#and i mean character in the ‘u r a fictional character written to elicit an emotional response in moviegoers’

[compacflt]

Your thoughts about Ice and Mav and their sexualities and how their environment has shaped them is soo interesting I am chewing it... just thinking about how Ice particularly would handle that conflict arising in his subordinates - Maverick isn't in as much a position to be the person kicking guys out of the Navy for whatever reason, but Ice certainly is. The conflict of public vs private in how he handles minorities under his command, not only women but also non-white people and of course the big one: other queer men... In the Slider oneshot Ice confesses that he's gotten guys kicked out of the Navy for both less and more than what he's done with Maverick - did you have any other thoughts about the inevitable conflict of scandals that he would have had to deal with re: people who were outed in one way or another, and how that would weigh on him as someone who self admittedly is aware of how what he wants to be (4 star admiral) and who he is (a man attracted to at the very least, one other man) are not compatible with each other?

hmm. Hadn’t thought about it. Admittedly i know very little about the intricacies & vagaries of DADT or its enforcement (and i am answering this ask quite hungover & not in the mood to research) but—based on what I said last week/the week before that, that ice has no philosophical qualms with DADT because he agrees that sexuality should be hidden/private & “why are you talking about your personal identity when you could be doing your job better,” i think—yeah. he would enforce it. He would stand by its enforcement. If a little hesitant/disappointed, and if only as insurance to the brass above him, yes, i do still know what the rules are, and also, man these stupid kids these days have no idea how to keep it a secret… like, independent of him personally identifying as gay or not, he looks down (in a paternalistic “come ON be smarter than that” way) upon people/personnel who can’t keep it a secret, who refuse to live closeted for the sake of the Navy… post TGM rooster prolly lights into him for it later. But Ice is commander of the pacific fleet, like that is an extremely public & POLITICAL position, like it or not. Like there’s a lot of sneakiness/sleazy political scheming that has to go on there by necessity because it’s a political appointment. by now ice must have learned that silent underground subterfuge/rebellion (in this context, frosting his tips, being w/maverick, or being totally fine with gays in the navy as long as they’re quiet about it [a very mainstream leadership position—the navy is historically gay as fuck]) is a more effective and self-preserving strategy than open insubordination. Keep it secret. Don’t ask and don’t tell.

And this should not be surprising. Dude, his whole fucking character in the original top gun is “I am successful because i refuse to be a revolutionary.” Like i feel like i repeat myself so often on this blog, but ice’s anti-open-revolutionaryness is literally his whole THING. it’s his whole character canonically. it’s what sets him apart from maverick—it’s what makes him mavericks narrative foil. ice’s anti-open-revolutionaryness is what gives him a fucking purpose to exist in the franchise. As an archetype, he exists as “the guy who does things by the book no matter what.” It is literally integral to his character. And in-universe-wise it’s a political lifestyle im personally plus-minus on, but it’s a very understandable political lifestyle for someone in his position to have.