Author's Note

Yet another long-term fic finally finished. It doesn't look like it from non-writer's perspectives, but writing actually takes energy, and although I love writing, this took so much out of me that I feel like I should take a break for a couple of days. I'll be doing some art projects in between.

As stated before, at the end of my finished fics, I usually put a note here expressing my opinions of my work and the reasonings behind writing it. I know I don't need to explain myself and why I enjoy the pairings/fandoms/stories that I do, but it's a way that I could have conversations with people.

Plus, I like to talk about my favorite fandoms. I don't know if people actually want to read about why I like them, but here it is anyways.

I first watched Wreck-It Ralph in theatres a million years ago when it came out; I didn't watch RBTI because at that point, I was already in college and didn't have time for movies.

I always thought that Ralph and Felix were both cute for different reasons: Ralph was the supportive big brother/father figure to Vanellope and Felix was a devoted source of comfort for this badass soldier lady with a tragic background.

But I never really became active in the fandom that time until now when I actually have confidence in my writing skills and art skills.

At first, I was heavily invested in Hero's Cuties. I liked how Felix became a shoulder for Calhoun to cry on when she needs it and tried to make her baggage less heavy on her shoulders. At least, that's what I see outside of the canonical movies and adventure books, or whatever they're called.

I, personally, find Calhoun's emotional issues very relatable and it's always a nice thing to see people experiencing those kinds of conflicts find a source of comfort.

Then one day, I was browsing through Tumblr, and I found the pictures of the Titanic AU with Ralph and Felix. And at first, I was like, "What? No way, Felix loves Calhoun!".

But then I started thinking about it.

I saw another picture of Ralph and Felix sitting together at Tappers and I thought, "What if they kissed?". And the more I mulled it over, the more I realized that I, personally, liked that idea much more than the Felix and Calhoun story.

I see Ralph as a bumbling, goofy, unorthodox character that doesn't follow the status quo, which is also something I find relatable. And Felix is a structured, disciplined do-gooder who goes with the flow and ends up cleaning other people's messes whenever he can.

I'd like to think that Ralph would try to influence Felix to loosen up and choose himself every once in a while, and Felix would lecture Ralph about his responsibilities and taking things seriously.

I know some people state in their Hero's Cuties fics that the relationship between Felix and Calhoun is so strange because they're vastly different, but I think they have more in common than that.

For one thing, Felix and Calhoun are both responsible figures in their games, not just because of their code, but because they're dedicated to their duties as a feature of their personalities. They're both loyal, good-natured, and selfless. And it seems that they would be the kind of people to wear themselves out by overdoing it quite often.

Ralph and Felix have much less in common, and that is part of the reason why I love their dynamic. I should probably say the dynamic that I created, because we don't get many Ralphix scenes in the movie, or outside of it.

Sure, the video game delves into their working relationship a little, but it's not the same as them hanging out at Tappers or spending time outside of arcade hours.

I like writing Ralph making dark jokes and Felix getting after him for it. I like writing Ralph sleeping in when the arcade is about to open and Felix trying to drag him out of bed. I like the idea of Ralph helping Felix take it easy and not to strain himself when he can't fix things.

But I also think that both of them would understand each other's points and make compromises, like mature adults. Sure, Ralph can be a not mature adult at times, but I'd like to believe he would care about his relationship with Felix and his friends enough to act his age (or whatever age he's programmed to be).

This fanfic encompasses everything I wish I could see in the original movie: Ralph and Felix being a couple, Vanellope earning her place as a leader and being actually voted as president and not president because she said so, Calhoun being a badass independent woman who don't need no man to carry her, and King Candy being an even worse villain than before.

I also feel a bit sketched out by the movie's message about Ralph abandoning his job because he wants more out of life and is tired of being mistreated at work being the worst thing he could do. Yeah, sure, the movie says that if he didn't abandon his job, then Turbo would have never been defeated, Vanellope would still be an outcast, and blah, blah, blah.

But it still makes it seem like wanting more out of life than your job is terrible, and people shouldn't do it. The idea of Ralph wanting to be more than a Bad Guy being the thing that almost brought the apocalypse contradicts his statement about being more than his job.

He may have said he didn't need to prove he wasn't inherently bad because of what he'd done for Vanellope, but still. It still gives me a bad feeling.

As I've said before, I'll still enjoy my favorite movies even if they have flaws. Some of those flaws are the work of Disney.

This is the part where I start to get pedantic about Disney, so if that's not something you want to hear, you can stop here.

I saw that in the deleted scenes, Ralph and Felix and Vanellope were supposed to interact more with each other, which I would have loved to see not just because of my Sledge obsession, but because we don't get satisfying amounts of that in any other media.

I know that they wanted the focus to be more on developing the relationship between Ralph and Vanellope, but I can't help but feel like Disney cut those parts out because they implied certain things about Ralph and Felix.

Especially since Felix literally falls asleep on top of Ralph.

Before the most recent Disney movies, which I can't talk about because I haven't been keeping track of any of them, Disney had the same formula for every one of its movies:

I cut out the part about Ralph and Vanellope fighting before the climax because that is literally in every single Disney movie I've ever seen. With very few exceptions.

There's always one type of romance represented in each movie. I didn't put Ralphix in the story because of this, but it does bother me. Throwing in a two-second cameo or making fans create their own theories about other kinds of relationships doesn't count, either.

Disney is always keen on keeping the monarchy, even if Vanellope declared herself president in this one instance.

And others that I don't want to get into here because I don't want this to turn into a diatribe about Disney politics. Besides, I've already established my take on those things in my Raising Fifteen Author's Note.

I have a love-hate relationship with Disney media, being that I love Disney movies and I still find joy in watching them, but I hate them as a multi-million-dollar, misogynist monopoly that owns half the world, basically.

But I digress.

I find comfort in writing Ralph and Felix in both the human and arcade world. I can't get over how much I love their personalities together, and how much I love what I've done with their dynamic. I like writing them as a casual couple, where they talk and joke around like bros, but still hug and kiss and call each other their personal pet names.

I like Ralph giving Felix a noogie and calling him "bud" as his way of expression affection, and Felix being more of a romantic, giving kisses and going on fancy dinners.

And I also really like one of the main conflicts between them being Ralph's insecurities and his worries about other people not liking him. I thought it was fitting for his character.

In regard to my fanfic, I originally wasn't going to write in Calhoun at all because I wanted to keep the story centered on the boys. But turns out, I really enjoyed writing her as her own character.

In my human AU fic, I gave her more of a silly personality, which might be out-of-character my for her, but I feel like underneath the tough-as-nails attitude, she has a playful heart. She makes adult jokes that Felix wouldn't understand, she calls Ralph names and makes fun of him, and has a spitting contest with them.

It's a fun relationship between all three of them.

Well, I guess this would be the right time to end this note. As usual, I can't help but put in my own critical thoughts about the media I consume, but as I've stated before, I like to talk about the fandom. And criticisms are just apart of the fandom.

I'll be writing a sequel to this soon, but I want to write some other AU Sledge fics first. And I'll also be spending time with my art and doing things outside of my art, too. Thanks to all who liked this story and special thanks to BashfulGnome for the supportive and positive reviews.

Those are what give me the motivation to keep doing what I'm doing.

Thanks, again, and I'll see all of you in the next fic!