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gogobootz1 · 1 year

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Act II: No. 14a, Pas de deux

Jake "Hangman" Seresin x Reader

Since you're generally unlucky in love, it hardly comes as a surprise that your boyfriend cheats on you before Christmas. But if there's one thing Hangman loves, it's saving the day.

8k words

Christmas had rolled around once again. Every year you looked forward to it, and this year was no exception. Your expectations had been higher than ever before, considering this year had been one of your best.

As the lead engineer on the Darkstar project, you had been overjoyed to see your work come to fruition. When Maverick crashed your prototype a little over two years ago, you thought the project was done for. That all the time you spent on it had been flushed down the drain. Only you were proved wrong when the old bastard had somehow proved to the Navy higher-ups that piloted jets were still a necessity. The details of the mission he'd been pulled away on were never made clear to you, but you were happy to see the pilot make a safe return. You were even happier to see that he was returning to his position as your test pilot.

So over the past two years, the two of you had worked closely to rebuild. Every so often he would be called away again to offer expert advice on new missions, but he always found someone to take his place. Maverick was a good friend to you, and you became well acquainted with the younger pilots he mentored. The ones you didn't already know, at least.

In November you finished the project, with the help of Maverick and a considerable number of incredibly skilled individuals. The Darkstar pushed beyond Mach 10, and the Navy couldn't be prouder. Nor could the President, a former Naval officer, himself. As a celebration of your achievement, you received an invitation to the White House Christmas Party.

You could not wait to finally bask in the glory of all of your hard work. The sleepless nights and endless hours dedicated to the notion of creating the fastest plane in the skies. You'd done it, and now you got to celebrate.

Holding the open card in your hand, you could not wait to tell your boyfriend. You'd met him a few months ago when Admiral Caine came by to assess the progress that had been made on the Darkstar. As the man's personal assistant, he could only tell you how amazed he was by your work in a whisper as he left. But the two of you soon started dating. In the minimal time you chose to spend away from your project, he was a pretty good boyfriend, and you could not wait to reward him for sticking by your side with a ticket to the White House Christmas Party.

You entered his apartment with the spare key he'd given you. Having told him you had paperwork to finish this weekend, you knew this would make for an extra pleasant surprise.

"Artie, guess what?!" You called out, excitedly. You raced to tug your shoes off and find him in his apartment. When he wasn't in your line of sight you headed toward his bedroom, thinking he turned in early. You figured his lovely girlfriend waking him up with a prestigious invitation would make it worth it for him.

"Hey Art," you swung the door open, the letter held up high in your hand, only to be greeted with the sight of your boyfriend in his bed with a naked woman. The two of them scrambled apart when they saw you.

In an instant, you blinked and turned around. It would be a cold day in hell before you dealt with this bullshit. He called out after you.

"It's not what it looks like," he pleaded from behind you. You'd already made it to the doorway and were pulling your shoes back on.

"I'm not blind, nor am I a fool, Arthur. Don't treat me like one." You pulled open the door, but he caught it before you could slip out.

"It didn't mean anything," he assured you, and you glared. "No really! But you're working all the time and I... needed an outlet."

You scoffed at his words, "really, Arthur?"

"Yes! You're always gone and when you're here you're... boring."

Finally, your eyes started to fill with tears. "You're actually blaming your indiscretions on me? On the fact that after I've worked a fourteen-hour day I don't always want to have disappointing sex with you?!" You forced the door open wide enough so you could get yourself out of there.

"Baby," he cried after you.

You whirled around and looked him dead in the eye, "we're done." The words came out with more venom than you'd used your whole life. You'd had lackluster boyfriends, granted they were few and far between, but none of them had been so pompous as to think they could do better than you.

You should've known better than to set your expectations so high. Every year Christmas disappointed you. It could never live up to the Hallmark holiday fantasy you created in your head, no matter what you did. This one was no exception.

Three glasses of wine later, you were sitting on your couch. You stared at the invitation in your hand. It was on thick paper. It even had a wax seal. It made you sad. You weren't sure if you could accept it. Four hours ago you'd had a boyfriend as a plus one. Two hours ago you called Maverick to see if he would come with you, only for your hopes to be dashed. Penny's mother would be hosting a Christmas party the same evening. You couldn't blame him for prioritizing his fiancee over you.

But now you were alone. You were practically a fucking Wright brother, and you were alone.

After your third Christmas cookie (you started holiday baking the day after Halloween), your sadness started morphing into anger. Why the hell should you be moping? You were a bonafide genius- Arthur was the one who should be wallowing in his own misery.

And why were you considering rejecting your invitation? You didn't have to have a plus one to have fun. What was so wrong with being alone anyways? It's not like having Arthur around would've been better than being by yourself. If he thought you were boring, he really needed to stop and listen to himself.

So in your mildly tipsy state, you went online and booked a first-class seat on a flight to Washington D.C. You'd be damned if you let someone else ruin your experience. You earned this- and you were going to act like it.

To your luck, the next day was a Saturday, and you were determined to find a dress suitable for the event. But when you got in your car, it wouldn't start. Just your luck. So you called the one person in your contact list who you assumed would have jumper cables, or something to that extent.

Jake didn't look very happy as he pulled up in his pickup truck. The thing was sparkling, of course, a brand-new model he'd rewarded himself with after a particularly grueling mission. He rolled his window down and glared at you.

"Do you not know anyone else?" He asked. The bags below his eyes were heavy- he'd clearly been out the prior night.

"Not well enough to feel comfortable inconveniencing them." You told him innocently.

"Well thank you so much for that high honor." He said, sarcasm dripping off of every word.

You grinned at him, "you're very welcome, Jacob." You hopped up into the passenger seat of his truck.

"I thought you said you needed a jump?" He questioned you.

"We can do that later. First, you should take me dress shopping." You said assuredly. His tired eyes stared at you blankly. "I'll treat you to lunch?" You offered, hoping to sweeten the deal.

He rolled his eyes at you and started to pull away, too tired to argue. "To the mall?"

"Are you kidding?!"

He hesitated, "no?"

"Jacob I cannot find a black tie dress at JC Penny, we're going to a boutique."

"Jesus, fine. What do you need a black tie dress for, anyways? You hardly leave the house."

"Okay first of all, rude,"

"True," he interrupted.

"Second of all," you barreled on, "I was invited to the very prestigious White House Christmas Party," you flaunted.

"Oh, no way me too." He nodded casually.

"What?!" You turned completely in your seat to face him.

"Yeah," he nodded.

"For what?" You asked.

"You do recall I'm a highly skilled fighter pilot, yes?"

"Shut up, Jake," you snap at him.

"I've got a flight out on the 15th," he said, ignoring your attitude.

"So do I," you say suspiciously.

He let out a chuckle, "Wouldn't it be funny if we were on the same plane?"

"Oh, I'm sure we are." You rolled your eyes. Ever since the Academy the two of you had been constantly bumping into each other. From group projects to stopping in the same coffee shops on weekends, the universe threw you together so many times you gave up and became friends. It was easier that way.

"That is just our luck, huh?"

"Oh! Turn here," you told him, pointing to your right.

"Where?" He asked.

"Here! Turn!!" You shout, and he suddenly swerves down the correct street.

"You couldn't have warned me?!?! Christ!" He panted.

You let out a guilty sort of chuckle, "the dress shop is on the right."

He rolled his eyes as he pulled into the parking lot, "the things I do for you, Einstein."

"I appreciate them all, Seresin," you assured him as he pulled into a space. You hopped out and quickly made your way into the shop. Jake trailed behind you reluctantly.

"Welcome to Magnolia Dress Shop!" A woman greeted you both cheerfully from behind the counter, "how can we help you blossom?"

You could feel disdain radiate off of the man next to you. "I can't do this." He said under his breath. You gave him credit for the five seconds he tried.

"Why don't you sit at the Starbucks across the street? I'll text you when I'm done and then we can go to lunch."

He sighed in relief, "I'll get you a croissant." He told you, and you recognized it as a thank you. You gave him a fond smile and nodded him off.

The woman behind the counter let out a light chuckle as the bell jingled behind him. "Don't worry, I've seen some boyfriends never even make it in."

"Oh, he's... not my boyfriend," you corrected her.

Her eyebrows shot up, "have you looked at him lately? Maybe you should reconsider."

You let out a chuckle. You couldn't blame her, after years of knowing him sometimes you were still struck by Jake's Hollywood good looks. "Believe me, if that man wants something he gets it. If he was interested there'd already be a ring on my finger- that's how long I've known him."

She sighed, "if you say so." Suddenly she remembered her job, "Anyways, what are we shopping for today?" She asked you excitedly.

"Something to wear to the White House," you replied confidently.

Her eyes widened, "then let's get started."

Two hours later, you and Natalie, who gave you her name soon after you started shopping, were at a standstill. Nothing had stood out, at least not enough to make it "White House worthy" as she put it.

"Wait!" She shouted, startling you. "We just got a shipment in. I almost forgot."

You perk up at this. Natalie rushes through a door a few feet away to the shop's storage room. "You're gonna love it! I'm pretty sure it's Givenchy." You heard her call from a few feet away. Whatever she was grabbing was sure to be expensive, but you hardly ever splurged. Just once it would be worth it.

Natalie came back holding one of the most exquisite things you'd ever seen. The dress was a gorgeous champagne shade due to the extensive embroidery that covered nearly the entire thing.

"It's beautiful," you told her.

"It's going on you right this instant," she insisted. You weren't one to argue, and when she zipped you in you knew. You turned and looked in the mirror, awestruck. You thought the dress looked good by itself, but it positively sparkled when it was on. You looked radiant.

'Wow." Natalie breathed.

"I'll take it." You practically whispered. She simply nodded.

After you paid enough money to make a pit settle in your stomach, you sent Jake a text.

all done :)

thank god- it was lunchtime an hour ago

don't get your panties in a twist, I'm on my way

I hope this was worth my gas money

you'll see

You thanked Natalie and met Jake outside with your giant garment bag. He exchanged the dress for your croissant and hung it up in the backseat and you enjoyed your snack.

"As an added bonus I will let you choose where we eat."

"How very generous," Jake mocked you.

"Aren't I just?" You joked.

Ten minutes later he pulled into the parking lot of a Texas Roadhouse.

"Are you that homesick?" You asked, a teasing smile gracing your face.

"I like their bread," he said defensively.

"I thought you subsisted on raw eggs and protein shakes nowadays."

"What can I say? I'm generous around the holidays." His words made you chuckle, and you followed him into the restaurant.

The two of you had made it halfway through the bread basket when he asked what you had hoped he wouldn't, "are you okay?"

Your mouthful of bread gave you a moment to consider your reply, "as a matter of fact, I think we could use more cinnamon butter."

"That's not what I mean." He insisted.

"Well, staring at the garland against the wooden walls might give me a headache." You started, but he cut you off with a serious call of your name.

"What's wrong?" Jake asked, gentler this time. You cursed him for his keen observational sense. Then again, you had a similar radar for when something was bothering him. You just knew each other too well.

You sighed, "he cheated on me."

He grew tense, staring at you in disbelief, "you're joking."

"No joke," you confirmed, "apparently, I just wasn't entertaining enough for him."

"What are you, a circus animal? It's not your fucking job to entertain him." Jake said, anger painting his face. "I never liked him anyways."

"You always made that clear." You said, mildly annoyed at his comment. The last thing you needed was an I told you so.

"And you never listened," he pressed.

You let out a huff, "look, Seresin, when I settle it bites me in the ass, and when I don't I get no ass." He tried not to chuckle at your comment. "I. Can't. Win. But excuse me for trying." You leaned back against the seat of the booth and crossed your arms.

"...Is this a bad time?" Your waitress asked, holding two plates in her hands. And just like that, Hangman was back.

"Not at all," he reassured her with a winning smile. "If there's one thing that'll cheer my friend here up, it's her lunch." Just when you thought that Jake was yours, he reminded you all over again he wasn't. It happened every time, and each time it was painful. But each time it was necessary. Although, you weren't sure just how necessary it was to invite the waitress to sit down with you both. And to get her number right in front of you. At that point, you threw a fifty down on the table and told him to take you home because you weren't feeling well.

You didn't see him again until three weeks later. For someone who literally built planes, you didn't get to the airport much. But when you did, you actually enjoyed it. Except when; you had to wake up at four AM for your flight, you dropped your favorite mug in your rush to get ready, security randomly chose you for a pat down, and you ran into old friends who had newly pissed you off.

As you boarded your flight to Washington D.C., you caught a glimpse of golden hair. In an instant, you knew who it was. Of course, the gods had once again thrown your hand in with Jacob Seresin's. When did they not? It was, after all, this sort of luck that had led to your friendship in the first place.

Already settled into first class, naturally, Jake only pulled the sleeping mask from his eyes when he heard your voice. He didn't seem all that surprised.

"What can I do you for, Einstein?" He asked jauntily.

"You can fix your unseemly posture so that I can get to my seat." You snapped quietly at him.

"You? First class? Huh, I never thought I'd see the day," he said, pulling his feet in so you could get to your window seat.

"I figured I'd treat myself," you spoke, sourly.

"And a treat it will be," Jake smirked.

You hummed and nodded sarcastically. It took him a second to figure it out.

His face fell a bit, "what are you pissed at me for?"

"I don't know, Jake, perhaps some might consider it rude to blatantly flirt with a stranger in front of your friend who had just been cheated on." You spat.

His shoulders sagged, "okay-"

"You know what?" You asked, plucking the sleeping mask out of his hand, "save it."

"What are you-"

"Save it," you reiterated, slipping it over your eyes, "I don't want to hear another peep from you until we land." You leaned back in your seat and determined yourself to ignore him for the next five or so hours.

You heard him sigh, "whatever you want, darling." He said, quietly resigned. He made it extremely hard to be angry with him.

After takeoff, you actually did fall asleep. You weren't sure how long you'd been out when you heard voices.

"Is that the Mrs.?" A flight attendant asked Jake. You decided it would be less awkward to simply feign sleep.

You heard him take in a sharp breath, "we're in a bit of a tiff." He told the older woman instead of correcting her. Your chest tightened at his words.

"Well, I'm sure it's nothing a handsome couple like you can't resolve," you heard the woman say. A warm smile accompanied it, you were sure. The kind people always gave Jake, it was almost hard not to.

"Thank you," he said, keeping quiet. Clearly, he thought you were still asleep. "Can I get a pack of cookies and a bottle of water? She's bound to be hungry later." Internally you groaned, Jake knew exactly how to earn your forgiveness- always had.

You went back to sleep soon after that. True to his word, Jake didn't disturb you until the plane was safely on the ground.

"Hey, we're here," he gently shook your shoulder. You pulled the sleeping mask off your face and saw him try to hide an amused grin.

"What is it now?" You asked, annoyed.

"You've got..." he trailed off, but drew a line around his eyes, indicating the mask had left an impression on your face. You practically glowered at him.

"Thank you so very much, Seresin," your words dripped with sarcasm.

"Eh, don't worry about it," he said, "you can thank me after I grab your bag." The chivalry absolutely killed you. How were you supposed to stay mad at him?

"Okay I can take it now," you made to grab your duffel. The two of you had stopped after you got off the plain. He pulled back the shoulder that your bag rested on.

"No can do," he shook his head, "I won't have the guest of honor damage her beautiful shoulder before the party."

"I'm hardly the guest of honor," you insisted, still reaching for it, "besides, I have to go get my checked bag."

"How much luggage did you bring?" He asked, judgement clear on his face.

"You think I shoved a designer gown inside of a duffel?" You asked with disdain.

He put his hands up in surrender, "fine, luggage claim it is." He said, starting to walk in the direction the sign pointed. You huffed but ultimately gave up on trying to get your bag away from him.

"Which one is it?" He asked when you finally got to the luggage carousel.

"It's navy blue with a silver luggage tag," you told him, not expecting him to push throw the crowd and retrieve your bag for you once he spotted it. You shouldn't have been surprised, though, Jake hardly shied away from making a scene or performing a grand gesture.

"Your bag, M'lady," he offered it to you, dramatically, and you snatched it from his grasp. You moved to take the duffel back from him, but he still managed to keep it away. "How are you getting to the hotel?"

You rolled your eyes at him, "you've heard of Uber?"

"Nope, I rented a car," he shook his head and started walking off in the other direction with your bag. You stood there, momentarily stunned, then jogged to catch up with him.

"And how do you know it won't be out of your way?" You asked, suspiciously.

"Where are you staying?" He asked.

"The Jefferson," you said its name just as he did. You threw your head back and groaned, "how do we keep doing this?" You asked.

"It is genuinely beyond me," he supplied, walking you towards the Herz. When you arrive he insisted on grabbing the door for you. You rolled your eyes at him before walking in.

As Jake approached the man at the counter, you looked around. You were happy to see the small Christmas tree on the corner of the desk. A bulb was out, though, and soon you were fixated on it. You walked over and examined the thing. It was an easy fix, as all you had to do was screw the bulb back in.

"Come on, MacGyver," Jake said teasingly, jingling the car keys he'd just gotten. You released your grip on the tree and followed him to the sports car he rented.

"Really?" You asked after taking one look at the thing.

"Did you expect anything less?" He questioned you. You shook your head, choosing to just get into the car.

Jake was more than happy to throw the keys to the valet as he rounded the car to pop the trunk. In a flash, he'd gotten both yours and his luggage out of the car.

"See you soon, darling," he called over his shoulder as he wheeled his bag in towards the front desk. You rolled your eyes at him and heaved your duffel bag onto your shoulder as you followed him inside.

You made your way to one of the check-in counters, steering clear of Jake and his attempts at charming the desk attendant. Getting your room key proved to be quick and painless, and soon enough you were on your way to your suite on one of the top floors. Did you need to splurge on a suite? Probably not. But when you're too busy building a military-grade jet to go spend money and you find out your boyfriend's been cheating on you, fiscal responsibility isn't at the top of your list.

Scanning your room key, you push open the heavy door to be greeted by a luxurious room and a gorgeous view. The Washington Monument peaked through your window and looked striking against the clear blue sky.

"Damn! I guess you always did have expensive taste, even back at the academy." You jumped about four feet in the air at the voice over your shoulder. Turning around, you weren't surprised to look up into the smarmy face of your accidental travel companion. Of course, the two of you had ended up on the same floor.

"Oh don't pretend like you don't Mr. "my family isn't wealthy- we're comfortable"." You snapped once you recovered from your momentary fright.

"We are!" He defended.

"Yeah anyone with a backyard the size of Vermont would be." You sassed back, walking into your room and putting your bags down by the luxe-looking sofa in the middle of your suite.

"It's really closer to Rhode Island," Jake called from the doorway.

"Shut up, and besides, anyone who uses the word wealthy is wealthy." You asserted, flopping back over the arm of the couch onto the cushions below.

"Really?" He asked, skeptically.

"Yeah," you sass him, "the rest of us just say rich."

"Okay, I'm not Jeff Bezos. You don't have to group me in with the one percent."

You sat up, "what are you doing in my doorway again?"

"I'm on my way to the gym," he started, "but I saw you admiring the view and I figured I'd say hi."

"Well that's very kind of you," you told him, getting up so you could push him out of your doorway, "enjoy your workout!" You waved as you closed the door on him.

"See you later," came his muffled voice through the door.

A few hours later, you heard the knock on your door you'd been expecting. Thank God your dinner had finally come. After a long flight and the long day you were bound to have tomorrow, you didn't really feel like putting something nice on to go to dinner. So after having a nice long shower, you settled into your pajamas to eat a (hopefully delicious) hotel meal.

You swung the door open and an older hotel employee rolled a cart with your meal in. He placed your tray on the table and thanked him.

"A lot of orders, tonight?" You asked, trying to make conversation with the nice man.

"Actually no," he told you, "just you and another gentleman on this floor."

You sighed at that, "let me guess, Mr. Seresin?"

He looked shocked you got it right, "yes, room 717." You nodded fondly.

"Well, thanks again, Ralph. Have a nice night," you told him as he wheeled the cart out. You sat down on the couch to start eating your meal but stared at it for a minute before coming to a decision you might regret.

You let out a huff and grabbed your room key, walking down the hall to where the hotel employee told you Jake was staying. Knocking on the door, you waited impatiently for him to open it.

He had clearly already dug into his burger as he opened the door. "What's up?" Jake asked, mouth full. Judging by the sweatpants, he'd had the same feeling about staying in that you did.

"Want to eat in my room?" You asked as he swallowed his bite.

"Sure," he shrugged, "hold on a minute." The door closed in your face as he went to grab his tray.

"How'd you even know I was getting room service?" Jake asked as you led him down the hallway toward your room.

"Ralph told me," you replied, unlocking the door and holding it open for him.

He turned and looked at you like you were crazy, "Ralph?"

"Yeah! The room service guy," you defended.

Jake made a face as he set his tray down across from yours on the coffee table. He settled on the floor right in front of it and you did the same in front of your food.

"What'd you get?" He asked, picking up his burger again.

"The salmon," you said, cutting into your dinner. He nodded in acknowledgment. "You excited for tomorrow?" You asked, taking a bite of asparagus.

He hummed a yes, swallowing his bite of hamburger, "if there's one thing they know how to do at the White House- it's make eggnog."

"Wait- you've been to this before?" You asked, brows furrowed.

"Yeah, they love me there," Jake said, shrugging like it should be common knowledge. You supposed it probably was, there weren't many places where he didn't make friends.

"Of course they do." You shook your head.

"Oh, hey, you know what we should do?" He asked.

"What?" You replied, taking a sip of water.

"Put on a Christmas movie- I bet they have all the streaming services here," he waggled his eyebrows.

"You say that like you don't." You told him, raising a brow.

"Oh come on," he whined, "don't be a grinch."

"I'm not," you said defensively, "I'm just afraid of your poor taste."

"I have great taste in everything, and that's a fact," Jake said.

You rolled your eyes, "fine then, what would you have us watch?"

"National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation." He said, proudly. You cursed, internally, that was one of your favorites.

"You just like that scene where that hot girl takes off her bathing suit."

"You don't?!" He asked.

"I never said that," you shrugged.

"That settles it, then. I'm putting it on." He said, swiping the remote and sitting down on the couch.

You rolled your eyes but got up anyways, grabbing your dessert off of the table. After grabbing a fork, you settled in next to him.

Jake side-eyed your dish. "What is that?"

"Fancy chocolate cake," you told him, offering your fork for him try it.

He took a bite, and his eyes widened, grabbing himself some more.

"Jesus! Save some for me," you snapped, snatching your fork back. He gave you an innocent-looking smile as he pressed play on the movie.

Somewhere over the course of high-speed sledding, non-functioning Christmas lights, and difficult Griswold family relatives, you must have fallen asleep. You awoke to the phone on your nightstand ringing. Thanking your lucky stars that you scheduled a wake-up call earlier in the evening, you answered the phone. As you did, you noticed a note left on the fancy hotel stationery.

You fell asleep, loser. I moved you so you wouldn't complain about your back hurting. Also, I ate the rest of your chocolate cake- it was delicious.

You rolled your eyes at the lovely message Jake had written you. However, you were thankful he hadn't let you just sleep on the couch, even if it came at the cost of the rest of your slice of cake.

You rolled out of bed and quickly got dressed. You had a hair appointment at noon followed by makeup at three. Being back at the hotel by 4:30 would give you enough time to grab a little something to eat and put on your gown.

After eating in the hotel lobby, you grabbed the elevator back up to the seventh floor to get your coat and your purse before leaving. The doors opened up only to reveal the man you couldn't seem to avoid.

"Are you really going to the gym again?" You asked after looking at what he was wearing.

"Hey, these abs don't build themselves, Einstein," he said. As you stepped out of the elevator he traded places with you, "what are you up to this morning?"

"Just about to head to my hair appointment," you told him. "See you tonight!" You said as the doors shut.

After a long day of beauty prep, you were finally ready to put on the dress. You had a surprisingly delicious salad from the restaurant in the lobby and were ready to finish the look for the evening.

Both you and Nicole had agreed a few weeks earlier that you should wear matching gloves with the dress. She'd ordered a pair for you from a shop in DC and had them delivered to your hotel this morning.

After donning the gown, you pulled on the black opera gloves to accompany it. You sat down at the vanity in your room to put in your pearl earrings, and just like that, you were done. You weren't sure you'd ever felt more beautiful.

"Hey, I don't know if you're still getting ready, but I'm leaving for the party soon, and I'm happy to drive you." Came Jake's voice through the door. Originally you were planning on hiring a car to take you, but you'd sort of forgotten about that. "I know we didn't talk about-"

You cut him off by swinging the door open. The words died in his mouth as soon as he saw you. After a moment he regained control of his smart mouth.

"I've never been so glad to have spent gas money," Jake murmured softly.

You shook your head, goodnaturedly, "I just have to grab my purse." You told him. He only nodded, still admiring the view.

As you walked back toward him you couldn't help but admire how he looked in his naval formal dress. "You clean up nice," you told him, adjusting his bow tie.

"So do you," he complimented, smiling.

You couldn't help but give him one back, "then let's go be the two hottest people at the White House."

"I thought you'd never ask," he teased, offering you his arm.

No one could say that Jake Seresin wasn't a gentleman. He could be an insufferable flirt, yes, but his Southern upbringing shined through when it counted. He opened the car door for you twice, both when entering and exiting, and insisted on offering you his arm. That- you weren't complaining about. Designing high-speed jets didn't give you that much practice walking in heels. You knew Jake wouldn't let you fall. On a normal day he probably actually would, but he knew how much this Christmas party meant to you. He would be damned if it wasn't the best night of your whole fucking life.

You couldn't say he was bad company, either. After knowing each other for so long, you were more than comfortable in his presence. In fact, there were times he made you laugh like no other. You were sure tonight would be one of those occasions. With all the politicians and stuffy old people you already saw milling around, Jake would definitely start making cracks at the expense of his fellow party-goers.

The two of you had barely stepped through the door when you heard someone calling your name. You turned to see a young man.

"Hi, the President asked me to come grab you," he told you kindly- like he'd said something casual. Your eyes widened and you didn't move for a minute until Jake nudged you.

"Right!" You said, finally, "yes of course." You looked to Jake for support and found him giving you an encouraging nod.

"I'll find you later," he promised, as the young man started leading you toward where you assumed the President was. You still couldn't believe this was happening.

Finally, you came to where the man was standing with the First Lady. In an instant, the man excused himself from his conversation and walked right up to you. He greeted you by your first name, immediately shaking your hand. He acted as if he'd known you for years.

"I've been told you've done amazing work for the Navy. It sounds to me like you've brought us into the 21st century. I can't thank you enough." He gave you a show-stopping smile. Meeting him in person, it was even clearer why more than half the country had voted for him.

"Thank you so much, sir. It's an honor to meet you." You replied, a little starstruck.

"Believe me," he said, "the honor's all mine. Let me introduce you to some people." He guided you toward the conversation his wife was still taking part in.

Your conversation with the President had left you decidedly starstruck. You'd had no idea just how charming the man was in person. Frankly, it made you think Jake could run for office. With all his charm and godly good looks, he could probably make it pretty far.

Unfortunately, the President had to cut the brief tour he decided to take you on short- apparently, he'd received an important phone call. You were sure whatever it definitely took priority over your walkabout. He wished you a lovely evening and assured you you'd be on the guest list for all of his White House Christmas parties to come. And now you were trying to find Jake. Only you couldn't seem to track him down.

Walking into the main room of the party, you did a scan around. Peering over the couples dancing to the live band, you couldn't seem to spot him. However, you spotted someone you had hoped not to see for a long time. Your ex.

How on Earth did that lying, cheating, son of a bitch get an invite to this? He was a glorified secretary. And you were practically a fucking genius. Despite how much Jake teased you for it, your brilliance was indisputable. Not only that, but you'd spent the last few years busting your balls on the Darkstar project. This was your victory celebration, and now he was taking this from you too.

Tears swelled in your eyes, not because you were sad, but because you were furious. You hated when that happened, and you hated it even more when you had your eye makeup done. Before your ex-boyfriend could see you, you turned away to grab a drink. Almost instantly, you bumped into the man you had been looking for. Two strong hands steadied you from your elbows.

"Hey," Jake started with a smile that soon disappeared, "what's wrong?" His brow furrowed with concern.

"He's here," you said simply. Your shoulders were tense, and you were still trying to keep tears from spilling.

Jake's head whipped around the room. Instantly he spotted the person who'd made you so upset. His jaw clenched in anger, but he dismissed it to ensure you were alright.

"Come on," he guided you away. As a waiter passed he grabbed a glass of champagne off the tray. "Drink this," he said once you were in relative private.

You started shaking your head. You'd been having such a good night, but one glimpse at the man who'd cheated on you and your self esteem practically washed down the drain.

"Jake, what am I even doing here?" You said, face hot with embarrassment. "I really don't know why I thought this was a good idea- I'm just gonna call a cab and go back to the hotel." Your words came out in a rush.

"Woah, Woah, Woah," he said, "slow down, okay?" You shook your head again, but he grabbed your face in his hands and gently forced you to look at him.

He said your name softly, "you deserve to be here." He assured you.

You lightly grabbed his wrists, "Jake."

"No," he said firmly, "you have been looking forward to this for weeks. You work harder than anyone I know. You have more than earned a beautiful fucking evening at a fancy-ass Christmas party." You let out a halfhearted chuckle at that. "You look beautiful, you deserve to be here, and you don't have to worry about him. Trust me." You closed your eyes, relaxing into his hands.

"Hell, the President himself spent half an hour talking to you." You giggled at that. "Speaking of which, what'd you think of Jed?"

That gave you pause, "you and the President are on a first-name basis?"

He smirked, and all of a sudden you felt normal again. You let out a loud laugh.

"You just can't help but show me up, huh, hot shot?" You asked him, grinning impossibly wide.

"It's how I roll, darlin'."

"Well, you can dance with me to make up for it," you said, grabbing his hand and leading him back to where the band was playing.

Jake stopped in his tracks, "you sure?" You heard his underlying question of will you be ok if your ex is watching?

"Positive," you assured him, "Why? Are you not a Tchaikovsky fan?"

"I never said that," he said, "who wouldn't want to waltz to Waltz of the Flowers?" You smiled at his small joke as he led you onto the floor.

"How'd you know I could dance?" He asked you after a few turns around the floor.

"Did you not parade some lucky southern belle around her cotillion?" You asked innocently.

He snorted, "you caught me." To your surprise, Jake was an even better dancer than you thought. Although you shouldn't have been shocked, you doubted there was anything he couldn't do if he really wanted to.

"Do you remember that other time we danced?" He asked softly in your ear.

You wracked your brain for a moment before it came to you, "do you mean when we were drunk and did the Dirty Dancing lift?"

"Yeah," he grinned, "you think that would impress these folks who were around to see the White House built in the 1700s?"

"Actually Jake, the White House was rebuilt after it was burned down during the War of 1812. The President just told me so."

He gave you an unamused look, "fine, then I'll just dip you when you least expect it."

True to his word, just as the song came to an end he enacted his plan. He extended his arm out, then pulled you back in by the hand, instantly dropping you into a low dip. He kept you there for a moment, before slowly pulling you back up by the waist. The band had moved on to the next song, but you didn't know if anyone was dancing to it. You couldn't tear your gaze from his eyes.

A throat cleared from behind him, "may I cut in?" Of course, Artie thought you owed him a dance. Why wouldn't he- the pompous ass? Even after cheating on you he felt entitled to your time.

The look on Jake's face told you he was about to cause a problem, and the last thing you needed was to cause a scene at a respectable event. Letting out a huff, you took yourself as physically far from your ex as you could go.

Despite being able to see the snow from inside, you underestimated just how cold it would be out on the terrace. The breath that escaped you was visible in the brisk night air.

"You'll freeze to death you know," came a familiar voice from behind you. You turned just as Jake shut the glass door behind him, muffling the sounds of the party. The music carried, though, and made the cold a bit more bearable.

"I'd take that over dancing with Arthur," you scoffed. He made his way to where you looked out over the frosty railing.

"You didn't have to rush off. I would've taken care of him." His words made you sigh.

"You can't always take care of everything for me, Jake." Your chest ached. Every time you spent a few days with him, you somehow re-convinced yourself that he'd always be around for you. That, eventually, his role in your life would be more permanent and more than that of a friend. This time had been no different.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, eyebrows furrowed. His expression changed when he saw how cold you were. "Come here, you're shivering," he said, shrugging his jacket off and draping it over your shoulders.

"This is what I'm talking about." You shook your head, backing away a little.

"Really, Einstein, what-?"

You cut him off, "I can't keep letting you take care of me like this."

"Why not?"

You screwed your eyes shut, "because I'm fooling myself into thinking it's not temporary."

He blinked a few times, "it's not-"

"No, Jake, it really is," you said, tears welling in your eyes for the second time that evening. "Because you don't want to spend the rest of your life doing this. You don't want to spend a thousand more nights eating on the floor with me and watching movies and taking me out."

"And what if I do? What if I want to spend the whole rest of my life taking care of you. God knows you don't take good enough care of yourself." Jake said firmly, looking at you in disbelief. Your fists curled in frustration at his words.

"How can you say things like that when you don't really mean them?"

"I do!" He practically shouted.

"You can't say things like that," you begged. "You can't do things like this," your voice grew louder, gesturing to the jacket he'd given you. "Because I can't help but think that you're in love with me."

"I am." Jake said simply.

"What?" Your face fell in surprise, not quite understanding.

"I'm in love with you," he said so earnestly you thought you'd melt. You blinked and he had bridged the gap between you. Wrapping an arm around your waist, he pulled you into a firm kiss that left no room to deny his feelings for you.

It took you a moment to recover from the shock, but soon enough, your arms snaked up to wrap around Jake's neck. He held you there for a long moment, and you reveled in the feeling. How his strong arms kept you close, and his soft lips met yours. You basked in the warmth that radiated from his chest. In that moment, you were sure there had never been a more perfect kiss.

He pulled away but rested his forehead against yours. "Took you long enough to figure it out. I thought you were supposed to be a genius." His eyes shined with mirth as he spoke softly, smiling down at you teasingly.

"Not when it comes to feelings," you whispered, suddenly bashful.

"I think I made it pretty obvious," he laughed.

"Jake," you groaned, burying your head in his chest.

You felt his body shake as he chuckled, "that's okay, in your defense it took me a while to tell you outright."

"Well then, I'll spare you that trouble," you said, lifting your head confidently. "It's always been you or bust for me, Seresin."

He snorted, "how romantic."

"Wait, wait, let me have a do-over."

Jake rolled his eyes at you, shaking his head amusedly. You grabbed his face between both hands, and practically touched your nose to his.

"I love you," you breathed out, staring deep into his eyes. The words fell out of your lips with ease like none had before. Saying them felt good and right.

"Apparently you loved the gourmet onion rings too," he joked.

You reeled back and smacked him on the arm. "Jacob Seresin," you scoffed.

"Kidding, kidding," he assured you. You rolled your eyes but were unable to keep a grin off of your face. "What do you say we head back to the hotel?"

"Already?"

"You got the tour, met the president, and confessed your undying love- what more were you looking to do?" He asked.

"touché," you nodded, taking his hand and letting him lead you out of the party.

The next morning you awoke a lot warmer than you'd been the night before. You let out a yawn and stretched a little, rolling over only to run into Jake. Oh. Oh. Your eyes widened. And of course, he was still shirtless. You couldn't help but admire how the light that peaked out from behind the curtain graced his features.

"Go back to bed," he grumbled, voice raspy from sleep. And how could you argue with that?

"Room service later?" You asked him in a whisper.

With eyes still closed, he hummed in agreement. He then wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled you closer to him. A grin grew on your face- it was going to be a very merry Christmas.

-----------------------------------------------------

here is the link to the dress I'm picturing btw

MERRY FUCKING CHRISTMAS I have been working on this bitch since literally the middle of October. Christmas is really fucking for me this year (in a great way)- hope you all enjoy. Also, I wrote- like- half of this while listening to a ten-hour loop of that jazz song from the Incredibles.

(and happy Top Gun Maverick rerelease :D)

#jake seresin x reader #hangman x reader #jake seresin x you #top gun maverick #top gun x reader #hangman x you

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princesssarcastia · 9 months

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here, in honor of my newfound freedom, have a snippet from the big top gun fic i'm working on.

in which yeah, chief warrant officer bernie "hondo" coleman is falling a little bit in love with captain pete "maverick" mitchell. what of it?

It’s always Hondo, too, whenever Maverick talks to him. He’s very careful to keep it to Chief Warrant Officer Coleman whenever they’re forced to stand on ceremony—mainly, whenever the brass from NAWCWD and beyond come sniffing at the multi-billion-dollar project. Always giving him the respect he’s due. But when it’s just the Darkstar crew, he makes a point to call Bernie Hondo. Remember what Hondo said; that’s a great point, Hondo; Hondo, would you pass me that schematic. Eventually, the more susceptible engineers, the non-military ones, start calling him Hondo, too. Not quite understanding what it means but wanting in on the comradery. And when Bernie doesn’t object, the ones who know better start doing it. He looks up one day and realizes his crew hasn’t referred to him by anything other than his callsign, the thing he thought he’d left behind in the desert and deep blue waters in the Persian Gulf, in weeks. A necessary sacrifice at the time if he wanted to keep going in the Navy. Unfair, but necessary. And here Maverick is, giving it back to him. Looking up at him from across the drawing board with those big fucking eyes like he knows exactly what Bernie’s thinking, and exactly what it means to Bernie. To Hondo. It stalls his breath in his lungs for three heartbeats too long, but when he finally lets it out, Hondo gives him a slow, bobbing nod in thanks. Of course Maverick knows what it means. You don’t see anyone walking around calling him Pete.

#hondo deserves so much more credit in the tgm fandom #and so much more than his traditional fandom role as maverick wrangler #the man is a fucking professional #put some respect on his name please #he is not just here to play babysitter for the loose canon white guy #also? very very bisexual #pete/hondo is bi4bi thank you very much #(the big project is NOT pete/hondo endgame. but there will be an extended pete/hondo interlude.#because im love hondo. and i respect him too much not to include him)#top gun maverick #top gun fanfiction #bernie hondo coleman #pete maverick mitchell #the importance of being called the name you choose

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katiesharms · 2 years

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just in case

fandom: top gun: maverick pairing: phoenix/hangman rating: T word count: 5k (this one got away from me team) requested: yes! by @lj13oct

summary: phoenix's plane goes down during training. jake tries to deal with it (spoiler alert: he doesn't)

a/n: hey!! this was a request from @lj13oct for a fic in my hannix universe where one of them goes dark during a mission. this is uh kinda that. it's very angsty but with a happy ending, i promise! if you ever want to prompt me in this universe, please shoot me an ask!

Three months after they get engaged, Phoenix’s plane goes down over the desert.

Hangman isn’t there. They haven’t been stationed at the same base in over a year, so while Phoenix is doing squadron recertification out in Lemoore, Jake is preparing to deploy from Oceana. They’re both hoping that once they get married, his request for a transfer will finally go through.

So Jake isn’t there to watch her engine light on fire, to hear her panicked intake of breath seconds before the comms go quiet, to witness her plane barrel into the side of the mountain, no parachute in sight. Instead, he gets a call from Bob.

His phone rings at 7:03 p.m. on a Tuesday. The date and time are forever etched into his memory.

Bob never calls Jake, so when he picks up, he actually assumes it’s Nat calling with the other man’s phone. She’s done it before, when hers dies or doesn’t have service. Sometimes, she and Bob are more one person than two. So he greets the WSO with, “hey, babe, you lose your phone?”

It’s silent on the other end, too silent, before Bob eventually speaks. “Uh, hey, Hangman.”

His voice is quiet and shaky, which is Jake’s first clue that something’s up. Bob, while maybe not the loudest, always speaks with confidence, with surety.

“I just thought I should call you, because, uh, well, Phoenix’s plane went down.”

His vision at the corners of his eyes white out as Jake starts shaking, all of a sudden fighting to control his breathing. Her plane went down, she’s injured, he has to get to Lemoore, his mind starts playing in a loop, and he pulls a suitcase out without a second thought.

“Is she okay?” he asks, panicked, as he starts to throw random clothes in his bag.

“Well, they don’t, I don’t know.”

“You don’t know? You were in the plane with her!”

“I wasn’t; she was doing her certification for the single-seater. And something went wrong with the plane; they don’t know what.”

“A multi-million dollar aircraft and they can’t figure out what went wrong? Where is she?”

“They don’t know.”

Jake stills his packing as Bob’s words catch up to him. “They don’t know?”

“Yeah, they can’t find the plane, so they can’t find her.”

“What do you mean they can’t find the plane? It’s a PLANE!” Hangman is shouting now, though he does feel a little guilty that Bob is on the receiving end of it. “They’re pretty big and noticeable, and tend to crash in a rather fiery manner.”

“I know, Jake, I’m on your side.” The use of his real name by Bob calms him a little. “I just thought I should call you in case you didn’t know yet. They already told her family; they’re driving in tonight.”

Right, they tell her family but not him, the fiance who’s also in the Navy. Sometimes, Jake hates the military.

“Thanks, Bob,” he says quietly, honestly. “I’ll be on the first flight out; I’ll text you the flight number.”

Getting there isn’t too bad, only requiring one layover. Hangman doesn’t have to worry about clearing his leave since his squadron has off until they deploy next Monday. He’ll cross that bridge when he gets to it.

Basically the entire Dagger Squad is still stationed in Lemoore, Hangman being the odd one out back east. Rooster, who isn’t flying anymore, is still in the area, helping Maverick with the Darkstar program, and even Coyote is stationed on base. It was another reason Jake’s been so desperate to get transferred out there. The number one reason, though, remains Natasha.

The weather is pleasant, warm in a way that it can only be in California in December, but he can’t enjoy it, not when he hasn’t slept since before Bob called him. Payback picks him up from the airport, telling him that Bob said he could crash with him.

“I figured you’d want to go straight to base, though, if that’s okay?” Payback asks as he exits the airport.

“Yes, perfect.”

He likes Payback, finds his energy relaxing, despite everything. Payback talks aimlessly about training, about a new show Fanboy found, about his kid’s first day at kindergarten. It helps distract Jake during the long drive to base.

When they get there, everyone is waiting outside the Admiral’s office, and when Jake says everyone, he means everyone. Bob is sitting on one of the cheap plastic chairs, bouncing his leg incessantly. Fanboy is next to him, matching the rhythm with the tapping of his fingers on his thigh. Rooster is pacing the length of the hallway, occasionally coming to a stop in front of Maverick to talk. Coyote is leaning against the wall, and when Hangman comes in, he makes a beeline for his friend, pulling him into a patented Javy bear hug.

“Any news?” he asks the gathered crowd.

Bob shakes his head. “We’re waiting for the Admiral to update us.”

Jake nods in understanding. “Where are the Traces?”

“Back at their hotel. They weren’t allowed in.”

About 15 minutes after Jake arrives, the Amiral emerges from his office, surveying the group.

“I assume you are all here about Lieutenant Trace?”

They all nod, but it’s Jake who speaks. “Yes, sir. Any news?”

The Admiral turns to him, giving him the once over. He clearly doesn’t recognize Jake, wondering what a pilot not under his command is doing there. “Who are you?”

“I’m the fiance you forgot to inform. Sir,” he adds belatedly when the Admiral’s eyes flash. Probably not his best move.

“Right, well, if you all can come into my office.”

The office is spacious, with plenty of seating options. Jake still chooses to stand, right at the edge of the Admiral’s desk.

“After extensive search and rescue, we are unable to locate either Lieutenant Trace or her plane. At this point, we are declaring her MIA. A smaller search will continue throughout the week, but that is no guarantee we will find her.”

“Sir, are you saying that she’s a lost cause?” Maverick asks, the only one brave enough to voice the thought.

“I’m saying that we can no longer afford such an extensive search. We will act as if she is not coming back. Lieutenant Floyd will be assigned a new pilot.”

Jake feels his blood boil. It’s barely been a day, and they’re giving up on her?

“She has to come back,” he insists, desperate. “She promised me she’d come back.”

“I'm sorry, Lieutenant, but there’s nothing else we can do. We’re at the limits of our capabilities. If she’s out there, she’ll have to find us.”

“If,” Jake scoffs. “She’s out there, sir, I can guarantee it. You have to let me look for her.”

“I don’t have to let you do anything, Lieutenant. I am not your commanding officer and I’m not risking another pilot and plane on this.”

Jake’s fuming, ready to practically attack the Admiral, and his friends can sense it. It’s Coyote, with a steadying hand, who stops him from blowing up in insubordination.

“Jake,” he says softly, just so he can hear. “There’s nothing you can do. I’m sorry, but it’s true.”

He knows it is true, but that doesn’t mean he has to accept it. But he also knows that getting grounded, or worse, kicked out, won’t help him find Nat. So he lets Javy lead him out to the hallway and heads to the Traces’ hotel to commiserate and worry with other people who love Natasha so much it’s like the world has stopped turning.

The last time Jake had seen her was only two weeks ago, at Maverick’s Thanksgiving. They’d arranged their flights to get in at the same time so they could drive over together. On the way there, Nat ‘accidentally’ gave him the wrong directions (he maintains that she did it on purpose). When they realized they would be late anyway, he pulled off to the side of the road and went down on her, quick and efficient.

By the time they got to the hanger, obnoxiously late, everyone else was already there. Nat must have been feeling generous since she let him get away with the kind of PDA she’d usually shrug off. He looped his arm around her shoulders or through her elbow, or kept his hand laced with hers. She even, at one point, snuck her hand into his back pocket.

The day after was actual Thanksgiving, and they spent their morning driving to her mom’s place. He passed the time by teasing her for the way she drives like a grandma despite being a pilot.

That was the last time he’d seen the Traces as well. It’s a much different vibe this time.

Jake ends up sleeping on the couch in the Traces’ hotel room, not wanting to leave them alone yet. The next morning, he makes his way to Bob’s. The WSO is at base, but he left a key for Hangman under the mat. The apartment is as clean and efficient as Jake remembers, and he easily finds the guest room. After a quick shower, he debates if he should head into base or find something to do.

Coyote decides for him, texting that he’s on his way over. The next week proceeds in a similar fashion, like there was an agreement not to let Jake be alone for too long. Even Rooster takes a shift, as awkward as it is.

On Friday, when she’s been missing for three days, Coyote asks him about his deployment.

“I’m not leaving until they find her,” he insists, and watches his friend's face fill with something akin to pity.

“Jake, that doesn’t really seem like a good idea,” his friend says gently.

“What the hell else am I supposed to do? Get on a carrier going to the middle of the Atlantic with no clue where she is?”

Javy gives him a look that tells him that’s exactly what he’s supposed to do.

“You could get into some real trouble if you don’t go. That wouldn’t be good for anyone.”

Jake wants to keep fighting, but he knows Coyote is right. The last thing he needs is for when Nat comes back to be unemployed and dishonorably discharged. She’d kill him.

Just because he’s going, that doesn’t mean he’s happy about it. The night before he leaves, he’s sulking, alone in Bob’s apartment after he practically forced the man to give him some alone time. The doorbell ringing forces him out of his milieu, and he grumbles as he gets up to answer it.

Rooster’s on the other side. “Hangman,” he greets.

“Rooster. Here to see me off?”

“I’m here to give you this.” He holds up a pale blue envelope. Jake stares down at it but doesn’t take it.

“What is it?” he asks, though he has a good idea.

“She gave it to me a while ago. It's for you, if anything, uh, ever happened.”

“I don’t want it,” he bristles, still ignoring Rooster’s outstretched hand,

“Hangman, just take it.”

“It’s only been a week!” he practically shouts, and Rooster remains impressively calm.

“Exactly,” he emphasizes quietly, and Jake knows exactly what he’s not saying.

If it’s been a week, and if they haven’t found her, they probably won’t ever find her. It’s bullshit, he thinks. If they would just give him a plane and some time, he could find her. He can always find her. Instead, they’re giving up on her. An absolutely foolish move.

Instead of saying any of that, Jake just sighs and grabs the envelope from Rooster’s outstretched hand. It’s a light blue, with a ‘J’ written on the front in her looping script. He runs his thumb over where the pen made indents in the paper, and when he flips it over, he realizes it’s sealed with a flower sticker. Something about it is so Natasha that it almost makes him smile. Almost.

“She left me one, too,” Rooster says.

“Way to make me feel special.”

Rooster rolls his eyes. “I’m sure ours are very different.”

“Have you read yours?” His voice has a dangerous edge to it, like the sharp end of a knife. If Bradley read his letter, that means he’s given up on her as well.

“No, I haven’t. Haven’t given her family theirs either.”

“Just me.”

“Well, you’re deploying for four months, like, tomorrow. So just in case”

Just in case. Just in case those four months end, and she’s still missing. The thought twists unpleasantly in his gut, and Jake all of a sudden needs something to drink.

He doesn’t ask why Natasha entrusted Rooster with her letters and not him. He knows it’s because if there was ever a time he was up in the air with her, and she went down, he’d be following her no matter what. And then, there’d be no one to deliver the letters.

Jake invites Rooster in, but the other man declines. He’s not torn up about it, pretty sure he’s terrible company at the moment. After he shuts the door, he throws the envelope on the counter, ignoring it as he grabs a beer from the fridge. He continues to ignore it as he downs the beer, followed by another one, and another one after that. He ignores it as he gets ready for bed, as he falls into a fitful sleep. He ignores it when he wakes up and packs quickly, late for his flight. He ignores it as he slides it into the outer pouch of his bag, careful as to not crease it.

Deployment has taken on a depressing edge over the last couple of years since he and Nat found each other, and he gained some actual friends. But this one is the hardest he’s ever had to do. It’s worse than his first one, years ago, worse than the one from the mission. This time, he doesn’t even know if there’s anything waiting for him when he comes back.

No one in his squadron knows what happened, and he doesn’t particularly feel like reliving it, so he doesn’t tell anyone. Instead, he keeps to himself, flying his patrols and shrugging off invitations to hang out.

Two weeks after he deploys, and three weeks after Natasha’s plane went down, it’s Christmas. The mood on a carrier over the holidays is always a complicated one, people cheerful because of the season but also upset that they can’t be home.

He’d been so upset about missing Christmas with this new deployment. Now, he just wants to make sure she doesn’t miss it, either. The holiday passes miserably, Jake not even able to delight in the gift packages. His call with his family is short, perfunctory, and luckily, no one presses him.

When he retires to his bunk, he pulls out the letter from where it’s been sitting in a drawer, wedged between his underwear like his most prized possession. He’s managed to keep it uncreased and intact, something not short of a miracle. He rotates it a few times in his hand, watching the light reflect off the sticker. Staring down at the looped J, he makes a decision.

Reading it doesn’t have to mean he’s given up. He just needs a piece of her today. He peels off the sticker carefully, sliding the letter out in a way that ensures its condition remains pristine.

The letter is written on notebook paper. Completely unpretentious. It’s somehow both longer and shorter than he thought it would be. As he unfolds it, something falls to the ground. When he picks it up, Jake realizes it’s a photo, printed off of one of those cheap printers you can get for your phone. He remembers that Elena got Phoenix one last year. It’s one he’s never seen before, probably a candid taken by a friend. They’re both asleep, Nat curled against his chest and his head resting atop hers. He places the photo on his desk and starts reading.

Jake -

I wanted to start this with ‘Bagman’, but I figured if you’re reading this, you’re already in a vulnerable state, and I don’t like to kick a man when he’s down.

I’m sorry. I know I promised to come back, and I didn’t, and I’m sorry. Know that I tried so hard, so desperately, to come home to you. It’s all I think about when I’m up there. Well, obviously not ALL I think about. I am piloting a plane. But I think about you constantly, in the back of my mind. It’s subconscious, natural. Like breathing. It’s what’s brought me home every time.

That isn’t to say you weren’t enough this time around. You’re always enough. You’re, somehow, the greatest man I know. There are a million reasons why I could’ve not come back, but none of them are because I don’t love you enough. I love you so much it makes me do stupid shit, like writing this letter. You know how much I hate expressing my feelings like this, but I'm doing it for you.

When my dad died, there were a lot of things I wish I could’ve heard from him one last time. So, I’m doing that for you. Here is a non-comprehensive list of the things I love about Jake Seresin:

You’re the best pilot I’ve ever seen fly, except for maybe Maverick. (Don’t tell Rooster about this one.)

You are, despite what people say, one of the most generous, loyal people I know.

You’re a surprisingly good shower singer. It’s my favorite alarm clock.

You have given me the best sex of my life.

You love my family like it’s your own, and I know how much you love your family.

I love you so much that I’m willing to watch meaningless college football bowl games with you. Hook ‘em horns!

You’ve gotten me through some of the hardest moments of my life. I’m sorry I’m not there to help you through this one.

Remember when we first started dating and we were out to dinner, and that waitress wouldn’t stop flirting with you? I was jealous but wouldn’t admit it, feeling insecure in the stupidest of ways. Anyway, when she asked us (you) if we wanted any dessert, you looked her straight in the eye and asked for a milkshake with two straws. It was so ridiculous and somehow so kind that I think I fell in love with you right there and then.

You’re funny. Don’t let this one go to your head.

You saw what was between us for so long. Sometimes, I’m upset that I didn’t see it sooner, but I don’t think we would’ve worked well together when we were so young and stupid. I’m glad we found each other the way we did. I’m glad you never gave up on me.

This list is getting away from me, but it’s nowhere near the full thing. Just know that I love you in a way I’ve never loved anyone before. I love you enough that I want you to move on from this. I love you so I want you to promise me you’ll find a way to be okay.

Yours,

Nat

He has to stop reading it at multiple points, tears clouding his vision. He doesn’t want them to land on the letter; he wants it to be in perfect condition. When he finally makes it to the end, he’s sobbing. It’s bullshit that she thinks, that she thought, he’d ever find a way to be okay.

Two days after Christmas, Jake is called to the Admiral’s office. When he asks the man who sent for him what it’s about, he says, “I don’t know, something about a Phoenix?”

Jake takes off running, barreling through the carrier. His heart is beating erratically and it’s not because of the exertion. He knows it’s an equal chance that it’s bad news as it is good, but he’s pulling for a belated Christmas miracle.

When he reaches the office, he pauses to briefly catch his breath and right himself into proper posture. He walks in at attention, and the Admiral quickly lets him relax and offers him a chair. One point in the bad news column.

“Lieutenant, it is my understanding that you are engaged to one Lieutenant Natasha Trace?”

The present tense makes one for the good news column.

“Yes, sir. We’re to get married after this deployment.”

“Right, well, as I’m sure you know, her plane went down on December 2nd, and they couldn’t find either her plane or her. I just received word that they found the wreckage, and she was camped out nearby, injured but not critically so. She’s currently in the hospital at Lemoore, expected to make a full recovery. She should even be able to walk down the aisle.”

“Oh my God,” Jake whispers, unable to stop the tears that come to his eyes. He squeezes them shit, feeling a few drop down his face, and cradles his head in his hands. He takes a few steadying breaths to stave off the sobs of relief, trying to hold onto some of his dignity. “Sorry, sir, I just need a moment.”

“Take a few,” the admiral sounds understanding. “I can’t imagine the hell you’ve been through.”

Jake nods in agreement before sniffing one last time and raising his head. “When did they find her, sir?”

“The 11th.”

Jake has to clench his jaw shut to keep it from dropping. The 11th was two days after he deployed, nearly three weeks ago. He knew he shouldn’t have left.

“Respectfully, sir, why did it take so long for me to find out?”

“That’s what I'm trying to figure out, Lieutenant. It seems, since you’re not listed as next of kin, you weren’t notified when they found her. And then they had her in a medically induced coma for a few days, and after that, it took a while for the message to reach us.”

“Right,” he grounds out, beyond mad that it took so long for him to hear. “Sir, I’d like to put in a request for immediate leave.”

The Admiral laughs, but it’s kind. “Leave? Seresin, we’re in the middle of the Atlantic.”

“I know that, sir, but I need to get home. I need to see her.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

Jake has to wait for their first shore leave, nearly a week later, to get started on his journey home. He still hasn’t been able to get in contact with Phoenix, much to his annoyance.

They’re docked in some European port, and by nothing short of a miracle, he gets a direct flight to San Jose. He can’t sleep the whole way there, wide awake through the 10-hour flight. By the time he lands in SJC, he’s a bit delirious from exhaustion but still manages to deplane with no issues.

He doesn’t have anything except his carry-on, knowing it has to be a short trip, so he doesn’t have to go to baggage claim. He gets to the car rental quickly, taking the first thing they have. It’s a tiny Toyota sedan, and he already knows Phoenix is gonna give him shit about it.

Climbing into the car, he punches in her mom’s address to the navigation system. Before he leaves, he shoots her a text saying he’s on his way, not caring that she has no idea he’s even stateside. Predictably, she just responds with ‘?’ but he doesn’t answer. He’ll see her soon enough.

Pulling up to her house, he can see her Kia in the driveway. The sight of it settles something in him, reminding him that she’s waiting for him on the other side of the door. He rings the doorbell a little obnoxiously, holding it down for a beat too long and then hitting it a couple more times.

“I'm coming, I’m coming, Jesus,” a voice he recognizes as Elena calls from within the house. When she opens the door, she stops in her tracks, jaw dropping.

“Who is it, mija?” her mom asks from the living room.

“Tasha,” Elena yells, “you’re gonna want to come over here.”

She steps out of the way as Nat comes into view, grumbling about having to get up. She shuts her mouth when she spots him, though, looking at him like she can’t believe he’s real. It’s a little ridiculous, considering she was the one missing. Her eyes start to well with tears, and he can see his vision blurring as well. Without a second thought, he pulls her into a bear hug, clutching her head.

There’s a fading bruise on the side of her cheek, she’s walking with a slight limp, and her hair is shorn short on one side where he can feel stitches in her skull, but she’s okay. She’s alive, she came back.

“You’re supposed to be deployed,” she says through her tears.

“What, was I supposed to wait another three months to see you? I got emergency leave.”

“Of course you did.” She's got her head buried in his chest, and he can feel her tears start to soak through his shirt, just as he can watch his fall into her hair.”

“C’mere,” he mutters, pulling away a little so he can tilt her chin up for a salty kiss. It’s not perfect, more clumsy, just the two of them taking comfort in the routine.

When they break away, Nat studies him as if he was the one whose plane fell out of the sky.

“You look like shit,” she says bluntly.

“Wow, way to make a man feel special.”

“I’m serious; when was the last time you slept?”

“Uh,” he scratches the back of his head sheepishly. “Around December 2nd.”

“Jake,” she says softly.

“It’s been a tough month.”

“Come in. We can take a nap.”

He follows her easily, barely acknowledging her family in the living room. He passes out the second his head hits the pillow, her body a comforting weight curled around his.

When he wakes up, it’s dark out, a disorienting experience that isn’t helped by his jet lag. At first, Jake doesn’t know where he is, but when he rolls over, he finds Nat watching him, and it all comes flooding back to him.

“Good morning,” she teases.

Instead of answering, he kisses her, with more purpose than before. He tries to pour everything from the last month into it, all the grief, the worry, and hope, his ultimate trust in her. In turn, she shows him the same.

He undresses her slowly, gently, so much so that Nat rolls her eyes.

“I won’t break, you know?”

“You already broke once; I’m not taking the risk.”

She tries to look annoyed, but it's too fond. He can see right through it. It doesn’t stop him from being more careful than he’s ever been, maneuvering over her with an acute awareness of her injuries. When he pushes into her, he does it slowly, barely moving. It works, though, and when he finishes, he’s, embarrassingly, crying.

Collapsing next to her, his stomach growls, disrupting their quiet bubble. Nat snorts with laughter when she hears it. Sighing, He checks the clock and realizes it’s 2:00 am. He landed in San Jose nearly 8 hours ago, and hasn’t eaten since that morning.

“There should be leftovers in the fridge,” she offers, and Jake takes her up on the offer quickly.

They sneak downstairs quietly, aware of her sisters and mom sleeping soundly.

“I read your letter,” he says as she places the food in the microwave. “Didn’t realize you loved me like that, Trace.”

“Oh great, now I have to write a new one.”

She’s joking, but it cuts through Jake like a knife, cold and unnerving.

“No, you don’t,” he says firmly. “Nothings going to happen, not again.”

“Jake, you can’t know that.”

“Yes, I can. I can will it into existence if need be.”

She gives him a fond smile but remains skeptical. “Maybe you should write one, too. Just in case.”

He doesn’t say anything to that, too upset by the direction the conversation has taken. Instead, they just watch each other, a quiet understanding passing between them. The beeping of the microwave shocks them both out of their trance.

“So when do you have to go back?” she asks as she places the plate between them, handing him one of the two forks in her hand.

“Soon, in like two days. Admiral Johnson was kind enough to let me use the shore leave to come here, but I have to be back before they depart from Portugal. What about you?”

“Well, I’m obviously not cleared for active duty.” She gestures to her bruises, and Jake winces, reaching out to grasp her hand on the counter. She gives him a comforting squeeze before continuing. “My doctor said it’ll be about another month before I’m physically ready for flying, and then a few more weeks after that before I’m back in proper shape.”

There's no mention of her taking more time than necessary or cutting back on her flying. He knows she doesn’t want that, that she’s already desperate to get back in the cockpit, despite all she’s been through. He loves her for it, even if it scares him.

“You gonna spend that month here?”

“Yeah, I don’t think my mom will let me out of her sight if she can help it.”

“I understand the urge.”

She squeezes his hand again, and he lets himself take a little comfort in it. He wishes he could take her back with him. Or stay here with her. He just wishes the Navy would keep them together. Jake realizes there’s a way they could make it happen.

“Let’s get married,” he says abruptly.

“We are getting married. You forget?” She wiggles her left hand in front of his face, the diamond on her ring finger catching the dim light.

“I meant let’s get married now. Or tomorrow. Just as soon as possible.” He wonders if he sounds as frantic as he feels, if she can hear his heart beating out of his chest.

“Jake,” she says, concerned.

“No, I almost lost you. Nat, you almost died, and they wouldn’t tell me anything. It took three weeks for me to even learn that you’re alive. I want to be the first person they call, the first name under next of kin. And I don’t want to wait until after my deployment.” Just in case is the unspoken addition that they both understand.

“We can still have the big ceremony when I come home, but let’s get married. We’ll drive to Vegas, c’mon, let’s do it.” He’s feeling more sure the more he talks.

Nat smiles, a tentative one. “Okay,” she agrees shakily. “Okay, yes, let’s get married.”

The next morning they leave at the crack of dawn to drive to Vegas. It takes them nine hours, and they end up at a drive-through chapel.

“Fuck,” Nat says as they inch up another car in line.

“Having second thoughts?” he asks, only a little worried.

“No, no, it’s just that my sisters are going to kill me.”

“They don’t have to know. No one has to know, really.” Honestly, he probably won’t tell his family for fear of his own sisters’ wrath. “Well, we have to tell the Navy since that’s the whole point. But this is for us. Our wedding when I come home will be for all of them.”

“I don’t like lying to them.” She’s holding her left hand up to the light, studying the ring.

“Nat, we don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. We can leave right now, find a cheap hotel and go home in the morning.”

“No, no, I want this. I want to marry you before you leave, to be your next of kin. I’m ready for us to be a family.”

His heart melts, just a little, as he watches her in the golden light filtering through the rented Toyota.

“Okay, let’s become a family.”

“Just know, I’m not changing my last name,” she warns as they move up another spot.

Jake laughs, the sound cracking through his body for the first time in a month. “Wouldn’t expect anything less, babe.

#hannix #top gun maverick #top gun fanfiction #phoenix x hangman #natasha phoenix trace #jake 'hangman' seresin #my writing #might post it on ao3 might not depends

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sebastianshaw · 11 months

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I ALMOST FORGOT! It’s still Fanfic Friday and here’s my fic! Haven, Ajak, Makkari, Darkstar, Scorpion, Asp, Mantis, Lightwave. All the dress designs I did or plan to do. Plus Essex and Bennet as cameos, and Selene in the role as the villan. requested by @catboy-sinister Shaw is mentioned in passing but does not appear. This is all about Haven being a damsel in distress who gets saved by multiple beautiful women, because I really really really like Haven getting rescued like she never did in canon. Basically, self-indulgent slosh as always! Complete with my attempt at classic comic-book dialogue style!

The third Hellfire Gala was in full swing, held outdoors, for the glory of Krakoa itself surpassed the beauty of any structure’s interior. There were sheltered areas, of course, but these were open, and they were not concrete and cement and glass and rebar, but natural structures formed by Krakoa itself. Caves and tunnels of stone that had sprung up overnight like giant mushrooms, with natural holes to serve as windows and crystals that jutted from the ‘sills’ to cast colored light on the opposite walls, twisting overheads of massive tree roots risen from the ground ensnared by whole forests worth of vines and flowers, spiraling fungi steps leading up to second ‘floors’ made of branches so wide and flat on top they served easily as walkways for multiple people to mingle upon. And as the sun set, genetically engineered insects, flowers, lichens, and more fungi lit up the dusk with their natural glow. Well, natural-ish. Mantis found it all very interesting. She’d always had an inborn empathy with nature, and her connection to plant life in particular had only been enhanced by her union with the Prime Cotati as the Celestial Madonna. Therefore, she’d been keen to communicate not simply with Krakoa itself, but all the organisms upon it—and no, she didn’t mean mutants. She wanted to know how these flowers and lichens and so on felt about their modification and utilization as decor for these invasive meat-creatures. Their responses varied, as with any population, but most seemed content enough with the situation. She’d also found it quite interesting to communicate with a fellow guest, Radha “Haven” Dastoor. A human philanthropist with a long history of supporting all those downtrodden or oppressed, she was the only current human member of Krakoa’s Inner Circle of the Hellfire Trading Company. Appointed its Black Queen, she was a liaison to both the human world, and invaluable as someone who knew where the miracle drugs of the famous island flora were needed most, and how to distribute them. What was of interest to Mantis though, was the woman’s. . .vibes, might be the most accurate word in English. Again, Mantis was a keenly sensitive individual even before her link to vegetation formed, and that extended to people. It seemed Haven, though she possessed no superpowers, was the same. The older woman had seen her off by herself—well, seemingly by herself, if you didn’t count non-animal life forms!---and how she appeared entranced with the plants before her, touching them with her antenna, for Mantis spoke to them without words, in their own language. She’d approached, and inquired most politely about it. Sensing her sincerity, Mantis explained, and she felt the most exquisite reaction of wonder and joy from this Haven! Haven found this a fantastic thing, and she told Mantis so, setting off their conversation. And through that conversation, Mantis could feel a bond growing between them rapidly, and what was more, she could feel Haven feeling it as well! Emotions and words flowed rapidly and naturally between the women like two rivers mixing their waters, and in minutes it was if they’d been lifelong friends. These two were not the only ones finding common ground. Two agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Carmilla “Scorpion” Black and Aurora “Lightwave” Dante, were also hitting it off. Despite both being employed with the same organization, and both superpowered women of similar youth, they’d actually never met before til now, when they were sent in attendance together after receiving their mutual invites. “I wasn’t sure I even counted as a mutant, to be honest,” Scorpion was telling Lightwave, “I mean, my powers came at sixteen, yeah, and it happened on its own, no radioactive scorpions involved, but I thought that was all due to my bio-monster’s genetic engineering.” “I guess maybe it could be a little of both?” Lightwave suggested, “Maybe you always had the X-gene, and your mom just played around with how it manifested.” “Well, given how it ended up actually SAVING me from her brainwashing chemicals, that would make a lot of sense. There’s no way she’d have arranged for THAT deliberately.” “That’s the old unpredictable x-factor!” Lightwave quipped, “You never know what it’s gonna do or how it’s gonna do it! I think that’s actually why it’s named that.” “Really? I always figured it was after that Professor X guy, didn’t he discover it?” “He did, and he named it, but I heard it wasn’t after himself, it was—oh, hi, can we help you?” “I apologize so much for interrupting,” said the dark-skinned woman who had approached them. She was beautiful, older than the pair of them but surely not out of her 30s, maybe not even into them, her sleek black hair in a chin-length bob and her black-and-gold gown in an Egyptian-inspired design. “But you, in the fetching green number. . .you are the one they call Stinger?” “I’m Scorpion. This is Stinger,” Scorpion lifted her left arm and pointed to it with her right one. The latter was covered in a long ruched sleeve that matched the skirt of her dress, but the former was bare save for a metal armlet from which metal fringes and small spikes, matching her earrings, dangled, and a metal bracelet linked to a ring, with a dazzling green gem between them set on the back of her hand. This ring-bracelet was a modified version of the gauntlet specially constructed by S.H.I.E.L.D to help her better control the discharges from Stinger, as she called her left arm. Normally, the gauntlet contracted into a much plainer little bracelet for her civilian-wear, but the good folks in the SHIELD labs had crafted her a bauble more befitting this occasion. “I see,” said the woman sweetly, and the smile at her lips was looking less polite and more. . .intrigued? Pleased? Anticipatory? “Why do you ask?” Lightwave said, feeling a bit odd about all this, and a bit left out of the conversation. “I’m Asp, of the Serpent Society,” the woman replied, “And while I’ve yet to take up residence on this lovely island, I’m a mutant myself—one of the few among my cohorts whose powers are all-natural. All-natural and—very similar to yours.” She darted her eyes towards Scorpion, and continued, “I can fire blasts of energy from my hands—both hands—that has an effect on the body like that of a venomous snake. You call yours a sting; I liken mine to a bite.” “Uh huh, cool,” Scorpion was somehow both bored and suspicious, and placed her hands on her waist, “So our powers are vaguely alike. Anything else you wanted to tell me?” Unresponsive to the rise of rudeness in the younger woman’s tone, Asp continued in her own polite one, though there was a persuasive silkiness to it now, “I’ve been propositioned by a few residents of Krakoa to partake in a game of chance. They want to take bets on which of us has a better venom-blast. And the winner gets a cut of the pot.” Scorpion looked at her hard. Lightwave tensed, unsure of what the outcome would be. “Nah,” said Scorpion, “My powers aren’t a game for me, lady. I don’t play with them like one.” “Oh, what a pity,” said Asp primly, “I did so hope you’d be a willing participant.” “What’s that supposed to mea–” Scorpion was cut off as Asp fired a venom blast towards her; Scorpion’s quick reflexes allowed her to jump out of the way, but it still would have grazed her calf if not for Lightwave’s equally quick force shield. Asp readied another blast, but was caught from behind by tendrils of darkness that bound her arms to the sides and lifted her off her feet. Behind her, controlling the solid shadows, hovered a slender blonde woman, dressed in Gala regalia was well. Darkstar, aka Laynia Petrovna, a recently arrived resident on Krakoa who had defected from service to the Russian government. “No fighting is allowed here! You know the rules!” Darkstar commanded. “We’re not…ungh…fighting. . .we’re competing!” Asp gasped, straining against her umbrous bonds. Darkstar looked to Scorpion and Lightwave for confirmation. . .or lack thereof. “Yeah,” Scorpion said after a moment, “We were just testing our powers against each other. They’re pretty similar so we wanted to see who packed more poison.” Lightwave looked at her comrade in surprise, but didn’t contradict her. “Hmm,” Darkstar evaluated the situation. She’d wanted to be useful to the nation of Krakoa, as they had shown her great mercy by allowing her here, and she was consuming resources of the island, and she wished to give back to its people, protect them, as she had protected those of Mother Russia. To this end, she’d been appointed a reserve X-Man, and in the meantime given a great many menial tasks. For instance, Gala security. She lowered herself down, and released Asp, stating, “Games of skill are permitted as part of the Gala’s activities, but please, use an area designated for such. I will guide you to one and supervise.” Asp looked irritated, but all she said was, “Thank you so much.” As Darkstar lead the way, Lightwave whispered to Scorpion, “Why did you say that?” “Because I can handle myself,” Scorpion whispered back, “I don’t need KG-Blondie coming to my rescue. This lady really wants a fight? Fine.” Meanwhile, Asp was calling some friends on her little snake-themed cell phone, and by the time the trio arrived with Darkstar to the clearing, there was already a little crowd of interested parties waiting. “This better be a good show and a good pot, love,” Pyro quipped at Asp, “I left a bonzer card game for this!” “You were losing,” Phantazia pointed out. “Not for long I wasn’t gonna be!” Scorpion and Lightwave weren’t the only guests experiencing some. . .conflict. “Oh dear me, Ajak, you may be divine these days, but that dress surely is not!” Sinister crowed at the Eternal, “Oh my, wait, no—Dante did write the Divine Comedy, did he not? That must be what he meant!” Ajak had come to the Gala not as Ajak Celestia, but as herself. Somehow. Yet she had allegedly not unfused with the Progenitor. According to her, this was but a tangible aspect of herself, continuing to experience the world as an individual while her whole remained at her post, watching the world and waiting for the right time to pass the final judgement upon it all. Right now though, she was being judged, quite harshly, by Sinister. Or rather, her sartorial choices were. And while Ajak was not one who took pride in fashion, pride she did have, much too much so to be mocked by this obscenity before her that called itself Sinister. “You were gagged and shackled by me before,” Ajak warned coolly, “Do not tempt me to do so again.” “Oh, you’re not the one I’d want doing that,” Sinister assured, “But Bennett, dear, have you seen Shaw around? He might be into it.” Exodus and Ajak both looked confused, but Makkari, who had been doing her best to diffuse things, looked disgusted. Unlike the other two, she’d spent a long time in the modern world, after all. But she needn’t have worried. No one had seen Shaw for quite some time this evening. How very odd. Very, very odd. Wherever Shaw was, though, he wasn’t with Haven. Nor was Exodus. Nor was Ajak. Save for Mantis, she was alone. And Mantis, she said, suddenly had an engagement. So scratch that. Haven was alone when a column of darkness solidified before her into none other than Selene, Black Priestess! Priestess to what? The ultimate goddess—-herself of course! “You wretched little creature!” the sorcerous mutant spat as tendrils of her darkness reached out and wrapped around Haven, flexible as vines and strong as chains, “You truly thought you could usurp my place?! You thought it was yours to take and Shaw’s to give?! He’s been dealt with and now so shall y–” Selene was cut off by a kick to the back of her head that would have decapitated a mere mortal. . .or a mutant who wasn’t smart enough to have protectively enchanted her body since that little upstart snipe(r) Hope had shot her. “This one thinks not!” Mantis cried, having used the kick to push herself away from Selene once more and land dramatically near Haven, whose bonds had momentarily loosened due to Selene’s distraction. Loosened. . .but, Mantis found when she tried to free her new friend, not enough. “This one sensed something was afoot!” she explained, in her customary third-person speaking style. It was not due to lack of understanding so-called “proper” English, but a very deliberate way of distancing herself from the ego of the words “I” and “me” as the Pama Priests had taught her. “So you hid in the shadows til I emerged,” Selene emerged, looming over her new opponent, “Very clever—but you’d have been far more clever to avoid the Black Queen!” As she spoke, the rocks and stones around them levitating and hurled down towards Mantis like comets. She leaped into the air once more, using them as stepping stones, trying to get back to Selene. The rocks, meanwhile, avoided Haven; Selene had far more personal plans in store for her attempted replacement. Selene’s telekinesis could only affect inanimate objects. Plants, though perhaps not as mobile as their meaty counterparts, were not inanimate. They were beyond her control. But they answered to another mistress—Mantis, the Celestial Madonna! As she bounded from rock to rock while avoiding being hit by the same projectiles she climbed, she still managed to direct a portion of her mental energy towards summoning the aid of the surrounding flora—something Krakoa was plentiful in! Flowers, ferns, and moss, they all came to her aid, the trees themselves bending to swing their mighty branches at the black-clad witch, as though nature itself were trying to banish her unnatural presence. But Selene just cackled, and the foliage before her burst into flames. For pyrokinesis was on her list of myriad talents mutant and magical. Still, even this defeat served its purpose for Mantis, who used the Black Priestess’s moment of triumph as a distraction to lunge at her! But Selene met this too with laughter, welcoming Mantis into her arms—arms whose skin instantly began to drain the life itself from the Celestial Madonna’s flesh! “My what truly potent energy you have!” Selene crowed, “So unique! Those senses of yours didn’t tell you what MY true gift is, did they? To drain your life and make it my own! Don’t fret though, you won’t die—you will live for eternity in ME!” “The only place of eternity for you is the PIT!” Darkstar had joined the fray. Like Mantis, she too had sensed a disturbance in the force—the Darkforce, specifically, which Selene was calling upon for her shadow manipulation. She couldn’t commandeer the shadows that were holding Haven, but she could at least summon her own to save Mantis, engulfing the former Avenger in a Darkforce teleportation portal, sending her somewhere safer. Alas, that also meant that Mantis was out of the fight, especially since those unused to traveling through the Darkforce dimension were often drained by it, physically and mentally. Even now, mere prolonged contact with it was probably harming Haven on both fronts. Darkstar knew she had to end this fast. Selene, however, had no intention of cooperating with that notion. The two Darkforce wielders went at it, firing their obsidian elemental energies at each other. But while Darkstar’s power was the Darkforce alone, Selene had many other abilities at her disposal, and Darkstar was fading fast against them. Finally, she fell from the sky, her fancy feathered Gala dress in a heap around her, giving her the likeness of a bird that had crashed into a windowpane. There was a roar of fire around her as a ring of enchanted flame encircled her, then formed a dome above her. She tried to teleport, but could not even call upon that much. The Darkforce has closed its doors to you, my dear, Selene’s voice spoke in her head, You are but its friend—I am its QUEEN! Don’t fret though; you won’t be burned unless you try to escape. After all, if Darkstar died, she might remember what happened to Haven the human when she woke up. Selene would need to make some modifications to her memory first. Not normally within Selene’s telepathic abilities, which were in fact relatively minor ones, but sorcery was always a boost. And the enlisted aid of mutants too afraid to say no, of course. Selene sauntered now to the still-imprisoned Haven, who seemed to be awaiting her fate impassively. “No begging? No pleading? I’m almost disappointed by your dignity. Or are you just so purely petrified? I know it can’t be that you’re actually RESPECTFUL enough to hold your tongue in the presence of a goddess,” Selene crooned, “After all, you had no respect when you accepted MY place and title!” “I do beg you not to do this,” Haven said, her brown eyes indeed imploring, “For your sake. You will harm yourself, horribly, if you try to–” “HA!” Selene cut her off with a derisive laugh, tossing her elegant head back so her elaborate necklace jewels gleamed in the fire’s light, “You think those FOOLS on the Quiet Council can imprison ME? They couldn’t even keep me dead!” “We’ll do better,” said a new voice. For the third time, a new player had entered Selene’s scene to save Haven. Or rather, two new players. Haven had been physically silent through the whole ordeal, but she’d been mentally calling out to Ajak and Exodus the entire time. Alas, Exodus and Ajak had become. . .engaged. . .with Sinister in a psychic. . .dispute. . .and Makkari was as telepathically Deaf as she was physically. It was only now that Exodus had things, er, handled, that he and Ajak got the message. Exodus was required to stay behind to keep Sinister contained, but Ajak and Makkari were now free to handle matters for their friend. “Oh, the so-called gods arrive,” Selene seemed unimpressed, “Truth me told, I’m rather pleased to see you. I’ve long wanted to test your mettle against–” She was cut off by a massive energy blast by Ajak. At the same time, Makkari rushed behind Selene as she was blasted backwards, pummeling her rapidly in the back with such strength and speed that even her magically enhanced body buckled. The ebony prison around Haven did the same, slackening and then dissipating entirely, and Haven fell to her knees, drained by the contact with the Darkforce. At the same time, the fire imprisoning Darkstar disappeared, though the Russian could not yet use her powers again. Selene put up a valiant fight; she was no pushover. But the Eternals could manipulate cosmic energy, move at high speeds, lift over 15 tons, and, most importantly, never tire. For all her power, Selene could be worn down. Ajak and Makkari could not. And when the former was spent, by coincidence, she had collapsed right next to Haven. Still conscious, her body now rapidly withering into a crone from the expenditure of energy, she knew she could not win. . .but she could at least do what she had set out to, and to replenish her youth in the process. “No!” Haven cried out as Selene reached for her, “Selene, don’t! It’s dang–” She was silenced as Selene began to sap her energy, and Makkari and Ajak both rushed to intervene. Makkari’s speed was more than adequate to get there before Selene’s skin even made contact with Haven, and yet her incredible strength could not separate them. But it was not Selene who was keeping Haven trapped; it was vice versa. Haven and Selene were both howling, Selene in pain, Haven in sympathy as she tried to free the other woman from her own body. Yet even as Haven successfully pushed her away, Selene’s body continued draining the energy from Haven. Makkari and Ajak could SEE it crackling in the air, linking the women’s bodies. “Help her!” Haven cried out to the confused Eternals, “The demonic energy—it’s too much, it’s going to destroy her from inside–” Ajak and Makkari didn’t exactly understand, and frankly neither of them were inclined to help Selene at all, but Haven’s distress was a motivator if nothing else for Ajak in particular. But. . .what could they do? Not knowing what else to do, Ajak ran to Haven and grabbed her, preparing to get her out of there, away from having to watch whatever was going to happen to Selene. And this turned out to be the correct move. Ajak’s body had moved between the energy streams that had linked the women, and in doing so, had severed them. . .no, not severed them. Ajak’s cosmic energy that fueled her nigh-indestructible body flowed now along the current into Selene just before it disappeared. Even this tiny transfer was a life-saving boost, saving the sorceress and restoring her youth in the bargain. But she was still powerless, on her hands and knees, her head down, unable to even speak, panting in pain on the grass. What was that? Makkari signed, and Ajak relayed it to Haven as always. “I’ll. ..explain,” said Haven, hesitantly, as if she didn’t wish to, “But first. . .” She knelt beside Selene, placing a steadying hand on her. Selene tried to shrink from her instinctively, like a scared animal, and only ended up collapsing into the lap of her would-be prey. Haven held her gently, trying to comfort her while also keeping the woman’s pride and dignity in mind, “I’m sorry. It’s very unjust to you, isn’t it?” Because Haven knew that, from Selene’s point of view, it likely was. She had never met the former Black Queen before, but Shaw had told her about her extensively, and she’d also been able to garner Selene’s perspective quite well from the things she’d said to her in this encounter. And what she had garnered was that Selene was as locked into her own perspective as Haven had once been in. For which Haven could not blame her; changing one’s mind was hard enough, and Selene had held hers for thousands of years. And it must be such a comforting one; she never questioned her own worth or place in the universe, her reason for being here or the purpose of her long life or the morality of taking the lives of others to sustain it. To step away from that belief. . .why, it might literally kill her. She was what she was, and Haven loved her. She loved everyone. Which was why she asked the others not to tell the Council about this. Darkstar could not agree. She was dutiful to Krakoa’s laws. But Haven’s request for mercy would also be relayed, she promised. Mantis was fine, as were, of course, Ajak and Makkari. Haven was weakened, but wished to remain at the Gala after Selene was taken away by Exodus. And she did give that explanation to the Eternals. “The thing that lived in me once. . .is gone,” she said, each word a labor, “But some remnants of its power. . .” The Eternals both nodded grimly. She did not continue and they did not urge her to. As for Scorpion and Asp’s contest, the moment Darkstar left, it no longer had a referee, and the spectators swiftly decided they wanted to be PARTICIPANTS instead. It was an absolute disaster and a good time was had by all involved! Oh, and Shaw was er. . .fine. If you care. END

#fanfic friday #fic #writing

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jackiequick · 1 year

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Family Reunion | Top Gun Maverick Fic 📸

Audrey Davidson, Tom Kazansky and Pete Mitchell aka Maverick 💨, Iceman 🧊 and Sunset ⛅️

One of the platonic friendships with a long relationship, beyond the years of knowing each other

Mention of the Class of 86’

Kinda short fic

In 1986 a friendship began without a shadow of a doubt, during Top Gun. Sunset already was friends with Maverick and Goose way before Top Gun. Especially with her and Maverick dating a long time, and staying just friends later. But afterwards they met the rest of the 86’ crew, starting a tight unit between all of them. A rivalry between Iceman and Maverick became a longtime lasting friendship, and with Sunset and Iceman becoming closer after Goose’s death. Sunset became the glue that held the 3 of them together, on occasion.

Doesn’t matter how far apart they might seem, they became closer than ever over the years. Hanging out at bars, enjoying a family dinner, parties during the holidays, weekly or monthly calls between the trio and special surprise visits. Which leads us to present day, Maverick was already cooking up a storm with the Admirals after a stunt with the Darkstar project with cause Iceman to save his ass again for the 4th time in the last two months while Sunset filled out a idea for Iceman, a return to Top Gun. Yes, Maverick only stayed an instructor for a few weeks there in the late 80s but this time it would be needed. So Iceman and his daughter, Amber Kazansky, got to work with finding the top notch graduates for the team that Sunset, Audrey would soon title ‘The Daggers’.

Audrey was stationed out in Chicago as a field officer, even though her title was also Captain, teaching fresh faced pilots the basic rules of working together and having them in tip top shape. If not, she working on her personal hobbies of engineering work for fixing up the tail wings of planes or sending out millions dollar planes to be used for Top Gun rookies to learn in. This week, she got Wolfman and Sundown to cover for her as she decides to pay a visit to Ice in the North Island and see how Maverick was doing with the classes. Tom’s wife, Sarah, let her into the household as both woman talked before she sneaked her way down the hallway to the office.

Tom Kazansky had his back turned from the doorway looking at the plenty of framed photographs from over the years of family, friends, accompanied allies and his recorded stories taken place in each picture. He’s been working all day, hearing complains from Cyclone about Maverick’s work and dealing with meetings from other officials for the projects at hand.

He was glancing at a photograph of him, Maverick and Slider mid laugh at a work when he heard a female voice jokingly saying, “You know, you can just tell Mav how much you really care about him instead of looking at pictures frames of him? Then me and Slider won’t have to worry about your longing loving gaze any longer!”

There were a few chuckles and a smile in that voice that can brighten up a little bit of any day. He turned around chuckling and joked back, “You were betting on us? How much money?”

“50 bucks give or take.” She said shrug, playing to cool.

“50 bucks?! Come on, Pretty Mama, you can do better than that!” He yelled walking over to give the woman a hug using his nickname that he made for her, years ago as he hugged him back tightly.

“Shut it, old man! 50 bucks can buy me a decent amount of lunch, maybe even dinner at a restaurant.”

“Yeah, in your dreams probably! I missed you, I didn’t know you were flying back so early.”

“If I told you it wouldn’t be a surprise, now would it?”

“Amber got that from you, you know?”

“I know. I missed you and you need a break!”

“I’m perfectly fine, but I’m open to having fun lunch.”

“Great, my treat!”

The two headed off to the streets of North Land where a small diner near the beach was stated that held burgers and hotdogs along with fries on the side. The pair chatted up a storm discussing the plan for The Daggers, Audrey probably moving back to San Diego, California and how life as been going on general. They were laughing up a storm and retelling stories of their past together, even ones that happened over the last few weeks. Sarah called them a few times but neither one of them until they arrived back at the Kazansky household with her scolding them however she couldn’t stay mad at the pair for too long.

Over the next few weeks Audrey stayed at the Kazansky household working alongside Tom and the others, sharing the load of work with him and heading out to meetings and getting the detailed information from Amber on how everything was going so far for preparations. The moments and days Audrey had no work or breaks, she stayed texting Pete Maverick Mitchell, having a long text chain dating back to 2017 since the pair finally decided to change their phones, moving their database onto brand new phones for the exact year they are currently in. They are classic people with brand new technology, having kept IPhones 5s, IPhones 6s, IPhones 7s and others for years. Pete has teased the idea of Audrey coming down to the beach and watch the new crew, little did he know that she was already driving there and keeping on an eye on him. Since she visited The Hark Deck to keep an watch on Amber, JenPen, him and the new crew of pilots for the mission.

Audrey kept a low profile that she didn’t even let Penny know she was there expect for a few waves and winks from across the bar until day where she headed down to the beachside near the Hard Deck. Audrey packed her bag and decided to wear the coolest outfit she owned for the heat wave of the warm weather as she drove over and once she arrived, the girl heard call the shouts, laughter and smiles in everyone’s voice from a mile away. Audrey ran up the set to the patio where she saw the Dagger Squad grinning and laughing while music played loudly until she heard, “Drey!” She whipped her head around to notice Penny yelling out her name as both woman ran up to each other giving the biggest hug they can possibly master gushing and smiling.

Audrey smiled, “Penny?! Oh my god, the rumors are true!”

“Ha ha very funny! I missed you.” Penny yelled back taking a seat with her near the table, pouring her a glass of lemonade as well.

“Thank you. You shouldn’t be surprised that I’m here, I saw you at the bar days ago.”

“I know that! But still, how are things?”

“Things been fine, aside from work and traveling from different places.” Audrey smirked thinking about something, “What about you? I know Pete is in town!”

Penny blushes and chuckled waving her off, “Oh no, not you too! I still really like Pete and we planned on hanging out together later today.”

“Oooooh! Tell me more!”

“Shut up! How about you, miss single gal? Anyone catch your eye lately or…”

“Take my breath away? Nope! And I have no interest in that, I usually spend time with a guy for a weeks then off to my next destination.”

“I always thought you would’ve ended up with Tom…Slider or even Wolfman..?”

“I-um..Kazansky and I are just friends, yeah sure we had huge crushes on each other in the 80s but it uh, it wasn’t meant to be. Hell, I introduced him to his wife, Sarah, remember?”

“Oh yes I remember! You called Sarah over to meet him at the bar in 1989 but they didn’t date until 1991. But you should try going on the dating scene again.”

Audrey joked, “What? Try online dating with some stranger on the internet?”

“Yeah! I mean, meet some new guys online or speed dating on those restaurants. They are nice ideas!”

“No can do it, Penny! I’ll try and settle down when Pete does finally end up with you.”

“Oh god…”

“Yup! Tick tock we all know you still like each other..”

“Cause it’s true! We do, we are just waiting for the right moment.”

“And it will come sooner than you think.

As if on cue, Pete Maverick Mitchell saw both ladies grinning with pride waving at them before sitting down on the chair to watch his crew keep playing. The girls watched as well as they kept chatting. Suddenly Cyclone’s voice came ringing into her ears, she she whipped her head around to see him talking with Maverick who sat down. The men started having a small conversation as Audrey Sunset knew she had to step in and help out her best friend, she left Penny for a moment greeting Cyclone’s taller figures with a smile as they nodded, shaking hands. He asked the duo, Sunset and Maverick, what the hell are the young aviators were doing and Audrey answered, “Dogfight football.”

“You wanted a team sir, there is your team.” Maverick confidently said smiling then looking up at Cyclone who sighed.

The Daggers kept playing with one another and enjoying their time together which made the duo smile brightly. The Admiral, Cyclone, kept asking questions and even reminding them that time is of the essence and they shouldn’t exactly be playing too many games. They nodded answering his questions the best they can however Pete and Audrey knew that allowing the group to have some fun and keep up a good interaction with one another creates a bond to use later while in the air, a relationship in the skies and the ground. Finally Cyclone left the duo as Pete and Audrey chuckled giving one another the tightness gentle hug they can mange.

Pete yelled, “Mama, I missed you!”

“I know!” She yelled back grinning.

“You didn’t tell me you were coming here, I wouldn’t brought a few more beach blankets and stuff.”

“If I did Mav, it wouldn’t be a surprised. But by the looks of it, you clearly got it covered with the team.”

“I can handle everything just fine. We had a couple of missteps here and there but I handled it well.”

“You mean you and Amber handled it well. This whole thing is a huge team effort honestly and I’ve seen your teaching skills, they’re great!”

He grinned at the compliment and joked, “Oh really? I’ve been told I can hold myself well in the skies or whatever.”

“Yeah hot shot! You can teach it but remember who taught you to keep your calm up there? Me!” She replied grinning proudly to herself.

“Shut up you! I hate you sometimes. ”

“No, you love me. Every time!”

“Hmm maybe I do, maybe I don’t?” Pete said said playfully with earned him a playful nudge and pointed look from Audrey as he laughed, “I’m kidding! I love you!”

The duo stare down watching the Daggers and chatting about their days, noticing the crazy kids having a total blast. Even all gang members tackling Hondo to the ground which caused everyone to laugh loudly as they kept going back and forth on the next set of games. Hell Maverick and Sunset joined in for the incoming rounds ending up wet from failing to keep away from the seawater.

Soon enough burgers, fries, drinks and or just snacks filled up everyone’s stomachs! Time past as all the guys and girls split up to do their thing on the beach or inside. A few insightful moments resulted by the end of the day but overall it was a fun time. Audrey returned back to household after leaving on long lasting conversations with Maverick and Penny.

Audrey entered the doorway that lead towards the living room as she dropped her bag and yelled out, “Hey! I’m home! ”

Tom was reading a book he picked up lately while wearing his reading glasses as she glanced up at her replying, “There you are!”

“Sorry, traffic was a bust. But before that Maverick and I-”

Iceman laughed hearing his other friends name dropped shaking her head, “Say no more.”

“You didn’t let me finish!”

“You said Maverick and we both know where that leads to!”

It was Sunset turn to laugh, “Ok your not wrong! But it was Maverick, me and Penny, I’ll have you know.”

“So it wasn’t total chaos.”

“Exactly.”

The two headed to the kitchen to find something to read, knowing Sarah nor Amber would be home until much later in the day due to them hanging out with friends and family members. Later on they headed down to the office to check over files and check to see if there were any good films to watch in the DVD box usually set in a closet filled with older stuff. Overall it was a nice successful day.

Tags: @mandylove1000 @topgun-imagines @sherlkore @gaminggirlsstuff @happilycameron @t-nd-rfoot @levijeanqueen @rooster-84 @msrochelleromanofffelton @gcthvile @hanlueluver @blackheart-beauty @gcthvile and etc

#top gun: maverick #top gun 1986 #top gun maverick au #iceman top gun #maverick #tom kazansky #pete mitchelll #tom kazansky x oc #pete mitchell x oc #pete mitchell imagine #iceman fic

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professionalscrublord · 7 months

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Inktober 29: Massive(ly Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game)

My chars from Mabinogi hanging out in the Soul Stream: Sharla-something...? (Forgot the Elf mage's name :P And she's from a separate lost account that I can't check) Kalirae (Dark Knight, dual guns. Was battlemage before gun update.) Kelrak (DK, either activating Final Hit or going Supersaiyan) Suriga (Paladin, 1st char from before the Elf+Giant update, wish humans could shoot bows from horseback >:C ) Surigan (mule and farm bitch. And shooting bow from horseback.) Surikong (Giant alchemist. Repetitive names were from not thinking I'd be playing the side chars much. Boy was I wrong.)

Shoutout if you recognize any of these names, it's a longshot, I ain't played for real in a long-ass time. I was on Alexina before they merged into one server. Darkstar guild back in the day, leader was Aaralynn. I popped back in 1-2yrs ago to look aound, pretty much all the names on my friends list were offline for years and the Guildstone was gone. I briefly joined a guild (whose name escapes me, sorry) led by Chagataibor before I dropped out again.

The world of Erinn feels like a mystical realm I can't truly go back to, because it has changed and so have I.

n o s t a l g i a

But, holy shit, did you hear they're porting Mabi to Unreal Engine?? I could hardly believe it. I'll check that out when it's ready, gonna be a while though, they just started in March this year I think.

I basically lived and breathed this game for a while like ~15yrs ago. I'm pleasantly surprised to see it's still going. And that my chars weren't deleted in that time. Apparently the game is huge in Korea, which is awkward when the content they create involves giant maps that then get brought over to NA where there isn't quite the same playerbase to populate it. Some areas are ghost towns.

#mmorpgs #mabinogi #gaming #anime #fantasy #magic #elf #giant #fire #ice #nostalgia #inktober #Lots of reference used to get the looks right otherwise the Fashionogis will kill me

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timebornsea · 2 years

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Crystal priestess , Renaissance painting, pretty and expressive eyes, ornate costume, mythical, ethereal, intricate, elaborate, hyperrealism, hyper detailed, 3D, 8K, Ultra Realistic, high octane, ultra resolution, amazing detail, perfection, In frame, photorealistic, cinematic lighting, visual clarity, shading , Lumen Reflections, Super-Resolution, gigapixel, color grading, retouch, enhanced, PBR, Blender, V-ray, Procreate, zBrush, Unreal Engine 5, cinematic, volumetric, dramatic, neon lighting, wide angle lens ,no digital painting blur --stylize 5000 --s 20000 --test

@Darkstar

midjourney

#midjourney

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usafphantom2 · 2 years

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Lockheed presents how the Darkstar hypersonic aircraft from the movie "Top Gun: Maverick" was created.

Skunk Works says that Darkstar is not necessarily real, but that the features described are not necessarily "mere fiction".

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 06/03/2022 - 12:00 PM in Military

Work depicting the Darkstar stealthy hypersonic aircraft, a fictional design that Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works created for the movie "Top Gun: Maverick".

The movie "Top Gun: Maverick" officially premiered last week and has already managed to gross more than $300 million, with great reviews. Lockheed Martin created a page dedicated to the story behind the creation of the Hypersonic Darkstar aircraft that appears at the beginning of the film.

Before the release of the long-awaited sequel to the 1986 film "Top Gun", the manufacturer had disclosed that its legendary advanced design division Skunk Works was directly involved in the creation of this fictional design, but had not disclosed more specific details about its relationship with production, as reported by The Drive

"Lockheed Martin Skunk Works thrives by dealing with seemingly impossible jobs, developing technologies for tomorrow's challenges even before the need is identified," the new site now says. “When the Top Gun: Maverick team was looking to push the envelope and remain true to the need for speed ?? from Maverick, Skunk Works was his first call."

The special page created for Darkstar includes additional works of art showing the design, as well as three brief video interviews with individuals who helped bring Darkstar to the big screen. All these employees are identified only by their first name.

youtube

"I can't talk about most of the things I work on," Jim, described as an "artist... with some technical limits applied" who helps "conceptualize the future" at Skunk Works, says in his video. “The first thing you draw may not be the right answer. The tenth thing you designed may not be the right answer. So you have to be willing to start over."

youtube

"What cheers me up here is the ability to see the future," says Jason, a radio frequency engineer at Skunk Works, in his video interview, where he speaks alongside Lucio, a laboratory mechanic.

"When we are not changing the cinematographic history by building Darkstar, we are changing the future of aviation by building the next generation of aircraft," Lucio adds in the clip, which includes images from Skunk Works' Helendale Radar Signature Test Range.

youtube

In my role, my responsibility is to design and manufacture different types of pole models on a full scale," explains mechanical engineer Becky in her video interview, referring to the types of models that Skunk Works creates to mount on poles in facilities such as Helendale to test radar signature of a project. "At Darkstar, I was the leading mechanical design engineer. This was my first model I made and it was so radical."

Skunk Works also confirmed that a physical model of some kind was built that included “a bow model with a functional cockpit for an iconic actor [Tom Cruise]” and that required Becky's attention during production to keep him “structurally firm and worthy of his pilot.” The company describes what was built as "a functional work of art".

The fictional Darkstar aircraft shares many external visual similarities with an unmanned hypersonic aircraft project that the company has publicly launched for the U.S. military in the past, which has been dubbed SR-72. This nomenclature was a reference to the project being a spiritual successor to SR-71. The Darkstar is also a name associated with Skunk Works, having previously been applied to the RQ-3 low observation reconnaissance drone.

Artistic conception of the SR-72.

“With Skunk Works' experience in developing the fastest known aircraft combined with a passion and energy to define the aerospace future, Darkstar's capabilities can be more than mere fiction. They can be a reality...," says the Darkstar aircraft page. “Darkstar may not be real, but its capabilities are.”

On April 29, John Neilson, Lockheed Martin's director of communications for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, also made a Twitter post that suggested that Darkstar could offer an "appetizer of what the Lockheed Martin SR-72 could be".

The disclosure of the Darkstar project by Lockheed Martin and the return of the public discussion about the SR-72 arise at the same time that information was leaked about a secret U.S. Air Force program called Mayhem, which is focused on the development of hypersonic aircraft demonstrators capable of performing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and attack missions These are exactly the mission sets for which the company had previously said that the proposed SR-72 would be ideally suitable.

In 2016, Lockheed Martin also publicly discussed the potential of building a demonstration aircraft the size of the F-22 Raptor, which would cost less than $1 billion to produce, to help prove this hypersonic design.

From the creation of radar stealth resources to X planes that redefine the sonic boom and many revolutionary technologies, Skunk Works has a long tradition of rapidly developing lasting innovation for when it is most needed.

Regardless of how closely related Darkstar may or may not be with any real Skunk Works project, Lockheed Martin is clearly hoping to recruit new experts through its involvement in the film, as well as the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Air Force. Darkstar gave the company an important role in production, which was dominated by Boeing's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. Lockheed Martin's F-35C Joint Strike Fighter also makes limited appearances in the film. A section of the site includes a link to where you can apply online for various jobs throughout the company.

Tags: Military AviationDarkstarhypersonicLockheed MartinSkunk WorksTop Gun: Maverick

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has works published in a specialized aviation magazine in Brazil and abroad. He uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.

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guildwarsgirl · 2 years

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So, as promised, I have photos of the members of Fate’s Razor.

Photos below the cut. They are all my OCs.

Miracle Thackeray, the guild’s leader. Daughter of Logan Thackeray and Vanessa Darkstar-Thackeray.

Dylan Thackeray II, Miracle’s little brother.

Grexx, the brains of the guild. Son of Zmikku and Engineer Riaz.

Cyrica Rageseeker, Daughter of Serafina Rageclaw and Smodur the Unflinching.

Edward Langston, son of Elizabeth Langston and Lord Faren.

Taliesin Nightwing, son of Trahearne and Emilie Nightwing.

Lynette, Taliesin’s twin sister.

Erika Brahamsdottir, daughter of Braham Eirsson and Hien Tagachi.

Borje Brahamsson, Erika’s brother.

Einar Brahamsson, Erika and Borje’s little brother.

#Fate's Razor #gw2 #guild wars 2 #my ocs #i'm so proud #they're all so pretty

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forcescast · 1 year

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Inside the SR-72 Darkstar: Unlocking the Secrets of the Hypersonic Aircraft

Lockheed Martin is developing the SR-72 Darkstar, a cutting-edge reconnaissance aircraft that can reach Mach 6, or 4,567 mph. The SR-72 would be the fastest plane in the world, able to reach any location in an hour.

Introduce the SR-72 Darkstar aircraft and its capabilities.

The video "The SR-72 Darkstar: The World's Fastest Hypersonic Reconnaissance Aircraft" provides an overview of the aircraft and its capabilities. The video starts by explaining why a high-speed reconnaissance plane is needed. This shows how important intelligence gathering and surveillance are becoming in the modern world.

The SR-72 Darkstar is being designed to fill this need, using advanced hypersonic technology to quickly and efficiently gather intelligence from any location on the planet. The video talks about how the SR-72 is made, including how it uses high-tech materials and engines to go so fast.

The video goes on to explain the challenges associated with developing an aircraft like the SR-72, including the need to create engines and materials that can withstand the extreme heat and pressure of hypersonic flight. Lockheed Martin is doing advanced research and testing to solve these problems so that the SR-72 can be built in the next few years.

The need for high-speed reconnaissance aircraft.

Overall, the SR-72 Darkstar is an exciting development in the world of reconnaissance and aviation technology. With its unprecedented speed and advanced capabilities, it has the potential to revolutionize intelligence gathering and surveillance and change the way we think about aircraft design and engineering.

The SR-72 Darkstar is an advanced reconnaissance aircraft being developed by Lockheed Martin. The goal of this aircraft is to reach speeds of up to Mach 6, or 4,567 miles per hour, making it the fastest aircraft in the world. The SR-72 is designed to gather intelligence from any location on the planet quickly and efficiently using advanced hypersonic technology.

In modern times, intelligence gathering and surveillance are of utmost importance, especially in military and intelligence operations. These operations require the collection and analysis of vast amounts of data to detect potential threats and make strategic decisions. With increasing global tensions, including cyberattacks and terrorism, the need for accurate and timely intelligence has never been more critical. Therefore, the SR-72 Darkstar is being designed to meet this need and provide a valuable tool for reconnaissance and surveillance operations.

With its incredible speed and advanced capabilities, the SR-72 can collect data in real-time, allowing decision-makers to respond quickly to potential threats. Its unique design and hypersonic technology make it ideal for use in a range of applications, including military and civilian intelligence gathering, emergency response, and disaster relief.

Overall, the SR-72 Darkstar is a groundbreaking aircraft that has the potential to change the way we think about aviation and intelligence gathering. You can't say enough about how important it is in the modern world, and it's important for national security and global stability that this plane keeps getting better.

How can the SR-72 Darkstar help meet this need?

The SR-72 Darkstar is an advanced reconnaissance aircraft that has the potential to revolutionize intelligence gathering and surveillance. With its incredible speed and advanced capabilities, the SR-72 can help meet the need for accurate and timely intelligence in several ways.

Firstly, the SR-72 can cover vast distances quickly and efficiently, allowing it to reach any location on the planet in a matter of hours. This means that it can gather intelligence from remote or hard-to-reach areas where other surveillance methods are not effective.

Secondly, the SR-72 can collect and analyze vast amounts of data in real time, using its advanced sensors and hypersonic technology. This means that it can provide decision-makers with up-to-date information, enabling them to respond quickly to potential threats. Thirdly, the SR-72 can fly at extremely high altitudes, which makes it difficult to detect and track by radar. This gives it a significant advantage over other reconnaissance aircraft, which anti-aircraft systems can easily detect and target.

Design and capabilities of the SR-72 Darkstar

The SR-72 Darkstar has a unique and advanced design that enables it to achieve its high speeds and hypersonic capabilities. Advanced materials, such as lightweight composites and advanced ceramics, are used to make the plane. These materials are made to withstand the high temperatures and stresses of hypersonic flight.

The SR-72's engine system is also unique, featuring a hybrid propulsion system that includes a turbojet engine and a scramjet engine. The turbojet engine is used to power the aircraft during takeoff and initial ascent to high altitudes, while the scramjet engine takes over during hypersonic flight. The scramjet engine works by compressing incoming air, mixing it with fuel, and then burning it to make thrust.

The SR-72's aerodynamic design is also critical to its hypersonic capabilities. The aircraft has a sharp, pointed nose and a streamlined shape that helps reduce drag and maintain stability at high speeds. Additionally, the SR-72 features an innovative cooling system that uses cryogenic fluids to cool the engine and other critical components during hypersonic flight.The SR-72 Darkstar's advanced materials, engines, and design enable its hypersonic speeds. Its advanced technologies make it a valuable intelligence and surveillance tool that could change aviation and reconnaissance operations.

Finally, the SR-72 has a unique avionics system that includes advanced sensors, data processing systems, and communication systems. These systems let the plane collect and analyze a huge amount of data in real time. This gives the people making decisions the most up-to-date information possible.

The Difficulties of Developing the SR-72 Darkstar

The development of the SR-72 Darkstar has faced numerous challenges, primarily due to the advanced technologies required to achieve hypersonic speeds. These challenges include:

Materials and manufacturing: Developing materials that can withstand the extreme temperatures and stresses associated with hypersonic flight is a significant challenge. Also, making sure that these materials are made to exact specifications is important to the success of the plane.

Aerodynamics: Designing an aircraft with the necessary aerodynamic properties to achieve hypersonic speeds is also a significant challenge. To reduce drag and keep the plane stable at high speeds, it must have a streamlined shape. This requires careful attention to detail and advanced computer modeling.

Propulsion: Developing a propulsion system that can power an aircraft to hypersonic speeds is one of the most significant challenges of the project. The SR-72's hybrid engine system, which is made up of a turbojet and a scramjet, needs to be carefully designed and optimized so that the two engines work well together.

Cooling: Cooling the aircraft's engines and other critical components during hypersonic flight is also a significant challenge. Extreme heat from hypersonic flight can cause these parts to overheat, which can cause them to fail or get damaged.

Testing: Testing the SR-72 Darkstar's capabilities and systems is a critical part of the development process, but it is also challenging. Testing hypersonic flight is difficult and expensive, and it requires specialized facilities and equipment.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the development of the SR-72 Darkstar has faced numerous challenges, primarily due to the advanced technologies required to achieve hypersonic speeds. These challenges require careful attention to detail, advanced computer modeling, and specialized facilities and equipment to overcome. Even with these problems, developing the SR-72 Darkstar is a top national security priority because it could change the way intelligence gathering and surveillance are done.

And also, you should watch the video, "The SR-72 Darkstar: The World's Fastest Hypersonic Reconnaissance Aircraft," because it provides an in-depth and fascinating look at one of the most advanced and cutting-edge aircraft currently in development. The SR-72 Darkstar has the potential to change the way we think about aviation and intelligence gathering, and this video provides valuable insights into the technology and design that make this aircraft possible.

Viewers will learn about the unique challenges associated with hypersonic flight as well as the innovative solutions being developed by Lockheed Martin to address these challenges. They will also learn more about how important reconnaissance and surveillance are in modern military and intelligence operations and how the SR-72 Darkstar could change the way these operations are done.

Moreover, watching the video will enable viewers to appreciate the incredible engineering and technological advancements being made in the aviation industry and to gain a greater appreciation for the hard work and dedication of the engineers and designers working on this groundbreaking project. Overall, this video is a must-see for anyone interested in aviation, engineering, or military technology. It gives a fascinating look at how reconnaissance and surveillance will change in the future.

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