Ace-gust Writing Challenge 2024
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Listing Series
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birds of a feather (we should stick together) by playingwiththeboysisagayanthem
Fandoms: Top Gun (Movies)
01 Aug 2024
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Summary
" She laughed a little, scrubbing her hand down her face, “I’m not gonna lie, I think most everybody has this impression of you that you’re an asshole, but I don’t see it that way.”
“Well, considering some of the shit I’ve heard people say about you, it sounds to me like we’re two peas in a pod,” he raised an eyebrow. She just nodded, unsurprised. “Look, all I’m asking is for you to let me buy you a round,” she shrugged, “Final offer, take it or leave it.”
He sighed exasperatedly and said, “What the hell? Fine.” She smiled and he smiled back and for Natasha, that’s when it clicked. In his eyes, she saw a kindred spirit, and some part of her soul knew that Bradley Bradshaw would forever be important to her. In what way, she couldn’t be sure, but considering he wasn’t much her type nor was she in the market for a relationship, she suspected she’d just finagled her way into a long-lasting friendship. "
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aka, the story of how Phoenix and Rooster stumbled their way into becoming best friends.
Ace-gust Writing Challenge 2024 | Day One | Platonic Soulmates
Series
- Part 1 of Ace-gust Writing Challenge 2024
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everything you thought you know will fall apart but you’ll be alright (like constellations a million years away) by playingwiththeboysisagayanthem
Fandoms: Top Gun (Movies)
02 Aug 2024
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Summary
" “Baby Goose, you’ve got a pack of Naval Aviators who’d live and die for you in a heartbeat and we’re led by that feral little pilot you call a godfather in there,” he nodded towards the living room, startling a watery laugh out of the teen in his arms.
“And I know we’re not her, and that matters, okay? I know that, she’s gone and that’s gonna hurt like hell for a-ll of us,” his voice cracked, a tear streaming down his own face as Bradley sobbed into his chest, having to stoop to do so because he came up to Slider’s nose now which he couldn’t wait to guffaw over later, “But you’ve still got a family, kid, don’t you ever doubt that much.” "
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aka, when Carole's illness finally takes her, Ice calls in the cavalry to support Mav and Bradley. The '86ers all come running, Slider at the very front of the pack.
Ace-gust Writing Challenge 2024 | Day Two | Found Family
Series
- Part 2 of Ace-gust Writing Challenge 2024
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I'm only looking just to live through you vicariously (I've never really been in love, not seriously) by playingwiththeboysisagayanthem
Fandoms: Top Gun (Movies)
03 Aug 2024
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Summary
" “If you’re referring to a potential romantic interest, well…” he chuckled, “You won’t have to worry about that with me, I’m not…” When he didn’t continue the sentence, Mav turned on his side and propped his head on his hand, “What?”
Slider took a deep breath, “I’ve never really…felt that way about anybody,” he shrugged, “I don’t know, maybe it’ll happen one day, who’s to say? But I just…” he grimaced a little, “I’ve never really seen the appeal in romance, honestly.”
Mav, a hopeless romantic if there ever was one, had a little trouble processing this, “Huh.”
“I mean, I’ve had girlfriends before but I never really…I feel the same with you as I did with them and I know for a fact that the way I see you isn’t like that so I just…” he shrugged again, “I don’t know, maybe something in my brain just doesn’t work right, but I don’t ever see myself falling in love with somebody, I just don’t think it’s something I’m capable of.” "
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aka, Aro Slider strikes up an arrangement with Mav. Everything and nothing changes between them and it's the best idea the RIO has ever had.
Ace-gust Writing Challenge | Day Three | Queerplatonic
Series
- Part 3 of Ace-gust Writing Challenge 2024
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a mirrored picture of my old man (god, the kid looks so sad) by playingwiththeboysisagayanthem
Fandoms: Top Gun (Movies)
04 Aug 2024
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Summary
" “And?” Nick asked, “The family you’re born with isn’t always the one that matters,” he shrugged. “It just…” Tom sighed again, this time rougher, “It feels like I’m doing something I’m not supposed to every time I start to feel angry with him.”
“That’s a fear response, Kaz,” Nick sidled an arm over the kid’s shoulder, “That’s because he’s conditioned you to please him at all costs in order to avoid the consequences,” he sighed, “You aren’t used to rebellion, but that’s what college is for,” he smiled, something cheeky, “Lucky for you, you’ve got two big brothers and what are big brothers for if not teaching little brothers how to be a little rebellious?”
Tom smiled back at him and leaned into his side. "
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aka, how Nick Bradshaw became Mother Goose and the friends he made along the way. Namely, one Ron Kerner, the snarkiest roommate one could ever ask for, and one Tom Kazansky, a young and scared kid who hadn't yet learned how to be the infamous 'Iceman' he would later become.
Ace-gust Writing Challenge | Day Four | High School/College AU
Series
- Part 4 of Ace-gust Writing Challenge 2024
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I'd like to plan out my part in this (I don't get a choice in the matter, why would I? it's only the death of me) by playingwiththeboysisagayanthem
Fandoms: Top Gun (Movies)
05 Aug 2024
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Summary
“ “I—I was in foster care and that was bad enough on it’s own, I cannot imagine the same experience over again being passed around as a—a—a sex slave! And all because the government thinks anyone with a cunt shouldn’t be an independent being with free will, it’s—it’s sick!” Mav’s voice started to raise beyond the whispered tone they were using.
“You’ll wake the kid, Maverick,” Ice warned, “Look, I—I had…a thought but I—“
“What, what thought?” Mav frantically asked.
“I don’t think you’re gonna like it,” Ice hesitantly continued.
“I don’t like anything about this situation, Ice!…All I want is to protect him, Ice,” his voice was watery like the alpha was on the verge of tears.
“What if…what if one of us mated him?” Ice finally asked and even if Bradley couldn’t see them, he knew they all froze at the same exact time. “
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aka, when Bradley presents right after his mom’s death, it leaves he and his pack in a rather tough spot thanks to the legal system holding a heavy bias against omegas. Ice has a solution, even if none of them like it very much.
Ace-gust Writing Challenge 2024 | Day Five | Marriage Of Convenience
Series
- Part 5 of Ace-gust Writing Challenge 2024
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one warm summer night, I’ll hear fireworks outside (and I’ll listen to the memories as they cry, cry, cry) by playingwiththeboysisagayanthem
Fandoms: Top Gun (Movies)
09 Aug 2024
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Summary
" Navy fighter pilot earns first confirmed air-to-air kill since the new millennium! You’d think they had a damn newsletter. But trust the US Navy’s gossip circle to spread the word faster than any federal news network might have.
The thing that nobody ever told Jake about fighting in a war was the guilt that haunts you when the fight ends. When the bloodshed and the explosions and the whirring of an engine all come to an end, leaving little more than quiet in its wake, the way your brain latches onto an idea and doesn’t let go of it.
He didn’t even remember taking the shot, is the funny part. All he could remember was the sound of Blue’s panicked screeches over the radio line as her plane went up in flames. "
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aka, Jake didn't take being the first aviator of his generation with an air-to-air kill quite as easily as he pretended to.
Ace-gust Writing Challenge 2024 | Day Six | Fireworks
Series
- Part 6 of Ace-gust Writing Challenge 2024
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as someone told me lately, everyone deserves a chance to fly (I'm flying free) by playingwiththeboysisagayanthem
Fandoms: Top Gun (Movies)
16 Aug 2024
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Summary
" Logically, Ice knew a lot about avials. He’d spent a lot of time around them, considering they made up over half of the aviation wing of the Navy, and he’d done a lot of research because the Academy had hosted a class for humans who weren’t so familiar with avials in his first year.
He just didn’t realize he was being adopted into a brood until it was too late to go back. "
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aka, Ice is just searching for somewhere to belong. He didn't expect to find it amongst a family of avials, creatures who live alongside and resemble humans, the only difference being the wings that sprout from their backs.
Ace-gust Writing Challenge 2024 | Day Seven | Mythical Beings & Creatures
Series
- Part 7 of Ace-gust Writing Challenge 2024
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when it's done, I can smile (it's on someone else's plate for a while) by playingwiththeboysisagayanthem
Fandoms: Top Gun (Movies)
20 Aug 2024
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Summary
" So fun fact about Bradley Bradshaw. Most people wouldn’t guess it looking at him, he presents as a stereotype of the hyper-masculine men of the 1980s. But when he’s stressed beyond belief, he bakes. It’s a coping mechanism that he picked up from his mother as a child, something that started as a way to bond with her and then when she got sick, turned into a way for him to find something he could control. And having something to put a smile on her face, even through the worst of her treatments, at the end of it was definitely worth all of the effort.
So for as long as most of the people in his life have known him, Bradley Bradshaw has turned to a hot oven and a mixing bowl when nothing in life quite makes sense. And, well…that leads to quite a few things. "
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aka, Bradley stress-bakes. Here are five times that was cause for alarm for someone in his life plus the one time it shouldn't have been.Ace-gust Writing Challenge 2024 | Day Eight | Baking
Series
- Part 8 of Ace-gust Writing Challenge 2024
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kiss the ring and let 'em bow down, looking for the time of your life (no one's gonna find out) by playingwiththeboysisagayanthem
Fandoms: Top Gun (Movies)
28 Aug 2024
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Summary
“ It took Mav’s breath away to reconcile the image before him with the eighteen-year-old boy who stormed out with nothing more than the contents of a single duffle bag and the clothes on his back all those years ago. So forgive him for how long it took for him to find the air to wheeze out, “Bradley?”
“Yeah,” the man laughed, scratching at his face in thought as he turned his eyes toward the moon above, “Yeah, I guess it’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
“You could say that,” Mav croaked out, “Um, come in, it’s…cold out here.” Because no matter how much time had passed, there would never be a version of the world where Mav turned Bradley away. Bradley just nodded and followed him inside. “
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aka, when Mav pulled his papers, Bradley took off. For ten years, nobody ever knew what happened to him. Not until he showed up on Mav and Ice’s doorstep in the middle of the night. As it would turn out, he’s found some trouble since they last saw him and their boy has changed a lot in those ten years.
Ace-gust Writing Challenge 2024 | Day Nine | Mafia AU
Series
- Part 9 of Ace-gust Writing Challenge 2024
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the fear that’s inside you will lift, give it time (promise me, just hold my hand) by playingwiththeboysisagayanthem
Fandoms: Top Gun (Movies)
03 Sep 2024
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Summary
" Mav stared at him with the soft sort of affection that Bradley had been lacking for so goddamn long and then he scooted over, patting the space beside him. Bradley didn’t hesitate, sliding into Mav’s side as Mav curled his arm over Bradley’s shoulder. For a moment, that’s all they did. Just holding on, taking comfort in one another the same way they had swaying together on the tarmac. After soaking in the warmth emanating from Mav’s body, Bradley went to say something but cut himself off as voices began echoing down the corridor outside of the infirmary.
“—really don’t give a shit how late it is, I’ll wake him up,” Phoenix’s voice came into earshot, “I’m not leaving either of them alone in here tonight.” The door opened, revealing Phoenix, Bob, Payback, Fanboy, and Hangman.
“Wakey wakey, Brad Brad,” Phoenix yelled, her voice carrying loud enough through the entire room that if either of them had a headache, they would’ve grimaced. "
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aka, what happens when seven anxious aviators can't sleep and a need for life-affirming cuddles turns into a wild pack of aviators forcefully adopting their CO.
Ace-gust Writing Challenge 2024 | Day Ten | Missing Scene
Series
- Part 10 of Ace-gust Writing Challenge 2024
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being in your arms is what I came here for (you didn’t say it but I know that you felt the same) by playingwiththeboysisagayanthem
Fandoms: Top Gun (Movies)
06 Sep 2024
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Summary
" And then Goose died and Mav slowly began to learn how to content himself on no longer having someone whose arms he felt at ease in. He didn’t cuddle after sex, he didn’t tuck into anyone’s side like he used to with Goose, and he flinched away from forehead pecks and high fives. The most he ever allowed himself was life-affirming hugs after dangerous missions like the Layton rescue.
And the worst part was that he still yearned for the feeling, he just didn’t feel at ease with anybody in order to be comfortable being that vulnerable. To him, allowing someone’s hands to get that close was a risk he couldn’t take. Not when he still carried new bruises every day from people who couldn’t stand the fact that his last name was Mitchell.
At least, he didn’t until Slider came along. "
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aka, Mav is touch-starved and Slider gives good hugs.
Ace-gust Writing Challenge 2024 | Day Eleven | Hugs
Series
- Part 11 of Ace-gust Writing Challenge 2024
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breathe in the air (don't be afraid to care) by playingwiththeboysisagayanthem
Fandoms: Top Gun (Movies)
16 Sep 2024
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Summary
" He returned to cautiously petting Mav’s body, eliciting a pleased purr from Mav as Mav settled into his lap. A few minutes later, Ice sneezed and Mav peered up at him in question. One sneeze turned into three and when he stopped, he tipped his head back and groaned out, “Fuck.” His voice sounded significantly more nasally than it had before.
Mav stared at him, realization dawning, and when Ice met his eyes, he must’ve been able to read the ‘you dumbass’ scrolling across Mav’s brain because he groaned again, “Oh, you shut up, this is your fault.”
‘No,’ Mav thought, ‘It’s yours for playing with a cat when you are apparently allergic. Y’know, like an idiot.’ "
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aka, while most people don't get to make a second first impression, Mav's circumstance is a little unique given the fact that he can transform into a cat. He befriends the Iceman in his cat form and he comes to learn that, despite a rather severe cat allergy, Ice adores cats.
Ace-gust Writing Challenge 2024 | Day Twelve | Allergies
Series
- Part 12 of Ace-gust Writing Challenge 2024
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i’ve been trying to smile like you told me, laugh like the old me (it comes out all wrong) by playingwiththeboysisagayanthem for Angsty_pants
Fandoms: Top Gun (Movies)
25 Sep 2024
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Summary
" Jake had never been very good at communicating clearly. Every time he opened his mouth, he spoke in knots that needed to be unwound in order to see past what it sounded like and understand what it meant. Javy had lamented the trouble Jake found himself in over it for years. And sure, Jake knew he was an asshole. He knew he was a downright, grade-A prick for the way he acted ninety-nine percent of the time. He was self-aware enough to know why most people hated him.
But being an asshole did not mean he didn’t care. He cared, a lot. So deep in his bones that he ached with it.
Sometimes he hated it, sometimes he loathed how deep in his chest he felt things, and he yearned to be the person that everyone assumed he was. Some days, he really wished he was just some narcissistic dick who only cared about himself and his own personal gain because that would be such a simpler life to lead.
But Jake’s heart was not so easily swayed. "
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aka, Jake "Hangman" Seresin is a lot more complicated than he makes himself out to be. And sometimes, the road to hell really is paved with good intentions.
Ace-gust Writing Challenge 2024 | Day Thirteen | Character Study
Series
- Part 13 of Ace-gust Writing Challenge 2024
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a pathological people pleaser (who only wanted you to see) by playingwiththeboysisagayanthem
Fandoms: Top Gun (Movies)
14 Oct 2024
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Summary
" Being raised by a Navy Admiral had done little Tom no good. And as a result, the older he grew, the more he hated human contact in general. Mostly because the fear response of sensing a touch and expecting it to be bad never really went away and he quickly grew tired of suppressing flinches and clenching his jaw and his hands until the knuckles turned white every single day for his entire first year at the Academy.
It had been part of the reason he earned his callsign, as many people saw him as distant, aloof, or even downright cold in nature because of the way he reacted to touch. He couldn’t lie and say that those words didn’t sting, whether they were spoken with a bite to them or between bouts of joking laughter. "
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aka, Tom "Iceman" Kazansky is touch-repulsed. His friends adapt.
Ace-gust Writing Challenge 2024 | Day Fourteen | Touch-Repulsed
Series
- Part 14 of Ace-gust Writing Challenge 2024
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if I could turn back time (if I could find a way) by playingwiththeboysisagayanthem for indigofudge, whatiwouldnotgive
Fandoms: Top Gun (Movies)
14 Oct 2024
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Summary
" He glanced at a calendar on the wall below the register as that same voice yelped out the rest of the lyrics, “Too much love drives a man insane! You broke my will, but what a thrill! Goodness, gracious, great balls of fire!” The calendar was open to July of 1986. And so Bradley Bradshaw realized three things all at the exact same time.
He had somehow time-traveled back to the exact time and date when his father and his godfather were at TOPGUN. Both of his parents were alive once more and stood somewhere in this diner with him. And one of the very few memories he had of his father was underway at that very moment. "
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aka, Bradley Bradshaw somehow manages to travel back in time for a few hours. He learns a few things about his parents he might've been better off not knowing.
Ace-gust Writing Challenge 2024 | Day Fifteen | Time Travel
Series
- Part 15 of Ace-gust Writing Challenge 2024
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I've told a million lies but now I tell a single truth (I bet my life on you) by playingwiththeboysisagayanthem
Fandoms: Top Gun (Movies)
28 Nov 2024
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Summary
" He’d made that fact known since he hopped in Nick’s truck that afternoon. “God, I need to get laid,” he’d said in a sullen tone and Nick had laughed.
Nick, not much in the mood for a hookup but always the jokester, proposed a bet when they received their beers. “Alright, you’re so eager to get laid? How’s about this? Ten dollars says you can’t bag somebody on the premises.”
Pete grinned into the mouth of the beer bottle as he took a sip, “You think that’s a challenge?”
“I’m talking carnal knowledge without leaving the bounds of this delightful establishment,” Nick clarified with a cheeky grin of his own.
Pete barked out a laugh, “Carnal knowledge? That’s a new one, I don’t think I’ve heard that before,” he shook his head with a chuckle, taking another sip off his beer, “Alright, I accept your terms.” "
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aka, the birthplace of a friendship for the books is a seedy bar in Pensacola, where a legendary bet is made for the very first time. Somehow, a bet turns into coming out which turns into gaining a best friend.
Ace-gust Writing Challenge 2024 | Day Sixteen | Bets & Wagers
Series
- Part 16 of Ace-gust Writing Challenge 2024
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when you wake up next to him in the middle of the night (with your head in your hands, you're nothing more than his wife) by playingwiththeboysisagayanthem
Fandoms: Top Gun (Movies)
28 Nov 2024
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Summary
" Her mother had waxed poetic about a woman’s godly, wifely duty and the pleasure wrought by servicing her husband and creating a child together, ‘as God intended’. Carole caved into he side of indifference just to get her to stop talking.
But the older she grew, as she left home and got her degree and started going on dates with men who made her blush when they smiled and offered to spin her around on the dance floor, she began to question things. She wondered to herself why the thought of having sex with these men who she enjoyed spending time with, who she let buy her drinks or dinner and spend her evening in the company of, why the concept alone of intimacy was so outwardly off-putting that she began to question if she even liked men to begin with.
Of course, then she tripped right into Nick Bradshaw’s lap and landed herself a life she never dreamed she would’ve wanted. So you might assume that she’d gotten past her issues with intimacy and sex?
You’d be wrong. "
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aka, Carole Bradshaw is asexual. Though she, unfortunately, doesn't know that. She just knows there's something wrong.
Ace-gust Writing Challenge 2024 | Day Seventeen | Asexuality
Series
- Part 17 of Ace-gust Writing Challenge 2024