#1 out of 2 backlogged projects completed :') | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

pisupsala · 2 years

Text

One for The History Books [Chapter 8] [Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw]

[Summary] You are an archivist at the Pentagon, sent on assignment to TOPGUN to catalog and report on a top secret mission. In the days under the Californian sun, a certain naval aviator puts your once orderly life in a tailspin that you might never recover from.

[Pairing] Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw x fem!reader / Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw x fem!oc

[Warnings] Mature content: swearing, (explicit) smut. 18+ only.

[Words]4.6k

[Library]

One for The History Books - Chapter 8: Surface Tension

You settle back into your old life quite easily, you think at least. You go to work, do your work, take extra time to help out the interns by proofreading papers, giving feedback on projects, taking extra files home with you to work through, volunteering to help out sorting the old files and photo backlog in the subbasement, you are absolutely not drowning yourself with work so you: a) don't have to think about how much you are actually hurting because you are not hurting, that's ridiculous; b) to have plausible deniability for why you are not turning in a research proposal about the mission. You're just so busy. You just keep forgetting to write that research proposal. Completely normal. It's not because you don't want to think about anything or anyone related to the mission, or because it would be unethical to write about a mission that you were hardly an impartial spectator of. And it's definitely because this breach of ethics could mean the end of your career if this ever got out, and you were still actively working on the mission report. Nope. Busy. It's about a month after you've gotten back from California, you're in a meeting with Riks and your boss, Birch. He's a stocky former marine colonel in his early sixties, still rocking a high and tight and a perpetually annoyed expression. He's leadership style is... efficient, that's the kindest word for it. Not taking any shit is probably more apt. He's currently sitting behind is desk, tearing into the research proposal Riks gave him. He's in his element, setting out his argument in a brusque voice with barely any breathing space, let alone back-talk. Behind you, one several interns are furiously taking notes of the feedback, hoping to pick up pointers on how to improve their own work. Riks is trying his hardest to look impassive, but you can tell he is annoyed. He doesn't like getting told he's wrong, and he likes it even less when it in front of subordinates. Birch concludes his droning monologue, casually sliding the folder over the table back to Riks. “Do better, corporal.” He concludes without ceremony. You know better than to react by cracking a smile. You keep your eyes trained on the desk before you. “Miss Williams...” Birch sits back in his chair. “I'd tell you to do better, but you didn't even try.” You purse your lips. “Why didn't you turn in a research proposal on the TOPGUN mission? I didn't send you to California to get a tan.” You swallow. Choose your words carefully. “I have decided I don't want to proceed with researching this mission. My time -” “Don't.” Birch cuts you off harshly. “Don't give me the spiel about how your time is better spent. That's for me to decide. I want an explanation about what you mean that you don't want to.” You shrug lightly. “I suppose I just don't like planes that much. I can't see myself spending the coming six months writing about an aviation mission.” In the corner of your eye, you see Riks go so wide-eyed his eyeballs are about to pop from his skull. Birch narrows his eyes at you. The back of your neck is prickling. You are getting nervous. Keep it together. Don't give them an inch. Birch can't make you do anything.

He suddenly slams his hand on the desk. “Everyone out!” He barks. Behind you, the interns are scrambling and Riks quickly gathers his papers. You start getting up from your seat slowly, maybe... “Sit your ass down, Williams.” Shit. You sink back into the chair. You didn't expect to get out of this easily, but you kind of hoped just not writing a proposal and doing whatever shit job Birch would punish you with would be the end of it. You expect to be put on public desk duty for a few weeks, answering emails and phone calls. Or some menial work like cleaning up the storage. But Birch clearly wants to grill you some more before meting out punishment. Birch has gotten up from his desk and is pinching the bridge of his nose, and he walks towards you. He sits down on his desk in front of you and looks are you wearily. “Look, Darcy...” His voice is suddenly a lot softer. “Staying on base and in barracks between sailors and marines cannot always be easy for a woman.” You blanch. Birch has never called you by first name, ever. “There's alcohol, unfamiliar surroundings—if anything... untoward happened during your stay at Miramar...” His voice sounds pained. “Nothing—nothing happened.” You choke out. Oh god, your face is burning at the implication. Have you been acting so off that Birch thinks you've been assaulted in some way? “I just... really don't want to work on this anymore.” You say empathetically. “You haven't been yourself since you came back.” He continues, undeterred. “Every report coming out of California is clearly your work. Good work, detailed work. And now...” You open your mouth to protest, but Birch just hold up his hand. “And now you go out of your way to avoid it, refuse to discuss it, bury yourself in anything but this mission.” You bite your lip. You knew you were being obvious in your avoidance, but you never thought Birch would care enough to call you out on it like this. “You don't even make an effort to one up Riks with a proposal, and that's not the Williams I know.” You sigh. It was never meant to go this far—you didn't want anyone to worry about you. You'll get through this by yourself, in due time. “Thank you for being so concerned about me, I really appreciate it.” You smile softly. “I have been... struggling with a few personal things lately, but it's unrelated to work.” It's not strictly speaking true, nor a complete lie. Just vague enough to be believable. Birch looks at you sympathetically. You didn't even know he knew that emotion, but you appreciate it nonetheless. “You have to tell me why you won't work on this project, Darcy.” He implores. “I don't need details, but I need to know if something happened-” “I just don't like planes.” You cut Birch off rather flatly. Or rather pilots, you think bitterly. “So I'm choosing to work on something else.” Birch's sympathy melts like snow in the sun. Oops. “If you are sticking to that bullshit explanation, Williams, you bet I have something else for you to work on.” He bites out. “The storage is due it's annual cleaning.” He gets up from the desk and turns to walk back to his chair. It's a sign you have been dismissed. You get up and start making your way to the door. Your heart is almost beating out of your chest—did you actually get through this? Is it over for real? “Miss Williams?” You turn around, schooling your features. Birch is looking up from his desk. “You are on my team, so you are my responsibility. My door is always open.” You nod with a polite smile. “Thanks boss. Have a good day.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey! Darce! Wait up - Darcy!” You're not really in the mood to chat with Leanne, one of the interns, after the dressing down you just got from Birch. But you also know she will be fishing for gossip. Archivists are naturally curious people—they have to be—and that usually extends to other facets of their life. Gossip in the archives, and the Pentagon at large, is like a sport. Everyone participates, even if they are only a spectator.

Some people gather gossip to find out weaknesses and get on over on others - Riks in one of those people. Others bathe themselves in every type of gossip just for the fun of it. Leanne would be a prime example of that. She's pretty and easy going, moreover she is one of the few people that actually likes working the front desk. She says because she enjoys talking to people, but in reality it's the best spot for gossip, because everyone and everything has to go through her there. “Hi Lee” You reply lightly. “What can I help you with?” You don't break your stride, needing to get to your office. Leanne speed walks up to you, with a look of concern on her face, but eyes full of curiosity. “What did Birch want? We were all so concerned!” She fires off. “He looked scary as he yelled at us to get out.” You chuckle lightly. “Don't worry about it. It's not the first time we've gone head-to-head.” “What did he say to you?” Too transparent, Leanne, too transparent. “That's classified.” You smile at her, as you stop at your office door, swiping your key card to unlock it. Leanne's face fall a bit. “Was it really bad?” She questions. “Leanne. It's classified.” You cut her off with a smile. It might not be classified by the DoD, but as far as you are concerned, no one here cleared to pry into your conversations with your boss or your private life. You might be friendly, but you are still a senior staff member, and your business is no one's but your own. “Let me get you a coffee—and I'll -” Leanne starts. “I think I hear the phone at the front desk ringing.” You interrupt her, not harshly, but firmly. “Bye Leanne!” You call over your shoulder as you swing your office door shut behind you. That girl does not know when to give up. She'll make a fine researcher, but you'd rather she not research you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When it rains, it pours. You've been relegated to cleaning the storage, leaving you only a few hours a day to do your actual work—funny, also, how few interns are suddenly assigned to work in the storage. You spend most of your days alone in the subbasement sweeping, dusting, checking folders and putting boxes back in place. You don't mind that much actually, especially in the first few weeks. It gives you time to think, and finally try to rationalize yourself out of your mental mess. You're having mixed success, because having extricated yourself from anything to do with the mission, you still have to get your personal life back on track. Unfortunately, that means getting tested for STDs. You had unprotected sex with Bradshaw, which in hindsight, was so fucking dumb you can now barely believe you actually did that. What kind of spell did that man put you under that you would not only put your job in jeopardy, but also your health? For now, it's easier just to put the blame on him anyway—he's not here after all—instead of examining what led you to upend your whole life in a few weeks for a man you barely know. It would be an act of kindness to yourself to file this entire affair away with other deeply embarrassing stories (which are mostly from college and involve alcohol) and never tell another soul about it. You are thankful that you are by yourself in the subbasement when you receive the call from the clinic—it's a clean bill of health, which you consider a blessing at this point. This will have no more consequences for you if you don't let it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Birch seems to be hellbent to have you clean up the entire storage by yourself. It's been almost a month now, but he hasn't let up. At all. He gives you small tasks putting together reports for incoming information requests, but nothing spectacular—certainly nothing of the caliber you were assigned before. He sends interns your way to help them with their assignments, but at no point tells you are dismissed from the storage. He just expects you to find a way to get it done, which is as well, but shit.

Birch must be angrier with you than he lets on, because at this rate you'll be stuck cleaning that storage to the end of the year.

It's high summer and hot as hell. While the storage is climate controlled, it's a small respite when dragging around big boxes full of paper. Every day, you go home sweaty and sticky, to the point you've just started to keep a change of fresh clothes in your criminally underused office.

Today is one of the days you actually join your team for lunch—no use to keep yourself cloistered away all the time. Your appetite has been shot for a while now, and the current heat wave is certainly not helping.

And Corporal Cunt sitting across from you doesn't help with anything. Ever.

You are somewhat listlessly digging through your chicken salad with a fork, taking a bite here and there because you know you need the energy, rather than actually wanting to eat. You'll probably have a candy bar of some kind later, as sickly sweet confections seem to be the only thing you can consistently stomach.

“Darcy, what do you think?”

You blink as you completely zoned out from the conversation at the table. Eric, another intern, is looking at you expectantly.

“I'm sorry-” You smile. “What was the question?”

Riks snorts and mumbles something under his breath. Eric, on the other hand, is undeterred, and thrusts a file into your hands. He excitedly starts talking about discrepancies between files and reports from a mission and how many different versions he has of one event.

“How do I know which one is the most accurate?”

“You don't.” You shrug. “At least not really. In this job, we only know what the files tell us, and we can infer how to fill in the gaps, but that doesn't make it the truth.”

“How do we even get so many different versions of one event?” Leanne cuts in. “I'm not talking about small discrepancies, but like- a whole different story?” She amends.

You thumb through the file idly, happy to be occupied with something but your salad.

“People commonly misremember in hindsight.” You pause. “And sometimes they just lie.”

“Why?” Eric has abandoned his lunch in favor of the discussion completely.

“Yeah, why, Williams?” Riks cuts in. “Since you are the resident expert...” He trails off on purpose. Your cheeks burn, but you refuse to look at Riks.

“To protect themselves or to protect someone else... sometimes because they can, and it's convenient.” You grind out, done with this whole conversation now. Handing the file back, you start getting up from the table.

“If you'll excuse me...”

“Don't go yet, Williams.” Riks says grinning. You throw him a guarded look. “I wanted to ask how your new diet is going.”

You stare at him, daring him to continue.

“Seems quite extreme, no?” He says, gesturing at your half-eaten salad. You continue staring him down, half out of your seat already. Voice low, he continues: “So Bradshaw likes them skinny, then?”

It feels like someone just dropped an anvil on your stomach. You seriously consider tipping your lunch tray over Riks and his own too for good measure. Possibly beat him with the tray too. Your mouth sets in a hard line.

“Corporal, you are out of line.” You keep your voice even, not betraying how badly that comment got to you. The chatter at the table has stopped, and you are acutely aware you are being watched. Riks is still grinning.

“I will not have my professionalism and personal life questioned over a chicken salad.” Your tone is clipped. “Certainly not by you.”

Steadying yourself with your hand on the table, you lean over to him.

“If you had any proof of misconduct on my account, you would have taken it to Birch weeks ago.” You throw Riks a smile. You both know he has no proof of anything. Because there isn't any. He stares back at you, unfazed.

“You always take things so seriously, Williams.” Riks shrugs. Nice deflection, asshole. “It's almost as if...”

“Have a good day, everyone.” You cut him off mid-sentence, not wanting to be in his vicinity another second longer. Not looking around, you grab your tray and make your way to the cafeteria exit, absolutely seething.

You had actually been doing better. You actually managed not to think about Bradshaw so much anymore. Now your stomach is in knots and your legs feel like they have been filled with lead. You hate how much Bradshaw still affects you, and you hate even more how much Riks' comment got to you. It hurts to think Bradshaw probably never thought of you as attractive, but just as there. Convenient. Available. Willing.

Yeah, why would a guy like that go for a girl like you anyway?

You sigh deeply as you return to the subbasement. You haven't cried over Bradshaw since you got home two months ago, and you are not about to start now. Best to just get on with work. Time will heal all wounds.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When it rains, it pours.

It's early fall and still uncharacteristically warm for the season, and when you get out of bed that morning, you have a strange sense of foreboding. You dreamed of Bradshaw, which makes you realize you hadn't actually thought about him in a good couple of weeks. Nothing about the dream sticks with you in the minutes after waking, except for the fact that he was in it.

It's been three months and then some since you got back. The memory of him still puts a pit in your stomach, but it's smaller each time. You've filed away every memory and feeling of Bradshaw in a box in your head, tied it with a string, and pushed it into a dark corner. Sometimes feelings leak out, but they are no more than short, intrusive thoughts. This whole affair has taken more of your time, attention and sanity than it probably deserved, and you're done with paying it any more attention.

Still, the strange feeling you've woken up to makes you consider calling in sick. But Eric and Leanne need the feedback that you wrote for them, so they can finish their class assignments. Your sense of duty wins out as you roll yourself out of bed to get ready for another day in the storage.

Within the hour, you are convinced that there is a higher power that is trying to stop you from actually going to work today. First, your car's battery seems to have died. The bitch won't even sputter as you try to start it. Honestly, you cannot bring up the energy or care to pop the hood and try to figure out what is wrong. Not that it would be of that much use, you're not particularly mechanically inclined.

You suppose you could wait for one of your neighbors to help you jump start your car, but it's early enough you could take a bus too. You'll just deal with the car later. It's Thursday, so you're two days away from the weekend, and taking the bus you'll have some time to read at least. Keep a positive attitude. Just power through it.

As you a pulling your bag from the car, you see the bus pass by your stop down the street. Crap, that means you have to wait for thirty minutes for the next one. But hey, that also means you can stop by the little coffee shop on the way and get a nice cold brew to go. Or a latte. Maybe a croissant.

You'll make your own luck today.

Sure, you end up arriving at work later than you planned, but you also realize it doesn't really matter. You don't have any deadlines currently anyway. You join the line of people at the metal detectors to get into the Pentagon. You make small talk with the guards as they run your bag through the X-ray. Many people just walk through without as much as an acknowledgement, but you see these people every day. A little politeness goes a long way.

Scanning your personnel pass to open the gates, you walk into the building to the elevators. Riks has been giving you a wide berth since your last confrontation in the cafeteria, but you are not particularly in the mood to run into Birch right now. You're clearly still on his shit list, and you don't want to give him more reason to keep you there any longer. Although you suppose you're the most overpaid storage attendant in the DoD right now.

You almost forget about the weird feeling you had earlier that morning as you get to work. You're working up a sweat heaving boxes that have been cleaned and sorted back onto the shelves. You are on your tiptoes pushing a box back with sweaty hands that you realize you should have really grabbed a ladder for this.

Straining, you put as much power as you can behind it, but the cardboard file box end up slipping down. You push back, trying to catch the box before it hits the ground—the momentum knocks you back on your ass and the edge of the box catches the bridge of your nose. For a second, you sit on the ground, stunned. You barely register that the box is a bit banged up, but intact, when your nose starts to gush blood. You yelp, using the sleeve of your sweater to try to stop the bleeding and for the love of god not get any blood on the files.

With shakey legs you get up, sleeve still pressed up to your face. Your breath is coming out in short bursts and your eyes are watering.

Bathroom. You need to get to the bathroom.

Mercifully, the hallways are empty—most people have gone to lunch. You slip into the nearest ladies' room and survey the damage. The thin light gray knitted sweater you were wearing is pretty much ruined. The right sleeve is covered with blood. It was old, which is why you were wearing it, but you still liked it.

Your nose seems to be okay too—it's sore, but definitely not broken. God, you hope you don't get a bruise from this. You don't think you're concussed, either. You could go to Birch, explain what happened, and take the rest of the day off to go get checked out. Or not. You're fine.

Splashing some water on your face, you use paper towels to clean up your hands and face. You consider getting changed—you have a clean shirt in your office, but then you'd have two sweaty tops and a bus ride home ahead of you.

In the end, you decide to just roll up your sleeves, hoping the stain won't be so obvious. Between your car pooping out that morning and this, you really hope it's the end of the bullshit for today.

You try to take it easy for the rest of the afternoon, working on lighter boxes and not attempting to put anything away on higher shelves. The bridge of your nose is sore, but nothing that you can't handle. You are over today, though. The faster it's over the better, so you can go home, take a shower and crack open a cold beer or something.

It's going on 4:30 PM when you gather up a pile of files that needs sorting and start heading up to your office. On the way, you refill your mug with hot coffee, needing a final boost for the last leg of the day and the journey home.

Walking past the front desk, you notice Leanne isn't there, but you think nothing of it. There's a pile of mail behind the counter. Balancing your mug on the files in your arm, you quickly rifle through it, making a note to ask Leanne to sort the mail as soon as she gets it. You pick out the envelopes addressed to you and add them to the pile in your arms. Your office is not far, and you hope you can slip into it unnoticed and get changed before anyone catches you. You are really not in the mood to explain the blood, and you're not just really in the mood to talk with someone at length when you are sweaty and sticky like this. Your hair is pulled up with what you are sure is a messy as hell ponytail by now, and your hairline is itching from the sweat. Not to mention, you're probably covered in dust. Home, shower, cold drink. In that order. When you reach your office door, you realize you have probably taken on a bit too much. Using your free hand to dig in your pocket for your personnel card to unlock your door, you end up pulling out your phone and some pens first—adding them to the precarious pile of stuff you are holding. Finally unlocking the door, you push it open with your shoulder. You freeze in the doorway. In the next second, you lose grip on the files you're holding, scattering them on the ground. Your mug shatters on the tile floor at your feet, spewing droplets of hot coffee at your ankles and over the papers. Your phone hits the ground with a resounding bang, but you barely register any of this happening. It's like time has stopped around you while your brain is desperately trying to parse the image your eyes are seeing. Rationally, you must have a concussion, because you are clearly hallucinating. Because why else would he be here?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[note] I've gotten so many amazing comments on the last chapter, and I cannot describe how happy it made me people are still enjoying the story! Thank you so so much for the kindness and support everyone <3

#bradley rooster bradshaw #bradley bradshaw #bradley bradshaw fanfiction #bradley bradshaw x female reader #rooster bradshaw #top gun maverick #rooster fanfic #rooster top gun #rooster x oc

174 notes · View notes

raccoonfallsharder · 3 months

Text

✩࿐࿔ get some sunshine, sunshine. [new 2/1]

fluff (smut-free) | gn reader | no use of y/n | drabble | word count: 1,614.

rocket reminds you to get outdoors and get some sunshine — for your physical and mental health. especially in winter. (take your vitamins too!)

pro-tip: light therapy devices (aka “SAD lamps”) can be purchased pretty reasonably and (at least in the US) are often available for free through public libraries for cardholding members and university student services (health centers, counseling centers, student wellness orgs, etc) for campus community members. read the instructions before usage.

“We are excited to have you back home soon!” “I’m excited to be home soon,” you tell Cosmo, watching the pale blue shape of her projected image as she runs in a tight circle and lets out a bark. “You takin’ care of yourself?” Kraglin asks, his narrow face pinched with worry. “You know the Cap’n won’t like it if you’re not—” “I’m taking care of myself just fine,” you cut him off, rolling your eyes. “The Captain couldn’t even bother to be on this call, so he can suck my—” “Your what?” You wince. You know that gravelly rumble as well as the bridge on your favorite song. Goddammit. Still, you manage to hold it together and stick out your tongue as he comes into view on the holovid. “Better late than never, Captain.” He raises a brow at you. “Brat. You look like shit.”

read more on ao3 ✩࿐࿔

need more reminders from rocket?

the world is hard, and sometimes it's difficult to complete daily tasks & take care of yourself (aka rocket bullies you for your own damn good).

this is about as wholesome as it gets (for me) i think. can be read platonically or romantically. mcu-based, meant to take place post-volume-3, but headcanon however you want ♡

✩࿐࿔ take what you need masterlist

࿔ eat somethin. (wc: 576) ࿔ go to frickin bed already. (wc: 737) ࿔ get outta bed & get your shit done. (wc: 925) ࿔ take a damn bath. (wc: 1,375) ࿔ leave your frickin skin alone. (wc: 1,579) ࿔ take a fuckin study break.(wc: 1,020) ࿔ drink some goddamn water. (wc: 1,209) ࿔ stop destroying your frickin clothes.(wc: 1,609) ࿔ just buy the damn thing already. (wc: 1,271) ࿔ it's frickin laundry day. (wc: 1,923) ࿔ get some sunshine, sunshine. (wc: 1,614) ࿔ did you take your damn meds today? [est 2/12] ࿔ schedule your fuckin' appointments. [est 2/26] for LunaAfton♡

if you find any of these at all helpful, they're meant for you.

feel free to ✩ request reminders ✩ via reblogs, asks, and tumblr or ao3 comments if they would be helpful for you. it may take me a hot minute to get to them depending on life n stuff, but i will do my best. currently backlogged till march ~ feel free to continue sending your requests in the meantime!

if you’d like to join my fanfiction taglist, please comment or send me a message or ask! ♡

@suicidalshitstick ✩ @glow-autumz ✩ @evolvingchaoswitch ✩ @wren-phoenix ✩ @pretty-chips

total word-count: 13,878

14 notes · View notes

academiawho · 1 month

Note

hii!!! honestly you're such a big inspiration because seem so determined and you work hard no matter what! like, how do you do it?? how do you get sm done in less time? what do you do if something you planned for a specific day doesn't work out as you planned it? how do you get past failures? And any tips for acing 12th? (Both in competitive and boards)

Hi, thank you for saying that, it was very kind!

how do you get sm done in less time?

Some practice, some reasonless meaningless smiles in the mirror, and the pigheadedness of overestimating my ability to complete tasks and then overreacting to achieve completion. I think being happy really does help. Reward system, studying in natural light, to name a few aids.

what do you do if something you planned for a specific day doesn't work out as you planned it?

If it happens in the beginning of a work day and it isn't worth getting myself wound up over, I push it to the back of my calendar for the day. If it still doesn't get completed or resolved by sunset, then I let the day I had decide if I need to scream about it or ask for help.

how do you get past failures?

If you don't mind the tmi, I don't think I can get over a failure if I don't stop caring about it. So I either sake a don't-care attitude about it until I make it, or I go through the Lorelai Gilmore recommended stage of wallowing. If I'm feeling wisdomous (wise, that's the word), I look for mistakes on my part and how I can learn from them. I try not to make the same kind of mistake twice.

And any tips for acing 12th? (Both in competitive and boards)

I made some posts when I was going to give Boards: like imp stuff for phy boards and I keep answering asks on the questions related to preparation for NEET and Boards. Feel free to peruse my old posts using tags if need be. My top tips regarding this topic have to be: (1) Practice a lot (2) NCERT is important, even for physics. Get your teachers to explain it to you while you have this kind of time left for NEET. Pls don't attempt to try and understand NCERT all by yourself. It's not as efficient as we hope it will be. (3) Try your best and hardest to have no backlogs. Be it labs, projects, chapters or presentations

Thank you for this ask. Hope what I shared helps you. All the very best for the year ahead of you!💛

#academiawho answers #neet #studyblr

6 notes · View notes

tvmicroscope · 10 months

Note

Hi! Thank you ever so much for sharing your metaphor analytics. I feel like I'm seeing YR in a completely few light after having read them.

I want to ask you (but feel no pressure to reply), if you have any thoughts on verbal foretelling based on sarcasm, fears or simply being hideous wrong. I don't even know what's it technically called. But what I mean is a lot of the stuff that August spew in at least the early episodes of S1 are foreshadowing stuff that will happen to him ("Don't use the school WiFi..., You could kill someone and...) and my personal favourite "Do we want the future king..). So my question is there are some pretty evident lines that foreshadowing events - have you seen some more subtle and systematic usage of this technique throughout S1 and S2?

Actually there is one particular line by Rosh in S1 that I think foreshadows something about Simon, that is "Where are you going?". I really love that line and the ensuing dialogue.

Hey, I really, really have to apologize for replying to your kind ask so very late. I have a huge backlog when it comes to messages and comments right now. Everyone is so lovely and kind, but I can barely keep up with it all. I have a feeling that I will have to take a bit of a tumblr break (and break from other social media platforms, as well) because I can’t do both: write my analysis posts on my blog AND keep interacting on other platforms. I'll have to choose one, and that's going to the writing itself.

Anyway, I know this is no excuse for being so embarrassingly late, but I hope you’ll forgive me for the delay because I do actually find it so very encouraging and motivating when people like you say nice things about my little blog project. It really helps me and keeps me focused, so thank you for letting me know you enjoy the close-reading analysis I’m doing on the show. I’m surprised and a bit exhilarated to find out how many people tell me they’re seeing the whole show in a new light. It’s all very, very much appreciated.

As for your question…

Yes, I totally agree with and I think you are absolutely right: Looking at throw-away lines is very important when analyzing a ‘text’ (be it a novel, play, TV show, film, etc.). When a writer sits down to write a screenplay, they obviously don’t just come up with funny lines (or sarcastic or angry lines, for that matter) to fill the page. Usually, they will try to make sure the line in question is connected to the deeper theme of their ‘text’. Everything in their ‘text’ has to fulfil a purpose, i.e. either drive the plot forward or be plugged in into the broader network of metaphorical subtext.

One of the things we have to keep in mind, though, is the fact that not every line in a ‘text’ is necessarily a metaphorical line. There are lines that are just plain text, so to speak.

In essence, you end up with two types of throw-away lines:

1) Lines on the literal level (the textual layer=plot) that have ONE meaning (even if, at that point in the story, that meaning is still obscure to us, i.e. if the line serves the purpose of foreshadowing future events).

2) Lines that operate on both the literal level (textual layer) AND a subtextual level (metaphorical layer underneath) and thus have TWO different (sometimes divergent) meanings; they can even have three different meanings, when the meta-level is involved.

Let me give you an example: August’s line in s1 during the initiation party that you mentioned in your ask about being able to ‘murder somebody here without it ever coming out’ (I’m paraphrasing). That line is most likely a case of type 1. from our list above, i.e. it operates on the literal level of the script even if we assume it foreshadows some future revelation that we don't yet know anything about. It’s not a line that’s plugged into a metaphor. It’s not metaphorical subtext; it’s text.

If August were to proceed to murder (or try to murder) someone later on. Or alternatively get killed himself. Or if we were find out that somebody else was murdered and it was covered it up, then that would give us a resolution, explain to us why the line was said in the first place and what surprising revelation exactly it was foreshadowing.

This line is however (most likely) not a metaphor. In a metaphor something else represents the concept you’re trying to allude to. Just to give you an example: When Wilhelm in episode two of season one tells Simon in the boat to ‘keep the strokes close to the surface of the water, so as not to expend too much energy’, this is clearly a metaphorical line (type 2. from our list above) because it clearly has two meanings: the literal one (rowing advice) and the metaphorical one (rather dumb and conservative relationship advice). And we instantly see that it’s a metaphor because one thing (rowing) represents another thing (feelings/relationships), one concept stands in for another one.

This is most likely not the case with the ‘murder someone’ line: Here one thing (murdering someone) literally means that same thing (murdering someone). It’s (most likely) not a metaphor; it’s not metaphorical subtext; it’s just text – even if the meaning of the text is currently obscure to us because the show isn’t yet finished.

Why am I telling you all of this (you’re probably bored just reading it because you know all of this already :D)…

Because what I’m mainly concentrating on in my metaphor posts on my substack blog is the metaphorical subtext, i.e. the metaphorical lines, the type 2. lines, so to speak. I sometimes use plain textual lines (type 1 lines) as evidence when I think they are somehow connected to a broader point I’m trying to make or reinforce an argument I’m making, but I don’t really discuss them in and of themselves.

Mainly because, with a line that still hasn’t revealed its meaning to us because it’s obscure at this point in the story, I just don’t really know what to do with it. We can speculate what it means (which is always interesting, of course), but ultimately we don’t know. It’s fun. But if it’s not connected to the metaphorical subtext, I will probably not write about it in and of itself.

Now, as for the Rosh’s line that you mentioned (and thank you again for reminding me, my brain is like a sieve sometimes), that one arguably straddles the boundary between text and subtext, between type 1 line and type 2 line: Rosh, Ayub and Simon are pretty much talking figuratively already at that point, i.e. when Rosh says, “Where are you going?” she isn't asking whether Simon is literally leaving the room, this is meant figuratively (‘where are you going in life?’). It clearly foreshadows Simon’s path that’ll lead him away from Bjärstad not just as a place, but away from the narrow confines of his working class upbringing. So far the line is not a metaphor yet (there isn’t one concept that stands in for another one like, say, ‘water’ for feelings, or a ‘suitcase’ for a burdensome role, or ‘music’ for love, or the ‘ear’ for the heart, etc.). But it’s definitely meant to be understood figuratively. So far it has had only a tragic meaning (Simon only ‘went viral’ in the context of a crime that was committed against his privacy), but when it comes to leaving Bjärstad and the confines of his working class upbringing behind, I could very well see this at some point mean something along the lines of: going to university or study music at a conservatory - something often frowned upon in a milieu with a working-class background (the age-old, “What do you need that highfalutin' stuff for? Learn a trade like everyone else in the family!”). I still have a tiny hope that, “Where are you going?” might mean the famous Verbier Music Festival. If Simon gets at least an invitation in the mail and that’s the third time Verbier is mentioned (in a much more positive light than before), I would be over the moon.

Ultimately, it’s again a line that can foreshadow a lot of things, but it’s (probably) not meant to be understood entirely metaphorically, which is also why I most likely won’t discuss it on the blog itself where I’ll try to stick strictly to the metaphors.Does that make any sense?

I feel I’ve written too much, but I hope that makes up at least a little bit for the long delay.

Thank you again for your kind words, and you’re always welcome to read more on the blog. Even if I take a tumblr break, I will keep posting a new article every week (usually on the weekend).

All the best!

9 notes · View notes

drowningindango · 6 months

Text

Thanks for the tag @enquiringangel ^^

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

45!

2. What’s your total word count?

119,447

3. What fandoms do you write for?

I mainly write for Naruto these days.

Borderlands used to be my main playground for several years (and I still have plenty of unfinished fics for that fandom). I wrote a bit for Undertale, but not anymore (ran out of ideas). In my WIPs there are a few fics for Gloomverse (a webtoon), Gravity Falls and The Owl House.

4. Top 5 fics by kudos.

"Follow My Lead" (272 kudos)

"round and round in circles we go" (251 kudos)

"Playing in Puddles" (175 kudos)

"Was it worth the wait?" (146 kudos)

"Remember me, you ******" (137 kudos)

(lol the Naruto fics have completely conquered my top 5)

5. Do you respond to comments?

In most cases, yes. I love chatting with people in the comments. xD I try to leave a brief thank you or an emoji otherwise.

(Sometimes, life gets the better of me though… Currently I have a backlog of ~30 comments in my inbox… Every now and then I answer one)

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Hm…I'd name one or two of my wips that have angsty endings planned for them, but since they're not finished I suppose they don't count…

From my posted fics, I'd say The Hope of Morning. It ended on a pretty high strung note.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Hmmmmmmmmmm…

Either "Hand in Hand", "Matching Colours" or "round and round in circles we go"? I have a lot of one shots that end on a fluffy note, but I haven't finished one where I'm going "yes, this is the fuzziest and loveliest of all 💕"

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Nope. At least I don't remember.

9. Do you write smut?

Yes, but I rarely make it to posting. Smut is kinda hard and I get easily distracted by building up the premise that leads to it.

10. Do you write crossovers?

Sure, but rarely. Mostly when I have a good idea. (There's a Borderlands x Teen Wolf crossover I want to finish and post one day…)

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not as far as I know. 🥲 I hope not.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Again, not as far as I know.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes! There's been a few collabs with my close writer friends 😊❤️ (most of them never made it to being published, but we had so much fun. But I haven't done any recently)

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

I don't think I can just name "one". My mind goes blank trying to think of one I like the most.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

NONE, I WILL FINISH ALL OF THEM, YOU HEAR ME. >:D If I actually want to finish a WIP, there's no doubt in my mind that one day I will, no matter how long that takes.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Descriptions, especially of emotions I'd say. Character reflections. And coming up with new ideas! I feel like I'm pretty good at coming up with interesting scenarios.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Dialogue, my beloathed. And smut. I also have a problem of starting a lot of new projects and not finishing/taking long to finish the old ones.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language?

Depends on the specific story, how it's used and what the author wants to achieve with it. Like in movies, it can be super fun if you know the language.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Officially that would be Undertale. (I wrote only two fics for it, and the first is deleted from the web because it made me cringe after a while.) Unofficially, I've been writing fix-it stories for Naruto when I was a teen…but mostly in my head.

20. Favourite fanfic you’ve ever written?

"The Craving of Your Heart" is still occupying the top spot in my heart currently, closely followed by "Follow My Lead".

And I tag @littlemiss44 @anannua and @hashiramashonkers

#tag game

3 notes · View notes

the-endless-storm · 1 year

Note

Video game asks. Alk of them (or as many as you feel like doing)!

You come off anon right now and own up!I’ve answered most of them, but there's a few with no answers just because nothing comes to mind right away. I'd have to think about it longer and I don’t have the time or will,power to do so. Naughty anon, asking for so much!

1. Last game you finished

Chained Echoes

2. Games you’re currently playing

I started a mono-team on Pokemon Scarlet, but just to waste time.

3. 1-3 games you’ve played in the past 12 months that you really enjoyed.

Chained Echoes, Pokemon Scarlet, Metroid Fusion

4. Do you like to get 100% achievements/trophies?

I give it a go, but I’m not a completionist. If getting everything starts to frustrate me, I’ll stop. I don’t want to tarnish my enjoyment of a game with an irritation.

5. Games coming out that you’re looking forward to

Hades 2, Baiten Kaitos HD (as long as it's better than the Tales of Symphonia HD)

6. A series you’ve enjoyed since your early days of gaming and still enjoy to this day whether it still has games coming out or is one you return to

Pokemon obviously.

7. A series you’ve lost interest in.

Unfortunately it's Zelda. I don’t like the direction BOTW went in. I think they games look gorgeous and I’ve been told a hundred times over they are great. But all the things that made me love Zelda have been stripped out (the unique temples, fun items, etc) in favour of crafting meals and breakable weapons.

8. A series you haven’t played but are interested in trying

There are lots of games I see on Steam that I’d love to try, but can’t because I have a Mac and they aren’t compatible. I can’t name any right now, but I know they are there.

9. A game you played completely blind with no prior knowledge of and enjoyed/loved

Hollow Knight. It was on sale in the Nintendo Store and I thought it looked good so I bought it. Not at all what I was expecting but definitely worth it.

10. A console and/or handheld you’ve never played but would like to try

I’m a Nintendo Fanboy for life. So there isn’t one. Unless there's a Virtual Boy knocking around, I could give myself a headache for a day for that.

11. Do you prefer ‘blank slate’ main characters you make yourself or otherwise project onto, or characters with a set personality and backstory?

A character with a story for sure. Blank state works in some situations, but I like to see how the story progresses with the player character and how it changes them.

12. A character you particularly like in the game you’re currently playing.

Gotta be Larry in Pokemon Scarlet. He's the only one that isn't happy 24/7. Man needs a week off. We can all relate to Larry.

13. Quick, name the first song from a game that comes to mind

Lost Woods theme

14. A song that’s sure to hit your nostalgia buttons

youtube

15. Do you have a backlog and do you keep track of it.

Nope

16. A game you’d like to replay but haven’t.

I want to play Secret of Mana again now after listening to the title music.

17. A game you didn’t finish but would like to get back to or restart someday

I never finished Hollow Knight, but I doubt I’ll ever get it done. I won’t lie, I’m not great at some games, and most of HK I fluked my way through by sheer force of will. But the final part of the game required such perfect platform in skills over a long period that I got too annoyed with and rage quit over and over. So like the 100% completion above, I stopped before I ruined the game for myself.

18. A game location you really like

If I can move to my Animal Crossing island please that would be great.

19. A game you started up for the first time and you knew from the start it was going to be great

Chained Echoes. I'd read a couple of reviews that explained what kind of game it was, and once I started it, within a few minutes of the opening scenes I knew it was exactly what I’d been looking for for so long.

20. A boss you think is really cool.

21. A boss that was disappointing

22. A game ending that’s really stuck with you

23. A wow moment of awe

Watching the Moon hit Clock Town in Majora's Mask. I wasn’t expecting Zelda to be that dark.

24. A game with a cool art style

Okami has a style that looks like a watercolour painting. It took a while to get used to but is very unique.

25. A game's art style that had to grow on you

Zelda Wind Waker. Like everyone else, I didn’t like it at first, but honestly it's so damn beautiful now. I wish more games were made in that style.

26. Realism or Stylized?

Realism is only as good as the technology of the day, whereas Stylised can be whatever you want whenever you want it.

27. A game you like the atmosphere of

28. Pick a series you like. What was the first game you played for it? Was it a good starting point? Would it still be a good starting point now?

I’m going to pick the Kingdom Rush series. It's on Switch and Xbox now, whereas I started playing it on ArmorGames when it was first released. But Flash, Mobile or Console, it's a brilliant Tower Defence game and the first Kingdom Rush is just as good as any of the newer games in the series.

29. On average do you have one game or multiple games going?

Just one. I don’t have that much dedication.

30. Game you think you’ll finish next?

No clue. Need to have a game to play.

31. Someone has never played a video game before but is open to trying any genre. What game would you recommend as their first?

Maybe a 2D Zelda game like Link to the Past. Not too difficult with a simple control system, big map and lots to explore and collect.

#asks #answers #anon

4 notes · View notes

mangotalkies · 10 months

Note

I saw your post about planning in a bujo and I was wondering if you have any tips? The idea makes sense, but I have no idea where to start or how to do it. (how to plan long term projects, that is)

hey there,

i use a slight variation of the alastair method to plan my projects. i think it's the most effective when it comes to making sense of all the moving parts.

here's what my process is like, somewhat -

being clear about the project's tangible outputs

what are the final deliverables?

how would i consider the project successful by the end of it? get clarity on what is the best outcome.

2. segregating the project into phases

this depends on the deliverables, but these are phases that can be done exclusively in a simultaneous fashion, or in tandem.

analyze the most common statuses of these tasks. the alastair method uses backlog, working on, waiting for, and completed. this could differ according to person and project (can also be as basic as not started, in progress and completed, the way notion does it).

here’s an example - i have to create a portfolio website where i can showcase my design work. so here’s what my phases would look like, along with their status stages -

3. point 1 and 2 are more about tracking the project. when the project is more complex or time bound, i make subtasks for the phases and add it to my weekly tracker.

here the tracker would be for days of the week, like the regular bujo. i assign days to the subtasks (or phases of the project if you don’t need subtasks) on a rolling basis.

once all the subtasks of a phase get completed, i then update the project tracker.

some tips that helped me -

when it comes to personal projects, there’s a lot of experimentation you need to do to figure out what works. but don’t stop. how you plan things will evolve as you work on more things, consider it a hand-in-hand process.

a cliche but true - keep it as simple as possible. the primary purpose of the planner is to enable clarity, not look a certain way. i mean, you can make it pretty if it comforts you and works best for you, but that shouldn’t take precedence over efficiency - nothing is prettier than authenticity in your spreads, be it the handwriting, your scribbled thoughts, the things you scratch out, the clarity will stand out.

if you’re planning for personal projects, try being flexible on the timelines. it can be difficult to stick to them, not because of procrastination, but because you should allow yourself to experiment and explore with how you would typically work on projects.

whenever you’re listing tasks, keep it as actionable as possible. use verbs at the beginning of each item so that it’s easier to comprehend - send email, review post, write part 1, read chapter 2 and so on.

some links that might be helpful -

https://alastairjohnston.com/tag/bullet-journal/ - alastair johnston’s blog where he explains multiple spreads

https://www.productiveflourishing.com/free-planners/ - some free planners and blog articles that you could incorporate in your system

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IqjzXpBsqg - more on the rolling weekly and daily logs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9sb-WZ-8eY - other spreads you can use for the alastair method

hope this helps!

#answered #bujo tips #bujoinspo #bullet journal #planner #studyblr #designblr

6 notes · View notes

daja-the-hypnokitten · 1 year

Text

Jukebox reviews part 49! For context, see my post “A Project” under this same tag. If you want to see a full list of his EMCSA stories, they can be found here, sorted alphabetically.And if you want to see some of his drabbles, check out his blog at @jukeboxemcsa

Middle of the Night