E S S A Y S
Making Buffy/Dawn Believable by Amberina
Okay, so. A majority of the fandom -- BtVS fic writers, Dawnfic writers, Buffyfic writers, are anti-Buffy/Dawn. That's understandable -- they're sisters on the show, and incest is a big cultural no-no. However, there's a big underground following for the pairing -- but up until now there have been no resources for it. That is where this essay comes in. I will try my hardest to provide you with some tips to make your Buffy/Dawn fic as believable as possible.
If you're simply writing it for the shock factor and the dark thrill of the 'ship then I really don't think this essay could help you. However, if you honestly want to improve your writing, and make your fic better, I hope I can help.
First issue you need to deal with is that they are sisters. Regardless of your personal opinions on the rightness or wrongness of incest, Buffy and Dawn are probably going to consider it wrong. This is the largest hurdle to overcome as a Buffy/Dawn writer, and a lot of writers either choose to ignore it, or stumble over it.
The writers that ignore it usually spout off things about Buffy and Dawn not really being sisters. Well, I suppose that's fine when defending your 'ship -- but it is not enough justification to make your fic believable. Buffy and Dawn see each other as sisters. This is canon, and no amount of Not Really Sisters! reasoning on your part is going to change this.
So how exactly can Buffy/Dawn work? How can it ever be believable? Can it ever be believable? Of course it can. It just takes a lot of thought and consideration on the part of the writer, and some insight into the characters. Here's an example of a situation it could work in:
Season six. Buffy has just been resurrected. She's feeling lost, alone. What if she turns to Dawn instead of Spike? What if Dawn, so glad to have her sister back, doesn't realize what's going on until it's too late? What if Buffy doesn't either?
Really, though, it can work in nearly every situation, provided you explain the character motivations, and the motiviations are in character. Here's the rule of thumb: emotions often result in actions, actions often result in reactions. Perhaps for Buffy/Dawn, it should be extreme reactions often result in extreme actions, extreme actions often result in extreme reactions. Buffy/Dawn is a 'ship with strong emotions behind it. There's a family bond there, one that in order for something romantic or sexual to happen between them, must be overcome by other emotions -- and honestly? These emotions must be dark. I hope I don't offend anyone when I say that Buffy/Dawn has to be dark to be believable. There's no way they're going to have a fluffy romance.
So imagine for a moment that you're Buffy. You have a hot sister named Dawn, but you would never, ever think of doing anything . . . like that with her. What could make this change? What would have to happen? That, right there, is the key (no pun intended) to writing Dawn/Buffy fic. Without answering that question in your head, there's absolutely no way your fic is going to be readable.
If you do answer that question, then you're halfway there! Next, you need to consider exactly how both characters, given their history and relationship, would react. For instance, if Dawn was to kiss Buffy, how would Buffy feel? Or reversed, if Buffy was to kiss Dawn, how would Dawn feel? What would be going through the character's head? What would they say? In the context of the situation they have placed them in, how would the characters we see on the show behave?
Writing Buffy/Dawn believably takes a lot of thought and understanding of the characters. It also takes a lot of understanding of human nature and psychology. One thing to keep in mind is that Buffy and Dawn are first and foremost human. They make mistakes, they have emotions, they have sexual urges. If you couldn't see someone in real life acting as Buffy and Dawn are in your fic, then perhaps you should put it aside for a moment and consider why it's unbelievable, and how you can make it believable.