#also mickey randomly being turned evil?? made no fucking sense

[robboyblunder]

~Please click and/or open in new tab for better view, or click these links for full view: 1 2 3

A family can be a tired dad, his ex, four chaotic sons and their stinky balloon pet

was suggested I draw alpha nine because their models from ODST are not the most glamorous reference for how they look so I did a family-photo-esque thing!

the sad photo belongs to buck and is me being bitter about how they broke up alpha nine and made me mad >:/

(please don’t repost or use w/o permission, and leave my description; thanks!

[gallavictorious]

I really wish people would stop excusing their favorite character's actions with convoluted theories instead of just accepting that their faves aren't perfect. Ian should not be comparing Terry and Frank. Full stop. Especially not to Mickey's face, when Mickey is in the middle of trying to deal with the complicated feelings he has about the father that raped him by proxy and tried to actually murder him. It's ok to say "yeah you're right I don't know what you're going through but I'm here" and not make it into a shitty father competition.

And I really wish people would refrain from making groundless assumptions and recognize that trying to understand a character's motivation for doing something does not equal taking a stance on whether or not the action discussed is morally sound but alas, nonnie, we live in an imperfect world.

For those just turning in, this ask was received in response to my addition to this post.

Now, nonnie, if I understand you correctly, you disapprove of what I wrote because you see it as 1, an attempt to excuse Ian's behavior because 2, he's my favourite character and 3, therefore I can't stand to have him do something wrong. You also think that, no matter his motivations, Ian shouldn't be comparing Frank to Terry. Below, I'll quickly refutate points 2 and 3, as well as detail the difference between explanations and excuses and – hopefully – demonstrate why you can't with any sort of certainty claim that the offending post is an example of the latter. I will not really engage with the question of whether or not Ian was wrong for saying what he did, because (as we shall return to forthwith) that was not the issue originally discussed, it doesn't actually interest me, and as you do not offer any sort of reasoning for your moral judgment there really isn't anything for me to work with there anyway.

Strap in, kids; it's another long one.

Let's start with your claim that Ian is my favourite. I'm not actually going to spell it out there, but instead direct you to paragraphs 3-7 of this post. A little lazy, perhaps, but I'm sure you can appreciate why I have limited time to point out the same basic flaws twice in a fairly short period of time. (Should I pin a pic of me holding up a little sign reading ”Actually, Mickey is my favourite, even though I love Ian too” to the top of my blog? Would that be helpful?)

Moving on to point 3, I do agree with the general notion that it's fine to accept that the characters we love (no matter who that character is) are flawed and make mistakes! If you had taken the time to familiarize yourself with my thoughts on Ian and Mickey – or if you had, you know, just asked – instead of jumping to completely unsubstantiated conclusions based on a single post, you might even have realized that them being fucked up and making fucked up choices from time to time is one of the things I find most compelling about them. They are messy and complicated and human, and I love that. I neither think nor want either of them to perfect, because perfection is unrealistic is static is boring.

With that out of the way, let's get to excuses versus explanations. If one confuses the two, any attempt to discuss or explain a persons behavior will be construed as an attempt to excuse it, but to understand something and to condone it are actually two different things.

For instance, I can explain and understand why Mickey acted the way he did in 3x09, but still think kicking Ian in the face was wrong. I can explain and understand why Ian called Mickey a coward and a pussy in 4x11 but still think he was wrong for doing so. Do you see? Understanding – or trying to understand – why someone did something is not the same as saying that what they did was okay. Understanding the reasons for someone's actions might lessen the severity of our condemnation (for instance, stealing is generally considered wrong, but most of use would agree that stealing bread to feed your kid is less wrong than stealing bread because you're too stingy to pay for it) or might remove condemnation entirely (hitting someone because you are angry with them is wrong, hitting someone as part of consensual BDSM sex is fine), but understanding an action does not automatically lead to declaring said action morally correct. In short, ”why did X do Y” and ”was X right or wrong do to Y” are two different questions, and the fact that our answer to the second question often is at least partly dependent on our understanding of the first does not change that.

So explanations and excuses are not the same. And yet, sometimes the reasons for doing something (or failing to do something) are offered up as an excuse; as a reason why someone should not be held responsible for their actions, or why they were correct in performing/not performing them in the first place. That neatly leads us to the question of whether or not that's what's actually happening in the post you took exception to. And the answer to that is... you can't know. What boys-night and I discuss in the post is what Ian is actually doing (is he trying to compare trauma och convince Mickey he had it worse) and why he is doing it; that is, we are trying to understand and explain his behavior. Neither of us make any sort of statement on whether or not he was right or wrong for saying or doing what he did: that's just not the topic of conversation. Now, maybe I do think his motivations means that he's morally justified in what he said; maybe I don't. My point is that you can't know that just from what you've read in the post. You might draw some tentative conclusions, and they may be correct, but you don't know, and the reasonable and responsible way to go from there is to seek clarification by asking (polite) questions, not aggressively throwing around accusations about others grasping for straws in a despertae attempt to exonerate their favorites from wrongdoing.

(And just to remind you, even if I were making excuses for Ian, it wouldn't be because he's my favourite or becuase I can't bear to have him do wrong.)

You are perfectly free to disagree with any of the points made in the post, by the way, but you need to recognize that what we're disagreeing on then is motivation, not morality.

And, oh, of course it would have been okay to say "yeah you're right I don't know what you're going through but I'm here", but that's not what Ian did. Now, if you are happy to go ”ah, Ian fucked up, he's not perfect” and move on, that's fine. You do you, nonnie, and if analysis and discussion of character motivations isn't your jam then it isn't and I'm sure no one is going to force you to engage in it. (And if they try to, you can simply say ”I don't care” and walk away.) However, to be perfectly honest I am a bit perplexed that you should be so indignant over other fans trying to make sense of his actions. Do you still feel that way now that you – hopefully – understand that trying to explain a characters' behavior doesn't necessarily mean trying to excuse it? I mean, surely you are aware of the fact that people usually have reasons for acting the way they do, even if the way they act is shitty or misguided? (Note that I'm not saying that Ian's actions were shitty and misguided. That is not the discussion we're having.) I am rather curious, actually, as to what you think Ian's motivations were? Do you imagine he was deliberatedly diminishing Mickey's trauma? Why, if so? Do you perhaps think that he is obsessed with being The Most Victim and thus takes every opportunity to list all the ways Frank sucked? Or maybe that his mouth just moves without any thought or reason and the words just randomly happened?

To be fair, it seems that Ian's motivations is not something you consider relevant: you write that ”Ian should not be comparing Terry and Frank. Full stop.” And that's absolutely a moral stance you can take, albeit certainly not the only one. Maybe Ian shouldn't have said what he said Had you given any reasons for this verdict, I might even have agreed with you because I can think of several reasons why it might be better if Ian refrained from comparing Terry and Frank, no matter his motivations. (And I might not, because I can also think of several reasons why such a comparision might be justified, even though Terry is clearly the more evil of the two.) However, we shall never know, because you fail to back up your claim. I guess that's because you deem it self-evident? It is not, and until you provide any sort of reasoning for your grand proclamation, I won't engage with the question. Not going to shadow-box with you, nonnie, or do your work for you; if you want a discussion, make your case properly. Though maybe make it elsewhere – as previously noted, passing judgement on the characters is not my primary interest when discussing them. I am much more intrigued by trying to understand why characters do and say what they do and say.

Phew. Okay, that's me done, I think. I realize that you might not be very impressed with this answer, nonnie, but I hope it may to some degree reassure you that no sneaky attempt to excuse my favourite character's actions with convoluted theories was made by this humble blogger. Not this time, at least.

[loftec]

7, 17, 18! Wheeee!!!

Whoooh! 

7. What’s the last thing you read that made you cry?

I cry at the drop of a hat at music and film/TV, but I can’t really recall crying at something I’ve been reading lately... I’m sure I’ve had a sniffle or two at a fic in the last couple of years, but there isn’t a specific thing that comes to mind. The last time I had a proper cry over a book, that left a lasting memory, was when I read Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett the first time. Which was a long time ago. I need to read more.

17. Describe a fic that is still in the ‘ideas’ stage.

Okay, so. This was the idea I was going to use for the very first Big Bang I dropped out of, three years ago now (ah, the memories). The doc is called “Princess TuTu” and I might have talked about it here before, but I guess I will again. I am not sure I ever will write it, seeing as I still haven’t thought of an ending I like. More later, under the cut!

18. Do you have a fic reading/writing routine?

Reading: No... I am a very erratic fic reader, last week I randomly read like 20 Community fics in a row and I’m still not quite sure why.

Writing: I try to have a routine, but the routine usually starts with me making a weekly schedule where I aim to spend all my spare time writing, and then don’t. The most productive writing routine I have is this: have a whole day off, go to a café, sit there until they kick you out. Which is what I have planned for tomorrow!

‘Tis a very long mess.

Part 1. Mandy.

Mandy knows darkness. She’s seen it, and she is it. So she equips herself, she trains, scams and lies her way through fancy ass martial arts classes. She has magic, it’s crap, but she has it. She can touch a person and see their most formative moment. No one knows about this, except Mickey, her brother, who hasn’t touched her since she told him, they were 10 and 12 and he told her to never tell anyone else. She hasn’t. Until she met Ian, who is a hunter. They meet in the dark, she thinks she’s saving him, but he doesn’t need saving. They become best friends, and they hunt together. She never used to hunt, she feels herself change when she realizes that she can help people. She tells him about her powers and touches him with purpose. She sees something she doesn’t understand, it’s not like anything she’s seen before, it’s diffuse and obscure, Ian’s useless mom is there, and Mandy’s father, but she can’t see Ian. Ian is nervous and under the impression that what she’s seen is him realizing he’s gay, and that she’s freaked. Mandy goes with it, and doesn’t tell Ian what she really saw.

They start hanging out more, and hunt less. Ian still hunts on his own, but Mandy feels less inclined. She wants to find out more about Ian’s past, so she researches magic and the forces of darkness. She finds out things about herself that makes conflict for her in the battle between good and evil. She thinks she might be evil.

She tries to talk to Ian about it, but she doesn’t know how to tell him, he has no conflict. She tries, and overnight Ian becomes hard and unfeeling and distant. She thinks it’s just her at first, she cries in secret and thinks it was bound to happen.

She comes home one night to Mickey bleeding out on the floor. He opens his eyes when she grabs at him, and tells her not to call for help. Asks her to help him to the bathroom. She doesn’t understand, but something tells her to just do what he says. She notices Ian standing in a dark corner, and doesn’t have time to ask him WTF, so she asks him to help but Mickey insists that he stays the fuck away from him. Mandy thinks he’s being a homophobic asshole but gets him in the bath on her own and finds out that Mickey also has magic, tied to water. He heals himself with Mandy’s help.

Through Mickey, she finds out that Ian has been cursed, that his heart has been shattered into pieces and scattered, and that Mickey’s been trying to help put him back together. Mandy asks him why, and Mickey says he owes him. That Terry is a demon, and responsible for Ian’s current state. That they all have magic, and that Mandy has been kept on the sidelines only because of Mickey casting spells to keep her out of Terry’s mind, effectively isolating her from her family for years.

Mandy and Mickey band together and hide out in different places, trying to find the last parts of Ian’s heart. Mickey has the pieces collected in a small bag hung on a string around his neck. Mandy can sense where they are, link herself to Ian. Mickey still won’t touch Ian.

Ian has nothing, and desperate to get him up and working, they start returning his heart. It’s painful and unbalanced and they don’t know how many pieces they have left to find.

Mandy wakes up in the middle of the night and thinks she can hear voices, she finds Mickey awake and alone, and she thinks he’s been crying, but it doesn’t seem right.

They realize that a piece of Ian is with Terry, and go after him. There is scuffle, and Mandy gives Ian his piece. Terry opens a portal and Mickey tells Mandy he’s the only one who can close it, by going through it. He sees Ian and kisses him, before he throws himself through the portal and vanishes with it.

Part 2. Mickey.

Mickey knows evil. It’s easy and familiar and in him. When his powers start to surface, he’s told all about it from Terry, from his brothers. When Mandy comes to him and tells him about her powers, he feels himself change inside. Like lightning strikes. He protects her, keeps her from the rest of the family. She’s happy, but lonely, he can tell. So he’s pleased when she makes a friend in Gallagher, but maybe less so when he turns out to be a sanctimonious hunter. He antagonizes the hunter and threatens his life. Gallagher calls him a wizard and isn’t afraid of him, isn’t out to get him. Mickey hates him.

The sex is amazing.

They start hunting together, hunting and fucking. Mickey has no allegiance, he’s not a white hat, but he’s no longer all Terry either. Gallagher makes him feel like he’s mostly his own, and maybe a little bit Ian’s. He gets shot at a couple of times, in the line of duty, and goes to juvie. When he comes back the first time, his mom is dead. The second time, he finds out that Terry struck a deal with Monica Gallagher 17 years ago, and it’s time to collect. The price she bargained with is Ian, she sold his soul to Terry before he was even born.

Mickey cracks a joke about gingers that fly right over Terry, but his heart is breaking and he is already trying to figure out how to break the contract.

Gallagher’s 18th birthday is a while away, but Mickey wastes no time finding a spell that will free Ian from his contract, if done just right. They perform it, but Terry walks in on them after and beats up Mickey, and curses Ian. He shatters his heart and throws away the pieces. Mickey tries to stop him, and Terry understands. Eyes on Mickey, he tells Ian he’s never going to be whole again, and that his memories are all he’s got left. But one touch from the one who loves him the most, and his memories of them will be gone too.

Mickey takes Ian home and explains everything to Lip (?)

Mickey hunts for Ian’s heart, and tries to stay out of his way. He ends up in a scuffle one night, when Ian tagged along and didn’t help, and they retreat back to the house. Mandy finds them and helps them.

Mickey finds more pieces. He wakes up in the middle of the night and can’t stop the tears. Ian appears in front him him and tells him it’s okay. It’s not Ian, it’s a piece of his heart in the shape of Ian. It’s a piece that has been with Mickey all along. Mandy wakes up and asks him what’s wrong, and Mickey doesn’t tell her. He’s tried to deny his feelings for so long, but not anymore.

He thinks Ian’s better off not knowing him, when he realizes that he’s got the power to close the portal. So he tells Ian to forget him, and kisses him one last time, before he jumps.

Part 3. Ian.

Where Ian got his last piece back in time, breaking the curse, and doesn’t forget Mickey. Instead he’s had enough of this shit and goes after him. Pulling him out of hell and throwing Terry in there instead.