#Random Storytime You Didn’t Want

[leseigneurdesinferieurs]

Random Storytime You Didn’t Want 1: The Time I Wrote A Poem About M*sturbation

Once upon a time I wrote a poem about the urge to m*sturbate. Not sure if censoring is needed but ah why not. Sometimes I try to write something serious with some meaning behind it but sometimes (especially now) I’ll throw in something funnier. However this case was different.

It was one of those days where it felt like nothing was going correctly and honestly I was in a very depressed mood. It wasn’t a positive mindset day and therefore as I would usually do anyways I sat down in the evening coming up with writing ideas and of course writing. Whether it’s poetry or regular prose I find that the evening is really my time where the ideas come so I can write something or carry those ideas into the next day and write while eating my lunch or something. That evening I was trying to write a poem hoping to make myself feel better by venting in verse form but I was sort of mentally constipated in a way. I’m not sure it was writer’s block because I could write something but it just wasn’t clicking. When I write I often write multiple versions and go for whichever clicks as it’s just what works for me and then if I need to improve certain parts or lines or sentences I do. Well it wasn’t clicking that night and before I knew it I got too tired and laid down somewhere and fell asleep.

I say ‘somewhere’ as my recollection of that evening and how I slept it very hazy and blurred which is why I probably ended up waking up confused at what I had written. I am led to believe I first slept on my living room sofa and it took me multiple minutes to wake up which caused me to spring up suddenly and briefly frighten my mother. After that I went upstairs and slept in my usual bed. Now for the actual important part of the story! I woke up feeling refreshed and after waking up grabbed my phone and the first thing that was open was the notes app where I often write. Upon viewing the screen I laid my eyes upon a poem I didn’t recognise but was first greeted by the title… ‘Jerk It’.

At first I told myself I couldn’t have written what I thought the title was suggesting so before even reading it I googled if there were any poems with that title. There were not. At least not that I could find and so I pushed myself to read it and holy… it was a poem about having the urge to m*sturbate and how if we all just did it a bit more the world would be a much happier place so let’s all m*sturbate in unison. Now to quickly defend myself no I was not… doing that and no the poem is not an actual belief I hold. One of the drafts in there I think was poking fun at those videos online of ‘oh guys stare at me in the gym’ but of course dirtily. Is that a word? Maybe. It was nonsensical. Dirty, sexual, vulgar… all of that sort of thing. I told some friends what I had seemingly done (not sharing the poem of course) and just moved on from it. I still joke about it and when people ask ‘what is the wordy thing you’ve written’ I normally answer ‘Jerk It’ and have to explain what it is.

Often I debate with myself about posting it on here or putting it in one of my anthologies which arguably it could be suited to one of the newer ones where I’m trying to be vulgar and controversial but I’m not sure if it’s too much. By many standards I’m sure a lot of the modern generation wouldn’t consider it that bad when it comes to the sexual content but it just felt like a lot especially when you just woke up to find out you wrote it while in some half asleep state. In fact I’m not sure I still have it saved or if it’s fully written and able to be released in a complete state.

On the notes folder or whatever you want it call it there were different drafts and ideas for the poem thrown about. For example there was a version of it that had a chorus and was more of a ballad style poem. One of them involved different situations where it would be inappropriate to ‘Jerk It’ which very well may have been the one with the chorus.

Today however I think the poem did have an influence on me as the idea of writing a poem or poems that aim to shock and be inappropriate is something I’ve been throwing in more for my fictional alter ego in my new anthology. Perhaps one day ‘Jerk It’ will see the light of day once again or perhaps it just goes to show… we all need a healthy amount of sleep.

[moonahyeon]

I just shifted this morning 😭 FOR THE FIRST TIME !! I’m so excited that I finally did it but why am I kinda disappointed it was so normal.. I feel like I’m not as happy as I thought I’d be, shifting for the first time. I had all these expectations, yknow? plus rn I’m not doing the best physically bc of how nauseous I feel from traveling irl (like in my CR) to another continent so that might be affecting my mood.

how? 🌸

I finally took a break from trying to shift to my kpop dr so I could organize a new script for it in notion. So I decided I would try to shift to my waiting room for the mean time. I saw @pinkerinos story on how they shifted after I woke up at like 10am in the morning and it motivated me sm I wanted to follow what they did. thank you to them 🙏🙏 I was really tired when I woke up and wanted to go back to sleep but felt musty so I washed up and tidied my room. Until I went back to bed, I said affirmations (some in my head, most out loud). I didn’t use a method but I was saying things like “shifting to my waiting room is “easy-peasy lemon squeeze-y”. yeah it’s kinda cringe 😭 but I was trying to make it catchy so I would remember it.

I didn’t have to do a 500 hour meditation, or even specify if it was an awake or asleep method. Looking back I think I shifted out of pure delusional confidence. I didn’t shift to my waiting room or any dr I had scripted for. I think my intentions got mixed up because I shifted to a reality where I had my kpop dr face/body. But I wasn’t an idol. I lived in a coastal town in sk and spoke and thought in korean when I’m not fluent in this reality. I hadn’t realized I shifted until I was in the elevator of my apartment complex heading downstairs to work (I lived on the second floor but their were shops/plaza on the first floor). When I realized I shifted to some random reality I didn’t care it wasn’t my DR and stayed for the sake of having shifted. My initial reaction was to hit myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming but in general I felt normal? — is that common for anyone else❔

I think the fact I’m somewhere where it’s summer/the beach affected the place I shifted to.

has this happened to anyone? I shifted back to a dream bc in my OR I was still sleeping. After spending 5-7ish hours in that reality I shifted back willingly bc it was jus a regular life, labor, and I had to deal with annoying ass customers. 😭😭 when I came back I woke up in a dream?? I don’t lucid dream so my memory is distorted from that point on. I woke up irl soon after and started to doubt myself .. was it all a dream?? But there were too many reasons it wasn’t “just a dream”.

reasons why it wasn’t a dream:

I have a dream journal and every dream I’ve had has been sporadic and irregular with time. In the reality I shifted to time was “linear” and I remembered the past, experienced the present, and worried about the future.

When I have a dream I’m never “present”/aware I only remember what I experience after I wake up. But in that reality I felt everything happen in the present like it would in my OR.

Also I had such complex memories/thoughts I couldn’t even think of as a 14yr old in my OR.

srry if this storytime was too long and or boring 😭 I’m not a blogger or someone who posts. I’m more of an observer but I wanted to share my story!

Also tysm to the shiftblr and loa girlies I couldn’t have shifted without them!! 💗💗 they gave me such a different perspective on shifting compared to shifttok.

[supernovafics]

series masterlist | last part — next part

pairing: modern!college!steve harrington x fem!reader, bestfriend!eddie munson x fem!reader

word count: 5.3k words

warnings: explicit language, a bunch of other good things that i don’t wanna say because i don’t want to completely spoil everything<333

summary: an unexpected conversation between you and steve leads to a long overdue realization 

quick a/n: a bit nervous to post this one lol but i hope yall enjoy🫶🏾

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN | ❝𝒎𝒂𝒚𝒃𝒆 𝒘𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕❞

Summer 2017

“I’m a little upset that I didn’t get the grand hometown tour.”

“You mean the tour of the old library that I spent probably too much time at back in high school, and the park that I also really liked back in high school, but it’s currently under construction?”

Eddie gave you an amused smile. “Yes, exactly that.”

“Next time,” You told him, completely joking with your words, but you wouldn’t have been surprised if he actually held you to them the next time he was here. But, you honestly didn’t think that there’d be another moment when he was in your hometown; this moment in itself felt almost like a fluke.  

After a five week long road trip with Eddie, you still weren’t ready to be home— you dreaded it, actually— but things had started getting too expensive and Eddie’s van was in dire need of a break. 

You did most of the driving to your hometown because you knew that Eddie would have to do all of the driving alone back to his own home. And then he stayed with you for the night at your dad’s house. You didn’t even have to do any sort of introduction between the two because your dad was off on a vacation with his new girlfriend.

Now it was the morning and you two lingered by Eddie’s van, prolonging the conversation because the next time you’d see each other would be a little over four weeks— when you moved into your apartment with Robin, Vickie, and Talia, and he moved in with two people that he found at the last second; luckily, your respective buildings weren’t far from each other, so it wouldn’t feel impossible to see each other. 

You pulled Eddie in for a hug, a long one that felt so equivalent to a goodbye and it actually managed to sadden you a bit because of how good the last five weeks had been and it sucked that it was all over now. 

When you pulled back, you gave him a smile. “See you in four weeks, Edward.”

He laughed a little. “See ya.”

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。

Spring Semester 2018

Maybe things should’ve felt at least a little weird or awkward between you and Steve in this moment in the library— it had been a month since the last time you two talked— but it didn’t. At all. 

It was all so surprisingly easy. The small talk wasn’t even unbearable; you liked hearing about the mundane things he’d been up to for the past month and you didn’t mind sharing your own stories about classes you’d come to hate and how you didn’t feel all too prepared for finals because you had more essays to do than actual tests. And then you two moved into random bits of nothing, asking the first thing you could think of or filling the silence with storytimes or quick anecdotes, and whispering the entire time so that you didn’t disturb everyone else in the library right then. 

You two probably should’ve moved somewhere else, but it felt as if the entire moment would’ve been broken if you did so. Logical thinking would’ve sunk in on your side of things and you would’ve realized that all of this was a bad idea and you should’ve left, or perhaps never sat down across from him on this carpeted floor in the first place.

“Did you decide what you’re going to do with your summer of freedom?” You asked him instead of leaving or even thinking about doing so. You were mainly joking with your question and just trying to think of something to say, but still, you were a little curious. 

“I think I’m gonna do the Europe thing. Go alone,” He told you. “It’s loosely planned right now, but I’ll fully figure it out after finals.”

“Ooh, that’s very Eat, Pray, Love of you,” You joked. 

He laughed a bit. “Thanks, I think?”

“I’ve actually never seen that movie before, but from what I think I know of it, it felt fitting to mention it.”

“Do you know what you’re gonna do for the summer?”

“Nothing exciting, really,” You answered with a quick shrug. “I think I’m just gonna stay around here. Robin and Vickie are doing some summer classes, and even though I’m not taking any, staying in the apartment for the summer sounds much better than going home the entire time.”

Steve nodded. “With what you’ve said about your parents, that makes sense.”

“Exactly,” You nodded back. “So, if you get bored of Europe— which I highly doubt, but still— please feel free to come to any of our apartment movie nights and sleep on our couch at any point during the summer.”

You realized way too late what exactly your words implied— that you two were friends, that this moment in the library wasn’t and shouldn’t be a one-off thing. And your brain was quickly rushing you to fix what you said. “Or, I guess, that wouldn’t really make sense since we’re not friends or whatever…”

You could recognize that it was a pretty shitty attempt at backtracking, but all Steve needed to do was simply agree and everything would be fine; or, at least, what you’d convinced yourself was considered as “fine.”

“That ‘going our separate ways’ rule was so dumb,” Steve said instead of agreeing with your previous statement. “We should be friends.”

He was completely right, the rule was dumb. But still, even in this entirely comfortable moment, you knew that you couldn’t say what he wanted to hear. 

“I’ve missed this,” He continued on before you could say anything in response. He lightly bumped his knee with yours. “I’ve missed you.” 

“I’ve missed you too,” You blurted it out before you realized what you were even saying, and you didn’t know how true it was until those four simple words were out in the open and sitting in the quiet air between you and Steve. 

They abruptly made you inwardly admit everything else that you’d been avoiding and refusing to accept— the almost too obvious reason why you couldn’t be friends with him and why you had refused to break the rule this entire past month.  

You’d never be able to be just friends with him. You’d start feeling something more and head down an all too familiar path, another Eddie situation that you weren’t sure if you’d be able to take and not have it break you this time around. Falling for a friend who saw you as nothing more than solely as a friend already sucked once, and you couldn’t imagine letting history repeat itself. 

That was why you couldn’t try to do it; you couldn’t try to be normal and keep things as they were between you and Steve. If you two hadn’t gone your “separate ways,” you were certain that you would’ve ended up liking him, inadvertently feeling more for him than what you wanted to.

However, you were realizing now that the joke was actually on you because it still happened anyway. 

You liked him a lot. And maybe some part of you always did. But, you knew that you’d never be able to do anything about it. 

You were right on one thing, though— this entire moment was a bad idea. 

Before you could come up with some random excuse to leave, the sound of Steve’s phone vibrating next to him saved you instead. He grabbed it, looking down at whatever message he just got and then back at you. 

“I gotta go. I’m late for this study group thing,” He said. “But, I'm not gonna be an idiot right now and once again say that we should go our separate ways. It’s set in stone now— we’re friends.”

“Okay,” You nodded, not meaning in the slightest.

“You should come over tomorrow. We can watch that one Lindsay Lohan movie that you like and I promise I won’t complain about it.”

“It’s called Freaky Friday. And yeah, okay, that sounds good.”

Right then it was easier to lie than to refuse his statement and make up a different lie about why you couldn’t hang out with him, why you couldn’t ever hang out with him. 

Steve gave you one final smile before he stood up. You watched him head down the aisle and then turn the corner before you let yourself lean back against the bookshelf and shut your eyes with a sigh. 

Now that you finally admitted to yourself how you felt for him, it was as if the dam broke and all you could think about was how real the entirety of the fake dating thing had been for you— during the power outage where you actually got to know him, during that night where you two spent Valentine’s together at that arcade and pizza place, during everything that happened in Mexico. It was suddenly so obvious, and you were also reminded of that moment during the delayed flight when the realization first hit you. 

How different would things be if you had actually accepted it back then? You honestly couldn’t imagine. 

Another long sigh fell from your lips as you pulled your legs out of the aisle and crossed them under you.

You really didn’t want to like Steve, and a part of you wanted to try and convince yourself that it wasn’t true; just like you’d done before. But, this time around was so much different. The feelings already felt so settled and certain; you couldn’t even push them away. 

And that only made things feel worse because avoidance was your main coping mechanism. So if you couldn’t push away and forget your feelings for Steve, what the hell were you going to do instead? 

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。

It was hours upon hours full of contradictory thoughts. One part of you was telling you to be honest and the other was saying the exact opposite, and at first, you had no idea which side to listen to. You wanted to take the easy way out, but there was something about that that didn't sit right with you. Still, though, you considered it.

More time slowly passed, your head in a constant push and pull, and then it was nearing midnight when you decided to call Steve. It was an impulsive decision that, once you were settled on it, surprisingly felt like the right one. 

You sat up in your bed and grabbed your phone off of your nightstand. You could hear the faint sounds of Talia doing something in the kitchen through your shut door, but you knew that it wasn’t her that was keeping you awake since you got in bed twenty minutes ago. Instead, it was your scattered thoughts and confused mind, both of which somehow suddenly felt a thousand percent certain about one thing, which should’ve felt comforting but it actually felt like the opposite. 

You pressed call on Steve’s contact name before you could talk yourself out of it. 

“Hey,” His voice sounded sleepy when he answered after the third ring, which let you know that you’d woken him up. A part of you felt bad, and you wanted to hang up after saying the quickest “Sorry” to him, but then you remembered why you were calling. 

“I can’t be friends with you,” You blurted it out, getting straight to the point because you couldn’t think of a different way to say it.  

“Oh…” He sounded confused, and rightfully so, you could recognize that this was probably the weirdest wake-up call ever. “Oh, okay.”

You could’ve simply ended it there and let the phone call be done with, no further explanation or anything so that you could save yourself from potential embarrassment. However, the whole Eddie situation taught you to be honest about how you’re feeling, and in this moment you suddenly felt so settled on doing so. 

“At least, I can't try to be your friend without telling you something first, I think,” You told him. “And I’m sorry, I know this probably sounds so random, but I can’t sleep because all I’ve been doing for the past few hours is thinking about this, so I think I just need to be honest right now.” 

You paused for a second, taking the quickest breath before speaking. “When we started the fake dating thing, we were pretty much strangers, and as it continued I thought that what we ended up forming was solely just some sort of unexpected friendship. And then when we were ending things, I convinced myself that what we had was actually absolutely nothing and we were just two people helping each other out. But then today at the library I realized that it really wasn’t fake for me, and it wasn’t just a friendship either. It’s so much more than that for me. I like you, Steve.” 

Out of everything you had just said, those last four words were definitely the hardest. It felt simultaneously good and bad. So honest that your initial instinct was telling you to take it back, but as the statement settled in the air, you felt entirely okay about it and it made it feel easier to continue talking. 

“And I know that it's probably not the same for you because you don’t do relationships and that was the whole point of the fake dating thing for you. I know that. And that's why I refused to accept these feelings or even admit them to myself in the first place.” You let your head fall back against your pillow and you squeezed your eyes shut as you forced yourself to keep going. “So I know that you’re probably gonna say that you don’t feel the same way and that’s okay; or it’ll eventually be okay, I guess, because rejection does suck. But this whole Eddie thing made me realize that maybe I should just be honest about my feelings, so this is me doing that…” You trailed off and then softly said, “Okay, sorry, I’m done talking now.”

Steve was quiet for a bit— it was actually a lot more than just a bit. It was so long that it made you think that he hung up or the call somehow ended, but then he was saying something.

“You should come to Europe with me this summer.”

That was not at all the response you were expecting to hear at that moment, and you had no idea what that response meant. Was it just a nice way of rejecting you or did he maybe feel the same way? 

“What?”

“I’m sorry,” He said and somehow you could almost hear him shaking his head at himself. “I’m not used to doing this anymore.”

There was something about the way he said his statement that made you think that he was rejecting you, or at least trying to. And because of that, you quickly tried to make everything fine and okay and normal. “It’s, um... It’s okay if you don’t feel the same. Things will be okay with us. We can still be, uh, friends or whatever.”

“No, no that’s not what I meant,” He told you, and you could feel your heart fill with something that resembled hope. “I do. I do feel the same way. None of it was fake for me either, and it didn’t take me that long after Mexico and the rest of spring break to finally realize that. The night we “broke up” was actually pretty hard, and it also felt kind of wrong, if that makes sense. I tried to forget about it, though, because of the Eddie part of all of this and what we both agreed on at the beginning of everything.”

“When I finally accepted it today, I tried to push it all away too,” You said. “It was really hard to do, though— literally impossible, actually. Hence why I woke you up and had to tell you all of this in the middle of the night.”

“I get it. I’m just way too likable.”

“Shut up,” You said, but you were smiling.  

“It’s the same for you too, though. You’re also really likable. I like you a lot,” Steve told you, and his words sounded so certain and honest that it made your heart do a weird fluttery thing that also wiped your brain of the ability to form any sort of coherent sentence. He then let out the quickest breath of a laugh. “It feels so weird doing this over the phone.”

You nodded even though he couldn’t see you and your next words came out with no hesitation. “You should come over.”

He was quiet just for a second before he said, “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” You answered, voice just as soft and quiet as his. 

“Okay,” He said, and you could practically hear him nodding. 

“Okay, cool,” You responded, trying to be normal and chill about everything, even though your heart felt as if it was about to burst out of your chest in nervous but excited anticipation of seeing him again and talking about everything in person. “See you soon then.”

When the call ended, you simply didn’t do anything for a moment. The same happy smile was on your face and you couldn’t seem to wipe it away, and you honestly didn’t even want to. 

And then you were abruptly thinking about what you were wearing and wondering if it was okay. But, was there even any point in changing out of your slightly wrinkled t-shirt and pajama shorts?

You weren’t entirely sure, but you still got up from your bed and turned on your light, and then headed toward your closet. 

You were halfheartedly picking through your clothes and making mental comments about everything— a dress felt like overkill and putting on jeans would be too annoying— when something hit you on the head and made you yelp. You looked down and saw that it was Hartford; he had previously been sitting on the shelf above your clothes. You picked him up and placed him back on your desk— his rightful place, you decided. 

You also decided that what you were wearing was fine. It obviously made sense for the middle of the night and you’d only feel severely underdressed if Steve showed up wearing a suit, which sounded completely ridiculous. 

The abrupt sound of something crashing in the kitchen pulled you out of your head and you left your room to make sure Talia was fine. You didn’t immediately see her when you looked over at the kitchen, but when you said, “Everything okay?” her head popped up from behind the counter. 

“Yeah, I’m good. Shit, sorry, did I wake you up?” She asked and then sighed. “The mixer was hidden behind a thousand other things, so when I pulled it out, some pans fell.”

You could hear her fixing the pans and then she stood up.

“No, I was already awake,” You answered as you walked toward her. It was way too hard to not let yourself smile as you said your next words. “Steve’s, um, Steve’s coming over.”

She stopped in the middle of looking for something in the fridge and instead turned to you, the happiest smile on her face. “Oh my god, finally! I’ve been waiting for this moment ever since you got back from that date with Adam. I could just tell there was something so different about you and Steve.”

You shook your head as you laughed a bit. “You couldn’t have known about how I felt about Steve then. I barely knew.”

“Of course, I knew. I’m a Psych major for a reason,” She told you, which only made you laugh again. “But, I obviously wasn’t gonna tell you. You had to get there on your own. I’m so glad it didn’t take months, though, and I actually get to see this happen before I graduate and leave.”

You playfully rolled your eyes at her and then shifted the subject. “What are you making?”

“I’m kinda still deciding. It’ll either be a two-layered cake, cupcakes, or this tart recipe that I just saw,” She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m just trying to do anything to take my mind off this one final that I’ve been studying for all day.”

That made sense to you. Last semester during the week leading up to finals, she made a fresh batch of cookies every night.

“Maybe I’ll do a cake,” She said, a small teasing smile on her face. “A celebratory one for you and Steve. I’ll frost it white and write ‘Congrats, Lovebirds’ on it in red. Shit, I hope there’s still food coloring left.”

You immediately shook your head. “Please don’t do that. Before when things were fake, you guys couldn’t scare him off, now it definitely could happen.”

“Fine, I’ll just make a completely normal white cake that has absolutely nothing to do with you and Steve. But, deep down, both you and I know the truth.”

You couldn’t help but laugh a little. “Thank you.”

She finished grabbing the eggs from the fridge and you headed to the couch, knowing that she liked working alone in the kitchen. A part of you wanted to turn on the TV, but you weren’t in the mood to put on a movie or anything.

You heard Talia hum to herself as she started measuring flour and sugar and then cracking eggs. 

It was calming to see her completely in her element with her thoughts focused solely on one thing. Your thoughts didn’t have something specific to focus on, so they instead focused on Steve. Him and you and you two together. Well, together, but not really because nothing was settled yet. So, right now, in this moment, you two were just friends. Or was that not even an accurate description either? 

“Get out of your head.”

You looked over at Talia, wondering how long she’d been watching you and seeing you starting to inwardly spiral. “How could you tell?”

“Once again, Psych major for a reason,” She said, giving you a small smile. “Stop thinking so hard about everything right now. It’s all gonna be great when he gets here. Hey, just tell me a story. A random one. First thing that comes to you.” 

You thought for a second and then went with the first thing that came to your mind just like Talia said; a quick story about a summer camp that you went to when you were ten. It was almost too easy to think of things to talk about involving the month-long sleep away camps or short stints at super niche-specific camps that your parents found for you. 

The knock on the door came when you were in the middle of telling Talia about a different summer, a theater camp you were forced to go to for two weeks when you were twelve. 

You quickly got to the end of the story as you walked over to the door. “Long story short, the whole show was canceled due to the pregnancy rumor.” 

Talia shook her head in disbelief. “No way.”

“Yeah, it was insane. Spoiler alert, though, she wasn’t pregnant. Thank god. But, that was when I learned how ruthless theater kids are.” 

You pulled the door open after letting out a soft laugh at Talia sighing and saying, “Children are evil.” 

You wanted to be normal about seeing Steve standing in front of you right then— really, you did— but it was too hard to. He was sporting messy bedhead, sweatpants, and a t-shirt that matched yours with how wrinkled it was. It looked as if he had rushed to get here, which was actually true given the fact that he managed to turn a typical thirty-minute drive into twenty minutes.

“Hi,” You said, a fresh wave of giddiness hitting you immediately and it was hard to contain the smile tugging at your lips. 

He didn’t hesitate to match it. “Hey.”

You both simply smiled at each other like idiots for a few moments. Talia was right.  

The sound of the oven beeping followed by Talia saying, “How long it takes for the oven to preheat is the one thing that I’m really not gonna miss about this place,” seemed to pull you both out of your lovestruck trance.  

“Hi, sorry, come in,” You said to Steve, pushing the door open further so that he could step inside and then you closed it behind him. “Talia’s baking a cake.”

“A completely normal cake,” She told him and you immediately gave her a look. “Anyway, nice to see you again, Steven.”

“You, too,” He said. “What makes it normal?” 

“Nothing. Please ignore what she just said,” You told him, and then didn’t think too much as you grabbed his hand and led him toward your room. You didn’t realize what you’d done until your door was shut behind you both and your hand was still holding his— it didn’t feel entirely wrong, though. 

You noticed him look at your desk. “You still have Hartford.”

You let go of his hand as you went over to grab the small bear. “Of course, I do. I hope you still have Bowie.” 

“Of course,” He said, smiling and matching your certain tone. 

“Thinking about it now, I feel like that whole Valentine’s night should’ve sealed the deal for me. It was literally a date,” You said, letting out a laugh as you placed Hartford back down on your desk.

Thinking back to Valentine’s Day also made you abruptly remember that that was also the night he told you about him not wanting anything serious and finally explaining the “why” behind it too. And it was then that you realized that just because he had feelings for you didn’t necessarily mean that his mindset on relationships had changed too. 

You were rushing to continue and verbalize that before Steve could say anything. “And I completely get it if all of this doesn’t really change anything. Because none of this means that how you view love and relationships has changed. Not saying that you love me or anything but–”

He cut off your rambling with a head shake. “Hey, no, this is so different. I want everything with you.” It was hard not to become shy under his gaze, especially as he said those words, but you still refused to look away from him as he kept talking. 

“You kind of changed it all for me. I was scared of it before, I think— of doing anything serious and letting anyone in because I just assumed that I’d end up getting heartbroken again. But, with you, it never really felt like that; scary or anything. I think that when we were stuck at my place during the power outage and just talking, deep down I knew that things with you were gonna be different or already were; it didn’t feel weird or scary getting deep with you or letting you in. Same thing with that night in Mexico when we were eating cereal and talking about all of that serious stuff. It took a while for me to actually admit what all of those things meant, though.”

Hearing him say that made you think about when he proposed the fake dating thing, when he said that guys are dumb and it takes them a while to realize things. Thinking about those words now made you smile. 

“Guys are stupid,” You said. “You’re the one that told me that.” 

Steve nodded, laughing a little. “We are. That’s still very true.”

“I was also stupid. I avoided everything for a long time too.”

“Glad to know we’re both idiots then,” He said, which made you smile wider. 

For a second, nothing else was said; it honestly felt as if nothing else really needed to be said right then. You weren’t sure if it was you or him that closed most of the distance between you two— perhaps it was both of you. Either way, a silent agreement to push things further was made as your arms came up to loosely circle his neck and his hands found your waist. 

It was you who didn’t waste a second to turn that final bit of space between you into nothing. You leaned in slowly, though, nose brushing against his before softly finding his lips. 

It was simply just a peck at first, a chaste kiss just to test the waters and define this moment as different from the other few times that this had happened. You both knew that this was entirely different. It wasn’t good but confusing like during the blind date, and it wasn’t for show like the times in Mexico. This first kiss was right, and as simple and brief as it was, it felt damn near perfect.  

When you pulled away after just a second, Steve didn’t hesitate to lean right back in, quickly letting his mouth find yours again. One of his hands left your waist and came up to cup your cheek instead. That soft touch grounded you, it kept you steady and it also did something to your heart; made it start thumping wildly in your chest.

There was no part of you that wanted this moment to end, you wanted to live in it for as long as you could and memorize every single part of it. The way your fingers so easily found home in the hair at the nape of his neck. His warm hand on your waist that you could practically feel through your t-shirt. How it was almost like a dance happening as Steve guided you back against your shut door, pressing you against it, and you used that as the opportunity to pull him impossibly closer to you. 

It didn’t take long for you two to end up in your bed; you quickly became too tired of standing and the doorknob poking into your side became too uncomfortable. 

Your legs were on either side of his lap and he was leaning back against the headboard, pulling you toward him. It felt like you were two teenagers who had just discovered what making out was. And it also felt as if you both were in agreement about feeling like you two had wasted so much time not kissing over the last month of not talking to each other and since you two met that you were trying to make up for all of that lost time. 

When you pulled away to catch your breath, Steve’s lips found your neck, and your eyes immediately slipped shut.

“I meant what I said before,” He mumbled against your skin, but you heard him clearly. 

Your eyes were still contentedly closed as you asked, “Meant what?”

“That you should come to Europe with me this summer.”

You let out a soft laugh that quickly turned into a sigh of contentment when his lips found a particularly sensitive part of your neck. “You’re insane.”

“Insanely serious,” Steve said in between kisses. 

You pulled back then to look at him— it was hard to do, you really didn’t want to pull away, but reluctantly you did. You wanted to gauge how serious he was actually being right then, and you could tell by the look on his face that he wasn’t joking. 

His hands found yours and intertwined them. “Say yes.”

How happy he sounded rubbed off on you and you had to bite your lip to suppress your growing smile. “I’ll think about it.”

“That sounds like a yes to me,” He said, still smiling as he leaned in to kiss you. 

You pulled away after the briefest second. “I’m serious.” You weren’t at all. “I gotta make a pro and con list to make sure this is the right decision.” 

“Okay, I’m already thinking of a bunch of pros to add to the list,” Steve told you and then gave you a playful smile. “I can’t think of any cons, though, so...” He finished off with a shrug that made you laugh. 

Weirdly enough, no cons were coming to your mind right then either. 

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。

next part!

taglist (lmk if you want to be added or taken off<333); @eddiernunson , @loulouloueh , @the-aster , @blckburd , @totally-bogus-timelady , @yujyujj , @irhdifartzamfyaa , @mochminnie , @munsonssweets , @blckbrrybasket , @xprloki , @definitionwanderlust , @dwcode , @sun-fiower-seed , @keerysfolklore , @damon-loves-pie , @lodeddiperrodrick , @bisexual-and-intellectual , @munsonburn3r , @negomi123 , @khena , @facexthexsunshine , @seatbacksandtraytables , @suckerfordylansstuff , @lilacccs , @thehairington86 , @welcometohellsock

(if your user is crossed out it means i can’t tag you</3)

[madangel19]

Mushy May Day 11/13: Papa Time and "Just wanted to hear your voice"

We got another combo for @forlorn-crows Mushy May prompts. We got another sweet one here :3

Pairing: Copia/Sunshine

Rating: Everyone, it's just pure fluff with the tiniest bit of angst

Word Count: 595

“Can you tell me a story too, Papa?”

Copia blinked in surprise, looking up from his book of rat-themed fairy tales. Sunshine stood in the doorway, smiling at him innocently while clutching her tail nervously. His rats circled around him, squeaking in confusion as they looked from him and then to the ghoulette who stepped into the room.

It was quite late. Usually, she would be with her pack, so this was odd.

His surprise melted away as he smiled and patted the open spot next to him on his bed. 

“Of course you can join us, la mia ragazza solare. Everyone is welcome at storytime,” he chimed.

The ghoulette chirped happily as she quickly rushed over and sat by his side. Rigatoni and Biscuit squeaked at her before crawling into her lap and curling up together. Sunshine chittered at them softly, petting their backs while resting her head on Copia’s shoulder. 

“What story are you telling them, Papa?” Sunshine asked.

“Squeaking Beauty. It’s their favorite so far,” Copia chuckled.

“I haven’t heard that one. I bet it’s amazing,” the ghoulette said.

Copia smiled as he restarted the story for Sunshine. The rats didn’t seem to mind him restarting. They all watched him with wide adoring eyes before they slowly fell asleep one by one. If such a story made his rats fall asleep, then Sunshine would surely be the next to fall asleep.

“And then, the princess pricked her poor finger on a mouse trap and was cursed to fall into a deep cheesy sleep that could only be broken by true love’s first kiss. Her handsome rat knight soon came along and defeated the wicked cat witch that cursed his love and he soon found the princess asleep in the castle and with a kiss and some sweet cheese, he broke her out of her spell,” Copia said.

Sunshine chirped happily before moving the sleeping rats out of her lap and placing them with the rest of their friends. She then yawned and wriggled her way into his lap so that she rested her head in his lap. Copia pet the top of her head as he continued reading aloud while holding the book further out so she could see the pictures.

“And then the rat knight and his bellissima principessa soon got married and they lived happily ever after. The end,” Copia finished.

He was about to close the book when Sunshine stopped him with warm and delicate fingers.

“Tell me another, Papa,” she said, wrapping her tail around his middle and keeping him in place.

“It’s getting late, mia cara. You need rest,” Copia replied. 

“One more, please? I…I just want to hear your voice,” Sunshine murmured, looking up at him with pleading eyes. 

Ahh, Copia had a feeling what was going on. The poor ghoulette had been acting needier around him and the rest of the pack ever since it was announced that she and Aether wouldn’t be able to tour this year. This time was precious for her. Who was he to deny her some much needed time with her Papa?

“Okay, cara. Do you want to choose the story?” He asked, petting her head again and making her purr happily. 

“Mm, no. You can choose, Papa,” Sunshine chimed.

Copia chuckled as he flipped through several pages before stopping at a random page. He smiled when he saw the title of the story. It was perfect.

“How does Snow White and the Seven Rats sound?” He asked.

“I love it already,” the ghoulette cooed, curling up in his lap.

[mollyrolls]

omg i forgot to tell you guys but i was fully dying last night roommate storytime

for context: my roommate, let’s call her cece, is the most cliche tiktok theatre kid girl you could ever imagine. we did random roommates so we don’t have that much in common; she likes to go out to clubs and frats and shit and i spent my night last night doing a puzzle. dichotomy of man

anyways, i was back in the room getting ready to gts and she comes BURSTING into the room and immediately starts stripping 😭😭 i’m like “hi cece….whatcha doing..” and she jumps a foot in the air bc she didn’t see me. keep in mind i am not doing anything secretive or hiding, like i’m just standing there.

she starts going on this crazy tangent abt how she’s a horrible person and is abt to do this horrible thing and i immediately clock that she is drunk off her ass 😭 she’s also just standing there in her bra and underwear and i am looking so hard at the ceiling bc wtf am i supposed to do in that situation

and idk if i misheard her but i swear she said to me “i’m going to fuck my best friends boyfriend” 😀🤨 she’s also changing into like a lacy babydoll??? like hello!!!!??

so i’m thinking : ok this girl has been on a self sabotaging streak recently (another story for another day) and she is in no position to be doing anything like that rn so i guess it’s my job to talk her out of doing this disastrous thing

so i say “cece don’t fuck your best friends boyfriend. that’s crazy.” and she goes “nononono not fucking, eye fucking. i eye fuck everyone when i’m drunk.” which i can confirm bc she was doing it to me at this exact moment, i am still staring at the ceiling

so i’m like ok fine that’s ur prerogative as long as ur not compromising urself do what u want. but she’s conscious enough to know that if she keeps eye fucking this guy her best friend is going to be paranoid abt it?? and like have a horrible night?? but she’s not gonna stop!!!??? whatever

and then this is where i start dying bc she starts comparing herself to ME 😭😭😭😭

she’s like “ugh molly you’re so cute and wholesome, like spending ur night with ur game group and ur puzzle ugh i want to be like youuuuu” full drunk girl whining and like spinning around and i straight up had to bite my fist

bc i was doing the aforementioned puzzle bc she had sexiled me abt 2 hrs before

but she’s in this like playboy cover lingerie set going BACK OUT to her friends room, full sprinting across our room bc she keeps forgetting shit, has not said a coherent sentence once, and is talking abt how i’m a cute little wholesome person and she wants to be like me. i feel like i’m tripping on something

and then this is the best part i’m quoting this verbatim

“and while i’m about to go do this HORRIBLE thing because i’m a HORRIBLE person YOUREEEE gonna be in here in the room probably writing some cute fun story which by the way you should probably post on AO3 bc if i ever figure out how to work AO3 i bet i’d find ur stuff and i bet it’s be so good but i’d never tell you i found ur stuff bc i wouldn’t know but i would know because you look like you’d be a good writer okay BYEEEEE!”

and then she slams the door and is gone until 3 am. this was in a span of abt 4 minutes

[megumishousewife]

Streamer! Megumi x Chubby!Streamer Reader

A/N: I have been gone for a MINUTE so imma try and make this lil story the best I can because I’m really doing this because I had an idea one night. Annndddd even though this is more oriented to plus size girls, I want everyone to enjoy this piece. ANYWAYS…

For today’s stream, your chat decided to play a little bit of Resident Evil 4 since it was a new game popping off at the time. You’re a big horror fan so this makes this even better, but you were a little late to the party, seeing that other youtubers and streamers had already beaten you to the punch. You told your fans that even if they have probably seen other people play the game before you, all that matters is that they are getting the uncut Y/N version so they are in for a good one.

 “Just letting you guys know that we are donating to a charity that helps families in need of major necessities so please donate and help the cause. If we do raise past the goal today, I might let you guys pick your rewards. Maybe a 24 hour stream or another vlog, but it’s up to you guys,” you said with a smile.

You watched as your chat was lit up with multiple comments and you just laughed at the excitement of your fans. Even though you probably pull in 10k a stream, you want to make all ten thousands of your fans happy. Also on your youtube channel, Y/N Games, you have already reached 1 million subscribers, which you told everyone was a big milestone. Continuing on, you played RE4 for a good three hours with nothing but a few deaths, multiple donations, giggles, and you simping over Leon because who wouldn’t.

You said, “Y’all, if I was in the zombie apocalypse and I had to have one of my crushes save me...you guys already know who he is.”

Your fans already know how much you gush over the streamer,Megumi Fushiguro, aka Megs. You always found his stoic attitude very sexy and the jokes he made were very similar to yours. You could probably go on for hours talking about this man since you found him way before you even considered doing content. He has probably around an average of 25k viewers and 5 million subscribers on Youtube. You always talk about how you see him at conventions and never speak to him because you were scared of what he would think of you. For some reason, your stream was blowing up the chat about him and that he’s live right now with his best friends, Nobara and Yuji, who are also content creators. 

You laughed, “Guys, I will react to their stream tomorrow, butttt I see that we have reached our goal of donations! Thank you guys so much and we can actually take these last few minutes to discuss what you guys want for your reward.”

After looking at the comments for 5 minutes, you have narrowed down to 3 options.

“You guys really want me to come out of my comfort zone with these,” you said with a nervous laugh, “Option One: collab with fav youtuber or streamer. Two, ask out my fav youtuber or streamer. Or three, prank calling my streamer friends. This decision isn’t up to me, so I will put a poll on my twitter so you guys can take a vote on what we should do. It will be open for 24 hours so you guys can pop in anytime to vote. Thank you so much, I love you guys and good nigghtttt!”

You clicked off the “end stream” button and you felt your heart pounding out of your chest. The first two options were already embarrassing because how in the hell were you going to get in contact with Megumi. And knowing your fans, they were not going to do the last one because it’s too easy. Sighing, you got up to take a shower and flopped on your big bed. Just for background noise, you turned on another plus sized youtuber that you always watched do a random storytime while you got to work. The fastest thing to do was to upload the VOD of tonight's stream that one of your mods saved to your youtube channel. since you stream Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; you didn’t want your youtuber watchers to miss out on your newest gameplay. Next, you went to Twitter and uploaded the poll, feeling a small pit in your stomach. You also saw that you were tagged in a video of Nobara, Megumi, and Yuji rating Youtubers and streamers. You pressed play and saw what was about to unfold.

Nobara said, “Next one is plus sized youtuber and streamer, Y/N games!”

You could feel your face flush up instantly. What. The. Fuck. They are rating you out of all people and the only thing you can do is brace yourself for what to come because when it comes down to being a plus sized content creator, or just being plus sized in general, you have to be thick skinned and not let the hate get to you. But, the friend group actually took you by surprise. 

“Not gonna lie, she kinda bad! Megumi, you’re silent. The fans need your feedback,” Yuji said, nugging his best friend.

Megumi looked as if he’s even embarrassed to say anything but he managed to get a few words out as his face reddened.

“She’s pretty,” Megumi said, keeping his response short. 

Nobara and Yuji laughed as the chat was blowing up saying he might have a crush, but you rolled your eyes and logged out of Twitter for the night to go to sleep. Even though your body felt tired from the day’s work of streaming, editing, and sending emails, you couldn’t take your mind off of Megs’ face when he called you pretty.

“Maybe I’m just in over my head,” you thought to yourself.

After trying to let the thought pass as best as possible, you allowed yourself to drift into a deep sleep.

Don’t jump me! I know this is a little short but I think I’m going to post them in sections because chile, I’m acting like I haven’t typed in forever. But I hoped yall enjoyed it!!!

[6leggedhorse]

Mimics: What are they? How to Prevent Them From Running Your Fade? Signs of a Mimic?

Aahhh, TikTok, a recent trend in TikTok is the paranormal phenomenon of Mimics. Mimics are essentially spirits that take the form of you or some else’s voice and or presence and attempts to seek you out or lure you out. You may have heard of them in a game called Phasmophobia or seen videos on TikTok depicting the presence of them. But before get into it, grab your favorite snack and drink, perhaps get your pet, get comfy and let’s dive into these creepy things!

What exactly is a Mimic?

According to a user on the r/paranormal subreddit, a mimic can be described as a phenomenon where you may be alone at home or the person you live with is a completely different spot of the home and you hear their voice, laughter or they’re trying to open your door. This could be left over energy from the home, it could be something much more sinister and or aggressive even. They want to use you for something, whether it is to feed on your energy, feed off fear, whatever their intentions are do not let them lure you into where ever it is they’re at or have them come to you. The more acknowledge the mimic with fear, the stronger it will get. In some cases they can physically manifest into humans; which is extremely bad.

How to Not Get Your Fade Ran

- Don’t answer it: it’s that simple, if you’re home alone or in a different part of the home, and you hear your partner’s voice from the stairway but their in the backyard grilling veggie burgers and listening to Chappell Roan, something is wrong. You hear your own voice? You no didn’t. You hear grandma’s voice but she’s been deceased for a few months and she’s speaking to you in a way that is out of character? No you did not hear anything.

-Don’t show fear: It finds fear to be delicious and rather mouth watering. Showing it fear gives it power, you really need to show no fear but rather bravery and with assertiveness that it needs to get the hell out of the home.

-Cleanse the home: either on your own, with friends and or family or with someone who knows what they’re doing. Now as far as materials go, you don’t have to use Sage, in fact sometimes sage can piss off the spirit. You can try other cleansing materials, invite your deity to help you banish it.

Signs of a Mimic

- energy feels weird/off/strange: the home doesn’t exactly feel like home, it might feel heavy, intense, or even dark.

-hearing familiar voices/noises: pretty self explanatory; if your alone or in different places of the place your at and you know your alone

-Seeing familiar figures: if you see your loved one or roommate or whoever you live with, but their not home but they want you to follow them into a dark place or random place, or just seeing them in general, again ignore it and cleanse the home.

References

Epilouge

I wanted to do something spooky because summer ween is here AND fall is coming! Even though I’m a Yuletide girly myself, summer ween is fun n’ cute. I know this one was rather short and sweet, but a lot of videos or information on these things are either fictional or faked footage. Low key I am a skeptic because it has yet to happen to men even though I’ve experienced creepy things both in a casino, at my parents home and at my home as well. I hope you guys enjoy this one! Hopefully I’ll figure out another blog idea soon lol. Until next time!

[dojae-huh]

im more a fan of doyoung than of jaehyun so i’ll mostly talk about him.

as for music itself, it’s a really good, cohesive album. it tells a story, it’s not a collection of random songs in random order. to me the stand out tracks are from little wave, dallas love field and lost in california. my least favorite is warmth. i wish the track with taeyeon was a more intense, emotional song. beginning isn’t the best track on the album but it’s a perfect opening and it’s nice to see doyoung’s first official song writing effort get so much love. little light had to grow on me and i think the fanchant helps it a lot. overall, i’m glad doyoung didn’t go the mellow and safe ballad route that many people expected from him. i think youth is a strong first step to building a full fledged artistic identity. i’m still not bored of it, and i listen to it nearly daily.

it was a step away from doyoung’s idol persona towards an indie rock band frontman. i understand why his album isn’t very popular among international kpop fans - they (we?) were never the target audience. as a kpop release it lacked choreography, interesting visuals, cinematic mv. but it was really well received by domestic audience, non-kpop fans.

the most memorable contents were the documentary, dingo live where he did snippets of each song from the album, dingo storytime where he meets the fan. judging by how often i see people on kforums and ktwt say they got into doyoung during his solo era i guess they were effective. it was nothing innovative but there were quite a lot of viral moments - the open air showcase, the complicated fanchant, meeting the fan, lovesome festival, cute interactions with kiss of life girls at a radio show, hanging out with seventeen backstage. i liked the muk2u episode with mark and johnny as well.

i think that rather than showing new sides, doyoung confirmed things i always thought about him. i find his hard work and ambition inspiring. he really craves recognition. he wants his music to touch the hearts of many people. overall, i’m a satisfied customer. i feel like doyoung gained new confidence and improved as a performer and i’m looking forward to his future work. i’d like to see him do some jazz and a dreamy, ethereal sound. maybe have a more interesting mv.

i’m not really into rnb and i didn’t love jh’s lab releases so i didn’t have high expectations that i’d love his solo. and i didn’t. smoke was quite forgettable. my favorite bsides were completely because of the piano and can’t get you. i don’t really have strong opinions about other songs. i haven’t yet had time to check out much of jh’s promo contents but i get the impression that he wanted to show who he is as a person, something he hasn’t really had opportunity to do before. i watched his lmj service and i remember thinking that he’s a really awkward guy, lol. he chose some popular programs to appear on, it will be interesting to see if it’ll result in domestic fandom growth in the long term.

Firstly, I wholeheartedly agree with your last paragraph about Doyoung. For me as well there were no new surprising sides (maybe a reminder about some of his traits I see rarely or tend to forget), rather, the idea of his character I had became sharper, in a better focus.

I also agree that the three song you listed (From little wave, Dallas love field and Lost in california) are, probably, the strongest tracks on the album. Maybe not something new (my friend dismissed LinC as american sound copycat, heh), but with its own bright character that can leave an impression without understanding the lyrics. FLW is not in a genre I like, however, it makes me like it because of a powerful charge it has.

Never expected a ballad album from Doyoung. I really think this idea came from the fans who joined recently.

You know, after reading an overview of LSM's musician/producer/visionary history, it really sinked how musically backwards SK was and continue to be. Yes, k-pop is something bright and fresh for the world, however, in the country itself it is a subgenre that not many people listen to. It's not just that Doyoung deviated from his idol image (hard to digest for old fans), he couldn't go all out with a new sound if he wanted gp to like him. DY Track and the NCT jazz medley for the concert showed he is interested in even more creative things as a musician and a vocalist. I think now that he proved to himself the public approves of his ideas, he will be brave enough to go further towards creating his own distinctive sound.

Could you list which moments and ideas caught the most attention among knetizens? What worked best?

[thewitchesworkshop]

Storytime pt 2! You guys chose coffee so we’re going with coffee.

Pt 1

———————————————————————

A wave of… some sort of emotional came over them. And xey decided it was way too early in the morning for be making decisions before at least having some coffee.

As of sneaking out for a party; Key crept out of their own room and through the hallway. Across from xeir door was their brothers’ room. Those two were most definitely asleep. It was a fat chance to expect them to wake up from noise. Their parents’ room was attached to the dingy looking living room. And so xey crept on.

It wasn’t long before they were entering into the kitchen. From there; grabbed a cup and typed in a drink into a machine; putting the cup into the insert and waiting for it to whirl on. Twas a shame that cooking fell out of fashion when companies made these food printers and put them in almost every single home in the country. Xey stared at the steaming latte being pour into the cup and something being sprinkled over it. They took it and brought the steaming mug over to countertop.

It was odd to think that there was no seeing this place once gone. Key was driving to the other side of the country. It wasn’t going to be easy coming back. Xey didn’t really want to either. But- it was worth enjoying a little time and remembering the good things; as few as there were. The small winged angelical had no issue hopping up onto the counter and staring out the back window. They picked up their coffee, sipped it, and stared at the sunrise.

It was refreshing.

Key felt their phone vibrate, and took the keypad out xeir pocket before turning it on. It was some random email- but the time was 5:17. Time was ticking and their dad woke up for work at 7:30. They needed to get going.

What should Key do?

[transformers-bold-bright-brisk]

Medix: *does something cursed*

Princy: 😨

Medix: they will never believe you😈

STORYTIME!!!

It wasn’t a particularly busy day. The lessons were challenging but fairly manageable. If anything it was quiet…too quiet. Wait- nope, scratch that…

Prince was out for blood. Well, not literal blood, he just wanted to be annoying.

“Hey nerd~! Where are you hiding? I’m bored and I honestly wish you’d stop playing hide and seek and fight me already!” They searched everywhere- the cafeteria, the lounge, the lockers, Prince looked for Medix all throughout the academy. He looked for so long that it even became nighttime. And there was only one place left for the puny egghead to be. The garden.

—-

He was just standing there…dumbfounded.

When Medix looked behind xemself, xe only found xyr own shadow, so xe ignored it and thought it was some random animal. Medix did a double check with the shovel in xyr hands, too make sure that the ground was sturdy; and that the grass looked untainted enough. After all, it took a solid two hours to get a proper tombstone and a good place for the burial, and he didn’t want it to look too messy.

Prince had to act quickly, he had no idea what they just saw, but he knew that he could never unsee it. They were trying to back away when he accidentally stepped on twig, alerting Medix to his presence. Which gathered Medix’s newfound attention towards him…and away from the grave.

They both stood there staring each other down. Medix didn’t drop the shovel, in fact xe was more surprised at the fact that Prince looked somewhat worried about what he just saw. Until xe looked at Prince, to the grave, and then back at him, putting the pieces together in xyr processor.

Then it clicked. Medix’s optics lit up, putting on the most devious grin, looking Prince straight in the eye, and in the most sinister voice xe could make- xe said “They’ll never believe you.”

Prince had the most stunned look on their face as he took off running in other direction, scared for dear life. How was he going to explain this to the others? How was he going to explain this to the professors, to his classmates? Medix was probably right when xe said that no one would believe him. He just had to ask himself…who the hell was Schnoodles #5?

[autisticempathydaemon]

This is for the matchups! :D

I’m sorry in advance for how much I typed personality quizzes/questionaires are my weakness. Thank you sm in advance if you decide to do this!!

⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒

song ✧.*

Fragile by Laufey! I wont call myself a hopeless romantic but listening to her songs makes me want that romance like oh my god?? It’s also really fun to sing (the only times i sing is either in the shower or if im screaming songs in the car w/ my sister)

My fav lines are:

Grew up in a case of fragile glass

But hammer away it's time to crash

And as it shatters let me shatter into you

(also the whole chorus 100%)

enneagram ✧.*

9w1! Very accurate since I hate any form of conflict and I’m a huge people pleaser in general. Also my MBTI is ISFJ!

video essays ✧.*

YES. My main form of entertainment now since I cannot find the brain capacity to get invested into a show. My go-tos are usually j aubrey (random social media scandals) or Wendigoon (horror, disturbing content icebergs)! Sometimes I watch social commentary like Jordan Theresa and Shansphere for funsies too. And if this counts I watch reviews/summaries of random books or games I’m really curious about but don’t have enough motivation to start?? Also media analysis (my current favorites are Night In The Woods and Midsommar essays). 

childhood imaginary friend ✧.*

I didn’t have one sadly but I was super into Undertale as a child LMAO

falling asleep ✧.*

It used to be random YouTubers (mostly storytime animators) or clip montages of shows I was fixated on but ever since I’ve discovered Redacted it’s only been sleep aids. My fave is the Milo one it knocks me out everytime. I’m always either holding my green dinosaur plushie or my bee plushie that’s shaped really wonky. 

name change ✧.*

Iris! I’m personally a sucker for flower names and flowers in general (I fucking love flowers oh my god). 

fave audio ✧.*

Bowling with the bois! I love the DAMN squad with all my heart and Gavin messing w/ Lasko is the funniest shit ever.

least favorite char (kinda) ✧.*

I’m really new to this fandom so I haven’t gotten the chance to listen to alot of characters (also thank you for your ‘new to the fandom post’ I’m so well fed now). There might be a chance I don’t know the character you pair me with but if I don’t know him I’ll definetely listen to his playlist! But if I had to choose I’d choose Ivan?? I’m only going off of the very brief time he was in Freelancer S1 so I know nothing

word for word ✧.*

Inside Job!!! Everyday I get sad over the fact Netflix cancelled it. 

platonic ✧.*

Asher! He’s just so sweet (the way he comforted babe on the elevator when they first met oh my god) and we’d definetely be gossip buddies. It’s funny because I got into the fandom for Asher and immedietely got sidetracked.

tired rambling ✧.*

I don’t ramble but I will laugh at almost anything. Like my humor gets 100x more broken.

gas station ✧.*

Starbux mocha coffee in those little glass bottles. I also get sour gummy worms and Haribo.

favorite playlist ✧.*

either my laufey playlist or fem rock artists playlist (destroy boys, sir chloe, etc!)

guilty pleasure ✧.*

Redacted. Fanfics too but I’m not that guilty abt those

anything else ✧.*

☆ Super introverted but if I’m with another introvert I’m able to be outgoing to a degree. All of my friendships consist of extroverts adopting me

☆ I prefer listening way more than talking

☆ I’m either thinking of 1920213 things per second or cannot think for the life of me

☆ Airheaded?? Lacking common sense in general

☆ I draw and play the guitar!

☆ I have too many plushies

☆ At first impression I’m super reserved but as time goes on I get more unhinged 

☆ Very easily distracted

☆ Sensitive but I don't outwardly show it

Hmmmm… I like you. I think you could work well with a lot of people and make them quite happy. However, something in my gut likes best the idea of you with Anton.

Your MBTI, Enneagram, and self-description give me the impression of a really sweet person inclined to fairness, introversion, mediation, and good vibes in general. Maybe that’s why you fit so well with Anton; he also has this chill, no-drama vibe of just trying to live a good life being himself, being with you, and being happy. Lowkey, I’m assuming you went with the pacifist route in Undertale first and maybe only. That’s fitting given I think Anton would take the same route (if he were a video game person which I don’t think he is. If anything, he’s a Tetris man.)

I think you have a really peaceful, stable life together- at least, once he gets back from his secluded, secret lab, of course. It’s a sweet life of Anton bringing you flowers randomly because he drove by the store or farmer’s market and wanted you to know he was thinking of you. He marvels constantly at your creativity, always loving watching you draw and play guitar, getting your favorite songs to play stuck in his head. Maybe he has you record some so he can listen to them when he misses you; that’d be really sweet.

Song:

I was just guessing at numbers and figures/ Pulling the puzzles apart/ Questions of science, science and progress/ Do not speak as loud as my heart/ But tell me you love me, come back and haunt me/ Oh and I rush to the start

This is such a “gimme” song and yet I don’t care! One, this is a super singable, sweet song that I can imagine translates well to a guitar. (I say imagine because I know nothing about guitar, please forgive me.) Two, scientist. Technician. I need not say more. Three, it’s a lovely, mournful song that, I think, is kind of about a break up but could also reasonably be about long distance and forced separation. It’s perfect.

Runner-ups:

Your runner-ups are really fun because you could make fun couples or a throuple! I like Damien for you because he’s a Type Six in my opinion, and they’re supposed to make really lovely matches with Type Nines. (This is me and my best friend so confirmed.) I also like Huxley for you because he has a lot of similar traits to you but just more extroverted. Also, plants. Together, you could make a beautiful triangle.

note: Thank you so much for waiting! October was a dickhead to me that delayed yours and the ones after you a lot, so you are so much appreciated~! If you haven’t listened to Anton yet, I highly recommend him, he’s so sweet

Read this post and send me an ask if you’d like a match-up of your own! 💌

[rosetheex-editor]

[Begin video transcript.]

[Transcript begins from the floor, the camera propped up with an object facing someone's pant legs. Random boxes in the background, the room has almost no lighting, with the exception of a small light shining barely out of frame.]

?: I think I’m done with watching, Rose.

[Voice unidentified: Please try again later.]

?: I don’t believe there is a future for the foundation. Not with Showfall running everything.

?: Dude… What the fuck are you talking about?

[Voice identified: Rose.]

?: You don’t know what I’ve seen… What Showfall keeps in those damn tunnels. Something beyond my scope. Beyond what I could even conceive. I’ve seen the face of the Devil.

R: Dude I…-

?: I went into the tunnels… God, how long has it been? Fuck… months?

R: WHY? Why though?

?: Well I went there to try and find Edgar. Mostly since it’s kind of my job… was… but I also-.

R: Also what?

[The legs in frame unsteadily shift weight]

?: How long do you think he had planned it? I mean, I know there was a plan. I just didn’t think he would actually… I mean, surely he was just putting on a show, right? That’s what you showfall bunch are all about? Playing characters?

R: No… And if you say something like that again I'll kick your ass.

?: Right.

...

?: Rose, do you think Edgar killed himself because of me?

[Rose sighs.]

R: No, I think he did it because he felt there was no other way, it was die or be showfall's forever plaything to him I feel.

?: …Maybe it was for the best then. Maybe Edgar made the right choice. I would’ve done the same, knowing what I know now. Seeing what I’ve seen.

R: Dude… I… Can I show you something, maybe it will help… Maybe it won't.

?: You’re not going to kill me?

R: No you dumb motherfucker, you haven't given me a reason to.

?: Hm. I never understood you, Rose. I can stand on my own, for a bit at least.

R: Dude… I- Ok storytime I guess. Wanna know why I'm not scared of the security?

?: I suppose not. Where are you going with this?

R: They made me into one. I uh… Don't fucking like talking about it, but if it helps so be it huh?

[The figure shifts their weight again]

R: So. I uh… Hm, it uh was when I died? Or well… I didn't die cuz the gunshot didn't instantly kill me. Oh uh… Yeah my gun backfired on me once, anyway. Yeah a uh woman named Mai dragged my body, turned me into one of those… Things and threw me in the forest.

?: Things? You mean what I saw… That horrible amalgamation of man and machine…?

R: Yeah they uh… God, I'm really going to bring this up to the person who stalked me for months.

[Rose sighs and begins walking to sit in frame.]

R: They… Made my sister into one, it uh… I don't actually fully know if she's even… There anymore

[Rose's legs seemingly move, as she tries to pull something out of her pocket.]

?: You had a sister? They never mentioned that in your files. They must have deleted her off of their databases entirely. I’m sorry for your loss.

R: I don't… Fully think she's dead, I have some hope?

?: That’s good. Hope is the fuel that keeps us burning. It’s how I survived for so long down there. I only ever planned to be gone for a week at most, but I had no idea how big those tunnels were. I had no idea those… things existed. We have no record of any of Showfall’s experiments. And yet they’re essentially our only clients.

?: But I don’t think it matters anymore, now that I know. I’ll try and see if I can un-fuck the watcher program, show them my findings, but… I think it’s over. Showfall has so much more power than I ever realized. Even if we wanted to completely raid the premises, we would stand no chance against those things.

?: It’s only a matter of time before Showfall takes over the Watcher Program. We have held our technology over their head for too long

R: Great… MORE shit to worry about.

?: It won’t be the first time they’ve done this, you know. Showfall has some dark history. Their money is dirty, worse than ours even. We always knew Showfall was ahead of us technologically, but I had no idea they were doing this.

[Rose sighs again.]

R: Wanna know something?

?: Sure, hit me.

R: When I escaped. I had a whole plant on my back. These fuckers did not catch me.

?: Like, a regular potted plant?

R: No. A potted plant in a backpack. They might have been busy with other rebels but like… Dude.

?: That is a rather impressive oversight.

[Rose looks over to her phone, finally noticing the camera.]

?: Has that been recording me?

R: Showfall tech. I hate you SO MUCH.

[End transcript.]

[mercerislandbooks]

50 Years of Island Books: Nancy Stewart

If a bookstore could have a house band for kids, Nancy Stewart would be it! Nancy has been an Island resident and children's singer-songwriter for nearly forty years and over that time has become a fixture at Island Books storytimes. Her passion for the connection between early literacy and singing is infectious, and at times makes Saturday mornings noisy and happily disruptive.

Miriam: Can you tell me about how you first came to Island Books, Nancy? What was the Mercer Island community like at the time?

Nancy: We moved to Mercer Island in 1981, and even then, Island Books was the hub of the community. I was still performing in nightclubs at the time (among other things I was the house entertainment for an elegant little restaurant called Klahowyan, located in a little one-story mall across from the QFC). I began singing for children and when I made my first children's recording in 1989, I took it to Island Books. When I asked Fam Bayless, the owner at that time, if she would sell it, she said, "Well, I'll listen to it and if it's good, I will." It was that simple, and that began the wonderful relationship I have had with Island Books for the last forty years. In those days bookstores were the main retailer of children's music. The bookstore hand-sold our cassette recording for many years, and then the CD, along with many of my other titles, although Goodnight, Sleep Tight was always the best seller. Mercer Island looked quite different then, of course, but it always had a reputation for being a great place to raise kids, and a beautiful place to live. 

(An off-topic random piece of Island Books trivia I'm sure you know, the inside of the playhouse is decorated with sweet little drawings done by local artist and art teacher, Poo Putsch. I featured them as part of my sing-along scavenger hunt when I started Sing With Our Kids in 2012. Most adults have never been inside, so don't know).

Miriam: I didn't know that! There are so many personal touches and hidden stories in the store. Can you tell me about the most memorable events you participated in at the bookstore? We'd love to hear if you have any special anecdotes or mishaps to share.

Nancy: Ooo. So many events over almost forty years! The only mishap I can remember happened early on in my time at the bookstore, and it wasn’t exactly my mishap. Roger and Nancy were big fans of my Goodnight, Sleep Tight Lullaby recording and had the great idea of hosting pajama concerts at the store. What could go wrong? We got great crowds that could fill up the entire children's area. Barney (The Purple Dinosaur) and Friends was a very popular children's show at the time, and I had commented on how children often said, “Barney wrote that,” when I sang a traditional or even my own songs! Roger was very proud of the fact that he didn’t own a television and his kids wouldn't even know who Barney was. The “mishap” occurred one evening when Roger’s young son, Lewis, was in the front row. I asked for requests, and he began loudly chanting, “Barney! Barney! Barney!” Roger feigned total mortification and I, of course, never let him forget it! 

In 2012 when I launched my Sing With Our Kids Community Project, I knew I wanted Island Books to be an active partner. I scheduled a formal meeting with Roger to pitch my plan, and he immediately and enthusiastically got onboard. And that led to the next memorable event. 

Flash mobs were popular then, and I thought it would be amazing to have a flash mob with young children and their families at Island Books. I asked my fans to arrive at the store on a certain date and time, and simply browse in the children’s area. I would ask Roger if he had a copy of the Wheels on the Bus, and when he handed it to me, I would begin reading and singing. Families were to join in singing and make their way towards me as we all gravitated to the game area in a small mob. I’d even enlisted my friend, Charlie Williams, aka “The NoiseGuy,” a sound impressionist and comedian to perform his Noisy Alphabet after we sang. I had told everyone in advance we would video the whole thing and post it on YouTube. The excitement and silliness in the store that morning was incredible, and it was one of my favorite events ever. Roger was over the top in his impromptu role, and the parents and grandparents were dressed up and ready for the camera. Everyone sang along and it was an absolute blast! You can see video here https://youtu.be/DnFA4DOIwdc . It’s not great, but it is fun!

Miriam: That is awesome. Tell me about how Covid affected your relationship with the bookstore.

Nancy: I can’t reflect on Island Books without including Covid times. When Laurie bought the store, she asked the customers what changes they would like to see, and one of them was having a weekday storytime. She asked me to do it and we agreed on Wednesday mornings. It was very popular, and we had large groups of regular attendees. I had also just revamped the Saturday Evening Storytelling series and had scheduled some great guests. Then came March 23rd, 2020. I remember finishing what became my last storytime on the 18th, and it was eerily quiet in the bookstore. We all knew things were going downhill quickly, and sure enough, on March 23rd Governor Inslee issued the stay-at-home order. 

It was heartbreaking and surreal, but Laurie didn’t skip a beat. She asked if I could video and post Wednesday storytimes to keep them going. I knew nothing about how to do it and had only my phone and some lighting I borrowed from my son. For the next few months, I would let myself into the store through the back door and set up in the back of the children’s area. I won’t lie, it felt a bit dangerous. Laurie was working at her desk, but most of the time I didn’t even see her. I’ll never forget sitting by myself in this familiar beautiful space, now seemingly frozen in time. Although publishers had issued emergency permission to read and video their books, the first time I tried it my video was taken down within an hour. After that I only sang my own songs, and used my own visuals, sometimes just holding up a favorite book. It was surreal. You can still find those storytimes here https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyQQLjelm7Rt-0bLnkwZ6QDjsJxIULP3m

But we made it through, thanks to Laurie’s tireless work and ingenuity, and of course, dedicated staff. Our sweet, sweet families are back, and Island Books is once again filled with all the community sights and sounds that help make this such a magical place. The old ceiling fan once again works its magic calming fussy babies and customers once again must take the alternate path through the store as we spill into the main aisle on Saturday mornings. It’s the most joyful full-of-possibilities place I know, and it’s enough to make me want to sing (and read, of course)!

Miriam: Me too. I have the best memories of bringing my kids to your storytimes when they were little.

To our Island Books community: In the next 50 Years of Island Books installment, I’ll be talking to our key sales reps from the big publishing houses. They all have long-standing relationships with Island Books, and play an important role in our history.

—Miriam

[tuulikannel]

Tuuli's adventures on Mt. Hiei, once upon a time (with pics!)

Storytime! This happened on Feb 2018 when I was on student exchange in Kyoto. I’m half wondering if I even want to tell you all about this, but… heh, it’s kind of a funny story, anyway. ^^ It came to my mind when jackiewepps talked about missing the last train in Japan.

Anyway, I spent half a year living basically at the root of Mt. Hiei, the holy mountain of Kyoto, and I always planned hiking it. Somehow it just didn’t happen, and then I had less than a week left in Japan. All days were booked except one, and on the night before I checked the weather forecast which was quite nice, and decided that it’s now or never. So I googled a while about stuff, figuring from where the path starts etc. The plan was climb up there, check out the temples & the summit, and then take the cable car back down.

Off I went then! This pic is taken from very close to where I lived, like I said, Hieizan was close by.

I took the Kirara-oka trail. (Kirara! Hazama, is that you?) Luckily I’d read online that the first part was hardest, or I might have been somewhat discouraged. There were also times when the path (if it can be called that) divided and I wasn’t sure which way to go. I always took the one that seemed to be going (more) upward, and apparently that was the right decision.

Somewhere along the way I came across this. It was there in the middle of the mountain, all by itself. I don’t know who/what that is, but I had a little pause there, offered some of my water, and said that I’m just an idiot gaijin who isn’t sure what she’s doing, so I’d appreciate all help on this hike, to not get lost…

Some random pics I took on the way

Well, I found the summit without trouble. By then it had gotten pretty cloudy. You can see Lake Biwa from there, on the opposite side from Kyoto, and I sort of did see it, but it isn’t visible in any of the pics I took. Anyway, before I went to the summit I walked around the temple areas. And sorry these statues with their knitted hats were just too cute!

Random pics from the temple area

Anyway, then it was finally time to get down. I started heading to the cable car… only to find out that it doesn’t operate in winter. (This was at the very end of February, it would have started running in March. >_>) There was a bus stop on the summit. I went there… and the last bus had gone 15 min earlier, at half past 4 pm.

okay. So I am there at a mountain top with no transport down, and it’d start getting dark in one hour - and when it gets dark, it gets dark. It had taken me closer to two hours to get up there, but of course, I had been taking my time, and going down might be easier than going up. Still, I couldn’t be sure I’d get down before dark.

There were a few cars in the parking lot at the summit. As I stood there, pondering about my options (should I got to knock on the temple doors to ask for shelter for a tired pilgrim XD) I noticed that there was a man sitting in one of them, and went to ask him if there was any other way to get down. (There was, of course, the motor road, but it had signs to forbid pedestrians.)

Anyway, he confirmed what I already knew, no buses or anything this “late” during winter. And then he offered me a ride (which I had kind of been hoping). I had to wait a short while, as he was someone working in the area and was waiting for his coworkers before he could leave, but honestly, that was fine for me! The funniest part? He could have been literally from anywhere around the mountain, but he lived in the same part of Kyoto where my dorm was. At first I was wondering if he was just saying so, but for one thing, he knew exactly where the dorm was, and after he dropped me off, I saw him turn into a residential area from where you can’t really get anywhere.

Huh. Thankfully, back then, after having spent half a year in Japan, I actually could speak some Japanese (unlike now). And, uh, I guess I really should offer that stone thing on the mountain my thanks for making it down safely… ^^;;

But honestly, this is all kinds of ridiculous. I’m someone who always plans things very carefully. Back in the days with no internet on the phone (yep, I’m old enough to remember that XD) I literally drew myself maps and wrote down the bus timetables and routes when I just did a daytrip to another town here in Finland. And then I go to climb a freaking mountain in Japan without checking how to get down from there? Unbelievable. XD

[thekingmatt78]

KMN - September 17 2024

Hey guys… been a while lmao.

Sorry for the lack of uploads and updates over the last month and a half. Like I said last time, I’ve officially started college now and I’ve been pretty busy with the work. I’ve also went through another episode where I didn’t do anything for like a week and now behind on work and grades, so I’ve been working on trying to catch back up on my grades and assignments. Which I took this as a lesson that, this ain’t high school and I have to turn in my work on time or I fail. 

But I know you guys probably don’t care about that. So let me discuss whats the future right now for the rest of this year. 

I do plan on still making animations and videos this year. They are just going to take longer to make then usual. A lot of the animations I wanted to make either have to slow down on production, or just scrapped completely.  As of right now I’m working on only 1 big animation project and thats Inside The Mind of Genius. What I’ll probably upload more of is more short form videos for TikTok and YouTube shorts that don’t take that much effort for so I can still try and grow as a creator, while also posting my storytime/talking videos on my second channel. 

This ain’t really all that I want to do. But it’s the best situation I can do with what I have. I am also still working on EggsWithNuts. But this will probably be the last time (at least for a while) that I do talk about EggsWithNuts as I don’t want to talk about this project so much, just for nothing to come out of it.

The schedule I have for myself right now is to upload Inside The Mind of Genius right the end of September - beginning of October, followed by the “Meet Bob” animation for this year. This would be in between of some random one off shorts and other art works, most likely just showing off stuff I have done for class.

Again, sorry for the lack of uploads and updates. I’m hoping this can make up for it. Thank you.

-TheKingMatt

[imthebest-ever]

storytime

I’m bored so lemme tell you guys how I fell out with one of my best friends

I’m not even sure if we’re still following eachother on here. if u see this,, hey girl!!! I’m sorry😭

anyway :P

so it’s june. it’s literally the first day of the last week of school. shit ALWAYS happens on the last week for some reason

I’m just goofing off in class w some friends, we’re just talking or smth when one of my friends waltzes in with a box

we’re all like ??!?!??? bc why do u just have a random box. he comes over to us and explains that he wants to do smth fun for the last days of school, so he’s collecting anonymous gossip that he’s gonna read out loud thru the loudspeaker on the last day of school to like. everyone

I decide “why not” bc it lowkey sounds fun and grab a pen and a piece of paper to write smth

now, I’m thinking of what to write when I get the BEST (worst.) idea.

this is when the girl comes in. she had told me and a lot of her friends a lot abt her crush (like 3 years older than us) and how he thought that she was slightly older than she rlly is. I decided to write that

I write down that she’s got a crush on this guy, and that he thinks they’re closer in age than they rlly are. I didn’t say his name, but I gave her first name and initial.

I should’ve seen the angry/upset text I got a few hours later coming.

she texts me during 8th period. we’re literally 30 minutes away from dismissal. I immediately realize I fucked up BAD

do I know what I was thinking? NO! 😭🙏 I don’t think I WAS thinking

fast forward to now. I haven’t spoken to her in months. I haven’t even tried to apologize. idk if she blocked me or anything

might call her and try to smooth things over before school tbh