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#the glass cannon and the tank
the-eldritch-it-gay · 7 months
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oh smth fun is that I use a mod for that makes the Pale Oak quarterstaff a legendary item and one optional effect was the wielders strength score becomes 18, so while they have that they are one of the strongest people in the party, on par with Karlach (18) and just under Lae’zel (20). Which I actually like, because I imagine Majexatli is larger and probably more close to how I imagine Halsin in body type (broad, plenty of muscle and fat)
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aria0fgold · 1 month
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Yaknow, for someone that is so bad at strategy, I sure love spending a lot of time in the battle mechanics of any game. Anyway I've reached floor 14 in Tartarus and I know for a fact I won't be able to handle 15 since I had to use 3 gems to defeat the boss in it cuz Kotone is just lvl. 8 and the rest are lvl. 7 but I wanna... I wanna keep fighting... I'm a lil bit of a battle maniac.
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pikkish · 1 year
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it is once again rangerposting hours
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zwan99 · 6 months
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Who needs a healer when you have Fu Xuan?
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vounoura · 7 months
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one thing I still do utterly love abt ESO's class design is how utterly different each class's spec feels from each other, and how utterly different they feel from different classes in the same specialization
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rederiswrites · 2 years
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Was gonna give this long-ass context for why it’s especially funny but honestly the joke is funny even without context, so just gonna say that I am delightedly planning to make word art for the wall above my glassworking desk that says
Glass Cannon
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aylaaescar · 8 months
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Ealisay's small hands compared to Iron Bull's enormous ones. thinking about it (it being them holding hands)
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viviae · 10 months
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Trying to maintain my toxic situationship long enough for us to both beat diablo 4 bc our builds are built around each other's play styles and I feel weak without them is the cruelest poetry
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ziracona · 2 years
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Battles in Origins were so different from ones in Inquisition. Origins, after Redcliffe I had to micromanage almost every single combat encounter, to ensure survival, and I spent more time having to control Morrigan and Wynne even after going crazy specific in the tactics loadout, than I did as my own PC. Inquisition? I only swap if I want something hella specific or for goofs, or to resurrect when someone is downed. I’ve used the tactical map for a fight /once/, and that wasn’t even a fight really. I was breaking a wall while being attacked. 99.5% of the time I just pop off as Tryggr. I don’t have to do shit. On his own Solas throws down a shield every second I’m not throwing one, like a proper mage; we keep the party covered, and everyone just pops off.
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ars0nism · 2 years
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ffxiv is so much fun im so happy im playing it /s (failed a quest because an npc died because im a BLACK MAGE who cant HEAL and these FUCKERS dont look after their own HEALTH)
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ajdrawshq · 10 months
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i am so very thankful to my professor for making my presentation due the second day we're doing those bc she knows me so well.. now if i could actually get myself to use my extra time to work on it that would be nice
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were--ralph · 1 month
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I didn't put Joke character bc its all people would pick
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yourplayersaidwhat · 7 months
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Dm: if you're a glass cannon why is your hp so high
Player: tank
Player: im not going down that easy
Dm: a tank is the opposite of a glass cannon
Dm: do you know what a glass cannon with hp is called?
Dm: its just a cannon
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ok nvm im starting to hate endgame elden ring it feels so much like a slog
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sinning-23 · 4 months
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Fishbowl (Buggy x Siren!Reader)
I hope you guysss like this one lol it’s been in the works for a minute and is one of the last in the siren/mermaid series! Also sorry for any spelling errors! This one with be a two part red and definitely some angst? Or at least I’ll try lol angst isn’t exactly my specialty!
Anyway, ENJOY!
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Your nails claw at the glass, leaving scrapes and indents in their wake. After being captured by these pirates, you were transported to a large glass dome on wheels. You were panicking, the screeching from your echolocation making passerby’s of the crew cover their ears and double over.
Why you? You hadn't even been by the ship...they just pulled up to the shore of your home island firing cannons as your sisters swam for cover. You directed them, helping them escape only to be grabbed by the hair an dragged to the shore before you could make your escape.
Any mermaid knew what happened when they were captured.... fin scales used for jewelry, the rich meat of your tails used in rare dishes. The your teeth would be grinder down to pearl like where’s, drilled for necklaces. Nausea builds in the pit of your stomach. This was it.
He approached you, lifting you by your hair as your gills opens and close at the side of your neck, an unpleasant, wet sounding “gasp” filling the silence.
“What a treat. My audience is gonna love you.”
You swallow hard, native tongue sliding off with venom. He sneers at this.
“Too bad I can’t understand you sweets.” Buggy chuckles.
He’s got your arm in an uncomfortable grip as he drags you across the sand and flings you into another crewmate. I’m some kind of silent agreement the carry you across the sandy beach to the temporary tank. Your stomach turns, glittery tears falling down your cheeks.
Currently, you keep clawing, scratching, and screeching, and the glass begins to crack at this latest noise. You needed to get out. But before you can fix your voice to scream again, he enters.
"Please shut your mouth sweetheart. You're not going anywhere.” He explains with a roll of his eyes.
You speak again, and of course, he can understand but it’s something along the lines of,
“I’ll kill you when I get out of here.”
_____4 months______
You scratched a tally for each day you were there, the fishbowl now adorned with a stand and a pretty label in fancy blue ribbon and gold paint. He forced you to act in his shows, putting your gifted set of pipes “to good use”. Even though your siren song was powerful, its intended purpose seemed to fade away.
Every song you sang, the sorrow of being captured poured into your notes, making the audience ever more mournful than they already were. Your songs and performances almost always ended in tears now, Buggy’s crew opting to wear earplugs in fear they’d end their lives then and there if they heard one more melancholic tune.
Buggy, on the other hand, was beginning to grow ever impatient. The first two months of shows had gone just fine! His crew and audience were so enamored by your beauty and sound. Now it was just pitiful. But even though it pissed him off his own decisions led to failure, he couldn’t help but want your gorgeous set of pipes to himself.
Often, he’s caught himself in a daze, wondering what it feels like to have you sing him to sleep, your hands caressing his face with a smile and he pulls into a sense of security. Fat chance though…
Besides, you hadn’t even really been properly introduced since that day he surprise adopted you(kidnapped). Perhaps he should make conversation? He shakes his head at the thought, sitting in his designated chair, just watching.
Your scales flash and flicker sparkles of light in the empty tent. Maybe that’s why he captured you in the first place? You were beautiful. And his did he love seeing those pretty glittery tears roll down your cheeks when you’d first met.
A smile plays over his lips when you catch him staring, your eyes narrowing for a moment before you press against the glass, blowing bubbles at him from under the water. You say something he can’t quite hear.
In a curious haze, he stands, walking up to your fishbowl, looking at each tally you’d engraved into the glass.
“Why won’t you let me go?” You hum, the water making your voice somehow sound prettier that ever, the slight muffle making him hum.
“Because I like sad songs.” He jokes, circling your glass prison.
How typical of him, to joke in a serious situation like this, well serious to you at least. He really takes time to observe you, the way your scales seem to be some sort of opalescent chrome.
How your hair floats around your face, your gills opening and closing ever so slightly. He admires the smaller fins adorning your spine and forearms. He wonders if you’re insecure about them.
“Sing for me.”
It’s a demand, and before you can protest, he’s already back in his chair, watching, resting his head against his closed fist.
Even though you feel obligated, your voice and song feel softer now. Almost as if the small interaction with the captain had only slightly lifted your spirit.
And somehow your hymn didn’t seem so dismal.
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vintagemulti · 2 years
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rainfall
pairings: bradley “rooster” bradshaw x pilot!reader
desc: you’ve always had a thing for your best friend. this mission didn’t help.
warnings: this is quite long😵‍💫, swearing, sex references and innuendos, alcohol and drunkness, death and family member loss, dissociation mentions, i know NOTHING about pilots/flying sorry, this WILL be a series !!!
a/n: someone tell me to stop making series. i beg. this is my little writer brain not being able to watch anything without making a character WHOOPS. anyways, i’ve not seen the first top gun. so. cannon? who? we don’t know her. also i hate called bradley rooster i can’t work out why but i’ll only refer to him as it when flying. soz.
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you had been in bali when you got the call. you and bradley, in bali, relaxing. but who ever said naval pilots get to relax?
it was something you had gotten far too used to, having to pack up your things and get the first flight back to the states. sure, you had been the one to chose this career and the disruptions you faced were consequences of your own actions, but you had really - really, really - hoped that you didn’t get called up when you did.
two weeks in bali with bradley bradshaw, the highlight of your year. it had been planned for almost a year, which was saying something. normally you and bradley would say you’d do something, and it would never actually end up happening. but no - this vacation had went ahead, and you’d had six days of utter bliss before the dreaded number showed up on your phone.
bradley had been phoned right after you, his reaction being about the same. annoyed, upset but somewhat excited. what the fuck was all this about? both you and him being on the same mission?
and so you had packed all your stuff and made your way back to california, dropped your bags off at your separate apartments and rushed to put together an emergency bag, with your uniforms and workout clothes inside.
that took you up to now, sat in the passenger side of bradley’s new range rover, forty minutes into the drive back to the naval base on lake tahoe. it wasn’t far away now - only ten or so minutes, but the sun was beginning to slowly dip it’s head, ever so slightly.
you were still dressed in your summer clothes, a tight, black dress with white lining and held up by a strap around your neck. it was low cut, a little lower than you’d like for the first time meeting your other teammates, but there wasn’t any time to get changed.
bradley was dressed in the same way, tight white tank top covered in a hawaiian shirt, nude-coloured cargos covering his thighs. and, of course, his aviator glasses. was it really bradley without them?
he turned into one of the roads leading to the hard deck - a bar frequented by everyone within a mile vicinity - and you turned to look at him, right as the sunlight hit him. golden rays washed over his skin, his collarbones shining and under his sunglasses you could see his brown eyes - turned like honey in the light.
you thought he looked beautiful, but you’d never tell him.
“this better be good,” he spoke, breaking the moment of silence. “that hotel cost a fuckin’ fortune.”
rolling your eyes, you nodded. “you’re lucky i remembered we get travel insurance. who was it that was determined we didn’t, again?”
“oh, shut up,” bradley said, but you could see the outline of a smirk on his mouth. “no one ever told me we get that.”
“lies!” you laughed. “they put it in the ads, that if you get called up while away, they pay you back whatever you lost.”
it was bradley’s turn to roll his eyes. “alright, miss ‘i always read the fine print’.”
“at least i can read,” you joked back.
electing to ignore the snide comment he made back, you reached into the passenger side compartment, searching for your own sunglasses - feeling nothing. you looked around the car, sighing in defeat as you realised you must have left your pair at home.
spotting another pair of aviators on the dashboard, you picked them up. “can i borrow these?”
bradley looked at what you were referring to, almost laughing when he saw his spare glasses in your hand.
“go ahead, sugar, i won’t need ‘em.”
putting the sunglasses on, you pushed down the butterflies in your stomach that flew around with the pet name.
the hard deck came into view, looking busy already. it was so loud - you could practically hear the music playing from the jukebox all the way out here.
“takes you back, huh?” you asked.
“that it does,” bradley pulled into a parking spot. “feels like yesterday we were here last.”
“wrong,” you undid your seatbelt. “yesterday we were in a five star villa in bali.”
opening the car door, you stepped onto the concrete, your heels clicking against the ground. why did you wear these again? good god, it would be a long night. bradley joined you, walking towards the front door of the bar. it was so loud now - it was like you were already inside.
he pulled the door open, letting you in first. fireworks exploded all over your body as his hand moved around your waist, letting him manoeuvre himself to be standing next to you. you let him take the lead to where the rest of your team appeared to be, and you watched him walk - his swagger that was just so fucking hot almost making you forget you were stood completely still.
most of the faces you recognised - actually, you recognised all of them. pheonix, hangman, fanboy and payback we’re speaking to bradley, and someone you had recently been introduced to was the first person to notice you.
“rainfall! hey, how’s it going?” bob smiled at you, the other people snapping their heads to look at you as well.
“yeah, alright, how’re you?” you answered, him nodding a reply.
“wow,” hangman spoke first. “both rooster and rainfall arrive late, not in uniform? been busy, you two?”
“about as busy as your mum, hangman.” you retorted, those around you letting out a surprised laugh.
“that’s not the most important question,” pheonix tilted her head. “what the hell is this? what can they possibly be trying do here?”
you furrowed your eyebrows, prompting her to go on; “well, we’re the best there is. who the hell can teach us?”
the question took you by surprise - but it wasn’t irrelevant. the only briefing you had was this was a training program for an intense mission, and only those who had came top of the top gun class would be accepted, so, pheonix was thinking right. who could possible teach the best pilots out there?
a bell rang throughout the bar, interrupting your thoughts. everyone cheered, knowing exactly what the bell meant.
“poor guy,” rooster mumbled. “i’m going to the restroom, get me a drink?”
you nodded, walking over to the bar.
he wasn’t recognisable at first - he looked so different. but it was the eyes that gave it away, he was still young behind the eyes.
“it’s you, then.” you mumbled, taking the empty spot next to him at the bar.
maverick looked at you, realisation hitting when he clocked who you were. “nice to meet you, rainfall. i’ve heard lost about you.”
“so have i.” looking at him, he wasn’t the man you had built up in your head. he looked nicer.
sighing, maverick nodded slowly. “i thought that’s who you came in with.”
“he won’t want you to teach him, you know that, right? you… you ruined his life, maverick. his mum’s, too.” you said, although you knew it wasn’t anything he hadn’t heard a million times already.
“yep,” maverick clicked his tongue. “i thought that would be an issue.”
“he hates you.”
“i know.”
bradley might have hated maverick, but you didn’t. sure, he was an arrogant ass from what you had heard and he destroyed your best friends family, but you personally had nothing against him.
penny walked over to you, interrupting your conversation with her greetings.
“wow, y/n, you’re here too? damn, what a mission.”
“hey, pen,” you smiled. “i know, i know.”
she raised her eyebrows. “must be serious, huh?”
you raised your hands in defence. “i have absolutely no idea what this mission’s about, swear.”
humming in response, she changed the subject; “what’re you for?”
“uhh, a blue WKD for me and the house beer for brad.”
she nodded, looking at the man next to you. “he’s paying, by the way.”
you almost laughed, turning to maverick. “unlucky son of a bitch. you better take a loan out, maverick.”
“how was i meant to know the rules, huh? i’ve not been here in god knows how long.” he grumbled.
both you and penny chuckled as she served your drinks, taking one in each hand and moving away from the bar, you turned to look at maverick again.
“mav,” you called, and he looked around. “good luck.”
he smiled, nodding. you would admit it would be hard work for him, and it must be difficult to teach the boy who’s father you watched die. but then again, he could have declined the job.
spotting bradley, you walked over to him and handed him the glass of beer. he thanked you, face contorting in disgust as you noticed what you were drinking.
“i don’t know how you stomach that stuff, sugar, it’s all sweetener.”
“says the man who threw up after three of them. they’re only like, three percent as well.”
bradley narrowed his eyes. “all sweetener.”
laughing, you walked with him to join the rest of the group. your feet already began to ache with every step you took, straps digging into your ankle. god - it would be a long night.
-
if you were counting how many drinks deep you were, you’d have used up all your fingers. you’d been here for a few hours, at least, the sun was almost setting now.
you could see it from the small window in the bathroom, the blur effect on the window turning the sunset into just colour. you didn’t need to pee or anything, just a minute. it was a fair assumption to say you were an extrovert, and loved to be around people, but the noise of the crowd in the bar had become slightly too loud, especially as maverick had just been thrown overboard.
the sound of a piano playing came muffled through the door, followed by a familiar singing voice. it made you smile; hearing bradley drunkenly scream out ‘great balls of fire’.
washing your hands and quickly drying them, you walked back out of the bathroom and into the crowd, thanking the girl who had been holding your drink for you. you walked towards the piano, seeing bradley completely in his element.
“kiss me baby, ooh! that feels good, good!” he sang, everyone joining in.
leaning against the piano, you joined in, the lyrics coming as a second language, this song was practically indented into your brain.
as you sang, you watched bradley’s hands hit every note perfectly, his fingers tracing the keys with a gentle-harshness, something that just about set you off. a man who was good with his fingers? lord have mercy.
he looked at you, as if on cue, smiling as you sang out the words. bradley took a spilt second to remove his hands from the keys, gesturing to his lap.
you tilted your head. he can’t be serious, can he?
“sit!” he called, hands going back to playing the instrumental section.
maybe it was the drinks you’d had, influencing your system. but it took you the whole of two seconds to decide to follow his order, slipping under his arm and placing yourself down on his lap. people around you whooped, especially the ones in your team. had this happened before? you couldn’t remember through the tipsy-horny-lovesick haze that had clouded your vision.
bradley’s leg bounced, making you laughing against his chest. when he started singing, you joined in with him, your voice coming out as more of a tuned shout compared to bradley’s angelic singing voice.
“kiss me baby,” you looked up at him. that second you made eye contact - that whole second - felt like an eternity. it felt like no one was watching, thay for once the love that remained behind your eyes finally appeared behind his, too.
or maybe that was the vodka shots talking.
“ooh! that feels good, good,” he sang.
you looked away, staring at his hands once again while you sang the words. if you had kept staring, you would have seen the way he looked at you while he sang; “i’ma tell the world that you’re mine, mine, mine, mine!”
if you had seen that, you probably would have melted on the spot.
the song came to an end, everyone cheering for bradley’s fantastic piano performance, yourself included. you fell against his chest, laughing like a schoolgirl. he laughed too, taking his hands off of the keys to embrace you.
was this normal for best friends, you wondered? did everyone do this when they were drunk? the answer: wait and find out.
“i’m gonna get a drink,” you smiled at him, finally standing up.
“alright, darlin’, get me a beer?”
“god,” you feigned annoyance. “one day you’ll pay for your own beers, bradley bradshaw.”
you walked away before you heard his mumbled comeback; “yeah, our wedding day.” but, even if you hadn’t walked away, what would you have done?
walking to the bar, you leaned against it, ordering with penny for the god-knows-how-many-th time that night.
“thanks,” you smiled.
“is that a tan line i see?” penny asked, pouring out a beer.
“yep,” you popped the ‘p’. “i was in bali with brad, was supposed to be there until next week.”
“oh,” she sat down one of the glasses. “but you got called up?”
nodded, you took a drink of bradley’s beer, instantly regretting it. “fuckin’ hate the navy sometimes.”
penny stopped in her tracks. “oh, y/n, did i just hear what i think i did?”
your eyes widened. “no, penny, please, i’m seriously broke right now, i’m begging-”
the bell ringing cut you off. hanging your head, you felt multiple people clap your back.
“oh, no, what do we have here?” bradley appeared at your side, laughing.
“this one,” penny giggled. “was insulting the navy.”
bradley exaggerated a gasp, putting his hands over his mouth. “no!”
“yep!”
“tut, tut, tut, lieutenant l/n!” he joked.
you raised your middle finger in response.
“honestly, rooster,” penny was half way away, walking to serve another customer. “get your girlfriend under control!”
the heat rose to your cheeks, head snapping up. luckily for you, you were ninety-nine percent sure that bradley didn’t hear her, but when you were sober, you’d have to tell her off about almost spilling your decade long secret.
“my god, brad,” you walked away from the bar. “i’m gonna be so broke tomorrow.”
he giggled, a sound your drunk mind would have registered as the trumpets of heaven, the best music in the world - every lovely sound put together. god, how in love were you?
“come on, rainfall,” bradley led you to the table the group were all sat at. “the night is young!”
-
there’s a saying, if you had a dollar for every time this happened, you’d be rich. well, if you had a dollar for every time you’d gotten blackout drunk the day before the first day of training and had to get up at the crack of dawn, you’d have slightly too many dollars. every time, every single time.
as you sat, shoulders straight and hair tied ever so slightly too tight, the commander speaking about something you weren’t properly listening to - the thought of about seventy aspirin was popping into your mind, almost soothing your headache with the sheer thought of it.
footsteps came from behind you, but you didn’t turn around. you knew who it was. instead, you looked at bradley, who was sat in the chair next to you.
as his eyes fell on maverick, you noticed the way his whole smug demeanour fell - for just a moment. you then noticed how he put those walls straight back up, clenching his jaw and shifting in his seat. he cleared his throat, making eye contact with you and raising his eyebrows.
looking away, maverick started speaking.
you must have been truly hungover, because from the second maverick opened his mouth to right now felt like it went by in a blink - you couldn’t tell if you had dissociated the entire time or if you weren’t interested enough to actually pay attention.
zipping up your flight suit, you smiled to yourself. this was your first training exercise for what seemed to be an impossible mission. getting in and out of a thin passage within a minute and a half seemed unrealistic, but compared with the insanely low hard deck and the pull up? you’d be lucky if you made it out alive.
a few planes were already in the air as you stepped onto the tarmac, helmet in hand. looking to your right, you saw two planes, to your left; pheonix and bob doing push-ups.
the exercise was simple; don’t get caught. if you do, you have to do two hundred press ups.
you had almost laughed when maverick set the exercise, how insanely easy it sounded. unfortunately for maverick, he had never flown with you before - he hadn’t quite learnt the meaning of your call sign.
radio chatter sounded from your headset as you climbed into your plane, spotting bradley on the tarmac as well. everyone had insisted you two went last - the top two of the class. even hangman bit back his ego for two seconds to admit that you had finished top of the class, so you should go last.
that’s right, you came top of your class. one of the best pilots of the last decade, apparently. it had earned you quite a reputation, pilots almost always recognising you wherever you went. you were some kind of a legend.
buckling yourself in and triple checking your belts were secure, you pulled your helmet over your head, and your ears were filled with radio chatter. bradley got into the plane next to you, doing the same thing.
“when are we ready to take off, mav?” you asked, closing the top of your plane.
“any time now, rainfall.” he replied.
it was a feeling you always craved, taking off. as a little girl, you used to love going on holiday, just because when the plane would take off and your stomach would turn, it made you smile. from that moment, and from the moment you saw the pilots in all the different documentaries, you knew you wanted to fly planes.
just in a little more extreme way. a way, way more extreme way.
gaining speed, you clicked the needed buttons and flipped the right switches in order to take off, and the tarmac got smaller and smaller as you flew higher into the sky. hearing bradley take off a few moments later, you knew the game was about to begin.
you knew this would be personal for bradley - getting beaten by maverick. anything maverick did to him, it would be personal. you prayed he would be able to separate the pilot from the person, just for a minute.
“good morning aviators,” maverick spoke. “ready to play?”
“oh you are on,” you smiled, still gaining height. “old man.”
bradley laughed over the radio, making you smile even wider.
“for everyone listening over the radio,” you spoke. “get ready to listen to the best flight of your life.”
down on the ground, the rest of the team laughed.
“ready?” maverick asked. “three, two, one… the game has begun.”
you understood the purpose of this exercise - dogfighting. to watch out for yourself while attacking at the same time. playing both offence and defence.
seeing bradley slip into your peripheral, you looked around for the other plane. still gaining height, you hoped to god that your technique would stay reliable.
everything felt like a blur - you were flying so fast, so high, nothing felt real. keeping your eye out for maverick, you swerved through the clouds.
“all alright, rooster?” you hated calling him by his call sign. if felt so… impersonal, weird.
“all good here, rainfall. you?”
you nodded, even though he wouldn’t see it. “no sign of him.”
looking down, you could see bradley underneath you and to the right. he wouldn’t even notice you, if he hadn’t learnt to always look up.
“oh hello, you,” he said, the smugness seeping through the radio.
“hello, rooster.” you smiled.
as you stared down at him, a second plane came into view, far enough away that bradley wouldn’t notice him.
“rooster, on your left!” you called, swerving away as soon as you said it.
“shit,” he mumbled, and you could see him fly away.
“language, folks, come on.” maverick laughed.
“alright grandpa.” you joked back.
looking below you, you could barely see the two planes dogfighting, but from the small glimpse you got, it wasn’t looking great for bradley. maverick was too fast.
“hurry up, rooster,” you spoke your mind. “he’s faster than you.”
“yeah, thanks for that observation.” he grumbled back.
“cheeky.”
from your point of view, the dogfighting was getting even more intense, bradley constantly being tailed by maverick. you hoped once again, that bradley didn’t take this too seriously.
a dial tone broke your thought.
“and rooster, you are out.” maverick spoke over the radio, making you sigh.
“fuck you.”
and there it was; all of your proof that bradley had taken it personally. fuck, this would be a hard one to calm him down from.
“ready to fight, rainfall?” maverick said, and you could almost see his smirk.
pushing everything else in your mind to the side, you let the calm, slightly arrogant side of you take control.
“do you know why my call sign is rainfall?” you asked, already spotting maverick below you.
“i suppose you’re going to enlighten me?”
you let a beat of silence pass, making sure you were in the right position. it was obvious maverick was looking for you, but you were at least fifty feet above him, slightly in front of him. why did no one ever look up?
“or not?” maverick added.
“because,” you paused, gripping your gearstick a little tighter. “rain always comes from above, and you don’t see it until it’s on you.”
with those words, you descended with absolutely no warning. as you came closer to maverick, he seemed obviously surprised, fumbling for a moment to move out of the way so you didn’t fall straight into him.
“jesus, kid,” he mumbled.
“did you know that i came top of my class?” you pulled back up without hesitation, g-force pushing you back ever so slightly.
“yeah, i read it somewhere,” maverick was flying parallel to you. “i wasn’t too of my class.”
“oh, i know,” you somehow managed to keep your tone casual. “iceman, right?”
maverick hummed over the radio, obviously too focused on getting you out.
but your technique was working perfectly. descend on them, climb up, and when the least expect it….
pulling away, you circled around maverick, seeing the outline of a target appear in your helmet. he hadn’t even realised what you had done.
a dial tone sounded through the radio silence, everyone on land holding their breath - even bradley.
“you,” a voice cut through the radio. “are out. good game, maverick.”
the people on ground cheered almost loud enough for you to hear all the way up in the air.
“what the hell?” maverick was in disbelief. “what?”
“i’ll see you on ground, mav.”
-
the sun was already setting by the time maverick had finished his press ups. he must not have taken in personally, offering to buy you a drink for how well you had flown.
but you didn’t want a drink, you were too concerned with other things. it had been hours since the training had ended, and bradley was still outside, doing press ups.
you walked onto the tarmac, out of your flight suit and in casual clothes, the figure of bradley noticeable - everything still apart from him.
he was shaking, sweating, almost sunburnt. the most noticeable thing was his red eyes, they were so red you thought he must have burst a blood vessel.
“bradley?” you called, getting closer to him. he didn’t answer.
walking right next to where he was, you sat down. sat, right on the hot tarmac - it heated up your legs. “bradley, please,” you called again.
this wasn’t new - for him to do exercise until he just about burst. some people punch walls, some people drink - bradley worked out. maybe it was just as unhealthy as every other coping mechanism.
his arms were so shaky, he almost couldn’t even keep himself up right. you wanted right then and there to take him into your arms, let him cry his heart out and tell him that one day - one day in the future - it will get easier.
as if he could hear your thoughts, he stopped. collapsed onto the ground, arms finally giving in. you could hear him, choking out sobs between breaths - it just about broke your heart.
“come here,” your fingers brushed his arm, and it was like he just needed the instruction to do so, because he moved into your arms and clung onto your shirt, just like a baby.
you didn’t care where you were. no one was looking, anyway. everyone went home or went elsewhere hours ago, you and bradley were most likely the only two people left there.
“what is it?” you cooed, gently running a hand through his hair.
“he- my dad, he- maverick-” and that was all he had to stutter out for you to understand.
“i know, i know,” you bent over him, almost encasing him in your body. kissing his head, you repeated the phrase over and over again.
it was in that moment that for the second time in twenty four hours you thought to yourself - is this normal for best friends to do? it is, right? like, you would do it for any of your other friends?or maybe that’s what you liked to tell yoursef to deny the simple fact;
you were in love with bradley bradshaw, your best friend.
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