'Director Tony Scott says he found inspiration in a book of black and white photographs by gay photographer Bruce Weber. Scott was taken by the haircuts and style of Weberโs models, as well as the โintent of their eyes,โ and showed the book to Paramount execs to give them an indication of his aspired aesthetic. โEveryone was scared because it was infamous in terms of the gay community, this book,โ said Scott, who died in 2012. โThatโs where all these haircuts came from and this hard-edged military look".'
There's something so beautiful in how Maverick says talk to me, Goose while he's flying the Darkstar.
Here he is, doing something that no other human has ever done, something that would have been sci-fi the last they saw each other, and all he can think is Goose, you should see this.
This was the first ever top gun fic I ever read, and I genuinely have to fight the urge to re-read it every other day (as you can see today I lost and will be up all night)
Prompt: getting lost in the woods | sent out to the old barn with Rhett one evening, the two of you arenโt alone in the woods.
Warnings: themes of horror and violence. being stalked by something. supernatural stuff. impersonation. Itโs a bit of a spooky one! wc: 1.7k
โHeโs such a jackass,โ Rhett kicks through dirt and leaves, shaking his head and biting out his words through gritted teeth. โToo fuckinโ old to do it himself, and god forbid Perry gets off of his damn ass.โ
The flashlight shines off into the darkening woods up ahead. He squints into the shadows, twisting his neck to check back the way he had come. After the storm that had been tearing through Wabang the past two days, itโs a wonder that the ranch held up as well as it had.
All thatโs out is the generator. And the part for that generator is way out by the old barn, and the road is blocked by all the tree fall, so heโs the idiot who has to head out there on foot.ย
Your fingers curl around his bicep, tugging him back until you can loop your arm through his and hug yourself to his side. Stuck on the ranch for two days yourself, youโre glad to get out of that house for a while โ and to have him to yourself, too.ย
He had warned you not to come.
You had been all bundled up in his bed already, warm and half naked between his sheets, eyelids drooping.ย
But, you had insisted on coming with him. Now, frost nips at your nose and your cheeks, the Wyoming winter creeping in before the leaves have even finished falling. Rhett feels you turn your cheek toward his shoulder, slowing his pace to keep you with him.ย
He shoots a glance towards the sky, catching the last glimpses of amber and orange as the sun disappears behind the Tetons. Canโt go another night without power, not when Amyโs already sick. She has a cold and the road will be clear enough for them to go to the pharmacy in the morning but no, this expedition had been urgent anyway.ย
โIs it much further?โ You ask him, bundled in an old Carhartt from their hallway closet and a pair of his thermal socks, already thinking of how good itโs going to feel to tear it all off and slip under his flannel sheets again tonight.
One glance backward and the truck seems so small, so far away at the end of the dirt path.
He stops to take a quick look around. He knows these woods like the back of his hand. Itโs a mile and a half the long way around, but it could be longer if the path is messed up.ย
Youโd be there and back in fifteen minutes if you cut through the trees.ย
He knows better. If it was just him, heโd take the long way around, risk the fallen trees and the hour-long walk that should have only taken twenty minutes. But, he can feel the way youโre trembling against him.
โNah. Not much further. This way.โ He mumbles, turning his head and kissing your temple softly. He unwraps you from his arm and drapes it around your shoulders, hugging you close as he steps off of the path and turns his light toward the trees.
Itโs marshy and darker again, where the woods are denser and the ground is wetter, more uneven. Your boots slip in the mud every other step, and your breath comes out in clouds in front of you.
A city girl by Wabangโs standards, Rhett knows that you havenโt ever found this property to be particularly welcoming. Hell, it isnโt.ย
Its harsh winters are designed to kill. The air gets cold enough to make it feel like your lungs are screaming when you suck in a deep breath. The ground freezes solid, the grass disappearing and leaving the living with nothing. Itโs like even the soil goes back when the trees become bare.ย
Draped against him, itโs not the autumn chill that has you shivering.
One more glance backwards and the truck isnโt visible anymore, just trees for as far as your eyes can see.
Turning forward again, the scene up ahead is darker already. Gnarled trees, twisting and looming, the sunlight has faded and the last glimpses of it have disappeared from the canopy above.
You swallow. Your shadow lurks on the chilled ground, looming taller than usual. Wet leaves stick to your boots, mud caking your soles. Each twig that snaps echoes through the silent landscape, each of your jagged breaths sounding amplified through the cold air.ย
The wind wails through the trees with a low moan, mist passing through the gaps in the dark.ย
Thereโs a comfort in knowing that Rhett knows this land. A solace in the way he perseveres through the harsh environment, seemingly unfazed. He works in the dark all the time, and heโs been lost in these woods more than once.
Thatโs why he knows when to stop.
Dead in his tracks, the flashlight stuck on the path up ahead, his breath caught in his throat. His fingers gripping onto your shoulder so tightly that it feels like heโs made of stone.
Your head whips towards him, eyes searching over his face. His jaw is set and his gaze is fixed, his entire body rigid.
โRhett?โ You whisper.
โGo back to the truck.โ He breathes, his voice even quieter than your whisper, โDonโt turn around, Iโll meet you there.โ
Your face wrinkles, turning to look into the trees, trying to see what heโs looking at. โWhat? โ Donโt messโโ
โI said Iโll meet you at the truck.โย
An icy sensation crawls up your spine as he turns his head to look at you. His blue eyes struck with a dead kind of fear, a type of resignation.
Your heartbeat thuds in your chest, your boots slipping in the wet ground as you stumble a few steps back. Itโs silent for miles. Too silent โ no birds, no more wind, nothing but the sound of your breathing.
He turns his head once more and itโs like youโre alone.
If heโs fucking with you, youโd never forgive him. Itโs even worse, because you know that heโd never be able to fake that look in his eye. Youโve never seen him so afraid.
Your instincts scream at you to run. All of the alarm bells in your head are ringing at once, and itโs like Rhett can tell.
โGo slow. Quiet.โ He whispers.
One foot falls back, and another. You stumble back the way you had come until your back hits a tree. You take one more look at your boyfriend, staring off into the trees ahead, and swallow the rising, swelling lump in your throat.
The wet ground shleps under your trembling feet, threatening to swallow your boots with each wobbling step. Your hands drag across jagged back, feeling your way through the trees.ย
Finally, you turn on your heel and head back for the path. It was right behind you. You couldnโt have strayed that far. You walk, and walk, and walk until youโre practically jogging.ย
Your eyes grow glassy with burning tears, your nose stinging from the harsh cold, your palms damp with sweat. Your head whips to the left, and then to the right as your body spins in a clumsy circle. The path couldnโt have been this far away.
Maybe you had gone the wrong way. The darkness swallows any remaining light as it glimpses through the gaps in the trees โ every direction looks the same. Gnarled, twisting shadowed figures for as long as you can see.
Your mouth falls open, your voice catching in your throat, his name falling silent on your tongue. Something tells you that you donโt want to go making a whole lot of noise right now.
Even so, a sob threatens to wrack its way through your throat. You clamp a hand over your own mouth, shuddering back a sniffle as you force yourself forwards.ย
Walking, and walking and walking. Darkness around you pulsing like something living, deafening silence filling the air โ like thereโs nothing really living around here at all. The leaves caking your boots feels like theyโre weighing you down, the wet mud pulling you in further with each footfall.
Hot tears spill along your freezing cheeks. Your breath comes in shallow gasps, muffled by your palm.ย
The silence is broken as the wind tears through the trees with a whistling howl. Your steps grow heavier, fighting against the wet mud. You sprint until your legs burn, your chest heaving, choking on your tears.
Finally, thereโs a glow in the distance. Headlights. Rhett. You gasp out, struggling for breath, rushing for the treeline. Breaking out into the light, your body trembles.
Heโs standing by the driverโs side door. Illuminated just by the beams, his figure sunless and hard to see. His shadow stretches out far beyond the hood.
His back is to you. Heโs facing the Abbott house, three miles back the way you had come.
You wipe your streaming nose, catching the tears on your jaw, sniffling hard.ย โโฆ Rhett? โ Rhett, what the fuck wasโโ
Your voice stops as instantly as Rhettโs footsteps had. Itโs like a kick to the chest.ย
Rhettโs head turns. Real slow, like the hand of a clock, ticking, ticking โ ticking until he has turned enough to be watching you over his shoulder. Peering at you through the driverโs side window, and then the windshield of his old truck.
His eyes are dark and hollow. He doesnโt have the flashlight anymore. Thereโs something different about him, but maybe thatโs just the dark.
The words are caught in your throat and you canโt manage to say anything further.
He moves swiftly, stepping out from beside the door, putting both hands onto the hood of the truck. He steps into the shadow cast by the headlights, darkness falling over his face.
โYou look like youโve seen a ghost.โ His voice comes out softly, familiar, almost amused.
Barely visible, an indistinct form, creeping out from around the hood. Inching towards you.ย
Long, slender fingers curling across the headlight and casting shadows over your face. Shadowy legs that follow. He steps into the beam of the headlights once more.ย
A bent neck, and yellow, lifeless eyes. A wide-stretching smile.
It braces on its legs, dull, hollow eyes growing wide with a sudden excitement, unblinking. Its tight lips peel back across its face, baring sharp, bloodied teeth.
