A few minutes later…
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[The group admin has lifted the mute.]
Admin: "Ahem, my bad, my bad."
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If an apology was enough, we wouldn't need the police!
All that wasted time… How are we supposed to— Mute Warning.jpg
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"No worries, no worries."
"Mistakes happen! Totally understandable!"
"Brother, are you still there? We need answers! Urgently!"
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Faced with the oppressive tyranny of the admin, the group members all played along, pretending nothing had happened.
And after all the summoning and pleading, the guy who started it all finally responded.
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"Go to the Story Creation Contest official website and search for entry #60285!"
"Thanks for the tip, legend!"
"As expected of the notorious sensei, always stirring things up! He slipped away unnoticed and joined a whole new competition!!"
"Wait… what even is the Story Creation Contest?"
"Seriously? Do you not have the internet? Go look it up!"
"Even if it's just a script and not a final product, given the sensei's storytelling skills, it's bound to be another masterpiece!"
"I just hope this story has a happy ending… unlike Steins;Gate!"
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One by one, the fans in the group shared their thoughts and then promptly disappeared.
No need to ask where they went.
As for Tanaka, the moment he saw the contest entry number, he immediately closed the chat. No hesitation, no second thoughts.
Of course, he knew about the Story Creation Contest.
Held once every four years, it was a massive event, full of hype. The extravagant prize pool drew attention from both inside and outside the industry!
For professionals, it was a golden opportunity to earn fame and fortune.
For the audience, it was a chance to witness groundbreaking stories and see which lucky soul would claim the grand prize!
On top of that, the TV show based on the contest was a ratings juggernaut, always topping the charts the year it aired.
Then again, the fact that it only aired every four years played a big role in that.
Even the most delicious food would get boring if you ate it every day. But if you had to wait years between bites? You'd crave it like crazy.
As for the other reasons behind its success? Tanaka wasn't an industry expert, so he couldn't say.
All he knew was that he loved the show. That was enough.
Since the contest attracted countless submissions, and most were amateur entries made for fun, the overall quality varied wildly.
That's why Tanaka never paid much attention before.
Some people enjoy sifting through a sea of average works to find hidden gems. Others prefer to dive straight into the main event.
Tanaka was the latter.
Besides, as a student, he didn't have the luxury of time to waste on filtering through entries.
…Ahem, back to the point.
Following the instructions from the group, he quickly found the entry titled CLANNAD.
After confirming the author's name, Tanaka couldn't help but grumble:
"Sensei! Pulling stunts like this without telling us?!"
"Do you have any idea how long we've been suffering, waiting for your updates?!"
"So what if it's just a script? Do you doubt our loyalty?!"
Despite his complaints, Tanaka had no intention of spreading the word. Instead, he clicked on the story immediately.
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"Tomoya Okazaki, protagonist, attends a private high school. A delinquent. Lost his mother in an accident at a young age and now lives with his father…"
"Nagisa Furukawa, heroine. Fell seriously ill at five and nearly died. Weak constitution. A year older than the protagonist but had to repeat a grade. Meets Tomoya under the falling cherry blossoms…"
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The moment Tanaka saw the words "serious illness", his forehead twitched.
A blonde girl immediately came to mind.
Once again, a terminal illness subplot? Just like Your Lie in April?
Tanaka's head started throbbing.
"No way… Not again?!"
He grimaced at the screen.
Sure, Your Lie in April was an incredible story. Kousei was saved by Kaori's influence, but in the end, she still—
Just thinking about it filled him with overwhelming regret.
"The contest's theme is 'Life'… So it's not impossible for it to follow a similar pattern."
The Notorious sensei's works always took different approaches, but that didn't mean he wouldn't reuse a heartbreaking formula someday.
As a devoted fan, Tanaka was rational and mentally prepared!
"Well, let's just read it first."
With that thought, he kept going.
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"Kotomi Ichinose, Tomoya's childhood friend. A genius girl. Lost both parents at a young age…"
"Fuko Ibuki, a first-year student who spends all her time carving wooden starfish in the art room. Eccentric. Loves daydreaming about her wild fantasies. Awkward in social situations…"
"Tomoyo Sakagami, a former delinquent. Insanely strong in fights. So powerful, people call her 'The Martial Emperor'…"
"Kyou Fujibayashi…"
"…"
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By the time he finished reading through ten detailed character profiles, Tanaka rubbed his temples.
"This time, sensei is going all in!"
He wasn't an expert, but after reading so many stories over the years, he had a good sense of things.
So many characters. Such intricate backstories.
With this author's style, there was no way these were just filler characters meant to show up for a few brief scenes and disappear.
If they had such detailed setups, they were bound to have their own deeply intertwined arcs within the main story!
Just imagining the amount of work required to weave all these stories together made Tanaka's scalp tingle.
But more importantly…
"For a preliminary round, this is total overkill!"
Looking at the corresponding character illustrations, Tanaka let out a sigh.
Sure, plenty of writers could create a perfect character profile.
But how many could also draw their own characters?
Just that alone put this entry on a whole different level from 99% of the competition!
Seeing these well-crafted character designs, Tanaka's curiosity skyrocketed.
He couldn't wait to see what kind of story the Notorious sensei would craft for this tale called Life.
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