, such as I do about Xander, but that doesn't mean I can't sit there and debate characterization or canon for hours about that character. And even once in a while, write him or her for a ficathon and read fic off a rec or by a favorite author.

My #1 characterization when writing Gunn: Gunn is a good person. He doesn't go evil or morally bankrupt at any point. He does what he thinks is right, even if it turns out to be the wrong thing. He takes care of those he considers family and often puts considerations about them ahead of his own well-being. Sometimes, he acts without getting their input or telling them - the professor, both sessions of his W&H knowledge boost, etc. He's also really smart when it comes to people and situations, even before the knowledge boost, and is a quick learner. Gunn is probably the most mentally stable character in the cast of AtS.

So take a chance and write some Gunn fic. And you can always ask someone who loves Gunn, like myself, about characterization if you're not sure.

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