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[Well. Some shit happened. They're in a new timeline. Fauna has been ready to get a talking-to she deserves, but instead, she was invited over for magical girl anime? And... Ryoko got grounded?

Maybe the time loop did some weird things. How can Ryoko be grounded? Ryoko's invitation over Starnet also was, well, weird. But at least it happened at a good time, giving Fauna enough time to set something up.

When she arrives, she's nervous, but... She set up for this. She can't stall. Rather than letting anxiety overwhelm her at the door, she now has to knock.

Fauna knocks at Ryoko and Taiga's door, definitely worried, but at least she's ready for a horrible talk and then magical girl anime.

And when the door is answered, they're going to see Fauna carrying... a large metal box.]

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[ Taiga's the one who ends up opening the door, though she's... hesitant. Even though she was expecting Fauna, at first she only opens it a crack to make sure it wasn't someone else. ]

Oh, hey.

[ Awkward, but not for the reason Fauna probably thinks. Taiga steps back and opens the door the rest of the way, ushering Fauna inside after giving the box a strange look. And how cute, Taiga's got her hair up in twin braided buns...! It only sort of masks the fact that she's also got cute little tiger ears. ]

Anime today, right?

Yeah, that's right.

[Fauna enters, taking off her shoes, and being very careful with this box.

She's... not commenting on the ears. Or reacting to them at all.

... Has she even noticed them?]

I, uh... I know we need to talk, too, and I thought... Talk or anime, it would be good to have good food with it, so I brought some. I hope that's okay?

[ please don't notice them she's still trying to cope ]

Oh! I think Ryoko's got some snacks, but I'm not gonna turn down more food! C'mon, there's a whoooole bunch of episodes!

[ If they don't bring up the obvious awkwardness, does it even exist? Taiga leads Fauna to the living room, gesturing towards a table with an array of snack foods. ]

You can put the uh... box? Somewhere on here!

[ Ryoko was in fact, not sitting down. She had been bringing the snack foods, and had put pillows down... and then grabbed blankets, just in case?

Oh. She lost track of time. ]

Ah.

Hey. Good to see you?

Hey. I, uh, I brought food.

[She holds up the box...]

Should I open it up on the table?

[you know what, I like Taiga's take. NO AWKWARDNESS IF WE REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE IT.]

[ triple baka starts playing in the background i mean what ]

Uhhh, yea... wherever it'll fit is fine.

[ There is the very real question of, "is this food still alive," but it's one Taiga doesn't actually want to ask out loud. She's just thinking it really loudly. ]

Oh, um... sure.

[ Yeah, she has no idea what the hell Fauna could even have brought... so, she's going to take a seat. ]

[Fauna sets the box on the table, and opens it up! It releases a cloud of steam, obscuring vision! And...

Fauna reaches in, pulling out... a bowl of ramen, for herself. And then, a second, identical bowl for Taiga.]

I wasn't sure what kind of ramen you'd like, Taiga, but we seem to agree on pretty much everything so far, so I just got you the same thing I get... Tonkotsu ramen with extra chashu and cut-up steak... the ramen with tons of meat in it.

[And then, for Ryoko, she reaches back in again...]

... I got some really weird looks for this. The Saikyomen guy was confused about how I knew about the secret menu, and I really didn't want to explain, but... Here, for you, Ryoko.

[And so, Fauna places a bowl in front of Ryoko.]

Edited 2023-05-07 17:38 (UTC)

[ Taiga can't help squealing in delight, staring at the piles of meat on her ramen as if it were food brought down from heaven. ]

Tonkotsu?! Omigosh, I didn't even know there was a place that had tonkotsu here! H-how did you get them to load it up with so much meat, isn't that like... a whole animal on there?! I could die happy now...!

[ That sure is a little tiger tail wiggling around happily. ]

[ Meanwhile, Ryoko is currently, what we would consider... stunlocked.

It's definitely ramen, but... it's using oden ingredients? It's from a secret menu? So that means it's something the guy serving it has to have put time into, but thinks it might be too experimental, right?

To think there was someone else in the universe that was willing to broaden their oden horizons...

Ryoko looks surprised, but doesn't seem upset about it? ]

Whoa...

[RAMEN PLAN: SUCCESSFUL!?!]

If you want, I can take you to the shop sometime! The old man who runs the place is kind of grouchy, but he's just really dedicated. Before the whole, reset thing, I tried a bunch of his secret recipes, and they were pretty much all incredible. I just told him I wanted a "meat mountain" ramen, and he took it as a challenge!

[Her own tail is wagging.

... She still hasn't noticed Taiga's.]

Those grouchy guys make the best ramen! We gotta go, I need to try all the different kinds so I know which one is the winner! Anything with a mountain of meat on top is pretty high up there...

[ Taiga is already fantasizing about a future visit. Ramen plan incredibly successful. ]

Here I thought you were gonna let lose some live animal, haha.

[ Well, while they have their talk about meat, she's going to give this stuff a try. Don't mind her. Oden ramen, huh... ]

Live animal? Why... Why would I have a live animal?

[Taiga, why.

But Fauna is starting to eat!]

...

Y'know... It sounded a lot less stupid in my head.

[ Whatever the hell these two are talking about with live animals and what not is being brushed over as Ryoko mutters under her breath. ]

--broth is interesting, the mix of flavors is like nothing I've had before, I can certainly feel the passion for oden clashing with the passion for ramen, but they both meet in the middle in an interesting fashion... hmmm, the way the noodles absorb the different ingredients... ahh, this guy does know what he's doing...

[Looking at Ryoko...

.......Leans over. Whispers to Taiga.]

Is this a good sign?

Huh--?

[ Stop fantasizing about food when you have food right in front of you, Taiga. ]

Oh, wow... She hasn't done this in awhile.

[ a little bit more tasting... ]

Uoh... it feels like it shouldn't work, but it does! This is opening up a brand new world for me...!

[ this girl really uoh'd. she's enjoying it, at least! ]

[... she's trying to hold it in. She really, really is.

But she can't. Between Taiga fantasizing about ramen as if she didn't have a meat mountain ramen in front of her, and Ryoko going Full Food Commentator, Fauna can't help but start laughing, bending over in her seat and trying so hard to keep it contained...]

F-Fauna?!

[ Is she crying?! It's hard to tell, but maybe Ryoko's breaking some untold rule of... whatever it is she's eating? That could be bad! Clearly, all rational thought has left this room, as Taiga flounders around and nearly knocks her bowl over. ]

N-no--nonono don't spill!!!

[ All it takes are two completely separate reactions happening nearby for her to snap out of it, and-- oop! ]

Aaah, don't--!

[ SHE'S GONNA. USE UTENSILS TO KEEP EVERYTHING FROM SPILLING OVER?! ]

Wha- Crap, look out-!

[Fauna lunges forward, trying to stabilize Taiga's bowl with her hands...]

[ After a lifetime of being clumsy, Taiga has learned a very important lesson: never try to save anything, because she'll only make a bigger mess of it. So instead of helping, Taiga backs off and leaves fate in the hands of ~~God~~ Fauna and Ryoko.

It's mostly a success! Only a little bit spills, and the majority of the casualty comes from pieces of meat falling onto the table. ]

[ Phew!!! ]

That was close... you almost--

[ .............she's actually getting to look at these bowls now. ]

Is... is there anything other than meat in this thing?