#i started three more drafts today and will probably have one to post tomorrow

[adozentothedawn]

What if. More Dishonored fanfiction.

[httpknjoon]

what do the lonely do at christmas | myg

plot | that time when popstar!yn found herself on bassist!yoongi's bed on a cold December morning.

w.c | 2.8K

pairing | bass guitarist!yoongi x popstar!reader

genre | fluff, slight angst, enemies to lovers

note | one out of two/three holiday-themed drabble for this series! it's late, I know. but I can't let them sit in my drafts again haha so here it is. enjoy!

main masterlist | series masterlist | want to request?

DAY 66 of Love Is... On Tour

They make songs. Together.

After a show at Wells Fargo Center, Yoongi stayed locked in his hotel room to work on the music for your EP. He has read the lyrics you sent to him and listened to some melody ideas you recorded in your voice notes. In the last two days you two have been collaborating, you are full of visions and excited to tell him all of them. He finds it more surprising that you two haven't had any fights since then.

Is it New Years yet? I'm getting bored, so can we skip ahead? I just wanna forget That I'm at home with nobody to hold

So far, you already recorded two out of the six songs you planned to release in the EP. Usually, Yoongi takes his time in making and editing songs. But considering that this is a holiday EP and you have less than a week before the management's deadline, he works on it at every chance he gets. It's not that hard when you already have a clear vision of what and how you want the extended play to be.

Working is a great distraction compared to scrolling on his phone, which did no good for him. Mainly because he recently saw a post from a mutual friend of his and his ex. That's when he learned that Sara threw a baby shower in what was supposedly their house. He felt something cracked in him when he saw how far along her pregnancy was.

Tempted, Yoongi scrolled through the carousel of photos, admiring the decorations and colors of the house Sara probably picked herself, things that Yoongi had never seen personally. A single photo made Yoongi pause.

It shows Sara and her then-ex-boyfriend holding her growing bump, also showcasing a ring on her finger— not the emerald-cut diamond one he proposed to her. A new one, signaling that she is engaged for a second time this year. That photo was enough for Yoongi to turn it off and focus on his music.

Ding-dong.

Yoongi's head snapped, irritated when the unexpected doorbell noise filled his room. Frowning, he gets up from his chair to check who the person might be.

It's you.

Looking like a curious puppy, you stood before Yoongi's door with two cups of warm drinks you asked Cal to buy on the way back to the hotel. Yoongi looked at you through the small peephole, taking notice of your large, thick white cable knit sweater that falls just a few inches above your knees and the mystery cups you're holding. He opened the door when you began rolling your eyes and tapping your foot.

"What took you so long?!" you instantly asked the moment you saw him, handing him the other cup.

He snickered, ignoring your attitude. He takes the cup before pushing the door wider to let you in. Yoongi followed behind you when you walked inside. He sits back on his chair, in front of his small set-up, while you sit at the edge of his bed. Usually, you will take the couch. But the bed is nearer his working setup.

This is how you two have worked since you started. You only get up when you want to see his screen or when recording something.

"What are you doing here?" he asked since you just finished your show earlier. He figured you might prefer to rest and just work early tomorrow.

"I have an EP to work on, duh!" you replied, taking a sip from your hot chocolate as you tapped on your phone. "Anyway, lemme show you something..."

Probably a new idea. Yoongi thought. He knew it from the moment he saw you opened your phone's notes app.

"Here." You handed him your phone, letting him read something you wrote earlier today.

Maybe he met you somewhere in the desert While he was soul searching, he found someone better Guess you make him happy like I couldn't do Cindy Lou Who

Yoongi reads down the words, "It's a sad song?"

"Yep," you nodded. "Have you heard the song, What Do The Lonely Do At Christmas?"

Yoongi was quick to shake his head. He is not really fond of Christmas songs and doesn't listen to them if not needed. But he could tell by the title that it's probably a sad song too.

You pulled up your legs on his bed, making yourself comfortable, "It's a great song from the 70s. It has a lot of covers too. It's a sad Christmas song and I am so into it that I thought of writing one too."

Yoongi nods, listening, as he scans the rest of your lyrics, "Hmm..."

"What?" you quickly responded to his humming.

With how his eyes squint and his lips form a thin line, you know that he has something to say about your work. You learned after your first night of working together, making you realize that he has the same habit when you rehearse for a show.

"It's great, but I feel like we should just change some irrelevant lines? Like, maybe he met you somewhere in the desert." he read one of the lines. "What does desert get to do with Christmas?"

When he was met with a long silence, Yoongi looked up to you. But he find you just looking at him, chewing on your bottom lip. You looked away before letting out a heavy sigh.

"I found out my ex was cheating on me when paparazzi caught pictures of him and that actress kissing in Coachella." you explained.

"Oh..."

An apologetic look was instantly written all over his face, which is something you haven't expected. You thought he would keep the blank expression he always has. But his eyes and slightly gaped mouth said otherwise. You hate pity or anything like that, especially when it comes from someone who once read you too well. So, you grinned, even though it was forced so much that it almost made your cheeks hurt.

"Want to see the pictures? It's literally everywhere." you joked to change the mood. His eyes widened like he thought you were serious. So you chuckled, "I'm kidding! I won't show you that myself. You can just search it up if you want to."

"I'm not interested. No one really enjoys seeing a picture of their ex," he mumbled, returning your phone to you.

Your eyebrows crooked together when you heard that. He sounded too serious like he was the one in your shoes. You watch him sulk back to his seat, turning his back to work on one of your songs.

"You're acting like you were the one who got cheated on here. You're literally engaged to someone." you quipped.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not."

He whispered mindlessly. Yoongi didn't really think about it and let it slip out of his tongue. He doesn't really like bringing up his personal dramas in his workplace. He never would have realized what he said if you didn't ask him,

"What do you mean by that?"

Yoongi turned around, meeting your eyes, "So, how do you like that song to turn out?"

You're not dumb. Of course, you noticed him dodging your curiosities. He has never shared anything about himself since you two worked together. It's not like I care, you thought. But you know that there is a small itch at the back of your head, trying to get him to talk more. And maybe you know a trick to satisfy that itch.

"Let's order some wine first."

"With your hair so long, lips so bed— wait, that's wrong!"

A bottle of red wine is carelessly placed on the perfectly white duvet of Yoongi's bed. Surprisingly, it is still safe from any stain. The nearly finished cup of now-cold chocolate drink you brought is on the nightstand. You were giggling in front of the microphone and pop filter after making another mistake.

"The words are scrambled." you continued giggling before drinking from the glass of wine you were holding.

It has been almost two hours since you got in his room and Yoongi knows that the effect of your wine is getting into you. Earlier, before you could finish your first glass, you two already agreed on the instrumentals of the song you called cindy lou who. You let Yoongi make some changes in your lyrics, but it's nothing major.

"Something that feels delicate and maybe some piano." You described your idea before humming the tune you were thinking of.

By the second glass of wine, you are recording a rough draft of the song. So that you know if your ideas work well. Yoongi suggested to layer your vocals in some parts while you thought of adding a subtle harmony. Surprisingly, you two worked smoothly.

"Should we add some harp? Noah would have liked that."

You were almost done with your third glass of wine when Yoongi heard you mention your ex's name for the first time.

"Maybe we should stop drinking..." he said.

Even though he's in his fourth glass as well, Yoongi is doing better than you. You looked at him while he clicked something on his setup. You wondered if he could feel the cozy, warm feeling you've been feeling from the wine. Because that plain expression cannot really tell you anything, which makes you feel a little frustrated with how you're the only one who seemed to be a little giggly.

"Fine." you rolled your eyes, letting him take your glass from you.

He got up to get something in his room's mini fridge before going back to you, "Water?"

"It's cold," you replied before you could even touch the bottle.

"Okay, diva."

Your eyebrows raised with that, "No! I mean I cannot drink cold water when I'm singing or recording. It's not good for my throat... I'm fine, anyway. Thanks."

"I thought it would help you sober up," he explained, leaning to his chair.

"I'm sober!" you exclaimed defensively. Just a little fuzzy. But you won't admit that to him.

His lips formed into a smug smile, like he was saying, yeah sure. You puffed before fixing your headphones and crossing your arms over your chest. You looked annoyed. Yoongi knows because your nostrils are flared while there's a small pout on your lips. He bites off his inner cheek to stop himself from smiling.

"Should we record again?" he asked.

Still a little annoyed, you didn't say anything and just nodded your head. The instrumental began playing in your headphones seconds later.

‘Tis the season to be jolly But how can I be when I have nobody

The same song plays on your phone while you tap your fingertips in tune with the sleighbells playing in its instrumental. After finishing recording the song, you stay to see how it will turn out. Yoongi didn't seem to mind even though it was already past midnight.

"Do you want to hear the song I mentioned?" you asked him while he worked on the song.

Busy, he answered with a short sure. So, you played the song in a non-distracting volume, reached for the glass of wine you abandoned, and sat on his bed. You were quiet, sometimes humming to the song, but mostly staring at the view outside.

A silent night I know it's gonna be Joy to the world But it's gonna be sad for me

As the snow falls outside, you think of how this is so not how you expected your December is gonna be this year. With Noah being your original bassist, you thought you two would get to enjoy the snow in various cities you're touring in. And maybe even spend Christmas together during your break. But instead, you are now in your new bassist's, with whom you have dumb fights most of the time, hotel room, making holiday songs.

How surprising is that? You thought to yourself before taking one gulf of your wine.

You were snapped out of your thoughts when Yoongi slightly groaned as he stretched his limbs from his chair. You paused the song and collected the wine bottle and your glass like you were ready to go.

"Are you kicking me out yet?" you asked.

He turned around, just to you about to get up from the bed, "What?"

"Maybe my presence distracts you." you joked, which sounds nicer than maybe you don't want me here in your room anymore because you don't like having me here.

He chuckled, a little tired, "No, it's okay. I know you're waiting for the finished version."

"Good. Because I really like your room. You have a great view of the city. The snow looks perfect here." you rambled.

Yoongi looked outside, seeing the wonderful view you were talking about. He wordlessly agrees before getting back to his screen. Watching him, you mumbled.

"If you're tired, we can just finish that tomorrow."

Just like you, the guy also performed hours ago. You two don't along at most times, but you are not that petty to make him overwork.

"No, I'm fine," he shakes his head. "I'll finish this in an hour, just wait there."

"Okay," you put down the bottle on the nightstand.

Yoongi heard the music play again while he edited the song. Eager to finish it tonight, he continued working for what seemed like a few minutes for him. He made sure to add your suggestions and put some elements he thinks would be perfect. After listening to his finished product through his headphones one more time, Yoongi put on a satisfied smile.

"And it's do—"

Yoongi's smile fell when he found you asleep on his bed with the empty wine glass in your hand. It was already 1:24 AM, and he looked at the time. Seeing how peaceful you are in your sleep, he would hate waking you up. Instead, Yoongi got up cleaned up his nightstand, and carefully took your glass. He tried not to chuckle loudly when he heard your small snores. After gently putting the duvet on you, Yoongi took one of the pillows and threw it on the couch that he would take over tonight. He knows it would be awkward to take up the big, empty space next to you.

Dimming down the lights, Yoongi tried to find a comfortable position on the couch. And when he did, he finally closed his eyes and let himself fall asleep.

If it weren't for the buzzing noise next to you, you would have seen where your celebrity crush ended up taking you for a date in your dreams. Groaning, you reached for your phone beside you. Seeing Cal calling, you begrudgingly answered the call.

"Hey, Cal." your voice sounded weak as you just woke up.

"Where the hell are you, YN?! I've been ringing your room. You have a virtual interview at 9."

Your eyebrows furrowed while slowly sitting up, "What do you mean? I'm in my room— Oh, no. Fuck."

The first thing you see when you sit up is Yoongi's compact studio setup, which you don't remember being in your room. You looked around and it just confirmed that you are not in your hotel room. Yoongi is nowhere to be found, you don't hear any noise from the bathroom either.

"Y/N?" Cal spoke again, worried by your sudden pause.

"I-I'm in Yoongi's room." you stuttered, trying to remember your last memory. You were relieved to find yourself still in the same clothes you went with last night.

You heard a gasp from the other line, "Oh my god, YN! Did you hooked—"

"No, no, no! Still in my clothes. Just fell asleep making songs." you babbled, cutting her suspicions off. "Where the fuck is that sock?!"

Is it a talent to lose a fucking sock while asleep? Because if it is, you just added a new title under your name. You were in a hurry, shuffling the bed for that one sock with heart patterns. Cal can only imagine what you look like right now.

"Here!" you exclaimed, immediately putting it on. You rushed to the door after. "I'm going there right— Yoongi!"

Yoongi was right before you. He shared the same shock as you except he was calmer with his eyebrows raised and eyes widened.

"I have to go for an interview. Cal's gonna rip my head off. I'll check the song later. Thank you for letting me stay!"

You were so in a hurry that you were literally spewing words and didn't realize that you leaned to give a quick kiss on his cheek. It registered as you were moving back, making you two stop for a moment, looking at each other in surprise. He gulped, feeling his throat running dry. while you feel every blood run to your cheeks now, feeling warm.

You blinked, "I-I'm gonna go."

Yoongi watched you run to the elevator before looking at the two cups of coffee he was holding.

note | i still have a christmas drabble! haha! hope u liked this one though <33

taglist rules

SERIES TAGLIST (OPEN)

@busanbby-jjk @jimingirl95 @treacherqus @jajabro @marnz1990 @ktownshizzle @notarshia @m00njinnie @thelilbutifulthings @tarahardcore @livisdoingfine @jungshaking @eridanus-lynx @enthralled-bandit

PERMANENT TAGLIST (CLOSED)

@dunixxd @cixrosie @jksjx @embrace-themagic @buttvi @starbtslove @missseoulite @vanntaesworld @kenqki @imajinthis @stopeatread @seolaquotes @greyrain23 @chimchimmarie @petalsofink @jayhope88 @moonchild1 @laylasbunbunny @nikkiordonez12 @misshale21 @marblemoonstones

[screams-in-writing]

Going for a chapter this weekend. Got the draft written out so I’ll probably type it up today and then edit it tomorrow, and post Sunday evening/monday morning, edits pending.

A little preview I typed up:

-

You watched as Mr. Puzzles moved from face-planting the TV head on the bedsheets to sprawling himself dramatically across the small bed on his back that didn’t fit his lanky frame. His legs hanging off the bed as his arms went limp off either side, hands brushing along the floor. A pathetic display, really, but the mood shifted as Mr. Puzzles raised a hand and laid it delicately over top of the TV; the expression on the screen shifted to a sly grin, with digital eyes on it looking in your direction.

“Coming into someone’s room unannounced.” Mr. Puzzles other hand pressed to his chest as he lifted a leg just so to rest his foot on the bed. He pressed the back of his hand to the TV harder. “Have you come here to finish what you’re roommates started? Or come to comfort me for the traumatizing experience?”

“This place is abandoned.” You deadpan, watching this strange man as he adjusted his position. “And what exactly are you talking about?”

“They didn’t tell you.” Mr. Puzzles dropped the theatrics as he turned his TV head (rather gingerly, you note) to refused you with a curious then conspiratorial look. “The work or die choice was rather unexpected, I must say; a trash compactor was certainly not on the radar and I would love nothing more than to never see such a thing again.”

“Your, uh, shirt collar’s getting stained.” You pointed out, not sure what to say about what was said until you had a chance to talk with Rose and Derek. It was a surprise to see alarm flash across the screen before Mr. Puzzles hastily pressed a hand over his neck and tapped the fingers of his other hand on a knee as he gingerly sat up on the bed.

“Nothing to be worried about. I will take care of it and be be ready to go use to that cafe as per my agreement with your devious roommates.” Mr. Puzzles made a shooing motion with you with the same free hand, three fingers flexing with his thumb held in place while making said motion.

You stare at him.

Mr. Puzzles stared back.

“Your antenna are lying flat..”

“Out, out with you right this instsnt.” Said TV antenna flick and position themself back to how they’d been yesterday (the bent one did not straight out. Mr puzzles stood up from the bed.

Wow, you’d forgotten how tall he was. The panic of seeing a strange men with a tv head in your closet had been enough of a distraction.

“Imust put myself together for the company I am not prepared to be around with the state I’m in, and this will take a little more time.” Mr. Puzzles screen flashed to something almost…self conscious? “Do not come in this room again; I will leave when I am finished.”

You are gently yet swiftly shooed out the door by Mr. Puzzles when you didn’t move quick enough out of his tempeitary ‘bedroom’. It’s a weird sensation, to breifly have someone’s hands bigger than your own to nearly cover up both your shoulder blades. Then, the touch was gone, and there you were, lingering in the hallway, wondering what Mr. Puzzles meant by his words. As far as you could tell, the man was dressed exactly as he had been yesterday. And why had he said ‘put myself together’ with such an odd inflection in his voice?

[diy-fire-water-pups]

(( I feel the need to come here now and ask some people to be more considerate. ))

(( I created this blog for fun on my SPARE time, which is little to none because I need to worry about getting money constantly so I can eat. Not to make it everyone's problem but I literally haven't eaten anything today yet and it's currently 6:30 PM as I'm publishing this post right now. There is food at home but it's just one option, which I'm so tired of eating it constantly for being one of the cheapest things to buy, it doesn't satisfy me anymore and we're just halfway through the month. I don't have any source of secure income and I got four other mouths to feed ASIDE OF MY OWN. I am constantly overworked with my underpaid part time job as English teacher because neither my father or younger brother can help me checking these homeworks or exams, they don't know English language like I do, and I still need to balance that with drawing for commissions, which are the only way I got to get money during the month. My father is too old to get hired for anything. My brother is still finishing college, if only that shit would end their strike to continue classes so he can graduate still this year and look for a proper job, which will also probably take some time, it's not easy to get a job here.

And it takes a lot of time for me to draw and answer the asks in this blog, usually over 1 hour and half, up to two hours or even longer when there's all three pups + something else they're doing or for the background - that is, if I work on it non-stop, because I usually draw a sketch, it sits there for a few days, until I stop again to clean it up and draw the lineart, then wait a few more days until I go and color it to finish and publish the answered ask. I have some drafts with a doodled answer waiting for a week or even two, still waiting for me to finish the art and post them. I'm having fun with these on my own time.

WITH ALL THAT SAID, I cannot afford Magic!Anons that demand for specific amounts of asks to be worked on, no matter how many. You gotta understand it: If I would start the M!A effect tomorrow, the first ask with that effect would show up like, one whole week AFTER or so. It just does NOT work here. Besides, I have some stories going on in the blog, like this entire thing about Marshall's incoming deafness, which took me what, let me see... Two weeks and half since I replied the first Anon who started it and it's still not done completely yet. I still got another interesting story to start and entertain you all with it, this other one has been waiting sitting in this blog's drafts for literally ONE MONTH now. I'm not gonna interrupt them with side effects.

If you want to dare my pups to do something funny or silly, that's cool! But it'll go for only your dare ask and that's it. I'm not gonna disturb other asks or RPs. Magic!Anons are to be fun and short and sadly I do not have the time to have anything going on for too long like that, not when it's something that changes appearances, or whatever like that.

I am not mad, or angry. I'm just asking for consideration. I am an exhausted and probably currently underweight old artist who just wants to have fun and have some food to go by every day. I'm not a tireless art machine. I'm doing this for fun, every day I wake up I'm glad to have started this askblog and see how much you guys enjoy it and enjoy my portrayal of these pups we love so much, it always makes me smile and feel like I can do some more and keep going, despite all things being against me. But sometimes I need to be firm and say no as well. I have my limits.

Thank you if you read this far. And please, don't ask who was it or what happened, I don't want anyone going after who tried to push this specific M!A here. They're a very nice person who just happened to insist on something I said no before, and I do not condone people attacking others on someone else's behalf, as much as your intention is to defend someone, that's just shitty attitude!

Let's go back to this blog's usual business, shall we? Though now I gotta get back to checking those exams answers, Idk if I'll get time to draw any other reply for tonight, maybe past midnight. I still need to stop and get up to go eat, ugh. ))

[sheliesshattered]

I finished Jack's Very Fancy Santa Hat yesterday -- or well, finished enough to call it done for now. I might want to re-do the fur (or parts of it) at some point, but hey, is that or is that not a Very Fancy Santa Hat:

I'm like, 95% happy with it, and that last 5% is really down to learning new techniques on the fly, and my goal of making this 'heirloom quality'. It is, I'll grant, both very fancy and obviously a Santa Hat, and Jack seems really happy with it (he's wearing it while I type this up). But if I get a chance in the future I might try to improve it, we'll see.

I've also decided not to finish my Santa hat right now, since there's only a few weeks left until midwinter and Christmas, and given the choice between the two, I would rather have my velvet Yule dress done and wearable and save my Santa hat to finish for next year. So I've put away all the hat-making things and shifted gears into getting the velvet gown cut out. Here's one of the side-back panels ready to be cut out:

I'm really hoping to have this dress done and wearable three weeks from today, for an event Jack and I are going to. Three weeks is pretty quick for any sewing project for me, much less for a silk velvet gown. But, on the bright side, I know this (self-drafted) pattern really well, I know which parts are fiddly and which parts are easy, and I don't expect there to be any fit issues. And sewing the seams for the Santa hats gave me some practice working with this velvet, so I already have a good handle on what I need to do to make sure the dress's seams don't creep around on me.

This velvet is gorgeous and not nearly as difficult as the other silks I've sewn in the last few years. Like any velvet, I'm cutting it face-down, and on the backside there's a really obvious weft and fairly obvious warp, so it's pretty easy to get the grain squared up before cutting. It's only moderately wiggly, generally stays put unless nudged, though I do try to get the pattern weights on just as soon as I'm certain of the placement. Both of the silks for my Rhaenyra cosplay were much more annoying to work with, and so while this isn't the easiest fabric I've worked with recently, it's not so bad.

But cutting out full-length gown pieces is exhausting, a slow process of getting the velvet laid out and squared up, figuring out which piece best fits there -- cutting them all in the same direction just in case the nap decides to make an appearance eventually -- laying out the pattern and weighting it so it doesn't move, cutting it out with my rotary cutter and then going back through with scissors for any notches. The part of my back that I injured late last summer generally doesn't hurt anymore, except when I lean over my cutting table for long periods like this. So I keep having to take breaks to go sit with my back on my heating pad and let the muscles calm down a bit.

We're doing a Lord of the Rings marathon today (and the one benefit of sewing in a ~825sqft place is that I'm never far from the TV lol). We're a little past the midway point in Two Towers and I've gotten four panels cut out and a fifth ready to cut, before sitting down to take a break and write this post. The dress has nine panels and then the two single-piece sleeves, eleven pieces total, so I'm not quite half way through the cutting process. If I can get this whole thing cut out by the end of Return Of The King I'll be happy, and barring that I should be able to get the last of it cut out early tomorrow.

This velvet doesn't fray nearly as badly as the brocade for the Rhaenyra dress, but I might want to stay-stitch the edges of each piece just to stop the fraying from happening. If I decide to do that, it'll be before I start pinning pieces together. Either way, I probably won't run the sewing machine until Monday, when Jack is back at work, rather than tomorrow while we've got cozy movies on.

Three weeks really isn't a lot of time, but my holiday shopping is nearly done, I don't have any other major craft projects or work demands, and I'm not planning on any significant baking or cooking between now and midwinter. So maybe if I can keep myself moving, especially on workdays, I'll be able to get this done with all its finishings in plenty of time to wear on the 21st.

[kindred-spirit-93]

hey there chat, its me, ya girl.

long post ahead! aight on todays menu:

embroidery (more on that below)

short story (more on that in another post)

spring cleaning my blog lol (inbox and drafts)

other things ive probably forgotten

for starters, i live! i have like 36 more hours of sweet glorious freedom before resuming uni lol and so ive got a few projects lined up, and id appreciate yalls insight on one or two or ten of them ^-^

--

first one and the most time sensitive is my beloveds birthday gift lol

i started the stems this beige colour and regretted it half way through but continued anyway (im just like me fr fr), and im now considering taking them all out and going over it in black.

sorry for the awful quality lol. ill finish it tomorrow bc my everything hurts so ill see what the council decides then. will update :)

--

secondly, im story boarding a short story! yay :) i love tragic backstories lmao (done right ofc and not thrown in just because) and i have three potential ways to go about the heroines origin story. (ill make aother post with another poll right after this one with more details n stuff for whoevers interested :D)

--

third, i think ill get to answering a few asks at long last tomorrow night, so if youd like to send anything feel free lol. might schedule whats in my drafts already but idk. its getting a bit crowded so well see what happens.

--

also since were here there are a few other things in the works (an epic au muehehe and more polites & duck content lol) but they might have to wait a little longer :') again remains to be seen.

thank you for reading this far lol, take care, drink water, sleep well & dont skip breakfast (or ill personally hunt u down) and ill see yall soon!

- kindred

[recurring-polynya]

Writing Update/Art Update 5/9/2023

Many things happened last week. Not very many of them were drawing. I'll get back to that.

I have finally started posting the big (it's not really big. Medium-big. It just felt big) fanfic that I have working on for most of the year. You can start here if you want to read it, Chapters 1-3 are currently available.

I finished the smut. I had mostly finished it by Friday, but then we had a belated-because-we-were-waiting-for-spring-weather backyard birthday party for my daughter this past weekend, so I had to spend a solid 48 hours in the paralyzing deathgrip of anxiety at the prospect of socializing with people I don't know (the parents of some of my daughter's classmates), so I didn't get much of anything else done, although I did clean my house and buy a bunch of hot dogs.

I only got one doodle done this week, which took me three days, spread out over the anxiety deathgrip, but I'm pretty pleased with how it came out. I really would like to start on a more serious project this week, but I may get back to them, we'll see how it goes. I do want to thank everyone who sent in prompts, and I'm sorry I haven't gotten to more of them. Turns out I'm real bad at doing quick, fast-turnaround doodles! Is anyone surprised??

After that, like, I said, I finished up the porno. I was hoping to post it yesterday, but it was pretty late at night by the time I finished my editing sweep. Today was a go places posting day and I didn't really want to post two different fanfics in one day, plus I had made kind of a lot of edits, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to let it sit a day and then do another sweep before posting. In other words, tomorrow, probably.

This morning, I re-read what I've gotten written so far of Ductwork, which is the working title of the next story in the Heart is a Muscle. It's 7707 words at the moment, and I get hot mad every time I read it because I want there to be more of it, and unfortunately, there is only one way to make that happen. But it's gonna!! I keep telling myself that it was really worthwhile to have taken the time to write go places first, because Ductwork is largely about Rukia and Renji finally digging down into a lot of festering insecurities from that time in their afterlives. I have a couple different approaches to writing these days, and I'm gonna try to do the thing that ended up working for go places, which is 1) try to write something every day, 2) chronological schmonological, write whatever I can possibily come up with, I'll just cram it all together at the end, this was very fun and easy last time and definitely did not take six drafts and a color-coded spreadsheet. Based on past experience, I do not think I am going to be able to power through to completion, so my goal is to add at least 20k words to the thing before I flame out in a blaze of beautiful depression and spend the rest of the summer on something insane, like bringing back the Soul Society Tattoo Artist AU. My overall prediction is that it will be around 60k, but I'm not discounting the possibility that it could be another 100k-er. (it better not go over 120k tho, I will die for real)

Anyway, that was my week! Whew!

[whentherewerebicycles]

mmkay pretty good day and read for a few hours before bed instead of mindlessly scrolling. well with some mindless scrolling thrown in there but ah well. the week below the cut

tomorrow—wfh day with one meeting 12-1, a vet visit at 2:30, and a haircut at 7:30pm of all times (it was the only one I could make work in the next few weeks). I think in that 8-12 slot I want to focus mostly on the program research stuff and not on upcoming projects… I keep pushing it off bc no urgent deadline but also it’s important.

tues—my new person starts. handful of meetings and lots of onboarding stuff and I have to be on campus 8:30-4 bleh. might have to scramble to get some drafts done by wed.

wed—lord what a day. meetings 10-5 and then have to drive v fast over to meet M&A for a movie.

thurs—must drive into seattle in the morning for a meeting kill meeeee but I’m planning to take my afternoon meetings all from home.

fri—three back-to-back meetings but it’ll be wfh and I’ll probably peace out early since I worked many hours this weekend

it’ll be kind of a cramped week mostly bc I have so much onboarding stuff that I don’t have a lot of time to work on projects. but it seems doable and I hope I get along well with my new person.

also my period is supposed to start tomorrow and I’m cautiously hopeful it’s close because I’ve been breaking out like crazy the last couple days, but also am trying to brace myself for having to wait many more weeks. no fucking clue what’s going on with my cycle post-pregnancy loss I am utterly at the mercy of my hormone levels. I would have finished my first trimester today. but what’s done is done and I just hope I can start trying again sooner rather than later.

[parksprout]

Sprout Journal 11/3/24

Hey Tumblr! There's some stuff I wanna talk about today, so I'm going to do a lil journal entry. I was doing journaling at home with pen and paper, but frankly my handwriting is so bad and I use my hands like that so infrequently that I was cramping before I got even close to writing all of my thoughts out each day. So I decided I'm going to put my thoughts that I can share out like this, it can be somewhat of a log of my own self growth! And also keep me a lil sane if I'm struggling again.

Today has been a really good day, actually! So I was on a really successful diet for about 6 months during which I got a 3rd of the way to my overall weight goal and built a bunch of muscle. Then, when I started college full time, I basically stopped altogether. I didn't gain any weight back, but I have been plateaued (least favorite word to spell omg) for a looonggggg time. This week, I've been finally eating how I want to again. My go to breakfast has been

Overnight oats: 1/2 cup of unrefined dried oats 1/2 cup of 2% milk 1 whole banana cut into thin slices 1 tablespoon of honey

Honestly I had it on like the 29th without any banana or honey and that SHIT WAS ASSSSSSS. It was so bland, but I hate wasting food so I downed that slop anyway and felt siicccckkkk ough. Honestly it's been really hard to eat lately due to my current tweak out sesh (breakup stuff) and forcing myself to down that was terrible ToT. This new version with banana and honey is AMAZING THOUGH LIKE ITS GENUINELY TASTY?

After I ate that I went to work and... honestly? As much as I hate my co-workers? It was really good to see them today. They may be bad people, but they are all really attached to me. I have been giving them all life advice for so long because I thought I had it all figured out, and it's very funny being on the opposite end of things now. I specifically asked them if they think I was being silly for reaching out and breaking no contact with my partner (they are my ex but... ugh it doesn't feel right to say that, it makes my stomach hurt). I explained to them why, how, and when I did it and... they actually supported me, they are the only ones in my life who think that reaching out was anything but a mistake. I probably asked 12 people about it and only those three felt like... maybe I'm not wrong for trying to continue the conversation more than we did. Either way, they responded yesterday and we've been talking a lot today. Us talking naturally doesn't mean we're automatically back together, but it might be a new beginning of sorts regardless of what the end looks like. I'm feeling hopeful that we might be able to talk things out and heal, but I can't say anything for certain for now and probably won't be able to for a long time.

I can say that... I found out today that they were thinking about me too. When they started replying to my texts today I snuck out of work to sit in the back of my car and just... take in what they were saying, and respond. They took a picture at work that had my name on it... that made me cry real, fat tears for the first time since this happened. It's strange how I had been sobbing but my cheeks stayed dry, but the moment I talked to them and saw a glimmer of us in their life I started bawling in the back of my own car.

Today is also the first day I've rested instead of heading to the gym after work since this all started. Oh my god my body is so sore. Right now I'm planning out the rest of my night and physical activity is NOT on the agenda.

- After I post this I'll give myself a bit more time to rest and relax - Then it's time to work on homework! First I have to practice for an oral exam I have tomorrow in Spanish class. Then after that, I have both a presentation and another project in Archaeology due on Friday ToT I also have this re-write of a short story for creative writing that I need to work on a second draft of - Then I want to work on OC stuff? I have some ideas for a sleep token OC that I wanna work on, and also I think I can refine my OC's for DnD, my personal writing projects and more somewhat? I think it'd been neat to try and draw them myself sometime soon - besides that I don't think I have plans. Maybe some video games or reading if I have extra time!

Thank you for listening tonight tumblr, you're the realest <3 if anyone sees this, I'm still looking for more mutuals! I wanna learn more about people who share my interests, don't be a stranger :3

[klcthebookworm]

Strix: Forget the Sun 2024 Metrics 08 - 14

Strix: Forget the Sun September Metrics 08

METRICS Previous Word Count: 82,789 New Words: 396 Total words for the first draft: 83,185 2024 Metrics Words Total: 5191 2024 Cumulative Word Count: 7581 What I Accomplished in the Narrative Today: Got the majority of the fight scene done. Now it is time to wrap it up. Fave line: “You had to have seen that coming, you fucking Viking. You saw me made into this!” What Else I Accomplished Today: Today I have had decent focus. I have changed the bed, finished laundry, filled my pill box, ordered my refills, filled water bottles, emailed another finished story to my beta, and posted all the finished metrics posts to DUF and my Tumblr. What I'm looking forward to: Getting Peg to interact with this set of characters. What I'm not looking forward to: We’ve got a potential tropical storm/hurricane building in the Gulf! Oh fuck no, not looking forward to that.

Strix: Forget the Sun September Metrics 09

METRICS Previous Word Count: 83,185 New Words: 319 Total words for the first draft: 83,504 2024 Metrics Words Total: 5397 2024 Cumulative Word Count: 7900 What I Accomplished in the Narrative Today: Still working on the same scene, but I did get the fight finished. And this was probably the best day I had writing at the paying job since this month started. Fave line: “You are not in charge,” Raven told him flatly. “And was Ywla drunk? ‘Cause you’re sounding like you have had a few.” What Else I Accomplished Today: I made it to work without getting any chores done before leaving and traffic was not nice to me. At least no wrecking my current car. But I have to wash some dishes and whatever else is down to do on Mondays. What I'm looking forward to: Going to bed at bed time. What I'm not looking forward to: Tropical Storm Francine and how much it will disrupt the week.

Strix: Forget the Sun September Metrics 10

METRICS Previous Word Count: 83,504 New Words: 148 Total words for the first draft: 83,652 2024 Metrics Words Total: 5461 2024 Cumulative Word Count: 8048 What I Accomplished in the Narrative Today: Not as many words as I was hoping for because everything else that was happening. Fave line: Raven shrugged. “Traumatized.” What Else I Accomplished Today: All state offices got closed tomorrow when we are expecting Francine to come ashore. Our office let everybody go home at 2:30 and work from home from the rest of the day. I couldn’t log into the work laptop. What I'm looking forward to: Fingers crossed that I’m not hit too horribly bad. What I'm not looking forward to: So Tropical Storm Francine is supposed to be a hurricane by the time it smacks us.

Strix: Forget the Sun September Metrics 11

METRICS Previous Word Count: 83,652 New Words: 258 Total words for the first draft: 83,910 2024 Metrics Words Total: 5577 2024 Cumulative Word Count: 8306 What I Accomplished in the Narrative Today: Power didn’t go off until 6:30 p.m. for me so I got more typing time in than I thought I would. I finished the last scene I was working on and started the next one in these characters’ timeline. Fave line: Nobody ran though. She clearly needed to work on a terrifying presence. What Else I Accomplished Today: Hunkered down until Hurricane Francine passed through. The worse was done by midnight. What I'm looking forward to: The return of electricity. What I'm not looking forward to: The aftermath of Francine that can’t be seen until sunrise.

Strix: Forget the Sun September Metrics 12

METRICS No electricity this day.

Strix: Forget the Sun September Metrics 13

METRICS Previous Word Count: 83,910 New Words: 300 Total words for the first draft: 84,210 2024 Metrics Words Total: 5847 2024 Cumulative Word Count: 8606 What I Accomplished in the Narrative Today: The power turned on at 2 a.m. today, so I can type the three pages of rough draft I wrote yesterday. Now, I got started after running errands at work so my time to work was less. I got one page of those three typed today. Fave line: “Had a busy night last night?” the brunette woman asked sarcastically. What Else I Accomplished Today: The power turned on at 2 a.m. today (so nice I say it twice). Sleep still wasn’t great and I left the house later than I wanted. I ate lunch out instead of breakfast. But I returned pants to Sam’s Club and picked up my new glasses and trial contacts. Cleaned out the fridge, and forgot about the money stuff I had to do for ordering my contacts. What I'm looking forward to: Catching up on my sleep and chores and still managing to write words. What I'm not looking forward to: Grocery shopping.

Strix: Forget the Sun September Metrics 14

METRICS Previous Word Count: 84,210 New Words: 785 Total words for the first draft: 84,995 2024 Metrics Words Total: 6031 2024 Cumulative Word Count: 9391 What I Accomplished in the Narrative Today: Typed up all the rough draft written while I didn’t have power. So after today my word count totals will go down because I just can’t make words speedily on this novel. Also I am so confused over who knows what when. The time line according to the POV characters will be instrumental to editing this mess into a coherent novel. Fave line: This jumpsuit was the worst disguise in the history of disguises. What Else I Accomplished Today: I picked up the chunkiest sticks in the yard so Uncle Scott won’t hit my house with them as he cuts the grass. Also worked on laundry and trying to find new homes for things in the four office stacks. What I'm looking forward to: Having all the chores done early tomorrow so more writing time. What I'm not looking forward to: Everything I have left to do to finish the chores today.

[puzzledmemories]

((doesn't seem i have the energy to do replies right now... i've been sitting at my computer for ages. i'm really sorry. it's not a lack of interest or anyone's fault or anything. i think i'm just anxious and tired. i'm doing the work of 1.5 people at work, and it's probably draining me more than i think... plus, my friend/former co-worker's job got posted today, which is kinda bittersweet. we can get applicants for new people now, but it really finalizes things and i miss her. i don't deal with the hiring process at all, i'm just a little entry level guy, so it's a waiting game. i work as part of a three (currently two) person team (not including my supervisor and her supervisor) and we all work closely together so this hasn't been easy.))

((i made like 15 new icons for yuri based on his early arc v appearances though... that's productive, right? lol. no icons available for him on the internet is forcing me to improve my icon making skills, which are only mediocre. it's nice to have like 30 options now, at least.))

((i have my owed replies drafted. i might sneak one or two in tomorrow during work.))

((oh, and i did catch a shiny finizen!!! hoping for one more before i start working on the raid event for pokemon this weekend, so i can have a finizen and a palafin. i love that purple little dolphin so much))

((remind me to download xkit on this browser lol))

((oh, and i queued a few rp memes to post here over the next week? they'll be marked as queued, but i'm always accepting for any rp meme i've reblogged.))

[miloucomehome]

some more updates on the end of term saga, finances

So some more developments

Forced myself to wake up early today and go to the campus to try a 2nd attempt at my visual cmn class project and was unbelieveably successful. I’m at the comp lab in my department right now but once the computer lab closes I’ll go over to where I placed them and pick up what’s left assuming they weren’t cleaned up. Tonight maybe I’ll draft up a layout for my late presentation and  repurpose a previous process book layout to save time. EDIT: I went by for a final pass but there were students there but also some cards were gone, so presumably picked up! Yay a victory! I'll definitely have fun putting together this presentation and process book.

Next, I’ve been proceeding along with starting the work for my post-graduation course. It’s a mock job application in my case, sort of. (we could’ve picked a grant) So I’m laying everything out in figma and doing the writeup. As for the 10-item portfolio I’ll be adding, I’m just going to grab what I can. I sort of aimed too high with the job application at the time the project started so none of my work probably qualifies. In fact, it’s probably quite junior, but I’m guessing the adding of a portfolio is to practice having a professional portfolio PDF to submit (never made one. welp D: ) This one I can definitely finish by tomorrow I think. :’)

Then I have to take photos of my book I made for typography and submit those and hopefully I’ll be done in time.

Now, there’s one damper/worry/danger right now and that’s my finances. I had to pay my ccard and forgot my balance and now I don’t have enough for much of anything. I didn’t get a student line of cr/edit extention either and I don’t have much for savings, if at all. I remember the mum of a close family friend gave me some cash “for emergencies” when I was out west for my dad’s funeral but I know even that won’t be enough. 

Currently wanting to focus on homework and then work up the courage to ask (see: cry from shame?) my aunt. I...I haven’t been in this situation in a decade and I wish I was able to have worked a bit to build up something to lessen the monnies I need. I dunno how people do it for small amounts at all. (I’ve calculated what I need and I’m in the process of looking for work as well as little jobs here and there for May onwards that I could do). I’m also going to begin looking for a roommate for May or just basically ASAP. The days of having the apartment to myself are done XD

It’s an odd balance I’m in-- on one hand? No regrets about dropping culture and img, I’m in some “relief” that I can focus on the other three courses, but then...there’s this looming financial problem. ohhh boy.

wish me luck! T_T)

[qwanderer]

I'm like, surprised how abjectly relieved I am to have posted another chapter of AL today. Like. I am going to finish it for reals! My brains have not been completely consumed by leverage fic. Tonight was kinda my last chance before I rewatch rs2e5 tomorrow and probably start for joy part 2 about it. Like I love love love both of these fics but AL has been stupidly ambitious and ridiculously complicated and I have occasionally fallen into despair about it ever getting done.

Anyway I think there are going to be three more chapters of AL, one to really finish out the major conflict and two to wrap up loose ends, but based on my track record there could easily be more than that. I have plans for more stories in the opposite of void series, but I don't know how the new season of Loki (which is going to joss everything about the series sooo bad) will affect my motivation. Either way I'd like to leave it somewhere un-cliffhangery if possible.

I have reason to believe that I might continue with the series, I've been known to get inspired and incorporate elements of a new season into a jossed continuity. But I also have other projects that need attention!

Hoping to finish AL soon, and then find some time in between For Joy chapters to write some of my further murderbot fic ideas. This could also all potentially get pushed aside at a moment's notice by my novel coming back to me for third draft edits (although I doubt for joy is going to be fully set aside any time soon so those two will probably have to coexist somewhat).

Status: brain delightfully full of fic! But I want to get this one out to make space for other stories.

[andthenshesaid-write]

I guess it's time for another update, because I finished writing Part Two today. In all, it's sitting at almost 37,000 words and I still have Part Three to write. I already know that Part Three will be the shortest part, but I think it might still add another 10,000 words. But who can say?

I'm just really excited at this point. Tomorrow (September 30) will be five weeks since I started writing and I've worked on it every day. I've been having a great time and I'm so proud of this one, but it was getting to the point where I was starting to feel like the end was never going to come. Getting to the end of Part Two has really rejuvenated me and I think I'll probably have the first draft finished by the end of this week. That's the hope anyway.

I'm aiming to post sometime in mid-October, but hopefully earlier. It all depends on the feedback I get from my amazing beta (hi @quicksilvermaid). Obviously, the more work she says it needs, the longer it will take. Overall, though, I'm feeling more confident about this story than I did about the first one, and I think that's a good sign.

I thought I would do a little update on the sequel to Led Me Here to You.

I've been working on it for two and a half weeks, writing every day, and I'm currently sitting at about 16,000 words. I don't plan the full story before I write, so I can't say exactly where I am in terms of how completed it is, but I feel like I'm approaching halfway. I also think that it's probably going to be longer than the first fic, but that's based on the fact that Part One of LMHtY is around 14,000 words, which is just under 50% of the total word count.

I'm really liking what I have of the sequel so far. I think I even like it more than the first fic, which is pretty exciting. TK and Carlos get to interact more in this one and I'm having a lot of fun with their scenes. Jonah also continues to steal every scene he's in.

If all goes well, I'm hoping to have the first draft of the sequel finished in the next two and a half weeks, and then I'll spend up to a week and a half on editing. That would put posting somewhere in early October. But, of course, that all depends on how long the fic ends up being. I'm not in any rush; I just want it to be good and for people to enjoy it when I post it.

[jkstompers]

noise complaints | myg

pairing: min yoongi x female reader

summary: yoongi is tired of his loud, video game addicted roommate, so he decides to move out and get his own apartment for some peace and quiet. but with his luck, gets you as his neighbor: a girl who plays bass in a band and hates the feeling of earbuds in her ears.

word count: 5.8k

genre: neighbor!au, producer yoongi, bassist oc, pwp ( ；∀；) i tried but rlly it’s just... smut

warnings: mature!! (18+!), explicit language, smut, making out, fingering, dom!yoongi, he’s a little mean

author’s note: hi!!!!!! in honor of yoongi’s birthday, i wanted to post this fic that i had sitting in my drafts! i hope u enjoy!! (´⌣`ʃƪ) pls let me know what u think!

banner pic creds here <3

yoongi doesn’t know how to tell his roomate, mark, that his gaming obsession has driven him to take extreme measures that consist of: moving out. he never stops playing video games. all day, all night, his eyes are fixed on the computer or tv screen, always screaming to his team mates about where to go or who’s fucking up. yoongi’s not sure if he can take it anymore.

he’s finally saved up enough to move into an apartment of his own, he’s been planning this for almost 6 months; already visited the apartment complex, discussed prices, background checks, etc. all yoongi really needs to do is finish signing the papers and start moving in.

he decides to just let mark know, no sugarcoat. as yoongi expected, mark practically begs on his knees for him to stay. his parents are paying for his share of the apartment but only if he splits the cost with a roommate, but yoongi’s gone through two years of it already, he’s over it. over the next few days, mark watches yoongi dejectedly as he packs his things.

by the end of the week, yoongi has finished packing and already signed the lease. he tells mark ‘good luck’ and leaves him in the dust, hopefully he’ll find another roommate, but that’s beyond yoongi’s concern now. all he has to worry about now is unpacking his boxes in his brand new apartment.

he looks around at the empty space, with the boxes cornered in one section. he smiles to himself, no noisy roomates, no unwashed dishes, no dirty laundry, ah, finally. peace and qui—

and that’s when he hears the blare of your speakers, it’s not loud enough for the entire complex to hear, but the music obviously bleeds through the shared wall. yoongi groans, knowing that this could be a complete repeat of mark. he’s not sure if he should knock on your door and ask you to lower the music down, it’s only his first day here. don’t you treat your neighbors with respect? why are you so loud?

yoongi decides to ignore it for now. he unpacks his things and starts furnishing the room so he can have a place to sleep for the night. when everything is put together, he feels the weight of the day; how much he’s been lifting and how he’s now renting an apartment hits him all at once. the dull pain resonates in his arms, his head starting to ache, and you’re still playing your fucking music. he can’t take it anymore, especially not with this ache getting worse.

yoongi feels his fist knock angrily against your door three times, he waits for you to open the door. except, he was not expecting a pretty girl to answer, he was expecting maybe an obnoxious frat guy; he’s absolutely flustered. you stand there and look up at him confused, “hi? did you need something?” your voice snaps him out of his thoughts.

“i’m— uh, i’m your neighbor, i’m sorry to disrupt, but if you could just lower your music down a bit, i’m really tired, and—” he starts but a gasp of excitement leaves you, cutting him off.

“my neighbor?! that apartment has been empty for so long! i’m so sorry, i was just so used to no one being able to hear! welcome! i’m ___!” you greet him cheerfully, taking his hands into yours and shaking them. yoongi feels his cheeks turn pink, your hands are soft and you’re so pretty.

“my name is yoongi,” he replies, he stands there not really knowing how to respond to the way you’re so excited. he wishes he could reciprocate but his head is pounding, all he wants to do is sleep.

you pick up on his energy, letting go of his hands to wave him off, “i’ll turn the music off for today, get some rest, yoongi, if you need help, some sugar or something, you can always just knock on my door,” you smile.

yoongi nods, “thank you, ___, goodnight.”

“goodnight, yoongi! nice meeting you,” you reply, closing your door. you blush behind the door, a neighbor? a cute one at that? there’s a sudden rush of adrenaline pulsing through your veins, testing you, telling you to blast your music just so he could come back and you could look at him one more time. but you decide it’s better not to, he said he was tired, maybe tomorrow.

yoongi returns to his apartment, thankful that you kept to your word and kept the music off. his body drifts his pounding head to sleep.

two weeks had gone by before yoongi’s eyes, he spent most of it buying furniture since the apartment looked so bare. one upside to a loft apartment was that he didn’t have to buy too much furniture, a bed, a couch, a tv, and maybe a rug was enough for him, for now of course.

in the time that’s passed, he’s learned that you like playing music when you’re studying, cleaning, when you’re doing anything really. whenever he thinks it’s too loud, he knocks through the wall, you get the hint most of the time. he’s also learned that you can play the bass and that you’re in a band. speaking of that, you’re having a meeting with them right now, and yoongi can hear every word of it.

your band mates decided to barge into your apartment today, waking you from your study nap and telling you that you all need to practice. the volume of their voices is jarring, you never realized how loud you and your surroundings were until yoongi moved in. you’re suddenly conscious about your volume at all times, his knocks whenever you were loud always made you feel terrible, but you couldn’t help but blush whenever you thought of him. you were torn, be loud and get his attention or be quiet and get on his good side.

“___! grab your shit and let’s go!” jungkook shouts. he’s the guitarist and lead singer of the band; he gets impatient sometimes.

“oh just let her daydream for a little bit, she’s probably thinking about her hot neighbor,” seulgi teases. she’s the drummer and your best friend. you don’t let her comment pass so easily, but you try to ignore the way your face heats up.

“you think he’s hot?” you quip back. a smirk on your face as you zip your bass into it’s case. yoongi is surprised at the way he can hear your voices so clearly, he wonders if you guys always talk this loud or if the walls are really that thin. “you haven’t even seen him yet,” you lug your bag over your shoulder.

“he sounds hot.” she shrugs, taking a bite of the apple she stole from your fruit basket. jungkook grows more and more antsy the longer you both talk.

“where’s taehyung anyway?” you ask. the realization comes to you when you feel a missing presence, knowing your 4th member would say something about yoongi.

“how nice of you to finally ask, he’s been waiting in the car for you slow pokes, let’s get going.” jungkook rushes, pushing you and seulgi out of the door. you turn to lock the door when you hear the door to your left slide open.

“oh my god, jungkook look, he’s hot.” seulgi smacks jungkook’s shoulder to make him look. your eyes are glued on the figure standing outside of apartment 77.

“hi— hey, yoongi,” you greet him while locking your door. it’s embarrassing the way the three of you are all almost drooling at the sight of him.

“hi, ___,” he sends a small smile to you, looking over to your bandmates hesitantly. yoongi notices jungkook, an assumption is made in his head almost immediately, boyfriend?

you scramble next to them and introduce them, “yoongi, these are my bandmates, seulgi, she plays the drums, and jungkook, he plays guitar and sings, there’s taehyung too, he plays guitar too but he— he’s um, in the car.”

“ah, nice to meet you.” he nods, greeting them as well. “i actually have to get to work, but it was cool meeting you all,” he excuses himself. you all wave to him.

“way to be fucking awkward guys,” you scold them when you’re all walking to the car. taehyung looks up from his phone to see the three of you walking his way, he starts the car once you open the door.

“hey, not our fault he’s good looking,” jungkook shrugs and seulgi holds her hand up for a high five, which he gladly gives her.

“not fair! you guys got to see ___’s hot neighbor while i was stuck in the car? i knew i should have just came in,” taehyung grumbles, pulling out of the apartment complex’s parking lot.

“it just so happened that he was leaving his apartment the same time we were, maybe you’ll meet him too tae,” you rub his arm. a somewhat sarcastic tone in your voice. taehyung rolls his eyes, starting the drive to the studio.

the music in the car was overshadowed by taehyung and seulgi arguing about when you and yoongi would finally hook up. you had to remind them that he hasn’t even been here a month yet, and that you guys barely talk besides the small hellos and awkward run ins when you’re doing laundry. it seems to keep them quiet, taehyung parks in the lot and you all move into the studio, making your way to the practice room the owners thankfully let you use to rehearse.

a couple songs are played and you all vote for a break. taehyung and jungkook having a guitar battle, seulgi leaning back against the wall on her phone, and you, need to pee! you leave the room and use the bathroom as usual, but a familiar bleach blonde head turns the corner and starts to walk down the hallway towards you, the breath you’re holding turns into a gasp when you realize it’s him. “yoongi?! why are you here?”

he looks up from the ground, looking as surprised as you when he realizes you were talking to him, “i work here, why are you here? are you following me?” he grills, you scoff at the question.

“i’m with my band, we’re rehearsing,” you explain. he raises his eyebrows, you’re not sure what it means. “you don’t believe me?” you pose.

“it’s just a little suspicious,” he shrugs, yoongi knows exactly what he’s doing. he hopes his hint makes sense to you, he’s never really been good at flirting. a familiar feeling erupts in his stomach, one that people could call butterflies whenever he saw you. he really just wants to see you play, and to hear you sing, that’s what he wants the most.

“uh, i can bring you to them? i promise i’m here with my band,” you laugh, warmth spreading to your cheeks. there is no way in hell that you’re going to play in front of yoongi. you were confident sure, but your embarrassing crush on him will make your fingers shake when you try to press the strings down. it’ll be a shitshow!

“can i pee first?” his small laugh brings a smile to your face. boys pee fast, you’ve learned that over time, so yoongi doesn’t take long. you’re both walking back down the hallway, “your boyfriend isn’t angry that you’re with me?” the random question makes your steps stutter.

“i’m sorry, what? boyfriend?” your eyebrows are furrowed as you stare up at him, his face isn’t showing any sign of humor, he’s serious.

“you’re not dating one of your band mates? isn’t that how it usually goes?” his lips purse as you continue to walk to the room that your band is occupying, he’s so serious that it makes you laugh.

“oh my god, yoongi, i’m single as a pringle, they’re my best friends, our number one rule is to never date within the band, that’s how things get messy,” you explain. a weight is taken off of yoongi’s shoulders, it wasn’t his fault he thought of it; you’re beautiful and surrounded by people that probably want you as much as he does.

“oh,” he answers, you both turn the corner and approach the door, “good to know.” the door opens to your three members looking at the two of you with raised eyebrows.

“oh my god, it’s him,” seulgi points to yoongi with her drumstick. you wave your hand to signal her to put it down, ‘it’s rude!’ you mouth.

“are you yoongi?” taehyung asks, taking his guitar and putting it down on it’s stand. yoongi nods, holding his hand out to shake taehyung’s, which he doesn’t take. instead taehyung pulls him into a hug, yoongi doesn’t expect the sudden action of affection, his arms not knowing what to do. “it’s so nice to finally meet you! ___ talks about you a lot,” taehyung’s confession makes your face flush.

“taehyung! what the fuck!? i’ve talked about you like twice, yoongi, i swear,” you defend yourself, pushing taehyung off of him. you laugh awkwardly, yoongi shoots you both a gummy smile.

“nice to meet you, taehyung,” he completely ignores your defense. he finds it cute, your flustered face as you try to tell taehyung to shut up.

“anyways,” you huff. “yoongi thinks i followed him here, so i am showing proof that i’m actually here with you guys and not stalking him.”

your friends snort at the same time, “actually, yoongi, we have no idea who this girl is! i think she’s following you,” taehyung whisper-shouts, you smack his shoulder.

“no but really, ___ we were just gonna call it a day, seulgi said she has to go to a family dinner soon and taehyung said he was hungry,” jungkook speaks up. it’s then that you realize that their instruments were almost all packed. yoongi looks down at you, a small smile on his face once he realizes what they’re trying to do.

“i leave to pee for five minutes and you guys hatch a plan to ditch me?!” you cross your arms over your chest.

“well… we just told you, so, technically we didn’t ditch you, also i can’t drop you off, yoongi, you can drop her off, right?” taehyung smiles to him.

“i—“ yoongi starts but you cut him off with plans to scold your members. they knew exactly what they were doing and you weren’t having it.

“taehyung, you’re dropping me off, let’s not bother yoongi,” you move to pack your bass but yoongi shakes his head.

“i can drop you off,” he smiles.

“oh, see! perfect! thank you, yoongi.” taehyung grabs his hand and gives him a good shake, before you know it your members are out the door.

you sigh as you lift your case and sling it over your shoulder, “it’s okay, yoongi, i can walk.”

he rolls his eyes, “don’t be ridiculous, are you hungry? we can eat first.”

his hand is outstretched and you’re not sure what it means, does he want to hold your hand? but no, he’s asking for your bass, so he can hold it instead of you. you reject his offer, “i can hold it.”

“you’re really stubborn,” he notes. it makes you snort.

“you’re not into stubborn girls?” the joke slips from your mouth before you can think.

this is the perfect time, yoongi thinks. “if it’s you, maybe i’ll make an exception.”

you try your best not to show any type of reaction, but you can’t really ignore the way your heartbeat quickened. yoongi leads you to his car, putting your bass in the trunk as you get comfortable in the front seat. he follows you soon enough and is driving out of the studio parking lot.

“you don’t have to work?” you question. getting into the car of someone you barely know is quite risky of you, but he was your neighbor, and he was hot. that doesn’t give you a reason to trust him, though for some reason, you think you can rely on yoongi, it’s a gut feeling.

“technically i work all day, i’m on my own schedule, i basically spend the entire day in the studio,” he explains. his focus is on the road but from his peripheral he can see your body turned to him, and your eyes glued on him.

“workaholic?” you guessed, he smiles.

“you could say that.”

“that’s good then, i’m giving you a reason for a break!” you clap, your nervousness fading as you start to get comfy with yoongi.

a friendship blooms from that lucky, odd encounter that day.

you forgot how long it’s been since you officially met yoongi and spent the day with him, maybe two months? three months ago? you never kept track. but you do remember that things changed after that. the two of you so obviously flirting with each other whenever you had the chance. yoongi would offer you a ride to the studio, which you greedily took whenever he asked; because he was a cool guy to be with, and in all honesty you were trying to put the moves on him. you’re not sure if he’s taking the hints though, you’ve never been good at the shy type of flirting, most of the time you’re upfront.

speaking of being upfront: yoongi hasn’t really been complaining about your noise lately, and it’s been eerily quiet on his end. no knocks on the wall when your volume was a tad bit higher than usual, no texts telling you to ‘be quiet’ when you were practicing late at night, nothing. you figure it’s because the two of you have grown a lot closer. hanging out together and even making some inside jokes together type of close.

it’s soon that you figure out why yoongi hasn’t been upfront, complaining to you about your noise, because he talked to your apartment manager about it. you knew namjoon well, he was one of your classmates in college. his father originally owned the place, so he’s been taking over for him. you’ve grown close to namjoon due to situations that left you outside of your apartment multiple times without your keys. his master key saved your ass one too many times. so, when you received a letter from him in the mail this morning with a big red ‘important’ stamp on it. you knew you were in trouble.

the words noise complaints, your neighbor, and eviction were the only ones you needed to read for you to be stomping towards yoongi’s apartment. you didn’t care that it was ten in the morning and you’re banging on yoongi’s door. you knocked nonstop until he opened up. his sleepy face scrunched in confusion as he stood before you.

“___? what’s wrong?” his morning voice could have made you melt, if you weren’t so fucking angry. you step past him, moving inside his apartment. “okay, come in, i guess,” yoongi says as he shuts the door behind you.

“you complained about me?! i got a fucking letter from namjoon! he never sends letters!” you raise your voice. it’s too early in the morning to be yelling, your voice is a bit rough, it sounds like you’re croaking.

it’s also way too early for yoongi to be dealing with this, so his voice is soft when he says, “be quiet, we’re gonna get complaints from the other neighbors now too.” he walks up to you and your very angry expression. he just looks so kissable right now, it’s making you angrier. how could he look so perfect when you’re mad at him? that’s so rude!

you lower your voice when you ask, complying to his demand. you cross your arms over your chest, “why would you do that?”

yoongi laughs.

it makes your eyebrows furrow. was he not taking you seriously? you loved this apartment, you needed to live here. it makes the anger boil a little hotter. “you think this is funny, yoongi? i’ve—” your voice is raising once more.

this time yoongi rolls his eyes. “shut up.” his voice grew deeper than it already was, the bass traveling straight to your lower belly.

you try to act as if it had no effect on you, but your small silence before you spoke made things a little obvious. “excuse me? shut up?” you scoff. your feet carrying you closer to yoongi, breaking the distance in effort to intimidate. yoongi wasn’t one to be scared, if anything, he found it funnier.

but the way that your pretty face looks when you’re angry makes yoongi want to do more, wants to push and push because he can feel the tension between you both. you can too. “yeah, you’re so goddamn loud all the time, shut the fuck up.” he moves a little closer, the distance between you both is almost none.

it makes your eyes flicker to his lips. here you were, thinking that you were gonna teach yoongi a lesson, yet you want to kiss him. “want me to shut up?” your eyes move back to his, making eye contact. he licks his lips in anticipation. “make me,” you press.

you feel his soft hand against your cheek first, leading you to his lips. then it was the plush of his lips against yours. this feeling could definitely make you shut up. before you knew it, you were pushing yoongi over to his couch. he breaks the kiss to plop down onto the couch, you follow suit, straddling his lap.

“if you wanted to make out with me, you could have just asked.” you spoke before reattaching your lips.

he smiles into the kiss, “where’s the fun in that?”

the kiss deepens, tongues exploring each other’s mouths and small whimpers escaping your throat. they go straight to yoongi’s groin, you can feel his hard cock against your core through your sweatpants. instinctively, you grind down, the feeling makes him groan out.

his large hands move to your ass, running over them and trailing up to your waist. his hands sliding under your shirt, you know you aren’t wearing a bra, and yoongi finds out soon after. his thumbs running right over your hard nipples, “eager?” he smirks.

you roll your eyes, “i’m just cold.” the lie makes yoongi scoff, tweaking your nipples between his thumb and index fingers. now, goosebumps raise over your skin, and it wasn’t because of the cold.

“take your shirt off,” he speaks against your lips. usually, you weren’t one to follow orders, your rebellious spirit screaming in your head, telling you to take control. but you’ve never wanted anything more than to let yoongi have you, let him do whatever he wants to you. because outside of this, he just seems so nice, never mean, never demanding. you can’t help but indulge in this new side of yoongi you’ve discovered.

so you’re taking your shirt off, the breeze created by his air conditioner makes you shiver, but yoongi's warm hands are there to comfort you. running them over your breasts, squeezing them just right as he kisses down your throat. “y-yoongi—” you whimper. his lips find a certain spot that has you grinding harder onto his dick.

“you aren’t very patient,” he speaks against your skin. “i’ll let it slide this time.” a tender kiss to your neck is placed before he lingers on the spot a little longer, sucking and licking, making sure to leave a pretty red mark. he makes his way to your nipple, wrapping his mouth around the bud and sucking. the feeling makes you throw your head back, his hand tweaks your other nipple, refusing to neglect it.

it was true, you were not patient. you hated waiting too long for something, just like how you hate the feeling of your warm core go uncared for. the grinding wasn’t enough at this point, you wanted more, needed it really. “are you gonna fuck me or not?” you push him gently off of your nipple.

an almost annoyed gaze is painted on his face, “are you going to beg?” he quirks an eyebrow.

you weren’t one to plead, “no.”

“then no,” he asserts. you purse your lips, complete dissatisfaction displayed on your face. “don’t worry, kitten, i’ll make you feel good.” yoongi gives in. he didn’t know how long he could hold back, your attitude makes him want to check you, make you cum as many times he wants you to until you’re obeying.

the nickname makes you drip. he’s pushing up from below, his leg kneeling onto the couch as he lays you down. your head lays against the pillow he has on the couch, yoongi gives you a swift kiss before he moves down, trailing kisses on the valley of your breasts and your stomach, stopping just before the waistband of your sweatpants. “yoongi,” you mewl.

“hm? wanna beg now?” he challenges. his fingers teasingly slipping under the band. your body reacts so easily to his touch, your hips slightly jerking up at the graze of his hands.

but you’re stubborn, not wanting to let yoongi win even though the only thing you want right now is for him to make you feel good. “no, never.” you shake your head.

yoongi doesn't verbally reply, instead, nodding and smirking to himself. “can i eat you out then?” he asks. you don’t trust your words, so you nod, knowing you’ll fall into the trap yoongi has set. “i need to hear you say it, kitten.”

“yes,” you quickly say.

yoongi quirks a brow. “yes, what?”

you roll your eyes, just once, you tell yourself. “yes, please.”

“good girl,” he praises. you hate to admit that you liked the way he called you a good girl. your sweatpants and panties are pulled down at the same time, revealing your wet pussy. “so pretty, baby.” he positions himself between your spread legs. you bite your bottom lip in anticipation.

kisses against your thighs and pubic bone are what he starts off with, then a brief kiss to your clit that makes you gasp. “oh, god—” you lean your head back against the couch.

“also, just to let you know, the letter was a joke,” yoongi breathes. mouth ghosting your lips, where you need him the most.

at first you didn’t pay attention to what he said, a hum leaving your lips until then you realized, “what?!”

“i thought it’d be funny to scare you a little bit, namjoon and i are friends, i asked him if he could do it for me.” he explains with a smile on his face.

you rolled your eyes. you knew it was too serious to be namjoon, his style was more so speaking, not letters. you couldn’t be mad at him, at least you weren’t in trouble. but you play it up for the fun, “will you make it up to me?” a sly look on your face.

“what do you want?” he leans his head against your thigh, waiting patiently for your answer. his fingers ever so gently running up and down your thighs.

“your cock,” you demand with a mischievous smile. your hands run through his hair, eyes pleading because you won’t allow your mouth to let the words out.

yoongi acts like he thinks about it, but all he truly wants, is to devour your and make you feel so good. “you don’t deserve it.” he denies you of the pleasure you want, but he surprises you, running his tongue along your slit.

“oh— oh, yoongi,” you mewl. your hands moving to play with your boobs, but yoongi knocks your hands away. he directs them to his hair, telling you to pull. his hands replace yours, playing and tweaking with your nipples as his tongue does the work.

“taste so good, baby.” yoongi loves the sight of you so vulnerable in front of him. you’re bare, naked while yoongi still has all his clothes on. he loves it. your eager body twitching from the ministrations of his tongue. he pulls away for a second, “don’t cum until i say so.”

“that’s not— umph!” you start but yoongi retracts his hands from your breasts, bringing them back to your thighs to spread them further apart. your lips reveal your sweet spot for yoongi to take, and he’s relentless. the taste of you on his tongue drives him crazy. “that’s not fair,” you moan out.

yoongi doesn’t care. he loves being in control. so when your phone starts to ring, yoongi thinks this is the best time to assert dominance. “answer it,” he commands. he pulls away from your pussy, the loss of the feeling of his tongue makes you groan out in displeasure. in turn, yoongi rubs his middle and ring fingers against your clit. it makes you gasp. he slips the fingers in, your walls pulsating against his fingers. another moan leaves your lips. you were completely ignoring the rings coming from your phone. he repeats himself, “answer the phone, baby.”

“but,” you spoke. your worry being that you were so wound up and yoongi’s fingers were still residing inside of you. you knew it would be way too obvious.

“they won’t know,” he assures. a gentle touch against your thigh comforting you, making you believe this was a good idea.

your fucked out brain obliges, your hand moving to reach for your phone. jungkook’s contact name displayed on the screen, you press the green button and place the phone next to your ear. “jungkook? what’s up?” you answer. yoongi’s eyes locked onto yours as you speak.

“speaker,” he mouths. you nod, mindlessly obliging. taking the phone away from your ear and pressing the speaker button. his fingers dangerously still in your pussy, ready to cause chaos whenever he felt like it.

“dude! guess fucking what!” jungkook shouts over the phone. yoongi pushes deeper, bottoming out his fingers. it makes your eyes roll back, a quiet gasp escaping your lips.

you’re moving the phone away so he doesn’t hear it, but yoongi is pushing your hand back into position. “what?” you cough, trying to cover the noise.

“you okay? you sound… weird.” jungkook snorts over the phone, you can hear seulgi and taehyung in the back, their bickering all too familiar.

“i— i’m good.” you nod even though he can’t see you.

“okay, well, this guy from a record label called earlier, he said he wants to take us all out to eat and talk about our future!” jungkook informs. your eyes widen. a record deal?! even yoongi reacts, a cute, surprised look on his face. how funny was it that you were receiving this news with yoongi’s fingers fucking you.

“you’re lying.” you sit up a little bit, leaning onto your forearm. yoongi decides to be nice, letting his fingers stay stagnant in your hole so you can enjoy the news.

“i’m serious! we’re on the way to yours right now to pick you up, be ready in five minutes,” he tells you.

“right now?!” you exclaim. yoongi smirks, starting to pumping his fingers in and out of you, making your breaths a little more labored. “oh— fuck,” you groaned, you tried to cover it up by making it sound like you were annoyed. but anyone could be able to tell what you were doing, the squelch of your pussy loud enough for the entire apartment complex to hear probably.

“what the hell are you—” jungkook starts but you cut him off, yoongi’s fingers moving faster and the string in your belly about to snap from the tension.

“okay, jungkook! bye! love you! see you in a bit!” you rush the words out and press the big red button to hang up, throwing your phone onto the floor as yoongi leans over you with a smile on his face.

“congratulations, baby.” he punctuates his sentence with a quick circle around your clit. you’re so wound up, you could feel tears starting to build up in your eyes.

“yoongi, please, please let me cum.” you beg, giving in to his desires. the sound of your begging is music to his ears. he smirks, quickening the tight circles around your clit. your legs spreading wider if that was even possible.

yoongi’s plans were cut short due to your new plans, but he didn’t mind. he was happy for you, and he’s never wanted to make someone cum as much as he does now. “alright, kitten, cum whenever you want,” he whispers in your ear. his fingers coated in your wetness gliding against your clit, it feels way too good. the string in your belly snapping as soon as he gave you permission.

you found yourself letting out some of the loudest moans because yoongi was just that good. “holy fuck, yoongi,” you gasp. your chest rises and falls quickly, taking in as many breaths as possible.

“good job, baby.” he kisses your neck, letting you recover before slipping his fingers out and bringing them up to your lips. at first you furrow your eyebrows, this isn’t something you usually do; but when he says, “open,” you find yourself obliging easily. “good girl,” he smiles as you suck your cum off of his fingers.

you pull his fingers from your mouth when you’re sure you’ve sucked them clean, “i got a record deal dinner, min!” you rush to put your clothes on. yoongi tries his best to help, but all he wants to do is give you a big hug. he lets you put your clothes on before he’s holding you in his grasp, while you’re trying to make your way to his door. the two of you wobbling to his door.

“let me kiss you first, rockstar.” he smiles, his hand gently taking ahold of your face and giving you a kiss. it tastes just like you, the sultry memory that will live in yoongi’s brain for as long as it’s able.

he tries to kiss you once more, but you’re pushing him away. “i gotta go, yoongi,” you giggle. his hands holding you close to him, your back pressed against his front door as you kiss each other sloppily. “yoongi!” you smile, more laughs erupting as he helps you open the door. as soon as the door slides open, yoongi’s eyes move behind you, a sly smile on his face.

you turn to see your three band mates, all of their mouths agape. “i fucking told you! pay up, idiots!” seulgi smacks the both taehyung and jungkook’s shoulders.

your face blushes tomato red. you try to hide your face as you open your apartment door. before you turn the key, you hear yoongi congratulate the four of you. “good luck at your label meeting! make sure they don’t scam you,” he advises. your bandmates laugh, thanking yoongi and moving into your apartment. they don’t let you live down the embarrassment for the entire night.

when you come back home, you sit on your couch. a smile taking over your face when you think about how great the day was. you think the dinner went perfect, and when you hear a knock on your door, it has you rushing to open it.

yoongi stands outside your door with a cupcake and a single lit candle stuck in it. “congratulations!— it went well right?”

you stand in front of him, a sweet smile on your face as you nod. “i think they loved us,” you pull him into your apartment.

“of course they did! you guys are amazing!” yoongi hugs you, holding the cupcake above your head so it doesn’t get in your hair.

the rest of the night you and yoongi enjoy each other’s presence and the two of you talk about everything and nothing.

yoongi says the cupcake is just for you, but you take a knife and split it, “for us.” you give him a quick peck before eating your half, and then kissing him once more.

for us. it repeats in yoongi’s mind.

us.

yeah, he’d like that.

[3wisellamas]

Deltarune Halloween Prompts Day 24: Creepypasta

(Sorry this one's a little late, stuff...happened. ^^; But, I kinda wanted to post this one with today's anyway, so it worked out!)

---

"...Berdly? Are you okay?" Noelle looked at the bluebird on the front steps, panting and with sweat glistening on the tips of his feathers, like he'd just run completely across town. "We, um, said we'd study together tomorrow afternoon..."

"Didn't you get my email?!"

"Uh...I don't think so?"

Berdly looked up at her, disappointed, but tried his best not to show it. He didn't have time to coach her on the proper points of checking one's email every few minutes in case an unsolicited invitation from an ivy league school came in; rather, he cut right to the chase. "I need to use your console to play Dragon Blazers!"

Tilting her head to the side curiously, Noelle led him inside, to where she kept her games. "I thought you had your own console?"

"I ditched it when I upgraded to the Gamestation 360! You know I can't play without achievements or my Playertag, how else would I be able to prove what a superior gamer I am?!" He cleared his throat. "But, well...I have a need to play the older version, and I knew just the doe to help me! I accept your 'You're welcome's in advance!" Smirking, he ignored the dirty look Noelle shot him as she started up the game, and pulled over her laptop to finish the blog post she'd been writing when she'd been interrupted.

"Oh, good idea! I'll need to use your laptop too, to make sure I'm doing this right!" Sighing, Noelle saved her draft and passed it along, so that Berdly could show her that email that had been so important.

"So...you want to try recreating this story you found?"

"I couldn't have said it better myself, my dear Noelle! Except...I kind of did," he replied, clicking the link he'd included.

The web page opened to a listing of stories, rather difficult to read in red text on a black background, but Noelle read down to the one Berdly pointed to. "Drowned Elf Boy, Space Kaiju...these are all about video games?" She snickered, passing the laptop back to him. "These are...just creepypastas, Berdly. I've read all of them a million times!"

"Really?! I-I'm amazed you're so cultured, but then, we geniuses usually are!" Berdly finally found the one he wanted, letting Noelle see. "I found this one last night, and HAD to try it out!"

He'd opened an older story about Dragon Blazers, and it didn't take Noelle long to recognize its contents, nor the author, "holidaygirl1225."

"Um...Berdly?"

"Yes, I know it's probably a long shot, but if we could find whatever the author was talking about, it could be an amazing discovery! And we'd get all the credit!" All too late, though, Berdly realized the flaw in his plan, as he started a new game and watched three entire minutes of opening cutscenes. "Oh no, wait...this is in the ice area, isn't it? That's over six hours into the game..."

"Oh! Hang on a second!" Noelle held out her hand, motioning for Berdly to hand her the controller, and she loaded her old save file right outside the area. "I...still have this."

"You kept a file here?!" His eyes wide, Berdly looked up at her with new appreciation. "You must've known this area had its secrets! That's why you're the smartest person I know, aside from myself of course!"

"Of course..." Deciding it'd be best not to let on exactly why she had the file, Noelle watched as Berdly tried retracing the creepypasta author's steps, getting more frustrated with each moment his character spent lost in the icy maze. "It's not working! They must've copied these directions wrong, or deliberately made it so you couldn't follow them..."

"Here, let me try." Again, Berdly handed off the controller, and Noelle reloaded her save to start from scratch. Taking a few moments to remember the steps, she made her way through the maze, but as she did so the realization of what she was doing hit her, and yet again she panicked, going down instead of up at the end.

"Oh...whoops, I guess that wasn't it!" She passed the controller back to Berdly. "You can try again, but I guess it's impossible."

"Yeah..." Sighing, Berdly made a few more attempts, but then gave up, switching off the console. "Guess it was just a made-up story after all. Oh well! I'll go see if there's any secrets in Dragon Blazers VII, or at least get that 'No Damage on Any Boss' achievement I've been working on!"

Once he left, Noelle booted the game again, going through the maze just as she had a few minutes before, the only difference being her going up instead of down, and there it was. Pushing down the reflex to scream and shut off the game just like when she was a kid, she approached the gray door, checking it, poking it, prodding it, trying every way she could think of to open it, but without the key she was once again stuck.

"Someday..." Making sure her save file was still in place, she shut off the game.