out Ethan

[beccaelizabeth]

I read a story where Ethan deliberately made people think he and Giles were a current couple, and it made me think. Because in the canon we have, he just doesnt do that. And it would, if his intent were to mess up Giles' life, be fun. Sad as it is, someone gaining the reputation of being a homosexual is gaining a lot of trouble, especially if they work with young people. Giles, with teenagers in and out of his home, is already being slightly worrying, should someone want to look at it that way. Add an extra hint of scandal and hey presto, trouble. Or, even without the public bit, telling Buffy et al about some aspects of Giles' past would mess that relationship up too.

I realised that, compared to what he could do with some too clear truths or some well chosen lies, Ethan was being very well behaved.

In Halloween he said "I know who you are, Rupert, and I know what you're capable of. But they don't, do they? They have no idea where you come from." That could, to a suspicious mind, sound like threatening to tell them. Yet when Ethan ends up in contact with the Slayer et al, it could be accidental. And he doesnt tell them very much.

"Yes, the police. Well, they'll have all those questions, and they'll really need Rupert to answer them all."
Again sounds like a threat if you assume Rupert wont like giving the answers. Nicely insinuated.

But "We go back. Way back." isn't giving away a hell of a lot.

We don't know how he phrased it, but Buffy only knows to ask "What's the Mark of Eyghon?" The way I read what follows is that Giles telling her is the first she has heard of it. Ethan has *not* told her. On the one hand, that leaves her suspicious of Giles with a minimum of effort. On the other hand, Ethan is being pretty discreet. The Mark has become a life and death situation, yet he isnt the one to pour out the life history.

Assuming Ethan is around to make trouble seems natural. He lives for chaos, change, turning things upside down and inside out. Figuring that is why he is at the library seems to make sense. But he equally well could be honestly looking for Rupert. And he doesnt say half the things he could say, even if we stick with just canon. If we add the suggested by canon orgies, or the just barely subtext G/E relationship, that is a whole lot of stuff he isn't saying.

There could be OOC reasons for that. But OOC reasons dont give us any character mileage, so I try to ignore them.

Ethan keeps relatively quiet about specifics of the past, and doesnt flirt with Giles in any way that cant be ignored if Giles and audience so choose. The flirting apparently with the waitress in 'A New Man' could be a way of keeping plausible deniability, not just because Giles might not react favourably to Ethan, but because Giles is not out in Sunnydale and Ethan is protecting that. Ethan being sneaky, but also Ethan being nice.

As ever, not the only interpretation, but the one that has been in my brain for days.

Comments

[sparklebutch.livejournal.com]

In some circles bitchiness is encouraged, but outing is pure evil. Somehow I always saw Ethan as part of those circles.

[pinkdormouse.livejournal.com]

Here via su_herald

In Halloween he said "I know who you are, Rupert, and I know what you're capable of. But they don't, do they? They have no idea where you come from."

I used that as the tagline for my zine story (prequel cross-over set in Oxford in 1988), in which Giles and Ethan are involved with the same eighteen year old(1).

But I agree that outing anyone is one of those things that Ethan would consider bad manners, and Just Not The Doe Thing.

Gina

(1) Although considering who said 18yr old grows up to be, 'manipulated by' might be a good substitution for 'involved with'.

[rubyblushu.livejournal.com]

Although considering who said 18yr old grows up to be, 'manipulated by' might be a good substitution for 'involved with'.

Are you talking about a certain roque demon hunter that we all know and love?

[pinkdormouse.livejournal.com]

Nope. That was the cross-over part, so the boy in question grew up to be a rogue CIA operative with a taste for showtunes.

Gina

[rubyblushu.livejournal.com]

Dammit. I'm never gonna figure that one out. I'm not that familiar w/ that many other fandoms.

[pinkdormouse.livejournal.com]

Agent Sands from 'Once Upon a Time in Mexico' (see icon). I still believe that part of the reason he comes across as so very, very gay is that the part was written with George Clooney in mind, but ended up going to Johnny Depp who then ran with it in his usual way (he was the one that decided the character needed to be carrying a biography of Judy Garland in various scenes, he cut out a lot of the swearing in favour of random euphemisms, he made a lot of creative wardrobe choices, etc).

It's not a big fandom, but it's fun to play in, and has a lot of cross-over potential.

Gina

[rubyblushu.livejournal.com]

You know, I can so totally see him with Ethan. Ripper, I'm not sure about, but Ethan? Yeah, a very pretty picture.

[pinkdormouse.livejournal.com]

I ended up with a wonderfully tangled triangle in that one. And now that both my avatar characters and my basic plot for the novel seem to be moving away from the fanfic, I think I'll definitely be putting it online for everyone come February.

Gina