#hurt Mav

[ff7-has-taken-me-over]

Look I know logically this wouldn’t happen or whatever but stfu and accept the story of it alright? 😂

So Bradley’s gotten Mav finally, after all this time he’s finally gotten the man he’s loved since he was 15 and he fucks it all up.

He’s arguing with Hangman over something absolutely ridiculous, they’re both drunk out of their minds and it just escalates. Before he even knows it it’s the morning after, he’s waking up with a splitting headache and there’s an arm around him that isn’t Mav’s.

He’s got scratches and hickeys on him that he can’t hope to hide from his actual lover and his stomach drops with the realisation of what he’s done. Hangman doesn’t know about them, nobody does since him and Mav weren’t really the public type of people.

The blond doesn’t know why he’s freaking out, is kind of even offended because ‘hey. I’m not that bad rooster.’

Rooster’s too busy trying not to throw up though, stomach coiling and chest constricting as the night before comes back to him piece by agonising piece.

He avoids Mav for a while after that, willing the bruises and scratches to go away and making up every fuckin excuse he can think of in order to save face for just a little longer.

But karma’s a bitch, though for some reason this feels like divine reckoning. Like his parents themselves are making this happen because he’s betrayed their closest friend and they’re so disappointed in him for it.

Maverick pops up uninvited one day, wanting to surprise him since he had been ‘busy with teaching’ and they hadn’t got to see one another. Bradley’s just coming from the shower, mourning the fact that Seresin had to go and make the largest hickey he bloody could for whatever damn reason.

When Rooster comes out Mav’s there and he swears he can hear the man’s heart break with the way his smile drops right off his face. The captains eyes shoot to his neck - to the fuckin hickey - before he’s looking at him with a horrible mix of betrayal and understanding.

Like he knew that at some point Bradley was going to do this to him and he was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. And it sucks that Rooster went and confirmed it all within a matter of months of finally convincing the man that they were what he wanted. What he still wants.

Bradley’s already trying to make excuses, stumbling his way through explanations as Maverick leaves in a quiet rush. He won’t look at him and it hurts so much, but he knows that he has no right to even feel that when he’s the one that fucked up here.

When they get to the door Hangman’s there and Bradley seriously wonders if his parents are about to pop up next just to take Mav away from him themselves.

The other pilot looks between him and Mav confused, the latter looking at him for a moment before he’s figuring out that he’s the one Bradley cheated with. And he’s not even mad when he turns to Bradley, looking so painfully resigned and trying his fuckin hardest to give Rooster a smile that he hates.

“I’m glad you could figure yourself out Lieutenant. I’m happy for you.” Bradley wants to deny it, get on his knees right in the entryway and beg and plead to the older man. Anything to get him to stop looking at him like that.

Mav looks toward Hangman, smile turned watery and hand shaky as he pats the pilot on the shoulder briefly, “Look after him Seresin. He’s a handful.”

Suddenly Jake’s looking at Bradley with wide eyes, face looking every bit the betrayed and hateful mask that Maverick should be wearing instead, “What the fuck did you do Bradshaw?”

Mav doesn’t stick around though, merely sniffs briefly before walking out. Ignoring every one of Bradley’s calls and Jake’s shouting so he can get on his bike and drive away. Away from Bradley and his utterly stupid decision.

“What the fuck Bradshaw?! You used me to cheat on Maverick? What the hell is wrong with you?!” Rooster is suddenly so very angry, with himself and Hangman because if the blond hadn’t challenged him then none of this would have happened. And if Bradley had even an ounce more self control and integrity then it never would have crossed his mind either.

He’s swinging around, already throwing accusations because he can’t stand the bundle of emotions inside of him. Wanting to desperately wake up and find it was all just a horrible, horrible dream that his mind conjured to scare him. But Jake‘s still there, getting in his face with more anger than the night they slept together.

“Answer me son! Why the fuck would you do that to him?!” Because they all cared about Maverick. They loved him in their own ways and looked up to him like children with their favourite superheroes. When Mav got hurt they all got protective of him, tried to make it better in any way they could.

But now Bradley’s the one at fault and there isn’t a chance in hell the rest of the squad won’t find out. They’ll more than likely ostracise him for it and he won’t even blame them. Would’ve done the same if it was anyone else that had fucked up this badly. But he’s the idiot and he’s gonna have to deal with the consequences.

[kazanskyy]

iceman + his concern for maverick post-hop 31

[polar-equinoxx]

the top bunk on ao3

[cannibalhellhound]

✨It's Done✨

Ice hurt his hand because Mav is a sneaky little eldritch creature and likes to climb on furniture instead of asking for help 👍🏼

[bo0tleg]

Maverick and Rooster aren't going to be able to immediately fall back to what they were. They care for each other deeply, and saved each others life on the mission, but this sort of shit needs time. One conversation isn't going to cut it with those two.

Look: I like the idea of them falling back into what they were before just as much as the next person, but that's.... not what realistically would happen. And that's ok! It makes sense for them not to know what to do with each other at the start.

For the record: I'm also not blaming anyone for writing fics about them immediately going back to the father-son or uncle-nephew dynamic because, because come on. It's cute as HECK! I'd just like to think about how to explore their feelings and hang-ups about each other in dept!

They're both stubborn fucks and this has been simmering for far too long for anything to be resolved instantly with a single conversation. Bradley un-learned how to talk honestly to people the day he left, and Mav's scared about what honesty can bring. They've sat on this pot for so long they no longer feel it burning their asses, and forgot what they put in the damn thing in the first place, so they stay there. On top of it. Still burning their asses.

Bradley holds onto grudges like it's a lifeline, and one mission isn't going to change that. He listened to Mav in the canyon because he rescinded what he had said with his actions. Mav said that he 'wasn't ready' but then chose Rooster as his wingman, communicating that he is ready and that he trusts him with his life. But that was a life or death situation that Rooster was both present in and could interfere in if he so chose. He saved Mav because he didn't want him to die, and they seem more inclined to deal with it back on the boat, but it's still a long road ahead.

What happened was they rekindled their care for each other, because neither had ever truly given up on it in the first place. Mav never stopped caring and knew it, Bradley did the same without knowing. This just so happens to be the first time they're forced to deal with each other since the fallout.

Just because they care about each other doesn't erase the history that's separated them for all of this time. In fact, it probably makes it worse.

Bradley thought highly of Mav, and he didn't live up to it. Mav wanted the best for Bradley, and did what he thought would be best. Their problems came from the root of care. And it's more bittersweet because of it.

Because of it, resentment and guilt have settled over their shoulders, respectively, and it refused to go away.

They talk, and they try, but it's still not great.

Mav is inclined to just sweep it all under a rug and ignore the lump it forms on the floor. Because of his guilt, he takes all of the blame and sugarcoats Bradley's part in said blame to try and make up for it. Bradley is just as fault as Mav is, but Mav doesn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth.

So instead of fixing things, they look slightly less crooked, but not entirely right. It's a 'their problem' not 'his problem'. They're both at fault, and they both need to deal with it.

Maverick refuses to give up any of the blame, and Bradley is going to refuse to take any of it.

Sure, Mav fucked up, but Bradley blew it out of proportions. Storming off and refusing to talk is a normal response, but not for fifteen years. He barely let Mav explain himself.

Everything "wrong" about himself he blames on Mav. He thinks that Mav fucked him up by breaking his trust as his father figure, so he doesn't trust anybody anymore. He thinks that him being completely emotionally stunted and sensitive to critique is Mav's fault because of the 'your not ready' comment.

Thing is, it's his own fault. It's his fault that he's been fucked up for so long because he never tried to fix what was broken. It's not Bradley's fault that Mav pulled his papers, but he threw away everything, everyone he had before because of a single (justifiable!) mistake. And he doesn't recognize it for what it is, and refuses the blame. Carting it all off to Mav instead of dealing with his own shortcomings.

Mav is aware of this (that Rooster refuses to take the blame), but agreed with Rooster in his analysis of the situation, and takes it all on himself, which is not a healthy mechanism for either of them. It pats Rooster on the head for somewhere he fucked up on, and overloads Mav with guilt that shouldn't be that intense and deep.

But they don't know this. So Mav isn't angry at Rooster, because he's blindsighted by his care.

Thing is, I want someone to be angry. I want someone to be offended on Mav's behalf because he himself won't do it. I don't know who it would be, could be a good number of people, maybe even a child OC.

For fifteen years Bradley left without looking back. He left, and Mav suffered. Someone saw that. Someone was there with him all or most of those years, sitting right beside him as his guilt grew with every holiday that went by, with every letter or call left unanswered.

The obvious option is Ice. However, I want to pull away from that option, because if Ice is dead (stay with me now) it only creates more conflict, more nuance to what's going on.

Bradley cut Mav out of his life, and it's implied that he cut out any association with him too. That includes Ice.

What if he never spoke to Ice either for those fifteen years? Ice died. Bradley went to his funeral. Bradley went to his funeral as a fellow aviator, as an underling obeying orders.

Bradley's face in that funeral was blank.

That is the face of a man watching the burial of someone he once could potentially have considered a father figure that he hadn't spoken with for fifteen years. And he's never going to be able to speak to him again.

At that funeral, I don't think he regretted it. Sad, maybe, but no regret.

The regret only hit later.

He got to mend things with Mav after the Uranium Mission and beyond, but that is no longer possible with Ice.

Bradley regretted what he did, how he neglected them for years, but he regretted it too late for one of them.

I think Brad probably ended up at Ice's grave at some point, and owned up to everything he didn't– couldn't– own up to at the funeral. And he fucking sobbed. Begged. Apologized, over and over.

This is the reason I suggested maybe a child OC, because if the child is Icemav's or just Ice's, Bradley's gonna have a warped perception of them. (Note: When I say "child" I mean that it was their child as in gender neutral for son/daughter, it doesn't necessarily mean the person in question should be an actual kid.)

Bradley's gonna see that kid as penance.

And they're gonna fucking hate him for it.

Bradley is going to look at them and see Ice, and they're gonna hate him for it. Their father is dead, and for the last fifteen years of his life he'd never been truly happy because this prick never bothered to own up to his mistakes. Not even at the funeral Bradley owned up to his shortcomings, and now all of a sudden he waltzes right back like he never left? What the fuck!

Bradley could have done this, idk like a week sooner? But he only came to his senses after Ice died. Their father died and Bradley barely looked like he cared is what they're going to think. But all of a sudden, he goes on a suicide mission and almost died and he's suddenly back? Because when his own life is in danger he changes his mind, but when Ice died he couldn't care less? What the fuck!

That man went to that funeral as a subordinate, not as the son he was.

The kid doesn't have the tinted lenses Mav has on about Bradley. All the resentment Mav doesn't feel, this kid is going to feel for him.

Bradley is going to understand their resentment because of Ice, and is going to focus on fixing that part with them, without noticing that the resentment isn't just because of Ice, it's about Mav too.

The kid is going to be pissed because they are not Ice. Bradley is going to be too worried about making it up to a dead man through his child that he's going to neglect the very much still alive man he ALSO has to make amends with.

But Ice didn't have a direct hand in pulling his papers, so Bradley understands his mistake with him (he shouldn't have cut him out over someone else's mistake). Mav, however, did have a direct hand and he's still bitter about it. And the kid sees it. They see him doing exactly that.

Bradley is focusing on the wrong thing, because he's trying to redeem himself in an impossible way, trying to answer to someone who no longer demands it.

He goes after it because the silence is a more comfortable answer than the conflict he's bound to face from someone who's still alive.

In the process, he's going to hurt Mav.

Bradley's gonna be so caught up in making it up to Ice (the one he can no longer make up to) that he doesn't think to properly make it up to Mav (the one he can still make it up to) because he thinks he has to.

Ice is gone. Ice is gone and there's nothing he can do about it. And If he'd just changed his mind earlier maybe there could have been. Admittedly, Ice still would have died, but maybe he'd have died more settled than he did. He'd have died with the knowledge that his son came back. That his son still cared. But he didn't, and Bradley hates himself for it.

So, he veers to the kid. He doesn't outright apologize other than the first time, but he's gonna treat them like either a piece of glass or a carbon copy of his father figure. Regardless, they're going to hate him for it.

It's not them he cares for, it's what he sees them as. They can see straight through his bullshit because there's no deep emotional connection there to blind them.

They could try to care and love for him for Mav's sake, but it'd be much better if it were on their own terms, that Bradley would care for them as them and not as Ice's child.

On top of that, the neglect Bradley has for Mav is humongous. And he himself doesn't see it because the resentment he feels is still there. Mav was the one who pulled his papers. He blames Mav for his own decisions.

He's alone, and he blames Mav. He doesn't let anyone in or near, and he blames Mav. But it wasn't Mav that made him shut everyone out, he did that on his own.

He hasn't thought about why Mav did what he did, choosing to believe what Mav claimed to be the reason. It's blatantly obvious that Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell of all people would never stop someone from going to the Academy because he thought they aren't capable. That's what they did to him, he's not going to do that to someone who is virtually his son.

Bradley was irrational and stuck to that irrationality for fifteen years. He used the emotional stuntedness he himself created as a guise to not actually process what happened. He refused to think about it, and still does.

He and Mav reconnected after the mission, but it's a frail margin. Bradley was more inclined to listen because he's confused that Mav cares at all. In his rage, he didn't notice that he did it out of love, and doesn't know what to do with it. The entire training, he's confused, pissed and uncertain all the while.

He still doesn't know the real reason Mav did what he did, and doesn't understand the love he still sees in his eyes. Rooster thought that he shattered everything he had with Mav when he felt, most of all cemented it with all the time spent in that state.

By the end of the movie, he knows for certain that Mav loves him, and understands that he, himself, never stopped loving Mav either, despite what he claimed.

Bradley wanted to be a pilot because of his dad. Goose wasn't a pilot. Maverick was.

The betrayal hit him harder because he wasn't running after Goose, he was looking up to Mav. He wanted to be like Mav.

And he became a pilot, even when Mav pulled his papers, even after having the person he did it all for ripped him into shreds. He still did it.

He still wanted to be like Mav. Deep down, he still saw him as a role model even through all of the repression.

But he still doesn't know why. He doesn't know why Mav did what he did, because Maverick himself refused to say why.

Mav isn't going to be doing great either. He fucked up, and he fucked up big time. He shouldn't have pulled Bradley's papers, period. I know about Carole, but still. He should have communicated with Brad about it, and they'd fight about it, but Bradley wouldn't have walked out to never return then.

To worsen matters, Maverick has a horrendous martyr complex that makes him take the brunt of Bradley's resentment instead of Carole, the actual perpetrator.

Over the years, he's blamed himself more and more every year that passed, but I don't believe he ever regretted it.

He fulfilled Carole's last wish. It didn't stop Rooster from becoming a pilot. He gave both of them what they wanted.

But he's trying to protect the Carole Bradley has in his head because he doesn't want to stain his memory of her as he did with himself. This has been discussed a hundred times over, so I will try to be brief.

Mav is scared that instead of him, Bradley's gonna resent his mother. His dying, cripple mother that said that in her death bed. His widow mother who saw her husband die in the skies and didn't want her baby boy to have the same fate. His sorrowful mother that had to watch her friend, someone she considered a little brother, keep going up into those same skies and hear all the whispers the people on the ground flung upon him because of it.

So he took it all on himself. Because he sees himself as expendable in favor of her.

So, safe to say he's not going to be the one to tell Bradley the truth. Because of it, Bradley's resentment is going to continue to fester.

After the mission, Bradley knows that Mav's not telling him everything, but he refuses to talk about it so what the hell is he going to do?

They fix things well enough for them to talk to each other, but don't make it too deep in fear of opening up more wounds instead of stitching the old ones back together.

Mav thinks this is as good as he can get. Bradley is annoyed at Mav's hesitance.

Despite mending things, Bradley is still going to think all of his problems are Mav's fault. And he's a petty bitch, so he won't let it slide.

He hasn't properly processed it due to the lack of information, and can't let go because of it.

He's going to slip in dry comments about how Mav affected his mental health and life because of what he did. He's going to be cagey about everything that happened in the in between. He's not going to know basic shit about Mavericks life because he refuses to acknowledge that he was wrong in more than one way.

And Mav's gonna fucking take it.

He's not gonna say anything, not gonna even defend himself because he thinks he deserves it.

Bradley is a stubborn fuck whose pride has been hurt once, and refuses to acknowledge that it could be hurt again. He's just like Mav when he was younger, but ten times worse in the emotional department (I have no fucking idea how he managed that, but he did).

So yeah, soon enough they're going to be balls deep in miscommunication with grudges held close to their chest.

Maverick wants to communicate but doesn't want to communicate a very important piece of information that could potentially make things better and Bradley straight up doesn't want to if he doesn't have to.

Which means they're going to come to a stand-still. And someone is gonna have to interfere.

If I were to guess, it'd either be Slider or Sarah (Kazansky). Regardless if Sarah is Ice's sister or wife (up to interpretation), she knew how important Mav was to Ice and obviously cares about him too from the few scenes we got of her. Slider also knows, and it's obvious he also genuinely cares about Mav too despite claiming otherwise.

I'd honestly vote for Slider to be the one to do it, simply because he'd also see the Ice favoritism and the Mav neglect, and would pull Bradley's ear about it to hell and back. Because he also knew Goose, and this... entire thing is not something Goose would be happy about, at all. Slider has a much more subdued connection to Bradley, so he'd have no qualms about calling him out on everything.

Especially if he ever found out that Bradley said 'My dad trusted you, I'm not going to make the same mistake.' I sorely believe Slider would end up in jail if he ever heard about that one.

If Sarah were the one to do it, she'd probably be more understanding and much less violent than Slider, but she'd be blunt. That's still someone she cares deeply for they're talking about, and she also saw all of it. She wouldn't sugar coat what needs to be said, but she'd be understanding too. Not you did nothing wrong kind of understanding, but a you had your reasons to be upset kind of understanding.

Either of them would probably do this without Maverick's consent, because that's the only way to get it done.

When Bradley finally comes to know exactly why Mav did what he did, he's gonna be in shambles. Not only for Mav, but for himself.

His entire life has been built around that single happenstance and now it's gone, he was wrong. He was so wrong. He can't go back to being the way he was, he doesn't remember how he was.

He's gonna have to start over, rebuild himself from the ground up to be someone better and spare everyone in his life the suffering. Everyone in his life has suffered the consequences of his resentment. He doesn't know if he can make up for it.

To start over, step number one is apologize.

This right here is were he finally lets his ego drop, and fully apologizes to Mav. Finally owns up to his mistakes to the person that deserves it most. He's not gonna leave Mav be, he's definitely going to demand a full explanation from him and then is going to scold him for it, but he's gonna finally fully let go of the grudge he held this entire time.

That's to say, everything isn't a sea of roses.

Maverick isn't the only person he needs to apologize to, and on top of it, Maverick is probably the only one who is going to let him down easy.

Bradley is going to be on a tight leash with everybody else for a while, and they don't have any hold ups about calling him out on his bullshit. He's going to need to learn how to take critique to improve himself rather than read it as a straight up insult that he's going to get mad about.

Maverick is going to need to learn that Bradley isn't going to up and leave, and that he shouldn't hold himself to such low standards. Not only that, he's also going to need to learn that Bradley is bound to make mistakes just like any other human.

Bradley is still gonna fuck up in some places, but he's gonna be better at recognizing it. Mav's also gonna fuck up sometimes, but he's going to get better at accepting it and moving on.

With time, Mav is going to call Bradley out on his bullshit too, and Bradley is going to do the same when Mav starts doing his 'I'm less important than other people' shit.

They're going to be sad about it because they think that the reason the other does some of the things they do is because of themselves, but that's a story for another time.

They try. That's what matters.

[friend-lover-traitor-narrator]

Flufftober 2024 - Masterlist

Day 1: Rainstorm

Day 2: Fireplace

Day 3: Sweater

Day 4: Apple Cider

Day 5: Hurt/Comfort

Day 6: Cuddles

Day 7: Protective

Day 8: Secret Relationship

Day 9: Sickfic

Day 10: Pumpkin Patch

Day 11: Hugs and Kisses

Day 12: Blankets

Day 13: Harvest Festival

Day 14: Coffee Shop

Day 15: Ghost

Day 16: Sweet Treat

Day 17: Breakfast

Day 18: Nostalgia

Day 19: Scary Movie

Day 20: Reunion

Day 21: Sleepy

Day 22: Whisper

Day 23: Finally Safe

Day 24: Confession

Day 25: Holding Hands

Day 26: Monster

Day 27: Cleaning up

Day 28: Embarrassed

Day 29: Leaf fight

Day 30: Road trip

Day 31: Found Family

--

Flufftober challenge by @thepenultimateword

[indig0-constellations]

I like to think that after Ice died, Mav kept his shoes by the front door so that when he gets home after work and takes his shoes off it’s like Ice is still there in the house waiting for him to come home

[abirddogmoment]

in this challenging time (puppy adolescence) i am very grateful for this blog and the records i kept to remember where we started and how happy i am to have this little dog in my home

[pollyna]

When it happens, Mav is old enough that Bradley stopped calling him an old timer because he's now one, too. He's old enough to have been a widower for too many years, a father once again, and a granpa. He isn't thinking about anything in particular when he lays down for his afternoon nap, if not that the blanket smells particularly like Tom today, and he can't stop from nuzzling against the material for a little longer. Sleep comes candidly as the feelings of a pair of strong arms picking him up from the couch and hugging him against his chest, a kiss on his forehead, and "Hey, sweetheart. You did feel asleep on the couch again. Love you, Pete," with the sound of all his friends laughing coming from the kitchen. He can pick Goose and Carole's in the middle of Slider and Wood's. Pete smiles, sleepy, "afternoon naps are the worst, and I'm weak. Love you too, Tom." He answers before letting the warmth of his husband lull him to sleep.

[nixie-deangel]

Hmmm I’m gonna be boring with the same emojis again but these are the ones that most intrigued me 💐🍼💔

nothing wrong with boring! <3

💐 serial killer Jake - hangster

“Are you ever going to tell me how you can afford to drop the sort of money on me like you do?” Bradley asks as he snuggles into Jake’s side, tucking his head into the other man’s neck.  He feels, more than sees or hears, Jake humming in response to his question before he answers in a quiet voice.  “No real secret there, honey,” he says, “my family comes from a long line of cattle ranchers and the oil industry. And while I don’t do much with either, I do get a percentage of it. Plus I do specialized contract work.”

🍼 non navy bradley/fighter pilot jake as parents - hangster

continuing from this ask!

He felt his heart clench at seeing the hurt in those lovely hazel eyes he loved so dearly, “Baby,” he whispers again, bringing Bradley’s face closer, so he could press their foreheads together. Moving his left hand around, he tangled his fingers into the curls at the back of Bradley’s head, while he kept his right cupping his cheek. “Figured it out eventually,” Bradley whispers wetly, “on why they did it. Doesn’t make it hurt any less though. That they chose to honor a dead woman’s wish, instead of a living boy’s dream.”

💔 icemav break up / icedad

"What the fuck did you expect me to do, Peter?" Tom spits out angrily, shoving the man back from entering his house. He follows out the door, so they're standing in his driveway. Though he knows Bradley isn't home, that he's at school and won't see anything, he can't let the man into his home. Into the only sanctuary his child has left. "Did you expect me to go along with it? To hurt our child because you both are so blinded by your grief you can't see what it's doing to Bradley?"

Make Nixie Write This Weekend!

(will be taking them all weekend btw!)

[ices-casket]

Finally drew Goose

Ice didn't want to sleep with them and Slider fell off

Ice is wearing this big, long, silky, lacey robe

Mav is horizontal 😵‍💫

Slider SNORES (Mav kicked him off the bed)

[polar-equinoxx]

the slice hug

[kitnita]

whatever, i've reached a state of zen about it all actually. i don't want to blow up the team -otter with my mind anymore. they're just trying to build on the near-reverse-sweep vibes of last year's playoffs and lull all of vegas into a false sense of security by sucking as much as humanly possible

[maverick-prime]

fanfiction is worth way more than you might think it is. here's why.

something i don't think anybody ever talks or thinks about is how fanfic helps writers develop incredibly useful skills and tools in the same way that prompts, worksheets, and studying literature does. (i actually think it's much more accessible than many of those types of supposedly helpful methods to build good writing skills. fanfiction makes the possibilities limitless while building upon media that people love and really connect with. you can find whatever you want if you use the right tags in AO3.) to illustrate exactly what i mean, i present these points:

*NOTE: if you're not familiar with fanfic terms, i'll define them as i go! i'm also an AO3 user, so i'll be using that as a basis for a lot of my thoughts.

it’s a really helpful way to get a grasp of how to keep characters consistent in a piece, since you have to work with characters that already have established personalities, backstories, habits, and character traits that carry over from their source material. this can get a bit tricky when writing AUs (alternate universes) or canon divergences (hopefully self-explanatory) in particular, but if you acknowledge that characters are OOC (out of character), this can solve that issue pretty quickly and as long as you make everything make sense within context, you're golden. not only that, but you can fix any flaws that you perceive in a character by adding in your own headcanons (personal ideas/beliefs about a character) or by creating realistic traits in that character that don't exist in canon but make sense for the character. this also works for expanding upon canon traits that are never explored to their full potential in canon.

a great example of this would be tony stark in the MCU. a lot of fanfic interpretations of his character put a stronger focus on his anxiety and PTSD, since the movies hint at those traits existing, but don't do them a lot of justice. another good example that's a bit more broadly applicable is LGBT+ or neurodivergent headcanons. if you really identify or kin with a character and feel that they have a certain orientation, gender identity, or mental disorder/condition, you can make it happen! this often has the great side effect of opening up a lot of possibilities for writing those traits into that character and how they affect the world and other characters around them differently than in canon.

you can think of an almost infinite amount of different scenarios to put characters and story events in. i mentioned AUs and canon divergences above, but there are also fanfic tropes like everybody lives/nobody dies, kidfic, time loop/time travel, role swap, missing scene, and even omegaverse (i'm not explaining that one to you, you're on your own pal) that offer different possibilities for putting characters and story events in all sorts of circumstances and contexts that differ from canon. (continuity soups are one of my very favorite examples of this technique. in a continuity soup, an author working with a franchise that has multiple different continuities can cherry-pick aspects of each continuity they like and smash them all together into a single world. this technique works especially well with transformers, which has, at this point, almost a dozen different continuities that are in fact all canon at the exact same time.) a writer doing this learns how to translate certain necessary story events into a completely different world, or can come up with a whole new world, storyline, or context on their own to play with plot, conflict, characters, and story events.

there are a near-limitless number of AUs out there, and every AU that is widely used comes with its own set of tropes. tropes are another useful tool for writers, because they can either be cliche or they can actually be very helpful for building a compelling plot or for introducing characters in a certain way. there are even fanfic genre tropes that exist, like hurt/comfort, fluff, whump/angst, slow burn, enemies to lovers, dead dove do not eat, crackfic... the list goes on!

writers who have difficulty writing things like romance, intimacy, emotional turmoil, injuries, sci-fi, or magic can easily learn a lot from how different fic writers write those topics (and many others). there are tons of fics that focus a lot on one specific genre and whose authors have developed a really great understanding of how to write those genres. not only can you learn a lot in terms of how to write genre, but you can also learn to develop your own writing style. this is one of the reasons why i think fanfiction is a lot more accessible than traditional books and classics. sure, you could read danielle steel novels or fifty shades of grey (which is itself fanfiction!!) or 1984 by orson welles, but unless you're really invested in the worlds being created, you'll find it harder to appreciate the prose. and, a lot of fic writers are not professional writers, so they don't even care about prose! (this is a broad generalization, and i mean "prose" in a more academic sense because i am literally studying rhetoric and prose for my bachelor's degree. not a lot of fic authors are breaking down writing styles for dialogue, diction, or sentence structure. they just write what they love writing and often develop their own styles out of that, which is also just as valid.)

i myself have definitely not been reading as many books in recent years as i've read fanfics. i go through fanfics like wildfire through a dry field. finding fic authors i love reading has really helped me improve my writing style! not only that, but i feel confident to try writing real romances with kissing scenes, to use actual scientific language to describe in-text phenomena, to describe magical objects and worlds with more clarity, and even to try my hand at writing smut. i've learned to break out of my comfort zone thanks to fanfiction, and it's helped me become a much better writer.

developing a writing style through reading other authors' work is much like developing an art style. any artist knows that you're encouraged to create your own style by mashing together traits from other artists' styles you really love and making them into something that's wholly your own. writing works the exact same way. one of my professors last semester had us do an "apprenticeship" with a short story collection written by a certain author to open us up to styles we like and don't like. she said that's how you create your own style, by figuring out what you like and what you don't like. i've been doing this with fic authors for years, and let me tell you, there are some real literary geniuses out there.

fanfiction helps writers learn to accept criticism as well as suggestions for what to write next. one of the hardest parts of being a writer is having someone read your work and tell you there's something wrong with it. your peers do it, your professors do it, editors do it, publishers do it. i've had the great privilege of participating in multiple writing workshops as part of my university education, but it can be really, really hard to find or create writing workshops outside of an academic setting. sites like AO3 cut out the middleman and bring authors right to their audiences. anyone can leave kudos on a fic if they liked it, and anyone can comment on a fic and chat directly with an author. i know for a fact that most authors regularly check and read the comments sections on their fics for feedback, criticism, and requests for what to write next. you can't necessarily do that with big-time authors like stephen king; you’d have to send a letter that may never be read.

the closest thing this system of interaction comes to is voice actors hopping on twitch streams and taking requests from viewers to say all kinds of things in-character. (this actually has the added benefit of inspiring new and interesting fic ideas.) the community on AO3 is genuinely one of the most accepting and welcoming internet spaces i've ever existed in, with possibly the exception of tumblr. fic authors really value feedback, and they love when people leave comments. sometimes they write fic just for themselves, but sometimes they do it for their audiences too! there's a really deep appreciation for source material and fanon (fan canon) alike in the world of fanfiction, and a lot of that is fostered in the author-audience connection. this is invaluable as a beginning writer, because it can help establish criticism as a valuable tool and not something to fear.

it can be scary when you put so much love into something and people don't like it. but fic readers are some of the most encouraging, wonderful people ever. you can trust them to offer valuable feedback and actually constructive criticism.

in short, fanfiction is a bit like placing a kid into a sandbox that only has a select few toys in it and letting them play however they want. so much creativity can come out of working within certain restraints, and it can really help you develop a lot of skill you might not develop otherwise. more aspiring writers should write—or at least read—fanfiction so they can reap some of these benefits. i wish it were more widely discussed in universities, at the very least, because there is so much to learn from fanfiction.

and if you really think fanfiction is only for gross internet weirdos, i remind you of fifty shades of grey being fanfic of twilight, or that city of bones, the first mortal instruments book, was originally a ginny/draco fanfic. i don't even need to mention the sheer number of more recently published romcom books that are based off of reylo from the star wars sequels. plus, if you really think about it, most modern shakespeare adaptations and homages (10 things i hate about you, leo dicaprio's romeo and juliet, the lion king) are fanfiction! there's no shame in making media of what you love. there's no shame in loving anything in the first place. do what makes you happy, and chances are you'll learn something along the way.

[silvercap]

17 and Chreon!!!!!

:))

Leon's drunk. The world spins around him as he stumbles through the door of his apartment, a hysterical giggle escaping him when he slams into the frame and spills out across the floor like a sack of potatoes. He thinks he hits his head, but it doesn't hurt and he's closing the door with his boot a moment later, so all's well that ends well. The stability of the cold hardwood is nice, and Leon sighs, fumbling for his flask. If only he could stop thinking for once. His last mission had been a total wreck, and it seems that no amount of alcohol is enough to drive away the lingering melancholy and guilt that plagues him like a shadow. He's fucked up too many times; gotten one too many good people killed, and he can't take it anymore. It's the same thing every single time.

He needs a distraction.

"Wanna fuck?" he slurs the moment Chris answers his call, grinning up at the ceiling. "I'm in town again. Last time didn't go so hot, but I wanna apologize, and---"

"Are you drunk?" Chris demands, and Leon imagines him frowning his telltale Redfield scowl at the phone. He laughs.

"Yeah, maybe. Offer still stands."

Chris's sigh is heavy on the other end of the line, but his voice is warm when he responds.

"Yeah, I'll come over."

Leon doesn't remember the rest of the conversation, and when he comes back to himself he's hunched over the toilet, vomiting as someone strokes the back of his neck soothingly.

"Shit," he moans, shivering. His leather jacket has gone missing, and he blinks in confusion, struggling to remember what he'd last been doing.

"Better?" Chris's voice rumbles, and Leon fights the dizziness to look up at his worried face. "Let's get you to bed, huh?"

Bed. Chris. Leon suddenly remembers what he'd been doing, and he leans in when Chris helps him up by the arm, nuzzling the space between his muscular shoulder and jaw.

"S'nice to see you again," he mumbles, eyes closing as he inhales the familiar clean scent of Chris's soap and cologne. Honestly, he could just stay like this for the rest of the night, but Chris came here for a reason and he intends to follow through. He drops to his knees, hands on Chris's thighs. "This okay?"

"Leon." Chris sounds faintly horrified. He's not sure why.

He's back on his feet before he knows it, Chris all but dragging him out of the bathroom and into the hazy mess of colors he knows must be his apartment. The bed is soft beneath him when he collapses into the mattress, and he's vaguely aware of blankets being drawn over his body. When he can focus again, Chris is sitting on the edge of the bed beside him, a gentle hand stroking through his hair. A lump forms in his throat.

"We can talk in the morning," Chris says softly, leaning down to press a kiss to Leon's forehead. "But for now, you should get some sleep, okay?"

Leon's not even sure why he's crying, but when Chris stands to leave he lashes out with a hand, clumsily grabbing hold of his wrist.

"Stay?" he begs, and Chris leans down to kiss him again.

"Of course."

[friend-lover-traitor-narrator]

Flufftober 2024 - Day 5: Hurt/Comfort

Ice gets a short glimpse of Maverick after hop 31, before Maverick gets ushered into the medical ward, before Ice and Slider get ushered into the medical ward, too. With every fiber of his bones, Ice wants to walk up to him, comfort him, tell him that it wasn't his fault. But he can't, he can just watch him from afar because they aren't friends. Basically, they are nothing to each other, rivals maybe if such a thing even exists outside fiction, but that's it. No connection that would justify comforting or being comforted by the other. Still, he wants to comfort him because it fucking wasn't Maverick’s fault. If at all, it was his, Ice's, fault. His jetwash. Him being reckless, just once. He could blame Maverick for that, pushing him to his limits and beyond. But he doesn't. It's his fault. Maverick has nothing to do with it.

He doesn't remember how he ends up on Slider's couch but here he is now. Slider is sitting next to him, talking. Ice isn't listening. He can't. Maverick's voice, distorted through the comms and panicking, still echoes through his head. Will probably haunt him forever. It's his fault. It's his fault. Only his. Maverick will never forgive him. Ice will never forgive himself.

He doesn't remember how he ends up with Slider's curls in his face but here he is now. It's dark outside by now and he's still on Slider’s couch. Slider's asleep, snoring softly, lying on top of Ice, chest to chest. It should feel uncomfortable and wrong but it doesn't. Slider's weight, the even movement of his body with every breath… it's weirdly soothing.

Ice knows he's just woken up but each time he closes his eyes again, he sees Maverick's empty eyes when they dragged him into medical, and his voice is ringing in his ears, desperate and frantic.

“It's not your fault,” Slider mutters. Ice doesn't know if he's awake or not and he doesn't reply.

At some point, he must have fallen asleep again because he wakes with a start. Slider's still on top of him, still asleep. It's still soothing but not enough. Reluctantly, Ice wraps his arms around Slider's torso, places his hand on the small of his back. Maybe it'll help.

“You'll be fine, Tom. He'll be fine, too,” Slider mumbles only seconds later and Ice removes his hands, feeling caught. This is wrong. It's wrong to sleep like this, so close to another man, but Ice can't make himself move away. He knows it's wrong but it feels too right, too comfortable, too soothing.

“How do you know?” Ice asks in a whisper.

“I just know. Trust your RIO,” Slider replies and presses his lips to Ice's shoulder for a second. “And now put your arms back around me. I want to continue sleeping.”

Ice doesn't know what he'll make of all of that when the morning comes but he does as he's told, wraps his arms back around Slider's waist, even nuzzles his nose into his curls and falls into a dreamless sleep.

--

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Flufftober prompts by @thepenultimateword