LOADING...OVERFLOW

[recollecters]

Hello and happy new year! A lot of poll results came in from R&D and we've almost fixed taste all the way. Horses are almost fixed, too. We've been working pretty much non-stop around the holidays to stabilize everything, so I hope this works! Just so you guys know, while we were working on fixing the original problems we received some alerts of residual effects outside of our usual domain. Don't worry though! Remember what I said a while ago? We're still moving more resources around into better defenses to protect the city from huge storms like last summer. We'll be taking care of that really soon and isolating the unknown problem. I wish I could tell you more, but we're all working overtime here to finish the final stages of a big project. No matter what happens you guys should be safe while we finish up, so just stay calm, okay? Don't get too reckless! Joanne Wiseman Technician 2nd class Retrspec Incorporated As of this post taste tier 4 has been icly regained; tier 5 will go into effect on Saturday, January 6th at 9pm EST and taste will be fully restored! Per the mod plotting post, you may use this post to obtain this month's freebie! This month's freebie can be earned by turning in a thread on this post that has 10 or more consecutive comments from you. Please feel free to use this post as a network mingle. Every toplevel can be considered a new post, and threadjacking is permitted. No NPC response will be given. Usernames are the character's full real AU names, not aliases or chosen nicknames or usernames, and seemed to have filled themselves in; nothing characters do can change or obscure their names currently.

Comments

Izumi

[floret]

(( from here ))

Wow, that's so generous of you!
I work at Starbucks.
Not the on-campus one, but the one that's close to campus.

[akatatai]

It's settled.
We're friends now.

[Starbucks is the magic word!]

[floret]

Oh, yay!
Are you a student?

[akatatai]

Yeah, I'm a junior in high school
But I usually keep to myself during school
How about you?

[floret]

I'm a junior in college.
I guess I more or less keep to myself, too? Except if there's a group project.

[akatatai]

Yeah, I don't know about you, but I find it hard to talk to people in school
It's... stifling, I guess? College might be different, but
I'm better off once I'm out of the classroom

[floret]

For me college is definitely different! I don't know if "stifling" is how I'd say it, but middle school and parts of high school were really hard.
Can I ask what you mean by better off?

[akatatai]

Middle school was the WORST, nothing can be worse than that
I feel like that goes for everyone
But I'm glad college is better for you!
I guess it's like... I'm in the art club, so I feel comfortable there
And I'm happy when I'm with my friends or cousins at lunch, but I try to keep a low profile in class
I feel like I can't be myself, you know?
Or something like that

[floret]

That makes sense.
It's ok if you don't want to answer, but when you say you can't be yourself
Is that because you're worried about what would happen if you were?
Or is it more like, it just doesn't feel right?

[akatatai]

Hmmmm
I guess it's because I didn't fit in anywhere at school for a long time
People would call me gloomy and boring, but they also weren't wrong
I mean, I have friends now, but it's still easier to keep to myself and let people think what they want
As long as the people close to me understand me, it's fine!
Or at least I think so

Sorry, I don't mean to be depressing
I don't hate school anymore, at least!

[floret]

Oh! I'm gloomy and boring too! Respect.

I didn't find it depressing, so I hope you won't worry.

[akatatai]

Nobody who works at Starbucks can be gloomy and boring!
Are you sure? I don't open up about this kind of thing very much
Or ever talk about middle school and stuff *because* it's depressing

So um
Ummmmm
Let's talk about coffee again!

[floret]

Well, when I say it didn't sound depressing, I don't mean that I thought it sounded like it was no big deal,
or like I thought it was funny or something. It's just, it sounds like things are better now than they were, and that you're kind of figuring out who you are and who you want to be, right?
I mean, if you'd said you didn't feel like yourself in class, OR anywhere else, and also you didn't have any friends, and no one understood at all and you figured they probably never would, then THAT would have been depressing.

[ although Jamie does kind of feel like there's an unfair ratio of openness going on here, where Izumi's being really honest and Jamie's kind of not sharing anything.......... but he doesn't want to be depressing either, so.......... yeah ]

What kind of lattes are your favorite??