Processing Character's Responses

 

A friend of mine is watching Legends Of Tomorrow and made a comment about Mick that got me thinking about how characters are portrayed in the show vs. portrayed in fanfiction. 

Spoiler Warning: Spoilers through season 3 of legends 

My friends comment was about Legends of Tomorrow Season 3 Episode 10 - Constantine Meets Legends and Mick's line about Leo Snart.

Which got me thinking about the ways that Mick is portrayed

Poor at processing emotions

Mick very clearly did not have good role models for expressing his emotions or even processing them for the vast majority of his life.

Like in S1E10 when Len (Not Leo from above its complicated LOL) and Mick fight and Mick says they don’t have hearts: Legends of Tomorrow - Mick Rory VS Leonard Snart or like how Mick says good bye to an Len from earlier in the time line after Len sacrifices himself DC Legends of Tomorrow S01E16 Mick and Snart final scene

And by many standards Len was Mick closest friend/partner/spouse (if you read fanfiction LOL) so expressing emotions to anyone else is near on impossible.

Poor at verbal communication

Through out the early seasons it is clear that Mick struggles with saying complex words such as anachronism or doppelganger.

This has been explore in the world of fanfiction such as in Words by SophiaCatherine or in a fanfiction I can't find right now where he finally talks to Professor Stein and basically goes I'm not stupid, you guys know I struggle with words sometimes but that does not mean you get to dismiss everything I say.

I sympathize since words don't always come to me either and I am a writer/poet. While I love Mick's creative nicknames for everyone Every Mick Rory Nickname (Part 1) and Every Mick Rory Nickname (Part 2) I also understand as someone who struggles with names and often identifies people based on what they do or how I know them. 

For example growing up there was a friend of my grandparents who ended up being "Brown tide, Save the bay, Spilt the county dude" because that worked better in my brain than anything silly like the guys name. 

Poor at understanding social cues

In addition to the above Mick often seems to find it a challenge to understand social cues. He comes off as blunt but while it is a very different context it reminds me of Sherlock when Sherlock does not have John around to tell him when something is not good. 

So going back to the quote that started this all it feels more like Mick expressing the idea:

This is all too much, we now have a version of my currently dead partner from a different earth, Constantine is being all weird (flirting) with this other version of my partner, now I have to process more new people and I am emotionally overwhelmed so I will say what ever I can to let me leave this interaction. I don't have the energy to care what others might think about what I say.

And in the end my friend and I are in agreement that Mick just needs more hugs (even if he is not a hug person.)