He finally got something to eat.
"I know it must hurt you to look at the scars ... But for me they show that you never gave up. The only thing the war gave you were cruelty, death and pain, but you pulled through anyway, still clinging onto your life that other people have thrown away, deemed worthless. And now you're here ... Your willingness to bear these scars brought you here, Johnny."
— Mitch Rogers
Where Do I Go From Here is a fanfic that takes place more or less four years after the events of First Blood, the first film in the Rambo franchise, while disregarding the other four films. When John Rambo is put on probation, Mitch Rogers, one of the deputies in First Blood, offers him a place to stay. While they are unsure of each other at first, they not only fall in love, but also support each other through both John's PTSD and Mitch coming out as gay.
Notably, despite being for a pairing that only has nine fics on Archive of Our Own, this fic is almost 120k words, and it's actually complete. It's by far the most popular Rambo fic. It can be read here
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Where Do I Go From Here provides examples of:
- Abandoned Pet in a Box: John finds Sam as one of these.
- Acceptable Breaks from Canon: Despite acting as a sequel to First Blood, which takes place in 1981, Where Do I Go From Here takes place in 1976. No one in the comments seems to mind.
- Ascended Extra: Mitch Rogers is the protagonist of Where Do I Go From Here. In First Blood, he was merely one of multiple Ligget County Sheriff's Department deputies.
- Apologises a Lot: Mitch often apologizes for things he didn’t do, which John lampshades.
- Cannot Spit It Out: At first, Mitch has a hard time expressing his romantic interest in John. Justified, considering how frightening it can be to admit gay feelings in a homophobic environment.
- Celebrity Paradox: John and Mitch watch Rocky. It’s never mentioned how John, played by Sylvester Stallone in First Blood, is able to watch a film starring… Sylvester Stallone.
- Dinner and a Show: Played for drama. Mitch’s cousin does not react well to Mitch inviting John to their family Christmas celebration, resulting in harsh words at the dinner table.
- Gayngst: Mitch experiences Gayngst about whether the people in his life will accept him or not. Justified as it takes place in the 1970s in the rural United States.
- Hair-Contrast Duo: John and Mitch.
- Hurt/Comfort Fic: While this fic includes more than just pure Hurt/Comfort, it does involve Mitch comforting John when he experiences flashbacks from his PTSD.
- Idealized Sex: Zig-zagged. There’s no mention of lubrication, which doesn’t result in the pain it would in reality. However, there is a scene where Mitch accidentally triggers one of John’s PTSD flashbacks during sex, showing that sex is far from always being perfect.
- Samaritan Relationship Starter: The entire setup leading to John and Mitch’s relationship starts with Mitch offering John dinner and a place to stay after he was put on probation.
- Scar Survey: A same-sex example. John recounts how he gots his scars to Mitch to help him acknowledge and move on from his trauma.
- Secret Relationship: John and Mitch try to hide their relationship to avoid rejection from their town and Mitch’s family. However, after Mitch’s cousin sees him kiss John, this begins to fall apart.
