#Emotion: Aggression

[minotaurapologist]

Bunnies is a difficult animals

[willyhoos]

whenever i see stuff abt "we need more tails and sonic dynamic where they're SIBLINGS!" and it's just them being rude to each other i get so sad. they do NOT talk to each other like that!!

sometimes they tease, yeah, BUT:

sonic knows better than anyone that tails is still a child, that he's been through a lot (and thus has some particularly sensitive spots,) and the usually brusque/brash sonic very clearly adopts a softer tone with his lil bro! he's also willing to slow down and (gasp) take care of himself a little better for tails' sake. we also see he gets pretty protective of him...

he has absolutely no problem indulging tails' interests and needs!! sonic thinks tails is adorable!! sonic thinks tails is incredible!!

and TAILS thinks his brother is the coolest thing in the world!! he wants to emulate and be more like him! so while he's inherited some of sonic's attitude (and he's earned the right to use it) he would NOTTT just. straight up insult sonic to his face, much less mean it. don't forget that tails canonically thinks this blue energy rat is incredibly cool

why would u want to make this relationship into a stereotype? they're not typical brothers, they formed this special unbreakable bond themselves!! its unique! its built off of understanding and perfect synchrony!! fundamentally it is sonic gently taking tails in and showing him kindness for the first time, and tails striving every day to emulate his hero! there's no want, no need, and no room for needless cruelty!

[archive-of-ire]

Pt: Eleutherian :End pt

ELEUTHERIAN

" A member who is persecutory, angry, aggressive, or otherwise harmful (mentally or physically) because they crave freedom that they lose by being in a system. "

" For example, wanting bodily autonomy that they don't have because of the need for other members to consent, wishing they fronted more, wanting to have their own memories and thoughts, etc. They might also be a holder of these feelings for other members. "

term coined by @spacestationsystem ! we just made the flag ^_^ i don't usually do role flags so sorry if this is similar to a preexisting flag !

[wanologic]

always good to keep a screamhole handy

[logicpng]

so, i have some thoughts. i feel like the game doesn't explore doey much, so i'm gonna take that as an opportunity to stretch him a lil.

in short, i see him as neither one whole nor 3 kids in a trench coat, but something in the middle of the two: a grown up who never really got to experience a proper childhood, the 3 originals in a blend with each other.

the time between creation and game events likely is enough for them to learn how to cooperate (up until. yknow). collectively or individually though, goddamn they need therapy

[ Description in ALT, text transcribed under cut ]

1st image:

point at head with teeth peeking: teeth may show more subtly, particularly when mischevious

point at hat: hat always at an angle

point at hand: stubby hands omg <3

point at neck: neck constantly bent in some fashion

Generally friendly and curious, may be more closed off and bitter if kevin is more dominant.

Collectively an adult due to passage of time and gaining experience, but still retains some more childish traits due to isolation from outside world and trauma, both collective and individual (holy shit do they need therapy).

Parts operate more or less seamlessly, but depending on situation some may show more or less of their traits.

When stressed, cooperation between parts may break down.

2nd image:

Kevin

present strongest when angry, most of anger processing goes through him.

not actually angry/cranky all of the time though, just a bit more gruff/edgy compared to the other two. tends to show teeth when talking.

over the years learned to control his rage better, can redirect it into being a bit of a troll w/ the others

understandably, safe haven's destruction made him revert and lose all restraint, resulting in lashing out, mixed with extreme emotions from others.

Jack

loved doey strongest before conversion (rip), as such expressions tend to default to his

learned to cope with constantly fighting for survival by cracking jokes and being more optimistic

present strongest when happy, may speak more childishly when in distress or comfortable

reverts into reliving trauma of death and family loss with safe haven's destruction

Matt

present strongest when focused on the leader role, strikes a balance between kevin and jack

through time learned to focus more on necessary action rather than allowing to succumb to past guilt

definitely still very stressed out from responsibility, especially after poppy leaving, learned not to show it through cooperation with kevin and jack

safe haven's destruction just plunges him straight into a guilt spiral

Note pointing at bottom notes for each: safe haven's destruction is a massively traumatic event for them, resulting in the three regressing into child selves from distress, mixed in with emotions from individual traumatic memories

[arcticclimes]

Something something Fitzjames and Hodgson are two of the most dandy-ish characters in The Terror but they're also two of the most dangerous; they've both been to war, both do the greatest damage to Tuunbaq using the weaponry they were trained in by the navy (Hodgson with the cannon and Fitzjames with the congreves), and Hodgson is also the one to kill the Inuit family, directly connecting the violence of imperialism with the gentlemanly facade it likes to use.

[keferon]

Two Peas in a Pod: part 7/?

I'm so sorry for the delay. I struggled...

_________________________________________

"Jazz?" Blaster calls just loud enough for his mer to hear him. Now that the initial meeting was over, he wanted to take advantage of the break. 

While understanding that the human was calling him over, Jazz was a bit hesitant that moving might start up the whole confrontation again. He glanced over to the other orca still floating a little ways away, •၊||၊၊၊ had his eyes closed and it looked like he was focused on dealing with the repercussions of his actions. His expression was twisted lightly in a restrained grimace with his right arm holding his side.  

Slowly Jazz pushed himself further away, before turning over and swimming to the pier.  

"Are you okay?" Blaster asked as he knelt at the edge. 

With an uneasy look, he shamefully admitted, "it could have gone better…" 

The chief vet speaks up before Blaster can, but not to Jazz, but into the radio. "Has anyone seen signs of reopening or blood?" 

The Vet Chief wanted to fully isolate them from you, to keep them in a transfer-crate, at least until the injuries had a low risk of reopening. 

Blaster shoots them an offended side-eye, as Jazz is literally right here. However, he pushed it aside, half listening to the radio chatter – all good from the sounds of it – and turned to what was more important. "Did he hurt ya?" 

They'll take him away. 

"I'm fine," he whispered, looking down as he placed a hand on his chest. It still stung, as the first hit was made with intent – he had gotten mad when it happened, did it show on my face, did they see it – and the rest, warning shots. "Just a bruise… it was more dizzying trying to keep away from him than anything."  

–if the team reports you showing signs of aggression, they'll… remove him. 

He hums in thought, eyes drifting momentarily as •၊||၊၊၊ disappeared from the surface. Blaster was a little nervous about that as he looked back at Jazz. "Do you think that you'll be okay, the two of you, I mean. Do you need us to separate–" 

They'll take him away. 

"No." Jazz insisted quickly, fighting to keep his voice low – behave – and shaking his head. "We should be fine now." 

Blaster knew there was more going on, seeing as Jazz was soft spoken and avoiding eye contact; an old habit of hiding himself when speaking to staff, but it would have to be a talk for later. When Jazz felt safe enough to open up. So instead, Blaster smiled and said, "Alright. But me and a few others will be keeping an eye on you both throughout the day. Just to make sure you're both comfortable as you can be. It might be a bit rocky for the first few days, but that's okay, we were expecting that." 

Jazz didn't respond, his attention had been captured by the other mer at the bottom of the pool, beneath him. He had been somewhat keeping an eye on him with his sonar, watching •၊||၊၊၊ slowly explore the tank.  

Though, Blaster was just barely able to spot the other orca from the surface, and honestly wouldn't have noticed if not for Jazz. Pressing the call button on his radio, Blaster looked to the staff, "we've passed the first hurdle, everyone. We'll move onto doing rotation monitoring. Fred and Josh, you'll remain for the first shift. Everyone else, business as usual till I get a schedule in order." 

"I've adjusted the medications and sedatives." The chief vet told Blaster, though didn't even look at him, as they were currently preoccupied sending messages on their phone. Not even a second later, Blaster's own was going off in his pocket.  

"I'll look over your recommendations after." He sneered at them, though the vet had already turned to leave.  

Then while folks celebrated the success and steadily wondered off to their main duties, Blaster's second brought up the mers breakfast from the kitchen. They set Jazz's down next to him, but held on to the other while they eyed the water with extreme caution.  

"Ah, ya, no." Blaster spoke up before they even began to wind up, holding his hands out for the food. "Give it here, we are not chucking anything at him."  

They snapped to him with wide, frightened eyes. Like Blaster hadn't been here to see the speeds that the wild mer had gone after Jazz. "You cannot be serious– you're going to attempt to pole feed him? Now–here? When they have the space to jump!?" 

"No." He said with rising irritation towards their attitude and their poor handling of the situation. "I'm going to treat him the same as Jazz."  

His second now looked flabbergasted, glancing between Jazz, him, out over the pool, and then back at him. "But–!" 

Blaster pointed at both Jazz and up at the pair watching on the viewing deck. He wasn't stupid, he wasn't being reckless, he had been taking everything into account. And honestly, if he wasn't so mad about how the wild mer had been treated – and was just about to be treated – during meals, he'd probably be shaking in anxiety right about now. With a heavy sigh, he then carefully pulled the bucket from their hands to set it with the other, "look… I'm not trying to force you to do something you don't feel comfortable with. You're welcome to leave, I'll handle the meals and hopefully by the week's end, everyone will be feeling comfortable when it's time for food." 

They took one last nervous glance at Jazz, before whispering – pointless, he could hear it clearly – "I don't think you can – or should rely on him to protect you… especially with how–"  

"You're right," Blaster said deliberately louder than a normal speaking volume, "I am responsible for my own choices and actions. Thank you, for your concern. We'll talk in more detail later." 

Thankfully taking the hint, they left.  

Then the area was silent for a moment, save for the sounds of dawn songbirds being overruled by the sound of the scavenging birds of the morning. Starting to beg or fight for bits of food across the aquarium yard. 

"They're right, you know." Jazz said weakly, still not looking at Blaster.  

There might be other staff up on the deck that oversaw his pool, but one of the perks to being outside was that voices didn't carry as far unless one was intentionally loud. So they might as well have been the only two here.  

It was just enough for words to come tumbling out, like he could talk freely once more. "I messed up, it wasn't his fault, he wants to be peaceful – I'm pretty sure, and I just… I think I ended up challenging him?" 

"Jazz, listen, they misunderstood." He leaned over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm not expecting you to come to my rescue, or put yourself between me and him, or anything like that. I know very well that I may be putting myself in a potentially dangerous situation, and I'm ready to face whatever the outcome might be. But what I meant was, that with you here – just like this, with us together. You are showing him with your actions that you don’t see me as a threat. That by willing to be around me and allowing me to touch you, you’re showing trust. Jazz, buddy, you’re a far greater help than those goons posing up there." The last bit was meant to cause him to laugh, or at least smirk. 

But when Jazz still seemed like he didn't believe him, Blaster made a small gesture for Jazz to look. In turning his head to see •၊||၊၊၊, the mer was at the far end with only his head above the water and had a serious gaze fixed on Jazz.  

"It might not seem like it, even with what had just happened, but he's relying on you." He waved at the wild mer and smiled, before reaching for a bucket and held it up in offering. But •၊||၊၊၊ simply scowled further. 

"I don't think Mr. prowl-around-you-like-you're-breakfast relies on anyone." Jazz grumbles in dismay.  

Blaster chuckled and set the bucket back down, "well maybe Prowl, is waiting for you to invite him over for breakfast. He seems to hold some expectations of you." 

"Ya, he sure– wait, Prowl?" Jazz whipped his head back towards Blaster, finally looking at him again. 

"If it fits, it fits." He shrugged with an amused smile, "though, out of anyone here, it should be you that chooses a nickname for him for us to use. I don't want to keep addressing him namelessly or calling him 'the wild' one, and I don't want folks to think that us calling him 'buddy' is his name." Then he laughed as he glanced back out to the sour mer still watching them closely, "I mean, come on, does he look like a Buddy?" 

Jazz tried to stifle his laughter, "n-no." 

Good, good, Blaster was relieved to hear it. Jazz was starting to relax back into his usual self. Coming back up from the depths to the surface to breathe. "So, what will it be?" 

Jazz's smile had slowly begun to return and so did his hopeful enthusiasm, "I think Prowl is good." 

"I'll send out a notice to everyone." And be sure to tear down all those horrible sticky-note suggestions. "But I am going to still try and learn to say his name properly," Blaster then clapped the orca's shoulder before stretching, "so I hope you're ready to have the worst student ever." 

"You're going to learn Mer," Jazz asked in surprise. 

"Heh, I'm shit at learning languages, but I'd be happy if you want to share more of your world with me." He then brought them back to the next part of their day. "But first, breakfast. Want to ask Prowl to join us?" 

"I'll try." He said, before turning around. Though gave a slight pause and adjusted his stance so his side was facing Prowl. When he saw a slight shift in his expression, one that eased some tension in his brow, Jazz gave himself a mental pat on the back. Already a marked improvement.  

{You hungry, Prowler?} Jazz asked. It was sort of funny having a word he understood that could connect to the mer's name. He wasn't sure of the meaning of •၊||၊၊၊ yet, or if it had one. But prowling was something he did, so it still felt like Jazz had gained another tiny piece of who they were.  

{Yes.} He answered, rising enough that his shoulders could be clearly seen, side facing Jazz for a beat, before he slowly began to swim over. Caution or taking it easy due to discomfort, his moments caused only the smallest and softest of ripples. Like a silent hunter.  

Yet, it made Jazz’s smile shift a bit higher. Prowl is prowling.  

But for Blaster, his instincts were starting to claw up his spine, alerting him of a predator. He was forcing himself to relax and keep up his friendly smile by the time Prowl came within five feet of the pier.  

Prowl eyed him up and down as he came to a stop, then gently turned after a moment.  

"Oh, right!" Jazz abruptly speaking up in slight alarm cause Blaster to flinch – which in turn caused a moment of internal panic, because sudden movements are always a bad idea – but Jazz quickly reached up over the pier and grabbed the human by the legs – which caused Prowl to flinch, and oh-boy, was Blaster having flashbacks of close calls – twisting him so he sat with his shoulder turned towards Prowl. "Pretty sure that facing toward him is like telling him you want to challenge them."  

"R-really," Blaster asked, both trying to distract from his thundering heart and focus on the new information. 

"I think so? He kept telling me to stop doing it, before I realized what he was talking about, so it has to be some sort of an aggressive sign." They both looked back to Prowl, who seemed a little tense, but otherwise calm. {You okay, Prowler?} 

{Yes.} His voice firm and serious, but did not look at Jazz when he answered. 

"… Guess we're ready." We’re good, but he must still be uncomfortable with what happened. 

Blaster handed Jazz his bucket first, hoping it would make the next easier. But then Blaster paused, seeing a distant look in his mer's eyes. "Hey, what's wrong?" 

"Nothing." Jazz fiddled with the bucket in his hands, but Blaster was still holding onto the handle. Not that taking it would be difficult, but it didn't feel like it was worth the effort.  

"Jazz…" he pressed softly. 

And Jazz retreated, "I… I don't feel hungry." 

At least he was being honest about it.  

Blaster had hoped that taking some time to talk would have helped to improve Jazz's current mental state. And it had a little. But his guilt over the misunderstanding with Prowl and the bad history with the chief vet were likely weighing too heavily on him. And as much as Blaster wanted to take the time and work through everything with Jazz, he couldn't right now, or rather Jazz would be unwilling.  

Because Prowl was present. Even with a language barrier, Blaster didn't expect Jazz to feel comfortable having a personal conversation with him so close. But if Jazz didn't eat, then it was likely that Prowl wouldn't either. The trust was thin as it was, and hesitating too long – and not being able to explain why – would only make rebuilding trust harder. So, offering to use the holding pool and close the gate wasn't something they could do at the moment. And he hated it.  

Blaster had to do something now to help restore Jazz's confidence and stop the spiralling of whatever thoughts were holding him back.  

Good thing he was prepared for Jazz possibly becoming stressed.  

"Hang on." Blaster said, his smile impish as he pulled the bucket back to set on the pier. Though, not wanting to risk Prowl backing off from him standing, he flopped back reaching for his bag strap, barely snagging it with the tips of his fingers. But he managed and pulled himself back up with it settling in his lap. "I've brought a little somethin." 

Jazz didn't seem interested but waited none the less. Watching as Blaster pull out a huge plastic food-container – ... okay, he was slightly curious now and a little annoyed, because if he was going to tease him–  

But then Blaster shook it with the biggest grin, and as the contents clunked around softly, Jazz's whole face lit up. Because what Blaster had just offered was the equivalent of a chocolate bar. There weren't many things that Blaster brought for him in a container, but there was only one that made that sound. "Moose jerky!?" 

"Shh! Not so loud." He glanced up at the other staff, like he was doing something that would get him in trouble. But it wasn't a secret that Blaster made these treats for Jazz. And while it still pissed off the chief vet, there was nothing they could do about it.  

It had caused a site wide outrage the first time he had done it. But orcas ate moose – the orca mers more so than the animals – even if it was mostly if there just happened to be one in front of them rather than an active hunting choice. But there was enough history, and with Blaster's dietary knowledge, he had won that battle.  

He just chose to mix it up a little, rather than bring in raw meat. Not so different than some sun-dried fish really. And Blaster personally prepared it to make sure it was safe. Seasoning was just sea salt, simple, but tasty.  

Jazz was now buzzing with eager energy. "Can I share with Prowl?" 

"You’d better," Blaster laughed as he opened it and handed Jazz two strips that were almost the size of dinner plates. He could have tried to use it to mend the trust between him and the wild mer. But Blaster knew it would help Jazz foster his relationship with Prowl and that was far more important. 

The whole time Prowl had been watching them and their exchange with intense focus, trying to figure out what was going on. So, when Jazz turned to him with a huge smile and held out what looked to be a piece of thin wood, he was wary.  

{It's good!} Jazz wanted to say it was amazing, but unfortunately 'good', 'okay', 'safe' was all he currently had to work with.  

After Prowl finally gave in and moved in close enough to take the offering, Jazz laid out on the surface. Careful not to get his food wet as he happily began to bite and tear small strips off. Taking delight in the satisfying sensation of the treat ripping and savouring the flavour as he chewed the tough meat.  

Seeing how much Jazz was enjoying himself, Prowl took a tentative bite and immediately understood why. The look of surprise on his face had the other two laughing.  

{Good, yes?}  

{Yes.} Prowl then followed Jazz's lead and relaxed on the surface, enjoying the first piece of decent food since he arrived. 

Blaster chuckled at the sight of the two of them and set aside the container to dig out his own personal stash to nibble on. "I've got more for you two sea otters, but only after you finish your breakfast."  

Smoothing things over by sharing snacks always opened opportunities for bonding. Good ol' comfort food saving the day. 

_________________________________________

Idk, this one felt very clunky to me, but I must move on -lays on the floor in defeat-

I'm now trying to put together a timeline of the all interactions that you share or like on your blog. Like a countdown clock to the flood/jailbreak, hitting all the angsty and fluffy notes, I want to make sure I can include everything. Q~Q

You and so many others have been showering me in praise and encouragement I want to live up to it. ♡(╥︣﹏᷅╥᷅)♡ I love you all, thank you so much!!

Going forward there is going to more Jazz and Prowl, without Blaster, I promise. Please forgive me and my long setups, my brain struggles with keeping things short, everything I write is a 200K+ slow burn. -cries-

-GLC

Previous Next

OH HELL YEAH GIVE THOSE GUYS A MOOSE THEY DESERVE IT KDDKSHFV

Blaster over there is having battles on all fronts possible alsjfnfjnf

Also I'm happy they can have proper food at least sometimes~ Although I can't help but think that like. Jazz is happy because this poor moose is kind of a rare treat. Nice occasion gift you know. And then Prowl also loves the moose but in more "I was eating nothing but raw potatoes for a while and now there's a properly seasoned and cooked meal again" way. You know. Cause mers have all kinds of different foods in their cities and stuff~ While humans just go "here's your fish".

Anyway haha. The scene is so cute I love itt~

[risibledeer]

happy christmas or merry holidays <3

i threw symbolism on this thing like glitter on a school diorama.

[archive-of-ire]

Pt: He has created a new virus!

Explosive device. this is a presentation term for short alternative people who are often seen as being overly rude and/or (passive) aggressive. :end pt

. . . HE HAS CREATED A NEW VIRUS !

☆ EXPLOSIVE DEVICE 𓈒 this is a presentation term for short alternative people who are often seen as being overly rude and/or (passive) aggressive.

this flag is self indulgent, and is not meant to belittle or stereotype anyone.

no spoons for id - help appreciated

[ruushes]

very excited to be reaching new ground in act 3 and with it new opportunities to behave in the most deranged manner imaginable

[aveskeep]

I can be your angle...or yuor devil

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 339

So erm, Danny might’ve fallen through a portal. And might have no clue where he is right now. 

He fell into an alleyway! Right into a dumpster! Which isn’t the worst thing he’s fallen into but still. Ew. Well, Dad should be able to find him and bring him back home! …Right? 

He shakes out his itchy fur and scales, already impatient and bored in the single alley despite it only being a few minutes. What’s a realms hatchling to do but explore? Well, besides taking care of his shed, but it’s too dry where he is anyway. Maybe he’ll find a lake! 

Hm. He can’t understand what anyone is shouting or freaking out about. It’s like they’ve never seen a dragon or something, geeze! Oh well, he’s on his way to find water, he’s not built for the desert…

[archive-of-ire]

Pt: Angry Omni flag, when you are a Pissed Off and Getting Ready to Throw Hands Omni

Flag stripe meanings: Aggressively blows kisses at you: I love you, you're cute, but you gotta face my wrath Seduces everyone to lower their defense: Preparing for attack Hiding in the dark about to ambush: You wonder why you never see Omnis? It's cause we're lying in wait. Angry crys on you cause I can never find rep: Please, more Omni representation, i am on my hands and knees. (angrily) Drowns you in the tears: The final blow to all omniphobes

Made by an Omni for Omnis! We shall form an Omni army!! If ur an exclus though, face the wrath. Only use this in a good manner please.

100% inspired from Shaun @kenochoric from his Mean Bi post. I also named this Angry Omni cause it flows better.

Happy destroying! :End pt

Angry Omni flag, when you are a Pissed Off and Getting Ready to Throw Hands Omni

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

Flag stripe meanings:

AGGRESSIVELY BLOWS KISSES AT YOU: I love you, you're cute, but you gotta face my wrath

SEDUCES EVERYONE TO LOWER THEIR DEFENSE: Preparing for attack

HIDING IN THE DARK ABOUT TO AMBUSH: You wonder why you never see Omnis? It's cause we're lying in wait.

ANGRY CRYS ON YOU CAUSE I CAN NEVER FIND REP: Please, more Omni representation, i am on my hands and knees. (angrily)

DROWNS YOU IN THE TEARS: The final blow to all omniphobes

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

Made by an Omni for Omnis! We shall form an Omni army!! If ur an exclus though, face the wrath. Only use this in a good manner please.

100% inspired from Shaun @kenochoric from his Mean Bi post. I also named this Angry Omni cause it flows better.

Happy destroying!

[the-balloon-shed]

look, people can have whatever headcanons they want (this whole blog is devoted to my own brainrot over icemav because I needed an outlet, I love all the different stuff out there and wanted to contribute) but I do have a hard time picturing Ice being the world's most upstanding student with his pencils sharpened and teacher's pet vibe that I sometimes see attributed to him. I get that he's ice cold, no mistakes, but that has to do wit his flying. I think when it comes to flying, yeah, he fucking knows everything about that plane, about how it flies, about what he needs to do. He's devoted to the act of flying, of being a naval aviator, of being the best pilot there is.

On the ground though? Yeah, he'll do everything textbook -- so long as it keeps him flying. But a guy who is willing to cause a class laughter by coughing "bullshit" into his fist as another student explains his process to their instructor is not a guy who is concerned with being a teacher's pet. I've seen it around here, so I'm not the first to note this, but honestly Ice looks bored in the classes. Hell he spends half his class staring at Maverick. The difference between Ice and Maverick is that Ice does care enough to know the rules and can be compliant when it suits his goals. Maverick will blatantly disregard rules he doesn't agree with and doesn't know when to keep a lid on his own perspective.

(Side note - People who climb the military ladder, I imagine as I do not personally know, don't do so merely by keeping their head down -- Ice has to take risks and challenges that get him noticed, which sometimes means pissing off people, with which how often he's a brat to Maverick he is clearly capable of doing. I think the difference between Ice and Maverick is that Ice knows how to play the game and knows when is the right time to piss off people and knows how to do it within the regulations and best tactics. Maverick -- Maverick can't keep an opinion to himself, and does things he feels are the right thing to do, regardless of the consequences. )

Also going based off of other knowledge I've seen on tumblr explaining what the Academy is which Ice apparently went to, it's (allegedly) a pretty prestigious school that's hard to get into. Which makes me think, personally, that Ice had exceptional grades for a long time, and probably even did advanced physics and aerodynamics already. These classes might be even easy for him, or at least nothing new. He pays attention as much as he needs to, but for the most part, he's already got it. (I personally like to headcanon that he would regularly get best scores on exams while at the Academy, or maybe even had a friendly competition with Cougar as to who would be the best academically, and maybe even helped tutor other students -- which would be a decent precursor to him being a teacher at TOPGUN)

Which I think is why Ice finds Maverick so compelling. Maverick gets all this, seems to be a damn good visualizer, and he didn't go to the academy. Ice worked his ass off, but Maverick had to overcome genuine barriers due to his family history, and did so while doing absolutely off the wall shit that Ice would have never even considered. The thing that draws Ice to Maverick? Maverick is the farthest thing from boring. Even if he is lying about flying upside down -- which despite Ice saying "bullshit" I think at least part of that is just reactive disbelief because holy shit, what if he actually did? -- it's still entertaining. Breaks up from the monotony. Catches his attention.

And then when he watches Maverick fly and realizes, jesus christ, he probably did fly his plane upside down. He flew his plane upside down and taunted the shit out of the enemy. And because this is the 80s, and toxic masculinity, instead Ice channels that feeling of kind of awe into antagonism because how else is he going to do it. So he asks Maverick, "who was covering Cougar while you were showboating?"

And the thing is that Maverick takes it in stride. He listens pretty politely. honestly, I think he notices the fact that Ice -- Goose's proclaimed "best" -- is paying attention to him. Even if it is by being an asshole, it doesn't stop the fact that Ice doesn't do that to anyone else. He keeps to his lane. They're teammates, they're all on the same side, but other than Slider it doesn't seem like Ice takes much of a personal interest in anyone. But he does in Maverick.

It's the fascination that makes the Icemav for me. The intrigue. Maverick asking Goose who he thinks is the best, and Goose points out Iceman, and Iceman backs it up because he flies textbook perfectly. Iceman having heard about Maverick, acknowledging that Mav and Goose were notorious, and discovering why and being compelled by it. The rivalry between the two that comes from really, being two sides of the same coin. They both want to fly, badly. They both want to be the best. They both have very different understandings and beliefs of how one becomes that, and even what the best means. They both recognize that the other is a threat to their own goal. And once the competition is over -- well. Damn. Who else do they want on their wing than this person who has earned their respect, impressed them, who they've come to understand, and with whom went through so much together?

(And if there's a hell of a lot of sexual tension and confusing romantic feelings along the way, well -- that's just even more fun)

[starbuck]

Flint and Billy’s dynamic is really so much because you get the impression that Flint thinks about Billy 0.05% of the time at most, whereas Billy thinks about Flint 80% of the time at least.

And Billy also KNOWS that Flint doesn’t think about him and that’s what at least 20% of his thoughts about Flint are about.

[good-to-drive]