hey heres some thoughts on al
i think there came a time in al’s life where he actively decided to put less effort into his... everything. his everything but music. i think he has a work ethic very similar to amelia that he uses entirely and solely for music- from song writing, to theory, to composition and history and learning as many instruments as he can
i know that as a cis woman, im going to struggle to really understand and write al’s experiences as a trans man. i know that, and im constantly trying to educate myself and be careful while navigating the experiences that he has. that being said, i do think having a Living Mirror of a twin could be a hard experience. the two already would have been compared their entire lives- thats just the life of a twin. its not always in bad ways, its not always meant to be discouraging for one or the other, but its just.... the way it is. in families, with friends and with passersby
so i think that, when al started his transition, he made a conscious decision to further differentiate himself from amelia. and i dont think it was really “well im gonna stop doing schoolwork now” and more “i need to have a Thing that separates me from my sister and that Thing is going to be music so im putting everything into that.” he’d always liked music! but its really what he threw himself in to to cope, for peace, to vent, and to make himself more of an individual. music became a part of his identity as he started to rewrite who he wanted to be.
al has shown that in times of stress, with people or things he care about on the line, he can operate in a very startlingly similar way to amelia. he can get things Done and done with order and precision. in gta au, if amelia was ever in trouble, he’d be quick to act and efficient. he has the potential to be very similar to amelia, but he doesnt /want/ to be.
al has written himself to be exactly who he wants to be
