@Nerds
Decided to take another run through the waitressing sidequest from the latest update today and realized itās become one of my favorite parts of the game for reasons Iāve yet to post about, standing alongside such memorable moments as the interrogation, the island bbq and the baking contest.
Figured Iād post this mini-review of a very small but excellent part of the game while the thoughts are still fresh in me head. Also included some random SB-related thoughts at the end 'cause Iām under the impression double-posting is poor form. Spoilers abound as usual, so anyone new scrolling down to the bottom right now, go scroll right back up to the top and play this already!
I think the most appealing part of this whole sidequest for me was how special it was to see Clara gorge herself on that much ānormalā food rather than her usual sugary vices. Iām not saying her sugar binges arenāt as nice or even better than this, and Iām also not asking for more deviations from her clearly-defined niche in the future. If it happens, thatās cool, if not, thatās cool too. Itās the rarity of this that made it leave such an impression on me, I believe.
And speaking of her feasting during this quest, it was really nice to get what I call a āburp buttonā while she was eating lunch, where those huge belches could be repeated upon talking to her. That single-minded determination freeing her from all shame and inhibition as she ate like it was her jobā¦wow.
Another great element of this sidequest that shows how much was masterfully packed into something relatively short and small was the colorful cast of NPCs we got to meet. There was nice representation from usual groups like the mafia, goblins and cult but also new faces like the cook and a bunch of other customers. Puns are a guilty pleasure so that one guy got me grinning, though the funniest patrons were probably Dan and the Manbaby Band along with Mr. YeahNah. You even weaved in the beginning of Charlotteās pet project to stuff Danās lil sister. Charlotteās honestly not one of the gals on my favorite characters list, but like Esse I was very impressed with how she handled herself stuffing that gal. This was Charlotte truly in her element, and it gave me new appreciation for how qualified she is for her position.
Though if Iām talking about funny NPCs that made me laugh or left an impression, I have to mention my favorite joke was that āanger and hatred towards the fatherā was a common symptom of going into labor
Second place going to the joke immediately after that about the ādoctorā participating in a birth before.
You know, I just realized this ties into that question during the Q&A about if the girls ever get mistaken for being pregnant. See, you can come up with hilarious and interesting situations where that happens!
One minor thing I wanted to throw out there and compliment you on was how you used Pro returning late so that Emmie had to go downstairs and come back with his order for dinner to create that transition between Clara (and Danās sister) tucking into her epic meal and the terrific aftermath. Good writing, clever design.
Finally, I gotta talk about Emmie and Esse in this sidequest. Through all of this crazy adventuring around the world and the challenges sheās faced, this day of waitressing was the most I have been impressed by our adorable female protagonist so far. Iām sure some of it was because of Esse completely flipping her usual position and encouraging Emmie to resist her hunger and power through, giving her all sorts of helpful advice along the way and acting like the best winggirl possible. Honestly kind of surprising to see out of the demon of hunger, but I guess this shows how much sheās come around and how she cares for her host now as a friend. Some lovely character development, that. Wild that this sort of development is in an innocent-looking mundane sidequest; just another reason why itās one of the most amazing parts of the game for me! Emmieās willpower was insane, I donāt know how she got through an entire day from morning to after dark with only a single sandwich and, at the very end, some cookie dough to keep her going. Itās an incredible showing of strength on her part and she deserves so much credit. And speaking of strength, how the actual heck did she possibly carry everyoneās orders (especially Claraās) in a single trip around the tables?! Iāve seen some impressive plate-balancing in my day but this goes beyond anything I could imagine, both in strength and dexterity. Gonna chalk it up to the amazing ability for video game characters to carry 50 broad swords in one backpack and such. The last thing I gotta mention about Emmie and Esse is how adorable they both were in that waitress uniform! Makes me wish we could see an alternate outfit/sprite for Clara one day with something girlier. Sheād be a stone cold fox in an elegant party dress or something more cutesy like PJs if she joined in a future sleepover.
And I totally agree with Esse: stuffing that waitress with her cute apron on would be damn hot.
@HentaiMaster90000ās comment just above mine mentioning Proās ābatshit crazy momentsā just reminded me of something. I donāt think Iāve ever mentioned this before, but the scene where Pro gets really calm, quiet and smiles when he first wakes up inside Clara then absolutely loses his ever-loving shit is the funniest scene in the entire game for me. Thanks for those laughs Nerds, Iām still laughing about it today 
And lastly, I was admiring an exclusive holiday collection of hot chocolate mixes from my favorite chocolate store today when the spirit of the season caused a thought to spring to mind: has hot chocolate been featured in the game yet? Claraās favorite food in beverage form, it mustāve been at some point. Yet I rack my poor memory and canāt think of a specific instance. If it hasnāt been featured yet, I would like to humbly suggest some of this delicious beverage gets chugged down in the future.