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Character Guide: Writing The Lawyerboy
This is a general guide to a few aspects of writing Lindsey McDonald. The topics covered were chosen because they seem to cause much trepidation or confusion amongst A:TS writers.
You Got a Pretty face, Boy:
I’ve noticed a trend in my time spent on this earth: attractive men tend to get laid often and copiously. Whatever else a person might think of Lindsey as a character, he is easy on the eyes. So, portraying Lindsey as sexually inept will take quite a backstory to be convincing (something revolving around erectile dysfunction or a partner pointing and laughing might be in order here). Unless you have some plot-device cooked up that will explain why someone who looks like Lindsey is a virgin at 30, it would be best to stick to presenting him as comfortable in his sexuality (at least in so far as he has actually *had* sex once or twice).
You Sure Is Smart:
Just because Lindsey is from Oklahoma, grew up dirt poor, and rounds his vowels does not mean he is a peck short of a bushel. Lindsey earned what he has (or had if your story is set post-Dead End) using his mind. He ascended the ranks of W&H by winning cases. Stupid lawyers tend to get new careers, and at W&H they tend to end up as dog food apparently. This is a man who can process information fast enough to turn a jury to his side while defending murderers and demons, no small trick. He isn’t a slow-witted rube who only got his job getting a wish from a leprechaun. In his personal life, he might not make the most intelligent choices, but yea who have never loved a blood-thirsty vampire cast the first stone.
Is That English:
Lindsey *does* have an accent. Rarely does he use southernism in his speech, however. That is canon, so it can be disregarded as fast as Angel’s curse when Darla’s around to suit your needs. All the same, if you want to write Lindsey’s dialogue full of tart, cotton-pickin’ turns of phrase: do some research. Make sure the expressions you use mean what you think they mean. In this same vein, beware writing a la Mark Twain. Transcribing dialect is tricky, and if your audience isn’t well versed in the speech patterns you are attempting to convey, you will lose everyone. Perhaps it’s best to stick with dropping g’s at the end of words rather than writing sentences along the lines of "Angel, I’m fixin’ ta beat yer ass, pahtnah."
I Always Knew You Was A Sissy:
Lindsey is a popular character to slash of late. There is suddenly heaps of Lindseyslash, which is a good and shiny thing. The most popular pairing is A/L, where the A stands for Angel. Joss and David have thrown out a lot to work with on that pairing, but there are a few things to watch out for with Angel and Lindsey as a pairing:
The A/L love-fest. They’re in love? Prove it. "I love you, Lindsey" don’t cut it, scooter. Angel strangles him every chance he gets, love garrotting?
Lindsey’s hand was cut off in Shanshu. Yeah, he got a new one. If you write A/L though, remember that in the in-between time, there was a lack-o-hand.
Darla exists. Just keep it in mind.
Slashing Lindsey with other characters is either far easier than slashing him with Angel or far more difficult, it all depends on who you ask. There is opportunity to slash him with Wes, Holland, the Host, and perhaps Spike and stick close to canon. Other BTVS and A:TS characters can be finagled in there as well, but finesse is in order in that area. The rules for this are the same as writing hetfic: weird pairings need to be well conceived.
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