Chapter Text
(It's not difficult... Is it?)
No. It’s literally just popcorn. All she gotta do is take the corn and make them pop in the popcorn pot. Put some butter before turning on the fire and boom.
(What am I thinking? I’m the one and only Umi! I don't know what got into me. Man, I just wasn’t made for this modern, soul sucking, time. Not that I would want to be born in any other time period, you know, any period that they would require of me to live as a wife is a no-no. But my freedom to leave my house was but an illusion, since my job mostly required me to stay at house making websites for stupid companies that couldn’t care less about how I am doing and the occasional drawing request from my social media accounts. Sure, drawing is actually a passion of mine, but doesn’t change the fact that it isn’t enough to make me go through life alone AND it took more time. Besides, going outside has only been getting more of a gamble, with the increase of lamefication //the author knows this is not a real world// in anime conventions as it gets more trendy and normies start entering what once was a thriving space for dedicated and open minded people using online spaces like 4-chan. Now collectors who don't even engage with the media they are collecting occupy most of the space in conventions! No, all they do is pump the capitalist cog into more and more attending their desires uncritically and keep making sequels and remakes of old things nobody asked for! Like, the problem isn’t taking an old thing and doing something new, that’s what fanfics are made for! But these companies just want to milk the things I love and these empty minded followers of reviewers online will buy anything they give them. And don’t get me started on cosplayers! Thinking they can just see a cool design and cosplay it? Like, if you are not gonna EMBODY the character why bother? Ugh, this world is sickening, no wonder even ME sometimes makes a blunder like questioning my abilities. Like, I can do anything! Like the lyrics for the japanese animated intro for Sonic CD says, and not like any clown character that is overhyped and only interesting when shipped with another better salesman character that received the attention it deserved and anyone who says otherwise just let internet discourse change their opinions. But yeah, Sonic CD JP and EU ost’s are the OBJECTIVELY better versions. Not that it matters for most people, since playing it could throw you into its fandom and besides, only this game that I played when I was a child and play once a year on my original Sega CD with HD modifications is actually good. And I’m not not playing a mobile port made by a fan! How could a fan give themselves for a company like this? Anyway, enough toot-toot for me, I can do better than I’m doing now! I should be out there making my name known!... But it’s difficult leaving the house… No! I’m doubting myself again! Like with the popcorn- OH MY GOD THE POPCORN! IT’S GONNA BURN!)
Umi finally pays attention to what she’s doing instead of having foggy thoughts and notices she forgot to turn on the fire.
(I’m so smart. Protecting myself from the future by not lighting the fire. Good job, me from the past!)
(I would kiss you if I could Umi)
(Oh, you beautiful devil Umi! You’re gonna make me blush~.)
(You know what? Come here, you gorgeous piece of human flesh!)
For a moment Umi imagined she kissing herself, before realizing she was drifting her mind again and into unknown places even for her. She shakes her head and finally lights the fire.
(Not that I care to get in a relationship. Caring for someone is more trouble than it’s worth. I mean, look at yourself now? Just cause someone is coming to visit you can’t even think straight).
She is still deep in thought, but with enough attention at the popcorn pot.
(And besides, someone visiting me today is an exception. And she being a cosplayer is an exception. And so is me making something for someone visiting me an exception. Well, obviously it’s an exception because people visiting me is an exception but even if people visiting me weren't an exception, ME making something for the person visiting me would still be an exception).
Her mind is an exception. The corn started popping, so Umi started spinning the spinny thingy.
(Why am I even making though)”
(I mean, I’m totally capable of receiving anyone into my house. It’s just that I’m not used to receiving anyone, and now a girl is coming in and- NOPE, she being a girl doesn’t affect anything! It’s just that against my will we have been talking online after the gamescom and like, I was absolutely the worst to her, like I’m to everyone! But she decided to stick with me and now we are ‘acquantancies’ and like, how did I get in this situation? Talking about funny fics and recommending games to each other and then eight months later she is visiting me?) (Then again, someone wanting to visit me isn’t surprising. Why, with the amount of funeral companies and doujinshi websites I make, you would think people would have catched on to me and started throwing papers and eggs at my apartment. But no. I guess I’m just that scary. Then why, why isn’t that girl scared…)
The popping stopped.
(I will just have to wait.)