Loverboy Blues

Sam 📲Stevie

Thanks, man -- I blame your sister entirely, so I guess that makes Milo kind of your nephew? By association, at least. As if she didn't already try to actively steal Max, and I expect shared custody arrangements in short order, but you should probably go ahead and brace yourself if she decides to turn those big sad doe eyes on YOU next, fair warning.

A fur nephew. I like that. And thanks for the warning. As much as I'd love a pet of my own someday… It's honestly easier just spending time with yours and Sam's. My apartment is barely large enough for me as it is. Can you imagine a huge dog in there? We'd be on top of each other about 75% of the time.

Oh, officially? Zero.

Oh, that smell… I wasn't even there, and I can already imagine it. Plastic has a way of settling into everything for days. Honestly, I can't say too much since my oven's 2nd job is a storage unit. Random question, though… do you offer cooking lessons outside of school?

Maybe I'm jumping the gun just a little bit, since it's not until June, but I do like to be prepared: does anyone have any suggestions or requests for Pride events at Coda this year? Last year's Rainbow Menu got a lot of positive feedback, and since it'll also be our second anniversary I'd love to have another open mic night to celebrate, but I'm open to new ideas! Just because we always do an open mic night doesn't mean we always should, you know? And since it's the people of Ashford Valley that have helped us make it this far, I want to hear what you guys want in the future, too!

If the rainbow menu already went over well, it might be worth bringing it back as a flight. Smaller pours of each, so people can work through the whole lineup… or full-size, if you want the open mic to get really interesting. Ha!

Y'all need to understand that I am extremely susceptible to peer pressure, especially when @staceylevcns is the one doing the peer pressuring (do all the Evanses know how to weaponize big sad doe eyes? Further investigation required, for self-preservation if nothing else.)

Oh hey! Congrats on the new-ish furry addition to casa Duval.

Alright, so after I watched the entire video, here is my consensus. The chorus of a song is the part you hear the most and get it stuck in your head, so you really shouldn’t jump to conclusions based on just those few lines and let that then warp your thoughts on the rest of the lyrics. The story the video lays out, it’s less “delusional crush” and more “wow, that was a genuinely bad breakup and now I’m stuck spending the holidays in the same friend group as my ex.” It definitely adds a layer of nuance I wasn’t giving it at first. Makes the whole thing feel less dramatic and more… painfully relatable? Like when you think you’ve moved on until you’re suddenly in the same room with someone you thought about way too much a year ago.

I know it’s well past the holiday season and the song isn’t exactly timely anymore, but I’ll admit, your breakdown of it and the music video really stuck with me. It’s one of those songs I always brushed off because it played constantly in the background at past jobs, just kind of fading into white noise. Now, whenever I hear it, I can’t help but think about breakups—especially the kind where the other person is still lingering in your orbit.

I think I’ve officially reached the "don’t look at the floor" stage of the semester. Between the 8th graders learning to sauté and a junior asking if sugar and salt are "basically the same thing," I’m pretty sure I'm one kitchen fire away from a total meltdown. Teenagers are a lot. If you see me at the market staring blankly at the baking aisle at any point this week, please just hand me a chocolate bar and tell me everything is going to be okay.

That sounds rough. I’ve got to give you a lot of credit for teaching teens how to cook. It’s such an important skill, and one that gets brushed aside way too easily with how convenient eating out has become.

Dorky debate, I know, but I also don't care. I'm a dork; I make no apologies for that. I was at the library with Fi, and there was a Harry Potter group meeting or something? I'm not sure what was going on, but they were having a fairly loud argument/discussion; I'm surprised they hadn't been kicked out yet, honestly. But the subject? Dementors: are they evil or no? They were born from extreme despair and darkness caused by the dark magic and torture that took place on the island, and by that nature I don't think they can truly be considered evil. It proved to be a fairly interesting discussion, but we left before they came to a general consensus.

Huh. I can’t say I’d considered it that way before. What really gets me is that these entities are soulless yet feed on happiness, hope, and joy... Things they can’t even experience themselves. They don’t know any better because that’s simply their purpose. I suppose the same argument could be made for vampires, but when you’re bitten by one, you don’t necessarily die. There’s a choice there. They can take a little at a time instead of draining everything.

Oh my gosh, you guys! Tomorrow is only 10 days until Christmas and like half of December is over and the year is over in half a month, I know this gets said so often, but I still cannot deal with how fast time flies! And I still feel like I have shopping to do and SO much wrapping, I haven't even started on that. How are you all coping with the end of year holidays closing in so soon?

Do you use an advent calendar to count down the days? As far as coping is concerned, I keep myself busy with plenty of distractions. I’m nowhere near ready to ring in 2026. It feels surreal.

Dove held his arm more tightly as they navigated the immediate darkness. The sound effects were definitely high-quality, creating a genuine sense of unease that was exhilarating. She listened to his light promise about telling his family he went down swinging, and her smile returned, softer this time. “Deal. But you’re not allowed to go down. The Pumpkin King needs to make it to the end of the haunted maze alive and well.” She was about to say something else when the witch animatronic shrieked its way into their peripheral vision. Dove let out a sharp, surprised exhale, clutching his arm in a momentary reflexive flinch, though she didn’t scream. She definitely jumped. It was one of those classic, jarring movements that shook the nerves.

Stevie felt the extra grip on his arm. Nothing dramatic, but enough to spark the softest smile at the corner of his mouth. “No, no, we definitely can’t have that,” he murmured. “Though, if anyone avenged my death, I feel like the Corpse Bride would absolutely wreak havoc on my behalf. Which I thank you for.” His laugh was warm, quiet, with the faintest touch of shyness. He was genuinely grateful they’d bumped into each other outside this haunted walkthrough. Somehow, no matter how busy life got, he and Dove always slipped back into step like no time had passed. Her startled shriek at the witch made him laugh too, half nervous, half delighted, the kind of reaction that made the whole thing feel more fun than frightening.

If you spend more than ten minutes with my mother, you will never be able to picture her as Mr. Peanut, I can promise you that. Would you rather use mine? It's not especially fancy, but there's room to spread out, at least.

Of all the things to make me laugh this morning, that did it. Your mom as Mr. Peanut. That's really something... ha! As long as you're offering, then sure. Your kitchen is better suited for two tall guys compared to mine.