Wesley/Gunn
| Pairing | |
|---|---|
| Pairing: | Wesley Wyndam-Pryce/Charles Gunn |
| Alternative name(s): | Wes/Gunn, Gunn/Wesley, W/G |
| Gender category: | m/m slash |
| Fandom: | Angel |
| Canonical?: | no |
| Prevalence: | popular |
| Archives: | The Gunn/Wesley Fanfiction Archive |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Wesley/Gunn, the relationship between ex-Watcher Wesley Wyndam-Pryce and street-gang leader Charles Gunn, is one of the most popular m/m slash pairings in the Angel fandom. The pairing is most commonly referred to as "Wes/Gunn"; there's no smooshed form in use. It's unusual in being a popular pairing involving a character who isn't white.
Canon
Hey, you two want to stop the homo-erotic buddy cop session long enough to explain this?
—Cordelia, "Spin the Bottle"
On the face of it the two appear opposites, but soon after Gunn's introduction as a regular in season 2, he & Wesley form an unlikely but uncomplicated buddy relationship. Over the following season, the relationship deteriorates till it completely falls apart – Gunn returns to his roots & betrays Wesley's trust in "That Old Gang of Mine"; they compete over Fred; Wesley goes dark, betrays everyone, goes into exile and sleeps with the enemy. It takes an apocalypse & a reality-altering spell to reconcile the pair, and season 5's lawyer-Gunn is never as intimate with Wesley.
Fannish Perspective
I can go on, citing places in season 3, 4, and 5 where I what brings them together is their shared love foreach otherthings and where what tears them apart is a betrayal of trust, but really? I'm in it for the banter and the huge smiles and the ability to just work together and the chemistry that pops off the screen.
They're not a pairing of giant sweeping drama. They're not Meant To Be in the big destined love way with sweeping violins and a repeating love theme. They're two guys who, despite the cultural and personality differences that should hold them apart, manage to make a connection and to just be *happy* in that connection. (Sheila)[1]
Fandom
Wes/Gunn was probably the secondmost popular m/m pairing on the show, after Angel/Wesley (at least before the introduction of Spike in season 5 imported the popular BtVS pairing Angel/Spike to AtS). It's the most popular pairing for Gunn and the only m/m one with much of a following.
The first Wes/Gunn story was posted by Te in October 2000, soon after the Gunn's introduction to the regulars, and her enthusiasm quickly popularised the pairing.[2] Other authors particularly associated with Wes/Gunn include Gunbunny, James Walkswithwind, Jane St Clair, Sheila Perez and Shrift.
The typical story is fairly short, set in season 2, uses Wesley's point of view, and is similar to S2 of the show in tone, with plenty of banter, demon-fighting & war-gaming. A fair amount of PWP has been written. There are also darker stories, sometimes set in seasons 3 or 4, including apocafic. Some works are set in the Birthdayverse, a canon AU in which Cordy is a star and Gunn & Wesley run a detective agency together. Common tropes include Magic Made Them Do It & hurt/comfort, especially set after Wesley gets shot in "The Thin Dead Line". Wesley tends to be prone to blushing. Gunn staking a claim on Wesley aimed at Angel's vampire senses is another trope; his marking his territory in "Life of the Party" often makes it into the relatively few stories set during season 5.
Notable Fanworks
Fanfiction
- Easy by Te. Fandom's first Wes/Gunn fic, posted in October of 2000
- Restaurant Dogs series by Jane St Clair. Another very early work, started in October 2000. Plot-light series in which Wesley learns magic; Gunn PoV, also Giles/Ethan (2000–1)
- For The Mind Is Hollow and I Have Touched This Guy by James Walkswithwind. Dark AU by an influential author (2001)
- Latency by Shrift. Widely recommended story by another influential early adopter (2001)
- Wesley's Liberal Guilt by Jessica Harris. Working through fannish issues relating to race in Wesley's voice (2002)
- A Possible Fairytale by Jennifer-Oksana. Unusual AU futurefic in which Wesley has a young child; also Wesley/Lilah (2002)
- The Kindness of an Atheist by Sheila. A darker, more serious take on the pairing from another of its influential authors; Gunn PoV (~2002)
- Acceptable Losses by Minim Calibre. Bleak view of the pairing, set towards the end of S3 (~2002)
- What It Feels Like by kindkit. Hurt/comfort set after Wesley's shot in "The Thin Dead Line"; only a little more overt than canon (2003)
- Property Law by Minim Calibre. Humour set after S5 "Life of the Party" (2003)
- Kungai by Helen Raven. Birthdayverse novel (2004)
- Domination by Doyle. Domestic fic, with war-gaming (2005)
- Plain to See by Two Ladies of Quality. A variant on Magic Made Them Do It using Ethan Rayne (~2006)
- To Be Continued by Mosca. A rare post-Not Fade Away AU in this pairing (2007)
Fan Art
- Rogue Demon Hunters by sassyskunk. Cartoon-style digital art (2006)
- BirthdayVerse by Ferntree. Action portrait set in the Birthdayverse; marker pen drawing (2006)
- Chocolate Milk by LieutenantSparkles. Colour drawing (2009)
Meta
Archives, Fansites & Communities
- The Gunn/Wesley Fanfiction Archive -- archive for the Gunn/Wesley list
- It's Been Emotional -- shipper site (offline)
- Gunn/Wesley list -- Wes/Gunn mailing list (offline)
Recs & Resources
- Gunn/Wesley recs by Doyle at Ice Cream for Freaks
References
- ^ ship-manifesto: Shoulder to Shoulder (accessed 17 September 2014)
- ^ For example, Shrift writes Te seems to be running around encouraging people to write W/G, and gosh, can I say how much I like her for that even if I disregard every other reason why I like Te? at Polyamorous Recommendations: Angel slash (accessed 17 September 2014)