I'm Slowly Turning Into A Toaster | A Horror Story

[@JacobPenrodWrites]

The idea of this being someone’s first exposure to my writing is so funny to me. It is pretty far outside of my comfort zone, but my goal here was to take a very silly prompt from a friend and do my best to make it compelling. It’s up for discussion how it came out, but it was a fun writing challenge!

[@madelinebogle7475]

@@JacobPenrodWrites Wild, because this is your first Non-Epic video I have watched, so that was essentially my experience XD

[@caw64]

The pivot from Epic to this is crazy

[@Gojo1290-o3s]

Your a toaster.

[@nitrogenfixed]

I really like when short stories put characters in bizarre situations and have them immediately introspect on their entire life and existence because that's also how I react I don't know if you wrote this with anything specific in mind, but it kind of does feel like the mind of someone with a terminal illness, or...well I don't want to say a disability because I don't love generalizing disability as a horror experience, but I'm sure there are disabled people who would relate on some days and that's not a bad thing. Really fascinating exploration of that kind of mental state.

[@JacobPenrodWrites]

Wow you’re spot on! While there are countless valid ways to interpret it, I wrote it about grappling with chronic, lifelong illness. There can certainly be a reading for disabilities or terminal illness, but you definitely picked up what I was putting down.

[@mashedpotetoo]

The way you were able to run with this concept and write something so compelling (I was SAT during this entire listen haha) is just so amazing! Honestly got me even more excited for your novel now! 👀

[@JacobPenrodWrites]

@@mashedpotetoo thank you so much!

[@madelinebogle7475]

Audibly asked myself “what the fuck?” We’re starting strong

[@madelinebogle7475]

“What if I wake up and there’s toast?” PLEAAASE

[@freshcupofangst]

I absolutely loveeeee when people fully commit to "silly" prompts like these. The way I see it, it's a testament to humanity's creativity, the ability to take an absurd premise such as this one and make an excellent story out of it, which you most certainly did with this!

[@Leslies4i]

This is such a silly concept but the way it's written makes it so interesting and compelling. It's hard to explain why I was so invested in this story but I was 😂

[@JacobPenrodWrites]

Thanks so much!

[@hyliaphora-cecropia]

This is making me imagine an alternate universe where an introspective toaster wakes up in the morning to find that it is growing a little fleshy homunculus on its rubber footgrip…phenomenal.

[@dafnemejia3946]

I like it, feel like it's a representation of the mental struggle that either a physical illness or a mental illness can cause in someone, and maybe how you lose yourself while dealing with it.

[@marissavo7483]

This reminded me of a short story I read in middle school of man slowly changing into a bug. As a kid, I didn't get it. As an adult, it's so creepy and sad. Sadder still is feeling so alone, isolated because you don't want the judgement. Love the ending.

[@freshcupofangst]

Are you referencing Metamorphosis by any chance?

[@marissavo7483]

@freshcupofangst yes! I read it 20 years ago for a class assignment. Thank you for telling me the title.

[@carprincess]

I heard the other version first and then this one. I got to say, I love both versions! And the fact that you wrote this with the parameters you did (and in the time you did) was impressive! 💛

[@chelseablueskye13]

I saw the title, clicked, and stayed till the end. It made me think, laugh, and feel anxious. Keep it up!

[@kevincarter4782]

I….really like this. As someone who lives with a chronic illness that can’t be cured and gets worse from time to time, I felt this profoundly.

[@archaic_anarchist]

Amazing. Excited to see more of your work. Unsettling and bizarre. Wonderful.

[@FlyMeUpSoHigh]

From someone who really enjoys inner dialogue narratives, this is really fun!

[@miniejulia]

I find really entertaining intern monologues, nice writing!

[@Smootiful]

I once challenged someone to do a writing prompt that included a colostomy bag and a gold fish. Sadly, they never wrote it. Lol. Can't blame them.

[@prod.sushiwrist6998]

This was so well written, and now I want Toast lol

[@capybara4764]

Oh yeah. . . . It's coming together. . . . THE EPIC TOASTER SAGA

[@AdrianFernandezSuarez-zv1cf]

Bro got the boiled frog syndrome, the transformers version.

[@that_morrigan6184]

The real slowly turning into a toaster was the friends we slowly turned into toasters along the way

[@JacobPenrodWrites]

Finally someone gets it

[@sandybeach12]

Oh cool first time I've heard my name in a story! Nice writing! Thank you for sharing with us💕 this is indeed my first exposure to your writing😂

[@Jeff-fo3ck]

With how you analyse epic, you got me overthinking what a toe toaster mean 😭😭😭

[@JacobPenrodWrites]

Listen, sometimes a toaster is just a toaster... except when it's growing out of your toe and making you question your entire existence 😂 Definitely wrote this one with some deeper themes in mind.

[@Kase_K]

This was really compelling. Your character felt profoundly lonely, even before his condition grew into something serious. If you want to really, really dig down, I could see this being partly a commentary on how much tougher it is to deal with a severe illness when you don't have anyone around. No friends, no relationship, a family you are closed off with. It's interesting to imagine how differently the story would have gone if that first day a friend or partner had seen what was wrong. Small criticism: his refusal to go to the doctor pulled me out of the immersion for a bit. Obviously the doctor wouldn't dismiss him, there is a chunk of chrome visibly growing out of his foot. A mention of him going to the doctor and being told there is nothing they can do, perhaps, would have sold it for me. Or maybe they cut off his foot, the toaster grows back, and he refuses any more treatment attempts because he doesn't want to lose more of himself. Overall, thanks for making my night (it's 1am here) with this surprise high quality story. Now I'm more committed than ever to reading your novel when it comes out.

[@JacobPenrodWrites]

Oh that is such a great call out about the doctor! I had another 350 words in my allotted budget for this challenge and that would have been a great place to use them. Thanks for the listen and the feedback!

[@freshcupofangst]

Personally I didn't think the doctor thing was out of place at all. To me it seemed like by refusing to go to the doctor, the character was also choosing further denial of the problem. To have the issue addressed by someone else, especially a professional, would've forced him to acknowledge it as being as real and serious as it truly was. That it wasn't something that could handle on his own, like he had wanted to believe. But that's just my take on it.

[@wizardtrash1783]

I cried

[@DnDAddictUK]

why is this so sad? like for real, why is a story about toasterman making me want to cry

[@wyren925]

Ha TOEster

[@JacobPenrodWrites]

I’m so glad we are on the same wavelength

[@wyren925]

@@JacobPenrodWrites i always apricate a good pun!

[@mashedpotetoo]

toasteritis made me laugh as well haha

[@emmoesen3988]

Damn you beat me to it 😆

[@GoDiegoGo_]

Really enjoyed this one. I like the witty first-person narration writing style, reminiscent of Andy Weir (not a big reader though, looking to change that). Is this writing style similar to what we can expect with that book you were referencing in your epic reactions?

[@JacobPenrodWrites]

This is actually a pretty big departure from how I normally write! I still tried my best to maintain solid craft fundamentals which would be present in my main novels too, but I normally write in a more grounded setting and genre. I love trying to insert emotions into scenes, but this was definitely just a writing experiment I did to stretch myself.

[@niewierniczka]

Read the title, thought to myself, "That sounds ridiculous," started listening, and immediately got pulled in 😂 I interpret it as bizarre depiction of giving up the fight with mental illness (depression maybe?) But than what would the toasts represent? Am I really debating this? 😂😂

[@JacobPenrodWrites]

You’re pretty close to what I was intending!!

[@niewierniczka]

Thank you for confirming that I was close 😁 I subscribed to your channel because of your reactions to Epic, but now I'm really looking forward to reading your book. Hope it will be available to buy in Poland!

[@bpsara]

Not the pigeons 😂

[@Moissanite_]

This is so interesting :like--- I'm in shock lmao

[@Moissanite_]

WAIT OMG ITS EPIC THE MUSICAL GUY

[@Atraeus13]

This feels to me like a cancer patient. At first it feels like such a small thing, barely any symptoms. Maybe if you just ignore it, it will go away. If I tell somebody about it that makes it real. Eventually it prevents you from doing the things you normally can do. You can no longer hide it from others. Soon it becomes all you are, all that people see you as. The cancer patient. Hospital gowns, shaved head, tubes, doctors, hospital beads. But you still have dreams of when you were healthy, of doing all the normal things a healthy person can do.

[@mariofilho9431]

OH toaster, I thought it was toast at first

[@JewelShadow]

This feels like it has the makings of a CreepyPasta ARG 😁🔥

[@user-ICY-Andreid]

One side says "Horror story" and the other says "Im becoming a toaster" ...idk what to think

[@PeachKnot]

Does Toaster Guy open the door and the mailman put the letters where the bread should go, or is there a slot in the door that Toaster Guy classifies as his slot? Also, how is Toaster Guy starting and stoping the recording? One last question: Is he turning into a giant toaster or is he shrinking into a normal size toaster? I lied, this is the last question. Is everyone in Toaster Guys human life now forgetting he existed?

[@JacobPenrodWrites]

These are important world building questions we may never have an answer for 😂

[@omarsalem1219]

This was brilliant, what do you mean you only wrote it in an hour

[@yapy326]

This reads similarly to a Magnus Archives statement, if anyone is familiar. My only note is that this could do with a toaster ding at the end of the video, lol

[@coraz6825]

beautiful lmao

[@chippybug]

Horrifying title. I immediately clicked when I saw it though lol

[@dleedank]

I'm constipated

[@Locomotivetomotion]

🦆🦆🦆