#anyways i will see what the nonsense generator can cook up

[lixenn]

Progress report

I recently had a new idea for a guide chapter, which hurray! However this one might require more worldbuilding so I will need to figure that out.

However!

In my document sorting I also found the beginning of another chapter which... I completely forgot about lmao

So I will try to work on this one first and see how it goes. Maybe I will update in the next few days, it depends if my muse is generous or not.

I'm excited going back to writing the Guide, I missed the sillyness and Chief being a super dramatic bitch.

[alicefromwhichplanet]

What are each of the couples love languages? What are some of the ways do they pamper their partners?

Megop

Optimus: Oh, wow. It’s… not an easy question. *scratches his helm* When we first started dating, we realized that we both love watching the stars. We could sit outside together, under the starlights, and talk for hours. We talk about our past lives, interesting things happened around us, or our opinions on literature…anything that helps us get to know each other more, I guess that is one of our love languages.

Megatron: And don’t forget about the sparring.

Optimus: (laughs) Oh yeah! Sparring is a unique way for us two to express love. I’m not sure if other cross-fraction couples do that. But we love to “fight” a little bit, from time to time, to feel the adrenaline rushing, and to be reminded of how perfectly we match each other, in strength and battle skills as well. Often happens in the evenings too, we spar against the starry sky as a background. (Laughs)

Megatron: little lovely episode before going to bed. (Smirks)

Optimus: (blushes) I didn’t say that!

Optimus: And for the pampering… for me it’s “act of service”, I guess. I know what he loves very well. I know he likes reading books on politics and social issues, by rather radical writers. And compared with him I got more connections with the human world. Humans have such inexhaustible knowledge reservoirs on such topics! So sometimes I get one of those books for him and put it on the coffee table where he usually starts his day by reading. Or the nightstand on his side.

Megatron: I wrote you poems. And when he passed out reading on our coach, I carry him into the bedroom and put a blanket around him.

Optimus: (blushes) Yes, you know I love that. And your poems.

Blitzbee

Blitzwing: Oh! One thing I loooove to do with my Beeboi is playing! We play every interesting game! Chess, hide and seek, racing in the wilderness! And my favorite game! Flying and free-falling!

Bumblebee: I hope you’re not talking about the time you threw me off mid-air!

Blitzwing: I didn’t mean to, it was an accident!

Bumblebee: well, at least I’ve found a way to make sure that next time you don’t make mistakes like that. (Pulling at the leather straps around Blitzwing’s chest, while Blitzwing lets out a little “oh” sound)

Bumblebee: As you can see, one obvious way for Blitz and I to pamper each other is playing with each other. Or else, we talk as well. Even when we don’t have much to do, we talk nonsense together, laugh at silly jokes, etc.

Blitzwing: That’s mainly you! Because you’re a blah-blah-blah beeboi! A buzzy, buzzy bee… (Blitzwing begins to sing).

Bumblebee: (rolls his eyes) Shut up, Blitzbrain! Well, yeah, nicknames, that’s another love language of ours. (Laughs)

Striklug

Strika: Well, we’re actually very simple bots. Except for wars, there’re very limited things for us to do… You all know Lugnut has a… challenged language system and intelligence, although I hate to talk about him like that in front of you. It was caused by an accident in his early years as a miner. Megatron tried his best to save him. I don’t want to talk about his past traumas… Anyways, what I’m saying is, Lugnut is always generous with compliments. Not only to Megatron, but to me. Sometimes he embarrasses me in front of a lot of bots. But later I realize I like it. That’s just Lugnut pampering me, I guess. (Laughs)

Lugnut: General Strika is the most intelligent, most brave and generous bot I’ve ever known. She’s a great fighter of our decepticon cause…and my personal guiding star. She’s the pilot to our family’s ship, only with her guide can we reach our destination…

Strika: (pushes Lugnut away) Enough, enough, Lug. (Turns to the camera) And Lugnut’s good at cooking as well. Both me and our girl love to have his specially seasoned energon cubes. For my part, I am a rather dull bot. All I do is to stay by his side, help him deal with situations he’s not good at. We used to cooperate perfectly as revolutionary buddies. Now we’re cooperating quite well too as life partners. That’s all I want to say.

*Thanks for your wonderful questions*

* applaud*

[ersatz-ostrich]

A Sweet Discovery

Connor & gn!reader, RK900 & gn! reader

help why is the gif ENORMOUS

Analyzing… Analysis complete. Conclusion: delicious. Connor and Nines try jam for the first time.

[A/N]: WELCOME BACK EVERYBODY! I BRING CONTENT

After seeing fanart on Pinterest of tiny Connor and tiny RK900 trying jam for the first time, I had an idea that really spiraled out of control (if the word count says anything lol). Although the word 'jam' only appears 45 (!) times during this fic, I swear I've typed it out so many times that the word's become surreal to me. Like, jam, jam, jam...um, what does 'jam' mean again? Anyways...

read here on ao3

You stirred the bubbling pot on your stove, humming pleasantly. It was a lazy Saturday in the peak of summer, and you had decided to spend your free time trying your hand at canning what was abundant and in season instead of rotting on your couch or in bed. Various ingredients and equipment were strewn about your kitchen—a colander, a large jar of sugar from the pantry, cutting boards, and boxes on boxes of fruit. Alongside your pot of jam-to-be, you had set another pot of water to boil with glass jars in it to sterilize them. 

You stirred away, mind drifting, until you were pulled back to the present by the chime of your doorbell. Your head turned to the screen set up on your counter, where you saw through the footage of your doorbell camera two androids and a large Saint Bernard waiting politely at your front door. Grinning, you departed from your post at the stove momentarily to hit the button to let them in. 

“Come on in, you guys!” You called out from the kitchen. The lock clicked, and Connor let himself in, followed by Nines.

“Good morning, Y/N.” Connor piped up first. “What are you doing?”

“Well, I wanted to do something useful with my time off, so I decided to make some jam.” In a most Connor-like fashion, he tilted his head, curious. While Sumo settled contentedly on the carpet in your living room, you beckoned the androids into your sunny kitchen. ��So, what brings you two here?”

“We were walking Sumo and passed by your home.” While you only lived a few blocks from Hank, you found it interesting that they had chosen to show up unannounced. “I thought we should pay you a visit.” He gave you an easy half-smile, something that had become more and more common as he grew accustomed to deviancy.

“Are we intruding? If so, we’ll be on our way—”

“Nonsense, Nines, of course you can stay,” You waved him off as you agitated the bubbling jam on the stove, which was coming along nicely. “I’m not doing anything particularly important right now. Have you two ever had jam?”

“Jam, as in…fruit cooked and preserved in sugar and other additives?” Nines inquired. “I’m afraid not, Detective. We were designed to analyze samples of organic matter from crime scenes. Jam, so far, has not been one of those samples.” You chuckled at his response. 

“Well, would you like to?” You pulled the glass jars out of the pot of water and onto an awaiting towel with a pair of tongs, all while stirring your jam. “I’ve got some blueberry jam in those jars on the kitchen table.” You reached for your utensil drawer and handed a spoon to Connor. “Try it.”

Connor took the spoon and eyed the jars on your kitchen table, LED spinning. Taking the lid off of one, he spooned out a generous dollop of the dark purple substance, which stuck to the spoon and slid off lazily when he put the spoon in his mouth. 

Silence passed over you and the androids; the only sounds in the kitchen were the burbling of your jam and your spoon scraping against the walls of the pot as you watched Connor’s LED glow a bright, whirling yellow. 

The moment the jam hit Connor’s sensor-studded tongue, his processors were flooded with input. He dropped the hand holding the spoon, and the spoon fell out of his mouth and clattered onto the table. Flavor, or as much flavor as a deviant android like himself could sense, bloomed on his tongue and sent pleasant sparks coursing through his artificial nervous system. The data came flowing in as his LED continued to spin; he detected a delicious bouquet of volatile aromatic compounds and acids, no doubt from the fruit, and a torrent of carbohydrates. If he had possessed any human taste buds, he would have registered the taste of the jam as tart, sweet, and delicious.

With astonishing speed, Connor snatched up the spoon from the table, scooped out a helping of the jam, and unceremoniously shoved it into his successor’s mouth.

Nines’s LED flashed red as Connor insistently jammed ; then yellow as he processed the data he was receiving from analyzing the jam in his mouth; and then, finally, pulsing blue as he began to appreciate the jam’s agreeable taste. 

“It is…interesting.” Nines spoke when Connor finally removed the spoon from his mouth. “I have never analyzed anything like it before.”

“Yes, but how is it?” You asked. “Do you like it?”

“I cannot determine whether or not I like the data I receive from analyzing samples, Detective.” Nines cracked a small smile. “But…I would say that the sensory stimulation I received from tasting the jam was pleasant.” Upon hearing his comments, you beamed, glad to have been given the RK900 seal of approval. 

“It sounds to me like you like the jam, Nines! I’m glad.” You smiled softly as the androids chatted over the kitchen table. It was so gratifying to help androids like Connor and Nines experience things both mundane and complex without the restraints of their Cyberlife programming. Something so simple as blueberry jam, you realized, could brighten their day.

“Are these blueberries from upstate? Blueberries are currently in season in Michigan.” Connor inquired.

“Yeah, I got them from Rose’s Farm outside of Detroit. They let you pick your own blueberries and the price is pretty great for the freshness and quantity you get.” You knocked your spoon against the rim of the pot to let your now-finished jam drip off and transferred your pot onto a square pot holder to cool. Connor raised his brows upon hearing you mention the farm owned by Rose Chapman, whom he knew to have harbored deviants leading up to the day the androids had won their freedom. He had first learned of the woman from a group of androids from Jericho, not long after he had become a deviant.

“I see,” Connor mused. “Is this your first time making jam?” 

“No, it isn’t. I definitely wasn’t this good the first time around.” You laughed sheepishly, taking some jars off of your kitchen counter and presenting them to the two androids. “See, this one’s started fermenting. I noticed when I opened the jar today and it smelled off. I think I didn’t sterilize my jar right or something,” You explained. Connor dipped a spoon in the deep red jam. After a brief analysis, he determined the failed jam to be contaminated strawberry preserves.

“You are correct. I detect trace amounts of alcohol in this sample from fermentation,” He replied after a second. “I also detect a certain strain of mold. These preserves should not be consumed.”

“Yeah, I’m going to dump it. Try this one,” You held out another jar of strawberry preserves. Visually, Connor couldn’t tell what was wrong with it at first until he stuck the spoon in the jar and realized that the consistency was too thick.

“The sugars in these preserves have caramelized,” Connor concluded. 

“I kinda…screwed up and burned my preserves.” Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Nines reaching into the utensil drawer for a spoon to sample the contaminated strawberry preserves.

“If you would not like to waste these strawberry preserves, Detective, I could take it. Androids are not affected by mold contamination or fermentation.” He began.

“You sure? That stuff’s gonna grow some pretty gross mold colonies after some time,” You responded, wrinkling your nose. “I have a better idea. Why don’t you take some of the jam I just made? I have so much jam in my house right now and I don’t know what I’m going to do with all of it.” You screwed the lid on the blueberry jam Connor and Nines had tried and pressed it into the RK900’s hands. “Oh, and—” You hurried back to the kitchen counter to pour out some of the jam you just made into one of the sterilized jars you had left to dry. “—take this, too. It’s raspberry jam.” You handed the warm glass jar to Connor, who accepted it enthusiastically.

“Thank you, Detective. I—we appreciate your generosity.” Nines replied, pleased.

“I can’t wait to try your raspberry jam. I’m sure it’s delicious,” Connor added.

“You’re too kind, both of you.” You laughed cheerily, walking with them into the living room where Sumo raised his head to greet you. “I’ve got plenty more fruit to preserve, but I don’t want you two to keep Hank waiting for too long.” With Sumo’s leash in one hand and a jar of jam cradled carefully in the other, Connor waved goodbye and stepped out the front door. Nines followed suit, nodding politely at you.

“Thank you for showing us something new, Detective. Thanks to you, I feel like I have expanded my horizons greatly since becoming deviant.”

“It was my pleasure, Nines. You’re welcome to stop by anytime.”

“Hey, whatcha eatin’, Tin Can?” 

“Blueberry jam, Detective.” Spoon still hanging out of his mouth, Nines offered the jar to Gavin. “My filtration system can only handle about a spoonful every now and then, but I enjoy the taste. Would you like some?” The abrasive detective inspected the jar with a critical eye.

“Fuck, who put you on human food?”

“Detective L/N.” Nines answered placidly. “L/N is very good at making jams.”

“Shit, is that where Connor got his jar of jam from?” asked Hank, stopping by Nines and Gavin’s desks on his way back from the breakroom. “The one he keeps on his desk alongside a spoon. I catch him eating spoonfuls of the jam from time to time.” Nines nodded.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Gavin muttered. “Androids eating jam. What’s next? Donuts?”

While Gavin’s speculations did not become a reality, Connor and Nines continued to enjoy the simple pleasure of homemade jam. It wasn’t long until their android brother Sixty discovered it, and he responded with equal enthusiasm for the stuff.

Noticing their newfound habit of shoving jam-coated spoons in their mouths during lulls in work at the precinct or after visiting particularly gruesome crime scenes, you continued bringing them different flavors of jams and preserves for them to try. What had been your way of killing time at home had become a full-fledged hobby.

“They’re my android guinea pigs,” You joked to anyone who asked. “They’re the first in line every time I experiment with a new recipe.”

Finally, after Connor had turned up on your doorstep to return emptied-out jars for the umpteenth time, you decided to teach him how to make his own jam. 

“Look, I’m not saying that I don’t want to make jam for you guys anymore. I just think you’d like it if you tried making it yourselves,” You explained. “I’m sure you can download some executable that magically gives you culinary skills through the power of software, but you’ll still need practice, right?” 

“I’m not sure, Detective—” Connor replied uneasily. “I was not built for domestic work, but I will try.” He had elected to wear an apron as you walked him through the process, and you couldn’t help but smile at the sight of Connor standing in your kitchen wearing a red gingham apron over his impeccably neat clothes. He was eager to learn, a trait you had always liked. What he had once called “Cyberlife’s social integration module” had made him adaptable, open-minded, and a great listener. 

You had invited Connor into your kitchen on a sunny Saturday morning, much like the morning Connor and Nines had first tasted blueberry jam. By noon, he was strolling back to Hank’s place with a spring in his step, carrying a box that rattled with glass jars of his own preserves. 

Making jam soon became Connor’s new favorite hobby. He enjoyed the endless variation in recipes and tasting things other than forensic evidence. You started seeing jars of jam mysteriously popping up on your desk every couple of weeks. When you asked Hank if Connor was the jam fairy behind the gifts on your desk, the lieutenant feigned ignorance.

Connor was also able to branch out into the android community of Detroit. He began to frequent the android-populated New Jericho neighborhood that had formed after the government acknowledged androids’ personhood, where he met current and former employees of the Detroit Urban Farms project and other androids with green thumbs. They exchanged the produce they grew for the preserves he made, which they sold at a farmer’s market downtown. Connor declined a share of the profits, saying that he wanted to support the burgeoning android community with his hobby. He was building a life for himself that he had never expected to have when he was a machine, and that was enough for him.

As for Nines, his newfound sweet tooth led him to discover a different interest. On his days off, he liked to explore the city in which he was assembled. On one of his walks, he discovered a candy shop on a street corner a few paces away from Bellini Paints. There, he was introduced to the delights of various different candies. Soon enough, he couldn’t go anywhere without stashing a fistful of lemon drops or hard caramels in the pocket of his raincoat or suit jacket. His coworkers—especially his partner Gavin—found the sight of Cyberlife’s most advanced investigator android and (former) killing machine licking contentedly at a heart-shaped lollipop jarring, intimidating even. However, his penchant for hard candy endeared him to the children he encountered in his line of work—scared, stressed children who would have previously cowered away from his imposing figure and piercing stare. 

One time, Officer Miller had brought in a sandy-haired, freckled five-year-old boy who had been separated from his parents while attending a large parade. The child had wandered the streets for the whole day. The officer had found him sitting by himself on a park bench, teary-eyed. 

Upon taking him back to the precinct, the child was inconsolable, crying until his tears dried up and continuing to tremble and whimper softly for his parents. Nines, who had just returned from the scene of a crime, noticed the boy sitting on a bench across the hall from the bullpen and being attended to by an ST300-model receptionist. Nines locked eyes with the android.

How is he doing? The ST300’s LED flickered yellow as she responded,

Not very well. He hasn’t stopped crying.

I’ll see what I can do.

Nines crouched down to reach the gaze of the boy’s stormy, downcast eyes. He produced a lollipop from a pocket in his jacket, unwrapped it, and offered it to the boy.

“It’s blueberry-flavored,” Said Nines. “Blueberry is my favorite flavor. What’s yours?” The boy sniffled and jammed the treat in his mouth.

“O-orange.”

“That’s a good choice,” Nines replied with a smile. His usually stoic, frosty expression softened. “I have a brother who makes the best orange marmalade ever.” He took a seat beside the boy. 

“I a-always wanted a b-brother,” The boy hiccuped. “B-but Mommy and Daddy are g-gone, a-and—” His hiccups turned into sobs. Nines let the boy lean on him, placing a comforting hand on the boy’s shoulder. 

“Shh, it’s okay,” Nines whispered. “You’re safe here. Everything will be alright. Everything will be just fine. We’ll find your parents, I promise.” Even if it takes Cyberlife’s most advanced android to track them down. He continued murmuring soothing affirmations to the boy, whose shoulders stopped shuddering as his sobs quieted.

We just confirmed that the boy matches the description of a missing child that was reported earlier today. His parents are on the way, Connor silently informed Nines from his desk.

Understood , Nines replied. He and the child lapsed into a comfortable silence as the misty-eyed boy continued to suck on the lollipop.

“What’s your name?” Nines asked the boy.

“Luke.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Luke. My brothers call me Nines.” 

“That’s a weird name,” Luke blurted.

“My coworker, Gavin, thinks so, too.” Nines replied, side-eyeing the detective, who was idling in the bullpen. “You know, Luke, brothers are a handful. I have two—I’m the youngest.”

“Really?”

“Yes. They’re always up to something and I have to stop them from getting themselves into trouble.” Nines chuckled softly as some of his android predecessors’ antics came to mind. “My big brother, Connor, is the one who makes jam. Tell you what, I bet I can get him to make orange marmalade just for you.”

“Yeah?” Luke raised his gaze to meet Nines’s.

“A big jar, all for you.” A wide grin broke onto Luke’s cherubic face.

“I love orange mara-” Luke frowned. “Marmam-”

“Marmalade,”

“I love orange marmalade!” Luke giggled.

From the bullpen, Tina and the other officers craned their necks from where they were stationed at their desks to get a good view of Nines giving a rare, bright smile as the boy clung to his arm.

“Who knew Mr. Thirium-Pump-of-Ice was so good with kids?” Tina whispered to Gavin.

“I dunno,” Gavin whispered back. “If he didn’t act like such a stuck-up prick all the time, maybe more people would approach him. Kids included.”

“The RK900 is equipped with a social module similar to that of the RK800 line,” Connor piped up. “His software is capable of adapting to the behavior of children, including consol-”

“We get it, Connor!” Gavin whisper-shouted. 

“I think it’s kinda cute,” You offered. “Even though he’s deviant, Nines doesn’t show us this side of him often.” 

“Aww. Maybe Nines is a softy after all.” Ben joked. 

“Ooh, don’t let him hear that, Collins. You’re ruining his street cred.” Gavin retorted.

While the officers watched on, as discreet as a zebra at a horse show, Luke willingly climbed into Nines’s arms and let him carry him out to the precinct lobby where his parents were waiting anxiously. Just before he exited the bullpen, Nines cast a glance at Connor, LED flashing yellow. Connor’s LED flashed likewise.

“Connor? What’s up?” You asked as the RK800 stared off into the distance. 

“You wouldn’t happen to know where I can get some good oranges, would you, Detective?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~end or something idk~~~~~~~~~

[A/N]: I initially wanted Nines or Sixty to discover honey/take up beekeeping after discovering jam/fruit preserves...but then I realized that bees are extinct in Detroit: Become Human :( hope you guys liked this little tangent! until next time x

let me know if you want to be part of my general taglist!

[hannahlovesluca]

Hi!!Can i ask for LUXIEM(or just ike) hcs with an s/o who's just insanely good at suika or puyo puyo even though they just played the game once or twice?:D

i had to write this ASAP i love writing ab reader playing games LMAOO

Luxiem + S/O who’s good at Suika

• he’s mediocre at suika, so normally he wouldnt join any tostus while the other is playing (i hardly see him join totsus in general so-)

• however if its YOU whos hosting any kind of tostu or just anything, HES JOINING INBA HEARTBEAT

• yk how he is with ike? all simp-y and always looking for a way to spend time with him? yeah he does that to you too

• anyway, when he sees you get 3000+ points your FIRST TIME PLAYING

• his face: 😧

• he probably doesn’t believe that its your first time LMAOO - you probably have to prove it to him off stream somehow

• if you’re his kouhai: “y/n, i’m your elder you can’t be embarrassing me like this…”

• if you’re his senpai: “…you know what they say; the elder, the wiser.”

• “oh god, please don’t bounce up…” “PLEASE BOUNCE UP FOR THE LOVE OF GOD” - guess which one is vox

• anyway, afterwards, he’ll probably force you to watch him play fnaf afterwards so he has sone sort of pride in being able to out-do you somehow

• the mf sings to try and distract you to get you to mess up

• change. my. mind.

• “country rooooaaaaadssss, take me hooooooooome, to the plaaaaaceeee i BEEEELOOOOOOONGGGGG”

• getting 3000 first time hes just like ?????

• probably has that one face with the wide eyes and mouth wide open (like that one clip of sonny during the game show off collab w/ noctyx)

• and if you’re like him and start spewing nonsense to focus better, he’ll be laughing so hard

• “hey, chat, do you think anal hurts that bad?”

• “what???”

• if you have his fugi on your head whilst streaming he’ll probably pretend to punch it now and then just to get a reaction out of you

• mf is okay at suika but not like terribly amazing

• that being said hes rooting for you and will probably be so amazed at you repeatedly getting over 3000

• if there ever is a point where you’re malding he’ll either - A: Mald with you - B: Laugh his fucking ass off

• “WHY THE FUCK DID IT BOUNCE UP TO THE TOP?!?!”

• “LMAO AHAHAHAHAHABSISHWHAHA”

• definitely literally says “lmao” if you fail

• will bring up the most random things to talk about!!!

• “y/n have you seen that food theory video where he tried to cook his steak in the dryer??”

• “luca wtf are you talking about?”

• if you recently had an off collab he’ll also be telling embarrassing stories about you

• “[insert fan name] did you guys know that Y/N eats their oatmeal dry?? like no water.”

• anyways all around, hes amazed and he probably sends you a sweet discord message after stream

• “you’re so good at suika!!! :D”

• FOLLOW UP MESSAGE: “ew that was cringe ignore that”

• he just sucks at suika so hes just like: :0

• “y/n??? this isn’t like…pre-recorded?”

• “DO YOU NOT TRUST ME, IKE??”

• im running out of ideas for them uhhh

• when you get over 3000 your first try hes genuinely so amazed

• say he has a zatsu the next day, if someone superchats him about the totsu the night before he’ll go on a rant about how jealous he is that you’re so good at Suika

• “yeah, Y/N is like Shu and Mari with Tetris, they need to teach me their ways.”

• “an akasupa! ‘honest opinions on Y/N?’ Good question!”

• and then never elaborates

• uhhhhhh

• will most likely start bringing up either super philosophical topics to talk about or it’ll end up just being about miku

• LMAO IMAGINE YOU START TRASH TALKING IKE BEFORE HE JOINS THE TOTSU AND HE JOINS OUT OF PETTINESS???

• “yeah- so ike sucks at this game HAHAH-“ *ike joins* “SAY IT TO MY FACE”

• as soon as you sent the message you were doing a totsu he reacted to the message with that pepe side eye emote they have in the NIJI discord

• probably doesn’t join first, he waits for others

• LMAOO IF ITS HIM AND CLAUDE ITS GONNA BE CHAOTIC ASF

• claude: “y/n how do you feel about patriotism?” shu: “frick the patriarchy” y/n: “????”

• but, if the other leaves and its just you two, since hes pretty good at the game as well, he’ll probably help you with where to drop it

• and again, like luca, will probably bring up random topics

• and ligma jokes

• lots and lots of ligma jokes

• will also send messages in the discord server like:

• Shu Yamino: “y/n is too good someone plz trash talk them”

• Shu Yamino: “oh frick y/n’s good”

• LMAO PROBABLY TWEETS TOO

• Shu Yamino 👟☯️: y’all cant compare what the flip is this

notice how luca and ike’s are the longest

[destinygoldenstar]

🍀Money Isn't The Only Victory🍀 - Total Drama Viewer Reacts to Disventure Camp Season 2 Episode 7 “Not As Easy As It Seems”

Hi.

So you may not have expected this because of... what happened...

But I wanted to react to this show and keep doing it. As a way to... you know... distract, from recent events...

Anyway, let's just go right ahead and jump into it.

"I'm putting together the platforms for today's challenge. Can't you see?"

Oh I don't like the sound of that...

"Didn't you have an intern to take care of these things?"

"Ever since Nina was kidnapped, I swore that I would never let her go for a second."

What exactly is your relationship with this puppet... demon... thing?

"That means this is our chance to get Riya's perfume back."

Oh yeah I forgot about that!

"I used her personal bathroom awhile ago and she didn't even notice."

OKAY LAKE, YOU REBEL.

"Okay, let's split up. That way it will be faster."

That doesn't look like splitting up to be chief.

"I must thank you again. What you are doing for me, I really appreciate it."

Awww

I am liking this Best Girls Alliance.

"Now I see why it is important. Those perfumes are really expensive."

"'Passion Of The Red Lady'. Mom and all her friends use that same fragrance."

Oho. Riya's fancy.

I know she got it from Connor. But she gonna be fancy rich with a million dollars.

"With a million dollars, I will always have the smell of my friends!"

I mean I don't want to THINK that, but think about it. Riya's a broke-ass actress who can't get a role, and is outside of her country with no relationships. And she's in a reality show where the value is money.

"If I was rich and famous, I'd have lots more friends and be lots happier!"

"Well, some people connect so well that when they separate, they feel empty. It's not common, but it's real."

Yeah, I know people like that.

Empty HOW, exactly?

"This brought back some memories."

Oh?

"When I was really stressed out with my homework and started losing my hair... mom took me to the wig shop. When I arrived, I saw a beautiful wig with red hair... but they didn't let me choose it. Mom was very upset with me because of my baldness. So she bought me this... she said it made me look like a good girl."

Awwwww

WEAR IT.

BECOME A REDHEAD. COME ON.

I WANT REDHEADED LAKE NOW.

YEEESSS!! REDHEADED LAKE! LET'S GOOO!!!!

I'm gonna have to get used to it. BUT LET'S GOOO!!!!

"First, you will have to play the classic dodgeball."

DODGEBRAWL.

At least NOW there's an in story reason for it, as she's Chris McLean's daughter and Total Drama is canon.

NUT SHOT!!

WE HAVE A NUT SHOT!!!

"Oops! I'm sorry!"

Oh, Rosa, don't apologize! You're too nice!!

NO ROSA!

OH GEEZ I THINK YOU CONCUSSED HIM.

"What kind of a bum can't blow up a ball properly?"

James, you can say asshole. It's fine.

Even a six year old has more guts to cuss than you.

"Actually, mine works."

"Forget it."

😂

OH MY GOD

THAT HAD NO RIGHT BEING AS FUNNY AS THAT WAS

😂

I'm SORRY

"Team A wins by default!"

That doesn't sound fair at all. You don't want to let Tess cook?

"That's not fair."

Even she agrees.

"Player 2? Who's Player 1?"

Oh I didn't think of it like that.

"He was my grandfather... everything I know about video games, he taught me."

Aw.

An ELDER teaching the YOUNGER generation about VIDEO GAMES? WHAT IS THIS NONSENSE?

"Until three months ago, when he died of lung cancer."

Aw...

YOU AND JAKE WOULD BE BEST FRIENDS!!

"I was super close with my grandparent, and they died."

"OMG ME TOO!!"

"I didn't leave the house for a long time and I cried every day... that's why I decided to audition for this show."

OH GEE, A CHARACTER WHO CAME TO THIS SHOW FOR THEIR GRANDPARENT.

WHERE HAVE I SEEN THIS BEFORE?

If Allyson and Jake aren't friends, I'll probably sue someone.

"Life can be crap, right?"

Tell me about it.

"It's enough to take a step forward to see that life has much to offer."

That an AWKWARD way she said that line.

Oh welp. That was easy.

"You see, he's been very good to me these last few days... but I'm worried about trusting him and that he will disappoint me again."

Fair.

I mean just because a guy is sweet in the tent ONCE doesn't mean you can negate all the toxic behavior before.

I mean, I know there's such thing as redemption. I need to see it and be proven it first.

"What he did to Yul, it didn't seem like it was part of a strategy."

Oh no, THAT was different. THAT was personal.

That was just bias against Yul right there.

"Rather, I would say that he was protecting you."

Yeah, that too.

But mostly bias against Yul.

"If what he wants is an alliance, wasn't Yul a better option?"

HELL NO.

IN WHAT WORLD WOULD YUL BE A GOOD OPTION FOR AN ALLY?

"Maybe he likes you."

"You mean like... he's in love with me?"

I mean... DUH.

But I think LUST is a better word than LOVE. You know what I'm saying?

"The way he kissed you, the tone of his voice, his body movements when he is around you..."

Yeah, lust. That's just proving my point.

COME ON LAKE! YOU CAN DO IT!!

YUS LAKE! GET IT GIRL!!

XD

OUCH. That looked like it hurt.

YEEESS!!

OH COME ON THAT'S BULLSHIT

THAT WAS ON THE POLE!

"Congratulations Hunter! You have won the challenge and immunity."

OH THAT'S BULLSHIT!!

"I mean that we can be friends again and even vote together."

When were you guys friends in the first place?

"But if you have any plans or something, no matter what, I'd like you to tell me and keep me in mind."

I can work with that.

If James is gonna keep his word on that.

"So can we take pictures together again?"

Oh geez, so THAT'S what he was worried about XD

"Hey gang! Me and my boyfriend got back together! Hashtag reunion!"

"I think we should vote for Tess or Ally."

Oh, so we're strategizing.

Yeah I kinda felt like one of them had to leave at some point.

"Hunter's alliance has dominated the game since day one. The only loss they've had was because I set Yul to your team."

That's fair logic.

"So bow down to ME! I saved y'all from the bigger threats here! I am a QUEEN! SHOW RESPECT!"

OOP. BUSTED.

SHE'S GONNA SPILL.

"There's still a long way to go before tonight's elimination. So we can spend the afternoon relaxing and playing video games."

Wow. You guys are ASS strategists, aren't ya?

"Guys, there's something I want to tell you."

"We are SCREWED. Nice knowing ya."

"I just want to say... thank you."

Oh? Awww...

"Thank you for not giving up on me. Thank you for insisting on reaching out to me, even though I'm a mess. I was horrible to you, and yet you treated me with kindness, patience, and love. I... I am very, very happy that I came to this camp. Despite many horrible things I've been through.... meeting you two has been on of the best things that's ever happened to me."

AWWWWWW. HONEY. OH MY GOSH...

I'm actually touched. SWEETHEART.

"Yeah, I could have told them that I was sure Ally or myself would be voted out at the end of the night. But what for? I... I prefer to spend these last few hours together without worries."

Awwww...

So she's just deciding to quietly accept her fate.

I get it. Honestly? I do get it.

For THIS character specifically, I get it.

Well, we know the outcome here.

'James'

Huh. I thought they'd vote Lake. Since, you know, she was the closest to winning immunity.

'Tess'

Op. I knew it.

'Ally'

Wait what?

I thought y'all were voting together. Why'd you split?

'James'

'Tess'

'James'

'Tess'

I knew it.

She accepted her fate.

What I'm wondering is who the fuck threw their vote on Ally?

"Damn! I knew that if Yul left, attention would fall on us!"

XD

I love that his response is to blame Yul.

It's YUL'S fault that Tess got eliminated here.

I don't care what everyone says. Hunter said it. BLAME YUL FOR TESS GOING HOME.

"We must have thought of a plan or something!"

I mean that's on you guys. YOU'RE the ones that said 'nah, let's party!'

At least Tess CHOSE to let it happen.

"At the end of all this, we will meet again and we will be together."

As a polycule!

It goes full circle!

Awwwwww

Bye, Tess! Have a good one!

That's a good end for that character. I will give her that.

Could Tess have strategized to save herself? Maybe???

I don't know, honestly. I don't know what she COULD have done in that situation. Those five were pretty sound in their logic against her and her alliance, so it's not like she could've persuaded them to flip.

And they didn't have any blasted idols, so yeah, that was inevitable.

And if not in that episode, then at some point it would've happened anyway.

So I'm actually okay with it, because you know what?

TESS WON.

Okay? SHE WON.

I said this in a post about Total Drama before. NOT EVERY CHARACTER GOES ON THESE SHOWS TO WIN.

Some of them came here for the experience. Or to get away from bad life circumstances.

TESS IS AN EXAMPLE OF THIS.

There was nothing in her character that read to me that she was on the show to win the money.

If she won? Great. The money is a bonus.

But what she was REALLY after was to be on that show for a fulfilling experience. Which she NEEDED due to her depression.

AND SHE GOT IT. SHE MADE FRIENDS. SHE GOT A LIFE-FILLED EXPERIENCE. SHE GOT TO BE HAPPY.

THAT IS THE VICTORY THERE.

TESS WON.

So it didn't matter to her that she gets eliminated. As long as she gets to keep her friends by the end. That's what matters to her.

GOOD FOR YOU, TESS.👏

[aravas-writing]

And now, the continuation no one asked for:

A funnyman's recap of Blue Archive

Prologue

It begins with the player character having a weird dream while on the train to Kivotos, which is ominous enough. Sensei awakens and steps off the train to meet with the person in charge

Her name is Rin, and she is a stand-in. The president of the General Student Council - the Big Cheese, basically - has gone missing and named Sensei, i.e. the player, as the person to summon in this case. Sensei is referred to with gender neutral pronouns, so can be either/or/neither, whatever floats your boat.

(Rin not pictured here BC she doesn't really become relevant to the overall story until way later.)

She functions as a proxy for the Prez while they're gone and brief Sensei on what's happening in the city and Great Googly Moogly, it's gone to shit in a heartbeat.

The seven most notorious criminals of the city had just been all apprehended as the Prez disappears so now they take the confusion as the chance to escape.

And one of them wants to fucking bomb the main tower.

For fun.

She is Kosaka Wakamo, Fox of Calamity (the reference to Tamamo-no-Mae jumps out immediately, no?)

Rin informs Sensei that it's up to them now and with the help of a nice tablet called

...

The..

The Shittim Chest.

Yes, I know. No, I don't think they workshopped it enough. Let's just call it the tablet.

Anyway, Rin also introduces four students, representatives of the Three Great Academies, who have come to aid Sensei and the GSC. They are, essentially, the starters.

Before it goes to battle, however, Sensei boots up the tablet using a passcode of ominous origin. It came to them in a dream (?).

And then an AI helper comes out!

Behold Arona! The AI of the tablet and adorable widdle babby who you can actually headpat. But that comes later.

And now, in cliffnotes, introducing the starters!

Hayase Yuuka

Treasurer at Millennium Academy

Can solve complex calculations in her head

Wields two Sig MPX, called "Logic & Reason"

Falls victim to a rumor about her actually weighing 100kg (someone manipulated her health check data)

Easily flustered when caught off-guard

Tries to be no-nonsense, fails at times

Develops a crush on Sensei with time

Hanekawa Hasumi

Dear god her artist is cooking the finest chili in the land

Vice president of the Justice Task Force at Trinity Academy (note the angel theme)

Uses a 1914 Enfield rifle named "Impalement"

Very conscious about her weight (GEE I WONDER WHERE ITS GOING)

Also has a sweet tooth

Constant sufferer of her own diets

Competent at her job

Effortlessly gorgeous

Hinomiya Chinatsu

Member of the Prefect Team at Gehenna Academy

Healer and good at it

Very adorable when flustered

Most transparent crush on Sensei after Yuuka

Wields a M712 Mauser pistol called "Support Pointer"

Feels constantly overworked, relishes rest

Morizuki Suzumi

Member of Vigilante Club at trinity

Literally just tagged along because she wanted to help

Gun: SIG MCX Virtus Patrol "Safety"

Stern, but kind

Bad at socialising

Has a really big stockpile of flash grenades.

Now you may see the guns and think "well damn, that is surprising" and/or "these girls are gonna die?"

Well.

Once they step out to meet the thugs that Wakamo rallied for max destruction, Yuuka gets shot in the head...and complains that hollow point bullets hurt like hell.

That's right, just about every inhabitant of Kivotos is bulletproof.

Except Sensei.

Fucked, innit?

Anywho, Sensei decides to use the tablet to give tactical support to the four girls at the front, who actually succeed in subduing Wakamo...

Except not really, she ran off into the tower to look what she can wreck with bombs.

She sees Sensei.

"Come here often?"

She excuses herself and bolts, which brings up several questions. All of which are answered in the Valentine's event.

And by me here and now: this girl fell in love at first sight and promises to be a good girl for a crumb of affection by the, apparently, only adult in Kivotos!

And that's how Sensei establishes themselves, as well as the club called Schale they helm from then on.

End prologue, welcome to Blue Archive, please leave your common sense at the door

[sometimeslapine]

It's not about quantity, it's about quality. Even if they arent the same scale, I'm sure I'm not alone in saying they would be appreciated.

And I'll be honest, engaging in a dialog about kink that is just ping ponging ideas back and forth sounds fun. Sometimes you don't need one massive work to lay out like a blanket to cover all the reasons and facets and quirks you like about a certain kink. Sometimes you don't even need a patch work quilt that you build upon. Sometimes you've earned the Worlds Worst Bonus from your job at the Cotton Ball Factory and you're just throwing little ball after ball at the topic, not caring where they land or if you've hit the same aspects again and again, and then you look back and see you've done a pretty good job covering the topic anyway.

Even if you aren't writing a novel, with your art you do a great job of making kink... I hesitate to say Feel Real but you make it Make Sense in a Real Way. Like of course if you lived in a world with Boob Growth Lotion, you can't just rub it in with your hands or else you'll get Boob Hands and that's Fun because Of Course that would happen. And I just kinda wanna see what you can cook up if you didn't have to find a way to visualize and show and make it look good.

bit of a delayed response to this one while turning over possible replies in my head... struggling to explain a few more conceptual blocks. writing's always been a weird subject matter for me, in one way or another. pls bear with me

so like. comparatively, inflation kink fics span back a good two decades, at least. there's an established pool of tropes, visual metaphors, ideal pacing or story beats to hit, tones or themes that set the mood, key phrases that really get at the brain, and points of finality that overall mesh really well for a good story. not to say there's no originalities to be had in this space anymore, but there's a lotta prior work to draw from, were i to need assistance filling a void in a sentence or two.

but the thing is, with the more nonsensical stuff like That Comic Thing You're Referring To, there isn't a lot of pre-existing stuff i can reference! i often find that i completely lack the language framework needed to put those weirder scenarios into words. i'm just making it up as i go, after all! and so drawing it out in some loose manner becomes infinitely easier than trying to capture all the nuances of it in a paragraph or two, because i get to lean a bit heavily on the storytelling mechanic of "Show, Don't Tell" as support.

though these scenarios being physically sketched-out-on-paper may end up leaving them a bit more concise than intended in their delivery, i'd like to think the concept i'm exploring's still getting conveyed effectively (even if i can't put the scenario to art in the way I'm /fully/ hoping to, whether due to the limits of my artistic skill, or just other general constraints of anatomy & form in a physical space) because ironically, despite a "concise" delivery, a drawing still remains open-ended enough to have its blanks filled in by the viewer's own preferences/themes/biases in enjoyment (in the same weird way the sketch of a piece can sometimes look more visually interesting & carry more emotion than that piece's finished lineart would) with the open-ended nature guiding one's thoughts to what potential fun lies outside the final panel. as you experience art, art experiences you, etc. etc. etc.

as for making it feel "real", honestly sometimes it's less about realism and more about exploring the fun and wild "consequences of over-indulgency" (said with as much love and appreciation as possible, just so we're clear!!); it's acknowledging the dangers of going wild with a Topical That Changes You without hesitation, it's of not thinking it through before leaping directly into in the path of that TF raygun beam, it's of playing with dangerous and ancient magicks because the spellbook had funny drawings that poked at the kinky parts of your psyche, it's of getting too lost in the sauce to have an escape plan.

consequences, for lack of any better word, can help ground fantasies into something more tangible! makes it feel more Real, despite very much being weird fantasy nonsense at its heart

anyway. run-on-sentences and streams of consciousness aside, i appreciate that my weird brand of nonsense is enjoyed all the same

[normalest-of-knees]

Episode 8 and general Volume 9 discussion under the cut because... oof-

Tw: suicidal topics involving this episode and previous ones

Where exactly do we go from here? I'm serious. Where can this even go with 2 episodes left to this nonsensical volume?

Regardless of what RT actually does next episode, one way or another Ruby herself and (hopefully) everyone else will have to deal with the fact that she wanted to die, or at the very least, not be herself anymore.

Yes, Ascension is supposed to be different, but we also don't know anything about that. Ruby isn't from this world, so it may not even work, but we've also had unreliable sources (according to the show, anyways) as to what it actually is and does. We know the basics of how it's supposed to work, but not whether it's actually good or not

I had one crazy theory come to mind after the last 2 episodes, namely after we see Summer in Ruby's reflection in the storm.... and I cannot stress how much I hope this won't happen (but given how things have gone so far-):

I'm worried we may get a "Ruby turns into Summer Rose" or "Ruby was actually Summer all along" bullshit. It's just stupid enough to be something the writers would think is a "cool" "fun" "twist".

That aside, I must once again stress (I said this on a different blog) that everything feels like its going by at a break neck pace. So much is happening yet nothing is happening at all??

Ruby seemingly doesn't run very far away at all, enough that her team can hear the gunshots of her being attacked. She gets some weird spotlight beforehand that at first I thought was supposed to convey the passage of time as she walked, but I'm not really sure. She seemingly purposefully walks towards the mansion/casino/building Neo cooked up and we immediately are inside?? There's no transition to this. You'd be forgiven for thinking after she ran away that this bit was all a dream

Then even the parts with the dead menagerie attacking Ruby are odd. How does Neo know about half of this stuff? Is she guessing? Did she somehow find out via the lamp back when Cinder used it?? And as awful as it was for Ruby to be beaten and tortured like that, it was insanely short.

I know she was already beyond her limits, but they barely do much/say much before she's considering the tea. She had so much fire when she waltzed in there ("If you want me dead then come and get me!"), but a few illusions and her Aura is broken and she's ready to be done?? Again, I know she was already having a breakdown before, but it still felt too rushed to be natural. I know we saw bruises and a few cuts (and random blood on her hands?), but otherwise she wasn't visibly looking worse than some other fights she's been in before.

Also, why in the shit fuck did her friends just stand there and do nothing? You're telling me after someone dear and close to you freaks out, runs off, then you hear gunfire and rush to see what it is, then see her on the ground visibly upset and beaten up with the villain who has been hunting her down standing over her with their weapon out, you just..... stand there?? Waiting to see what's up?? There weren't even any copies or illusions around as well, it was just Neo and Ruby there.

Ruby just picks up the cup and drinks and Yang just.... stands there. Even the close up on her eye didn't have much emotion other than if she was watching a log tumble off a waterfall or something. Like barely anything aside from "Oh wow. Huh" going on....

And yeah, CC and Neo being the ones more upset over that than anything is.... a thing.

I don't care how the group interprets Ascension, you see your close friend, your SISTER, drink some unknown liquid and then falls over looking dead and gets swallowed up by a hole in the ground with vines, you'd have a reaction. You'd be panicking and running over to the spot. Freaking out! "Where'd they go?? What's going on??" Would be an understandable reaction.

But nothing. No one even moves an inch, they just watch, get blasted by a Cat, then it's over.

I thought at least Weiss would use her glyphs or something to charge at Neo or get to Ruby as fast as she could. Summon something to knock the cup out of her hand. Anything!! Why are they so.... apathetic about it? They're not even really horrified, they're just "Oh no... anyways." Like they saw someone slip and break something they were holding. Unfortunate, but oh well.

Don't even get me started on Yang's bitching earlier.

"Why'd she run off like that?!" "That wasn't upset that was-- ugh!! Why didn't she talk to us?!" "We weren't asking her to be perfect."

If you told me Yang hardly ever interacted with Ruby ever, let alone was her sister that 'supposedly' raised her, I'd believe you. The Hell kind of reaction is this when your sister runs away crying after expressing she wasn't doing ok?? Yes, Ruby brushed people off when they'd try to ask if she was ok, but even that is still an answer! Clearly she was not ok! And even when she'd be more vulnerable or sad, she was ignored or scolded for being sullen. How in the fuck was she supposed to open up?

I honestly don't know what is even gonna happen after this. 2 episodes left and the title character committed metaphorical suicide.

They'll either make it not matter, make her reset and forget everything, become someone else entirely, or nothing will change and she'll just have to be like "Yeah, so, my bad. Anyways, here's the exit guys"

This show makes me so tired....

[gelataisa]

HELP I wanted to stay mysterious and all but apparently you can’t add images like that, so I’m sending imgur links

https://imgur.com/ABzQX4M

https://imgur.com/lgXdmdZ

(For the sake of staying mysterious let’s say that I am from Eastern Europe)

I’m not sure for how long original pizza is supposed to be cooked, but I waited for this one for 10~ minutes so maybe this one can be classified as a fast food 🥲

Also, your note about healthy diet is quite funny now since this pizza is my first meal today (and it’s 2pm here now lol)(sorry if I’m talking nonsense cuz my sugar level is probably 2 right now hehe)

P.s. I’m going to travel some other countries like Poland, Czech and Germany, want me to order and show you pizza there?(at this point I’m just searching for opportunities to ask you about everything tbh)

Dude I didn't want you to lose your mystery as well, but you realise that knowing the general provenience was important for science!!

Anyway, it doesnt look too bad for a foreign pizza. shredded mozzarella is found in italian pizzas too, though i dont dig it that much. But i mean, only seeing it it doesnt look like a culinary heresy. Taste migh be another story though ahahahahah

Now, a pizza made by a restaurant should cook for less than 3 minutes. Professional pizza ovens run over 300°, which is what allows for the crust to leaven a lot (if made properly) and for all the ingredients to cook. I looked it up and neapolitan pizza cooks above 400° for 90 seconds.

Pizzas made at home in a regular oven are quite different and take up even 20 minutes, but they are very different from pizzeria ones.

Then please do remember to have breakfast cause its important and in any case eating badly (sometimes) is better than not eating at all!!!!

and im ready to rate all the pizzas you want, and do ask anything!! Im having a lot of fun honestly

[acourtofthought]

I was pretty indifferent toward Elain’s character and then at some point the ship wars made me a bit annoyed of her (not the characters fault) which was crazy bc I never truly disliked her. But I still felt like I didn’t know her no matter how much ppl explained her character. So… after having a good mental break from the internet I came back to see if anyone could analyze her character in a way that made sense to me & wasn’t repetitive or preachy. I just… didn’t want fandom nonsense to affect how I felt about a character, esp one who I knew nothing about (and when it’s regarding a ship bc that’s just worse, not to mention v silly!)

Anyway, I came across your blog (and other eluciens) and it has helped me see her character in a way that might not be so easy to notice at first, esp for casual readers (formerly me). It felt like I only ever saw one explanation for why she behaves/reacts a certain way but your blog gives a very diff perspective and I love that bc I couldn’t see it at first. If only I’d ventured out of my gwynriel blogs into elucien blogs back then! I wouldn’t call myself a “Stan” but I do like her very much! And it’s gotten to the point where I now get annoyed when ppl make the same claims about her that i used to think, or they say what’s been said about her for forever. In my head I’m like, “but you don’t know the half of it!” Also, not to mention the fact that it is 100% true that female characters have to “work” a lot harder to be forgiven for even the smallest things and that is absolutely not okay. And idc if it’s a female character (in general) I don’t really like— i still wouldn’t be okay with that.

I’d say biggest thing I got out of your blog (and others) is that I gained a certain amnt of respect for her. And i kno it will only go up for me when her book is out. That was honestly prolly my biggest struggle with her character in the beginning. Her being quiet or enjoying gardening wasn’t a problem to me (although I did wish she’d speak her mind every once in awhile). It was more like.. “Idk what I can respect about her, at least not yet” esp with the comparisons to gwyn. But this is absolutely NOT true for me anymore. I’m finally able to see her outer AND INNER beauty!

I’m so glad though that now I can love both ladies without feeling like they’re up against each other. So thank you!!

Btw the more I think about it the more I’m like.. she reminds me a bit of Penelope from Bridgerton (who I love) so I’m very interested to see her character arc!

Sending lots of love 🫶

Thank you for this message!!! ❤️

It's one of my favorite things to hear, that people that were really not fans of Elain's have come around to her a bit after something I or others might have said.

She's definitely not been as bold as the other FMC SJM has written about and if you like SJMs books, I can understand how that'll turn some people off.

And while she'll never be 100% like Feyre or Nesta or Aelin, you see the little hints that she's already much more than she currently looks to be in the NC.

And I think that's the issue I have with how some view Elain. To them, the thing that makes her happiest is to be gardening and cooking / baking / serving the IC. Where her purpose is to spend her days reassuring Azriel that he's not a big bad man, that he just needs a little love to be the soft gentle boy she knows him as.

And that Elain is horrific to me. I don't read SJM to read about a heroine who's purpose revolves around being a housewife to the male.

There is NOTHING wrong with being a housewife but I'm realistic about what fantasy books with a female POV are about and that's not the point of these kinds of story's. I want to see her grow and become a force to be reckoned with. I don't want her to take a backseat to Azriel, there to make him feel worthy and to tag along for his spy / torture sessions when we get zero hints that's what she wants.

Time will tell but I really hope SJM proves to E/riels that Elain is more than a character used to serve others. A character deserving to have a greater purpose than spending her days reassuring Az over and over that he's not a big bad male whose touch will taint her "immaculate skin". A character deserving of her journey to be told on page and not something that's apparently happened in someone else's book (friends already found, already in love).

[mxharleyhua]

Harley Hua ~ Task Thirteen: Short and Sweet

What is your favorite book from childhood? I was just talking to Elliot about this the other day, but I loved Watchmen. I know it's not really for children, but my parents didn't. I also had a more age-appropriate book I loved, because the art was so beautiful in it. I remember it took place in the woods, but not what it was called or what the plot was. But it was so detailed, and colorful, and had a unique art style.

Do you own an item that comforts you when you’re sad? Do my art supplies count?

What makes you happy? I seem to have a one-track mind tonight but after a long day I love to go home, take off my cochlear implants, light a candle, and spend hours painting. I do my best work in the middle of the night when everyone else is asleep. What are three things you like about yourself? I like almost everything about myself. That sounds like a cop-out, but it took me a really long time to learn self confidence. So maybe that's the first thing I like - that I'm a confident person. I also like the discipline I have to eat right and work out every day so that I can have the body I always dreamed of. And I love my sense of fashion. It's so much fun to dress up for all the events we have here in Merrock.

Which season is your favorite? Summer, easily! I love the heat, getting to spend a lot of my free time at the beach, and how much brighter everything feels; literally and emotionally.

Do you believe in the supernatural? What are we defining as supernatural? Ghosts and witches? Or are more religious symbols such as Gods, angels and demons also supernatural? Being raised both Jewish and Chinese, I got a lot of mixed messages as a kid. Parts of my Chinese culture are clearly against Jewish law. But I didn't grow up orthodox, so I've always taken it with a grain of salt on both sides anyways. I was generally discouraged from things like magic, or ghosts and demons, unless it was coming from a Chinese family member. I think my parents disagreed with how to raise us in that regard and tried to compromise, but it just made any of it being taboo feel nonsensical. Anyways, both cultures say not to mess with ghosts but I really want to go ghost hunting one day. Name a song that has a deeper meaning to you You've activated my Deaf card. What do you think about social media? I think it's great! Obviously, there are some drawbacks. But it allows people to connect in a way we couldn't have just a couple decades ago, and connects vulnerable people to resources that they need. How many queer communities have thrived on websites like tumblr? I remember being a teenager and seeing people like myself online when I didn't know there was anyone else like me in Merrock. It was lifechanging! What would be your dream job? Illustrator. Specifically, illustrating comic books but I also really want to do childrens books too. Name three things you don’t leave the house without My keys, obviously. And my phone. Normally I have my wallet or my cochlear implants on me, but not always. With so many places having tap-to-pay now, you really only need those two things. What is your favorite comfort food? My grandma is an amazing cook and she does this delicious lamb hot pot. It's a good thing she lives so far away, because I could not stick to my nutrition goals if I had the opportunity to eat that every week. Are you an active person? / What do you do to stay active? Is water wet? Technically not, but that's not the point. When I'm not painting or instructing a class, I'm almost always on the move. I try to spend two hours at the gym every day, although that's not always realistic with my busy schedule. I get a lot of steps in, walking around and giving tours at From Brush to Canvas. And I grew up doing gymnastics and cheerleading and try to practice so I don't lose my ability to do some of those stunts. Even as I've transitioned, I've managed to keep a lot of the flexibility I grew up with. I also live in the ocean in the summer, whether I'm surfing or swimming. Name your three biggest inspirations (people-wise) My brother and my grandma are easily my first two. Leaving my family for the third one, I think Gerda Wegener was amazing and pushed boundaries on sexuality and gender with her art in a way I really admire. What is currently your favorite airing show? I don't watch a lot of TV. When I'm at home, I like to take off my cochlear implants and enjoy the silence. And after a long day, the last thing I want to do is read captions for an hour straight. But I'm really excited for Echo to come out in a couple months. If you had to go anywhere right now, where would you go? If I had to? A warm, tropical beach that has complimentary cocktails and crystal-clear water.

[lecliss]

If you want OC questions, tell me the favorite food of the first OC that pops into your head 👀

Hhhhhhhhhhh aweeome awesome awesome can always rely on you buddy youre the best 💕💕💕

Okay first one that popped into my head is my edgy boy Eblis, who Ive never talked about on here so this is just gonna sound like nonsense but whatever.

So he grew up in a port town where his dad was a fisherman so he ate lots of fish and seafood in general and thats like definitely a comfort food for him throughout his life. And his favorite of that is actually grilled squid and the way his mom makes it is like, perfection. He'll eat that all day man. But he's also too embarrassed to admit that to his companions. God forbid he express positive emotions ya know?

But later on when he has to move away from home he mostly eats junk food and snacks cuz he's a 14yo edgy gamer boy with too much freedom(technically). He has a stockpile of this very specific brand's octopus flavor chips and he refuses to let anyone see him eat them so he just eats normal flavors in front of others cuz again, god forbid he express positive emotions and actually like things, ya know?

But there is this really chef guy in the group and whenever he asks Eblis if he's interested in eating anything specific he's like "idk man fuck if I care. I guess seafood would be fine tho...." Cuz again, GOD FORBID and he's really going through it, but he misses seafood from home and will take any opportunity he can to have it.

And years later when he travels the world alone, definitely not because he's a wanted criminal, he's still mostly eating junk and snacks, but if the place he's passing through has a seafood restaurant he will absolutely stop there and eat and while that's great and all it also gives him a little depression moment cuz he misses home(really he just misses his parents) but he definitely can't go back so he's like "this is the last time I eat this stuff" but its never the last time. It never is. And along the way he eventually learns to catch fish and cook it himself cuz sometimes no money ya know. But that part gets fixed when he reunites with an old friend and a former enemy.

And then when he's living on the base in space with them and some other allies he actually becomes the best cook in the group but hes kind of an ass about it like "you will eat what I make and you will like it" cuz STILL, god forbid he express he likes these people's company and likes cooking and admits that he gives a shit if they eat well or not. So anyway obviously he makes seafood a lot when they have the resources but like half of them don't like seafood but ya know, you better eat what he makes. But also a lot of the time he doesnt actually wanna cook so he just eats junk and snacks again. He will eat the octopus chips in front of people now tho. They found out and they dont care so he doesnt feel weird about it anymore.

Also after he reconnects with his mom and she moves somewhere better on an island he visits a lot and eats her grilled squid and he's okay with showing that hes super happy about it. He is no longer in his God Forbid Era.

Thank you buddy, thank you. Im actually starving myself. I have not eaten at all and Ive been up for like five hours so Imma go make me some choccy milk, MY favorite. If that counts as food since its a drink. I mean. You consume it. Yeah, fuck it. Thats food. Thank you buddy lol

[joofaloof]

This is a vent post about my spouse facing discrimination for their disability in their workplace. More under the cut if this is something you want to read. Please do not feel obligated, as I'm just finding catharsis in writing stuff down.

My spouse is disabled and has a myriad of issues, but we've been in a legal battle with their previous (as of Sept) employer for over a year that stemmed from my spouse's Narcolepsy.

My spouse had been working for this company as a Software QA Engineer for almost 3 years, working entirely from home. During April of this year, their company CEO (who is a doctor) demanded everyone start coming into the office, no exceptions. My spouse requested they continue to work from home as an accommodation to their disability, since they can't drive nor does the office have the needed space to safely have someone with narcolepsy. This was denied multiple times, with recorded proof of the company's HR harassing my spouse to find a new job and even outright denying their disability, despite documentation from the doctors my spouse sees.

We filed a discrimination charge with our state, including all the video and written evidence of what transpired, but the state just completely rejected the charge without taking any of the evidence into account because the employer claimed that my spouse had to be in the office as an essential part of their job...despite having never been in the office for the entire duration of their employment there.

We found out from our legal counsel that our state does not actually employ anyone with knowledge of employment law to review these workforce cases, so only about 2% of employment cases actually get the chance to go to court. Which is an outrageously small amount, and it almost seems that the dept of workforce services here is intentionally underfunded and understaffed so companies are just never held accountable for their wrongdoings.

My spouse ended up getting illegally fired after this determination from the state was handed down. Their HR even had the gall to reference in the termination email that they were firing my spouse due to the discrimination charge we had filed with the state, which is supposed to be a protected activity. So we're filing another charge for them being illegally fired as well as filing for an appeal with the original discrimination charge. I don't expect these to go anywhere because nothing has gone in my spouse's favor, despite having months of recorded evidence.

While it's been expensive and putting us in debt, I am at least thankful for the help of the legal counsel we acquired. They've been super helpful and understanding. All that said, it's been an incredibly stressful year and my spouse has been so strong with powering through all this legal nonsense.

My depression has been all over the place with this. Seeing how my spouse's previous employer has been treating them often has my mind in a dark place. It's hard to not feel like I can't do anything to help my spouse because there is just nothing in my control. I can't make our legal system actually help disabled workers and I can't hold the employer accountable in any way.

Dealing with all of this on top of taking care of my spouse, cleaning, pets, day job, cooking, etc, has been wearing me down. With them having been illegally fired and struggling to find a remote work software QA job, we also have financial issues just adding to the stress pile. To be clear, I don't blame my spouse for any of this and I will always happily take care everything I can, because I love them more than I can articulate. It's just hard. I would like for our disabled workers, and workers in general, to not have to jump through legal hoops just to be treated well.

It's a mental struggle to continue to work on art or have the energy to do anything I enjoy. I really admire my spouse for continuing to be so optimistic and just a beacon of light despite how unfair this has all been to them.

Anyway, tldr: life's difficult, I'm mentally unwell, my spouse is so cool and I love them, employers don't care about you, our legal system is a joke.

[naniskys]

hi!! gmmtv anon again ✨. i’m sorry for disappearing but real life was kicking my ass

the amount of fanmeets a lot of them do in general is insane. i do understand that this is how the company and the actors make a lot of their money, but come on they are overdoing it at this point. they are actors after all and not idols even tho p’tha called them “idols” 🗡️🗡️🗡️

i remember gem saying that he will have two shows next year, but idk if they will pair him up with a girl for the second one or if it will be another show with fourth. tbh before part 1 aired i was so sure they were gonna give winnysatang their own show with gemfourth as a side couple plus their own show as mains lol

i might check out some of joong’s scenes, but since it’s focused on the girls those scenes will very likely always involve film in one way or another. ugh it’s so annoying 😩

oh speaking of joong, a fan asked him at a fansign if he will have a show with dunk next year and he was like “no <3. Or maybe?” (https://x.com/allaboutnia_jd/status/1716433598008684595?s=46). i know they can’t spoil anything but this made me want to fight him hahahahah

so true! i’m glad we got a lot of new faces and that they’re actually giving them lead roles!!! you go gmmtv!!!

yeah mark was doing the most this year, and i love that for us and because i do5 think i would ever get tired of seeing his face. i’m still a bit sad about him having to drop out of cooking crush because getting more of neomark would’ve been epic. but it was also understandable because he had OF promo and shooting for last twilight going on at the same time. anyways, i do hope he will get offered more serious and maybe even lead roles now that he’s established himself an actor who can do more than just play the comic relief.

i’m praying for part 2 having even better shows than part 1 and pls it would be so funny if they gave taynew and offgun another show 😭😭😭

Hii!! :) Don't worry about it anon, no pressure at all to reply, life happens sometimes <3

nah the idol thing is so funny actually 😭😭 like some of these people are amazing actors, but extremely mediocre singers/dancers/etc at best hajskdj. i swear as soon as someone is even slightly marketable, off they go. i remember there were a couple markford intl fanmeets, even though i dont think they're gonna pair up again for a show

I definitely was expecting a het show for one or both of gem4th, but since the lineup's in 2 parts, it would make sense to save that for the 2nd installment (can already see the delulu fans not being too keen on it... gemini hung out with bimbeam recently and some people on twitter were.. yeah 😬) hopefully we get my love mix up soon after to kinda calm that 😂 (and then i'm completely wrong and we get another gem4th show 👀 i wouldn't be opposed either)

and another gem4th wnst show sounds so cute actually !!! i was honestly expecting a wnst leads show (not an ensemble), is it bad to still have hope for pt 2 🥺 at the very least, they seem to be going the full established cp route with wnst, they're gonna be in LOL next year + the logo. soooo if not pt 2, at the very least we'll surely get a wnst show in gmm2025 🤞

real, and given how many characters there are in ploy's yearbook, i can't imagine they're all gonna get a lot of screentime anyway. Also i didn't realise joong was paired up with film?? not the biggest fan of film (i'm sure she's lovely, i just don't vibe), sooo not looking too good for me 😅

JOONG WHYY 😭😭 he looks so smug, i dont know what to make of that <//3 ppw essentially spilled everything about their series before pt 1, surely he can give us some crumbs, not cryptic nonsense like that LMAO althoughh we've technically gotten a jd show 2 years in a row so maybe they're giving it a rest??

(also i was so confused by the person repeating himself in the background in english, took me way too long to realise it was dunk 😭😂)

(also anon, my bestie, this is kinda embarassing so keep it a secret for me <3 but i've been watching way too many of those jd tiktok compilations on yt lately 😭😭 i am the fan and i am being serviced 😌😅 hopefully we get another show soon tho)

i'm so glad mark's managing to make that jump!! he's such a good actor, both in comedy and more serious stuff :) i do hope we get more neomark at some point, i wouldnt want them to become a fixed pairing but i do wanna see them act together again

yesss i always see people not too happy about the lineups, maybe my expectations are too low but i'm pretty optimistic for pt 2 !! i rlly loved a lot of the shows in part 1, so hopefully they can match or top that :]

also anon did u see the last twilight trailer getting delayed 😭😭 gmm why (seem to be asking that a lot lately ajskdj) i rlly like jimmysea but i know they aren't as popular as other cps, and this isn't helping :((

[secondbeatsongs]

Frederick the Great’s Coffee (allegedly)

strap in: it's time for some nonsense!

so, first things first: context

a bit ago, I saw this post going around that talked about the way Frederick the Great took his coffee. and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since. I mean, look at it:

[Image transcription:

"Frederick the Great used to make his own coffee, with much to-do and fuss. For water he used champagne. Then, to make the flavour stronger, he stirred in powdered mustard. Now to me it seems improbable that Frederick truly liked this brew. I suspect him of bravado. Or perhaps he was taste-blind."]

this quote seems to be from "Serve It Forth", a 1937 book by M.F.K Fisher about culinary history. it seem like a fun and interesting book! but...I can't find many other sources that say that Frederick the Great actually drank his coffee this way.

there are some sources that say he drank his coffee with mustard, but some say it was with peppercorns instead, and a few others say it was with mustard and peppercorns. and a lot of different websites mention the champagne thing, either with or without mustard (and sometimes peppercorns), but none of them cite their sources

so, I can't figure out where any of this is coming from

honestly, the most reliable source so far seems to be what's listed on his wikipedia page, which mentions him drinking six to eight cups of coffee a day, "laced with mustard and peppercorns". but I don't think the champagne thing shot up from nowhere - I just can't find the origin of that story!

ah, well. I'll have to keep looking.

anyway, this is all to say that this is not an experiment in historical accuracy. I am not a historian, and although I have learned things about 18th century coffee preparation, I don't really have a way to make it accurate, even if this really was the way that Frederick the Great drank his coffee.

what I do have is:

coffee that I got from Costco before the pandemic and still haven't used up yet

Stardancer Sparkling Rosé that I got at the Korean grocery store for $2

and, lastly:

a cauldron

why? ehh, I felt like it. that's enough of a reason.

let's get cooking!

welcome to my kitchen!

as you can see, the countertops are as red as the blood of my enemies. I've been told it's because this house was built over 50 years ago, and apparently that was in fashion back then.

and as you can also (kinda) see in the above photos, I have put one cup of champagne into the cauldron, and have started heating it up over medium-high heat.

(and I've put some in a glass with some ice, because hey, I might as well enjoy this, right?)

okay! up to temp, and I've stirred in about 2.5tbsp of the coffee grounds. it bubbled a lot, which was pretty cool to look at

...it's really hard to figure out how this actually looks, because with the weird kitchen lighting and the darkness of the cauldron, it just kinda looks like...opaque sludge?

but surely it can't be that. right?

it is still the general consistency of normal coffee, it seems - and god. the smell coming off of it is really something. coffee and hot wine...it's not bad, but I wouldn't call it good either.

(this is when the cats came running in, because they've started to associate the smell of coffee with them getting treats. this is my dad's fault - he likes to give them a little bit of whipped cream whenever he makes his coffee, and they're absolute whipped cream fiends.

they were very disappointed that I was making them no such offer xD)

anyway, about 4 minutes later, this strange-smelling brew is ready to be strained!

I started like this ^ with a strainer lined with a coffee filter, but tbh? that didn't work well at all. it clogged and got stuck. so in the end, I took out the coffee filter, and put it through just the strainer.

it seemed to work okay! there's some sediment at the bottom of the cup, but I don't see any grounds, so I think we're in the clear.

before I add the mustard, I'm going to taste it as-is, just to see what the champagne-coffee combo is all about.

...

huh!

okay, so...that. well, that definitely tastes. but I might have a problem here, because what it really tastes like, overpowering every other flavor, is...rust.

when did I last use this pot?

...have I ever used this pot?

I got this cauldron on...ebay? craigslist? I can't remember, but I bought it online and picked it up from someone's house probably seven, eight years ago. and in the time since then...I don't think I've ever used it for cooking?

I know that I've seen other pots like this called "fire starter pots", but now that I think of it, I don't actually know what that means. and I feel like I should probably google that real quick? so give me a minute.

...

so, the internet seems to think that there's a chance that this cauldron once contained kerosene, and considering how that's pretty much jet fuel, I'm going to maybe make this coffee in something else?? jfc

I am going to add some mustard first though, because fuck it, that's why

yeah, this isn't much improved. I can't really taste much over the overwhelming rust flavor.

welp.

okay! attempt #2!

I am lazy, and not willing to clean another pot today, so we're using a pyrex measuring cup! and because ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, we're heating it up in the microwave!

(you can see just how much I've given up at this point. but it's okay! we'll get there!)

wow, it really foamed up when I added the coffee, which is interesting! I know it did that in the cauldron too, but it was harder to see, so it's fascinating looking at it like this.

followed the same procedure as before - steep about 4mins, strain (I washed the strainer first, it's fine), and now I again have a cup of champagne coffee.

now I can truly experience this!

...

interesting

by itself, this really isn't terrible. it's very warming, and I dunno if I'd drink it again, but...yeah, that certainly is something.

it's tricking my brain in a weird way - it smells more like coffee than like wine now, but when I go to take a sip, the alcohol is what hits me first.

still, it's not bad? it's not overwhelmingly fruity - maybe it's the champagne I picked, but this isn't a huge conflict of flavors like I thought it would be. honestly, it's pretty much okay. it's just coffee with alcohol in it, and I am not mad at it!

so.

you know what the next step is. I know what the next step is.

let's do this.

I've added about half a tablespoon of mustard. which is, for the record, a lot of mustard. at least, for this amount of coffee it is.

...

the smell...oh, the smell is horrible. but the taste is...improved?

the mustard seems to mellow it out a bit, somehow. maybe it tones down the bitterness?

I like to smell coffee as I go to drink it, but with this one I just can't. I just will not. the second I tip it towards my mouth, I am overwhelmed with the scents of deviled eggs, coffee, and hot wine. and these smells do not mix well.

if Frederick the Great did actually like his coffee like this, I have some questions for him about the functionality of his nose, because jesus christ. it's not a good smell.

but if I don't sniff...it's fine? it's just black coffee, with a bit of an alcohol-fruit flavor, and some sharpness that's not out of place. maybe like a mulled wine gone wrong?

this is better than the pumpkin spice ramen for sure, though. I don't know if I'd do this again, but compared to some of the other things I've tried, it's really not horrible.

it does look kind of sickly, though

the color is not appetizing. there's sort of a yellow ring around it

drinking more of it...I mean, it's like halfway to an Irish coffee? a really bad Irish coffee. made by someone who only has a loose understanding of what an Irish coffee is.

I wonder what it would be like with sugar?

...

okay. bad idea!

nope. nope nope. nope!

the sugar brought out the fruitiness of the wine! and now it's clashing with everything! a horrific war going on in my mouth, each flavor fighting to see which is the strongest!

the winner: unclear. the loser? me.

I feel like I've learned something today.

final thoughts:

I did save some of the unsweetened Frederick coffee, and chilled it to see if it was better or worse cold. it was, in my opinion, mildly worse. I think the heat helped hide the wine taste, whereas the cold made it a bit more obvious what I was drinking.

I tried adding peppercorns and steeping them in it for a while when it was hot, but tbh, I couldn't taste anything different, so I didn't think it was worth mentioning in the main part of the post. and I'm still sad that I couldn't taste it, because I love pepper :(

Frederick the Great sounds like a weird dude (affectionate)! but I feel like anyone would be weird after being forced to watch their boyfriend's execution by beheading

like, really, that was a thing that happened! I am not joking! go read the wikipedia pages about him if you're interested in hearing about the tragic romantic life of this fascinating and probably-gay man

...I say "probably" above, but no, let's be real here. straight people don't say things like, "Fortune has it in for me; she is a woman, and I am not that way inclined."

anyway, this has been fun! I'm gonna go eat some pasta and drink more of that cheap champagne.

[aeoki]

Chill Yellow - Chapter 1

Location: Staff Cafeteria Characters: Hokuto & Wataru Season: Autumn Writer: Maiko Nishioka (Happy Elements)

TL Note:

In Japan, once everyone has been served, it’s customary to say “Thank you for the meal / いただきます” (with hands clasped together) before eating to show appreciation for the farmers and/or cooks. Although nowadays, some people (especially the younger generation) are lazy and skip out on this, hence Wataru’s reaction.

Hokuto: (To think the previous work would finish so quickly… now I have time before the next meet-up.)

(Well, it doesn’t matter. It just happens to be lunchtime right now. I can have lunch while I’ve got the time for it.)

(Let’s see. Put an order through “Hallhands” and all right, all that’s left is to wait for the food to be brought over.)

…………

(It feels rather boring to be simply waiting like this… What does everyone else do to pass time at a time like this?)

………… *Looks around*

(...What’s this? Almost everyone is looking at their phones…? It’s such a bizarre sight to see everyone doing the same thing.)

(Hmm. But one time, Yuuki did say I should pay more attention to the trends. In this case, I suppose when in Rome do as the Romans do.)

(All right, I’ll imitate everyone here and also look at my phone.)

(But what are they all looking at? They seem to be flicking their fingers and flipping pages every so often. Is there really something worth staring at…?)

(I thought smartphones are generally used for phone calls or sending messages, though…)

(Hm. Found it. With this, I can also stare at my phone and flip the pages every so often. All right, I guess I’ll take my time looking at this.)

………… *Stares at the smartphone with all seriousness*

Wataru: …………

Hokuto: Woah!? I thought I felt a presence and turned around but–

Hibiki-senpai, anyone would be surprised if you stand silently behind them like that. You usually barge straight into my personal space with a huge commotion. Why are you so quiet today?

Wataru: Oh, no no. Actually, I saw you staring so earnestly at your phone, Hokuto-kun.

Therefore, I thought I might make a grand entrance by surprising you and saying,

“What are you staring at with such intense concentration~? Is it something you don’t want others to see?”

“Why, Hokuto-kun is going through puberty too!” 

But the act of you staring at your contacts list so earnestly was so eccentric, it exceeded my expectations and it left me standing here; my performance forgotten

To think you’re capable of making me forget my performance even for a split second… You are indeed incredible, Hokuto-kun.

Hokuto: What nonsense are you spouting? Anyway, you arrived early as well, I see. You were also called to meet in the afternoon, right?

Wataru: You are correct. Just as I was wondering what I should do with the time, I decided to go on a walk and I noticed you sitting over here. May I join you?

Hokuto: Sure, I don’t mind. We’ll be going to the same place afterwards anyway.

I’ve already ordered something so feel free to do the same, Hibiki-senpai.

Wataru: Yes, ordering…

Let’s see~ I’m not particularly fond of eating in front of others… However, it would be rude not to order something in a restaurant.

I suppose I shall have a cup of black tea, then.

Hokuto: Hm? Oh, thank you.

Wataru: Amazing! What a tantalising and fragrant aroma. A grilled mackerel set meal? That seems like a dish you would order, Hokuto-kun.

In fact, it was so predictable, it’s uninteresting so I’d say it’s more of a negative than a positive.

Hokuto: Make it clear which one it is. How confusing.

………… *Stays still*

Wataru: …Hm? Are you not going to eat? It will get cold, you know?

Hokuto: What are you talking about? Your drink hasn’t arrived yet. We all say, “Thank you for the meal.”[*], once everyone’s food has arrived. That’s what my grandmother taught me.

Wataru: …I see. You truly are a good boy, Hokuto-kun.

Hokuto: Hey. Don’t just sum it up to me being a good boy. When you phrase it that way, it makes it seem like you’re actually making fun of me.

Besides, if necessary, I might even dabble in a bad deed or two. You never know.

Wataru: Making fun of you? I have no intention of doing so. If anything, I’m truly impressed. 

It’s fine, isn’t it? To remain a person of good morals is a miraculous feat in itself.

Fufu… I highly doubt there will ever come a day when you’ll commit a bad deed. And it’s because you haven’t that’s why it makes you so fascinating and intriguing ♪

Location: StarPro Office (Conference Area)

Hokuto: Hm? Oh, it’s you, Anzu. You must have been working hard.

It’s been a while since I last saw you. I’m sure you must have been busy devoting yourself to another “unit” recently.

Oh, right. We’ll be working together next month, so we’re looking forward to your guidance. It’s been a long time since we last worked together. Akehoshi and Yuuki were dancing for joy.

Hm? No, I wasn’t dancing for joy.

Would it have been better if I did? I understand, I’ll dance with them next time. What dance would be good? I’ll do my best to meet your expectations.

…What? It was a joke, you say? I don’t understand why you would pull out a joke now.

Well, no matter. You seem to look troubled. I won’t dig any further then.

That’s right. I was called to come in today to check the details of my schedule and for a meeting.

You don’t have to worry about that. It’s finished already. It was over surprisingly quickly, so I was somewhat disappointed.

What about you? Are you fine with chatting with me like this? You’re still working, right? There are a lot of documents spread out around you.

Oh. So you were just organising this huge amount of papers. If you sort it every now and again, you won’t have to spend a lot of time doing it all at once later.

We have to manage a lot of scripts and equipment at the Drama Club and it’s a lot of work. Everything will pile up if you get lazy–

! Woah!? Sorry. Because I bumped into you, the documents you were carrying have all fallen to the ground.

No, it’s fine. It’s my fault. I’ll pick it up.

Hm? What’s this…? Documents for an audition that’s about to be held? I see.

What!? W-Wait! Let me see that piece of paper for a minute!

Hmm… What? A drama!? From that person…?

Huh? Do I know this director, you ask? Yeah, of course.

You could probably say I’m a fan. For people who enjoy acting, there are a lot of people who support him.

He’s like a treasure in the world of cinema.

What’s wrong? Why are you coming closer? Ohh, so you’re a fan of his too. You’re excited to find a fellow fan? Hm, I see.

But I’m surprised… A drama of all things, huh.

You probably know this because you’re a fan too, right? He’s the type of person to live and die for cinema.

I can’t believe he would be the director of a drama series. I wonder what change of heart did he have? Well, not that I’ll get the answer just by thinking about it.

I also recall he personally selects the actors he likes for his own films most of the time.

It’s unbelievable to see he would hold auditions for a drama…

So you think so, too, Anzu. It’s understandable why one would be so excited. No one knows if there will be another opportunity like this in the future.

Anzu. I’m thinking of auditioning.

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