#[again‚ if you recognize who runs this blog‚ no you don't!!! you don't see me!!!/SILLY]

[askthewitchhunter]

Heed my words, denizens of Ye Olde Toontowne!

I have witnessed other suits quite alike myself creating these... "ask blogs", and thus I have followed in their footsteps. If I shall grace thee with a response remains to be seen, however. ("Company mandate"... pah. The audacity of that woman.)

(I may have made a grave mistake climbing this tower. I may or may not require assistance descending from this damnable thing.)

[ooc: not my first rodeo with askblogs, but this one i actually care about! half shitpost, half actual-serious-prester bullshit. if you know who runs this blog, no you don't./silly]

[ i also run @keepin-it-barry-brief. ]

[dearmailman]

Yay! Thank you for responding :)

I would really like to request a writing piece about a Regressor Howdy? It may seem silly but I like to picture him on the Younger/Baby side of regression!

I don't mind fanfic or headcanons, nor who would be a caretaker in this scenario (if anyone at all!), just whatever's easiest on you!

Thank you again Eddie! Seeing your blog on my dash is always enjoyable! :D <3

I might do a fanfic with this too, but here’s some ideas and headcanons for now! Enjoy neighbor!

Howdy is often very stressed out - understandable as he’s the only neighbor with a business to run. He has a lot of trouble slowing himself down, he even talks at 50 mph! Wally, being the most helpful neighbor, noticed this early on. What started as making sure he gets to bed and feeds himself and stops to have fun eventually became caregiving for him.

Howdy nor Wally realized what was happening at first. Just that Howdy would quiet drown and get very sleepy and wide-eyed when Wally took on responsibility instead. Eddie was the one who recognized regression as regression! Wally loved the idea right off the bat - what a perfect way to get his neighbor to take time off!

Wally and Eddie looked at a catalog for baby toys in secret and ordered anything they thought Howdy would love. Howdy was certainly surprised when five entire boxes were delivered to him the next day. He opened them and was quite confused - until Eddie suggested asking Wally what they were for. There were six entire pacifiers, a whole box worth of building blocks, three cuddly blankets, and more - honestly more than Howdy would ever have gotten for himself!

Howdy called Wally, and Wally came to the shop very smug. He was swaying his hips in a “can you blame me?” way the entire time Howdy interrogated him. Wally convinced him to close up early and they went up stairs to his apartment. Wally wrapped him in a blanket (barely big enough for him) and convinced him to try one of the pacifiers. Howdy was very nervous and unsure at first, it was a little embarrassing to let himself be so relaxed and vulnerable. Being in a baby-like mindstate is so comforting, though....

Howdy did relax as the night fell, with Wally chatting at him softly as the sun set, wrapped in blankets and just settling down for a bit. He felt that same mindstate come to him, feeling safe and quiet, not needing to impress anyone or worry about selling things. Just relaxing with someone who cares for him, no responsibility or pressure over his head.

Wally doesn’t talk about memories often, but that night he reminisced about finding a baby caterpillar in an apple outside while the other little neighbors were playing. He laughed and ran his hand over Howdy’s hair, and told him that it’s his favorite memory of the few he has. He reminds Wally of that memory when he lets himself be taken care of.

Howdy was very tired and felt pleasantly foggy and warm. He doesn’t actually remember that, but that’s okay. It’s comforting to know he and Wally have a long history.

Howdy ends up really enjoying pacifiers, they’re soothing and help him relax. Building blocks are great too! It gives all four of his hands something to play with, sometimes building three towers at once.

Even if Wally isn't over that day, Howdy always sleeps with one of the baby blankets - a light blue one with fruits patterned on it. He indulges and lets himself regress every night before bed. Regression is his tool for relaxing and decompressing!

Eddie and Frank also caretake for him sometimes. They’re involved less often since it makes Wally jealous sometimes, but Wally also trusts them as babysitters! Frank reads books about butterflies to him - sometimes asking suspicious questions about caterpillar biology, which makes Howdy laugh. Eddie always does crafts or bakes with him!

Poppy also babysits! She doesn’t understand as much about regression, but she would always care for her neighbors when they need it. Howdy loves her snacks and they’re the perfect size to cuddle each other!

[decaydanceredacted]

To make up for my Ao3 advertising and non-redacted submissions here, I figured I'd finally offer a true submission.. (off anon bc I already revealed my blog name in my last submission-)

I have a horrible obsession with cnc and stalking, (Which leaks into pred/pray kink stuff-) and when that last tour video of Joe and Patrick dropped, when Joe raises his eyebrow when Pat tries to challenge him for once and IMMEDIATELY backs down. (I hope we all know what I'm talking about here)

Let me tell you, said video has kept me up at night and still clouds my head, and I can't count the number of fantasies that have spawned from this. In the simplest way possible, I want to be hunted and chanced by Joe. (I apologize that this is gonna be lengthy)

So anyways, there's this particular fantasy that's been super prominent for the past week concerning Joe and Pete.

To set a small background up, you know both Joe and Pete, either as friends or simple acquaintances. (Bonus points if they had been joking with you about breaking into your house and using you and had been teasing you about it) Imagine being home alone. It's dark out, maybe a little stormy, and you're watching a show or movie on your couch or whatever. You get up to go to the kitchen, but as you round the corner, there's a shadow standing in front of you that isn't your own. You have nothing to grab in defense as you slowly back away from the kitchen doorway, and your heart only sinks further into your stomach as you recognize the face of the intruder. Pete's standing a few inches from you, an almost playful smirk on his lips. Instinct kicks in, you run through the house, thinking if you can get to your bathroom or bedroom, you can at least barricade yourself from him. Almost comically, as you run into your bedroom, you run straight into Joe. Maybe you try to scramble and run from Joe, but he just grabs you by your shirt or hair and throws you onto your own bed.

The two of them proceed to have their way with you, using you. Pete can't shut up about how long he's been watching you through your windows, saying shit like how much he's craved your body after catching glimpses of it through windows. And Joe can't shut up about how hungry he's been for you, how he's considered cornering you when you've hung out before but he wanted to wait so that both him and Pete could have their fun with you. Maybe he was the one who convinced Pete to join him.

They put you on your knees first, taking turns with your throat before they get bored and try and see if you can take both of them in your mouth at the same time, laughing at you, humiliating you. They eventually move onto fucking you silly, taking turns with your hole while you whine and try not to moan, not wanting to give them the satisfaction of knowing you're enjoying it. If you turn away from them, one of them grabs your chin and tells you to 'keep watching, or else.' And if you try talking back to them, you get slapped, bit, or spit on.

Once they get close to cuming, Pete switches to using your mouth, throat fucking you while Joe continues to destroy you in Missionary. Joe makes sure you're full, and Pete makes sure you swallow. At this point you'd forgotten you weren't supposed to be enjoying this, hell you'd even forgotten they'd broken into your house in the first place. And then bc I'm a sucker for good endings, they make sure to give you proper aftercare and spend the night with you, all the while knowing they're just gonna use you again tomorrow.

Apologies if that was a lot.

Kinda debating on actually making this a fic, but I wouldn't make it an x reader probably bc I don't like writing x readers lol.

-Sybil

.

[bookwyrminspiration]

Hello there! I think I’m one of those peeps who appears to have just randomly ended up here bc my blog is many things, but it is not primarily a kotlc blog, and I show up and like your posts once in a blue moon - I’ve been lurking in the fandom tags for months (and whenever I’m in a lurking phase I’m always hesitant to like or rb things because anxiety is mean) after not really interacting with keeper fandoms for years (I think your analyses were some of the first posts I came across when I was rereading the series) and seeing other people post about my gay elf blorbos is so wonderful :)

Also, getting to the point here - I stayed up past 2 AM reading your fic because it was just. Anskdkfjdklsjf. Incredible. The stars-space-dark-light and finding each other motifs were so poignant and TIERTICE PROPOSAL (especially Prentice being the one to initiate affection and reminiscing and everything because Tiergan is so scared of getting so close just to lose him again and just. Oh my god the tenderness) and Tam rescuing Wylie from the light and them becoming brothers (brothers!!!!) and Linh and Rayni making amends and FAMILY and love and I absolutely love your writing style and this is just sleep deprived gushing but tldr: your blog and writing are wonderful and I hope this doesn’t come off as too weird! -🐳 (not sure if you already have a whale anon?)

Hello! I do not have a whale anon yet! Lurkers and not quite involved people are wonderful, it's so cool to see people who enjoy the same things I do even if you haven't made it practically your entire personality online. I'd put you in the "kinda unexpected but understandable" category, where I wouldn't peg the blog as a kotlc blog but they're involved in enough middle grade/ya fandoms that I can assume they partake in keeper casually.

There's just also this other category of "unexpected and I don't fully understand why you're here." This happens with like poetry and art aesthetic blogs run by adults, where they don't seem like someone who'd read keeper? And that's why most people follow me? But who am I to know their interests? So it perplexes me sometimes. I assume it's gotta do with my popular sibling post or something

But! back to your point! I am so sorry you stayed up late but also so flattered by that at the same time? wdym my silly little fic was worth losing sleep over? that does mean you got to read the fic at the same time the fic was set at though! I think that's fun.

Thank you for all the compliments!! i love the consistency the different motifs bring to each story, it feels like they're all intertwined in a deeper way. Like they're all on similar wavelengths in ways they can't even recognize but we can from the outside. It's so satisfying to write.

And the tiertice proposal! now they can be true antenna husbands <33. Was nervous to write their dynamic because I will be honest, I did absolutely all of it from memory and that memory was not very strong. Did not really pay attention to them at all when reading. And then when I realized "hey I didn't pay attention to them at all maybe I should double check what their dynamic is" I was too far into it and decided no we're winging it. If I just make this really good people will be too busy screaming to notice if they're out of character. I'm very glad I went ahead with my idea to add it (a proposal was NOWHERE in the original plan) because everyone seems to enjoy it if not find it absolutely adorable.

Yes!! Tam rescuing Wylie from the light! I hadn't even realized at first the meaning that could be found in that, I wrote it and only later realized that Wylie had been trying to get away from the light about found comfort in Tam, a shade. But I think it's an interesting comment on the importance of family to the two of them and the bond they've fostered, how something that can be seen as so threatening (all the things in the dark) can be utterly meaningless when it comes to someone you love. They're brothers and fiercely love each other, and it transcends expectations and social norms and they do it so casually. They fell into that life together, and I am. Endlessly fascinated by them.

Then there's Linh and Rayni!! Full disclosure I wasn't a huge Rayni fan going into this fic (she was fine, but I had more appreciation for her when she was Glimmer), but she grew on me. I admire how unapologetic she is, how thoroughly she's cast off her care for what other people think. I'm working towards being like that, but am not nearly as casual about it as she is. That whole section was an experiment with them

and don't worry, none of this comes off as weird at all! I think a lot of people fear they're weirder than they are, and if they are weird they should embrace it more :). I'm absolutely flattered you like my writing style though, so lucky for you I have no intention of stopping writing. Telling stories is so fulfilling I have zero desire to stop! so thank you for the encouragement, which I will use as writing fuel whenever I start up my next project (which is the dialogue prompts, but breaks about to be over and I just wrote that other fic so I'm chilling atm)

[kaedeharakazuhasdefenseenby]

BeiKazu and "Proship"

Disclaimer: This blog is mainly a space for me to vent out my frustrations in a cohesive way. It's not intended teach anything. Recently I've come across a Twitter page that had BeiKazu and ZhongTao on the DNI list under incest proship. There were so many emotions running through me that night, I couldn't keep my head on straight. For the record, I am a Kazuha fictive and I am close with a Zhongli and a Hu Tao fictive in another system. We've all bonded over how awful these accusations have made us feel and the discussions tend to last many hours. I am working on source separation so please bear with me for the language style I use in this post; I know I'm not the actual character but an interpretation. However, I still have feelings about this discourse. While pseudomemories aren't exactly real, they do feel real and sometimes it can be difficult to stay level-headed about the false past. It seems that some people, mainly those who don't understand the concept of found family (or ignore it entirely) and those ignorant of cultures vastly different from theirs, see Beidou as a sibling or a parental figure in my life. This is entirely false. My memories of her are deeply personal so I will be vague, but an explanation is necessary. If you're familiar with the lore, you would know that I'm not fond of talking about my past and that my closest friend was killed. What you won't know is that Tomo was my soulmate and the love of my life. Once his body hit the ground, I realized all too late that I loved him and wanted a domestic life with him. After stealing his Vision Shell, I shut down and put up various walls around my heart. I didn't want to feel that kind of pain again. Aboard the Alcor, the crew were very invasive about my past. Beidou, however, was not. I respect and admire her so very deeply, and I am grateful for her taking me in and giving me a safe place. We spent time together and would often talk below the stars that blanketed the navy blue sky. Sometimes she would drink and when she did, I took care of her when she was out of commission. I cleaned her up, stayed up all night watching over her to make sure she was safe. Eventually she earned my trust and broke down some of those walls I was hiding behind. I told her about Tomo. She held me while I wept in her arms for hours and that night we kissed for the first time. Beidou is a woman I fiercely look up to and given that plus her being my elder, I would use honorifics with her sometimes. She is not and has never been my mother or my sister. We mutually care for each other and there is not any kind of power dynamic between us. I don't understand the desire to demonize found family so aggressively. When you have a long term domestic partner or a spouse, you are legally recognized as family are you not? Is that not befitting this proship argument going around? It sounds silly when you think about it. Yes, Beidou is family because she offered me roots when I was wandering in search of an escape from my heartbreak. We're partners as part of her crew, not siblings-- and I certainly do not have an Oedipus complex! Unfortunate truth be told, I just wanted somewhere- someone- to call home again. I love traveling, but aloneness can feel suffocating sometimes. Beidou opened her heart to a damaged samurai and patched up his heart. I'll always be grateful for that. --

The other argument I saw against us is that we are both "gay-coded." Headcanons are beautiful and fascinating in my opinion, but I can't say I feel fond of people bashing my relationships with feminine presenting people because they see me as gay. As an alter, I'm intersex and queer so that relationship wouldn't be cishet in anyway-- but who's to say Beidou is cishet? What if she's transgender? Or genderfluid? Or bisexual or pansexual? What if she is also intersex? I suppose the root of my issue comes from feeling upset that my bond has been demonized. After I lost Tomo, I was lost and broken. Beidou was the one who showed me that it was still possible for me to be in love and share my life with someone. I gave her my heart and I don't regret it. At the end of the day you can absolutely have opinions, but it stops being subjective and starts being aggressive and hostile when you demonize certain dynamics or cultural norms and resort to insults. Culture shock can be overcome with effort and learning. There's no excuse to stay ignorant. You also never know who will be looking at your content. Strangers on the internet aren't owed a filter or kindness, but be aware that you could very well be hurting someone with your expression. BeiKazu is not proship and it never will be. My heart aches knowing that some people think that way.

[softtangent]

Is it 2008? I don't think I even remember what 2008 was like, not in this moment- I'd have to spend a bit of time thinking about it- putting the pieces together, letting the smell waft in and fill the room like a big baked pie. When was the last time I baked a pie ? somehow, the metaphor fails me, because I'm not sure I'd think it smelled so sweet. But, it might be worth to try on, to romanticize simply because I like to think of things beautifully.

I could go on for a while, in a waterfall stream of consciousness about the things I don't remember the last time I did or thought about.

it was later than that anyways, I looked in my email to check. This year- 8 days before my birthday, 7 days before lover's- is the 11th anniversary of the birth of a tumblr blog made in high school that was later abandoned. I was 17 years old.

feeling grateful for this time machine- it feels like stepping into a childhood territory, almost like the best place- the wooden castle playgrounds that they don't make anymore because of the splinters in small fingers. the coarse grinding splashes of feet running through a sea of insulating pebbles. at some point they changed those to woodchips- I can now finally appreciate this upgrade- more splinters but softer falls and footsteps. the smell of peat bound up in the summer warmth.

I came back here to write- tipped off by another writer who I so see myself in and admire- without the seeming sacrifice of the potential connection with collective. despite the very felt intertwining with the grand cloud of consciousness, it seems like these days you're less likely to talk to me about the pages of one of my special journals you read in our dream together. Or, no, maybe its that I'm afraid that you won't.

For some months now I found myself in a state of soft boiled discontentment with my lack of discipline. The alleged discipline lacking was my indulgence in platforms of social media- I eventually realized I was just unconsciously endlessly window-shopping at the mall I didn't know I had materialized around me. I always get really tired after being in the mall for a little while. More than tired I find myself now with such fractured attention that I have to actively choose to stay here to write instead of impulsively following my addictive urge to check the message that my doctor sent brought to my attention by my email that I checked at least once while typing. It's like that feeling of fighting to stay awake during a movie at the end of the night, but not so fond, or restful. But, in some way, I can feel myself lighting a candle, to be grateful for the experience and as a departure ceremony. I'm moving on my way.

finding Tumblr again seems to fit what I wanted so perfectly, a place to write out in the open. A platform to access from the laptop and bed. Maybe it feels a little like this place has aged gracefully enough at this point not to feel so gaudy and owns a particular note of nostalgic revival. Instagram has felt like a box getting slowly smaller and smaller, peppered with endless sprinkles of sugary attention crack draining away my intentions of seeking engagement and inspiration.

I don't feel a need to vilify technological 'advancement'. And I don't want to resist the silly allure of self righteousness of putting quotes around 'advancement' - as I enjoy typing on my disk-driver-less laptop- but I can recognize the holy loss of discipline in praying to the metropolis of instant gratification. the polarity of have and not having is a sacred space of tension in intention. The sheer charm of analog attracts me with some unspoken magic, as does the primordial tissue of the digital.

it feels special to be back here and worth some celebration.

such delicious satisfaction- the deep kind felt after a period of stark contrast.

[talisidekick]

All my feeds on Tumblr are full of Dungeon Meshi and Clown Corpse. The last time this happened to my social media feeds was years ago with Game of Thrones. It bled into IRL with literal friends hounding me to read the books or watch the show.

I deleted all my social media in response. I've never seen an episode of Game of Thrones, and I've never read a single line from the books.

I'm recognizing now that it was a sensory overload and I shut down. If you bombard me with something I'm more likely to run away and hide because there's too much pressure. I dislike pressure. Instead of enjoying it, I feel its a race to keep up, to keep current. It takes the fun out of it. The enjoyment. This is probably why I don't really communicate my interests. I enjoy the process. Making tea, sitting down, having the sun splash over the room as I read something enjoyable. It's not about just the material, it's how I consume it.

So now there's two supposedly really good series in front of me. And I'm feeling the pressure again. It's everywhere. I might pick up one, probably Clown Corpse because it's the weirder of the two for me. Just before I get overwhelmed again. It's that or I start unfollowing people.

Why mention this? Both have the hallmark traits to be a fixation for me, and if you haven't seen my "summaries" on ancient weaponry, specifically my rants on swords or axes, then fair warning: I might make a post or two. I've always had a fascination with Jesters and Mimes (which I've been careful to hide) and the use of humour and mischief as a narrative tool, so this ... might ... let you see a bit more into me IRL. This fascination began in grade 11 with a reading/viewing of one of Shakespeares plays and the Jester character making their debut.

I say this might be a fixation because I wrote part of a novel in private pre-transition about one in a modern setting, so if you see me post bits from that ... well you know why. I haven't exactly revisited it because ... it has a lot of pre-realization uh ... mental work in the making. I was using writing as a form of experimentation. Some of the Superhero/Villain stuff I'd written on my blog when this just started out was ripped directly from that work and adapted lightly. So yeah.

Heads up.

Might return to work on that depending on how or if this motivates me. I've always enjoyed the silly characters. And if you're an IRL friend ... yeah this isn't new to you, see any D&D character I've ever made. For those of you who don't know me IRL ... I'll draw you Fiia whom I've been playing in campaigns on and off for the last five years and maybe Amh.

Anyway, it's Sunday. It's Stream Day. See you all in a bit on Twitch.

[ray-ray-writings]

i don't really know how this thought came to me but consider a reader who's a pillager hybrid of their whole family are pillagers but the reader doesn't really... agree with their lifestyle so they run away and move to the Dream SMP and no one knows they're pillager origins until their family comes looking for them?? also i've been binging ur stuff, i love ur blog, this is my first time asking :)

I really really love this idea, I’m such a sucker for things like this hahahaha.

But yeah. So you’re born and raised in a Pillager tower, your mother was a human that your father fell in love with once he saw her being cruel to villagers. Growing up you were always taken on the raids when your parents would go on and you would watch as Villagers were slaughtered left and right with no mercy. It always made you feel sick to your stomach while many others were having the time of their lives. When the raid was over and won, you would go back to the tower and people would marvel in their victories, and you would pretend you were also excited, but those nights were always plagued with nightmares of the villagers’ screams and fire that destroyed the towns. As you grew up, you were able to make your own decisions. So you went on less raids, still going on some to please your parents, but the guilt grew more and more with each town destroyed. So when you finally turned 18, you decided to leave for good. You packed up everything that you could carry in your inventory and wrote a small note to your parents explaining that you had to leave, you couldn’t raid and pillage any longer. You left the note on your mother’s nightstand, pressing a small kiss to both of their foreheads before leaving the only place you’ve ever called home. 

You wander for the whole night, the mobs leaving you alone (after all, like kind recognizes like) and then for half the day once the sun comes up before you stumble into the SMP. From far off in the distance you can see multiple beacons of light coming from inside a really really big stone building. So like a moth, you’re drawn to the light and wander inside this castle. You stumble onto a wooden plank path that seems to go everywhere are the new town you have found. As you’re walking through the castle just looking around, you aren’t paying attention and you stumble, literally stumble, into someone. You catch yourself before you fall and you look to who you just ran into. You see a man with a green hoodie, a white smiley face mask with blonde tufts of hair poking out of the top. “Woah there… Who are you, I’ve never seen you before” he questions, his tone kind of harsh. You don’t blame him though, a complete stranger wandering into this new place uninvited, you’re honestly surprised you didn’t get an axe to the head. “Hi. Sorry, I’m Y/N. I’ve just… I’ve just left home and I saw this place. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude. I’ll leave now!” You rush out, attempting to turn around and run out of the castle, but a hand catches your wrist. “Hey wait a minute,” he commands softly, turning you back around. “It’s okay. You’re okay. I was just surprised… You said you just left home?” You give the man a shy nod, “Yeah, my people were… doing some things I didn’t approve of and so I left as soon as I was able to… I can leave now if you want” The man doesn’t let go of your wrist, “You said you just left home?” You nod in confirmation, “Well, if you want, you could live here. Well not here in the castle, but here in the SMP. I’m Dream and this is my SMP. There are a lot of people here that are actually very nice. You can build your house in the SMP and live here. But if you want to keep wandering, that’s okay too” the man called Dream offers. You think about it for a moment, “Do you think you could show me around before I make my decision?” Dream gives you a quick nod before letting go of your wrist, “Of course. Do you want to go now?” “Sure!” So Dream shows you around the SMP and introduces you to a few new people who all give you waves and friendly smiles and welcome you to the new land. All throughout the tour, Dream subtly asks you about where you're from, but you brush off his questions and for once in his life he doesn’t push it. “So what do you think? You want to stay here?” You give a quick look around and think about everyone you met, “Yeah, I would thank you!” 

And so you stay. You build your house, something with light wood that doesn’t resemble a tower at all. You also make friends with everyone else on the SMP. Somehow you reveal that you’re really good at combat with an axe and a crossbow, probably while sparring with someone, maybe Tommy because we all know he would definitely challenge a new person to duel him and then call you a coward so you would duel him and win and claim you cheated, but it makes everyone stare at you in wonder for a little bit and become just a little more afraid of you. You never tell anyone where you’re from or that you’re part pillager and that your family is made up of pillagers. You don’t think it’s important. That’s in your past and the SMP is your family now so now your family is made up of even more hybrids and more diverse people. Your past remains in your past… Until it comes knocking at your front door… 

You wake one morning to a pounding on your front door. You of course are very confused because you weren’t expecting anyone. But you get out of bed and answer the door and you find  a panicked Tommy and Tubbo standing there. “Boys, what can I-” “There are a bunch of pillagers here. They’re asking about you. They’re threatening to burn everything down if we don’t bring you.” Tubbo rambles. “We won’t let them take you and we were told to keep you here, but we just thought we should let you know.” Tommy chimes in. Your blood runs cold. Why? Why is this happening? You don’t answer the boys and you ignore their ‘keep you here bs’ before you reach over and grab your axe and crossbow and run out of the house. Tubbo and Tommy yell after you, share a look before, and run after you. You run up and find a few people, Dream, Techno, Wilbur, Philza, Sapnap, Punz, (Ya know, the best fighters… foreshadowing lol) and standing opposite of them your parents with a few other pillagers behind them. The sound of your footsteps caused all heads to snap to you. Everyone from the SMP seemed shocked to see you and stared past you and glared at the two boys. “You were supposed to keep them home” Dream hisses to the children. “They took off before we could stop them” Tubbo pants, trying to catch his breath. “Y/N go home” Techno demands, but you don’t listen. All of your attention is focused on those you used to call your family. “What are you doing?” You ask exasperated. Your father smirks at you, “Oh my dear child we’re here to bring you home of course.” And you can feel all eyes snap to you. A wave of disappointment flooded you, they all knew now. “They know” you’d think to yourself, “They know what a horrible person you are and what terrible past you come from.” You take a deep breath before speaking again, “I’m not coming home. This is my home now. Go away, leave us alone.” Laughter bubbles from the group in front of you, “Oh silly silly child. You are not home, home is back at the tower. Come now.” Your mother says, beckoning you forward. “No. I’m not going.” The smirks and smiles turn into angry stares, “No? Oh, I see how it is” your mother speaks up. “Too bad you are coming with us.” Your father barks before lunging forward for you and attempts to grab you. Before you can even react, you’re being pulled back and you’re now being protected. The two most powerful people on the server, Dream and Techno, have formed a wall in front of you with their weapons pointed at the pillagars. “Now,” Techno begins, his monotone voice two octaves deeper and threatening, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” Your father lunges forward once more, throwing his fist out, trying to punch Techno in the face. Techno simply caught your father’s wrist and smirked, “Alright, hard way it is” 

A full on brawl begins. 

Techno quickly takes your father while Dream takes your mother. Everyone else charges and begins fighting the rest of them. Fists are flying before arrows join the ranks in that as well. You begin fighting someone you barely recognize. Your whole energy and focus is on winning because you know if you lose it’s back to raiding and pillaging villages and you really don’t want to. You manage to down the person you’re fighting and you turn and see that all the other pillagers are either also downed or being fought by one of your friends. Your eyes catch Techno and Dream who were still fighting your father and mother respectively. You’re just about to approach when Techno gets your father in a chokehold and manages to completely debilitate him. “Call them off” Techno demands. Your father doesn’t say anything at first, his fingers desperately clawing at the arm around his throat. Techno squeezes tighter, “Did I hesitate? I said call them off” Finally your father comes to his senses, “Retreat!” He gasps out. Immediately all of the pillagers stop their fight and run back to where they were first gathered up. Techno lets go of your father and gives him a hard shove in the direction. Your father moves to stand next to your mother and all eyes fall on you again. “Leave. And never come back, or I won’t hesitate to let them kill you” your speak, your voice stone cold. You can tell your mother wants to protest, but your father catches her wrist and shakes his head no. Without another word, your father turns around and walks through the crowd and toward the direction of their tower. Confused and a little irritated all other pillagers turn too and follow your father back to where they came from. 

You and the rest stand there and watch them retreat until they are out of sight. And once again all eyes fall on you. You can’t help but look to the ground as tears form in your eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know they would come for me… I understand if you want me to leave forever… Now that you know what I truly am… A monster” you spit out the words as if their poison. It is quiet for a moment and you figure that they’re all silently agreeing. You’re about to speak again when a pair of arms wrap tightly around you, and then another, and another, and another, until you’re pretty sure everyone there, even Techno, is in the group hug. The tears that had welled up in your eyes were now freely falling down your cheeks. “Y/N,” Dream begins, “We never want you to leave. Why would you think that?” A pathetic sob escapes your lips, “Because I’m part pillager because I raided and destroyed villages. I’m a monster, Dream. I don’t deserve you guys.” Everyone seems about to jump in, but through blurry eyes you see Philza give them all a look. All of the arms let you go, except for one pair that holds you even tighter, “Y/N, you’re not a monster. What you did today and what you have done in the past proves it. Today you refused to go with them, you ran away from them, you didn’t want to be a part of their lifestyle. You’re not a monster hun, you never were and you never will be” Philza comforts. His words hit your heart. You’re not a monster, no one thinks you’re a monster. More sobs escape your lips, this time they’re sobs of relief. They don’t want you to leave. You’re safe here. Philza lets you cry in his arms, he holds you for as long as you need. After a few moments you compose yourself and slowly pull out of the blonde man’s arms. “Sorry about that” you apologize, clearing your throat. “Didn’t mean to lose my cool there” Everyone around you laughs. “It’s okay Y/N. You’ve just had a big emotional thing happen, and you were pulled right of bed to experience it. It’s okay that you’re a little emotional.” Wilbur comforts, taking a step forward and resting a warm hand on your back. You completely pull away from Phil and give the tall boy a quick hug. “Hey are we doing individual hugs, because I want a hug too!” Sapnap chimes, marching forward and flinging his arms open. You can’t help but giggle and pull away from Wilbur, “We can do individual hugs if you want too” You claim, falling into his open arms. He lets out a triumphant lap and swings you around in joy. “Alright hog, let them go we want hugs too” Sapnap, still holding on to you, looks over his shoulder before picking you up and running away with you. “Hey selfish! Get back here!” And soon everyone is chasing you and Sapnap around demanding hugs. This wasn’t how you planned to tell everyone about your past, you’re not sure if you ever were going to, but you wouldn’t change it for the world.

[stormblessed95]

Can’t help but notice that this new interview where km have this adorable hair-pulling interaction is the same day as the performance the TL was melting down over because JM “pushed JKs hand off him.” As you said…just wait. The km always makes it’s appearance at some point in a day.

What's cute about this is that Jimin noticed JK trying to speak but couldn't get his timing right to interject into the conversation. Lol so he giggled a bit and reached to tug his hair and rub his neck as a small bit of comfort.

What's super cute is he does this for JK ALL THE TIME! Constantly. He is so in tune with Jungkook, he always notices. He sometimes points it out and they all giggle, sometimes he makes room for him to talk, sometimes he doesn't say anything, but he always comforts. It reminded me a lot of the moment during You Quiz, JK tried a couple times to speak. When he finally did, Jimin teased him about it a bit, they all laughed and JK said he has a hard time timing conversations. Jimin immediately goes "its okay, it's okay" smiling and reaching to squeeze his hand.

And I mean, we have him doing the same thing during the PD Na run episodes too when JK was nervous about stuttering and messing up again or losing because he got the timing wrong and messing up. Jimin rubbed his chest and assured him that it's okay even if he gets it wrong, they don't mind.

I keep telling yall that Jungkook's love language is physical touch and he draws a lot of comfort from it! This is my proof. Thanks. Lol it also just always reaffirms how just tuned into JK that Jimin is all the time. He always senses it, he always recognizes his anxiety or when he is trying to speak. He loves that man so much.

I also went back because I saw people mention that in other blogs to see that PTD moment and I swear to God, it looked to me at first like he just brushed his hand. Almost in an instinctual way to go up and hold his hand. Lol but I can see why it also looked like he was saying "yo, off me please." He didn't look upset though sooo idk what made people trip. He looked more pissed off during the black swan back hug. Lol he didn't seem to mind one way or another here. Personally I still think it might have just been a cute hand brush. If it was a get off me signal, who knows, maybe it was because his neck and shoulder were hurting more that day (hello, he still has chronic pain, it's a thing that never goes away ever) and JKs weight on him was bothering that pain. JK had his weight leaning more on Jimin than Tae there, so that's possible. Or it was a "I'm getting ready to spin away and dance, move please". Either way, no bad vibes there.

Also another round of thanks for no one sending me insecure asks over silly things like that. I feel like people are finally starting to GET IT when I say "wait and see." Like you said in this ask. Lol same day, filmed all in one go. They are obviously fine. Content gets filtered out. Hard to complete a puzzle when you are missing half the pieces.

[rey-kryze]

(1\2) I don't recall if I saw a post about it in your blog or not, but now when I watch the tlj videos again I realize how Christian it is. For me, seeing all this fuss about hand touching is incredibly Puritan, like, thinking or being intimate is one thing, but you touching is almost "blasphemous", and the "it's the closest thing you'll get to a sex scene" statement just clarifies this to me.

(2/2) Also the foucs on the subject of sin, suffering for your sins and redemption takes such a huge place in the story (Judaism has a different approach to the concept of sin) you can see it in Luke, Kylo, Rey and Leia's story. Not to mention the concept of a "chosen one"/masiah figure...(*caughjesuscaugh*) Hope I didn't rant too much, but these thoughts really bug me... what's you take on it?

I mean ? A lot of the same arguments can be said, then, that its Jewish in nature. But that’s moreover the franchise as a whole. 

The heroes of the Star Wars series are members of a “rebel alliance,” basically Maccabees in outer space. It's right there in the name: Jedi. The Hebrew letter yud is often anglicized as a “J,” and syllables occasionally get dropped in translation. Hence, a Biblical name like “Yehoshua” makes its way into English as “Joshua.” It's not much of a stretch to see how “Jedi” can be derived the original Hebrew word for Jew, “Yehudi.”

Remember Luke Skywalker's Jedi rebbe, Grand Master Yoda? Is it just me, or is his peculiar syntax reminiscent of someone whose first language is Yiddish (“Yodish”)? More to the point, his name sounds a lot like “yada,” the Hebrew word meaning “to know.”

When an aspiring Jedi Knight goes to the Academy, he or she must complete what is essentially an apprenticeship with one more learned in Jediism than they are. Similarly, a future rabbi's yeshiva experience will consist largely of chavruta learning (studying with a partner – lit. “friendship”). Fun fact: The name for a young, unmarried yeshiva student, “bochur,” actually means “chosen” (as in “The Chosen People”). The idea of a foretold “Chosen One” who would “restore balance to the Force” was a theme running throughout the Star Wars films, wherein Anakin Skywalker was recognized for his extraordinary potential as a Jedi. As mentioned above, he went “off the derech” and became the villainous Darth Vader. In Return of the Jedi, however, Vader/Skywalker fulfills the “prophecy” when he does teshuvah (our term for repentance, which literally means “return.” Whoa. Return of the Jedi!), thwarting Emperor Palpatine to save his son's life, and ultimately, the galaxy.

Judaism also teaches that the source of Light and Darkness are One and the same, as it says in the prayer book: “Blessed art Thou, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who forms light and creates darkness, Who makes peace and creates all things.” The source for this line of liturgy can be found in the Hebrew Bible, Isaiah 45:7: “Who forms light and creates darkness, Who makes peace and creates evil; I am the Lord, Who makes all these.”Incidentally, one of the traditional names for God – invoked particularly by the Jewish mystics – is HaMakom, literally “The Place.” The deeper idea conveyed by this name is that the Creator does not exist within the universe; the universe exists within Him. It sounds a lot like 

The Force. The key conceptual difference between the fictitious all-uniting Force of Star Wars and the Shechinah or “Divine Presence” is that the former is impersonal and passive, the latter is an omnipotent consciousness that actively intervenes in human history, speaking with Prophets and working miracles until this very day.So if you see the new Star Wars movie, directed by Jeffrey Jacob Abrams (who couldn't sound more Jewish if his name was Saul Cohen or Herschel Rosenblatt), perhaps you'll be able to seek out and appreciate the surprisingly Jewish flavor of the Star Wars universe.

Stephen Spielberg literally called ‘ The force Awakens ‘ a second Bar Mitzvah, and that the last jedi was ‘reformed jediism’ , something of a cultural offset from the actual staunch and pious order from the olden days. 

I mean??? Overall, I really DON’T read religious subtext in movies because its really such an interpersonal ordeal ? Like, equating something that’s enjoyed by all to a set of standards thats defined by my OWN religion, feels silly. I get the allegories but more than anything, this sequel trilogy was created by two jewish men, these characters were, and those two men had input into The Last Jedi, whereas they might not have directly written it, ( though one of them did, and JJ still had a lot of say and critique to offer, seeing as its a cohesive story and the idea that one person can rewrite the middle is dumb. its a group project with the ending long ago decided. ) 

Idk. Answering this got away from me. 

[kmclaude]

Hi Father Claude! (If it's okay to call you that?)This is going to sound silly, especially since we don't really know each other, but I've followed you for a while and you seem to be pretty versed in art-for-hire, I was wondering if you could help me out? Someone messaged me (across several accounts on different sites) about an artwork of one of my OCs asking if they could use it for a logo. I said no but I'd be happy to work on a commission for them -- how do I determine what a fair rate is?

2- I don't really do art for a living, just a hobby (I know it sounds cheap when I put it like that...) so I don't want to shoot myself in the foot, particularly since by the sounds of it this person wanted to use this for branding purposes and that's pretty major. I'm both a little flattered and a little overwhelmed, so...you know, how would you negotiate something like this? How would you determine an acceptable rate (either hourly or a flat fee? I'm not sure which is better)?- Sorry for taking up 3 asks for 1 question but you seem like you have experience with this, and I'm used to deferring to experts for matters I don't know much about! Any advice you could give would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Yeah sure and oh that is tough! So you got someone who needs a brand logo and you wanna know what rate to quote him at, yeah? First, congrats! Second, well I don’t know too too much about logos and other specifics of graphic design branding freelancing as I didn’t go that route professionally but I have done book covers, illustrations, and comic work so I guess I’ll speak from that. Please note that I don’t do this full time or even much part time (though I might soon enough if I return to school fulltime) so this is a tad laid back in nature. Someone who does this professionally might be better equipped to talk about this.

If I were in your shoes, the first thing I’d do would ask about his budget -- what’s his budget and what is he willing to work within? You ever hear the phrase “the first person who mentions price loses?” Yeah, so find out where his budget is. Next, compare that budget to both the industry standard for the product (which’ll take some googling or asking around) and to what you’d be willing to charge (which should be based on a mixture of living wage, time it will take to complete, skill, supplies, and other). For the record you can also be doing that step while you send off the “hey what’s your budget” email because it’s always good to have that in mind. If he asks your rates first a decent response is always “well that changes based on what you want and the complexity of the design; a budget would best help me figure out a logo solution that won’t break the bank” or something.

 If the budget looks doable, I’ll give him my quote for the project and my terms and if he agrees to them then I’ll write up a contract. I’ve often based my contracts off of the ones on Art Pact which offer free templates. Contract time is where all the negotiation begins and you can stipulate price, whether the client will cover Paypal fees, when you’ll get it done by, and so on and so forth. It’s always good to have a contract because if you’re not working as part of a firm or whatever the contract is a way to CYOA (hell even my boss and I signed and informal contract and when I send them invoices I always specify that such and such fee is there “as discussed in our correspondence” or somesuch just to, again, CYOA. 

So for example, if someone came up to me and wanted a logo done for let’s say their startup coding company -- nothing fancy, just a name in perhaps a decorative fashion, easily applicable to say a website or an invoice -- then first I’d write them back asking for their budget and maybe a little info on what they need it for, what their plans are, etc. You don’t wanna be charging pennies for the next Warner Bros. logo, y’know?

Then while waiting, I’d research the industry standard for logo designs -- what’s the general rate, what are people asking, what are newbie freelancers asking, what’s the range, what should I be charging? I’m lucky in that my best friend works in a print shop and does logo design so in theory I can ask her but let’s say she’s at church and I need an answer before Communion, so I’m gonna google “industry standard logo design”. Deluxe Corporation gives a few figures and an idea of what you’re paying for and why but no less than $200 seems to be the oft quoted number. So the industry standard is at least $200.00 USD. 

Now the question is what’s my standard? Well I refuse to work for under $15/hour minimum, I have over a decade of doing art in a public sphere, longer still of doing art in general, and about 7 or so years on and off of doing art for pay and in all that time I’ve become familiar enough with some programs, have a handful of resources font-wise and other, and can also work super fast. General experience and speed will up my price because its taken years to get there. The downside is I’m the least knowledgeable at a vector program like illustrator and I don’t have as many resources at my fingertips that a professional graphic designer would nor the dedicated training of one. Those drawbacks will lower my price. The professionality of the piece also matters -- this is branding for a company not someone’s Sonic OC that they’re gonna get framed but will otherwise not see much of the public sphere so it’s gonna cost more, obviously.

Side note: I mention $15/hour minimum but when I give out quotes, I never quote as $/hour but rather a roundabout flatrate. That’s because in general I know about how long it takes me here or there to complete a certain type of work because most clients like a general rate. In fact a lot of times I charge a LOT per hour because while I get a lot DONE in an hour/it doesn’t take me many hours to do, it’s taken me over a decade or so of work to get to the point where I can DO, say, a whole comic page from sketch to final word balloons in 5 hours or so if need be. So keep in mind that the length of time it takes to do something isn’t all there is to the price or value of a thing! This is a good blog post of tips for setting rates btw -- it also covers that tricky realm of $/hour versus flatrate!   Essentially, your flat rate is based off what you’d consider your hourly fee + wiggle room and managed for an assumed time of work done and correspondence and all those other experiential variables. If nothing else, there’s taking the 8 hour work day and multiplying that by an hourly fee. You may not TAKE a full 8 hour day to do it but that gives you a baseline of sorts if you’re totally lost. Again, most clients like a flat rate -- they know what the total pricetag is at the get-go -- and it can be to your benefit (though like that article mentions you can also find yourself doing hours of work that results in you having worked for less than minimum wage.)

Anyway, all those things in mind give me a price idea and help me out when the client emails me back with his budget because if he comes back nowhere NEAR either the industry standard or what I’m willing to work with, the decision’s made for me. If he comes back close to let’s say the industry standard of $200 -- let’s say $190 -- and I’m wanting closer to $250 because I’m doing this outta my free time but I recognize I have limitations and am willing to meet him halfway then I may be willing to say “hey, I understand budgets can be tight, but for what you’re asking I’d have to charge a bit more” and maybe raise him say $240, basically the haggle process. Which is its own art because you want the business but you don’t wanna screw yourself and have it be more trouble than its worth but it at least helps to have an idea of what industry-wise you deserve and also what you personally are willing to work for.

IDK I hope that doesn’t suck. If I were good at running a business as a freelancer I probably wouldn’t work my crummy exhausting dayjob and could actually afford my stupid dumb top surgery and obviously neither of those things are true SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO take everything I say with a grain of salt. That’s just how I do things and TBH it’s a flexible process.