#idk I don't really like deciding what to do

[imsobadatnicknames2]

After reading a few of the notes I have a surprising amount of Thoughts here so I'm going to make my best attempt at organizing them here instead of arguing with people directly lol.

On the one hand, a lot of people going off about how "this is why we're in the middle of a media literacy crisis" etc. and idk it all sounds to me like "Society is doomed: This one guy said something stupid online". Like you should be extremely skeptical of any narrative that tells you that a handful of people online having extremely bad opinions is evidence (or even THE CAUSE) of any form of widespread societal decay, and it's a very easy trap to fall into if it happens to play into your confirmation bias unfortunately. Also I don't really think we're in a "media literacy crisis". There have always been A LOT of people who engage with media like this, you are just more aware of them now because of social media. There is no media literacy golden age we're falling from grace from.

On the Other hand. A lot of people talking about how there's actually no problem here because you can read however you want and it's okay to skip paragraphs and skim and skip ahead and read out of order, and that thinking otherwise is ableist because a lot of ND people have trouble with big walls of text etc.

And this one comes off to me like something that's like. Technically true on principle but being brought up extremely disingenuously. Like yeah it's your right as a reader to read however you want, but. There's a pretty big difference between "I had to skip this paragraph because the prose wasn't grabbing me/playing nice with my ADHD but I didn't want to stop the book there" and "I skip long/slow paragraphs on principle"

For me it's the same thing as the people who keep bringing up D&D "rule zero". Like yeah it's your right as a player to ignore the rules when you think doing so would benefit the experience, you're not harming anybody, no one has the right to tell you to stop doing it. But if you find yourself constantly doing it, at some point it kinda just exposes a fundamental disconnect between the experience you want from a game and the game you're actually playing, and you should consider if you wouldn't be better served playing a different game or just doing a different activity entirely.

Similarly, as a reader you have the right to read your books however you want. Skip ahead, read out of order, do whatever. It's your time, you decide how to spend it. But if you find yourself constantly skipping paragraphs, or reading just the dialogue, or feeling bored out of your mind when a chapter is more than 30 minutes of reading, that is a pretty clear sign that what you're reading just isn't clicking with you, and you should just drop that book and consider if you wouldn't be better served by reading a different book, or a different author, or a different genre. Or, if it's like that with EVERY book, you should just consider if you wouldn't be better served by reading something different like poetry or screenplays or graphic novels or just doing an entirely different hobby.

Also another thing I find disingenuous about the people saying there's nothing wrong with this and OP is based as hell actually is that like. She calls herself a book critic and her whole shtick is doing book recommendations and shit. Idk if I saw a self-professed music critic who talks about how they've made a habit out of always skipping songs that are over 3 minutes long, or how when it's a slow song they just skip to the chorus I'd say they're probably not doing very good music criticism and they have no business recommending music to anyone.

Do they know that reading is not mandatory? Nobody is forcing them to read?

[ranticore]

some more horse guy fashions, specifically historical

erased the mandolin for this one goodbye mandolin i couldn't be bothered drawing you

so my thought process for this is like what would a society of, lbr, british ppl who are horses value and how would that translate into what they wear if they specifically don't have a taboo against nudity. these fashions are pre-florian conversion (florian was the guy who gave them all government-mandated shame) and considered traditional (the full coverage dresses are also traditional but to a post-florian period so those would be called like. idk. classical). they were still in use in the enclaves north of ironwall for quite a while. anyway returning to the point, the answer to 'what they value' is movement. in actual horses, herd hierarchy and social function is based off movement - free movement for animals for whom the flight response is so strong is an incredibly important thing. dominance in horses is expressed and reinforced by controlling and curtailing the movement of subordinates. for these people, free movement was enhanced by kinetic fashion - free-flowing garments like capes, loosely-pinned headgear with feathers and floaty cloth, and noise-generating devices like bells and chimes were all used to elaborate and enhance the appearance of somebody's gait. the overall look was mostly based off of morris dancers (pheasant feathers, bells on the legs, handkerchiefs) because i like the tie-in to suppression of folk dance by puritans. i think these guys would have some great folk dances

in much the same way trainers are just normal everyday footwear now, game kerchiefs/flags were worn in non-sports contexts because it suffused into the mainstream and became Cool. the flags were used in a game similar to tag rugby if you've ever seen that played (where snatching people's flags is used instead of full contact tackling, forcing someone who's been 'tagged' to stand still until the flags are returned). as i said before somewhere, centaur team sports go incredibly hard.

the tail ornaments were status symbols and in appearance a bit like the traditional show turnout of shire horses. woven grass and straw could be used for a temporary ornament like these, but metal or carved wood were really impressive, and very common gifts of favour between romantic partners. more flags could be hung there if you wanted to be really cool

variations of this style of mane décor were also employed (they loved their ribbons)

in the same time period, Ironwall fashion was a little bit different. These expensive caparisons were usually purchased secondhand after a real horse was done wearing them, with distinct front and back halves of different length. The garments would usually have the original liveries removed and replaced by generic religious iconography as few centaurs would ever have their own heraldry. Later, in the Georgian and Victorian eras, full coverage to the pasterns with a single undergarment was the only acceptable option (that's the classical style now) The rest of the picture is self-evident, but centaurs at the time wore additional... equipment on the withers which were called a variety of very colourful names but mostly referred to as gelding bars (as in, they will geld you if you sit on them). they were metal and spiked. these were introduced by the florian government to discourage the grossly inappropriate contact of one person's legs around another. previously there was no great taboo against riding on a centaur's back, it wasn't super common but nobody was like "this is basically public sex" until our pal centaur cromwell i mean florian came along and decided this was the work of the devil. young people were also made to wear these to discourage the homosocial behaviour very common to the mid-20s age groups of both sexes, and they also had a place in preventing stallions from wrestling (ironically increasing the danger of their fights because well now all we can do is stand back and kick). the wearing of these devices was mandatory. headcoverings were not strictly necessary, and neither were fully-wrapped tails, but some especially devout citizens took to it quite well.

[augustinewrites]

Augustine do you think the Fushigojos (or what’s left of them, legit just Megumi and fishigojo mom 😭) are able to get through it? Will they be fine after losing Tsumiki and Satoru, and will they move on together and live happily?

i think about this frequently bcs in the series they're super close...so i like to think that they would be okay but i know the pain would be there (more under the cut for you masochists who want to read fushigojo angst)

they don't go home right away. mostly due to megumi recovering at the school, but also because neither of them really want to go home. they put it off for as long as they can, but the day they finally decide to, they procrastinate. they walk, taking the long way. they do the grocery shopping. fushigojo mom cries in the k-mart bcs she saw that satoru's favourite candies were on sale but when she went to reach for it, she remembered there'd be no one to eat it. they left pretty soon after that (megumi grabbed the candies anyway)

they wander a bit with their bags of groceries in hand. they stop for tea at the little shop on the corner of their street and sit at a table made for two instead of four. just sitting in silence as they watch everyone go on with their lives. they talk about when megumi wants to go back to school, when he's going to move back into the dorms. he doesn't want to though, he says he's going to live at the apartment and commute until he graduates.

when it starts to get dark, they finally head home. it's more painful than the two imagined, coming home to two empty spots at their dining room table, an empty room, and an empty spot in the bed. food is put away, teeth are brushed (there's no line for the bathroom, weird), and then they're off to bed.

(fushigojo mom wakes up in the middle of the night to see megumi asleep on the floor of their bedroom, but neither of them say anything about it in the morning)

someone from the gojo clan shows up the next day, because they need to go over the details of the funeral. it's a big and dramatic affair, something they both know satoru would both love and hate. they don't get to make any suggestions though. they don't want fushigojo mom to go (idk if you guys remember, but she's pregnant!!!) bcs it's too risky. this baby could inherit six eyes and be the next satoru gojo.

i think she and megumi have a teary eyed laugh about this whole thing. how funny it is-- how easily life moves on, and so does everyone else. the rest of the world doesn't stop spinning just because theirs does.

the funeral comes and goes, megumi goes with his friends, shoko stays home with fushigojo mom. takes her to see his body after the funeral, lends her a shoulder to cry on.

after the funeral, once school and life resume, moving on is a very long, difficult process. there's a lot of hurt, a deep ache in both their chests. it eases a bit over time, but i think she and megumi have a hard time letting go of each other 😭 especially once the baby comes. (the three of them visit satoru's resting place frequently, right beside tsumiki's)

but eventually megumi graduates from jujutsu tech and has to grow up too :( and even though he doesn't want to leave them, she doesn't want to hold him back. letting go is hard, but it's what satoru always wanted for him, and she's going to make sure they both honour that.

[voluptuarian]

#honestly i think the answer might be they werent reading YA as teenagers#or they were only reading sporadically#maybe lighter stuff that focused more on learning to love yourself after being mildly bullied in highschool#idk i know those types of books existed but they were boring#but i really dont think they were reading much at that age to begin with#or they didnt start reading until late highschool or college age#because while i dont recognize most of the books on this list i do remember reading other similar harrowing middle grade and YA books#but also i moved on to reading adult books by 6th grade and didnt actually read much YA#like i thought i had been reading YA but then as an adult when I actually looked over the stuff i remember reading it was mostly adult books#maybe a 3:1 or 4:1 ratio?

Frankly I don't know what's worse, whitewashing yout entire recollection of your childhood reading into some bland, happy flatly uncomplicated wasteland "girl star wars characters ruined my childhood" style or deciding to spontaneously start basing your identity around being a Reader™️ in adulthood while refusing to engage with anything not intended for children 😒

another thing that's weird about adults who make an identity out of reading children's books is what they hold up as representative of the values they find in YA/young reader's fiction. They typically bring up wish fulfillment fantasy, morals and clear cut lessons, adventure stories with mild peril, strong centering on friendship and found family, and stories that make them "feel good" and are extremely light on genuinely challenging themes or ethically dubious situations.

Meanwhile when I was neck-deep in YA as a kid in the 90s and early 2000s this was the kind of stuff I was reading, other kids were reading, and that was winning awards, being highlighted on shelves and recommended by librarians:

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, in which a teenage boy survives a plane crash and is stranded in the Canadian wilderness and forced to survive on his own for months. He is ultimately rescued but is permanently altered by the experience. His navigating the drama of (I believe either currently separating or recently divorced) parents is also a major plot element.

Virtual War by Gloria Skurzynski, where real-life wars have been eradicated and instead are fought virtually, (inspired, if I remember correctly, by the disastrous results of a previous nuclear conflict) by specially chosen champions who are trained in combat strategy from childhood. Throughout, the three child champions are forced to question and push back against what the government has told them is the truth as well as against their own prejudices, including toward one of their own who is considered a "mutant" due to his dwarfism; it also details the grueling hours-long "war" in which the kids watch thousands of little 3D soldiers get blown up and dismembered and leaves them feeling genuine guilt for participating in.

Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George, which focuses on a teenage Inuit girl who is orphaned, forced into marriage and sexually assaulted, then runs away and ends up lost in the Arctic and survives by befriending and living with a pack of wolves.

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse, in which the heroine lives with her parents on a failing farm as the Dust Bowl is beginning, accidentally sets her pregnant mother on fire resulting in her mother's lingering death and the death of her baby, and the girl herself being permanently maimed, after which she and her father become estranged and she eventually tries to run away.

Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene, which follows a young Jewish American girl on the WWII homefront who befriends (and falls in love with) a German POW, and when he escapes, hides him in her home for months; eventually the prisoner is caught and killed and the girl is sent to prison after being ostracized from the community and disowned by her parents.

The Ramsey Scallop by Francis Temple, where the heroine, engaged since childhood to her current fiance, is sent on a pilgrimage with him as way of working out his trauma from serving in the crusades. Neither of them feels ready to get married and the fiance is dubious about doing much living at all, but they're able to get to know each other and build trust on the road. It's been ages since I read it but I'm pretty sure there's a scene where a hot single guy who helps patch up an injury she sustained then offers to have sex with her, which she decides to turn down.

Music of the Dolphins by Karen Hesse, where a feral child who has been raised by a pod of dolphins is rescued and taken to a center for rehabilitation. The whole thing follows her progress at understanding to how to be human, and eventually her decision to reject it all and go back to her dolphin family.

The Last Book In the Universe by Rodman Philbrick, whose hero is a teenage orphan living in a purposely abandoned dystopia, ostracized by his community for being epileptic, whose only friends are an old man who is the last literate person in the community and a monosyllabic feral child. The split between the have-nots and the haves, who live in sheltered futuristic cities, and discussion of privilege (one of the main characters is a girl from the cities who comes out to do charity work in the dystopian district) are major themes, and violence is a regular occurrence, including toward the finale when the boy's mentor is murdered by a mob while he watches.

(And of course there's Among the Hidden and its sequels by Margaret Peterson Haddix which I never read, but my sister did, and I know at some point a whole bunch of child characters are massacred by the government because it upset my sister so badly she cried.)

And I couldn't forget The Dear America series, which includes:

character who is finishing high school as the Vietnam War begins and watches her social circle split nastily over the issue, lives through classmates and friends getting drafted, and ends up working at a hospital as volunteer where she is assigned to help disabled veterans

character whose mother (and I think siblings), as well as numerous fellow travelers die while traveling alongside her on the Oregon Trail, and later accidentally poisons to death several of her friends after picking a look-alike plant for their dinner; only one survives, who she eventually marries

character who is kidnapped by a local native tribe and eventually adopted, then marries a fellow captive, only for him and other friends and family to be killed when the tribe is attacked by Europeans, putting her into a total crisis of identity and conflicting loyalties

character who is taken from her tribe to be put in residential school, during which she is forcefully acculturated, severely bullied by another classmate, and a childhood friend of hers is accidentally buried alive

multiple books about immigrants in the 1800 and 1900s which highlighted struggles with poverty, cultural pressures, and prejudice; one of them follows a pro-union factory worker who watches as multiple friends die in the Triangle Shirtwaist fire, and another whose father imports her to America at 13 to marry a coal miner

most of these stories emphasize the young protagonist ending up in situations were they are either on their own, or so alienated from the adults around them that they might as well be. The protagonists have to assume the adult duty of taking care of themselves, but also of thinking for themselves and making their own decisions and judgements about their lives and the world.

they are also going through big changes, often ones created by their parent's decisions, and which they frequently dislike or are straight up Bad for them. This contrasts with later, when the protagonists are able to make decisions for themselves-- often this comes through hardship and abandonment, but ultimately allows them to control their narrative going forward.

the setting and events are often harrowing, deeply unpleasant, and put the protagonist and their friends in danger of victimization by forces around them. Obviously this is exciting for kids to read, but it also allows them to see someone their age on their own, entering into Adult situations and taking on that role. It's also a break from the overtly positive or cartoonishly (but usually un-seriously) bad circumstances that dominate younger kids fiction and an introduction to the idea that life is just terrible most of the time, sometimes massively and unbelievably so. (It's going from the early childhood story of Madeline's thrilling adventures escaping forced labor in a factory, to the older kid's or YA story of seeing the protagonist work at one day after day, getting injured, having friends get sick, and then watching a girl's scalp get ripped off by the machine, something which creates not excitement but genuine horror and sympathy.) These plots also allow adolescents a chance to experience Big Emotions (like the ones they're about to fall head-first into themselves) in a stable, safe way. All of this aims to create a bridge from the juvenile reality to the genuine, adult one. Trite moral lessons are dispensed with in favor of allowing the child to go out and start thinking for themselves. And especially in stories like the Dear America books, it allows a look at things that happened in the past that we have, or should learn from, but also allows for a fuller emotional, ethical, and empathetic development.

often the introduction of sex is part of the story, from initial experiences of attraction (and the resulting self-consciousness, jealousy, etc.) but also sometimes actual sexual experience. Especially in the historical stories, marriage is also frequently part of the story-- either again, as a fantasy introduction to adult experiences, or as a realistic detail separating a child's historical experience from current ones and creating a better understanding of the hardships historical people went through.

and most include some form of rejection of prevailing authority and thought. Instead of blindly "doing what your parents tell you to" these protagonists must do what they think is practical or ethical. The boy in Hatchet cannot wait for an authority figure to guide him, he must figure out how to survive entirely on his own, while the kids in Virtual War are old enough to begin questioning the entire structure they've been raised in, and to develop empathy for figures that structure has deemed outsiders; the heroine of Music of the Dolphins decides the entire experience of being in human society is not for her, and returns to living with animals.

So these books offer harrowing circumstances, protagonists who are isolated literally or through moral or political alignment, and who must learn to live on their own and make decisions for themselves, often in defiance of prevailing attitudes. They usually emphasize finding one's place (even if that place is completely alone and unsupported), fostering understanding and sympathy with others, even with people who are considered "undesirable," who are different, or who have behaved badly to you in the past. And they frequently involve violence, budding sexuality, exploitation and abuse by authority figures/structures, and a heaping helping of death, including the deaths of beloved friends and family members. What is "feel good" and "unchallenging" about that? And like, I can't speak for what YA is bringing to the table now, but these people are overwhelmingly adults, they were reading YA at around the same time I was, I don't think it would be possible for them to have somehow missed the plethora of books with these hallmarks. So where did they get this idea that YA is some land of comfort where no complicated idea can ever reach you? Even Harry Potter is full of them, and we know they read that!

[thephantomsdream]

so I've been reading real published romance books and they cannot fill the void that ao3 and company do fill, but they did give me an idea. ok, lmfao, hear me out. (I've had this in my drafts for way too long, i decided to release it because why tf not)

content: alien!141, soulmates!141, abduction, intergalactic human trafficking, space shit; very vague idea of anything ever; probably made up alien names; writer is at work while dealing with annoying costumers so it's rushed and dumb.

imagine:

Good ol' you, in your house, unaware that in the deep, vast universe, trafficking also existed. Not long ago, a reptilian race found out about our warm bodies, interesting features and intelligent yet primitive brains, and started to abduct and sell men and women to rich buyers. It was good business, especially considering our side of the universe wasn't even aware of extraterrestrial life, so they couldn't even guess where they disappeared! The treaty and all intergalactic laws were vague about us. "Let them be" meaning "Let them fuckers figure their shit out, lol idk".

Well, as you can understand, the Sheh'deauz (lmfao stay with me) decided to in fact not let us be. So back to lovely you, yeah?

Home alone, playing videogames or something, when suddently you see some flashes of light out the window. It was weird considering it wasn't raining but you remained calm, as you assumed maybe a storm is approaching? Mainly, you couldn't give a shit but the moment you heard scratching and hissing outside your door, you panicked. Long story short, your house slowly started filling with an invisible gas that just made you pass out, but you did see your door opening, same weird blue-white light emanating from under it as it did, and a scaly leg entering your home as you fell on the floor.

You figured, as the genius that you were, that you were, in fact, not dreaming as you spent many hours (days? felt like days) in a cage. Very oddly technologically advanced. In another strike of genius, and of course, after seeing your kidnappers, you figured it was a spaceship and you were in some deep sci-fi shit. (maybe after laughing and asking them where are the hidden cameras. i would...)

After throwing tantrums and having the ugly multi-colored creatures mock you and hiss at you, you kinda gave up and sat by the very human bed you've been given and allowed time to pass. You were given food every so often, a toilet nearby, water at your disposal. But you feared for your life.

Well, let me tell you something. You have the luckiest misfortune of all, really. Or maybe, just maybe, things are meant to be this way. Maybe it was all meant to happen like this. Allow me to explain.

In another corner of the universe, four of the greatest warriors of the Intergalactic Army frowned at a holographic screen. A female alien, older, still beautiful, ethereal looking, skin creamy white with some lavender edges and striking blue eyes was frowning back.

"You're fucking kidding me." Their captain said (in a different language than ours but your writer here is multi-lingual, don't worry), getting closer to the screen. She just nodded, rubbing her forehead.

"Where is that again?" Asked another.

"So like—" a third one, this one with a distinct accent compared to the others, tilted his head incredulously. "They're our cousins genetically?"

"You can say so." She groaned. "The Council decided to not touch that part of the galaxy. They are being observed. Fucking hell! They were going on the right path."

"If they don't destroy their own planet before." The captain muttered, voice tired and coarse. In his many, many years lived, he's seen it happen again and again. Greed and stupidity almost whipped their race, so he's been following the Terrans close-by, as close as a mere Intergalactic Task Force Captain (stick with me lmfao) could follow.

"So what's the plan?" The tallest one asked, mask made of what others assumed was one of his most dangerous prey's skull was placed on his face.

"We give them hell." Captain commanded, Laswell nodding.

"Stay close, at the outskirts of their galaxy. We intercept any package and find their buyers."

"What do we do with our lil cousins then?"

"Eliminate any witnesses."

Shit went down really quick. You figured they were preparing for something as the guards by your cell somehow summoned some advanced looking chairs from the walls to strap themselves on and hissed at you mockingly, as they've done before. You just sat in a corner, by the bed, and wanted to cry. You were going through all stages of grief every few hours and it was getting exhausting. You were just now starting to understand how dire your situation was and how little chances you had of going home.

They turned off the main lights and a thousand scenarios crossed your mind. It was as if they were bracing for something. You frowned as you saw the guards tense as some alien hieroglyphics appeared on a holographic screen. It looked... like a countdown... You grasped the bed, trying to brace yourself for something. And good that you did because it felt as if the ship collapsed with something.

It basically shook you off to the ground, and while you'd think this was supposed to happen, you quickly realize it wasn't since the guards unstrapped themselves from the chairs and started shrieking as alarms suddently blared. After that? Seconds and it was over. Two white blasts ended them both, hitting them exactly in the middle of their ugly skulls. You did not hear any footsteps but you saw a shadow approaching your cell, so you scurried closer to your bed and now presumably magic shield that will block blasts that melt alien skulls.

The barriers from your cell unlocked, sliding to the sides and someone jumped in front of you. Someone big, dressed sleekly in black, although you could swear the edges of his frame looked transparent for a second. It was big, yet had the complexity of a human so you stayed locked in place, big scared eyes on the person pointing a big son-of-a-bitch gun at you. You heard it growl and speak something shortly, and the hairs on your whole body pricked.

World stopped for Price as he cracked another neck, just after locking eyes with the leader of this "cargo" ship. He was about to take a step forward to gently guide this person towards personal enlightenment by confessing all the information they needed, even if it would be involuntarily, when Soap spoke... well, growled just one word in their comms.

"Mate."

[lukalnst]

o em gee i was so happy to discover you and that you also wrote for alien stage! i’ve loved all of ur works so for and i couldn’t help but want to request something as well! would it be possible to request some hurt/comfort with till from alien stage? maybe you both got into a little fight or ur jealous abt something idk im not vv creative but feel free to skip this if you like! thank you for reading and have a great day <333

Jealousy + Till x Reader

Includes: Hurt/comfort, gender neutral reader, eventual fluff don't worry,,, light angst , a few kisses , short

A/N: I'm so glad you were happy to discover me heehhee ^.^

If it was jealousy, you were used to it.

Still, you really couldn't help but feel somewhat jealous when Till spent time with other people — yes, you couldn't have him all to yourself all the time, so you had to share him with other people... Still, you couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy.

The way he expressed himself with other people was... different. He was different when he was with you and when he was with others. Did he not feel safe enough with you? Were you not good enough of a partner? Many questions filled your mind, most of which you guessed would remain unanswered as for now.

He also seemed... content to be with other people. What if he found someone else who was better than you? Someone who made him feel more loved than you could ever make him feel?

It hurt so much just to think about it.

Eventually, you had grown distant from him. This didn't go unnoticed by Till, though. He noticed the small changes in your demeanor, the way you wouldn't share as much about yourself as you used to do.

One day, while you two were lying in bed, he tried to place his hand on your shoulder, to which you just moved away slightly. He couldn't pretend as if things were alright anymore.

First, he called out your name. "Hey. I can tell somethin' is wrong. Do you wanna talk about it?" his voice seemed to be gentler than usual, if you were upset, he didn't want to make you feel worse than you probably already were.

You stayed silent for a while, and you felt a small knot form in your throat. Despite this, you decided to reply. "It's – well... you just seem so happy to be with others, and... I'm not sure if you will be happy with me," you continued. "I mean.. what if you find someone better?" Your voice slightly cracked.

Till himself was familiar with feelings of jealousy, but he was much more shy about them. That wasn't what he wanted to focus on right now, though. "Someone better?" he asked.

"I really don't want anyone else, I want you. I don't care for others, really," He positioned himself so you could maintain eye contact with him better. "I want you with all of your flaws and imperfections... All that sappy stuff, I want you with all of your qualities."

Your eyes were filled with tears soon enough, many of whom were spilled and had started to run down your face. He wanted you with all of your insecurities — he managed to see right through them, too.

"Hey, don't cry," He uttered out. He was quick to wrap his arms around you and softly kiss your tears away. "I love you, so be happy, okay?" He planted a soft kiss on your cheek.

You hadn't exactly had someone care this much about you... most people wouldn't care to reassure or comfort you, but Till was different.

"One day, it'll just be two of us. You can ignore all the pricks who ever tried to take my attention away from you." He smiled softly at you, something which was an unfamiliar sight for others to see.

As he softly held you in his arms, you knew you'd be safe with him. He wasn't going to find someone better or leave you anytime soon. At least, that's what you wanted to tell yourself.

He softly whispered small words of reassurance into your ear, then pressed his lips against your own.

[phoenixeclipse-lmkau]

i have another crumb for you! very small tho

reader and co run into another monkey! [i didn't know if i should make it a cub or not, you decide] it was injured and reader patches it up! the monkey duo can talk to and this monkey understands them! problem tho, if they try and get help, that means leaving reader :(

wait...

what is this? reader is interested in this monkey? reader is stopping petting them to interact with this monkey? reader is putting them them down to pick up this monkey?

no! no no no!

not in a thousand years, not ever! they don't need this monkey's help to turn back, they are sun wukong and six eared macaque, monkey demon warlords! they can figure out a way to break this curse while staying with reader 24/7! go away monkey, they say, we don't need any help, we are perfectly fine!

reader can only guess that the duo cubs are scared or wary of the new monkey, and tries to calm them down, which is thwarted whenever they interact with the new monkey.

gods forbid she gives the monkey duo to spirit to focus on this monkeys injuries.

poor thing. it didn't ask for this.

ok, i will stop crumbs for now, i worry i am clogging your asks. i heard someone say if you get too many asks its impossible to access old ones until you deal with new ones, and idk if its hyperbole or not.

Hello CRUMB!! I love this ask!!

Now for this it will have to be an adult monkey demon or minimum a teenager because the two warlords love cubs. They would never be mad at a cub and will do a lot to protect them. They also adore seeing Reader holding other cubs, because she looks so beautiful and loving with them. When Reader is holding cubs? That also makes them want to have cubs with you for themselves. But they’ll have to wait until they fix the curse before they can even think about that.

They are willing to be separate from her TEMPORARILY if it’s for a cub. Now if it’s an adult? O HO we can have some fun with that.

You stood there frozen for a moment when you caught sight of the monkey demon crouched down and clutching their bleeding arm. He was panting heavily as he groaned in pain. It was a 5 foot tall monkey demon with dark red fur and piercing grey eyes.

The moment you took a step forward he let out a growl to tell you to stop. You did but then took another step forward and he snapped his teeth at you. He only stopped when the two monkey cubs on your shoulders snapped back. Chirps immediately followed as you stood there unsure of what to do.

‘Who are you??’ Peaches asked, his tone firm as he spoke.

Much to his surprise the monkey demon before them actually… he actually recognized them and chirped back. ‘King? Warrior? What happened?’

The two debated weather or not to actually answer the question. It was a shock by itself that the monkey demon was able to recognize them at all. It was suspicious but this was also one of the monkeys from their home, from Flower Fruit Mountain. So there was a chance that he was simply able to recognize them because of that. They were about to respond when Reader, THEIR READER knelt down beside the demon.

“Listen I know you don’t seem to like me but we really need to fix up that arm,” You explained calmly more focused on the bleeding than the fact you were being snarled at.

The monkey demon soon stopped in favor of finally letting you touch them. At first the monkeys on in your arms found it sweet… for about a split second before they snapped to attention when they were set on the ground. Immediately they started chittering and chirping at you, demanding your attention.

“In a moment, I need to help this one first. What’s your name?” You asked looking up at the monkey demon’s face for a moment.

“Ba… My name is Mink. What are you doing with-,” He was cut off by two small growls from the cubs. “Those cubs.”

“Peaches and Plums? They’re my friends, I’m taking them to Flower Fruit Mountain… I think. Spirit was pretty vague on what we were doing- And done! How is that?” You asked when you motioned to the wrapped injury.

The monkey demon looked at it before looking back at you. He was in shock, opening his mouth he was about to speak when the monkey king and warrior jumped up onto you chirping for your attention.

“You two need to calm yourselves, I can’t just leave him to bleed out,” You mutter picking up Peaches by the scruff and setting him back on the ground.

The monkey was in absolute shock. He let you do that!? What happened to him!? Was this really his king?? He nearly snapped his head to the side when he saw Macaque jump onto your foot and climb up your leg until you picked him up to set him down too.

“Sorry just give me a second, these two can be pretty clingy,” You chuckle as you try to

“Reader?” Spirit’s voice suddenly called to you.

“Oh great, Spirit can you hold these two for a moment? I need to make sure I didn’t miss anything,” You said picking up Peaches and Plums and plopping them into Spirit’s arms.

Two screeches quickly followed as you approached the monkey demon again to speak with him. Of course you made sure to give him a pat on the head before letting him know that he’ll be okay.

>>><<<

“I can take them to Flower Fruit Mountain. It is my home and it will allow the both of you to travel on your own,” Mink said as he readied to leave you and Spirit.

You froze at the words, you didn’t want to leave the cubs in the care of someone else. You wanted them to stay with you where you knew for a fact they were safe and sound from any and all danger. Though they weren’t REALLY safe when you were attacked so often.

“I’m not sure,” You mutter looking at the cubs who openly hissed at the monkey demon, glancing at Spirit you waited for her opinion.

“It would definitely be faster. It might be for the best,” She muttered in response.

*HISS*

It was only a matter of moments after Spirit spoke but the two let outraged chirps and hisses directed solely at the monkey in front of them. The very thought enraged them beyond all belief. They would NOT ALLOW THIS IMBECILE TO TAKE AWAY THEIR DARLING!!

‘Take one step closer and you will be nothing but blood and bones,’ Was the last chirp that made Mink freeze and step back. The deadly look within the monkey king’s eyes, directed at HIM? Over a HUMAN!?

You must have brainwashed him, that was the only- at the sound of clinking teeth he up and ran away. You immediately calling after him in confusion but didn’t get so much as a single response.

“What was that all about?” You muttered in shock before turning to the two proud monkey cubs who jumped up to climb her legs. “What did you two say?”

You had a firm glare on your face but the cubs just looked at her with wide eyes slightly blinking innocently. As if they did nothing wrong at all which staring at them you could tell was very wrong.

“You could have gotten to a nice home FASTER, and you scared him off,” You grumbled only to get nuzzled in the cheek in response. They really didn’t care as long as they were WITH YOU.

With a sigh you let out a soft chuckle, “Would you miss us that much?”

‘You,’ they chirped not that she could understand them, they could do without Spirit… even if she was starting to grow on them. Just a tad.

Listen I know you said this was a SMALL crumb. But I can’t help but see it as a rather big one. Maybe not in words but in how it is portrayed. There was SO much more that I could add to this that I didn’t. Though I might in the future, hehe~ Mink as I have named this monkey demon will probably show up eventually. I do hope you don’t mind of course. The MANY MANY ideas that come up with this are absolutely outstanding. Thank you for the ideas!

[reblog-to-cast-on]

I designed it myself so there's not really a full pattern written down, but I can give you the references that I texted myself to work from when I originally designed it. unfortunately I have a habit of changing my pattern as I go so I'm not totally sure this matches what I ended up with, but if you want it, the notes and screenshots I have are below the cut.

gauge: I used a super chunky yarn and probably 8ish sized needles (us sizing) —I know they were too small for the yarn which was on purpose because I wanted it to be a bit stiff and hold some shape.

sizing: i'm tiny and have disproportionately long arms so you're likely to need to change the stitch counts and potentially the sleeve-to-body length for yourself.

pattern measurements: I think every little box in the images below is 4x4 stitches, every red-bordered box is 12x12, and the heavy black vertical borders break the whole thing into thirds.

stitches: the whole thing is just stockinette stitch except for the ribbed collar, cuffs, and hem, and the button plackets. the button plackets are basically a fake ribbing--knit two rows, purl two rows, etc. I did the buttonholes by just casting off and casting back on, idk if that's the right way or whatever but it worked.

colorwork: mostly intarsia but I won't lie I just kind of do whatever seems easy in the moment so it's kind of a hodgepodge on the inside.

caveat: i do think I did something different at the top than the increases in the images suggest, but I don't remember what.

bottom hem/casting on: the front and back dont include the bottom ribbed hem. I honestly dont remember the proportion of ribbing i cast on compared to the width of the main panel or where I wrote it down, if I did.

caveat: i added the collar afterward (just picked up stitches and then knit it directly on) and I added the grey shoulder patches later, too, when I didn't like the original fit of the sleeves. again, I just picked up stitches as I went and knit the patches directly into the shoulders. (it was a pain. if I did it again, I'd knit them separately and sew them in.)

back panel:

front (both sides):

this is both front panels in one image. the black/charcoal in the middle is the placket for buttons. I decided where to put buttonholes in it based on the buttons I happened to have on hand, so those aren't indicated.

sleeves:

sleeve increases: as you can see I initially forgot to add increases for the shape of the sleeves to be dramatic so I scribbled them in afterward. on the right sleeve you can see where I made a note to myself to start with a cuff and then increase. not sure if this is what I did, but here's the text I sent myself for that:

cast on 20

increase by one every 3 (26 stitches total)

4 rows of 26 stitches

add 1 on every right side row until 36 stitches

finally able to wear the colour-block cardigan woohooooo this took a full 2 weeks to dry when I blocked it and it weighed a million pounds wet but it's sooo cozy

[bluemoonrabbit]

Alright, I think it's time to admit to myself that I don't like to travel. The pressure to do stuff and see a place while having almost unlimited options and no skill at deciding what I want to do day by day means I kinda just shut down.

[ineed-to-sleep]

Yeah I would like to have uhhhhh whatever the hell these two have got going on

[anewp0tat0]

I tried but not very hard to see what the anniversary date was, and i decided to just prepare myself for the 16th or the 18th... it was the former. so, as always, but this time truly by accident... happy belated 17th birthday Black Butler!! I truly hope this year is amazing for us.

this year, I decided to use an idea I had wanted to try for a while but I never thought I would be able to pull off. and I still probably couldn't in the best way.... but regardless, here is a made up last chapter scenario.

you can also see this comic on webtoon here. whatever your fancy, if you please :>

[the-eclectic-wonderer]

"The podcast is about our neighbours being murdered." "Yeah, but you made it sound cozy."

That's it. That's the show.

[osaemu]

so uh funny story guys. i lost interest in anime men

[residentialsinyomakai]

Hello hello!!! Guess what. Yokai art dump below the cut!! So cool and shiny wow

Its true, I do >u<

I'll try and section these and give the usual explanations below! Image ID for more drawing specific inksplanation.

Click for full image! Since a lotta these are weirdly shaped they were cut off....augh...

McKraken and Maddiman related doodlesssss they're some of my faves <3 i will always love them even if they're not my focus characters atm (well. McKraken kinda is rn but also Babblong so YAY)

Misc. Yokai and ocs! The frog is Kerosque, the guy w the swirly pompadour thing is Swiss, and the monkey is Romono (although he's a Regretevator OC from FOREVER ago, he's still my son <33)

SWISS STUFF RAUGHHHH ! inconsistent style will be APPARENT here try not to notice shuhhhhhgh

Height for main yokai in my AU/on Casp's team! (In the anime it's just primary summons then wwwww)

Some yokai practice/design hcs bc my friend asked!! I was so happy to share 🤭 LOVE YOU CHERCHERRRR

Some of my little guys once more! Rawry' prob one of my faves yokai to draw, easy and fun to do show-accurate or stylized.

OCSSSSSS. AND BADDINYAN. MY EVIL CAT <3333 the guy next to the frog in the middle is an oc idea but idk for what yet =▽=

AUGH. THERES AN IMAGE LIMIT? Well in case you're wondering it's 30....post the rest after I get tomorrow's doodles. See you then and thank you for looking at and reading about my arts!

[agueforts]

tlovm s3 finish got the entire dash on the first four stages of grief

[deoidesign]

Can you make a tutorial on how you world build and make ocs? I can't seem to make any people in my brain, but then when I try to come up with environments jobs, beliefs and little details to slowly come up with someone, I think: well I don't really know how people have influenced the world- it's a weird loop

To be honest, I don't think I can! Writing is an extremely personal process. The way I write is directly related to how I process things, what I find important in stories, years of my own analysis of my and other's writing, etc... The way you write will be unique to you, as well. But I can explain how I personally think of it.

The short answer:

Write. Write anything and everything, it's a tool to explore your ideas. Analyze your own writing, and write more. Then, as you discover which ideas you want to develop, write more to explore them more. You won't know what you want otherwise!

The long answer:

I think this kind of loop is common. It's easy to feel like everything needs to be done "at once," because our job as writers is to make elements logically fit with each other for our readers. But as you've discovered, developing multiple elements simultaneously isn't really possible, or at least is extremely difficult.

Personally, when I think of writing, I break it into three major elements; characters, world, and plot. As much as possible every scene explores one or more of these, and as much as possible these three things tie back into what I personally consider most important: theme.

Everything I do is in service of the themes I want to present. Without them my events feel aimless. It can take a while to discover them, but they're the core of my work. You will have to discover what you feel is the core of yours. Analyzing other media helps with this too.

Concepts in your brain exist in a state of infinite potential. But when you start writing you have to start making choices, which removes potential as you move forward... But you have to move forward anyways. If there's ideas you want to explore later, you can always explore them later.

What this ends up meaning, to answer your question, is that I don't think of my characters as "people in my brain" or my worlds as something people have influenced... Not at their core, at least. They are tools that I use to represent specific ideas. Obviously they're also my blorbos, but mostly they're serving a specific narrative purpose.

So above all else... Write. Write, and discover what you're writing about, and then start over and write with that in mind. Keep doing this. But you have to write!