- She/Her - 23 - American - Callsign Sparrow Top Gun Sideblog (Where I also sometimes post general aviation, mission impossible, and other general Tom Cruise content) I follow from Silver7456.
Welcome to my Top Gun Tom Cruise side blog. Here I am obsessed with anything Top Gun, Mission Impossible, other Tom Cruise content, Naval Aviation, and aircraft in general.
I dabble in fanfiction on occasion, all my works are posted on Ao3 under the username Silver7456.
I find aircraft to be super cool, some of my favorites are the F-14, the F-16, the AV-8B, the F-4, the P-51, and the SR-71. I have an ever growing diecast metal aircraft collection and I am always looking for new entries for it :)
I really love the idea of air shows but I’ve never been to one in person. I prefer the look of the Airforce Thunderbirds over look of the Navy Blue Angels, but I’m biased towards everything else Navy due to Top Gun.
I do not actually feel strongly for or against the real US Military or any related fields, I just really like the fictional stories and characters shown in Top Gun (1986) and Top Gun Maverick. And irl fighter jets look hella cool. So if there are inaccuracies to real life here I don’t really care. It’s fiction and the Navy can work the way I want it to in fiction.
All Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1 spoilers will be tagged ‘Mission impossible spoilers’ and ‘dead reckoning spoilers’ if you want to avoid those.
This is a side blog so all my interactions will be from @silver7456
i like to think mav got his callsign because he had a shitty little 1970s ford maverick that was constantly giving out on him and making him late, but he couldn't afford to get a new car. and he'd come in late, apologizing, saying it was the maverick, and it got to the point where he'd walk in, and before he could say anything, his co/instructor/whoever would just go "maverick?" and he'd sigh heavily and nod
Here are my TOP GUN call sign hc's because they tend to be embarrassing rather than cool:
Maverick- Despite what most people think, it's actually two things. One, at the beginning of his piloting career, he struggled to get this specific maneuver down and then he hit on a woman, panicked and told her that his name was Rick. Maverick.
Goose: Obviously Mother Goose. Specifically someone overheard him reading newborn Bradley a fairytale when he couldn't be there.
Iceman: Got too drunk and fell asleep facedown in an snowbank.
Slider: They fucked around at an old playground and he burnt himself on a metal slide and then fell off of it.
Hangman: Genuinely terrible at the game Hangman. Cannot spell to save his life.
Phoenix: Was going to get eloped with her then boyfriend in Phoenix Arizona but left him at the altar.
Rooster: Dad's was bird themed, it only makes sense. Also he's a morning guy and never fails to be too chipper. Also really fucking tall.
Fanboy: Has admitted drunkenly that he plays mtg and Pokemon.
Payback: Owes like fifty people money
Coyote: once tried to rescue a dog on the side of the road, got home and realized that it was actually a whole ass coyote.
Halo: beats everyone's ass in video games but she hates Halo and loves Destiny.
Omaha: Genuinely asked someone if Omaha was in Japan. Was born in New Mexico.
Cyclone: Once broke a washing machine so badly that it sprayed water everywhere and flooded the room like a cyclone.
Bob: Baby on board actually refers to the sticker he has on his mini van. He's single with no children
This was actually the first piece i did of Mav, so the likeness isn't as good imo, but i still hope you like him and his little plane friend !!
Again, I'm sorry for lowkey spamming, you guys are going to be sick of my low saturation purple background of doom lmaooo- I have a backlog of little sketches like those, and two big paintings so far, that I want to share.
When Jake stumbles into your office attempting to flirt with you, all you can do is humor the fact that your husband seems to have forgotten you.
▸ PAIRING: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x Wife!Reader
▸ WARNINGS: Pure fluff, slight amnesia, injured Jake, sexual jokes
▸ WORD COUNT: 1.6K
▸ A/N: wrote a quick small idea because i love a good secret relationship and a flirty hangman
The crash outside piques your curiosity. You abandon the latest report you’re working on and get up to swing open your door right on time for a certain blonde aviator to spill into the infirmary. Jake barging into your office is not news; he barges in probably more than he really should, particularly when you’re with patients.
“Boundaries” becomes the most used word in your relationship.
Only thing is, this time, he’s looking at you with big, surprised eyes. The tinges of blue around his emerald eyes are even more prominent when they’re blown up. “Who allowed you to look this good, Doc,” he says with a swagger in his step, eyes droopy now as he leans against the doorframe.
Before you can question him, Rooster walks through the door, a pitying look at Jake. “He’s on the good stuff. Maybe too much of it.” You quirk an eyebrow. “Sedatives.”
Your eyes dart briefly to Jake who is still eyeing you with interest but now he has taken over your chair, propping his chin up on his palm with his elbow on your desk. That smug smile, albeit a little sleepier, is still plastered across his face.
“He crashed earlier–” The smile wipes off your face quickly and Rooster instantly adds, “Nothing big, managed to get out, but he landed wrong cause he ejected too close to the ground. We had to take him to the hospital. Most of it’s around his ribs, but he’s okay.”
Drifting over to Jake, you cup his face and tilt him to look up at you. While he’s busy giving you dark, flirty glances, you are checking him for any signs of permanent damage. He has a few scratches on his face, you notice now the new band-aid he’s sporting on his cheek.
You’re on your knees then and you’re slowly unbuttoning his uniform. If he’s really injured here, he should probably be wearing something more breathable. You remember he packed an extra short-sleeved shirt this morning.
“Whoa, at least take me out to dinner first,” Jake teases, which earns a roll of your eyes.
“Told his dumb ass he should be going straight home but he insisted on making a pit stop here. Something about getting a second look. He might’ve also said something along the lines of visiting the pretty doctor.” Your eyes snap up to Rooster, who holds his hands up in defense. “His words, not mine.”
Humored, you look at him playfully, accusingly. “So you don’t think I’m pretty?”
“That’s not what I said!” Rooster immediately replies, face flushing crimson. “Anyways, before I dig a deeper hole for myself, I’m going to leave him in your very capable hands. Whenever he’s done, one of the guys can drop him off at home.”
“I’m going to wrap up soon so I've got him, don’t worry.”
“You got his address?”
You fight to keep a straight face. “Yeah, it’s on his records.”
“Awesome, thanks, Doc. See you tomorrow.” With that, Rooster makes his exit, the door slamming shut behind him.
You wait a moment and thank the heavens that Jake has the false reputation of being an incorrigible flirt. That will hopefully throw off any suspicion of your relationship.
When you know you’re in the clear, you inspect Jake a little more closely. There are bandages wrapped around his abdomen and you wonder how severe the accident was if they had to give him sedatives. Then again, it’s entirely possible that Jake was being a little bitch and they gave it to him just to shut his mouth.
Aside from the minor injuries, he seems to be in pretty good shape. Physically at least.
Mentally – you look up at him and he’s still smiling stupidly at you – he’s perhaps not quite there yet.
“Jake, honey, I’m going to need to move you to the bed.”
“So soon?” His eyes blow up comically before the expression falls away to a confident grin. “I’m ready whenever you are.”
A disgruntled sigh slips past your lips. Even when he’s drugged up, he still manages to be insufferable. You position his arm around your shoulders and slowly help him to his feet. Jake leans his weight on you, but more so because he really likes being this close to you. The man is heavy to say the least. All six feet of him. You lead him carefully towards the infirmary bed with him nuzzling into your hair the entire time.
He hums thoughtfully and grins against the side of your head. His hot breath tickles your neck right as you plop him on top of the comforter. He avidly refuses to lie down, instead scooching his way in until he’s sat with his back against the wall.
Jake turns to you, grinning smugly with teeth in full view.
“Damn, darlin’, you smell so good. Do you have a boyfriend?”
You’re just sitting down on the edge of the bed when you hear it and freeze. “Come again?”
“Sweetheart, we haven’t even come once,” Jake retorts, seeming all too pleased with his joke. The ‘we’ is cute, very considerate of him to include both of you in the conversation. However, you’re too distracted by his question.
“You’re asking me if I have a boyfriend.” You repeat, incredulous.
Jake nods aggressively, likely jumbling his head even worse.
A smile tilts the corner of your lips. You raise your left hand, showing him the back of it. “I’m married actually.”
“Married?” He gasps, completely aghast. He looks crestfallen and then stares at the ring in annoyance. “I mean, of course, you’d be married. You’re so smart, and so pretty. You also embarrassed Rooster? God, you’re fuckin’ perfect. Who’s the lucky person? Do I know them? Are they on base?”
“You do know him, very well in fact. He is on base.”
A growl rises from his throat. “He better watch his back, I’ll get him if he even thinks about slipping once.”
“Really? How would you do that?”
“I could fight him.”
You chuckle. “Right, you’ll fight him. That might be a little hard.”
“Why is that?”
“He’s pretty tough. He’s tall. Very strong. Very handsome too.”
Jake scowls. “Alright, so he’s Mr. Perfect because you’re also perfect. Well, if I ever catch him not being perfect, I’m going to swoop in for the kill. Neither of you will ever see me coming.”
A grin stretches across his face at your laugh. “Good to know, Seresin. I’ll make sure to warn him.”
“Hm, so you’re really married,” Jake repeats again in a deep, disappointed sigh. He takes your left hand in both of his, looking down at the spectacular rock on your hand. He lets out a low whistle before he grimaces, realizing who he’s complimenting.
Actually, not even realizing who he’s complimenting.
“He did good, your husband.” Jake turns your hand, letting the diamond catch the sunlight. The facets sparkle, speckling the room with blinding polka dots. “Gorgeous ring for a gorgeous girl.”
Heat creeps up your cheeks. “Thank you.” You pause before dropping another bomb on him. “I should also probably tell you that you’re also married.”
Jake jerks back, nearly getting whiplash from how quickly he turns to look at you. “I am? To who? I think I’d know if I was married.”
“A very lucky woman.”
“Well, shit.” Jake grunts. “Well, if I married her, then I’m sure she’s as perfect as you.”
“Probably more alike than you think,” you mutter under your breath.
Jake is smiling at you softly and you see his eyes begin to close. His eyelids flutter, struggling to stay open. It’s as if he is striving to commit your face to memory. “I think I’m kinda sleepy, Doc.”
“Well, you best get your rest then.”
“When I wake up, if you happen to be single, you let me know right away. Or even before I wake up, that might just do the trick.”
“You got it, Hangman.”
–
“I had the strangest dream,” Jake tells you on your drive home.
He’s in the passenger seat, his head still spinning a little from the heavy slumber. He had woken up when everyone else was long gone and found you flipping through your novel, waiting for him. He didn’t seem to remember what happened just an hour prior, so you let it play out, told him he just slept the entire time.
“Hm, what about?”
“I was flirting with this woman,” he says, sounding even more confused than you should be. “I promise, sweetheart, I’d never hit on anyone else. I haven’t hit on anyone else, not since that time I flirted with you when you first joined.”
You hide your smile, focusing instead on the road. “Yeah, was she pretty?”
Clearly, a part of him does think so because he hesitates before responding. “Would you be upset if I said she was? I can’t even remember her face. I just remember thinking she was so fuckin’ stunning.”
“Should I be concerned about this fictional woman?”
“Definitely not,” Jake scoffs, crossing his arms over your chest. “Dream woman could never compare to you. The real deal.”
You let out a little mm-hmm as you pull out something from your pocket. His dog tag dangles from your hand, glimmering right next to the wedding band he keeps around his neck. “Rooster gave it to me before he left. Said you dropped it in your landing.”
He gratefully accepts the necklace and clasps it around his neck. “Thank you, did he ask about the–you know.”
“You mean your wedding ring? The one you’ve been wearing since you married me a year ago? The one you keep secret from your squadmates because no one knows you’re married and you let them believe you’re still a cocky, unbearable flirt?”
Jake laughs. “That’s the one.”
“Yes.”
“And what did you say?”
You smirk, “Told him it was a purity ring.”
“Darlin’,” he groans, “I have a reputation to maintain.”
I just read it, so here are some pieces of lore we learn from the Top Gun novel (if anyone cares):
Goose is a "Southern boy" (17) from Buck Holler, Tennessee (37) and has a "farmer's face" (39), though Mav describes him as a "mountain man" (96)
Mav wanted to be a fighter pilot his whole life, apart from "a very brief week or two when he was five" -- during which he considered being a cowboy (24)
....interestingly, Ice calls Goose and Mav "cowboys" after seeing them fly in combat practice (84)
Mav has a brother four years younger than him whose name is Barney (24, 25)
Mav's dad, Rick Mitchell, was a test pilot that flew the very first F-14s while stationed in Long Island, when Mav was 8 years old (24). Mav was 12 when he was killed in combat (28)
Mav's dad's best friend was "Uncle Fred" and his wife is "Aunt Sally" (25, 28)
We kind of see this in the film, but key detail: Mav carries a picture of him and his dad that his mom took on the F-14 test day in his wallet and sets it on his bedside table every night when he goes to bed so he can see it when he wakes up :( (28)
He also carries his dad's Navy Cross in his pocket, even while at Top Gun (103)
Prior to Top Gun, Mav and Goose's CO is Tom Otawoczek, aka Stinger, even to his wife (31)
In the film, Cougar is spooked by the Mig encounter and that's what causes him to freeze. In the book, it's because Cougar experiences extreme vertigo and becomes convinced that his jet is upside down -- Maverick talks him down and leads him in (31)
Stinger initially selects Cougar for Top Gun because he's the best pilot in their squadron... but Stinger admits that Maverick is actually the better pilot, he's just too independent and shouldn't be sent to represent the squadron (32). Mav always dreamed of going to Top Gun, but never thought he'd actually get there because of his attitude (34)
When Mav and Goose find out they're going to Top Gun, they climb to the top of the aircraft carrier they're stationed on and yell their big news together up into the night sky while standing over the water :') (38)
Goose rides on the back of Mav's bike with him!!! (39)
They get pulled over for speeding on their way to Fightertown, Mav talks them out of getting a ticket and instead gets them a police escort to the gate (42), king shit. This whole scene is very funny
Iceman is initially described as a "super specimen of tall, blonde muscle" and a cool, tall drink of water, actual quote (42). His first words to Maverick are, loud enough for him to overhear, "This one must be a real killer" (43)
Even though everyone's competitive at Top Gun, "no one could resist Goose" and he makes friends with everybody very quickly (51). He also has a lot of connections from his time in the Naval Academy (52). Mav asks, "Is there anybody in the Navy you don't know?" (52)
Maverick's strategy is just to tag along until Goose's friends come around to him -- his personality tends to put people off and he knows it (51)
Whenever Mav and Goose get in trouble, Mav corrects himself from "we" to "I" -- he makes sure that Goose is never blamed for his antics (89) and apologizes to him whenever they fail (118)
In the film, when Viper asks if he'd want Maverick with him in battle, Jester says, "I don't know." In the book, Jester says, "Yes." (90)
The reason Mav is wearing jeans in the volleyball scene in the film is because in the book we learn that he was already dressed to go to dinner with Charlie. Goose catches him on his way out and convinces him to come back to play volleyball because Ice was talking shit about them (96)
The scene where Goose tries to get serious with Mav after their first hop does not happen in the book. Goose rarely gets mad, but Goose does get actually mad at Mav one time: when Mav leaves Hollywood to pursue Viper in combat training (116)
Still, it doesn't last long. Fact is, he and Mav are the best team out there and Goose loves the chase as much as Mav does (117)
Goose and Carole are high school sweethearts and childhood friends. They've been married for 4 years by the time he's at Top Gun with Mav but they don't get to spend much time together (119)
Carole is described as "his lifeline and his reality" (119)
Bradley is one and a half when they visit him at Top Gun (119). Mav internally refers to him once as "baby boy Brad" (140)
(and, as a side note, reading about Goose and Bradley together fucking HURTS.)
In the film, Goose pushes Mav to get in between Ice and their target; in the book, it's Mav's angry decision to push it, which leads to the accident with Ice's jet wash (129, 158) -- this is why Mav feels responsible
Goose dies on July 29 (141)
Goose screamed when his head hit the canopy (131). Mav hears it ringing in his head over and over after the ejection
The back seat ejects 4/10ths of a second before the front seat -- Goose hitting the canopy means that it was knocked out of the way for Maverick to eject safely. If Goose hadn't hit the canopy and moved it, Mav would have died (131). In the film, Mav says this line, but Goose's last words were, "Watch that canopy!" (131)
When Goose dies, Mav does too: "He felt nothing. Dead people feel nothing" (137)
Wolfman is the only person that chases after Maverick in the locker room to try and convince him not to quit Top Gun (146). He calls Charlie and tips her off that Mav is likely going to the airport (147)
They're all pleasant to him, but no one volunteers to fly as Mav's new RIO leading up to Top Gun graduation (161)
The deployment after graduation is detailed a little more in the book: the aviators are flying protective cover over a sea rescue mission after a Navy vessel was fired upon (163, 165)
Maverick actually chooses Merlin to be his RIO, but asks that it ultimately be his choice (164). Merlin accepts and is thrilled to do so (165)
After the mission, Stinger refers to Ice and Mav as the two Top Guns, even though Ice was the winner. And then again in the narration: "It would stay a running joke between them. The two Top Guns." (187) <3
i always thought it was cute in tg:m how mav does the "good morning aviators, this is your captain speaking" bit on the first day, and then hangman does it at the end after saving his ass ("ladies and gentlemen, this is your savior speaking") but! did you know that in the top gun novel, goose does that same speech after rescuing cougar and merlin?
"On behalf of your captain and your crew, I want to thank you for flying VF one-fourteen. And next time your plans include the middle of the goddamn ocean in the dead of the frigging night, I hope you'll think... of Naval Aviation" (23) 🥲🥲🥲
as a denizen of this busted ass website for half my life now i do know how staff works and i’m going to lay out what they think will happen as someone who has witnessed this exact thing play out
People get very mad for a few days and then roll over and accept the change to the enclosure. This is what they are betting on. They have had meetings about this.
Getting around it: set an alarm. Get mad not just now, but in a few days, a week, two weeks. They are expecting people to sigh and get over this very odd edit to the site in a few days. Keep flooding them for more than just tonight. Be mad for the week, for the month. Leave a message every day.
If you send feedback via Tumblr's feedback form (which you SHOULD do), you will get an autoreply telling you to leave a comment on the changes.tumblr.com blog (which you should also do!). Just make sure you're actually doing it on the reblog of this post from changes since, due to their own shitty update, they cannot/will not see the SIXTY THOUSAND NOTES that this update has generated, 99% of which are negative.
