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nocturn-warrior · 3 months

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I ALL THE THINGS I'VE SHOULD DONE• 🔅

Alucard x reader

Summary: You are pregnant with your first born with Alucard and he has been overprotective over you, but during one night he a jerk tries to assault you. Alucard and your friends kick his ass.

Warnings: angst, SA mentions, abortion mentions, violence, jealousy at Greta, pregnancy, crying (but ends up with fluff), my bad grammar and text similar to a 12 years old's writting fanfic (english is not my first language) and bad dialogues.

Note: month of the three milks is may in medieval calendar, puiuţ is a nickname romanian parents call their babies and it means baby chicken. Most of the titles of my fics are based on Kate Bush's songs or song quotes. This one is taken from This Woman's Work

You were so excited taking care of Sypha and Trevor's baby. With his mother's big blue eyes and his father's jet hair, he was the cutest thing in the world. Everyday, your heart beated faster to the thought of having a child of your own with Adrian; a little baby to light up your lives and bring joy to that enormous castle again, but it took months for you to start trying for it. There are too many children around, the village orphans would be jealous if we had a baby. You would squash off the idea to yourself with a silly excuse. Actually, you feared having a child would have a reverse effect. Alucard was still mentally fragile and you rememberer his breakdown nights, where he wouldn't close his eyes to sleep until the sunrise. But one day it happened, and when it happened you and Adrian couldn't contain the happiness, though your hearts were still full of doubts.

Immediatly you started to work on your unborn's room, asking the villagers carpenters to reform Adrian's childhood bedroom and redo the furniture just like the way he remebered, since it all was destroyed during that last fight. All except that little wolf plushie which you storaged in the wardrobe. Alucard was surprised when you, after the nursery was finally finished and you both were decorating it with paintings and toys Adrian crafted himself, came in with the plushie and placed it over the little crib. He could feel a tear forming into his eye in that very moment.

"H-how did you..."

He stuttered, holding the toy almost as if he was checking out to see if it was the original one. You chuckled and said:

"I kinda stole from you so many days before Trevor had his hero moment. It was too cute to stay all dusty and forgotten in a wooden box. What is his name, by the way?"

Alucard sniffles the toy for a while, it smells like childhood. Like comfort. Smells like a time that will never come back, but he is happy it will belong to his child now. For that, new memories will be builden up. He finally answers, sitting on the small bed with you and caressing the toy's fluffy head.

"Lupi"

The dhampir smiled as his eyes wandered across the bedroom: it was exactly like he remembered. With his drawing skills, it was easy to picture everything in paper and intruct the carpenters.

After two long years, the village was finally built. Settled in the Belmont ground, it was full of small but cozy houses, a small fair, and a graveyard to honor their lost members. They were grateful for everything, and for that they decided to make a big celebration, in the day of their protector saint, Sara Kali, who is also the protector of pregnant women, for the exhiled and despaired ones as well.

You, Alucard and your friends were invited to such a beautiful moment, since you four had a big role in providing that people comfort and protection during and post the nightcreatures attacks.

It was 24 in The Month Of the Three Milks and you were 5 months pregnant. At first, Alucard was a little hesitant about attending at the festival; besides he cherishes the comunity so much, he feared you made too much effort or that all of these sounds, scents and feelings would be overwhelming to you. In his core, he wanted to go of course, but your safety was more important.

"Are you sure, my darling? You need to rest, you and the baby. Greta and the others will understand if you don't attend"

He tenderly argues, placing a hand on your waist as you look for a proper dress to use in the occasion in your big wooden wardrobe.

"Adrian,"

You drop the pieces of clothes to cup his cheeks, his amber droopy eyes looking towards yours as you explain. How could you take that pouty face of his seriously in that moment? You contain a chuckle.

"I am fine. My sickness doesn't affect me anymore, and some fresh night are will be good for me. You worry too much"

Adrian looks down presses his hand over your growing bump, trying to feel the child. He's been obsessed with it, constantly asking you if his puiuţ, as he constantly reffers to your baby is awaken and active.

"They are quiet this afternoon, my love."

You answer, placing your hand over his colder one. He says nothing, thinking about the festival and if taking you was a good idea until he breaks the silence:

"Let's find you a dress to wear, i will do your hair"

Your eyes light up, filling his heart with joy. Alucard adores to see you smile and beam with happiness, specially now that your mood changes so frequent. Any wrong word can cause an endless angst in this sensitive head of yours. He doesn't complain, though. After all you did for him in those dark gloomy nights, is not just his duty but also his wish to take care of you.

The two of you mess around your clothes, trying to find anything that feels comfortable enought for you to wear all night long. You try this, try that, but all of your formal gowns feel tighter and constraining around your stomach. Trying the last one with no success, you leave a deep sigh and plop yourself on the bed, laying with your limbs spread:

"Alright. Forget it. I accepted my fate: we are not going to the festival."

Though you had a silly smile in your face, Adrian could tell you were very upset with the fact no dress could fit you propperly now, and standing up in silence while looking at your hopeless expression, he takes a hard decision. Entering or seeing his parents' personal objects was a challenge he has been avoiding for two years. That's why most of them were gifted to the people from Danesti. They shouldn't be in there storaging must and moths. He gave it all, except some.

"Actually, i think there are still some dresses that belonged to my mother when she was pregnant. My father kept her belongings, and i couldn't get rid of them yet"

The joyful expression returns to your face as Alucard gives the problem a solving, you quickly sit up again and smile excitedly at him. For a while, you wonder why he kept exactly his mother's pregnancy dresses. Was it because he already planned everything? He could have given them to Sypha years ago. But you don't question it, you just nod and stand up, holding his hands.

"Thank you, Adrian. But you don't have to do it, if it's too hard to see her things again."

He gently shushes you, raising your hand and placing a wet kiss over it and ressuring he would be alright. Adrian tells you to stay in your bedroom while he looks into an old wooden chest, containing some of his parents' remaining belongings.

Minutes after, he cames in with a beautiful red dress, larger in the stomach and breasts part. It's oppulent silk bounces as he moves smoothly, placing it over the bed.

"Here. Try it on. I might do some adjusts on it's sleeves or cleavage if you want me to. We still have time"

He smiles at you, and standing up, you grab it to try on as he said. You inspect it's fabric, the dress has a slight musty scent due to all of these years it spent untouched, but it's alright. You quickly slip off your undergarments and put the dress on. Alucard expectates for the final result, arms crossed and eyes wandering across you changing body. It looks so beautiful, like a goddess of fertility.

"It feels tight in the arms"

You raise up your limbs, proving your point. The long sleeves restrict your movements. Lisa had a more slender figure, you guess, so it would really feel tighter in some of your body parts. Alucard approaches you, adjusting some pieces of the fabric and turning you around to check out the clothing

"I can cut them for you, my dear"

The solution comes without hesitation and you are surprised. He would modify his mother's relics just because of you. The hesitation came from your part

"Do you really mean that? Love, this belonged to your mother"

He playfully scoffs and lifts up the silky hem of the gown, helping you to take it off so he could make the necessary adjusts

"If there was something my mother was not attached to, was material wealth. Plus, it's for the wife of her son i am doing that. Don't you worry, it's just a dress"

Adrian removes the dress from you completly and with the lines and needles, he starts to work on the sleeves as you sit on the bed, waiting for it to be finished.

One hour and a half later, your dress is finally adjusted and fits perfectly. Now, you two should take a shower, get perfumed and elegant for the event so important to your friends of the village.

Adrian does your hair as promised: he braids it and finishes with a ribbon matching the color of your dress. He ties your shoes and you help him folding the hem of his trousers. Now passing through the giantic doors of the castle, you two head to where the festival would be settled.

Arms interlocked and faces enlighted by the rising full moon light, you catch a sight of Sypha and Trevor sitting on a wooden bench, their son Simon is running around with the other kids.

"He is already running. Years ago this boy was just a..."

Words fail with excitement, seeing your nephew toddling and interacting with other children. Alucard completes the phrase, placing a hand on your bump.

"A little bean. Just like our baby. Soon, he or she will be joining them. Ooh, it seems like he is sticking a frog into his mouth!"

As Alucard finishes, you can see from a afar, Sypha rushing to stop the toddler of eating a frog. You giggle, already imagining the adaptations in the castle you and Adrian shall do to prevent your own kid to hurt themselves.

Trevor see you two approaching and, taking a large sip of his ale, he places the cup aside, facing you two.

"Hey, i thought you two wouldn't even come. Y/N, you have to try this ale. This shit is a drop from heavens!"

By his tone, you could tell your friend was already drunk. Alucard intervines with a calm, yet slightly sarcastic tone, cracking his whip:

"You are not trying to make my pregnant wife drink alcohol, are you, Belmont?"

"I forgot this detail"

He snorts, shrugging and turning his attention back to his beloved ale. Since Simon was born, Trevor and Sypha had made a promise he would never drink again, but today is a special occasion so they gave it a break. Talking about Sypha, she returns to the place, holding the willful Simon on her hip and smiling as she spots you and Alucard.

"I can't keep an eye off from this boy, it's like he is the exact copy of his father. I can't keep an eye off of him as well. Trevor, you are already drunk?"

She places her free arm on her hip, facing the sitting man who denies it, with his clearly intoxicated tone.

"Gods, i don't know why but i still love you that it hurts!"

She chuckles, sitting by her husband's side and releasing Simon from her arms before she finally talks to Alucard and you.

"Your bump is already so big, my dear Y/N! Bigger than last week. Please, cherish this moment, becsuse after that you will deal with back pains and ankle soreness due to this little human growing in there"

Sypha looks tenderly at your belly jutting against the red silk of your dress, and then at her own son who rushes to "uncle Lulu", as he calls your husband.

"But it's all worthy."

You were so excited by seeing your friends that didn't even paid attention to the festival decoration. It was beautiful, full of colors and good scents comming from the food. The women wore their traditional clothes, children ran around the big fire settled in the middle. The tawny moon enlighted everything, making the scenary even more breathtaking. Alucard conduces you to sit over the bench and accomodates himself by your side as well.

"What do you think, love?"

He whispers in your ear before kissing your cheek

"Beautiful. I love how their people, even after so many troubles and distress, found a way to put everything together"

The food scent was inviting, you spot a plump old lady holding a large plate of something you judged to be sarma, placing it over the large table along with other food. An increasing desire starts to take over you, and Alucard notices your fixated gaze. He chuckles, placing a hand on your belly before standing up.

"Are you two hungry? Stay here, i will get some food. Will you guys want something as well?"

He looks at Sypha who shakes her head, and at Trevor who says nothing but a grunt that Alucard reads as a no. You watch your dhampir walk graciously towards the table abundant with food, greeting the people as he approaches it. Resting your elbow on your knee and your chin on your palm, you don’t notice how head over heels you are until he comes back holding a bowl and speaking to you so sweetly:

“Here, my dear. It’s still warm”

Alucard sits by your side and you glance at the bowl full of sarma; a meal made of cabbages and stuffed with meat and rice, a typical dish of the people from Danesti. He grabs a forkful and takes it towards your mouth, waiting for your approval. You chew up the bite, the flavors exploding in your mouth. Alucard’s smile increases when you leave a satisfied groan and nod your head. He places the bowl on your lap, allowing you to occasionally feed him as you two chat with Sypha.

Some children from the village spot you sitting in there and rush towards the bench. As expected, they were quite excited about the baby on the way, always competing between them to touch your bump and feel their new “sibling”. After all those little ones passed through, you were happy to see them play around. You see in their faces, the future of that community like flowers blooming after a long winter.

“mother, mother!”

A little girl grabs the hem of your silky dress, trying to get you attention and climb up to your lap, followed by other three kids who fight for their places. Noticing the mess they could make, Alucard grabs the bowl you hold and tries to calm down the hectic little ones.

“Woah, woah, calm down, Delia, Elek. Let your mother breath.”

He adverts the two sassiest ones with his firm wet warm tone, gently pulling them away as they chitter.

“But father Alucard, I want to feel the baby!”

They argue and you can’t resist to their pouty faces, sensitized by your mood changes you intervene into Alucard’s rebuke, accepting their little excited hands to touch your bump. Your husband doesn’t protest back, he knows how stubborn you are and how these children love you, but as you allow Delia to climb up onto your lap, he can’t help but feel apprehensive the girl would make too much pressure over your belly. You can see the disappointed expression in her face as she roams her palm around your stomach but isn’t able to feel nothing.

“The baby is sleeping now.”

You whisper, tilting up her little chin and smiling pacifically. Alucard admires your ability to calm down these children, always so patient and warm. Delia seems to understand the situation and climbs down from your lap, turning to her little friends and communicating the state of your baby. Still, the kids wouldn’t give up and keep fighting for your attention. Alucard knows that gently pushing them away wouldn’t do much good and gives up, so he lets it be. Sypha, noticing your discomfort calls one the children’s name and says:

“why don’t you take little Simon to play around a little, Delia? Hey, but don’t allow him to eat any frog!”

She adverts as the little girl gives up on pesting you and quickly takes your nephew’s hand, guiding him off from Sypha’s lap.

“nor any cricket or moth!”

“Alright, aunt Sypha!”

The small group of children leaves the four adults alone, in a mass of giggling and screaming mess. You can breathe finally, laying your head over Alucard’s shoulder and watching them move away, secretly hoping your baby takes after you and your husband, and doesn’t come to be so hectic like their future peers. Chatting with your friends about your adventures and about parenthood, most of the conversations end up with mocking Trevor. You guys are really taking advantage of his intoxicated state to make fun of him. The weather is pleasant and the crackling fire sounds relax you.

You hate it, but a snort leaves your throat when one of the children approach again, rushing towards Alucard this time at least. The little boy has in his face the expression of the messenger of a king, and speaks while panting, leaving Alucard slightly worried. You fear something bad has happened, as well.

“father Alucard, Greta wants to talk to you.”

The request was not urgent or a life or death case, but the woman’s name has sent you some discomfort into your heart. It’s not like you hate Greta: she is not as close as Sypha is to you, but she is still a friend and you recognize the importance she has to the community, yet you can’t help but feel insecure whenever she is around. Even though it’s been two years since you and Adrian are together, even though you are pregnant with his child.

The blonde man places a quick kiss on your cheek, swearing he will come back as soon as possible and stands up, guided by the child towards the house Greta awaits for him. You observe him adjusting the collar of his shirt as he approaches, and you see Greta come out through the door. Even from meters afar, you notice and admit how gorgeous she looks in that traditional dress, her dark hair and bronze skin glowing under the moonlight, and the wind seems to bring her perfume to you. Almost if it was teasing your jealousness and provoking your feelings.

The leader greets Alucard with a tight hug and in this moment your heart slightly sinks. Ruminating about their possible conversation topic, you convince yourself she is just thanking him for the support he offered during these two years, and not complimenting his beautiful amber eyes or his soft blonde locks you combed yourself. She drags him to inside the small house, followed by other two villagers.

Your fists close, you start to bounce your leg in anxiety and Sypha who is much an observer, places her hand gently on yours and leans in, looking at you with tenderness:

“Y/N, calm down. He is going to talk to the elder ones. You have nothing to worry about. Greta isn’t stealing your man.”

She speaks in a laid-back tone, softly caressing your hand. You turn to face your friend but you can’t contain the concerned expression. Sypha chuckles a bit, not mocking at you, but finding your feeling extremely valid. You protest:

“I-I am not jealous, Sypha. I just---“

You can’t find better words to describe your feeling, so you just give in to Sypha’s moral lesson.

“You are jealous, Y/N. I can tell it by the pout in your face. But you know what? That’s completely understandable, dear friend. You are going through a lot of changes all over your body, it’s pretty normal.”

She leans in a little more and whispers in tone of secret:

“when I was pregnant, i argued with Trevor about anything. Even ale itself made me feel jealous of him”

Your friend takes your hand once again and continues:

“what you need to know, is that Alucard loves you no matter what. It wasn’t Greta who held him every night when his nightmares tormented him. It wasn’t Greta who took care of him at his lowest, my dear. Adrian loves you and he doesn't hide it"

You know Sypha meant every word, but why did you feel like Alucard would eventually get tired of you? Why did you think Greta would charm him with her strong sense of leadership and athletic phisique? You try to focus on something else ignoring the burning jealousy increasing and consuming your brain and on Sypha's trying to cheer you up.

You finally see Alucard step out from the cabin he entered with the leader of the village, his beautiful face beams with happiness as he chats something unhearable. Greta pulls him closer to where other young women beautifully dressed in those tradicional patterns organize themselves to start the dancing, he is probably greeting them.

The young men start playing the instruments, and the ladies dance in the rhythm. Seeing your husband idly moving his shoulders, you expect for the worst to happen. Greta takes him by his hand and starts teaching him how to move smoothly like the dancers, twirling around and expecting him to do the same. Adrian doesn't give a single glance at where you are sitting, he seems to be hypnotized by the moment.

You stand up and feel Sypha's tight grip on your wrist. You look down at her as she asks softly:

"Where are you going"

"I need to pee"

You force a smile and even if it was your intention, Sypha knew you were distancing for other motive. But she doesn't intervene, though. She just releases your wrist and focus on Trevor who seems to be in an alcoholic catalepsy by her side.

You walk towards the latrine behind the village, holding up the hem of dress so it wouldn't get stuck in the ivies underneath. Leaning against the wooden thin wall of the cabine, you feel an increasing heat take over your face and thick tears drop down from your eyes. The music of the festival sounds distant, but you can hear the people's laughing and cheering.

The crickets and night birds seem to be the only spectators of your breakdown until you hear a hoarse, unfamiliar voice approaching you.

"Why are you crying, beautiful lady?"

You pull up your head from the wall, turning to where the voice comes. The light of a torch reveals the silhouette of a man who limps towards you, speaking in an alcohol intoxicated voice.

"A beautiful lady like you shouldn't be here, all alone. Did you know the nightcreatures are still around?"

He laughs in a mischevious tone, spitting on the ground. Getting closer and closer, he sees your face and his eyes widen up, a smirk forms again in his face:

"Are you the dhampir's wife?"

You've never seen that man at the village, he has been here due to the festival, you guess. You gulp, shortly nodding your head:

"Y-yes, mister."

The man stays in silence for a while, his eyes roaming through your body like he he was chosing a piece of meat until they linger on your belly.

"You are pregnant! You are carrying that evil's seed! Your husband's race only brought disgrace to this land. This thing you carry in your womb is cursed, it has a cursed blood just like it's genitor. You are nothing but catter for that demon to spread his offspring"

Your heart sinks at the tone he speaks to you, his intoxicated breath stinging in your nose as he approaches. You can't move, your body freezes as he says:

"I will put an end on it"

He completes with a sly grin, spitting on the ground again:

"And insert mine inside this pretty belly of yours"

You try to run, but the man grabs you by your middle and starts to run his filthy hands across your cleavage. Where is Alucard? You stood with him during this thundery years and when you need him most, he is entertaining himself with Greta. You fear for your child as the man's fingers press deeper against your skin.

"If you screm, it's gonna be worse. They can't hear you"

The man whispers and all you can do is whimper.

All the while, Sypha watches the movement of people, the colors of the dancers' dresses twirling and the instruments sounds echoing to inside the forest. It's been 5 minutes and you didn't came back. She fears leaving you alone was a bad idea.

Her attention turns to Alucard who after chatting with the villagers and receiving their grateful compliments, happily heads to the bench eager to reunite with you. His face drastically changes noticing only Sypha (and a dozing off Trevor) are in there.

"Where is Y/N?"

He asks the woman, a concerned expression in his face, and he could see a slight frown or worry in Sypha's forehead, but she didn't want to alarm him by mentioning her concern.

"She went to the latrines minutes ago"

For a while, Alucard feels a little upset with your friend. She shouldn't have let you go on your own. He stays in silence for a while, deciding if he should go after you.

Your vision gets foggy by the tears, and you can't tell if the music stopped or you are just falling out of consciousness by the terror, but as the sounds of instruments finally fade completly, you scream in agony, hoping someone can hear you plead. Hoping Alucard could hear your plead.

Alucard's pupils shrink as he hears your recognizable voice and before Sypha could even ask him if he heard that too, he desappears in a figure darker than night, smoothly directing itself to where the sound of you came from. Sypha rushes after him, already closing her fists, ready to use her powers.

The drunken man slides his hand down to your womb, roughly pressing his thumbs onto your skin. You groan, tears falling down your cheeks. He is going to take the life of your so expected puiuţ.

The trees and people speed distorted as Alucard in his fog shape rushes in your rescue. His heart is filled with an unnatural rage, something he never felt before as he sees that filthy bastard hurting his beloved. Something similar to what his father might felt.

The dhampir materializes in front of the man, pushing him with anger against the stone wall of a house, the bastard couldn't even tell what was going on until he feels Alucard's piercering eyes, red as flames staring into his and his sharp fangs so close to his neck as he hisses like a serpent.

He was about to take his life when a sharp disc of ice cuts the bastard's skin. Alucard swiftly looks back and sees Sypha rushing towards you as you fall on your knees, sobbing. His attention then turns back to the man who feels the dhampir's fangs almost touching his throat.

"I am not marking this date so important for the villagers with your filthy blood. But get to know: if you touch my wife once again, i open your abdomen and wrap your guts around a tree with you alive."

This words doesn't seem to be spoken by your sweet Alucard. For a while, it feels like his father's anger for human kind took his mind and manifested phisically using his body.

He releases the drunk who limps florest inside and his eyes shift back to it's beautiful amber pigmentation, now filled with tears as he sees you broken on the ground attached to Sypha's shoulder, sobbing in shock.

"Shh... it's everything alright now, Y/N. He is gone"

Your friend rubs your back soothingly and helps you to stand up, but your arm never leaves hers until Alucard approaches, stretching his arms open to embrace you.

"Y/N! I am so sorry. I've failed you"

"H-he tried to kill our puiuţ..."

You whine and he rests his chin on top of your head, holding you tighter. He couldn't save his mother years ago, he couldn't save his father from his own madness. If he lost you to such an avoidable way, he couldn't forgive himself.

Sypha's heart sinks seeing her two friends in such a broken state. She hugs you both tightly and recomforts you, guiding you back to the festival.

No one of you including Trevor who was sleeping to the lullaby of alcohol had mood to continue in the village that night, going home was the only option. Your friends would sleep in the castle.

You didn't exchange a word way back to home until you silently opened the doors of your chambers and slowly slipped off from your dress. In the oval mirror, you could spot the two marks caused by the agressor's hands. A lump forms in your throat again, it's been q while since you don't feel your child, you fear the worst happened.

Alucard cames in, wrapping his arms around you though he hesitated for a while. He kisses your cheek and kneals down in front of you, pressing his ear against your belly.

"Can you hear it? The heartbeat... can you still hear anything?"

You speak, trying your best to not to cry being so aprehensive about his answer. He lingers a little, shifting his position and lowing down his breath.

"I can hear it."

He looks up at you, a sigh of relieve leaves your body.

"Our puiuţ is safe."

Alucard stands up after placing a kiss on your belly and wraps his arms around you, wiping away your relieved tears. You hug him tightly, sobs muffled by his chest and his tears fall over your hair as well.

"That was my fault"

You silently climb onto bed after calming down from the overwhelming night you had, and after minutes, he finally breaks the silence.

"It was my fault. If you or our baby got hurt, it would be my fault"

You didn't want to rub salt into the wound though you knew the incident was directly linked to the fact Alucard left you. Placing a hand on his shoulder, you listen to his apologize.

"I should have known you would be pissed off with me because of Greta, but it was not my intention. Forgive me, darling. I promise i will never leave your side ever again"

He turns to face you with those droopy amber eyes, tears tangled between his long eyelashes and he blinks for them to follow their flow. You cup Alucard's cheek and gives him a ressuring smile. You couldn't be mad at him.

"Accepted"

Seeing Alucard have another breakdown was the last thing you wanted to see. He wraps his arms around you, hand resting on your belly like a shield as you sleep in a deep slumber, lulled by the wind knocking on the window.

#the last paragraphs were kinda shitty #no creative juice #adrian tepes x reader #alucard x reader #reader insert

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topguncortez · 1 year

Text

A Supposed Miracle || Bradley Bradshaw

Top Gun Celebration | Main masterlist

synopsis: A year ago you survived the unimaginable, but you weren't sure if it was actually the miracle they said it was. Written as part of my 1 Year TG Celebration:)

word count: 2.2k

warnings: Uranium Mission, description of injuries, mentions of PTSD, amnesia, paralyzation, cursing

prompts: "I don’t care if we are fighting, or if you’re mad at me, I’m still gonna be there for you.”

Rooster wasn’t sure what he was doing. What had possessed him now, of all days, to show up at your front door, he wasn’t quite sure. The last time he had seen you, you were barely alive. Blood seeping from your body, your temperature near dangerous levels, breaths so shallow and pulse so weak, Rooster had to press his ear against your chest just to hear your heart beating.

When the two of you were rescued, you were whisked off into the belly of the ship while he was being flocked to by sailors commending him for a good job.

“I didn’t do anything right,” He remembers saying to Maverick, as he sat on the cold metal exam table.

“Yes you did, you both survived-”

“I paralyzed her!”

Rooster knew that it wasn’t all his fault, but he had no choice but to move you. You were sitting ducks in the middle of the snow-covered field, wearing your green flight suits. You had cried and begged for him to leave you there, telling him you would rather “die on the battlefield in glory” than live a life where you could no longer walk, or take care of yourself. But Rooster wasn’t about to do that when an enemy helicopter arrived and opened fire on the two of you. He didn’t think twice as he picked you up in his arms, despite your cries and hits against his body as he carried you into a wooded area.

“You fucking dick, Bradshaw! You should’ve left me to die!”

“You can blame me for saving your life later.”

Three days. Seventy-Two Hours. Four thousand three hundred twenty minutes. two hundred fifty-nine thousand two hundred seconds.

That’s how long the two of you were out in the snow-covered woods. Both of your beacons had been crushed when you intercepted the SAMs to save one another. Rooster, who had merely a concussion and some bruised ribs did his best to try and keep you alive. He wasn’t sure where all the blood was coming from, too scared to cut away your flight suit to find out. He did his best to stop the bleeding, switching from packing snow against your body, to pressing a hot wire against the exposed skin. The two of you split an MRE that somehow managed to survive the wreckage. He could remember you making a joke about it.

“Not sure if we should be even eating something that can survive a jet fire.”

But Rooster made sure to save the last Twizzler bites in the package for you. He had hardly slept, forcing himself to stay awake to make sure you were still alive, and keeping a watchful eye for any wolves or other wildlife. He knew that his defense against a wolf was going to be useless, but he had gone over in his head what he would do to make sure you lived. On the last night, you were out there, Rooster held you tightly in his arms, the both of you coming to the realization that you might not live to see another sunrise out in the woods.

“You need to be the one to tell him,” You said, your voice barely above a whisper. Your skin was sunburned and your lips chapped from dehydration, “He won’t try and fight you.”

“He hates me, Reap, he always has,” Rooster said, gently rocking you back and forth.

“Jake doesn’t hate you,” You shook your head, “He is intimidated by you. He knows that you are the better pilot. But if it’s anyone else that tells him I didn’t make-” Your voice broke, “That I didn’t make it. . . he’ll drink himself to death. He’ll want to know everything.”

Rooster looked up at the night sky. All the stars seemed to be out, shining brightly above the two of you.

“I loved you first,” Your voice pulled Rooster away from his analysis of the stars, “You broke me when you left. Didn’t say why or where…you just left.”

“And I have regretted that day for all my life,” Rooster said.

He could so vividly remember seeing your acceptance letter to USNA sitting on your desk when he came home from one of his classes at the local community college. He didn’t even know you applied, let alone were interested in the Navy. But he was so mad, so angry that you had gotten something that he had wanted his whole life. Instead of waiting for you to come home from work, he quickly packed a bag and left, not so much as leaving a note to explain. It wasn’t until a couple of weeks ago that the two of you had finally reunited.

And now, you were going to die in the arms of your first love.

“I love you, Y/N,” Rooster said, and he felt your body tense for a moment, before it relaxed in his arms, “I have always loved you. I have never stopped loving you. I will never stop loving you.”

You squeezed Rooster’s hand, “I… Love…”

Rooster looked down at your face, seeing the light go out in your eyes, “No… No, no, hey,” He shook your body, patting your cheek lightly, “You don’t get to do this,” He laid your body gently down on the ground, placing his hands in the middle of your chest and starting compressions, “C’mon, Reaper! C’mon! Don’t…” Rooster looked up at the sky, “You son of bitch, you give her back to me! You give her back to me right fucking now!”

— — —

They called it a miracle. But it felt like anything but that to you.

You spent a whole month, unconscious in the ICU in England, before you were moved back to the US, where you spent another two weeks hooked up to machines. When you woke up, you had no recollection of the last several years of your life. You didn’t know that the blonde man sitting next to you was apparently your fiance, or that you had graduated top of your class at TopGun, or hell, that you had even made it to TopGun, to begin with. You didn’t know what had happened out in the woods, other than that you were paralyzed from the waist down, and you would never fly again.

The only person that you did recognize was Maverick, and even those memories were a little hazy. He had helped you get settled into your house (which had been totally renovated to be wheelchair accessible). Your fiance, whose name you learned was Jake, helped you get reacclimated to most things. He was nice and was doing everything he could to help gain some memories back. Over time you remembered certain things like Jake’s birthday, or that you had a 1972 mustang mach 1 sitting in Maverick’s hangar, or flashes of the last mission you were on. But the most prominent memory in your mind was of coming home to an empty house and that blue Bronco gone from the driveway.

You had asked Jake about Rooster several times, and he just danced around the subject. He told you that Rooster was a part of the mission, and he had taken a different position instead of staying in North Island with the rest of the team. You also remembered that when Jake lied, his right eye would twitch.

You had spent the better part of that year in intense physical therapy. Your doctor believed that you could probably regain some function and learn to walk with assistance. You thought that hell week at USNA was hard, but nothing would prepare you for this journey. Day after day, Jake would pick you up from therapy physically and mentally exhausted. Learning how to walk again at age twenty-seven was a lot harder than toddlers made it look.

Between your doctor, various therapists, Jake and Maverick, by the time the one-year mark of the mission came around, you were able to stand and walk with the help of your walker. Being able to graduate from physical therapy felt better than any promotion you might’ve received from the Navy.

But now here you were, a year to the day later, staring at the man who had been constantly on your mind. You had actually started to believe Jake’s story about Rooster taking a job somewhere else because, for the last year, he had been totally MIA. Jake had taken you to the Hard Deck and out several times with the dagger squad in the past year, and every time, Rooster wasn’t there. Nobody mentioned him. Nobody even talked about him if you were around. There had been no texts, no calls, and no letters from him in the past year.

You were actually starting to wonder if maybe he was dead.

“So you are alive,” You scoffed, “Congrats.”

“Reap-”

“No,” You shook your head, “You don’t get to fucking call me that. Do you even know the hell I have been through in the past year?!”

“I’m sorry,” Rooster said simply, “I just couldn’t face you knowing that I put you in-”

“A wheelchair?”

He sucked in a breath and looked down at his shoes. He looked a lot like the man you remembered. Sandy brown hair, sunkissed tan skin, those sweet baby cow eyes that you had fallen in love with. He was wearing a pair of Levi’s that hugged his thighs just right, and one of those infamous Hawaiian shirts that used to belong to his dad. His Rayban caravans dangled off the chain of his dog tags that were tucked underneath his white tank top.

Rooster licked his lips and looked up at you, for probably the first time since the standoff had started. You had cut your hair, it was shorter than what he remembered, sitting right above your shoulders. He could see that your face had some new-age lines to it. Your arms now had more black and colored ink than clear skin on them. And your eyes, those once soft and loving eyes, were cold and hard as you glared at him.

“I’m sorry,” Rooster said again.

You shook your head, “Why are you here?”

“Because I-” Rooster still wasn’t sure why he was here. He thought he would have more time to figure that answer out before you asked, “Because I wanted to see you. I heard that you are coming tonight and I-”

You scoffed, “So you decide now, a year later, that you wanna show your face?”

“Look,” Rooster was trying to keep his cool, but his patience was starting to wear thin with you, “I don’t care if you hate me. I don’t care if we are fighting, or if you’re mad at me, I’m still gonna be there for you.”

“But you-”

“You weren’t the only one who lost something out there!” Rooster yelled. You looked taken aback by the sudden increase in his voice, “Okay? You weren’t the only one out there for three days. You weren’t the only one. . . planning a fucking funeral in your head. You weren’t the only one who lost something out there.” You looked down at your lap, hearing Rooster take several deep breaths to calm himself. He knew that he fucked up but not coming to see you sooner, but he wasn’t sure how he could face you.

“Did you tell Jake to lie to me?” You looked up at the man.

“No,” Rooster shook his head, “I asked him about you almost every day for about three months. I wanted to know how you were, what you were doing if there was any update on your injury, or if you gained your memory back, but Jake just kept it to a minimum. Eventually, he told me to stop asking.”

“Fucking Jake,” You rolled your eyes, “I broke up with him about three months after I woke up. It was just too hard to pretend to love a man when I hardly knew him.” Rooster nodded, “But to make you feel better. . . I asked about you too.”

Rooster clenched his jaw, trying to push back the tears in his eyes. You held your hand out to him, and he walked forward, placing his large hand in your smaller one. You squeezed it, just like you did when you died in his arms a year ago.

“I’m sorry.”

The two of you let out a soft chuckle as you spoke at the same time.

“You first,” Rooster said.

“I’m sorry for how I treated you when you found me. I just knew right away I was fucked and I didn’t see any point in living a life where I can’t fly. But I realized how fucked and selfish that was to tell you that. You saved my life, Bradley, a-and. . .” You blinked a couple of times, trying to find the right words, “Thank you for that.”

Rooster’s jaw dropped slightly, and he gave your hand a squeeze, “I’m sorry for being too scared to come and see you. I let my own fear and self-hatred get in the way. And you saved my life too.”

You smiled at him, “Do you want to come in for a drink?”

“I’d love nothing more.”

taglist: @damrlova @shanimallina87 @phoenix1388 @desert-fern @mygyn @cherrycola27 @yanna-banana @seitmai @topgun-imagines @bradleybeachbabe @startrekfangirl2233 @xoxabs88xox @atarmychick007 @bradshawseresinbabe @Munsonswhore86 @happypopcornprincess @Sophiaslastbraincell @bradswolfe @fandom-princess-forevermore @thedroneranger @angelbabyange @callsignharper @genius2050

taglist form:)

I just wanna say a quick shoutout to @a-reader-and-a-writer for sending in this request and being just an all around awesome person. you guys don't see it on here, but I'm in a discord with Vee and she is one of the most reliable, and knowledgeable, and nicest people I have ever had the opportunity to interact with. I can always count on Vee to pop in with an answer to my questions or a funny one-liner or angst that hurts so deliciously good. She's an amazing writer and friend and fandom-dweller (. . . yeah that's the word). She's always so positive and works hard to create an awesome and safe space on her blog, on the dash, in the server. She's just amazing <3

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ddejavvu · 11 months

Text

mei's 20k celebration !!

first of all, thank you to each and every single one of you for being here!! together you make just over 20k. the size of my audience is very hard for me to fathom (seriously, have you ever googled what 20,000 people look like? insane!!!) but i know i'm incredibly grateful that you're here!! writing is very fun for me but it's even better with lovely people like you cheering me on, and i'm happy to do what i do if it means you get to enjoy it.

i have been exceptionally busy lately, and i haven't done a follower celebration since 10K i believe, so i figured now was a good time for another one! i know not everyone is into the same fandoms as everyone else, so this celebration will be separated into each different fandom that i write for. why? it's fun for me to plan things around my fandoms, but i didn't want to exclude anyone, so i just made a little mini celebration for them all :)

you're allowed to send as many asks as you want, for whichever fandoms you want, i just ask that you do it in separate asks! i'm not sure yet when I'm going to end the celebration, but I'll give you at least a 24H warning so that you can send in any last asks you have :)

without further ado: my 20k follower celebration!

Top Gun / Top Gun Maverick - Playing With The Boys

Are you ready for a beach day with some navy men? Choose an option from the list below and come hang out by the water, just be careful no one pushes you in!

'maverick? did your mother not like you, or something?' - make up a callsign for yourself, tell me why you've chosen it, and I'll tell you which character i think you'd get along with!

'i just don't want anyone to know i've fallen for you.' - send me a request for a baby blurb! give me a character, and a plotline, and i'll write you a little fanfiction :)

'and your wingman?' - tell me your favorite character and i'll link a tiktok that i think fits their vibe!

'dogfight football.' - games! fmk, would you rather, cym, all surrounding the characters of top gun!

'baby on board!' - send me a headcanon about one of the characters and i'll give you one back!

'hangman. you look... good.' - tell me your favorite character and i'll give you a photo of them from my pinterest board

characters accepted: pete 'maverick' mitchell, nick 'goose' bradshaw, tom 'iceman' kazansky, ron 'slider' kerner, leonard 'wolfman' wolfe, rick 'hollywood' neven, beau 'cyclone' simpson, bradley 'rooster' bradshaw, jake 'hangman' seresin, natasha 'phoenix' trace, robert 'bob' floyd, javy 'coyote' machado, mickey 'fanboy' garcia, reuben 'payback' fitch, + ask if you'd like me to write someone else!

Criminal Minds - Wheels up in 30

You've been called on a case with the BAU! Pass the time on the jet with an option from the list below, and good luck catching your unsub!

'we interrupt your regularly scheduled programming...' - pick an activity to do on the jet on the way back from a case, and i'll tell you which member of the BAU i think you'd get along with!

'oh, you LOVE me!' - send me a request for a baby blurb! give me a character, and a plotline, and i'll write you a little fanfiction :)

'ah- he wants to be his FAVORITE profiler.' - tell me your favorite character and i'll link a tiktok that i think fits their vibe!

'hey, there's still money on this thing!' - games! fmk, would you rather, cym, all surrounding the characters of criminal minds!

'let me tell you about my team.' - send me a headcanon about one of the characters and i'll give you one back!

'pretty boy!' - tell me your favorite character and i'll give you a photo of them from my pinterest board

characters accepted: aaron hotchner, derek morgan, emily prentiss, spencer reid, penelope garcia, david rossi, jennifer jareau, + ask if you'd like me to write someone else!

The Marauders - Summer at Potter Manor

You've been invited to spend the summer at James's manor! Be polite to Euphemia and Fleamont, spend your day picking an option from this list, and try not to tear up the lawn!

'a rather friendly disposition' - tell me what you think your animagus form would be any why, and I'll tell you which character i think you'd get along with!

'oi! evans!' - send me a request for a baby blurb! give me a character, and a plotline, and i'll write you a little fanfiction :)

'mischief managed' - tell me your favorite character and i'll link a tiktok that i think fits their vibe!

'i solemnly swear that i am up to no good' - games! fmk, would you rather, cym, all surrounding the marauders era characters!

'he's a murderer.' - send me a headcanon about one of the characters and i'll give you one back!

'pretty brown eyes' - tell me your favorite character and i'll give you a photo of them from my pinterest board

characters accepted: remus lupin, sirius black, james potter, lily evans, + ask if you'd like me to write someone else!

Stranger Things - Into The Woods

You're going monster hunting with Hawkins' finest! Pass the time waiting for your trap to be sprung by picking an option down below, but don't talk too loud, or it might hear you...

'we're stuck here...' - tell me which season of stranger things is your favorite and why, and I'll tell you which character i think you'd get along with!

'it's finger lickin' good.' - send me a request for a baby blurb! give me a character, and a plotline, and i'll write you a little fanfiction :)

'that's actual shit.' - tell me your favorite character and i'll link a tiktok that i think fits their vibe!

'oh it's the championship game?' - games! fmk, would you rather, cym, all surrounding the stranger things characters!

'this is giving me the heebie jeebies.' - send me a headcanon about one of the characters and i'll give you one back!

'I've got a date, dad.' - tell me your favorite character and i'll give you a photo of them from my pinterest board

characters accepted: eddie munson, steve harrington, robin buckley, jonathan byers, nancy wheeler, jim hopper, chrissy cunningham, joyce byers, + ask if you'd like me to write someone else!

Marvel - Crime Fighting Duty

Your favorite heroes have asked you to tag along for a day! between calls on the police radio, pick an option from the list below and fight the day away!

'he's got one up his ass, too.' - tell me what superpowers you'd want and why, and i'll tell you what marvel character you'd get along with!

'you're a very good kisser.' - send me a request for a baby blurb! give me a character, and a plotline, and i'll write you a little fanfiction :)

'pile of bodies, pile of heads.' - tell me your favorite character and i'll link a tiktok that i think fits their vibe!

'ooh! I know this one!' - games! fmk, would you rather, cym, all surrounding the marvel characters!

'I was cleaning the chimney.' - send me a headcanon about one of the characters and i'll give you one back!

'we look GOOD.' - tell me your favorite character and i'll give you a photo of them from my pinterest board

characters accepted: eddie brock / venom, peter parker (1, 2, and 3), matt murdock, steve rogers, bucky barnes, + ask if you'd like me to write someone else!

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i-am-church-the-cat · 7 months

Text

Logan Sargeant is a silly little guy

@vii-tto idk why but it wouldn't let me tag you. Hopefully you see this. also @spell-of-the-rain i added things if you want to check out 75-87

But here's the list of things i know/want to know about logan sargeant

Favorite Actor is Brad Pitt

Favorite Movie is Wolf of Wall Street

Favorite food is a hamburger

Has a boat and often goes deep sea fishing

Lived in London since he was 15

Lose Yourself by Eminem is his favorite hype up song

Is a Dolphins and Heat fan

Enjoyed “No Man, No Cry” by Jimmy Sax

Drinks iced lattes with oat milk

Pumpkin spice lattes?? Edit 12/16/23: No

Has been to Wimbledon

Knows what cricket is

Has a rescue dog named Coco

Also enjoys hockey Edit 11/1/23: Supports the Florida Panthers NHL team and has gone to at least 1 of their games with his friend Kyle Kirkwood

Does he follow college football?

What does he think of the new Miami head coach?

If not for motorsport, does he think he would have gone pro in a different sport, and if so which one?

Enjoys listening to 50 Cent (is also a big rap fan in general)

Can he speak any other languages with any degree of familiarity?

Cannot draw

Can make a sandwich (other foods?)

Rates all food from one bite and with weird decimals

Gritty-ed in his f1 car

Makes the Williams photographers look like they take good photos

Does he have an English or a Florida driver’s license? And does he still have US citizenship even though he lives in the UK? What kind of visa is he on?

Top three female athletes? (Serena Williams, Simone Biles, and Megan Rapinoe are all acceptable answers)

Collects Aussies and Kiwis for friends

Does he like the snow? Prefers the heat but does he like snow?

Does he like Missy Elliot? (Requirement)

“Basic Halloween Bitch”

Calls people “mate” but in an American accent which will never stop being funny

Eye Crinkles™️

Does not have a set eye color he’s just too mystical for that

Has never been to a concert (presumably too busy with racing)

He can swim, he can drive, but can he ride a bike? Edit 11/15/23: He can indeed ride a bike

American commercial cars or European ones?

Has an older brother but is like an older brother to Benny’s kid

Likes marshmallows

Does not like black beans

Did not think apple could be chips

Knows how to sail??

Knows how to golf

Can paddle (required for any F1 driver)

Lost the F3 championship in 2020 bc of a DNF in the last race

Can he sing??

Does he drink energy drinks? Red Bull or Monster?

He and Duracell are passionately making out

Blush is very pretty

Wears a lot of baseball hats

Somehow beat jet lag (expat king)

Mostly spends his nights in but he has some nights out (presumably very interesting ones)

Has an iPhone with a blue case

He looks very pretty in blue

His eyes are sometimes blue

Blue=fav color?? Edit 11/6/23: favorite color is Ocean blue (credit to @spell-of-the-rain)

Pretty insecure (armchair diagnosed anxiety)

Close with his brother and parents but maybe not his extended family?

Is Florida State his college team?? (Worst thing a man can be is a Florida St fan) Edit 12/16/23: believing that FSU got screwed over this year is acceptable

Did he graduate high school??

Did he ever consider going into NASCAR or did moving to Europe at a young age kind of set in stone his path towards open-wheel racing?

Hair is blond/dirty blond

Does he vote in American elections?? (If he supports RonD I cannot stan)

Burger Sauce™️

Logan Hunter Sargeant, certified Frat Bro, most American man ever

Has seen peaky blinder and presumably stranger things

Knows how to carve a pumpkin but has not celebrated Halloween at home in a bit

Possibly dating some instagram model

Caused $4 million in damages, gets payed $1 million a year, and supposedly brings in $30 million in sponsors

Key phrases: “Locked in”, “Bam/Boom”, “Done and dusted” Additions 11/1/23: "Oh hell yeah", "I think you're a little lost here, Chief". Additions 11/6/23: “Yeh” (gets quieter throughout the word (how it’s one syllable??)), “on the bounce” (credit to @spell-of-the-rain i believe)

Joined the Williams Driver Academy in 2021

Got stuck in F3 bc he didn’t have the money to move up

Driver for Carlin in 2022

Former teammates include Liam Lawson, Oscar Piastri, Frederick Vesti (Edit 11/6/23: Max Fewtrell possibly?)

DOB: December 31, 2000

5'11

Had a giveaway for gloves he used to win an F4 race on Twitter in 2017 and both Lando Norris and Max Fewtrell replied

Originally his number was 3 but he switched to 2 for F1 (to much fan consternation who thought he had so many better options)

Childhood best friends with Kyle Kirkwood, a current Indycar driver

Logan's older brother Dalton raced in NASCAR until 2018

Did a commercial for Sport23

Does not have cowboy boots as of COTA 2023

Born in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, USA

lived in Switzerland from 14-15(?)

knows the conversion rate for a kilometer

is taller than a tuna fish

Podiumed at the Macau Grand Prix in 2019

Won the CIK-FIA championship when he was 14 Additions as of 11/1/23

Loves waffles but they are not his favorite dessert

Very patriotic (oh hell yeah)

is the first American F1 point scorer in 30 years and the first one to score on home soil since 1989

Went to see the Nets in NYC (but would have preferred to see the Knicks)

has a custom Miami Dolphins jersey with his last name on the back

Claims to know all the lyrics to "Ice Ice Baby" (credit to @formulaaone) (Edited 11/6/23)

Additions as of 11/6/23:

Under the same talent agency as Alex Albon

Has the same manager as George Russell

George Russell was his mentor coming up

Went to a catholic private school (credit to @wenevrknew)

Does not like fish? (Credit to @spell-of-the-rain)

He runs weird (in my opinion as he reminds me of my brother when he was 12 (he ran very strangely))

Karted in Las Vegas when he was a kid

Can he drive a stick shift? (Alex believes he cannot)

Enjoys video games

Refers to his car as “she”

Knew how to attach a visor to his helmet prior to February(? Could��ve been March but before the season) 2023

Additions as of 12/16/23

Broke his arm in a 2014 German Karting Championship when Marcus Armstrong took him out at T1 (credit to @spell-of-the-rain )

Has gotten his head eaten by the Golden Knights mascot

If he could have any superpower, he would like to teleport

Has never flown a drone

Favorite racing movie is Talladega Nights (sad Mater noises)

Does not trust other people to drive him

Would rather sleep in then get up early

Considers himself fairly organized

His mother makes a very good sweet potato casserole

Got his habit of worrying from his mom

“Santa’s Little Helper”

Driving for Williams Racing Formula 1 Team in 2024

Got out qualified by his teammate every race of 2023

#logan sargeant #formula 1 #only one other person asked for this and they dmed me #but i'll make a post anyway #this is also an in progress list #so feel free to add stuff #logan lore list

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call-sign-shark · 1 year

Note

Yo Shark, there's almost no Goosexreader fic :( can you write a one shot in which the reader is Goose's love interest please?

Hey there honey, here is some love from Goose 💚 Don't worry, in this house Goose never died. :)

Pairing: Nick Bradshaw x Reader, Goose x Pilot!reader

Wordcount: 1k

Tags: none, this is fluff

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

A drop of sweat, similar to a shiny pearl, ran down your neck. The temperature of summer 86' was so high that some strands of your short blonde hair were sticking to the moist skin of your forehead and temples. When the bartender placed the fresh glass of beer you just ordered in front of you, you hastened to drink a first gulp in a desperate attempt to cool your body down. The sensation of freshness and of bubbles, fizzling on your tongue, took you to heaven. After several swigs, you gently pulled your lips away from the edge of the glass and tilted your head ear-to-shoulder on each side to relieve the tension in your neck.

"Finally." You whispered to yourself, leaving all the stress and noise of this hard day of training behind you. As much as you loved your job, the blast of the jet's engine and the smell of kerosene almost made you faint when they were mixed with such extreme weather. Today, even Hollywood had to be brought to the nursery. Not that you cared, but you had to admit that the man was usually quite tough.

Good Gracious Lord, Great Balls of Fire!

The joyful melody burst in the pub as the man playing hit the keys with his fingertips in expert gestures. It was as if he had done that all of his life. Soon, his voice sang along the music and filled the room with electrifying energy. You raised your head to sweep the room with your piercing eyes, curious until your gaze falls on the man sitting in front of the piano. You immediately recognized him - as if one could ignore who he was. Staring at his tall frame moving with the song he was playing, you shook your head. Goose always knew how to put on a show. He just loved the attention, but what he loved the most was the good mood he could bring to the people around him. Even if you were exhausted from your day, you could not help but wiggle your foot in rhythm just under the bar counter.

Goose finished up the song, hitting the keyboard one last time with a strong movement, then he threw his head back and howled like a wolf. Maverick, his partner in crime and fellow pilot, soon followed him in this primal yet quite funny way of celebrating the end of their spectacle.

"Did ya see that? We are on fire tonight!" Maverick boasted, wrapping one arm around his best friend's shoulders. His lips stretched in a charming smile adorned with perfect white teeth.

"That's maybe why the weather is so hoooot. That's because of us, honey."

They both burst into laughter as they stood up from the piano bench. They slapped each other butt before heading straight to the bar counter. The tall blonde man raised one hand to catch the attention of the bartender. "Two beers for two legends!" He laughed.

Your eyes followed each of the duo's moves as they sat on stools and clinked their beers together. Goose brought the glass to his lips, but as he did his warm brown eyes noticed you, sitting a little further away. A glimmer of delight sparkled in the chocolate pools his irises were. There we go ... You thought. Since the first day you were introduced to the squad, Goose had set his sights on you. Viper had barely left you with the other pilots and the tall blonde man started to hit on you. Yet, you always rejected him. You joined Top Gun to become the best female pilot of your times, not to frolic with some arrogant and horny soldiers. Being one of the few women in a military context was already difficult enough by itself to bother yourself with relationships. Nevertheless, Goose had something. A something that you always struggled to define. Of course, the man was kind of handsome: tall thin boy with charming traits, seductive brown eyes and a perfectly trimmed mustache embracing his upper lip. But his irresistible charisma had nothing to do with his looks. It was his whole attitude: Nick "Goose" Bradshaw was a sunshine. His humor and adorable silly attitude irradiated from him and infected all the people surrounding him. You probably would have fallen for him in another context... But life decided otherwise.

"Y/CS!" His voice cheered. He stood up from his stool to join you, pushing his best friend out of the way. Maverick jumped: he had almost spilled his beer. With one elegant movement, the dark-haired pilot spinned on the stool to observe Goose and Y/N talking. He could not help but smirk: Goose was going to go back home alone tonight once again, and he did not want to miss such a spectacle.

Goose hopped on the stool that was next to yours, and rest his elbow on the bar counter to press his chin against the back of his hands. You looked at him with one raised eyebrow.

"I am more than delighted to see you here. You're so beautiful tonight that I can compare you to a magnificent mirage in this desert of drunk soldiers and tipsy Madames." He said, making his best impression of a gentleman. Then, he leaned towards you with his most beautiful smile: "Would you bless a poor sinner like me with a dance?" His eyebrows wiggled in a more than flirtatious fashion.

A little chuckle escaped from your rosy lips. You stared at him silently for a few solid seconds before drinking the last sip of your beer: " Goose, Goose, Goose...How many times are you going to play this stupid game with me?"

"Until you say yes to me, honey." He winked, a mischievous grin sculpted on his tempting lips.

You leaned a bit more toward him, bringing your face a little bit closer to his. The luscious scent of his tanning spray and after-shave caressed your nose. You hummed, as discreetly as you can, before moistening your lips with the tip of your tongue.

"Don't be a silly goose."

"I'm nothing but a silly Goose."

"Alright. One dance and after that, you leave me alone." You gave up, rolling your eyes to show how annoyed you were -- but were you really that annoyed?

The young soldier leaped from the stool with a noisy "yee-haw". Doing so, he turned his head to look at Maverick. The dark-haired man had been as surprised as Goose at your positive answer. After weeks and weeks of rejection, you agreed to dance? He could not believe his ears. Delighted by his partner's astonishment, the tall blonde gave him the finger and turned his attention back to you again. Goose offered his hand, a charming smile on his lips. You could not help but chuckle… His charms definitely work on you. You followed him through the ocean of sweaty bodies dancing in the pub until you both reach a more breathable corner. “Alright, just focus on my eyes, nothing else,” Goose said, his voice turning into a soft melody sung in your ear. He pulled back his face slightly and pressed his hands on your hips. The single sensation of his palms’ warmth sent shivers down your spine. You felt him pressing a little bit more, bringing your body against his until your hips met. Goose”s chocolate eyes were locked in yours, drowning in their infinite beauty. You swallowed with a bit of difficulty as you abandoned your body in his hands. To be honest, you had never been a great dancer - or at least you had never danced with someone. Yet, Goose took you away with him in a slow dance, as delicate as a rose petal swirling in the wind. One minute into this dance was enough for you to make you forget everything that was surrounding you: the other pilots, the suffocating heat, and even the stress of your day. All that mattered was him, and the intoxicating perfume that was pleasantly tingling your nostril. You half-closed your eyes; your face resting in the crook of his neck.

“Bradshaw?”

“Yes, honey?” He answered, lowering his eyes but still dancing with snuggled in his arms.

You pulled back your face from him to dive your gaze into his. As you did so, a slight pink shade appeared on his cheeks. You were so dazzling he could barely breathe.

“What if you take me to bed or lose me forever?”

His face enlightened at your sweet words. Goose moistened his lips with the tip of his tongue and parted them to speak: “Show me the way home…” He murmured, before kissing the corner of your mouth.

“Honey.”

#top gun x reader #top gun maverick x reader #Pete Maverick Mitchell #goose top gun #nick bradshaw #nick goose bradshaw #top gun fanfiction #top gun imagine #tgm fandom #top gun 86 #pete mitchell fanfiction #iceman fic #Iceman top gun

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fatewalker-phoenix · 2 months

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The Basics

Name: Eden Azalea

Nickname: none

Age: early to mid twenties, she doesn't know exactly

Nameday: again she doesn't remember, but she celebrates it during the Heavensturn celebration as it's the surest confirmation of living to see another year

Race: midlander Hyur

Gender: woman

Orientation: pansexual

Profession: Adventurer, Warrior of light, sometimes a queen and sometimes a wife

Physical Aspects

Hair: long, sleek, jet black hair, hangs past her waist as of Dawntrail. Occasionally she pins it up but she usually just lets it hang loose

Eyes: dark, smooth violet, most prominent when sunlight shines upon them

Skin: very pale

Tattoos/ Scars: she has a blossoming branch tattoo up her right arm to her shoulder (the Yakaku shirt tattoo), and a double crescent tattoo under her right eye. Her left shoulder has a gnarly scar up against her neck from Zenos trying to cut off her arm, and her abdomen has some scarring from almost being cut in half from Grynwaht's chainsaw sword.

Family

Parents: Doman nobility who helped arrange her betrothal to Hien in her childhood. They both perished in Doma's first attempt at an uprising following the news of the Black Wolf's defeat, executed publicly as an example to the masses. They never got to know that their daughter was the one to slay the Wolf and inspire them to rise up.

Siblings: none

In laws/others: depends on who she ends up with in any given verse, but in her Hienverse she considers Gosetsu to be her father in law.

Skills

Abilities: very skilled with the blade, favoring katana and naginata but proficient with a bow. On a lesser level she is also skilled in summoning and healing magicks, powered by the Phoenix within her.

Hobbies: adventuring, experimenting with recipes in the kitchen, entertaining the various auspices that come to keep her company

Traits

Most positive trait: fiercely protective of those she loves, and extremely caring in her own way

Most negative trait: stubborn to a fault. Even if she's very clearly in the wrong she will dig her heels in and refuse to concede

Likes

Colors: purple, orange, red

Smells: spices and citrus

Textures: silk, steel

Other Details

Smokes: a pipe, on occasion

Drinks: heavily. she's working on it.

Mouth insurance: they don't even have dental...

Been arrested: the attempt in msq at the Bloody Banquet, and she has probably evaded arrest for public intoxication in Limsa Lominsa

Tagged by @avalon821, thank you!

Tagging: @ffxivbabey, @heretic-altias, @femmeduskwight, and @tiredassmage as well as anyone else who sees this and wants to do it!

#eden azalea #tag game

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drstonetrivia · 5 months

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Chapter 232 Trivia (Part 1)

This is it… The final chapter.

The Perseus and American planes get one final appearance, in color!

They must have landed a ways away from shore since Senku caught a fish, but the new Perseus isn't an aircraft carrier so how far did the plane fly?

I wonder if Charlotte is piloting it…

The choice of a land vs water return has historically depended on the geography of the country sending the rocket up: Russia has a lot of land, so the Soyuz capsules are made for land, and the US is surrounded by water so they've traditionally used that instead.

Since Treasure Island is an island, they opted for a water landing. Both types of landing have advantages and disadvantages, it just depends on which risks you'd rather take.

The Soyuz capsules Byakuya's team came down on are designed for both water and land, but because they don't have the same flotation devices that the Apollo ones have, they can't right themselves after landing. The capsules naturally float anyways.

In Senku's case, the top flotation devices weren't needed, but it's odd that the buoyancy ring was already inflated upon touchdown— wouldn't the impact make them burst, or flip the capsule upside down? It's also unusual that they'd exit before the recovery vehicle reached them.

Maybe they were worried about Ryusui-the-stowaway using up all the air inside so they decided to open it early?

We can't be sure of where they touched down since there's not enough landmass shown to identify anything, but given the celebration was held in Japan and the Perseus came to pick them up, it's a fair assumption that they landed in a similar area to the original Soyuz Six.

I'm sure most people have noticed how Kohaku has fallen asleep on the stage and Stanley is going through a nicotine withdrawal/acting as if it was a proper military medal ceremony, but I doubt most people noticed that Ryusui is actually meant to be 7 cm taller than Stanley…

Everyone's asking who this girl is, but I genuinely think she's just a random extra person, unless Boichi decided to recolor Kohaku with brown hair just to throw us off one last time. Another guess is that she's the girl with glasses from the 1st light novel, but without glasses.

It appears the villager criteria has expanded even further past simply allowing outsiders— outer space is now fair game! Their new friend is officially a member of Ishigami Village!

The bar in the middle of the E is also missing in E=mc², which I guess is a pretty E-Z mistake to make haha!

(Since it's now c=mc² does that mean we can simplify to m=1/c? 🤔 )

The area reminds me of the DARPA expo in the national park rather than Corn City, so it may be a new town based around where the Americans had originally revived. It has a defensive wall which is unusual, so it may be a military research base or to protect against wolf attacks.

I'm also a little disappointed they opted for cars and roads rather than trains, especially leaving the town, since America is very well suited for a rail network.

This plane is unlikely to be the piston-type propeller plane that we saw earlier, but rather a turboprop: a propeller in front of a jet engine, Xeno's specialty. These types of engines are better for short flights (<480 km) because they're more efficient over short distances.

Because of the slower travel, they can handle shorter runways better, but I'm not sure that's much of a problem when landing on the ocean.

Traditional jets are better for long distances like, say, the 8,500 km journey Gen took to get from America to Japan.

Did Francois and Gen leave Suika at the airport!?

Gen could be talking about the old outfit design, or, because the leather didn't fully deteriorate in the 7.5 year time skip (we can see this from some of the other outfits), it could literally be the same outfit from the Stone Wars, but patched up a little.

I assume this was because Francois is a more important character, but they could have gotten Carlos, the driver by trade, to bring Gen to the wedding.

Though he probably didn't want to leave miss Luna alone…

Hair grows ~6in/15cm per year, and the average women's head size is 8.6in/21cm, so assuming Yuzuriha didn't cut too much off, her hair grew around 10.9 in/27.7cm, therefore 2 years have passed.

This isn't perfect because Mirai's hair didn't grow as long, but it's an estimate!

These people are Yuzuriha's parents (despite the father's striking resemblance to Taiju), since Taiju's parents are long dead.

Another shooting stance comparison! Stanley is obviously cool and using only one hand, but Yo is using two hands. The number of hands doesn't affect accuracy, but cops are generally trained to use two hands since it's more stable when firing consecutive bullets.

(Next part)

#trivia #dr stone #chapters #232

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trickstyrss · 11 months

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I lied, I am making one more post about the OceanGate discourse because I am tired of the dehumanization and jokes.

I decided to look into two of the people on board that sub because I knew nothing about them and everyone keeps saying its just a bunch of rich tourists who deserved to die.

Today we are going to talk about Hamish Harding and Paul-Henri Nargeolet. -------

Hamish Harding: What did he do during his life? Is he just some rich asshole? -In 2017, Harding worked with Antarctic VIP tourism company, White Desert, to introduce the first regular business jet service to the Antarctic using a Gulfstream G550, landing on Wolfs Fang Runway, an ice runway. Harding also visited the South Pole several times, accompanying Buzz Aldrin in 2016 as he became the oldest person to reach the South Pole (age 86) -In 2019, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing, Harding, along with Terry Virts, led a team of aviators that took the Guinness World Record for a circumnavigation of the Earth via North and South Poles in a Gulfstream G650ER in 46 hours 40 minutes. The One More Orbit mission launched and landed at the Shuttle Landing Facility (Space Florida) at NASA Kennedy Space Center, US. Harding was the mission director and led a team of over 100. -In 2021, Harding and Victor Vescovo dived to the deepest point of the Mariana Trench, the Challenger Deep at a depth of 36,000 feet (11,000 m), in a two-person submarine, setting the records for greatest length covered and greatest time spent at full ocean depth. -In 2022, Harding's aviation company Action Aviation supplied a customized Boeing 747-400 aircraft to transport eight wild cheetahs from Namibia to India to launch the reintroduction of the cheetah to India project of the Indian Government and the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia (CCF). Cheetahs have been extinct in India since independence in 1947. This conservation project was designated a "flagged expedition" by the Explorers Club with club members Harding and Laurie Marker, founder of the CCF, carrying the flag on the flight to India.

------- Paul-Henri Nargeolet: What did he do during his life? Is he just some rich asshole?

-In the 1970s, he was appointed Commander of the Groupement de Plongeurs Démineurs de Cherbourg, whose mission was to find and neutralise underground mines. -In the 1980s, he was transferred to the Underwater Intervention Group (GISMER), where he piloted intervention submarines. During this time, he travelled the world retrieving submerged French planes and helicopters, including the individuals and weapons upon them. Through this work, he found an Roman wreck, located at a depth of 70 metres. He also located a DHC-5 Buffalo that crashed in 1979 with 12 people on board, including several members of the Mauritanian government. -Nargeolet piloted dives to the Titanic wreck site in 1987, 1993, 1994 and 1996. His 1987 expedition was the first to collect artifacts from the wreckage. -In August 2007 RMS Titanic, Inc., owned by Premier Exhibitions, a company that organises travelling exhibitions, commissioned Nargeolet to locate RMS Carpathia, which had rescued survivors of RMS Titanic but was torpedoed in 1918. -Nargeolet worked with RMS Titanic, Inc. to recover artifacts related to the Titanic as the Director of the Underwater Research Program. His work has included utilizing remotely operated vehicles (ROV), as well as piloting dives to the wreck site. His work has resulted in recovering nearly 6,000 artifacts over the course of 35 dives. In 2010, he was part of a mission to 3D map the wreck site and determine levels of deterioration using ROVs and autonomous underwater robots. -In 2010, he participated in the search for the flight recorder of Air France Flight 447, which crashed the previous year while en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris

------- TLDR: They may be a couple of rich dudes, but they were more than that. They were actually qualified to be in such a vehicle with actual experience diving in real submarines and had reason to be there. They were not just some tourists. They did a lot more than any of you are ever going to do, but sure, lets dehumanize them and see them as just a bunch lazy rich people who deserve to die simply because they are rich.

#OceanGate #tragedy #discourse

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docholligay · 2 months

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Tonight!

Join DoctorDoctor Holligay esq phd and me, your friendly neighborhood Jet Wolf, as we stream the latest in a long line of celebrated St. Patrick's Day direct-to-Netflix classics, Lindsay Lohan's Irish Wish!

This'll be a public stream, because there are some lights you simply cannot hide under a bushel, and all are welcome! Our only request is that you attend with the precise level of anticipated American Irish cultural care and sensitivity expected from a direct-to-Netflix rom-com vehicle for Lindsay Lohan entitled Irish Wish, which is to say, precisely none. Join us with full application of your chill! If this is too difficult a request, we understand, and kindly invite you and your Erin go Bragh to your local screaming hole, which is most certainly not this stream.

I forgot to ask what time we're doing this, but I'd assume around 7pm Mountain Time. SEE YOU THEN.

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annieqattheperipheral · 7 months

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tw: death, funeral

Beautiful article on Adam Johnson's Celebration of Life, includes those from the hockey world who attended and their shared words:

- - -

HIBBING, Minn. — In a small, hard-working town of 16,000 in Minnesota’s Iron Range, where there are streets named after Bob Dylan and there’s a sense of pride at having also produced MLB legend Roger Maris and Basketball Hall of Famer Kevin McHale, there is — and was — only one “Adam.”

“If you said the name ‘Adam’ in Hibbing, everybody knew that meant Adam Johnson,” said Scott Pionk, the father of Winnipeg Jets defenseman Neal Pionk and Wild draft pick and University of Minnesota-Duluth freshman Aaron Pionk. “Like LeBron, he needed only one name: Adam.”

Jim Perunovich, the father of St. Louis Blues defenseman Scott Perunovich, agreed: “Cher. Bono. Everyone knows who Adam is.”

That’s why on a chilly, wet Monday afternoon, some 3,000 people filled the Hibbing Memorial Arena, which was originally built during the Great Depression and stands three blocks from Adam’s old high school, to pay their respects and offer an outpouring of love and support to the friends and family who are reeling right now. Nine days earlier, Hibbing’s “Adam” died at 29 years old playing the sport he loved, cut by a skate blade across the neck while playing professionally in England.

The Nottingham Panthers on Saturday conducted their own memorial, at Motorpoint Arena, where assistant coach Kevin Moore said Panthers fans had immediately taken to Adam — “our best player” – and will “wear his No. 47 in their hearts forever.”

Then on Sunday, Nottingham Forest football player and Panthers fanatic Orel Johnson Mangala scored in the 47th minute of a Premier League victory over Aston Villa — while fans were paying tribute to Adam with a one-minute ovation. Hours later, Matthew Thiessen, the goalie for Adam’s alma mater, University of Minnesota-Duluth, made a career-best 47 saves in a 3-3 tie with cross-state rival University of Minnesota.

On Monday in Hibbing, scores of people walked into the lobby of the arena and were greeted by a picture of Adam flashing his joyful and infectious smile.

There was a condolence book and there were pictures of him as a baby and young boy running around or skating with his older brother, Ryan. There were pictures of Adam excelling with a hockey stick and tennis racket in his hand. There were pictures of him playing with his young nephew and niece and kissing his fiancée, Ryan Wolfe, a St. Francis native who he fell in love with instantly and planned to buy a farm or coffee shop with.

Seeing so many pictures of a happy Adam and hearing the memories of him was a great reminder that Adam is not just a name, not just a stranger causing so many other strangers to argue on social media about how and why he died. And the term “neck guard” wasn’t uttered once Monday, even though Adam’s death may end up causing a lot of good in the game as college and professional hockey players are starting, one by one, to seek out neck protection.

We were reminded that Adam was a son, a brother, a grandson, a nephew, a cousin and everybody’s best friend.

“Adam truly is and always will be our hometown hero,” said former Hibbing/Chisholm Bluejackets teammate Jake Doherty, one of nearly two dozen speakers to pay homage.

The nearly two-hour service was often funny and more often profoundly sad. And fittingly, it took place on the sheet of ice where Adam used to electrify, in the building he used to fill.

Hockey runs deep in Hibbing, and Adam’s death brought this community together.

Longtime P.A. announcer Dan Marich boisterously welcomed folks into the arena intentionally because that’s the way Adam would have heard it on the ice when he was in the starting lineup. And he ended the ceremony by announcing Adam’s name like he had just scored a goal to draw a thunderous ovation from the crowd as a band did a rendition of AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long” – a song Adam learned to play on a guitar he saved up to buy when he was a teenager.

This was not long after the same band caused waterworks by playing one of Adam’s favorite campfire songs, the song he used to love to sing with his best friend, Neal Pionk: the Eagles’ “Peaceful Easy Feeling.”

There were so many poignant moments during the ceremony. Like when Adam’s fiancée, Ryan, read a letter she wrote for him, telling him how much she’d miss her favorite napping partner and sous chef. And when Ryan’s sister, Kylie, read a poem then talked about how her sister sneaked out of a cabin to meet Adam that first night, the same night they apparently burned down a sauna. There were Adam’s nephew, Grant, and niece, Britta, constantly running over to Adam’s fiancée and sitting on her lap because, in their eyes, she is their “auntie.”

Maybe the most gripping moment came when Adam’s old high school coach, Mark DeCenzo, choked up and struggled to even start his speech. Adam’s mourning father, former UMD captain Davey Johnson, stood up, walked down the black carpet and joined DeCenzo, putting his arm around him and helping him get through his touching words.

- - -

Friends came from far and wide.

Winnipeg Jets ownership, led by Mark Chipman, arranged for a charter to fly Neal Pionk, Alex Iafallo, Dominic Toninato and Dylan Samberg to Hibbing for Sunday’s funeral mass and Monday’s celebration. St. Louis Blues defenseman Scott Perunovich also attended both and then hitched a ride with the Jets players back to St. Louis for Tuesday’s Jets-Blues game.

Also there Sunday were Wild president and general manager Bill Guerin, who signed Adam to the Penguins in 2017; Adam’s agent, Pete Rutili; former NHLer and current player agent Neil Sheehy; and Minnesota State coach Luke Strand and Detroit Red Wings assistant coach Jay Varady, who both coached Adam for USHL Sioux City.

University of Minnesota-Duluth coach Scott Sandelin spoke at Monday’s event and brought his entire team and staff. St. Cloud State coach Brett Larson was also there, as was Hibbing High’s hockey team.

Other players seen Monday included Henderson Silver Knights captain Jake Bischoff; the Colorado Eagles’ Riley Tufte; the Bridgeport Islanders’ Karson Kuhlman; the San Diego Gulls’ Nick Wolff and his girlfriend, Sydney Brodt, who in September was drafted by the new PWHL team in Minnesota; Bruins scout Parker MacKay; and former Minnesota Mr. Hockey Avery Peterson.

“Definitely had to be here. All of us,” said Tufte, who rushed back to Colorado on Monday night for a game Tuesday. “Can’t miss this. Not for this guy. We all loved him.”

On Friday night against Ontario, one of Adam’s former teams, Tufte recorded his first professional hat trick.

“The first thing I thought about was Johns,” Tufte said. “Even the way the third one went in: off the goalie, off a defenseman’s shin and in. I know Adam pushed it in. It was insane. Something pretty special.”

Neal Pionk first became friends with Adam playing in the Minnesota high school Elite League, then at Sioux City, where they lit it up on the power play. They lived together while at UMD. Pionk said during the celebration that you knew Adam really loved you if he was unrelenting with his insults.

Pionk demonstrated their bond by repeating one of their last text messages after the Jets lost three of their first four games this season: “You’re off to an abysmal start. Pick it up.”

Said Pionk, “I’ll miss those texts every day.”

Neal’s dad, Scott, whose wife helped plan the Celebration of Life with other family friends, said his son is crushed.

“This is the first time as a young guy that he’s lost somebody that he’s really close to,” Scott said. “He’s shocked. He’s devastated.”

Scott, a close friend of Adam’s dad, first got to know Adam in ninth grade. Davey would every now and then ask Pionk to call his son to encourage him when things weren’t going well hockey-wise. Adam worked at Pionk’s hockey camps and helped him one summer at his landscaping company, so they had a bond.

“He was quiet. He liked to be alone a fair amount. And he liked to do things his own way,” Pionk said of Johnson. “He was a free spirit. I’ll put it this way: He was playfully grumpy. Because whatever you decided, he’d be like, ‘I don’t want to go there tonight.’ And then five minutes later, you’d get him in the car and he was laughing and the life of the party. So he played that role. Guys loved it.”

Adam was a terrific hockey player. He was a beautiful skater, taking after his uncle and fellow UMD alum Gary DeGrio, and ultra-skilled, especially in high school. Guerin recruited him for two years, hoping to sign him in Pittsburgh.

During development camp with the Penguins after his sophomore year of college, Adam met with Guerin and Penguins development coach Mark Recchi. They told him they loved him but to go back to school, have a great junior year and they’d be waiting to sign him after that season.

Guerin then returned to the stands. Hall of Famer and Penguins owner Mario Lemieux walked up to Guerin and asked, “Who’s that kid?”

He was pointing at Adam.

Guerin said, “That’s Adam Johnson. Beautiful skater, isn’t he? We’re going to send him back to UMD and sign him after the year.”

Lemieux said, “Well, you probably shouldn’t let him leave the building.”

Guerin responded, “Are you serious?”

Lemieux said, “Yeah, we need to sign guys like that.”

Guerin and Recchi went back downstairs, grabbed Adam when he left the ice and told him, “We understand we just told you we’re sending you back, but things have changed. Mind coming upstairs and meeting with a small group of us?”

Adam showered, changed and walked into a room. That “small group” was Guerin, Recchi, coach Mike Sullivan, CEO David Morehouse, general manager Jim Rutherford and none other than Mario Lemieux.

When Super Mario tells you he wants to sign you, you sign.

“Hey look, this kid was as hot a free agent as you could get,” Guerin said. “We just loved the way he could move, the way he skated, the way he frankly smiled. Like his teammates loved him. He fit everything we wanted. There was no B.S. to him. He was just a well-rounded, well-grounded, really good kid.”

Guerin’s voice began to crack.

“This is just such a sad story,” Guerin said. “Just so sad. Gone way too soon. He had his whole life ahead of him.”

- - -

The testimonials Monday were beautiful.

Johnson’s old Hibbing assistant coach and good friend Grant Clafton called him a “joyful grump” and said he had to be loving seeing Clafton look and feel so uncomfortable and nervous talking in front of a packed arena.

As funny as that was, he made everybody sob when talking about his broken heart that Adam and the love of his life, Ryan, wouldn’t get to create the life together they so deserved.

Sandelin always told Adam he wanted him to have the puck on his stick 90 percent of the time. He remembered his sly grin, his humility, his care for his teammates.

Moore talked about watching all of Adam’s assists this season for Nottingham and being so warmed by the selfless look and joy he had when his teammates scored.

Ebony Johnson, Adam’s sister-in-law — “not by choice,” Adam would joke — talked beautifully but also got everybody laughing when she admitted that their friendship actually began as rivals when they were each up for a third-grade fitness award.

As she remembered it, she could do more pushups than Adam.

Every speaker’s address touched on a similar theme: This was a tremendous person who also happened to be a tremendous hockey player.

As his cousin and former Hibbing teammate Michael Pechnovnik said, “Heaven’s hockey team gained a heckuva player.”

- - -

Four thousand miles away in Nottingham, Adam’s devastated and shaken Panthers teammates watched the live stream Monday.

It was proof of community, one that Nottingham’s Westin Michaud knows well.

He hails from Cloquet, Minn. — 70 miles away from Hibbing — and played with and against Adam in youth, high school, college and pro hockey.

Michaud was an eyewitness to the incident that injured and ultimately killed his friend and was at Adam’s side until the very end.

Michaud said this has been a tremendously challenging time for him and his teammates but the outpouring of love of support has been heartwarming and there’s no doubt watching Monday’s sense of community helped.

“It’s truly amazing how much hockey has impacted not only my life but also the lives of others who play the game, regardless of their skill level,” Michaud said via text. “It’s a community filled with people who genuinely care for and support each other.

“Hockey is more than just a game; it brings people together, ignites passions and provides a profound sense of purpose. Additionally, it unites communities and validates individuals as part of something greater, nurturing both a sense of belonging and purpose in life.”

Still, Monday was hard. “We’re all cried out. We’re hurting. We’re hurting really bad up here right now,” said Jim Perunovich, who was so broken up after Sunday’s mass, Adam’s mom, Sue, had to console him. “Nobody can understand it, but I guess God needed Adam more than we did.”

But what made Monday beautiful was the laughter, the celebration of Adam’s life with humor and memories, as well as music and P.A. announcements.

“That’s the way we roll up here,” Perunovich said.

There’s something special about the Iron Range, where hockey runs deep. Adam cared so much about the people here. He was proud to be from here and took a piece of Hibbing and brought it with him to the UK.

Tufte, for one, was not surprised at Hibbing’s perfectly executed celebration.

“Good ol’ Hibbing hockey community,” said Tufte, who went to high school three hours south at Blaine but attended UMD. “Can’t beat it.”

The celebration of life was live-streamed.

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greenwitchcrafts · 6 months

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December 2023 witch guide

Full moon: December 26th

New moon: December 12th

Sabbats: Yule December 21st-January 1st

December Cold Moon

Known as: Drift Clearing Moon, Frost Exploding Tree Moon, Moon of the Popping Trees, Hoar Frost Moon, Snow Moon, Winter, Aerra Geola, Maker Moon, Heilagmanoth, Long Night's Moon, Oak Moon, Wintermonat, Moon of the Long Night, Little Spirit Moon, Wolf Moon & When the Deer Shed Their Antlers Moon

Element: Fire

Zodiac: Sagittarius & Capricorn

Nature spirits: Snow, Storm, & Winter Tree faeries

Deities: Athena, Fates, Hades, Hathor, Hecate, Ixchel, Minerva, Neith, Norns, Osiris & Persephone

Animals: Bear, deer, horse & mouse

Birds: Robin, rook & snowy owl

Trees: Fir, Holly & Pine

Herbs: Bay, cedar, chamomile, cinnamon, English ivy, evergreen, fir, frankincense, holly, mistletoe, myrrh, pine & sage

Flowers: Christmas catus, holly & poinsettia

Scents: Cedar, cinnamon, frankincense, ginger, lilac, myrrh, nutmeg, patchouli, pine, rose geranium, rosemary, saffron, violet & wintergreen

Stones: Bloodstone, blue topaz, cat's eye, garnet, jacinth, obsidian, peridot, turquoise, zircon, ruby & serpentine

Colors: Black, blood red, gold, green, red, silver, black & white

Energy: Alchemy, darkness, endurance, death & re-birth, higher education, publications, reaching out to others, religion, spiritual paths, travel & truth

Today, December’s full Moon is most commonly known as the Cold Moon—a Mohawk name that conveys the frigid conditions of this time of year, when cold weather truly begins to grip us.

This full Moon has also been called the Long Night Moon (Mohican), as it rises during the “longest” nights of the year, near the December winter solstice. This name is doubly fitting because December’s full Moon shines above the horizon for a more extended period than most full Moons.

In Europe, ancient pagans called the December full Moon the “Moon Before Yule,” in honor of the Yuletide festival celebrating the return of the sun heralded by winter solstice.

Yule

Also known as: Alban, Arthan & Winter Solstice

Season: Winter

Symbols: Baskets of clove studded fruit, Christmas catus, decorated evergreen trees, evergreen boughs, gifts, gold pillar candles, hung mistletoe, poinsettias, wreaths & Yule logs/small Yule log with three candles

Colors: Gold, green, orange, red, silver, white &yellow

Oils/incense: Bayberry, cedar, cinnamon, frankincense. Myrrh & pine

Animals: Bear, boar, deer (stag), pig, squirrel & tiger

Birds: Eagle, goose, kingfisher, lapwing, owl robin & wren

Stones: Bloodstone, garnet, ruby, alexandrite, blue topaz, cat's eye, citrine, clear quartz, diamond, emerald, green tourmaline, jet, kunzite & pearl

Foods: Caraway cakes, cookies, eggnog, fruits, ginger tea, nuts, pork, spiced cider, turkey, wassail & lamb's wool (ale, sugar, nutmeg & roasted apples)

Herbs/plants: Bay, bayberry, birch, blessed thistle, cedar, chestnut, cinnamon, evergreens, fir, frankincense, ginger, holly, ivy, juniper, mistletoe, moss, myrrh, oak, pine, rosemary, sage, valerian & yellow cedar

Flowers: Chamomile, poinsettia & yarrow

Goddesses: Alcyone, Aphrodite, Ameratasu, Bona Dea, Brighid, Cailleach Bheur, Demeter, Diana, Fortuna, Frau Holle, Frau Perchta, Frigga, Gaia, Hel, Great Mother, Idunn, Isis, Ishtar, Kolyada, La Befana, Maat & Tiamat

Gods: Apollo, Attis, Balder, Bragi, Dionysus, Divine Child, Green Man, Helios, Holly King, Horned one, Horus, Janus, Lord of Misrule, Lugh, Mabon, Marduk, Mithras, Odin, Ra, Saturn & Surya

Issues Intentions & Powers: Darkness, divination, light, messages/omens, purification, rebirth/renewal & transformation

Spellwork: Earth magick, happiness, harmony, love & peace

Activities:

• Set up & decorate a Yule altar

• Clean, organize & cleanse before decorating your home

• Make witch's balls to hang on your tree (protective & pretty!)

• Decorate & bless & Yule tree

• Stay awake until dawn to observe the cycles of nature

• Give gifts tomyour family & friends

• Donate your time or helpful items to charity

• Go caroling

• Hang mistletoe in your doorways

• Make Wassail

• Prepare a Yule Log

• Host a Yule feast

• Craft your own decorative wreath

• Decorate your house with Yule colored candles

• Welcome the Sun

• Go on nature walks & leave offerings to nature

• Meditate & reflect on the passing year

“Yule” comes from Old English geol, which shares a history with the equivalent word from Old Norse, jól. Both these words referred to a midwinter festival centered around the winter solstice, which traditionally marked the halfway point of the winter season. After the solstice—the shortest day of the year—the days again begin to grow longer, so it’s thought that Yule was a celebration of the re-appearance of the Sun &the fertile land’s rebirth.

The celebration of Yule is one of the oldest winter celebrations in the world. Ancient people were hunters & spent most of their time outdoors. The seasons & weather played a significant part in their lives. The customs and traditions associated with it vary widely.

Scholars have connected the original celebrations of Yule to the Wild Hunt, the god Odin, and the heathen Anglo-Saxon Mōdraniht ("Mothers' Night")

Some believe it marks the rebirth of the Sun (the God) from the Earth (the Goddess) & the cold days of winter will soon begin to wane. The Goddess is seen in her virgin Maiden aspect

In towns and cities throughout Sweden during the Christmas season, large goats are constructed out of straw. It is thought that the tradition originated in ancient times, perhaps as a tribute to the god Thor, who was said to ride in a chariot pulled by goats. In Sweden the goat came to be associated with the Christmas celebration, and the Yule goat is now considered by many to be a companion or counterpart to Santa Claus.

Related festivals:

Christmas- An annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ as the son of God, primarily observed on December 25th

Hanukkah- A Jewish festival commemorating the recovery of Jerusalem & subsequent rededication of the Second Temple at the beginning of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd century BCE.

Hanukkah is observed for eight nights & days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar. The festival is observed by lighting the candles of a candelabrum with nine branches, commonly called a menorah or hanukkiah.

Kwanzaa- An annual celebration of African-American culture from December 26 to January 1st, culminating in a communal feast called Karamu, usually on the sixth day. It was created by activist Maulana Karenga, based on African harvest festival traditions from various parts of West & Southeast Africa. Kwanzaa was first celebrated in 1966.

A Kwanzaa ceremony may include drumming and musical selections, libations, a reading of the African Pledge & the Principles of Blackness, reflection on the Pan-African colors, a discussion of the African principle of the day or a chapter in African history, a candle-lighting ritual, artistic performance & finally, a feast of faith (Karamu Ya Imani).

Saturnalia-

is an ancient Roman festival and holiday in honour of the god Saturn, held on 17 December of the Julian calendar & later expanded with festivities through to 23 December. The holiday was celebrated with a sacrifice at the Temple of Saturn, in the Roman Forum & a public banquet, followed by private gift-giving, continual partying & a carnival atmosphere that overturned Roman social norms: gambling was permitted & masters provided table service for their slaves as it was seen as a time of liberty for both slaves and freedmen alike.

A common custom was the election of a "King of the Saturnalia", who gave orders to people, which were followed & presided over the merrymaking. The gifts exchanged were usually gag gifts or small figurines made of wax or pottery known as sigillaria. The poet Catullus called it "the best of days".

Other celebrations:

Feast of Epona-

Eponalia is the feast day of Gaulish Goddess Epona, the Divine Mare & in the time of the Roman Empire it was celebrated on December 18th.

Epona is known to be one of a very few Gaulish deities whose names were spread to the rest of the Roman Empire. This seems to have happened because Roman cavalry units stationed in Gaul followed Her & adopted her as their Patroness. This may have started because many of the cavalry troops were conscripted from Gaul as they were superb horsemen. From Gaul the Romans took Epona with them including to Rome where She was given her own feast day on the 18 December. They worshipped her as Epona Augusta or Epona Regina & invoked her on behalf of the Emperor. She even had a shrine in the barracks of the Imperial Bodyguard.

Hunting of the Wren-

A traditional custom carried out on the Isle of Man on the 26 December, St. Stephen's Day. It consists of groups of people going around villages and towns singing and dancing a traditional song and dance around a decorated wren pole.

The earliest and most common folklore story accounting for the origin of hunt the wren tells of a fairy/enchantress/witch whose beauty lures the men of the Isle of Man to harm, for which she is chased and is changed into the form of a wren. It is therefore in punishment for her actions that the wren is hunted on St. Stephen's Day

Sources:

Farmersalmanac.com

Llewellyn's Complete Book of Correspondences by Sandra Kines

A Witch's Book of Correspondences by Viktorija Briggs

Llewellyn's 2023 magical almanac: practical magic for everyday living

Wikipedia

Encyclopedia Britannica

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bradsthorn · 8 months

Text

WONDER OF YOU | B.B. X FEMALE OC

Chapter 1: The Wonder of You

Summary: Nicolette 'Wildcard' Mitchell was shocked to get called back to North Island. Her track record was not exactly clean and most certainly not one that most would celebrate. Then she sees Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw again. Maybe it won't be all bad.

Warnings: Mentions of death, alcohol, Flashbacks to Top Gun 86, Broken Family dynamics

Word Count: 2.6K

Author Note: Hey y'all this fic is my baby and I'm excited to share this with y'all. This is cross-listed on AO3!

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“Wood.. I barely got out of being grounded, just to be sent to Top Gun. It has to be some sort of cruel punishment.” The girl was huffing as she stuffed another shirt into her bag. Nicolette Mitchell a.k.a. Wildcard, lived up to both her callsign and last name in ways that made her commanding officers grimace upon seeing her assigned to them.

“ Or it’s for something important. They don’t just call people back like that for punishment, Nic.” The older male was shaking his head as he responded. He had basically adopted the girl — she had been his favorite kid of the class of 86’s, not that he didn’t like Bradley, but there was a special place in his heart for the brunette girl.

“Yeah, because they send Maverick to new places for important things.” Nicolette was letting a laugh fall as she heard Hollywood hush his husband.

“No, no.. Wolf is right. They sent Maverick to .. well, anywhere he’s been sent simply because he pissed off an Admiral. Not that I did.” There was a snort being heard over the phone and then an ‘ow!’ shortly after,

“Nic.. did you piss off an Admiral?”

“Technically, yes. But my wingman needed me, it wasn’t my fault they didn’t fill my fuel tank up all the way.” This was a common occurrence for the girl, her wingmen, and team were always first, aircraft and herself second. So be it if it got her in trouble she valued people over the jets they were in. One lesson Maverick had been able to teach her is that your teammates are not replaceable, the jets are no matter what the Navy says.

“So.. you pulled a Maverick?” There were a few seconds of silence before the two males could hear her zipping up the bag.

“No. I was being a good teammate. He doesn’t know what that’s like.” There was some poison in her words, and it was clear as day to the pilot and his RIO that the relationship between the girl and her father had not gotten better.

“I.. okay, Nic. Just.. let us know when you get here, we’d like to see you, kid.” If there was one thing Hollywood knew, it was that whatever waited for the woman on North Island, he would have pieces to pick up.

“I will. Love ya’ll.” Once the couple had responded, she was hanging up and tossed her bag into her Thunderbird.

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Nicolette Duke Mitchell had been accustomed to being moved around a lot, at least until she needed a stable place to be able to attend school. Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky, the man that was her second father; pops as she called him, was able to stay stationary for her. While Maverick was being sent to Iraq, Bosnia, and wherever else the Navy sent him, Iceman was staying at Top Gun, raising the almost carbon copy of his wingman. Thankfully, some of the rest of the 86 class was able to pitch in. Or they at least kept her busy when they’d visit. And of course, Carole. Seeing as the two had gotten so close over the short amount of time they had together while their dads were in Top Gun, Carole couldn’t possibly keep Bradley away from Nicolette. There were plenty of phone calls, where the two toddlers mirrored each other; being sat on the counter with their respective parents keeping them steady, just chatting away like they had much to talk about. But they could do it for hours and each call ended with a “bye bradbrad.” and “bye ni.” Nic visited Brad and Carole in Tennessee for plenty of weeks in the summer and Brad would visit Nic in San Diego whenever he was able. Until he was in Maverick’s custody and then he was living with her and Ice.

Iceman had done his best to keep the girl in contact with her father. And he pulled strings whenever necessary to get Maverick home to her. But, almost like clockwork, he was pissing off whichever admiral or higher up he could and getting sent away. What originally was described to the girl as ‘the Navy just needs him right now.’ transpired into a festering grudge towards her father – one that faded each time he came home, but grew the second he left again.

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The Hard Deck, something you weren’t supposed to go below. That was Navy law, and anything below the hard deck was dangerous, it could damage the aircraft. This hard deck though? Could damage a person’s wall that they had spent much of their adult life building, or cause cracks in a facade. But it also held a lot of memories from the time spent in Top Gun. Something that was cherished among those that attended, and it was the best bar to go to attempt to score a free drink.

The brunette was shutting the door to her car, a small sigh being given as she witnessed all of the other pilots entering the bar. She knew what that meant; she wasn’t getting grounded. Just a slight possibility of being sent to her death. Which, she figured the Navy wouldn’t bat an eye at, it would achieve their goal, keep the Mitchells out of the sky and run them out of the Navy. Her digits ran through her hair for a second, checking it in her mirror when her eyes fixed on the blue Bronco parked a few spots down. Holy shit. She hadn’t seen the owner of that Bronco since two deployments ago. There was almost a hop in her step as she stepped into the loud building, an easily recognizable song on the jukebox.

If you’re lookin’ for trouble, you came to the right place.

She shook her head, what a song to be playing when she came in. The people at Top Gun had thought she was trouble, and any higher-up that she had would probably agree with that statement. There were three people in the bar that wouldn’t agree with it; one that she hadn’t seen yet; and that was known by the fact she was still in the bar. The second was already smiling as she noticed her, sliding a beer down to her; amazed the girl hadn’t recognized the male a few feet away. And then;

My daddy was a green-eyed mountain jack.

“Mitchell… You’ve got to be shittin’ me.” Hangman. A man Nicolette knew well, but despised just as much.

“Seresin.” There was a beat. Lips parted as she shook her head at him. It was clear that whatever this was, it was serious. Otherwise, there would’ve been no need for the number of patches she was seeing. Nicolette watched the male grab his beers and nod to someone behind her, the person paying for their drinks, she assumed. Then against her better judgment, she followed the blonde back to the group. Her eyes stuck on the Hawaiian shirt that she had entered the bar searching for. But, Hangman beat her to having the first word with him once he had changed the song.

“Bradshaw, as I live and breathe.”

“Hangman… You look… good.”

“Well, I am good, Rooster, I’m very good. In fact, I am too good to be true.” Nic let a quiet scoff out, head shaking. She had taken a seat at a stool behind Brad, not wanting to get in the middle of it. This wasn’t her fight, at least not yet.

“So, anybody know what this special detachment is all about?” Nic’s brows furrowed at the man who spoke. She only knew a select few of the pilots around the pool table.

“No, mission’s a mission. They don’t confront me.” His ego hadn’t changed apparently.

“What I want to know: Who’s gonna be team leader?” Her eyes followed the pool balls that clattered together.

“And which one of yall has what it takes to follow me?” There it was. His ego was bigger than the state he came from.

“Hangman, the only place you’ll lead anyone is an early grave.” The woman had to take a sip of her beer to keep from chuckling loudly. Eyes meeting those of a male across the pool table, he had glasses and seemed to be the quieter one, seeing as the two on either side of him, one whom she knew; Coyote, who typically couldn’t keep his mouth shut, and the other who let a low “whoo!” out at the comment, obviously were loving this interaction. The one with the glasses was not.

“Well, anyone who follows you is just gonna run out of fuel.” Nicolette was getting close to stepping in,

“But that’s just you, ain’t it Rooster?” Her body inched closer to standing.

“You’re snug on that perch, waiting for just the right moment…” And she was up, body moving quietly to stand behind the male. Hangman’s eyes trailed from the taller male to land on Nic. Almost as if his next words were for both of them,

“That never comes.” There it was. His eyes had locked back on Brad’s after, Nic noted the small smirk that grew on Hangman’s lips. She was going to have to make herself known to Brad now.

“Y’know Hangman, you don’t have to compensate for your lack of… well, size right now.” Head tilting, with a small smirk growing as she watched the blonde falter for a split second before his lips were moving back to his signature smirk.

“If you wanna see how wrong you are, let me know Wildcard.” Winking at her, earning a scoff, as his attention turned back to Rooster,

“I love this song.” And then the pair watched him walk off. Bradley’s eyes finally landed on the girl.

“Ni..” It was like he let his body relax for a second, he didn’t have to be on guard with her. He was safe with her.

“Hey, Bradbrad…” Then arms were wrapped around her, bringing her into his chest, he didn’t know how long to hold onto her but at the moment? Time had stopped anyway so it didn’t matter. And neither could see the way the simple action between them had caused someone else’s world to stop, Maverick hadn’t seen the two of them together in years, and as he took in the Hawaiian shirt on the male’s body and arms wrapping around the female in a brightly colored red and orange shirt, it was like going back thirty years. The sight caused his heart to ache. Then Bradley’s arms were removed as he looked to the other girl who had joined them, but a hand had found its way to rest on Nicolette’s back. Maverick’s eyes burned into the pair, and for Nicolette, the fact her hair was sticking up on the back of her neck had more to do with the group of people in front of her who, while they may know her or know of her, most likely already wouldn’t want her around. Her reputation and last name — something that always held more significance than her — always preceded her.

“Well, he hasn’t changed.” Nic’s brows rose as she looked over the other girl, Natasha “Phoenix” Trace. Of course, she knew her, although there was a small negative feeling festering in her stomach as she took her in. Nicole couldn’t put into words what that feeling was, but it was prominent.

“Nope. Sure hasn’t.” There was a small part of his accent lingering at the end of his statement, which made her lips curl up at the edges.

“Change is a foreign concept to him.” Nicolette let the words fall, almost as if she had to prove her existence. Needed to prove something, what it was? She couldn’t tell anyone. But there was a nod given her way by Phoenix, which caused her to feel settled until more voices joined them.

“Check it out.” The group’s eyes flickered away from the pool table to focus on the entrance, “More patches.” Nicolette knew what that meant, that whatever was happening wouldn’t be good.

“That’s Harvard, Yale, Ohama. Shit, that’s Fritz.” Wildcard’s green hues followed after the group and her lips pursed for a second as she scoffed, head shaking.

“What the hell kind of mission is this?” Her brow rose at the male, Garcia was what he’d be known by until she knew his callsign, thank the US Military for name badges.

“A suicide mission,” Nicolette mumbled, causing eyes to land on her as she mindlessly played on her phone. The other pilots around them turned to her, eyes narrowing. She didn’t think twice about what she had said, if anything she knew she was right. They don’t call back this many pilots for something any less serious than that.

ICEDAD

ICE.

Nic.

You’ll never guess where I am.

North Island?

This is why I don’t play guessing games with you

But… so is half of the goddamn navy

That’s an exaggeration.

Okay? And? It’s still a lot of people.

And?

Brad is here.

I know.

So you knew i was here?

Got briefed on it.

Someone else is there though.

And the conversation was over once Nic heard the bell ring. Either someone else was paying for their drinks or

“OVERBOARD! OVERBOARD! OVERBOARD!” The girl’s head tilted, phone slipping back into her pocket as she shook her head, eyes locking with Bradley’s at the piano. It was second nature for her to find her way to the instrument. She had spent so many years with the male just hanging out while he played or learned to play.

The toddler was kicking her feet in her father’s lap. Her head tilted to the side as she watched the two blonde women on the other side of her. Nicolette had very little patience in her tiny body and barely sat still - as would be expected from Maverick’s kid. Her fingers wrapped around a fry, that quickly went flying to hit the woman in a white blouse. Giggles were fast to leave tiny lips afterward, Maverick himself having to fight off a laugh. Then once Carole – who Nic adored – had smiled at her, Nic was done and trying to wiggle out of Maverick’s hold. She wanted to go sit with the guy at the piano with the colorful shirt. She liked him a whole lot, he would put her in the sky when he picked her up, and he flew her around sometimes, she loved it. Not to mention the kid on top of the piano who was her newfound best friend. Finally, her dad was heading over there with her, setting her down on the bench to stand, Nic’s hands reaching to try to grab the hat off of the piano – Goose’s hat, but one hand was grabbed by her father to twirl her – as carefully as possible, as the two men sang;

“You shake my nerves, and you rattle my brain…”

Bradley had an arm wrapped around the woman’s waist as his fingers created the familiar tune on the piano; Nic let a soft laugh out as he glanced up at her with a mischievous twinkle in his puppy dog browns,

“Thinkin’ ‘bout your love drives a man insane, you broke my will, oh what a thrill, goodness, gracious, GREAT BALLS OF FIRE!”

The two were a splitting image of something Maverick had never thought he’d see again, and now watching the group of young pilots around the piano and the two on the bench, there was no way he couldn’t teach this mission. They had to come home. If not for him or the families any of them may have had, they had to come home for each other.

credit: I don't own any characters but Nicolette Mitchell, and any other OCs that may appear and their storylines. I have no affiliation with Top Gun or Top Gun: Maverick. All rights go to the rightful owners.

Tag list: @toracsanji

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sleekervae · 6 months

Text

So Good [0.5]

Masterlist

A/N: Happy Monday! How we all holding up before the holidays?

Warnings: none, spoilers for Yoü & I

Two weeks into the tour, Catch the Caper had already blitzed through the western part of Europe, gracing audiences night after night in packed venues. Whether it was intimate smaller settings or grand arenas, the days seemed to never end, and the nights even more so. Prior to this, the band had spent nearly four years as opening acts for other groups, but looking back, they now chuckled at how comparatively relaxed those times felt. Sleep remained elusive, with hours scattered between late nights and the constant struggle of jet lag. Just as they started to settle into one time zone, it was time to hop on another flight within Europe. The relentless schedule was undeniably challenging, yet this time, the band members were seasoned veterans of the tour, and their camaraderie had grown even stronger.

Their hotel in Belgium had a beautiful breakfast spread in the dining hall; scrambled eggs, sausages, fresh cut fruits and -- of course, some of the most spectacular waffles the girls had ever had. However, Kimberly didn't feel very hungry this morning. She attributed it to jet lag, possibly exacerbated by the mere three or four hours of sleep she managed to get earlier, not to mention the drinks the girls had enjoyed before. Nevertheless, it was hard to ignore the subtle trembling of her leg as it rested against the side of her chair, or how her eyes darted occasionally to her phone screen whenever it flickered beside her plate.

She glanced ahead at Chloe, endeared to watch the drummer wolf down what was likely her third waffle of the morning. Beside her Maria was half asleep in her chair while Charlotte had her pen and notebook out, scribbling furiously as though she was cramming for a school term paper. The last time she saw Charlotte so immersed in that notebook, she had been piecing together the words that would eventually lead to their current platinum album.

Pretty much done with her plate, Kimberly called out to the drummer, "Hey, Chloe..." she held up her plate for her, offering her what was left, "Here,"

Chloe glanced up between bites, scrambling as she too lifted up her plate and clinked the edge with Kimberly's. The other two girls watched the pair with curiosity while the bassist glowered at her friend.

"What're you doing?" she asked.

"Cheers," Chloe replied.

Kimberly nearly burst out laughing, "Girl, take the bacon," she simpered. Charlotte snorted and Maria shook her head as Chloe laughed sheepishly.

"I thought you wanted to cheers plates!" she said.

"The last time we cheered plates we were in the tenth grade, celebrating our passing the regents exams," Kimberly replied.

"Yeah, we couldn't cheers with soda because they took away the vending machines," Charlotte reminisced.

"Because Max Popkin was dumb enough to think tying a string to a coin and yanking it out like a yo-yo was fool-proof," Chloe chuckled.

Kimberly shook her head, "Certainly wasn't laughing when they had to call EMTs when the gears caught the string,"

Charlotte grimaced, "And he nearly lost his finger from lack of blood flow... I know," she groaned.

"It always takes one idiot to ruin it for the rest of us," Chloe replied, glancing over at the guitarist, "Right Maria?" she nudged her when she noticed how quiet she'd been, "Maria?" she glowered however when she realized Maria had fallen asleep, "What -- is she serious?"

"Oh, leave her alone," Charlotte replied, nudging her under the table, "She's jet lagged,"

"She's not jet lagged, she's just never been a morning person," Kimberly chuckled, reaching over to jostle her, "Maria, c'mon. You can sleep on the plane,"

Maria gave a semblance of a grumble back, a least the girls knew she was on the brink of consciousness.

Out of nowhere, Kimberly's phone vibrated, and her gaze swiftly shifted to the screen. Her heart sank, though, as she realized it was just a Twitter notification.

"You expecting a call?" Charlotte asked.

"Darius was supposed to call before his shift at the club," Kimberly replied, her tone laced with dejection.

"Maybe he forgot?" Chloe suggested, "Is that a forgivable offence? Absolutely not, which is why when he remembers to call you give him the whole 'oh that's okay dear' schpiel and post the sexiest thirst trap you can muster,"

Charlotte glowered at her, "And what exactly does that achieve?" she asked.

"A little thing I like to call long-distance guilt," Chloe replied smugly.

Between them Maria suddenly grumbled, "Que pendejo," she didn't make haste to move from her seat nor open her eyes.

"Oh, so she is awake!" Chloe gawked.

Maria popped an eye open, "Well, how am I supposed to sleep with you three bullshitting about yo-yos and slacker boyfriends?"

Kimberly rolled her eyes, "C'mon, Maria. You know he's not a slacker," she replied.

"Not in all departments, just in the department where he suddenly forgets to call you four nights in a row after he promised he would. You've only been gone two weeks, and he's slipping already?" she pointed out, crossing her arms and shutting her eyes and she tried to tuck in again. One thing that bothered Kimberly was Maria's knack for delivering the truth in a way that could be a bit too blunt to swallow. Nonetheless, more often than not, Maria's bluntness carried a valid point, and it was no different this time.

Charlotte shook her arm, "No -- c'mon! You can sleep on the plane!" she urged, much to Maria's chagrin. She then turned to Kimberly, "Kim, why don't you just call Darius?"

"I did yesterday. We had a five minute conversation before he had to rush off to his class and all we talked about was meal prep planning," she huffed, "And he promised he'd call me later before his shift, which if you reverse eight hours should've been about fifteen minutes ago!"

Chloe scoffed, "Shall I grab a collar and bone to match his dog house?" she asked.

"Maybe he really is just swamped?" Charlotte interjected, trying to play devil's advocate, "I mean, he works two jobs and he's putting himself through college! He's not exactly whacking stones with sticks,"

Maria glanced knowingly at the mousy brunette, "And two summers ago, Melody Catana wasn't meddling in our band's private dynamics; do I have that correct?"

Charlotte glowered back, "Okay, that's not the same thing,"

"The hell it wasn't: there was a massive breach of trust," Maria said.

"Maria," Kimberly finally called out, "It's fine. I know how busy Darius was even before we left, I shouldn't be expecting so much out of him,"

Chloe raised a brow, "Girl, you're starting to sound as wimpy as 2015-Charlotte,"

"Hey!" Charlotte snapped back.

"She has a point, Lottie," Maria interjected, "We wouldn't dare let you accept Ben's complacency for standards, so why shouldn't we do the same for Kimberly?" she was referring to Charlotte's previous boyfriend from three years ago, a period in which none of them looked fondly upon.

"It's okay, you guys," Kimberly assured them, deciding to tuck her phone into her pocket, "I'll try calling him when we get to Vienna,"

"No, don't," Charlotte decided then, "They're right. You called him yesterday, he blew you off. So, if he said he would, then he should be calling you back,"

Chloe beamed from across the table, "I knew we did a bang-up job on you," she said. Charlotte simpered back as she sipped her tea.

Maria reached across the table for Kimberly's hand, giving her a gentle squeeze, "You know we're not saying this to make you feel bad, right? We know you deserve to be treated like the queen you fucking are," she assured her, "And I hate seeing you tie yourself into knots every time that phone goes off,"

Kimberly nodded back, the concern in her friends' eyes so clear, but she knew they didn't need to be worried. Or so... that was what she told herself in the moment, "It's okay. I promise you guys, I'm fine. I'd probably feel better if I got more than four hours of sleep, but you know..."

"We can sleep on the plane," Charlotte assured them.

"Are we sure we should be?" Chloe asked, continuing to cut her waffle into pieces, "Apparently forcing yourself to stay awake on long flights helps you readjust to the new time zone,"

"We're not flying to Tanzania," Charlotte replied, "Vienna's a puddle jump away. Where did you get that?"

"I read it somewhere," Chloe replied simply.

Kimberly glowered at the drummer, "You read it somewhere? Was it the same author of all your phony phrase books that we ended up burning?" she asked.

Maria chuckled as she sipped her coffee "Oh, come on, Kim! Those phrase books were friggin' gold! Remember how 'Hello, how are you?' translated to 'Watch out for the dancing moles' in Italy?"

Charlotte grinned, nodding in agreement, "Yeah, and 'Where is the restroom?' somehow became 'Your aunt rides a unicycle' in German,"

Kimberly snorted back, "My favourite is still 'Thank you for the delicious shirts' in Japanese,"

The other two laughed in unison as Chloe slumped in her seat, shaking her head begrudgingly as she at her waffles, "Shaddup..."

Namjoon sat with his back to the cold wood of the bench, the soft breeze cascading across his as he listened to the speakers in his ears. He stayed relatively anonymous all bundled up in his coat and hat, small groups of people passing by without so much as giving him a second glance. Seoul was cloudy and fairly cold that morning and work load was relatively light today, so when his phone rang just as he grabbed his breakfast he didn't hesitate to answer it. They'd been on the phone for about half an hour now.

He hummed as he crumpled the wrapper from his egg sandwich, hearing Kimberly's simper ring in his ears, "Was that good?"

"Friggin' delicious," he nodded, feeling a little ridiculous because of course she couldn't see him, "What did you have for dinner?"

Kimberly meanwhile was sitting on the small terrace of her Viennese hotel room, the nightlife echoing close beneath her as the time approached 1am. The show tonight had gone by in a blur, and despite her fatigue, she still found it difficult to fall asleep.

"Veal schnitzel with mashed potatoes and veggies. It's funny, I don't ever really eat veal when I'm home, but when I'm in Europe... " she replied with a laugh.

"That sounds amazing," he awed, "Yeah, I don't know what it is about the meat in Europe but it just... it tastes better,"

"Probably all those deep rolling hills... and butter and salt," she yawned back. The show tonight had gone by in a blur, and despite her fatigue, Kimberly still found it difficult to fall asleep. There was no problem for Maria of course as she slept as soundly as a log in the room.

Namjoon grinned to himself, "Do you wanna' go to sleep?"

"No, no! I'm okay," she assured him, "I wanna' hear about your day,"

"My day hasn't started yet," he chuckled. His voice was soft and quiet and she could pick out the faint blares of passing traffic and external conversations mixed with the hollering of the night's horizon.

"Okay then, tell me what you plan to do today," she decided.

Namjoon counted off the list of to-dos he had to look forward to, studio time, dance rehearsals, an evening workout to blow off some steam and hoping to have some personal time to focus on his album, "The mixing's almost done, and I'm meeting with my artist tomorrow for the final draft of the cover," she could hear his nails tapping across his screen, probably flitting through his schedule.

Her curiosity wandered further as she could only imagine what he could've been spinning in his studio, "Am I still on the mailing list?" she asked, her voice teetering jokingly.

"Are you kidding? You're top of the list, Kimberly," he replied, dimples poking into the sides of his cheeks as he smiled.

"I'm honoured," she awed.

"You're coming to Korea in April, right?"

"End of April, yeah,"

"Well, maybe I'll have enough finished to give you a little preview?"

She laughed bashfully, the sound erupting through his headphones in a way that made Namjoon's heart flutter, "You don't have to do that, Joon,"

"Why? You're no good at keeping secrets?" he cocked a brow as he teased her.

She scoffed back, "On the contrary: I'm very secretive. I used to massacre the others whenever we played Mafia,"

"Mafia?"

"Yeah, you know the party game...?" she tried to muster the words to explain coherently, "One or two people are the quote-on-quote Mafia who kill the villagers at night, and the villagers have to figure out who the Mafia is before they're all killed,"

"Oh, right, right! Well in that case, we have nothing to worry about," he chuckled back.

"Speaking of April, are you still coming to our show?" she asked.

Namjoon tsked back, "You haven't invited me,"

"What?" she chuckled with bemusement.

"You said you were coming to Seoul, that was all," he replied.

"I thought my manager forwarded the details to yours?"

"She did. But you never explicitly invited me,"

Kimberly smiled at his teasing tone, shaking her head to herself as the realization dawned on her, "Kim Namjoon, you are cordially invited to Catch the Caper's show in Seoul this April," she announced, already able to picture his pursing lips as he smirked.

"I'll check my calendar," he replied.

"Well, don't let me twist your arm or anything," she simpered.

He laughed off her comment, shivering and pulling his jacket tighter as the breeze drifted over the river. Namjoon couldn't wait for the seasons to change, longing for the weather's warmth to arrive and unveil the delicate hues of cherry blossoms in vibrant pinks and reds. Spring symbolized the prospect of reuniting with Kimberly—an opportunity to engage in meaningful conversations, savor moments together, bask in her contagious energy and intellect. He was ready to embrace the idea that if friendship was the extent of what he could have, he would cherish it wholeheartedly.

Kimberly yawned into her fist, the trail of her waining voice floated through the speaker, "You want to go to bed?" Namjoon asked her.

"I guess I should," she sighed, "Amsterdam's tomorrow, and I can't be looking like a demon that crawled out from under the pits of hell,"

"What're you talking about, Kim?" he chuckled back, "You look great without even trying," She could tell he was being genuine in his words but nevertheless, his comment made her laugh.

"You might disagree if you saw me right now," she simpered back.

"I highly doubt that," he replied, his tone confident and soothing.

"I'll talk to you later, Joon," she hummed, "Have a good day,"

"And you get a good sleep. I'll talk to you later,"

With a grin, Namjoon concluded the call with a brief yet sweet goodbye, his heart pulsating with anticipation as April drew closer. He pondered whether he'd be ready to meet her again, if he could resist dissecting every intricate detail about her, and if he could prevent himself from falling even deeper for her.

Separately, Kimberly lingered on the terrace after the call had ended, hesitating to retreat indoors. Uncertainty lingered about, her deep, dark eyes fixed on the empty expanse of the horizon, her heart heavy. She had long acknowledged her fondness for talking with Namjoon, relishing every fragment of him that remained hidden from the world's prying gaze. However, amidst this connection, doubts crept in; she questioned whether she was exploiting him as a captivating distraction, compensating for the attention lacking in her relationship with Darius. Waves of guilt crashed over her, reminding her she should have known better — acknowledging the challenges of long distance and erratic schedules in any relationship she pursued within her rock-n-roll lifestyle. Yet, did that imply being disregarded altogether? And why was someone from an entirely different continent displaying more enthusiasm to converse with her than her own boyfriend?

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