#& would give mav more of a reason to acquiesce to Carole’s request to pull B’s papers

[compacflt]

I’m sorry if my question has like a very obvious answer (that I obliviously failed to pick-up on, while reading your marvelous story), but what exactly did Pete mean when he said that Goose was his first?

its so funny you ask this cause I was just writing something about this yesterday. No there’s not really an obvious answer because i was trying to keep it intentionally vague. I feel like (tho i have my own thoughts) outright saying anything too bold about Mav & Gooses relationship is… idk it feels kind of morally questionable to commit to paper because of how it positions carole. Carole is already SUCH a tragic figure in both movies (and in the fic i wrote): she lost everything, she is to blame for the emotional turmoil of TGM, and yet she gets written out of the narrative (FRIDGED!!!) & is never given a chance to explain herself. She has no agency in the story anyway, she is literally just a scapegoat. So no matter whether Goose was the first man Mav ever slept with, or Goose was the first man Mav ever loved (both of which are 100% valid readings, and both of which would’ve still occurred during Goose & Carole’s relationship), it’s still CAROLE who’s getting fucked over here. AGAIN.

(Also? I have no idea if I’ve been reading this scene wrong this whole time, but the whole “Goose, even you could get laid in a place like this” / “I’d be happy to find a girl who’d talk dirty to me” feels… not good. Feels bad. And the $20 bet—are they both partaking in that? Isn’t that how bets work? Whoever gets an on-the-premises lay first gets $20? Or is he just betting MAV can’t get laid? Bet aside, I don’t know—the whole thing just makes me sad on Carole’s behalf. She is 100% the most tragic character in the franchise already, this casual “wish i were with a girl who’d talk dirty to me” just makes it worse)

But Goose was definitely Mav’s first SOMETHING. Even canon-goose knows mav isn’t straight (“of a lady this time”). I was kind of trying to insinuate that my Mav confessed he was in love with/at the very least LOVED Goose to Charlie, and that’s part of the reason she left (“Of course I loved him, of course” / “He didn’t know who he was and neither did she”) but yeah there’s no easy answer. Up to you. Do with all that info what you will.