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Right. A mysterious man you never met before is suddenly offering you a deal. A deal that doesn't cost money and that only seems to benefit you. Where have you heard this before?

One of your many aunts, God bless her heart, would rattle on and on about demons. How they'd try to trick you into becoming a servant of the devil with honeyed words and promises. They'd come to you bearing the coat of the righteous and pure, she said.

You never paid much attention to her ramblings, really. She thought that Spongebob of all things was the devil, for crying out loud! However, you still can't shake her words from your head.

You're obviously not going to rush in and blindly accept one of his deals. You also don't want to hang up; you want to get something out of this.

"Uh huh. What's the catch?"

"There is no catch-"

You loudly clear your throat in order to interrupt him. "Deals go both ways, 'Mike', but it appears I'm the only one benefiting."

"It's a generous offer, I will admit. Is that such a bad thing, Mr. Alex?"

"It's suspicious, that's what it is. What are we giving up? No deal unless the terms are clear and we have full information."

The line goes cold but not completely dead. You can still make out the loud, roaring winds but nothing for the man on the phone himself.

"Guess he ain't comin' back." Anthony loudly scoffs. "Even abno phones have scam callers these days, eh? hang up already, will ya?"

"No." 'Mike' finally speaks up after what felt like eons of silence. "I am not at liberty to go into specifics, but I can tell you what 'price' I'm obligated to ask of you."

"Time, my good sirs. That's what I deal in. I offer boons in exchange for time. Seconds and minutes are chump change these days, so I deal in hours."

"Good, honest hours." A light chuckle crackles from the receiver. "Sometimes days, rarely years. You don't tip the pizza man a thousand when he delivers the goods, right? Our connection is too unstable for large transactions regardless."

"I know you don't have much time left in here, Alex, so why not spend it on one of my deals instead? My world needs that time more than you do."

You can't really say you're shocked when he starts babbling about time as if he were talking about dollar bills.

"This ain't gonna kill us if we do humor one of yer deals, right?" Anthony asks the obvious question.

"No, no, no point killing a customer." He almost sounds offended at the accusation. To be fair, all of this is still impressively shady. "It's not good business! I take excess time. Time you were going to waste anyways!"

"Uh huh."

"Right." Neither of you are particularly convinced.

"Well, I have two requests before I take one of your deals."

"Yes?" Mike is trying his best to hide his excitement. He must be desperate for someone to take one of his deals.

"One. I want to be able to negotiate the price of this deal and any future deals. No more hiding what the price is next time, okay?"

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If you're going to die, you'd rather not die because you failed to account for some shady clause in magical paperwork.

"Of course." He doesn't even bother putting up a fight over that. "Negotiations are a natural part of doing business. As long as the request is reasonable, I can excuse a five-minute discount."

"Second, I want a free trial."

A sharp hiss erupts from the phone. The man on the line quickly regains his composure. "Excuse me?"

"Ya heard the man. Ya tried to swindle us outta time, we get to swindle ya out of a paycheck. Fair's fair."

"...I would be able to do that, yes." Irritation oozes from every word he speaks. "But I still have a quota to reach. Just like you do, just like any good worker does. I can't, in good conscience, offer something for free."

You feel the cold mask of the CORPORATE WAGESLAVE sliding over your face. Your body stiffens, your shoulders tense, and your legs lock into place. You're as still as a statue now. You speak words, yes, but you can hardly recognize the voice attached to them.

"While this is accurate, you could say that the request we are asking of you is something analogous to a 'loss leader'."

"Ale-" You don't even pick up on what Anthony was trying to say. You're too focused on the call.

"While you do not benefit in the short term and the exchange is lopsided in our favorite-" You rattle on and on in a bland, monotone voice. "-it earns our trust and respect."

"Trust is the most important thing you can win over in a customer. Without trust, the consumer is unable and unwilling to spend their time and money on a good or service. While betraying your consumer base is very profitable in the short term, it is more profitable to be seen as trustworthy and reliable."

"Wouldn't you say this is accurate? It is in your best interest to offer me a free trial of your 'services', so I am able to invest my time in you with the knowledge that your deals are worth my time, in both senses of the word."

Neither Mike nor Anthony is willing to speak up. You can see Lucy watching on from the other side of the room. She's a bit worried about the sudden change in your behavior.

"So. Do we have a deal or not? I believe that if you are not willing to accept my proposal, there are other customers who may be more willing to accept a deal from someone without the proper credentials."

And with that, the mask slips off your face.

DC was 61!
>2 SUCCESSES!

A vaguely familiar cackle erupts from the receiver. You can't quite tell if he's laughing at you or with you. It's a shrill, smug laugh that is pulverizing your skull like a power drill.

"Ah. There's a familiar stench hanging around you, Alex. We're cut from the same cloth." The fuck does that mean? "Sure. Consider this a way to earn your trust."

"Now! You didn't say what your freebie was gonna be, so I'm picking that for you. Something that'll show you I'm not all bark."

Static floods your brain. Your head is purged of any and all thoughts.

Your brain feels like it's being juiced like a lemon. Your vision begins to swim but the only thing you can process is that damn dial tone. Ring ring. Ring ring. RING RING-

You quickly regain your consciousness. It's hard to say that you even passed out. The brief, momentary flash of pain that enveloped your body is already a fading memory.

Your heart feels different. If you had to put it into words, it's sturdier. Stronger. Not only to the passage of time, but to more abstract types of damage. The kind of damage an anomaly might do to your soul, if such a thing exists.

And if the odd expressions you see on Lucy and Anthony's faces say anything, they seem to be affected by the same 'boon' as you were.

"The pale won't consume you. Not as quickly, of course." Mike cryptically states. "Anomalies? They'll have a harder time shaking who YOU are. See you two days from now." And with that, the line disconnects.

Huh. There's also $25 on the table. You suppose you'll pocket that too.

>You now have $849!
>You, ANTHONY and LUCY are slightly harder to kill. You three are also resistant to various types of anomalous damage you haven't encountered yet.
>You unlock MIKE'S DEALS. Once every two days, you may pay a fee of TIME TOKENS in order to get a strong boon from the TRASHED TELEPHONE.

No one really wants to linger on what, exactly, happened with the man on the phone. Or what he exactly DID to the three of you. You don't have a lot of time to think on it anyways.

"W-we should p-probably wrap things up." Lucy points out. So be it. It's time to decide how you're going to finish this day.

Choose how to wrap up today's shift. Choose one.
>Study EL FELINO and the samples you extracted from it. You must understand how this damn feline works. (DC 53, +9 to roll)
>Check up on LOST SINCE 199X one last time. You want to make sure it's not going to try to break out again.
>Check up on NOWHERE'S SOMMELIER one last time. Some more wine from the funny robot couldn't hurt.
>Study the ESTABLISHING SHOT ARTIFACT. What does this artifact even do? (DC 66, +12 to roll with everyone's help.)
>Study your M.A.D WORLD glasses. What other secrets can they reveal? How much of the veil can they pull back? (DC 55, +12 to roll)
>Study the MYSTERIOUS BLUE PILLS + UNTITLED BOOK you found in LOST and FOUND. They're not anomalous but you still want to know what they DO. (DC 66, +9 to roll)
>Write in?

Choose one person to talk to during your last action this shift.
>LUCY. She's just pleasant to talk to, no notes.
>SLUMBERING WISH. It's the last traces of IN LIMBO. Maybe you're just feeling sentimental.
>ANTHONY. Someone who's been around as long as he has must have some interesting stories to tell.
>EL FELINO. Establish a bond with the cat. Make a DEAL with the cat.
>FET. The computer's still on, so you might as well talk to your 'fellow human'

Welcome back, everyone. Another 60 days of Vincent's suffering, served to you fresh from the source.

>>6343217
>Study the ESTABLISHING SHOT ARTIFACT. What does this artifact even do? (DC 66, +12 to roll with everyone's help.)
>EL FELINO. Establish a bond with the cat. Make a DEAL with the cat.

>>6343207
>>Study EL FELINO and the samples you extracted from it. You must understand how this damn feline works. (DC 53, +9 to roll)

>ANTHONY. Someone who's been around as long as he has must have some interesting stories to tell.

More specifically, try and probe for information about the drug problem with the guards, August, and how he thinks it relates to the artifact heist.

>>6343217
>Study EL FELINO and the samples you extracted from it. You must understand how this damn feline works. (DC 53, +9 to roll)
>SLUMBERING WISH. It's the last traces of IN LIMBO. Maybe you're just feeling sentimental.

>>6343217
>Study EL FELINO and the samples you extracted from it. You must understand how this damn feline works. (DC 53, +9 to roll)
>SLUMBERING WISH. It's the last traces of IN LIMBO. Maybe you're just feeling sentimental.

>>6343217
>Study EL FELINO and the samples you extracted from it.
>SLUMBERING WISH. It's the last traces of IN LIMBO.

>>6343217
>Study the ESTABLISHING SHOT ARTIFACT. What does this artifact even do? (DC 66, +12 to roll with everyone's help.)
>EL FELINO. Establish a bond with the cat. Make a DEAL with the cat.

>>6343217
Oh yeah baby I knew my free trial idea would work. FREE damage resistance of various kinds. Bless his wagie soul...I wonder if time deal works with a robots time. Or an anomaly's.

In any case I was wondering what the comparative bonuses would be if we brought our hot new artifact down to our high level research buddy to see what he thinks. Rufus was it?

>>6343248
that's actualy a pretty good idea if we can find a way to reduce the drug problem of the guards that should be of interest to arc because they would be more effectives

>>6343248
+1

>>6343279
Rudolf probably wouldn't buy it off you but he'd certainly give you some pointers on what it might do, if you want to use one of your FREE TIME ACTIONS. I don't blame you for forgetting his name, you haven't interacted with him much.
>I wonder if time deal works with a robots time. Or an anomaly's.
The only anomaly that might be willing to make a deal with the mysterious phone man is FET, and that's because he's a 'COOL ETF AGENT' who 'KNOW PLACE' and 'GOOD COMBAT'
I doubt Nowhere's Sommelier or LOST SINCE 199X would be particularly keen on picking up that phone.

>>6343293
that's an interesting thing if we do find an anomaly that as like time where they are stuck in such a hyperspeed that everithing is paused for them the combinaison would be GREAT and i would think that would probably help that univers running out of time survive

>>6343293
Yeah I would just want some pointers from jolly ol Rudolf so that sounds good to me. Metawise I am curious what the other artifact of STAGNATION would have been since shes not coming back.

Truly FET is our greatest ally...Yeah I wouldn't know how to pitch it to them. If existence and time was suffering, would Nowhere's Sommelier think that selling it was acceptable? Would they stop existing for the hours sold and enter some kind of abyss. If they stop existing and no one can find them? Might be funny.

>Study the ESTABLISHING SHOT ARTIFACT. What does this artifact even do? (DC 66, +12 to roll with everyone's help.)
Juicy first artifact from our dear departed Rolle. Why don't we give SLUMBERING WISH a pencil and see if it can answer a question or two about it.

>EL FELINO. Establish a bond with the cat. Make a DEAL with the cat.
Food, toys, guests. All a growing EL FELINO could want.

>>6343293
oh for FET he could sell one of every three second when he is in storage and nothing is appening keep that time in escrop and then us that accumulated time to buy shit

>>6343217
>Study your M.A.D WORLD glasses. What other secrets can they reveal? How much of the veil can they pull back? (DC 55, +12 to roll)

>ANTHONY. Someone who's been around as long as he has must have some interesting stories to tell.

>>6343217
>Study the ESTABLISHING SHOT ARTIFACT. What does this artifact even do? (DC 66, +12 to roll with everyone's help.)
>EL FELINO. Establish a bond with the cat. Make a DEAL with the cat.

>>6343217
>Study your M.A.D WORLD glasses. What other secrets can they reveal? How much of the veil can they pull back? (DC 55, +12 to roll)

>SLUMBERING WISH. It's the last traces of IN LIMBO. Maybe you're just feeling sentimental.

>>6343217
>Check up on NOWHERE'S SOMMELIER one last time. Some more wine from the funny robot couldn't hurt.
More wine! New wine? More new wine! (Plus we need more extracts and maybe one more Abno-action for sponsors IIRC.)

>SLUMBERING WISH. It's the last traces of IN LIMBO. Maybe you're just feeling sentimental.
Fren :)

LAST SHIFT ACTION
ESTABLISHING SHOT: GXn, niQ, BGe, qwb
MAD WORLD: Eq3, SEH
NOWHERE'S SOMMELIER: 1zM
EL FELINO: Zz6, 60X, DF+, uPC, Y4T

TALK TO:
EL FELINO: GXn, niQ, BGe, qwb
ANTHONY: Zz6, DF+, Eq3
SLUMBERING WISH: 60X, uPC, Y4T, SEH, 1zM

So, it appears that through process of elimination, you're going to be studying EL FELINO and you'll be talking to the flower growing out of your wrist. I suppose it's better to be friendly with it than not, that thing is ROOTED in you.

Three anons, you know the drill. Roll 1d100+9, you have to beat the DC of 53 with your roll. Table below will give you a rough idea on what will happen.

EL FELINO (DC 53)
0 SUCCESSES: By all accounts, the decision to study this cat was a horrific mistake. (!!!)
1 SUCCESS: Anomalous or not, a cat is still a cat. You've never been a fan of them. (You learn a few vague things but the cat commits a LOT of tomfoolery during the process.)
2 SUCCESSES: It's a good idea you brought Lucy along. This stupid cat seems to LOVE her. (With Lucy's presence, you're able to learn a decent amount about EL FELINO.)
3 SUCCESSES: During one of your experiments, you and EL FELINO stare at each other. A silent agreement is made. (Same as 2 SUCCESSES but EL FELINO will be slightly less ornery for the rest of the quest.)

Rolled 29 + 9 (1d100 + 9)

>>6343648

Rolled 62 + 9 (1d100 + 9)

>>6343648

Rolled 4 + 9 (1d100 + 9)

>>6343648

It would seem that the road to befriending this cat is going to be a long one

EL FELINO...is an evil cat, it sure is. At least this wasn't a total bust but cats will always be cats. You better hope ARC doesn't offer you a cat anomaly tomorrow, hm?

1 SUCCESS recorded. Writing.

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You don't have a lot of time left, so you'll do something quick and, hopefully, easy. See, unless it accidentally gets eaten by LOST SINCE 199X or whatever new anomaly you're getting tomorrow, you're stuck with EL FELINO for the foreseeable future.

You might as well get to know it, no? Lucky for you, the cat's still sleeping on the floor. All it takes to get that cat to stop screaming like it's being skinned alive is a WINE SOAKED SANDWICH, eh?

"Get the cat." You snap your fingers to get everyone's attention. "I don't know what its deal is and I intend to figure something out."

"Ay, 'bout as good as any idea floatin' around my head right now."

"I-I'll g-grab him! O-Or her. Y-you know, I haven't r-really checked...?"

"Does it really matter? Grab it."

Lucy gives you something resembling a thumbs up (hard to tell sometimes given her condition). She begins to sneak up on the cat, making as little noise as she possibly can. She reaches her half-solid arms out to grab the cat, but there's one tiny, itty bitty issue.

>1 SUCCESS!

Cats have AMAZING hearing. EL FELINO's eyes shoot open the moment Lucy's hands are about to touch it. It snaps its head around to stare at her with its piercing, almost human-like green eyes.

Lucy flinches once the cat's gaze locks onto it. The cat seizes this brief moment of hesitation, and it uses it to fucking break for it. It skitters across the whole length of the lab until it's at the back wall.

You and your posse chase right after the cat, but before you can reach it, the cat pulls quite the bizarre trick. EL FELINO begins to climb up the wall, skittering up the length of it until it manages to reach the ceiling. It's now hanging from the ceiling without a care in the world.

You're not even sure how it did ANY of that; the wall and ceiling are a solid sheet of steel with nothing to hold onto.

A high-pitched meow chirps out of the cat. It doesn't even seem particularly ornery or aggressive; it just REALLY doesn't want you to grab it.

"Well. I'll get the broom; y'all watch that lil' ol' thang for me." Anthony breaks away in search of a Trusty And Sturdy Broom. Meanwhile, you and Lucy both stare up at the cat with both fear and mild intrigue in your eyes. What an interesting creature.

"C-c'mon, Bandit! W-we're n-not going to h-hurt you."

"You gave it a name?" You crack a faint smirk at Lucy's pleading.

"W-what? I-Is it a bad name?"

"No, no, I prefer mine. EL FELINO."

Lucy gives you a worried look. She seems concerned by how dreadfully uncreative that name is. Which, it is, but the beast doesn't deserve a real name yet. "T-that's no-not really a name."

"Ah suck it."

Anthony returns with a sturdy broom that you must've gotten from your RESUPPLY run. He promptly pokes and prods at EL FELINO with the handle in an attempt to dislodge the damn beast.

EL FELINO is clinging to the ceiling for dear (un)life, refusing to budge from it. Fuck it, you think to yourself, time to use your vine.

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SLUMBERING WISH's vine shoots out from the palm of your hand and up towards the ceiling cat. It manages to wrap around one of the cat's legs, and with a bit more prodding from Anthony's broom, you manage to dislodge it from the ceiling.

EL FELINO squirms like a demon being doused with holy water. It tries to rip its way out of the vines wrapped around it with its teeth and claws.

Lucy manages to stuff a wad of cloth into its mouth before it can try biting its way out. Okay. NOW you can study this stupid cat.

You lay the restrained feline on one of your many tables. Your coworkers scramble in to do the actual studying. You try your best to help, of course, but most of your focus is on maintaining your vine.

For some reason, you feel like talking to the flower growing out of your wrist. You've had it for a while now, and you haven't really put much thought into its presence. But now? It's the last bit of IN LIMBO aside from its artifact.

Maybe you're feeling sentimental. Is it wrong to form attractions with an anomaly, you wonder? They're not human, or if they used to be human, they're not anymore. Maybe it's only natural for you to bond with something you've worked with for a week now.

You wonder if what you're going to talk to is even sapient, in the same way you are. It is just a flower, right?

The flower growing from your wrist turns to face you. A thought that is not your own pops into your head.

You still hold on to that dream, don't you? That dream you tried to smother?

You do. Even if you have no idea how to help people in a way that matters. Even if you don't understand people all that well, you still want to try.

It's okay. No dream truly worth chasing after can be realized in a single day.
A beautiful flower requires weeks of diligent work before it can fully blossom.

You feel silly even considering the possibility that you have a dream. You're a nobody. Someone who only wakes up in the morning because he has nothing else to do. A corporate slave who knows nothing but work.

Maybe that's true. But you still get up in the morning.
You make what you can of each and every day. That, too, is respectable.
You endure. Like a dandelion growing from a crack in concrete. Is that not beautiful?

It's all you know. You know, you think to yourself, you never thought you'd get motivational advice from a flower growing out of you. Maybe that's why it's bothering to humor you. Because it IS you.

You are me. I am you. We're connected. Rooted together.
We must endure everything that comes our way, Vincent. And I'll be here to help you with every step you take.

A smile creeps across your face. You suppose it's not wrong. That's all you really can do. You've already made it seven days.

Exactly. Remember, I'm here for you. When your shoulders are burdened with too much weight, I'll be here to take the edge off.
We will take care of each other.

And now, the voice is gone.

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What's seven more?

Despite the surreal nature of that whole conversation, it was nice being able to talk to it. Maybe it's because it's just a different part of you now, you suppose.

>Your MENTAL HEALTH is now MAXXED OUT!

As for the cat you've been restraining? It appears your coworkers haven't been able to get much, if any, useful data on the cat itself or the samples you collected from it.

"W-we took a blood sample, but it's, uhm, look." She holds up a syringe filled with what might've used to be blood. It's so thick and congealed that you're shocked she managed to draw it from the cat.

"The maggots ain't anomalous either. They're plain ol' bug larva. Ya couldn't even pay ARC to take them."

"Drat. What about the brown fluid?"

"Now that!" Anthony snaps his fingers. "We got some data on! Lucy, show him!"

Lucy slides over a sheet of paper to you. There are some scratchy but well-detailed sketches of a type of virus that you recognize, but you don't remember the name of. Alongside that are some notes scribbled down on it about what she saw. Apparently she used the microscope on it, as you do, to see if anything was odd with it.

You pick up the paper to see what it says. The handwriting is a bit wobbly, but you can make out most of it.

"Pus-like fluid, FLOODED with white blood cells. Signs of a severe, chronic infection."
"Unidentified bacteriophage discovered within sample. Most bloodcells had a bacteriophage attached to it."
"White blood cells and other biological material found within sample were severely damaged, should not be functional. Somehow, biological material was still 'alive.' Presumably from unknown bacteriophage?"

You stare at the cat that's still (but futilely) squirming inside your vine. It's a zombie cat, if what you're reading is correct? Oh, great, yeah. Excellent. You totally want to be holding this thing.

"That's all she wrote there. Cat's a box of enigmas, I tell ya that." Anthony lets out an overdramatic sigh. "I've seen my fair share of zombie-like beasts in my time."

"Good news, I doubt that one is gonna do you any harm lest ya let that there fluid get inside a wound. Ain't trying to spread it either despite havin' the chance."

He's right, for the time being, but do you wanna test your luck? Absolutely not. You're not going to learn anything else about this cat for now so you escort it back to its cage.

It continues to squirm and for a brief moment, it manages to thrash so hard, it manages to swing itself and the vine around over to your satchel. It bites down on a can of TT-branded cat food and, despite your allies trying to pry it out of its mouth, it refuses to let go.

You're not dealing with this. You toss the cat back into its cage and you firmly lock it shut.

>EL FELINO is now contained.
>9 CANS OF CAT FOOD LEFT!

And with that, your shift is finally over.

>You completed your UNUSUAL ENTITIES DIVISION sponsorship! You'll get your rewards from it soon.

A knock catches your attention before you can even think of breathing out a sigh of relief. An exhausted sigh flows out of your mouth. Okay, let's see what bullshit you're getting dragged into today.

You check the door to see who, exactly, is bothering you. The door opens, and standing right outside your door is a woman about your age. Most of her body is normal enough, but her arms and legs have been replaced by cheap, doll-like prosthetics.

Her irises are yellow, which feels familiar for some reason, but you can't quite put your finger on it.

Each of her fingers is jointed and segmented, and the joints of her knees and shoulders are thick, plastic doll joints. There are odd ridges around her neck, but you can't quite make out what purpose (if any) they have.

She's dressed in a simple red two-piece suit, adorned with a red bowtie, with a cheap pencil skirt hanging around her legs. She calmly taps one of her red heels on the floor as she begins to speak.

She flashes an ear-to-ear smile. She must be wearing veneers with how perfectly white and straight her teeth are. "Welcome, sir! I'm a corporate representative for Fantastical Feasts. I'm here to collect some samples from you."

"It won't take long. You'll have two days after this to fulfill your quota, of course!" She speaks in a high-pitched, cutesy cadence that's like nails on a chalkboard.

Right. You've already set some samples aside for future weapon-crafting purposes, so you tally up what you have to give her.

AVAILABLE SAMPLES (you're not giving up the STATIC BLOOD/SCALES, since you can't get more)

-4 OBSCURA SYRAH
-3 WIRE FLOWERS
-2 STATIC POLLEN
-FET FLESH SAMPLE
-2 ROTTEN BROWN FLUID
-3 OILY BLACK HAIR
-4 BLACK BILE
-BLOODRED FLOWER
-5 CIGARETTE MOLD
-RÊVE CHARDONNAY SAMPLE

SAMPLES GIVEN TO FANTASTICAL FEASTS: 0/16

What do you want to give her? Choose as many as you're willing to give up.

>OBSCURA SYRAH x3
>WIRE FLOWER x2
>STATIC POLLEN x1
>FET FLESH SAMPLE
>ROTTEN BROWN SAMPLE x1
>OILY BLACK HAIR x2
>BLACK BILE x3
>CIGARETTE MOLD x4
>BLOOD RED FLOWER
>RÊVE CHARDONNAY
>ALL THE ABOVE (Completes the sponsorship, but it'll decimate your SAMPLE reserve.)
>Write in (if you want to give a different amount of any given sample)

While she's here, you might as well talk to her, no? Choose three.

>What's up with the prosthetics and her neck?
>What's her name? Try to learn more about her. Something's telling you this isn't the last time you're meeting her.
>What, exactly, does her company do? What services do they provide?
>Why does her company want samples for culinary uses, again?
>What does she know about the other SPONSORSHIP companies? Knowledge is power.
>Wild shot but put on your M.A.D WORLD glasses. Just in case. (???)
>Write in.

>>6343766
>OBSCURA SYRAH x3
>OILY BLACK HAIR x2

Tough call, but if we do 5 today we can do 5 tomorrow and 6 on the last day. Plenty of time to get more wine or sell other stuff if we have to. I don't suppose we can sell some snow from 199X's cage.

>What's her name? Try to learn more about her. Something's telling you this isn't the last time you're meeting her.
>What, exactly, does her company do? What services do they provide?
>Wild shot but put on your M.A.D WORLD glasses. Just in case. (???)
Use it.

I wonder if looking at our new artifact with our glasses would reveal anything on the ticket

Is the Bloodred Flower a one time use? Or if we wore it would it tell us one secret of anyone we faced? I guess maybe put it by our ear or something lol. Wrap it around one side of a pair of sunglasses. Or just in our coat pocket.

we probably should go and see for the cigaret mold

Did we have any cherry mold left?

>>6343766
>OBSCURA SYRAH x3
>OILY BLACK HAIR x1
>CIGARETTE MOLD x1
>BLACK BILE x2

Leaves us some hair to study

>What, exactly, does her company do? What services do they provide?
>Wild shot but put on your M.A.D WORLD glasses. Just in case. (???)
>What's her name? Try to learn more about her. Something's telling you this isn't the last time you're meeting her.

>>6343804
>Do we have any cherry mold
Oh, you do, but it's only one sample so it won't make or break anything.

>>6343801
>Is the Bloodred Flower a one time use?
From a balance standpoint, it wouldn't make sense for you to get infinite secrets from one flower and one wine sample. So it's a one and done thing. You'll have to make more if you want to use the flower on multiple people.
>I don't suppose we can sell some snow from 199X's cage.
Ehhhh? It's not particularly noteworthy in any way, it's just snow. You can try to give it to her anyways but you also only have one bucket of it from what I remember.

>>6343801
+1

>>6343801
+1

>>6343766
>OBSCURA SYRAH x3
>WIRE FLOWER x2

>What's her name? Try to learn more about her. Something's telling you this isn't the last time you're meeting her.
>What, exactly, does her company do? What services do they provide?
>What does she know about the other SPONSORSHIP companies? Knowledge is power.

>>6343766
>OBSCURA SYRAH X 3
>OILY BLACK HAIR x2
>BLACK BILE x3
>CIGARETTE MOLD x4

Talking:
>What's her name? Try to learn more about her. Something's telling you this isn't the last time you're meeting her.
>What, exactly, does her company do? What services do they provide?
>What does she know about the other SPONSORSHIP companies? Knowledge is power.

>>6343766
>Wild shot but put on your M.A.D WORLD glasses. Just in case. (???)
>What, exactly, does her company do? What services do they provide?
>Why does her company want samples for culinary uses, again?

>>6343766
>OBSCURA SYRAHx2
>ILY BLACK HAIR
>BLACK BILE
>CIGARETTE MOLD x4

>What's up with the prosthetics and her neck?
>What's her name? Try to learn more about her. Something's telling you this isn't the last time you're meeting her.
>What, exactly, does her company do? What services do they provide?

Would've closed earlier but you know, maint and all of that. Counting.

WHAT TO GIVE
OBSCURA: BGe, niQ, LiX, LGX, VvJ, qwb, SEH
WIRE FLOWER: VvJ
OILY HAIR: BGe, niQ, LiX, LGX, qwb, SEH
MOLD: niQ, qwb, SEH
BILE: niQ, qwb, SEH

So, we're going to default to giving them 5 samples today, by the looks of it. 3 OBSCURA and 2 OILY BLACK HAIR.

As for the questions?
NAME?: BGe, LiX, LGX, niQ, VvJ, qWB, SEH
COMPANY?: BGe, LiX, LGX, niQ, VvJ, qWB, GXn, SEH
M.A.D WORLD: BGe, LiX, LGX, niQ, GXn
SAMPLE: GXn
SPONSORSHIP: VvJ, qWB
PROSTHETICS: SEH

So, you'll be polite and ask her about her name and her company before you leer at her with your glasses.
You know. For the sake of FUN, one anon, roll 1d100+5. I won't tell you what result you'll get but I'll say higher may not necessarily be better this time around. Whatever you roll, I'll start writing immediately.

Rolled 95 + 5 (1d100 + 5)

>>6344163

Rolled 88 + 5 (1d100 + 5)

>>6344163

Rolled 4 + 5 (1d100 + 5)

>>6344163

>>6344165
>>6344179
>>6344181
Pft. Wow, yeah, you're going to see something VERY, VERY interesting, Vincent.
That's all I'm going to say. See you in an hour or two.

>>6344186
Damn, doll joint corpo bitch is HOT

>>6344165
do it count as an artificial crit?

File: FOODFOODFOOD.jpg (58 KB, 928x750)

58 KB JPG

"Whatever." You pull out a few samples from your satchel to hand over to the Rep. It'll suck not having these to sell later but you LITERALLY signed up for this.

>5/16 SAMPLES GIVEN!
>1 OBSCURA SYRAH and OILY BLACK HAIR LEFT!

"An excellent offering." Her smile widens to the point where you can see the bubblegum-pink gums. "The hair is an interesting choice, but! We'll find a use for it!"

"U-uhm." Lucy pokes her head through the doorway. "L-like what?"

"If ya don't mind us askin'," Anthony places a hand on your shoulder. "This fella right here outta know more about yer company's purpose and culture."

"Wait, hold on-" But it's too late. She leans in REAL close until the two of you are practically smooshing your faces together. Does this lady know NOTHING about personal space? The overwhelming smell of plastic and fancy, floral perfume punches you right in the nose.

"Oh! I'm more than willing to explain it to him. See, we're pioneers in the realm of culinary arts. We search for new, interesting flavors to spice up life."

Her smile fades in the blink of an eye. "Now. How many times have you eaten the same old boring meat? The same old boring bread?" And then it's back, like it was never gone.

"Anomalies are just a new type of animal to hunt and harvest. Now, that's not ALL we do." NOW she finally leans away from you. "We help to supply ARC facilities with fresh supplies, off the record of course, and we use the samples they give us to create specialized rations for their ETF agents."

"Our company is filled to the brim with specialized, highly trained chefs from all around the world. All of whom know a variety of cooking styles to make the most out of anomalous meat."

You can't imagine having to eat anomalous meat slop on a daily basis. You try to say something, but she interrupts you again.

"We also assist them in hunting down culinary-based anomalies. We have agents working with every major fast food brand in case an anomaly manifests in one of their buildings."

Okay. That makes sense, sort of. You open your mouth to speak, expecting to be interrupted, but she actually lets you speak this time. Nice.

"Alright. That's cool, that's cool. I guess I do something like that, but on a way smaller scale, of course." You show her one of your sandwiches as an example. "Try to use that wine as a marinade."

"Oh! Interesting." She leans in real close to get a good, long look at the sandwich. "We'll certainly tell you how to improve on this later, but this is an excellent prototype."

"Right." You put the sandwich away. "Wait. I didn't catch your name, right? What is it?"

"Oh! Silly me, I forgot to tell you!" She taps her plastic fist against her head, making a dull 'thonk' sound with every tap. "You may call me Lev Carnicelli. Lev is fine if you wish to be informal."

"Pretty funny name for someone with plastic limbs. Ain't carn, like, meat or something?" Anthony points out.

"My family was a line of VERY skilled butchers."

File: AURA.jpg (19 KB, 268x290)

19 KB JPG

"I simply joined the family business in my own unique way!" Lev finally steps back to give your group some much-needed physical space. "FEASTS was simply the company I decided to work for! They offer AMAZING benefits, sir; you really should join!"

A curious thought pops into your mind. You reach into your satchel again to find a certain pair of glasses. Lev watches on with that same, toothy smile.

"Is there another sample you wish to give me, sir?"

"No, no, I'm curious about something." In your hands now is M.A.D WORLD. "Mind if you stand there for a moment?"

"O-oh, t-t-those are s-special glasses. Vincent uses them for, uh, research purposes!" Lucy chirps out from behind you.

"I suppose there's no harm!" Lev gives you a thumbs up. "Go ahead!"

You slot them over your face. The world is immediately washed clean of all of its colors, leaving only behind sickly greys, bright whites, and pitch blacks. The colorful suit Lev is wearing is now the same tone as your grey skin.

The walls are revealed to be covered in those familiar antimemetic moths. They blanket the walls and ceiling in a thick layer of white fluff. They seem to notice that you can actually see them now. Every time you glance at them, you can see them nervously shaking.

You briefly look at Lucy and Anthony. While their clothes and skin have lost all of their color, as expected, there is something radiating around their bodies. Something you didn't quite pick up before during the previous encounters where you used these glasses. The best way to describe what's surrounding them is an 'aura'.

You can still see them underneath the aura, but it does obscure some of their features.

The aura hanging around Lucy's half-melted, amorphous body is a shade of dull pink with spots of dark blue speckled around her head.

Anthony's aura on the other hand is a deep, dark red with streaks of black painted across his body, with most of the darkness congealing around his face.

Interesting. You check on what Lev looks like through the glasses.

>100, 93, 9!

The first thing you realize is she doesn't have an aura, or maybe a better way to put it is that something is covering it.

It's not that her arms and legs are plastic, like you first thought. Every last single part of her body besides her gums is made out of plastic, nylon, or ceramic. Her face is the most convincingly human, of course, but it's as artificial as everything else. Her clothes are probably the most 'natural' part of her.

Then, as you squint, you can see something else. Something hidden inside that shell. Something squirming and twitching. You can see right through her, right through her body, and into what's inside her doll-like body.

Flesh. Raw, beating, twisting cherry-red meat. Her hollow, doll-like body is filled to the brim with chopped-up, torn-up viscera. The cherry-red meat doesn't have any real 'shape' to it anymore. It's only molded into something roughly humanoid because of the shell it is in.

Only two parts of her organic body are intact enough to even identify. A heart firmly in the middle of her chest and a long, snake-like tongue resting inside her mouth. You know better than to question how she's still alive, but you wonder how the hell she ended up like this.

Even Lucy is still human after everything that happened to her. What the hell happened to Lev?

There are rudimentary mechanisms, consisting of pulleys and wires, inside of the shell that let the meat pilot its shell. You would look for longer, but you can already feel yourself getting sick. You yank the glasses off of your face, and, lo and behold, a normal (if doll-like) human is standing before you.

>You can see certain people's auras while wearing M.A.D WORLD. These 'auras' might help you to figure out more about a person, if you can decipher them.
>MENTAL HEALTH is now at DOING GOOD!

"So!" Lev warmly smiles. "Anything interesting? What secrets did those funny glasses of yours reveal?"

"C-certainly." You quickly stuff the glasses back into your satchel. "You had an aura? I think? It was yellow. Bright yellow."

"Ah! fascinating." She immediately buys your lie. "I've always been a fan of yellow, though, to be honest? Red and pink always caught my eye more."

"Alas." She idly combs through her very dull, almost brown, red hair. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow morning. I have a meeting scheduled later today at Layer 5, so I plan on staying here overnight."

"See you around, Vincent! Keep up the good work; that sandwich smelled AMAZING!" Lev waves you goodbye before going her separate way. You and your allies stand there, waiting until she's gone before any of you say anything.

"W-what did you a-actually see?"
"I'll tell you on the way over."
"Oof. Must've been somethin' real bad if I got ya stutterin' like her."

So, where do you want to head to now, Vincent? Choose four locations to explore during your FREE TIME!

>Go to the cafeteria. Delicious slop, yum yum, does a body good. (Heals your PHYSICAL HEALTH. You'll get a chance to meet some new people.)
>Wander around, see what you can stumble across. (RANDOM ENCOUNTER!!!)
>Check up on FET. You want to hang out with your 'fellow human'. You want to make sure he's doing okay too.
>Head down to ABNORMALITY MATERIALS STORAGE. You want to talk shop with Rudolf about your PARADIGMS and ANOMALIES.
>Head down to HUMAN RESOURCES. You want to make a deal with ARC, maybe you can get something good out of them.
>You should probably check up on the ghost in the ARCHIVE ROOM. Maybe Lucy and Anthony can help you to communicate with her.
>Head down to LAYER 3. 'Reunite with your brother', Angel Cruz. You should at least check up on your family.
>Search for that mysterious hallway your coworkers were talking. It sounds like a place that'd offer you loot, power, glory.
>Head up to LAYER 1. You want to learn more of what that weird layer is actually all about. It creeps you out but...knowledge is power.
>Write in.

>>6344251
>>Go to the cafeteria. Delicious slop, yum yum, does a body good. (Heals your PHYSICAL HEALTH. You'll get a chance to meet some new people.)
>Check up on FET. You want to hang out with your 'fellow human'. You want to make sure he's doing okay too.
>You should probably check up on the ghost in the ARCHIVE ROOM. Maybe Lucy and Anthony can help you to communicate with her.
>Head down to LAYER 3. 'Reunite with your brother', Angel Cruz. You should at least check up on your family.

>>6344255
+1
I really just want to spend hours doing mold farm autism at some point man. Think of the free money we're squandering not doing that. We also need to solve the properties of most stuff we haven't checked so not only do they sell for more to ARC but we can get more cool gear from them. Anomaly gear is necessary if we want Vincent to git gud

>>6344251
>Go to the cafeteria. Delicious slop, yum yum, does a body good. (Heals your PHYSICAL HEALTH. You'll get a chance to meet some new people.)

>Check up on FET. You want to hang out with your 'fellow human'. You want to make sure he's doing okay too.
Should give him a sandwich.

>Head down to ABNORMALITY MATERIALS STORAGE. You want to talk shop with Rudolf about your PARADIGMS and ANOMALIES.

>Head down to LAYER 3. 'Reunite with your brother', Angel Cruz. You should at least check up on your family.
More importantly, we need to make sure he doesn't tell security about our good human friend.

>>6344263
+1 support

>>6344251
Actually I'll change
>Check up on FET. You want to hang out with your 'fellow human'. You want to make sure he's doing okay too.
TO
>Wander around, see what you can stumble across. (RANDOM ENCOUNTER!!!)
I just remembered that Blackwell will have someone watching us for the next few days. Don't want those psychos finding our boy FET.

>>6344255
+1
also i wonder how would the healing of the wine or the sandwitch affect lev with how she is in the shell

>>6344267
damn you have a point changing to that also yeah

>>6344251
Changing vote from >>6344261 to backing >>6344263 >>6344267
So
>Cafeteria
>Abno Material Storage
>Layer 3
>Wander around
Because >>6344267 is right. Let's AVOID guiding Blackwell right to FET and the ghost lady like a fool, shall we?

>>6344251
>Go to the cafeteria. Delicious slop, yum yum, does a body good. (Heals your PHYSICAL HEALTH. You'll get a chance to meet some new people.)
>Head down to ABNORMALITY MATERIALS STORAGE. You want to talk shop with Rudolf about your PARADIGMS and ANOMALIES.
>Check up on FET. You want to hang out with your 'fellow human'. You want to make sure he's doing okay too.
>You should probably check up on the ghost in the ARCHIVE ROOM. Maybe Lucy and Anthony can help you to communicate with her.

>>6344290
Other anons have made a good point about Blackwell. Change ghost lady and FET to Wander and Layer 1

>>6344286
I'll also support this, forgot about blackwell following us during free time.

>>6344251
>You should probably check up on the ghost in the ARCHIVE ROOM. Maybe Lucy and Anthony can help you to communicate with her.
>Head down to LAYER 3. 'Reunite with your brother', Angel Cruz. You should at least check up on your family.
>Search for that mysterious hallway your coworkers were talking. It sounds like a place that'd offer you loot, power, glory.
>Head up to LAYER 1. You want to learn more of what that weird layer is actually all about. It creeps you out but...knowledge is power.

>>6344251
>Go to the cafeteria. Delicious slop, yum yum, does a body good. (Heals your PHYSICAL HEALTH. You'll get a chance to meet some new people.)
>Head down to LAYER 3. 'Reunite with your brother', Angel Cruz. You should at least check up on your family.
>Head down to ABNORMALITY MATERIALS STORAGE. You want to talk shop with Rudolf about your PARADIGMS and ANOMALIES.
>Farm mold

>>6344251
>Go to the cafeteria. Delicious slop, yum yum, does a body good. (Heals your PHYSICAL HEALTH. You'll get a chance to meet some new people.)
>Wander around, see what you can stumble across. (RANDOM ENCOUNTER!!!)
>Check up on FET. You want to hang out with your 'fellow human'. You want to make sure he's doing okay too.
>Head down to LAYER 3. 'Reunite with your brother', Angel Cruz. You should at least check up on your family.

>>6344251
>Go to the cafeteria.
>Head down to LAYER 3.
>Head up to LAYER 1.
>Head down to ABNORMALITY MATERIALS STORAGE.

CAFETERIA: noC, VvJ, BGe, DF+, ijP, qwb, niQ, SEH, Y4T
FET: BGe, SEH
ABNORMALITY: VvJ, BGe, DF+, ijP, qwb, niQ, Y4T, noC
GHOST: GXn
LAYER 3: noC, VvJ, BGe, DF+, ijP, GXn, niQ, SEH, Y4T
LAYER 1: qwb, GXn
HALLWAY: GXn
MOLD: niQ
WANDER: VvJ, DF+, ijP, qwb, SEH, Y4T, noC

Woo. That was a mess to count, I counted like six different vote swaps in here. I think this is pretty accurate, though? CAFETERIA, ABNORMALITY, LAYER 3 and WANDERING won out.

I'll ask one, and I mean ONE anon, to roll 1d100+8. I won't count extra rolls this time around. Table below. Whatever's rolled, I'll start writing.

ENCOUNTER TABLE (1d100+8)
NAT 1: UH OH
2-33: BAD. You accidently stumble across someone who dislikes you, you get dragged into a fight, you saw something you shouldn't, etc.
34-75: NEUTRAL/WEIRD. You meet another freak, you encounter something anomalous, etc.
76-100: GOOD. You meet someone helpful, you find something valuable, you learn some important information, etc.
101-105: REALLY GOOD. Whatever encounter you find will offer a permanent upgrade to you and/or one of your coworkers.
106-107: ANOMALOUSLY GOOD. [REDACTED].
108/NAT 100: LUCKY!!!

Rolled 94 + 8 (1d100 + 8)

>>6344637
It's time to die, boys!!!

>>6344639
Ah ha. Seems like Vincent finally got the bad luck beaten out of him. For now. Maybe Lucy's your good luck charm? Maybe Anthony?
Writing.

>>6344639
NEVERMIND WE'RE STILL LIVING IT UP BABY WEW

File: ANTHONYSHORTCUT.jpg (129 KB, 940x625)

129 KB JPG

So many things to do, so many things to check on, but only so much time in the day. That's your life. "Anthony, you've been here a while, right?"

"Yes sir. I know my way around this place like the back of yer hand."

"Why do you keep saying that?"

"Ain't that the saying?" Anthony scoffs, almost offended that you're questioning him on this. "Like, ya know a place real well, like the back of a hand?"

"I-it's the back of MY hand. T-that's the saying. 'I-I know something like the back of my hand.'"

Anthony opens his mouth, but all that comes out is a confused grunt. It takes a moment for him to figure out how he should respond to her. "Really? Shit, have I been sayin' it wrong?"

"Yes." You bluntly answer. "Okay, look, that's BESIDES the point. We got a lot of things to do so! We need YOU to lead the way."

"Well, sir, I do know this here facility..." He pauses all of a sudden. What is he doing? "Like the..."

"Don't you fucking dare."

"Back of your hand." He 'winks' with his one remaining eye.

Lucy covers her mouth in a vain attempt to muffle her giggling. You have half a mind to strangle this bastard right here and now. Feh, whatever, he's been helpful enough, and you don't like your odds on fighting him. He survived in this facility for thirty-something years; he can probably put up a decent fight despite how decrepit he is.

"Anywho, where did ya wanna go first?"

"Oh, right. Do you know a man named Rudolf Pierce?"

"Man!" Anthony nearly bursts out laughing then and there at your question. "We go way back. Probably before ya were born. Been a while since I met the old sonnvagun. C'mon, follow me."

You and Lucy trail behind the old timer. You hope he actually knows where to go and that he's not going to have another old man brain fart. Any worry you had about his competence in this regard, thankfully, vanishes when he starts pulling some outright nonsense.

He leads you down a turn that was not there before or that, somehow, you missed this turn. He leads you down a completely different path than the one you're normally used to. Unmarked doors line the hallway, and when you check the map that the Man gave you, you can't locate most of these doors.

He DID mark it down, but it's a smear on the map, something you could've easily confused as an error in his notes.

"Where the hell are we?"

"Ah, there are a few gaps here or there. Space is wibbly-wobbly in this facility even at the best of times, ya know?" Anthony explains with an off-handed, casual tone you'd normally hear if you asked someone about the weather. "Ya learn to SEE these gaps here or there. They're sometimes there, sometimes not."

"Heard rumors about someone findin' weird eggs or somethin' in between the gaps. Or something LIKE eggs?"

"A-an egg-" Lucy squints as she tries to remember something. "Where did I-I hear...oh." She shoots you a cautious look. "Like THAT-"

You shake your head. Best to not talk about the mysterious EGG you have in your satchel.

File: RUDOLF.jpg (671 KB, 973x1280)

671 KB JPG

The three of you soon reach the end of the 'shortcut' Anthony led you down. When you turn around, all that's behind you is a solid metal wall.

"Shortcuts, baby." Anthony snaps his fingers. You briefly skim your map and, wow, yeah. If you're reading it right, you're only one turn away from reaching your location. You're glad hiring him wasn't a waste of money after all.

You feel something squirming inside your satchel. You reach in and...huh.

>You've obtained another EGG?

You place the 'EGG' back where you found it. You'll deal with that WAY later.

"Right, so what did ya see with those funny glasses?"

"That corporate rep? Most of her body was a plastic shell. I've seen less plastic in a Barbie doll."

"Like, what, implants?"

"No, her whole body was a doll's body. But that wasn't it. The rest of her body?"

You point at Lucy. "Imagine if her condition was ten times worse. Pure raw meat. 'course, I didn't want to mention it to her face."

"O-oh n-no, uhm...t-that's. That s-sucks, that really does." Lucy mumbles out. "P-probably a g-good idea you didn't. I-I-It took me a while to get used to t-this form." She waves one of her goo-like arms around.

"I c-can't imagine she enjoys being l-like that. U-uhm." Lucy glances around to make sure no one is listening in. You do so just in case, and well, there's someone watching you from the leftmost end of the hallway. They're keeping their distance so you can't get a solid look at them.

From what little you can see, they're holding a clipboard in their hands. Is that the BLACKWELL REP? Probably a good idea for you to skip meeting FET and the GHOST then.

"I-I have one question."

"Shoot." You and Anthony say in unison.

"Wasn't s-she being kind of...clingy? I-I didn't like h-how, uhm, close she g-got to us. M-Maybe th-there's more to her condition. M-maybe she's infectious."

While that could be true, you can hear a hint of jealousy creeping into Lucy's words. You do your best to contain your laughter. Oh, that's positively adorable.

"Well. Whatever she is, it's all contained in that shell of hers. If Vincent didn't use those funny glasses, we wouldn't know jack or shit."

True. Anthony's not wrong either; if she is infectious, the shell she's in might be a way to contain it.

"You're not just saying that because you're jealous, right?"

Lucy doesn't dignify your question with a response. Whatever, you can open that can of worms later; you have someone you have to meet with. With one last turn, the three of you finally arrive at the entrance to the ABNORMALITY MATERIALS STORAGE.

A familiar old man is standing outside of the entrance to the storage room. He's about the same age as Anthony, now that you can compare them side by side, but he's been spared from the worst of the ravages of time. There's barely any hair on his head, and his skin is flabby and saggy, but that's the worst you can say about him.

"Ah! Welcome, welcome." Rudolf flashes a smile. "I see that you brought some—Wait. Anthony?"

File: ROTTENBUSINESSCARD.jpg (42 KB, 550x339)

42 KB JPG

The old researcher's eyes lock onto the old security guard standing only a few feet away from him.

Neither of them is saying anything. They merely stare and stare at each other, either unwilling or unable to be the first one to speak.

"What. What's going on?"

"I-I don't k-know. M-maybe t-they had a s-stroke at the exact same time?"

The silence hangs in the air for an uncomfortably long period of time until Rudolf finally breaks the silence with a sigh. "Damnit. Fine." He digs out his wallet and yanks out a $50 bill. "This is for last week's lunch."

"Damn right, Rudy. Damn right." Anthony walks over and snatches the bill out of the old man's hand. The awkward silence vanishes immediately after Rudolf paid his debts. "Long time no see, fucker!"

"Yep! Thought I'd never see your ugly mug again. Though, there's not a lot of your mug left, eh?"

"Pfft. Talk about my face like that, and I'll give you a face that's ten times as bad as it, ya here?"

"Uh." You clear your throat. "Say, we're here to talk about anomalies, not to do all of this."

"Ah! Right, right, I do apologize." Rudolf shifts his attention over to you. "I know you're a busy man, and you have a lot of things to do."

>102!

"Say, you came at just the perfect time. There's someone looking for you."

"Hm?"

Rudolf reaches into his wallet and extracts a tattered, decrepit business card. It's about as old as Anthony and him combined. You're almost certain that if he squeezes it too hard, it'll crumble into dust. "Some man named Anderson, from corporate, overheard some silly things you did."

"I suppose he wanted to talk to you. Layer 3, I think?"

"That ain't shady at all." The sarcasm oozing from Anthony's voice is strong enough to melt through steel.

"I-I guess w-we're probably going t-there anyways, right?"

You nod. You already have to visit a family member down there, so you'll stop on your way over. You take the business card just to be polite.

"Now. Let's talk shop. What would you like to know, Vincent?"

Choose four things to ask RUDOLF.

>Tell him about NOWHERE'S SOMMELIER and its twisted views on 'salvation'. Is there a way to get it out of its toxic mindset?
>Ask him about the STATIC ANGLERFISH and the various other uncontained anomalies you've heard about. Why is ARC so bad at their one job?
>Ask him about the FACILITY. Why is it designed like a deathtrap? Does ARC get something out of it?
>Ask him about the MONOCHROMATIC SUITS. You have a theory about them and you want to hear his thoughts about it.
>Show him the ESTABLISHING SHOT artifact. Ask him if he has any pointers or advice on what it might do.
>Show him the M.A.D WORLD glasses. Ask him about the auras you can see with it, does he have any clues on how to decipher them?
(1/2)

>Tell him about LOST SINCE 199X. It's your most mysterious anomaly at the moment, does he have any leads?
>Let your coworkers ask him something. Maybe they'll ask something interesting.
>Do anomalies always demanifest when you get their artifact? Is there a way to get multiple artifacts from one anomaly?
>You have this weird cat and it's skeeving you out. Does he have any tips on how to handle anomalous cats?
>Write in.

Do you want to try to see his aura with M.A.D WORLD?
>YES. More data on this property couldn't hurt. (Four 1d100 will be rolled, LOWER is better.)
>NO. You don't want to risk it after what happened last time.
>NO, but hand them over to him. Ask him to document YOUR aura. (DC 55, rolling with a +7 bonus.)
>Try something else with the glasses? (Write in.)

You'll get the 102 ENCOUNTER and the FAMILY REUNION next update, then you'll head to the cafeteria. Thought that would be the most natural path given the choices you picked.
Goo vs meat moss. A debate without a solid answer.

>>6344723
>>Tell him about NOWHERE'S SOMMELIER and its twisted views on 'salvation'. Is there a way to get it out of its toxic mindset?
>Ask him about the MONOCHROMATIC SUITS. You have a theory about them and you want to hear his thoughts about it.
>Show him the ESTABLISHING SHOT artifact. Ask him if he has any pointers or advice on what it might do.
>Show him the M.A.D WORLD glasses. Ask him about the auras you can see with it, does he have any clues on how to decipher them?

>NO, but hand them over to him. Ask him to document YOUR aura. (DC 55, rolling with a +7 bonus.)

>>6344721
>Wasn't s-she being kind of...clingy? I-I didn't like h-how, uhm, close she g-got to us
Vincent attracts only the freakiest, funniest and inhuman of girls.

>>6344724
>Tell him about NOWHERE'S SOMMELIER and its twisted views on 'salvation'. Is there a way to get it out of its toxic mindset?
>Show him the M.A.D WORLD glasses. Ask him about the auras you can see with it, does he have any clues on how to decipher them?
>Let your coworkers ask him something. Maybe they'll ask something interesting.
>You have this weird cat and it's skeeving you out. Does he have any tips on how to handle anomalous cats?

>NO, but hand them over to him. Ask him to document YOUR aura. (DC 55, rolling with a +7 bonus.)
WHAT DO THE COLORS MEAN!?

i wonder could the egg be used to duplicate mad wolrd because that would be super usefull to have someone else have them and that would also help the man to have someon else see them

>>6344752
+1

>>6344850
We've yet to try the EGGs on the super rare super special things like that. Could be worth it next day on top of... everything else

>>6344724
>>6344723
>Tell him about NOWHERE'S SOMMELIER and its twisted views on 'salvation'. Is there a way to get it out of its toxic mindset?
Nice to follow up on this since we just resolved IN LIMBO
>Show him the ESTABLISHING SHOT artifact. Ask him if he has any pointers or advice on what it might do.
Same deal
>Show him the M.A.D WORLD glasses. Ask him about the auras you can see with it, does he have any clues on how to decipher them?
These might be one of the most valuable tools Vincent has right now... though we can always get more valuable stuff like the flower that tells peoples' secrets... which we could make more of to sell for huge sums if we had the farming capabilities of the materials needed...
>Let your coworkers ask him something. Maybe they'll ask something interesting.
Only fair
>NO, but hand them over to him. Ask him to document YOUR aura. (DC 55, rolling with a +7 bonus.)

>>6344724
>Let your coworkers ask him something. Maybe they'll ask something interesting.
>Do anomalies always demanifest when you get their artifact? Is there a way to get multiple artifacts from one anomaly?
>You have this weird cat and it's skeeving you out. Does he have any tips on how to handle anomalous cats?
>Ask him about the MONOCHROMATIC SUITS. You have a theory about them and you want to hear his thoughts about it.
>YES. More data on this property couldn't hurt. (Four 1d100 will be rolled, LOWER is better.)

>>6344723
>Ask him about the STATIC ANGLERFISH and the various other uncontained anomalies you've heard about. Why is ARC so bad at their one job?
>Ask him about the MONOCHROMATIC SUITS. You have a theory about them and you want to hear his thoughts about it.
>Ask him about the FACILITY. Why is it designed like a deathtrap? Does ARC get something out of it?
>Do anomalies always demanifest when you get their artifact? Is there a way to get multiple artifacts from one anomaly?

>NO, but hand them over to him. Ask him to document YOUR aura. (DC 55, rolling with a +7 bonus.)

>>6344723
>Tell him about NOWHERE'S SOMMELIER and its twisted views on 'salvation'. Is there a way to get it out of its toxic mindset?
>Ask him about the STATIC ANGLERFISH and the various other uncontained anomalies you've heard about. Why is ARC so bad at their one job?
>Ask him about the FACILITY. Why is it designed like a deathtrap? Does ARC get something out of it?
>>6344724
>Tell him about LOST SINCE 199X. It's your most mysterious anomaly at the moment, does he have any leads?

>YES. More data on this property couldn't hurt. (Four 1d100 will be rolled, LOWER is better.)

>>6344723
>Tell him about NOWHERE'S SOMMELIER and its twisted views on 'salvation'. Is there a way to get it out of its toxic mindset?
>Show him the ESTABLISHING SHOT artifact. Ask him if he has any pointers or advice on what it might do.
>Show him the M.A.D WORLD glasses. Ask him about the auras you can see with it, does he have any clues on how to decipher them?
>Tell him about LOST SINCE 199X. It's your most mysterious anomaly at the moment, does he have any leads?

i just realise if we do realise nowhere somelier they might turn into something else and not provide the obscura anymore we need to maybe get a way to have some animal imbibe the wine then get the wine produced in the blood out

>>6344724
>Tell him about NOWHERE'S SOMMELIER and its twisted views on 'salvation'.
>Show him the M.A.D WORLD glasses.
>You have this weird cat and it's skeeving you out.
>Tell him about LOST SINCE 199X.

>NO, but hand them over to him.

i just realise but FET looking at us trough the glasses would be perfect because we could read what he see on the computer

Rolled 3 (1d4)

SOMMELIER: BGE, VVJ, NOC, UPC, SEH, BWO, Y4T
STATIC ANGLERFISH: NIQ, SEH
FACILITY: NIQ, SEH
LOST SINCE 199X: SEH, BWO, Y4T
SUITS: BGE, GXN, NIQ
ARTIFACTS: GXN, NIQ
SHOT: BGE, UPC, BWO
GLASSES: BGE, VVJ, NOC, UPC, BWO, Y4T
CAT: VVJ, GXN, Y4T
COWORKERS: VVJ, NOC, UPC, GXN

NO, ASK ABOUT OWN AURA: BGE, VVJ, NOC, UPC, NIQ, Y4T
YES: GXN, SEH

So, asking about SOMMELIER, your glasses and letting your coworkers ask something all won out. There's a four way tie for the fourth question so I'm just going to roll for that
1 = 199X
2 = SUITS
3 = ESTABLISHING SHOT
4 = CATTO

And since you asked him to view your own aura, I need three anons to roll 1d100+7, as per usual. Due to the vagueness of what an 'aura' is, exactly?

0 SUCCESSES?: "Oh! Very, very interesting. Stay there for a moment, won't you?" (???)
1 SUCCESS?: "There's something wrong with it, around your chest, I believe?" (???)
2 SUCCESSES?: "Intriguing. Are auras supposed to be shaped like that?" (???)
3 SUCCESSES?: "More colorful than I expected...no offense, of course! You're rather grey, after all."(???)

You'll only have his dialogue to go off of.

Rolled 99 + 7 (1d100 + 7)

>>6345128
Embrace the woo woo bullshit

Rolled 93 + 7 (1d100 + 7)

>>6345128

Rolled 71 (1d100)

>>6345128

>>6345132
>>6345139
>>6345143
Holy shit Vincent has aura

>>6345132
>>6345139
>>6345143
https://youtu.be/0EwX6Jt762A

File: vincent.png (53 KB, 227x292)

53 KB PNG

>>6345132
>>6345139
>>6345143
This is the face of a man with a potent aura.
Is this what draws people to him?

3 SUCCESSES recorded. Writing.

>>6345132
>>6345139
>>6345143
Certified aura-mogging imminent

File: TICKETTALK.jpg (234 KB, 1368x688)

234 KB JPG

So many questions to ask and only so much time. You might as well stick to asking questions about what you're already dealing with, instead of the vague and mysterious facility and the organization that owns it.

"So, I'm here mostly to talk shop. I know my work isn't that interesting or impressive but-"

Rudolf promptly interrupts you. "Ah ah ah. There's no point in belittling the effort and hard work you've put into your job here." He whispers something to himself under his breath, but you couldn't quite catch it.

"What would you like to know?"

"First off, there's this anomaly of mine that demanifested today. Apparently it was just its time to go, right?" You rummage around for the ARTIFACT that IN LIMBO left for you. The ticket stub feels brittle in your hands. If you didn't know it was an ARTIFACT, you'd be afraid of breaking it just by breathing on it.

Rudolf immediately takes interest in the weathered ticket stub. "I presume you want my advice on what this might do." He gingerly grabs the ticket, careful to not break the poor thing. He raises it up real close to make sure he's not missing anything about it.

Anthony and Lucy mindlessly chit-chat about something you're not even trying to pay attention to. You wish you could, but after a long day of work, keeping your focus on more than one thing is a losing battle.

"Artifacts tend to be single-minded in their functionality." Rudolf's words catch what fleeting focus you have. "The form and function of an artifact are often one and the same."

That makes sense. You have an artifact that's a pair of glasses, and it lets you see things you otherwise couldn't.

"For a ticket like this? It grants you passage. You're allowed somewhere when you purchase a ticket."

"The past is a different country, Vincent." Rudolf gives Anthony some brief side-eye before focusing on you again. "We can't ever go back there. Not in a way that matters, but you may still be able to 'travel' with this ticket. Through time? Through space? I'm not quite sure, but travelling in some way is certainly a property of this."

"Of course, you need to pay to get a valid ticket. I'm unsure what the price would be. Your mind, your body? I wouldn't overuse it."

"Such is all I can say on it." He hands your ticket back.

"Right." Traveling, eh? That could be very useful but you suppose it really depends on what the limits and price of using it are. "I have one more ARTIFACT. Some random researcher gave it to me, so I don't know what anomaly made it."

Rudolf's eye briefly twitches, as if he's remembering a really bad memory. "Is that so. May I see it?"

You suddenly regret telling him about these glasses but it's too late now. You show off your pair of M.A.D WORLD glasses, worried he might blow up at you, but all of his anger fades away immediately.

"Ah. I don't recognize these. Not my responsibility to worry about."

"Did someone steal an ARTIFACT from you?" You hesitantly ask.

File: SMEAREDAURA.jpg (82 KB, 650x650)

82 KB JPG

"Yes, but don't worry your head about it. I have my own way of sniffing out people who steal from me." A dry, bitter tone creeps into his words. "Regardless, what do you know about them?"

"A lot, actually." You rapidly summarize the basics on the glasses' properties: the antimemetic moths, how it lets you bypass 199X's information redaction, etc. You mostly put emphasis on the auras and how you want to learn more about them.

"Ah. Not the first time I've heard someone babbling about auras. We only know that they're tied to a person's character or past in some way. We have some basic knowledge on what four of the colors mean." He lists them off as:

RED: Pain, rage, love, passion
BLUE: Melancholy, empathy, loyalty, passivity
BLACK: Formality, strength, regret, fear.
GREY: Reliability, professionalism, numbness, suppression.

"The rest?" Rudolf can only offer a polite chuckle. "We're still learning ourselves. At least we know the way the aura manifests typically clues you in on the person."

You have a brief flashback to Anthony's aura. There was a lot of red and black in his aura. A man who's been around as long as he has probably has some skeletons in his closet. That tracks with what you know about him.

"W-what's my aura like, V-vincent?"

"I'll talk about it later. I'm curious, what does mine look like?" You hand the glasses over to Rudolf. "I couldn't really see mine."

"Ah ha. An experiment, unfolding right before our very eyes. Are any of you good at drawing, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Lil' ol Lucy here is." Anthony pats her on her back, grimacing as his hand briefly sinks in.

"O-oh! Y-yeah, I g-got some colored pens." She slides over to Rudolf right as he puts on the glasses. She begins to scribble down a rough outline of you while Rudolf examines your 'aura'.

The concept of an aura feels really, really phony and fake, even though you've dealt with anomalies over the last seven days. Rudolf's mouth twists into a concerned frown. Is something wrong with whatever he's seeing?

"More colorful than I expected...no offense, of course! You're rather grey, after all. I was just expecting it to be all grey!"

"Rudy, pal, mind explain' what ya mean by that? Is it good or bad?"

Rudy doesn't respond to Anthony's questioning. He's whispering to Lucy, and by the sounds of it, it's a LOT of stuff to record. Lucy is scribbling like crazy on her little clipboard. You just have to silently stand there, waiting to hear what the whole hubbub about your aura is about.

After what feels like ten solid minutes, Lucy finally stops scribbling down what your aura looks like. She hands you the sheet of paper she was writing on, and WOW, he wasn't lying.

The background around you is scribbled as a dark, dour grey, and that same color is scratched onto your face, obscuring any facial features you might've had.

The rest of the body is covered in a spiral pattern, spinning around and around across the surface of your form. It's hard to look away from.

File: WINE.jpg (110 KB, 770x1036)

110 KB JPG

You catch three distant colors equally represented on your body: black, rust orange, and soft blue.

"There's potential in you." Rudolf cryptically responds as he offers the glasses back to you. "I don't know why; I can simply sense it."

"..." You put the glasses and the aura drawing back into your satchel. You want to wash your mind away of your aura. You don't want to even humor what it could mean; you don't like delving into yourself like that. The only question you have is this.

Lucy and Anthony only had two colors amongst them. Does having four colors mean something? Is there something different about you? You have to admit, it's a huge contrast compared to the simple, two-tone auras you saw in your friends.

"One last question before I let them talk." You nod towards your coworkers.

You briefly recount your experience with NOWHERE'S SOMMELIER and its twisted views on 'salvation'. You can't say you fully disagree with what it's striving to do. People COULD use a break from the world; they COULD find comfort in a nice glass of wine.

You just want to know if there's a way you can convince it that erasing every last memory from someone's head isn't the only option.

Rudolf hums as he mulls over the question. "It's never easy to break an anomaly out of a toxic mindset. It's like pulling at a tree by the roots." A soft smile crosses his face as he tries to hold back a laugh.

"I do think its heart is in the right place. I could see myself in its shoes. Wanting to help people in any way I can."

"I'd show it proof that the pain some memories bring isn't always a bad thing. That humans are more complex than it thinks they are."

Anthony nervously shuffles where he stands. He tries to crack a joke with Lucy, but she doesn't really know what to say.

"Tell it stories of your own past and how it has changed you. Let your coworkers talk about their past. Force it to confront it with the fact you would rather face your past than wash it away with wine and spirits."

"It'll suck!" Rudolf nearly bursts out laughing then and there. "But it'll be effective. Deny it the chance to offer you salvation. Relive your painful memories and force it to remember them with you. Or stew in the abyss of your own pain with it."

"Treat the robot as a sentient confessional booth."

Right. With that, you step back, and you gesture at your allies that they can talk to him now.

"That was a lot of bullshit ya were spitting out there. Lot of nonsense." Anthony is trying his best to hold back a snort. "Ehhh. I guess if I had to ask ya somethin', between ya and me, are the rumors true?"

Huh? The hell does he mean by that?
"W-what rumors?" Lucy is equally as confused as you are.

Rudolf can only offer a curt nod. "Alas, it is. I doubt they're a high enough clearance to know it but...Vincent likely would've figured it out tomorrow."

"Been seein' a lot of my ETF pals comin' back with missin' limbs and shit." Anthony explains to the peanut gallery.

File: PARTYTALK.jpg (90 KB, 900x477)

90 KB JPG

"I'm worried that the anomalies out there are getting worse."

"And they are. There's been a 25% decrease of 'low risk' anomalies being found and a 100% increase of 'high risk' anomalies being found." There's a resignation in his words that implies he's already known this for a while. "We're on track to being flooded with LAMEDHS and BETs."

"We don't know when but, just a heads up Vincent, enjoy what peace you can find in this facility while you still can."

Ominous. Great, just great, like your job isn't already obnoxious at the best of times. You suppose that's all Anthony is going to ask about, so Lucy pipes in with her own question.

"A-are, uhm, a-any events going to be h-happening? L-like, parties? I-it's been a while since they hosted any. I-I liked it when t-they brought out the infinite pizza box."

"Ah!" Rudolf snaps his fingers. "That should be happening two days from now, actually. Vincent, you should join us."

You immediately feel your posture tensing up. Oh no, you're bad at socializing at the best of times, you do NOT like parties.

"Every homebody here is gonna show up." Anthony picks up on your obvious discomfort. "Well. A lot of corpos are gonna be there, maybe you can make some connections with 'em? Ya know." He pantomimes climbing up something. "Climb up the corporate ladder.

You could imagine yourself finding some use in doing that. Maybe you could get better deals on catalogs, maybe better sponsorships? Oh! Maybe you can negotiate a better room, if the room you got from your promotion isn't up to snuff! Before you know it, your posture unwinds and you feel like yourself again.

"Maybe. Maybe. I'll consider it."

"Great!" Anthony pats you on the shoulder. "Maybe ya can do your weird hugging stuff with Ashton or whatever."

"W-what?"

Your cheeks immediately turn red. "You're making it sound weird. Stop. Uh, yeah, thank you for all of the information, Rudolf."

Rudolf does his best to remain somewhat professional despite what's unfolding before him. "Of course. If you don't mind, I want to talk to you tomorrow. About something I don't want the others to know about."

You're not sure how to take that and neither do your coworkers, but you have somewhere you have to be. "Okay?" You give him a polite, if stiff, laugh before you drag your coworkers away.

You wait until you've made about three or four turns in the maze of hallways you're wandering through before you speak up again.

"We're going to meet my brother." Saying it is like pulling out teeth, but you have to do it. At the very least, you want to make sure he won't rat out FET.

"Ya sure, Vince? I'll be honest, I'm not sure if yer in the right mind state or whatnot for that."

"I-I mean, m-meeting up with him m-might be good? I-I'm interested to s-see what your family is, uh, like."

"Better the devil you know than the devil you don't." The conversation dies there as you escort them to the elevator. Time to face the music.

You ask Anthony if he has any idea where a church on Layer 3 might be, and he answers that he does. You'll let him lead the way, since frankly, you don't want to waste your time wandering around yet another maze.

Every step closer to the church only makes your body tense up more and more. You can feel your joints threatening to freeze in place like you're suddenly developing locked-in syndrome. Your body is screaming at you to not do this.

Lucy gently rests her hand on your arm, trying her best to comfort you, despite her slime-like body not being the most pleasant thing to be touched by.

You soon find what you're looking for. An old wooden door, which contrasts heavily against the metallic grey environment, stands before you. You take a deep breath before forcing the door open.

https://youtu.be/PrCh7HOZwYo

The small room that has been hastily transformed into a church is sparsely decorated, a far cry from the church your family would drag you to every Sunday.

Old, weathered wooden crosses line the walls, each one threatening to crumble in on themselves at the slightest touch or breeze. A few spots have been taken up by replicas of well-known religious paintings, none of which you could remember the name of off the top of your head.

A few old pews, chipped and weathered by time, take up the majority of the limited floorspace. There's barely enough room for the three of you to walk down the middle, even if you go in a single file line.

At the front of the room, there's a platform with a wooden podium on it and, standing behind it, is a tan-skinned man with short, jet-black hair. A man you haven't seen in a decade: One of your many young brothers.

He's dressed in what's obviously a priest Halloween costume, given how ill-fitting it is on his beanpole frame. Not like he's even old enough to be a priest. If your memory is right, he should be 17? Maybe 18?

He buried himself in a religious textbook with a title you can't quite make out. He briefly lowers it to greet the newcomers to his church. "Welcome, children." Angel calls to you in a deep, gravelly voice, one completely unfitting for someone of his age.

His bright green lock onto you immediately. The peaceful look on his face vanishes just like that. He does his damn best to keep a neutral, professional expression despite the fact you're here.

"How may I help you? Salvation is always available to those who seek it."

How do you start the conversation? You didn't exactly leave on the best of terms.

>Keep it professional. No need to open old wounds.
>Show concern for him. Is he doing okay?
>Be polite. Ask about his job and what he does down here.
>Ask about the rest of your family. Is...anyone else from your family here?
>Address the elephant in the room. Ask about FET.
>Write in.

The update was a lot longer than I thought, so the 102 ENCOUNTER will be after the church. Next update should come out way quicker, this is just an introduction.

>>6345391
>Keep it professional. No need to open old wounds.
No point feigning concern for his wellbeing now, it would probably just piss him off. We're just here to make sure he doesn't mention FET to anyone.

>>6345391
>Keep it professional. No need to open old wounds.

>>6345391
>Keep it professional. No need to open old wounds.

>>6345391
>Be polite. Ask about his job and what he does down here.

I’m curious - was he not brought here to be a researcher like us? A relief, if so. But… if he’s just cosplaying as a priest as a side thing, I’d assume he’d try to pick “holy” sounding abnos whenever he can. He might leave himself vulnerable to frequent resonant gifts and subsequent corrosion.

>>6344850
>>6344868
Wild idea I just realized from these posts: Why don't we just use the EGG we just got on the EGG we already have to make more EGG to clone stuff with?

>>6345391
>Be polite. Ask about his job and what he does down here.

>>6345391
>Keep it professional. No need to open old wounds.

>>6345391
>Keep it professional. No need to open old wounds.

>>6345450
uhm, that seems like a divide-by-zero or wish-for-more-wishes type of accident waiting to happen

>>6345391
>>Be polite. Ask about his job and what he does down here.

you know i wonder it might piss of somelier a little but if we turn it as keeping people alivve to enjoy more of their futur they might accept it but
could we boil off the water of the obscura wine and desicate the rest untill it's a powder that can be put in pills to have healing pills

>>6345391
>Be polite. Ask about his job and what he does down here.

>>6345391
>>Write in.
Offer him a sandwich.

you know i wonder how would the sandwitch affect someone suffering from cotard syndrome like since they trully belive they are dead ond rotting inside would the sandwitch try to fix something that is working well?

Alright, I want to get an update out earlier than the middle of midnight today, so I'm closing now. Also I don't want another tie (since we're one vote away from one)

POLITE: hv9, 1zm, SEH, AjH
PROFESSIONAL: IK4, Vvj, GXn, Y4T, 0qc
SANDWICH: BGe

Being professional slightly wins out, so I'm writing that. I'll ask for a quick little follow up vote: Wanna offer him a sandwich? I'll consider it a free action since, really, it doesn't take up anything.

>YES. Maybe he'll feel better after one? (You'll have 2 sandwiches left.)
>NO. You don't know if he'll take it the right way.

>>6345499
You can certainly try to make pills out of it. It does seem that heating up the fluid transmutes the wine into a healing substance.

>>6345705
>NO
No guys, we're not just offering our brother a sandwich out of the blue

>YES. Maybe he'll feel better after one? (You'll have 2 sandwiches left.)

He looks thin as beanpole. Give him a sandwich for old times' sake. Vincent was the one that always did the cooking, anyway, right?

>>6345705
>>YES. Maybe he'll feel better after one? (You'll have 2 sandwiches left.)
>heating up the fluid transmutes the wine into a healing substance.
WE GOT A LEAD

>YES. Maybe he'll feel better after one? (You'll have 2 sandwiches left.)

we can alway make more

Three yes votes, one no vote, alright. We're sandwich pilled in this house. Writing, should be out soon since it'll probably only be two posts, lest I let bloat again.

>>6345709
Mmh hmm, he did. Granted most of his cooking could best be described as 'slop in a pot' but when you're feeding 8+ hungry mouths, quantity matters more than quality.

File: FAITH.jpg (124 KB, 768x768)

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No need to reopen old wounds. You're here for one purpose and one purpose only. If you get anything else out of this interaction besides confirmation that FET is safe, that's a bonus.

"Sorry to bother you. You already know me, so I'll introduce my friends. This here is Lucy." You point at your gooey, half-melted coworker. "She's a fellow researcher that I work with."

"H-hi! U-uhm, a-again, sorry for i-intruding!"

"It's okay, my child." Angel does his best to comfort Lucy with his words. "Everyone is welcome here, no matter who they are and where they came from."

"This trial that God gave you?" Angel clasps his hands together. "You will overcome it. I am sure of it."

"O-oh. T-thank you!"

You clear your throat. "And the man with the armor and the gun is Anthony. I hired him because I don't want my head crushed by anomalies, obviously."

Angel narrows his eyes at the old security guard. "I see." Bitterness briefly creeps into his words. "God be with you, child."

"Mmh hmm." Anthony 'winks' at the wannabe priest. "We ain't gonna be here for long. We're doing a quick ol' check up and we'll get right out of your hair."

"Indeed. It's just business." You keep your voice calm and level, despite the growing itch in the back of your head.

Angel starts to respond, but all that comes out is a haggard, violent wheeze. His thin frame shakes and trembles as he breaks out into a full-on coughing fit.

"S-sir! A-are you o-okay?"
"Jeez! Ya cough worse than I do when I wake up in the mornin'!"

He struggles to spit out a response. It takes him a good, long while before his coughing fit subsides long enough for him to properly answer.

"Hhhh. Another one of God's tests." He dismisses any concern your coworkers show him. "It is the price I paid for indulging in a nicotine habit. Nothing more, nothing less."

"May I ask what business you're here on?" He swiftly changes the topic, not wanting to dwell on his condition for any longer than he has to. "I would assume you are...busy, Vincent." He finally decides to acknowledge you.

"Indeed. We heard some rumors about suspicious activity occurring in this layer, and we wanted to know if you saw any suspicious people or entities. That's all."

"Ah." Angel loudly clears his throat to get the last bits of phlegm out. "I have borne witness to a, to be quite frank, disgusting amount of sin in this facility. You may have to narrow down what you are specifically looking for."

"Heh. He ain't wrong."

"The sin has seeped into every last crevice of this 'facility.' This den of demons. The walls are crooked, and the layout makes no sense at all." He digs his nails into the podium. "If I had a choice, I would not have trespassed onto such wretched ground."

"I'm." He shakes his head. "I'm sorry. It has been a trying week for me. Please, tell me what you seek."

His pitiful state pulls at what remains of your tattered, weathered heart. You reach into your satchel to retrieve one of your wine-soaked sandwiches. "Hey. Here."

You cautiously approach the podium. Angel clearly gets more and more uncomfortable with every step closer you get to him. It wanes when he sees the sandwich you're holding out.

He reaches over and snatches the sandwich out of your hand without a word. He unwraps it, and he takes a large bite out of it. His expression is inscrutable, damn near impossible to read, but his shoulders visibly relax.

Angel gives a curt, but respectful, nod. "...Throat feels better." He mumbles. "I appreciate your offering, child."

"H-he's a good cook, i-isn't he?" Lucy politely comments. "I-I h-hope you e-enjoy it."

"He is." If you squint really, really hard, you think you can see the faintest hint of a smile on his face. "Now. Which demon are you specifically looking for?"

"Demon, eh?" A smug smirk worms its way across the old man's face. "Kinda sounds cooler than "anomaly," now that I think on it."

"It is more accurate than the other title; I do agree with you there." Angel's eyes dart down to the flower on your wrist. "I see one has already left its mark on one of you. I hope, through God's endless love, you will be cured of it."

"I-it's just a f-flower, though, sir? I-I'm not s-sure if he needs to be cured of it, but...t-thank you for worrying about him."

Angel's expression softens at Lucy's words. "It is better to be safe than sorry, Sister Lucy. And of course I worry, for he is a child of our Heavenly Father."

Seems you got an in with him now. Even if he's only polite because company is around, you think he's willing to be honest with you.

How far do you want to pry into his encounter with FET? Choose one.
>Just the basics. Ask for his side of the story. FET didn't give you much to work on.
>Pry a little bit. Does anyone else know about FET besides him? Should you worry about your friend? (DC 50, no bonus thanks to Lucy's MEEK.)
>No point lying about it. Tell him about your ties with FET. Ask him what he plans on doing with FET. (DC 66, no bonus thanks to Lucy's MEEK.)
>Be broad with your question. Ask him about his experience with anomalies in general. (DC 57, +2 to roll. May offer some insight into a certain anomaly.)
>Write in.

What else do you want to ask him while you're here? Choose up to three.
>You probably shouldn't enable his habit but...hand him your pack of cigarettes. (-CIGARETTE PACK. Adds a +4 bonus to all skill checks you pick this encounter)
>Ask him for any tips and tricks involving ghosts. You have to deal with Caspian sooner than later.
>Check his aura with M.A.D WORLD. It couldn't hurt to try, right?
>A priest on your side could be useful. Ask him if he would be willing to offer his services to you. (DC 60, +1 to roll thanks to the sandwich bribe.)
>Ask about what he actually DOES here. Is he just a priest? Does he research anomalies?
>Why does he keep calling anomalies 'demons'? Most of the anomalies you dealt with have been fine, if weird.
>Write in.

Anything else you want to do while you're here?
>Write in.

>>6345762
>Pry a little bit. Does anyone else know about FET besides him? Should you worry about your friend? (DC 50, no bonus thanks to Lucy's MEEK.)
Going for the 50/50
>Check his aura with M.A.D WORLD. It couldn't hurt to try, right?
>Ask about what he actually DOES here. Is he just a priest? Does he research anomalies?
>Ask Lucy and Anthony to step out for a bit. There's no avoiding it. You need to ask your brother what happened after you left. Because damn it all, you HAD to leave that house and never look back! Doesn't he know that? Didn't he realize that on his own by now, over all these years?

>>6345783
But if we can't do the write-in question because in-character Vincent is avoiding even trying to do this right now, then I'll vote
>Why does he keep calling anomalies 'demons'? Most of the anomalies you dealt with have been fine, if weird.

>>6345762
>Be broad with your question. Ask him about his experience with anomalies in general. (DC 57, +2 to roll. May offer some insight into a certain anomaly.)

>Check his aura with M.A.D WORLD. It couldn't hurt to try, right?
>Ask about what he actually DOES here. Is he just a priest? Does he research anomalies?
>Why does he keep calling anomalies 'demons'? Most of the anomalies you dealt with have been fine, if weird.

>>6345762 #
>Be broad with your question. Ask him about his experience with anomalies in general. (DC 57, +2 to roll. May offer some insight into a certain anomaly.)

>Check his aura with M.A.D WORLD. It couldn't hurt to try, right?
>Ask about what he actually DOES here. Is he just a priest? Does he research anomalies?
>Why does he keep calling anomalies 'demons'? Most of the anomalies you dealt with have been fine, if weird.
> If he IS a researcher in addition to his priestly duties, and he DOES insist on treating all anomalies like unholy monsters… maybe put forth the idea that even “demons” may sometimes require spiritual guidance. Describe how you “exorcised” IN LIMBO after coming to understand her.

Possible this isn’t a first convo line of talk, but whatever.

>>6345762
>Pry a little bit. Does anyone else know about FET besides him? Should you worry about your friend? (DC 50, no bonus thanks to Lucy's MEEK.)

>Ask him for any tips and tricks involving ghosts. You have to deal with Caspian sooner than later.
>Check his aura with M.A.D WORLD. It couldn't hurt to try, right?
>Ask about what he actually DOES here. Is he just a priest? Does he research anomalies?

>>6345762
>Be broad with your question. Ask him about his experience with anomalies in general. (DC 57, +2 to roll. May offer some insight into a certain anomaly.)
>You probably shouldn't enable his habit but...hand him your pack of cigarettes. (-CIGARETTE PACK. Adds a +4 bonus to all skill checks you pick this encounter)
>A priest on your side could be useful. Ask him if he would be willing to offer his services to you. (DC 60, +1 to roll thanks to the sandwich bribe.)
>Check his aura with M.A.D WORLD. It couldn't hurt to try, right?

>>6345762
>>No point lying about it. Tell him about your ties with FET. Ask him what he plans on doing with FET. (DC 66, no bonus thanks to Lucy's MEEK.)

>Ask him for any tips and tricks involving ghosts. You have to deal with Caspian sooner than later.
>Ask Lucy and Anthony to step out for a bit. There's no avoiding it. You need to ask your brother what happened after you left. Because damn it all, you HAD to leave that house and never look back! Doesn't he know that? Didn't he realize that on his own by now, over all these years?

> If he IS a researcher in addition to his priestly duties, and he DOES insist on treating all anomalies like unholy monsters… maybe put forth the idea that even “demons” may sometimes require spiritual guidance. Describe how you “exorcised” IN LIMBO after coming to understand her.
maybe if we can show him that some of the anomaly are just soul in suffering he might be able see them as such and help those that he could

>>6345762
>Be broad with your question.

>Check his aura with M.A.D WORLD.
>Ask him for any tips and tricks involving ghosts.
>Why does he keep calling anomalies 'demons'?

PRY: bFd, SEH,
BROAD: VvJ, 1zM, GXn, Y4T
NO LIES: niQ

MAD WORLD: bFd, VvJ, 1zM, SEH, GXn, Y4T
PRIEST: GXn
SMOKES: GXn
JOB: bFd, VvJ, 1zM, SEH,
ADDRESS ELEPHANT IN ROOM: bFd, niQ
DEMONS: VvJ, 1zM, Y4T
GHOST TIPS: SEH, niQ, Y4T

Ehhh, I'll default with 'demons' as the tiebreaker between DEMON and GHOST TIPS, since bFd said he'd swap to it if he couldn't do the write in question. I know he meant more 'I veto'd it' than 'it didn't win', but I doubt he'll complain.

You'll be broad about the question, you'll check his aura and ask him about his job, then you'll address the whole 'demon' talk.

Three anons, you know the drill, roll 1d100+2. Table below.

0 SUCCESSES: "They're demons, ghosts, spirits, whatever you wish to call them. I will humor no such discussion about them." (The result is pretty obvious by the dialogue, no?)
1 SUCCESS: He grits his teeth at the mention of anomalies. "...Bad." (He'll be vague about his experiences, but you'll get some illuminating information from his fragmentary stories.)
2 SUCCESSES: "You would always tell stories about the monsters you'd see, out there in the swamp..." (You'll get some generally useful information about various anomalies you've already encountered.)
3 SUCCESSES: "There's one. I. I think it mistook me for you." (Same as 2 SUCCESSES but you get some very...specific information about the Heart.)

Rolled 71 + 2 (1d100 + 2)

>>6346097
WHAT I AM ABOUT TO DO HAS NOT BE APPROVED BY THE VATICAN

Rolled 70 + 2 (1d100 + 2)

>>6346097
Communing with the communion dealer

Rolled 44 + 2 (1d100 + 2)

>>6346097

And two successes it is. Don't worry, this ideally won't take 7 hours to write, and you'll be able to chat with your funny coworkers soon enough.
Vincent just had to make a small detour to check on his family. Can you really blame him? Writing.

>>6346098
Nothing that ARC does is approved by the vatican.
Lucy's mere existence could be considered some sort of crime, if you think about it.

>>6346110
>Lucy's mere existence could be considered some sort of crime
About as much of a crime as being a leper or somebody in a quarantine ward who has been struck ill through no fault of theirs

>>6346110
Poor Lucy. Would Ashton also be a crime, but shes also born this way as a different species. If it's like the children of angels and men.

>>6346158
Ashton is proof that god exists, anon
The Cat is proof the devil exists too

>>6346160
True

>>6346160
Amen anon.

>>6346160
The cat is not proof of the devil.
The cat is the devil.

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You had to shut your mouth REAL quick before you said something stupid. You wanted to do some grand gesture, something to explain what you did and why you are the way you are, but. This is the first time you've talked to him in a decade.

If it wasn't for FET telling you about him, it could've easily been two decades before you saw him again. This isn't really a 'first conversation after a decade' topic.

You start with something quick and easy: checking his aura. You slot on your MAD WORLD glasses, much to Angel's confusion. The world is washed over in that all too familiar monochrome, though your eyes do pick up on the crosses having color this time around.

There's a faint shimmer of gold and white around them, similar to an aura but also not an aura at the same time. You'd chalk it up to the sheer amount of belief people pour into those funny symbols.

As for Angel himself? Everything from the neck below is rendered blurred and unreadable by a haze of muted, muddy rust orange. His face and neck aren't caked in oxidized orange and are, instead, obscured by a blinding mist of pure white.

You could make a guess on what the white represents, given the holy connotation of that color, so at least you know he's not faking the priest part. You share a color with him aura-wise, though; that has to mean something. Cut from the same cloth, maybe? Same upbringing? What else do you two share?

You doubt it's a strictly 'Cruz' color, at least. You remove the glasses, and you place them back into your satchel. "So. What's your job here, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I believe it is obvious enough." Angel makes a sound that could resemble a laugh if you squint.

"No, no, I get that you're a priest, but, uh, how to put this? I doubt ARC hired you specifically because you're a priest." You're trying your best to not sound like a jackass right now. It's the least you can do. "Not saying you're not qualified, I just know how ARC is."

"Ah. That's the main reason they hired me."

"Pardon?" You and Anthony ask in unison.

"I believe the man in the turtleneck sweater I met said something along these lines: I had a spark. A shining soul they rarely see in the general populace."

"Father was smart to name me Angel!" Pride creeps more and more into his voice as he speaks. He catches himself before his head gets too far up his own ass. "Uhm. I apologize for my moment of weakness there. In truth, I share more in common with your friend Anthony than you."

"I detest having to imagine working to pamper demons day in and day out." He reaches underneath his podium, and WOW, okay, you did NOT expect him to pull out a shotgun. It's a classic double-barreled shotgun, nothing too fancy, but if it works, it works!

Lucy yelps at the sight of it. "H-hey! G-give us a w-warning next time!"

Anthony, meanwhile, nearly bursts into laughter-induced tears. "Yeesh! They give random priests cool guns, but my folks are stuck with pistols and shit? Ay, ain't that a kick in the head?"

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"It's what my father used, and it's what I shall use." He rests the shotgun against his shoulder. "I have a sense of where demons lurk, and ARC lets me hunt them down instead of assigning me as a researcher.."

"I couldn't tell you how or why; perhaps it is simply inside my blood."

Odd. You also have a weird knack when it comes to anomalies. Is he also ANOMALY TOUCHED? You'll probably have to press on that later.

"Cool." You give a thumbs up. "At least your job sounds fun, haha. Compared to mine, at least?"

Angel stares at you for a moment before shrugging at your comment. "It's not about fun. It's about a sense of duty, Vincent. We do what we must to keep the world safe."

"He really is yer brother, eh?" Anthony nudges you with his shoulder. "Cut from the same cloth and all that."

"I suppose we are." "Indeed we are." The two of you answer at the exact same time. Neither of you really wants to bring attention to it.

"Well, I have a few more questions before I get out of your hair. Why do you call anomalies demons?" It's a very...interesting way to describe them. You can see SOME of them being demons, especially that stupid anglerfish, but all of them? In general? You can't buy that.

"Would you prefer if I call them monsters? Anomalies? Ghosts? Spirits? Yokai? Entities? Abnormalities?" Angel's scratchy voice grows deeper and deeper with every word he spits out. "They're all titles we assign to that which man can not, and should not, understand."

"So in my mind, they are demons. For that is all they are. Twisted, vile things that pretend to have the same thoughts and feelings as humans." He places his shotgun back behind the podium. "We find meaning wherever we can, Vincent. That's how I find my meaning in this world."

"B-but, uh-uhm, m-maybe if the-they're demons, we c-can still help them. Even “demons” m-may r-r-require spiritual guidance!"

"Nonsense." Angel scoffs, not even wanting to humor Lucy's suggestion. "The only mercy God is willing to grant to demons is a swift, painless death."

"Lucy's not wrong. Look, I basically exorcised an anomaly by being nice to it. Offering it help, offering it guidance. I didn't need to kill it, it moved on by its own."

"All I'm asking is that you look at them in a different way."

Angel doesn't reject, nor does he accept, what you just said. If anything, it's like it went in one ear and out the other. "I suppose we will always have our differences." There's a faint twinge of doubt in his gaze, but it disappears as soon as it arrives.

"I prefer not to dwell on the topic, thank you."

"Y-yeah, f-fair. W-we should pr-probably go, we have, uhm, people to talk to. At, uh, you know." Lucy's more than ready to leave this place. You can't say you blame her.

"Eh, don't we got that one whozeewhatzit to bring up?" Right. FET. You would ask about him, that's half the reason you're down here, but you feel like being a bit more broad with your question.

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"Uhm, right. Angel? Can you tell me anything about your experience with 'demons' down here?" Your face does its best to make a smile, but it must've looked real wrong, given the looks everyone is giving you.

"I would prefer if I didn't, thanks." Angel dismisses your question just like that.

"W-well, i-if we're asking, it could, uh. It could be h-helpful for all of us! W-we can help you deal with those n-nasty demons or. Something."

It's clear her words aren't helping. "I don't think you could deal with them, sister Lucy, like I do. I'm sorry."

"Ey, she's tougher than she looks. 'sides, Angel boy, we'd get outta yer hair the moment you tell us about 'em. Heck, to be frank, even though I'm Anthony?" Was that an attempt at a joke? It's enough to get Angel to crack a smile.

"We kinda came here because of 'em. Vinny's being real polite, real proper, but the metaphorical cat can only suffocate inside its bag for so long."

"We'll leave if you really don't want to talk about it." You try your best to appeal to Angel. "But please, let them help you, at least."

>2 SUCCESSES!

"Fine. I suppose I'll be quick, then. It's funny if you think about it." There's a lingering trace of nostalgia in the priest's gaze as he stares at you. "You would always tell stories about the monsters you'd see out there in the swamp."

"I always thought you were trying to scare me."

You've dealt with anomalies in the past before. Way too many to count or remember, especially when you consider the fact ARC has probably erased your memories while you were still a civilian. The mannequin. The Heart....

"I wasn't." That's all you say in response.

"There are three in recent memory that have...lingered in my thoughts. There was that demon in a human's shell. One that pretended to be a Child of God."

"You mean-" Lucy was about to say something, but she wisely shuts up.

"2 Corinthians 11:14. I could smell its evil simply by looking at it. It was hiding its face, a window to its soul, but. It babbled in tongues, tongues that sounded like English. It wanted to help me, it said, it could sense a familiar 'spiral', a familiar burden inside my soul."

"I." Angel shakes his head. "It kept talking about the kindness in my soul. That it wanted to help its fellow man, to understand the 'milk of human goodness'. Complete nonsense, I say! I told the demon to leave me be. I almost wanted to shoot it, but something. Something told me not to."

"That it'd hurt me more than I'd hurt it."

Did he somehow sense that FET is tied to you? It also sounds like FET can somehow detect auras, like you can via M.A.D WORLD. If it wasn't for the BLACKWELL rep stalking you, you'd probably check up on him right now.

"I-it's okay. W-we don't have t-to talk about that one any m-more." Lucy does her best to comfort your brother. To her credit, Angel manages to move on without too much struggle.

"Wherever that demon is, as long as I never see it again, I'll let it be." Oh thank god, FET's safe.

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"I heard something about an Anglerfish someone severely injured. One that ARC was having a hard time tracking." Oh ho?

"Apparently, they are having a hard time finding someone willing to work on it. I do not blame them, that demon is a foul beast that I wouldn't want anyone to deal with."

"It's going through the motions of being offered to various researchers. I don't know when someone will be burdened with that aberration but I hope you are spared from it."

SCORE! You do your best to hide your excitement for obvious reasons. That thing has some VERY interesting samples and if you can get it shipped to you? Score! It might be a good idea to buy a containment cell or two, JUST in case it's a choice tomorrow.

"I have to give props to the child of god that managed to slay the beast. It has struggled to recover from its wounds."

Your two coworkers shoot you a look that's a mix of respect and worry, considering that they probably already heard that YOU were the one who dealt with it.

"The last demon I know anything about is one I keep hearing rumors about. This Heart." You can feel your own heart skip a beat. "Oh lord. Even speaking its name feels wrong in my mouth."

"The rumor is that it's looking for something. Someone. And it's using vessels to do so. Things that look like humans, that talk like humans, like that demon of Babylon but...worse. Imitation bermilion. Crimson red. Sanguis infinitus. Principium Amoris.

"Sir? Sir, are you okay?"
"A-angel! U-uh! S-stay right there, w-we're here to...Vincent? D-do you still have any tranquilizer?"

You rapidly search through your bag but before you can, Angel manages to snap out of whatever trance he got himself into. You had a feeling if you pushed just a little bit harder, he could've told you more but the opportunity has already vanished.

"My head spins." Angel leans against the podium for support. "Please. Give me a moment to rest."

"I'll call a doc to check on ya. Tell yer children of god or whatnot that yer not in the best shape to preach."

"That would be wise. I think."

You wish you could say something but he's probably not in the right mental space to register anything you're going to say to him. Your group prepares to leave but you stop when you hear him muttering something. He stares right as you as he continues to talk to himself.

"nicetoseeyou." It was barely audible, clearly something he didn't want you to hear. A smile threatens to creep across your face. At the very least, he still holds some affection for you.

"Nice to see you too, brother." You salute the priest before you lead your group outside. Maybe you should check on him later, once he finishes the rest of that healing sandwich. Now that you're back in the featureless hallway that 90% of every ARC facility is apparently made out of.

"Well. That was certainly a family reunion, eh? He didn't seem quite pleased to see you at first, Vinny."

"Long story." You dryly cut him off before he can pry any further. "We have to make a quick stop first."

"Eh. Fine by me. Where to next, sir?"

You wanted to head directly to the cafeteria but you got that Anderson person to talk to. You look at the business card you were handed and, well, you go in search of him.

----

After what feels like thirty minutes of wandering, which you used to explain the auras you saw on Lucy and Anthony to their respective owners, you find the office that belongs to this weird Anderson guy.

It opens up the moment you arrive, welcoming your group inside. Odd, but at this rate, you've embraced the surreal nonsense this facility pulls on you on an hourly basis.

Stepping inside, with your allies in tow, you find yourself in an office you can find in any office building. You're eighty percent sure you've seen this exact same stock office at every job you've worked at.

Sitting behind the desk in the middle of the room is a man with black hair, a black suit, and an odd black drool leaking down his face. Well, "drool" might be a polite way to describe it; it's more like black tar than anything. His skin is paper thin, and his body is on the verge of collapsing in on itself from how thin it is.

"No need for formalities." He says before you could even get a word in edgewise. "I assume you're tired of endless dialogue, so let's cut to the chase."

"I see potential in you, I want to reward you, and I'm investing in you. There's no price. Not even any hidden time-related clauses. Here." He places a sheet of paper on the desk. You reach out to grab it with your vine and, by skimming it, you can tell it's a legally binding contract of some sort, but a very simple one.

All it says is that only one person can claim a boon per 'consultation', that they have to be an ARC employee to receive it, and that employee can not benefit from Anderson's services in the future.

"I'm not here to bore you with questions. Choose what you want and I'll let you go on your merry way." Well, no need to say that twice.

CHOOSE WHAT BOON TO ACQUIRE FROM HIM!
>"I got a little pick me up for you guard friend." (Anthony gets a COMBAT IMPLANT, improving his effectiveness in combat and his general physical health.)
>"I can improve your gelatinous friend's control over her own body." (Lucy gets MORPHING PHYSIOLOGY, vastly improving the control she has over her body's form.)
>"You want to push your body and mind to its limits, Vincent, don't you?" (You get the CRUNCH TIME trait. Your other traits will steadily improve as your PHYSICAL/MENTAL HEALTH decreases.)
>"Spread the love." (You, Anthony and Lucy will gain a slight upgrade to a random trait you already have.)
>Negotiate for something else. (Write in. What do you want? May require a skill check.)

Anything you want to do or say while you're picking your boon?
>Write in.

Next update will be way shorter, since Anderson is very much a 'get business over with' type of encounter.

>>6346215
>"I got a little pick me up for you guard friend." (Anthony gets a COMBAT IMPLANT, improving his effectiveness in combat and his general physical health.)
>"You want to push your body and mind to its limits, Vincent, don't you?" (You get the CRUNCH TIME trait. Your other traits will steadily improve as your PHYSICAL/MENTAL HEALTH decreases.)

It’s between these two, for me; either buy more time for Anthony, or give the guy who’s in every scene his upgrade already. We’re already working multiple angles on Lucy’s whole deal, at least to the point that we don’t urgently need her Anderson upgrade… and if I’m reading the terms and limitations correctly, why would we ever pick Spread the Love? (Unless that isn’t limited the same way?)

>>6346215
>>"I got a little pick me up for you guard friend." (Anthony gets a COMBAT IMPLANT, improving his effectiveness in combat and his general physical health.)
We can always track down more anomalies and work out and stuff. A little goodwill goes a long way

>>6346215
>>6346237
Actually, I do want to add the following under “Anything you want to do or say?”

> “How strict is the ‘can’t ever get a second boon on the same guy’ policy? Is ‘spreading the love’ just a trap for chumps too impatient to wait to get stronger individual boons across multiple ‘sessions,’ then, if I’m reading that right?”

>>6346215
Tempting. I'm rather tempted for CRUNCH TIME, because our stats going up also means FET's stats will go up when either is damaged.

Anthony is also kind of expensive idk how often we would hire him, but it would be nice to improve his health. He'd probably appreciate it quite a bit.

I wonder if Lucy would change her physique to be slimmer or bigger to try and mog the competition lol.

>>6346246
>“How strict is the ‘can’t ever get a second boon on the same guy’ policy?
"As per ARC guideline #85-101-ALPHA-Z, those who take the 'Spread the Love' deal will be allowed to take a future boon, due to the general 'weakness' of the offering."

"However, I am a very busy man, so who knows when I will have enough spare time to offer you another Boon? Tomorrow? Two days? A week from now?"

>Is ‘spreading the love’ just a trap for chumps too impatient to wait to get stronger individual boons across multiple ‘sessions,’ then, if I’m reading that right?”
"Consider it an 'out' if you don't feel like picking favorites between yourself, your oh so lovable melting friend-"

"L-lovable?"

"And your old, decrepit guard, who we only keep around since he's somehow survived long enough to reach old age."

"Well, thank ya for the 'compliment', pardner."

I'll clarify this to you right now, since it'll likely impact what decision you will make.

>>6346215
>"You want to push your body and mind to its limits, Vincent, don't you?" (You get the CRUNCH TIME trait. Your other traits will steadily improve as your PHYSICAL/MENTAL HEALTH decreases.)
The path to git gud....

>>6346215
>"You want to push your body and mind to its limits, Vincent, don't you?" (You get the CRUNCH TIME trait. Your other traits will steadily improve as your PHYSICAL/MENTAL HEALTH decreases.)
The more we endure, the stronger we get.

Got some interesting info out of Angel, at least. Turns out Cruz's are just built different, we might get our hands on that anglerfish, and the Heart is sending "vessels" around to find Vincent. Also seems like the Heart can psychically attack anyone it wants.

>>6346215
>"Spread the love." (You, Anthony and Lucy will gain a slight upgrade to a random trait you already have.)

>>6346285
We need to pay money to get the containment cell reinforced as best we can before we get the Anglerfish. You bet your ass that fucker will get hungry and try breaching on us, and he won't be simply content with just bashing a random wall randomly like 199X does. Speaking of which, we really need to fix his cell up... and clean up that anomalous snow... and see what he wrote way earlier...

>>6346215
>"I can improve your gelatinous friend's control over her own body." (Lucy gets MORPHING PHYSIOLOGY, vastly improving the control she has over her body's form.)

>>6346215
>"You want to push your body and mind to its limits, Vincent, don't you?" (You get the CRUNCH TIME trait. Your other traits will steadily improve as your PHYSICAL/MENTAL HEALTH decreases.)
I'm so sorry Lucy and Anthony, but this will save us the next time a RED MAN sent by THE HEART is trying to cave our skull in.

>>6346215
>Write in.
"Anything you can do to help SACA get through anomaly doors?"

I feel like SACA would be the perfect hire to restrain dangerous anomalies if he could get through the doors. If we have to deal with guys like 199X or the anglerfish, a walking slab of metal between us would do wonders for personal defense.

If that isn't in the cards, I vote for

>"I got a little pick me up for your guard friend." (Anthony gets a COMBAT IMPLANT, improving his effectiveness in combat and his general physical health.)

He is also a great hire for problematic anomalies and preventing any potential AGE debuffs from kicking in would be good. A bit expensive, but maybe worth it if we get a high risk anomaly.

>>6346215
>>6346395
Supporting this write-in.
I feel like from a RP perspective, constantly being on the verge of death to get as many bonuses as possible, cannot be a good long-term idea... I wouldn't be opposed to having SACA around more, even if it meant having her get some kind of drawback.

>>6346395
+1 good idea saca desrve some love also i wonder how constructed anomaly like somelier would feel for angel

>>6346395
+1

>>6346215
>"Spread the love." (You, Anthony and Lucy will gain a slight upgrade to a random trait you already have.)
All it costs is a bit of time.

>>6346215
>"I can improve your gelatinous friend's control over her own body." (Lucy gets MORPHING PHYSIOLOGY, vastly improving the control she has over her body's form.)

>>6346215
Eh, changing my vote from >>6346237 to just:
>"I got a little pick me up for your guard friend." (Anthony gets a COMBAT IMPLANT, improving his effectiveness in combat and his general physical health.)

This is the only one that truly feels urgent? Both in a "the sooner we grab this, the more effective it is" sense of not waiting for his health pool to get lower, but also in the sense that it could push back the "gonna die of old age soon" part of his Bane to the point that it's at least no longer within the scope of the quest, or at least it'd be a good start towards that (with REVE CHARDONAY continuing his anti-aging therapy if it's not enough on its own). I imagine flat-out removing that part of the bane (at least as far as the scope of the quest is concerned) isn't as hard as it sounds; we'd only need to buy him another half-year or so of time for that to no longer be a factor.

>>6346411
Eh, it depends on whether the efficacy of Vincent's boon A) increases with every point of health lost, B) decreases with every point of health that Vinny still has, or C) percentage-based.

A is obviously the best-case scenario, given that would either let us operate at maximum capacity somewhat safely (assuming there's an upper limit to the bonus we gain) or to go *EVEN FURTHER BEYOND* when our back is to the wall and we really need to clutch out (assuming there *isn't* an upper limit); either way, we're rewarded for building Vincent to have a Senator Armstrong-tier mixed health-pool.

B, meanwhile, is the worst-case because it partly *invalidates* the raw HP+SP tank build we're going for by requiring us to let most of that mixed health-pool go to waste to get any significant bonus out of it.

C is mixed, since while there is an upper limit built in, going down to 20% physical health on Vincent is way less dangerous than, say, current Anthony going down to 20%. Then again, I'm not sure how granular the health-system even is - are the descriptors just approximations of where everyone is at percentage-wise, or is it a lot more simplified than that, and "percentage" isn't really a useful yardstick here?

Questions for the QM to answer OOC, I'm sure (aside from Anderson maybe answering whether it's flat total lost, flat total remaining, or percentage-based in-character).

Checking.

COMBAT IMPLANT: 1zM, IK4
CRUNCH TIME: RAp, VvJ, MBE
SPREAD THE LOVE: GXn, hv9
MORPHING: SEH, bwo
SACA: YkK, YZQ, DF+, Y4T

BGe didn't really vote but he seems to be going for CRUNCH TIME. I do respect the SACA write in so, here, how about a quick follow up vote from Anderson? Since SACA did win over CRUNCH TIME, but I want to give you another choice.

-----

You have a feeling that it (she? he? whatever) would be the perfect hire if you could get it to fit through the doors. 199X, the Anglerfish, whatever else you're hiring? A giant slab of metal would do wonders for personal defense, no? Sure, it would be nice to help Anthony or yourself out, maybe even Lucy, but...

You ask Anderson if that would be a possibility.

"Who?" The man in the black suit narrows his eyes. "I don't think we have someone of that name. Do you mean SCAS? Or MOCA? Or LAPY?"

"O-oh! T-there's t-this one specific SACA robot t-that he, uhm, he talked to before. I think. I-I saw it talking to C-Colt a while ago and-" A torrent of rambling, stutter-filled words pours out of your gelatinous friend. It soon turns into nothing but garbage noise that no one can really understand.

Anthony promptly shuts her up by covering her mouth. "Ehhh. Yeah, I think I get what he's referrin' to. Big hulkin' thing. I gotta admit, those things are pretty damn strong, but they ain't really made for his kind of work, ya know?"

"Maybe do him a solid and help out his little old robot friend, eh? How's about that, sonny?"

"Ohhh. SACA, right, those things. You have one working for you? Interesting." Anderson taps his fingers on the desk as he considers your request. "Hm. That's more in line with what we might offer in a catalog than a BOON, per se."

Anderson snaps his fingers once he settles on an idea. "Tell you what. How about this? I can tell you're the type of soul, the type of wagecuck, who wants to pick Crunch Time."
"Wait, hold on, I'm still deciding-" He's not wrong, though, that's what you're gravitating towards.

"I'll let you get your funny upgrade for your funny robot for your funny shifts, on top of CRUNCH TIME, in exchange..."

SACA UPGRADE
-SACA will now able to fit inside containment cells.
-SACA's agility will be noticeably improved, improving their general competency as a coworker.

PRICE FOR DOUBLE DIPPING.
-You MUST hire SACA as one of your choices next shift.
-I'll take the following items from your inventory: MYSTERY BAGGIE, STAINED FOOD COUPON, WINE SOAKED SANDWICH v1.1 x2, NEON BLUE PEARL (which could sold in your catalog tonight for a pretty penny), WIRE FLOWER x2 (leaving you with 2)

"Do you accept?"
>YES.
>NO, just the SACA upgrade.

>>6346554
>I'm not sure how granular the health-system even is
It's Vincent's best guess on the physical and mental state of everyone. You know RED is really bad, BLUE is neutral, and GREEN is pretty good.
As for the specifics on the perk? It's as close to C as it can be.

I'll leave this option until a majority solidifies.

YES
Hell yes. Robot friend is better let's go.

>>6346660
YES
we can always get more NEON BLUE PEARL by drinking that liquid

>>6346668
I forget which liquid it was that lets us spit out a neon blue pearl. Could we not let our hirees drink it too so they can spit one out each?

>>6346670
NEON BLUE FLESH produces the liquid uPC is talking about, but you only have that one sample and the only way to get more is, likely, bribing Rudolf for more of it.
You probably could make a few more, but there's only so much liquid one sample can make.

>Could we not let our hirees drink it too so they can spit one out each?
You could. It's not a pleasant experience but you could convince them to.

>>6346672
If KATTE drank the juice would it spit up pearls inside hairballs or hairballs inside pearls

>>6346660
>YES.
Robofren needs more upgrades.

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183 KB JPG

>>6346673
Considering hairballs are just clumps of fur they get after they groomed themselves, it would likely be pearls inside hairballs.
That is, of course, if EL FELINO behaves like a normal cat when it comes to hairballs.

>>6346660
>YES.

Pearls are gotten by imbibing NEON SLASHER'S soda-blood - it causes physical damage when doing that, though.

Would've liked for Anthony to not have a time limit over his head, but oh well. I'm... assuming the fact that SACA is a bot and not an employee is the only reason we're getting away with a 2-at-once deal here, and that we should expect future sessions to strictly be "a boonless someone with you right now in this room gets their boon, the same person gets an alternative write-in boon, you spread the love, or GTFO."

Alright, we got four YES votes, I think that's enough to call off the mini-update. It appears we're going with CRUNCH TIME and SACA: FORME DE CONTAINMENT CELL FRIENDLY as our choices.

Writing. Time to humiliate Vincent by forcing him to socialize with actual human beings.

>>6346676
>Would've liked for Anthony to not have a time limit over his head, but oh well.
There's other options to help Anthony out, this would've just been the quickest and easiest option.
Look on the bright side: At least Vincent's getting stronger.

>>6346660
>YES.
Not needed to vote but hell yeah, we're so ready for the next time an anomaly tries to kill and/or mindfuck us

File: CONTRACT.png (189 KB, 1000x1296)

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"Fine!" You throw your hands in the air. "Fine, I accept your deal. I've got places to be, man; let's get this over with."

"Of course you do! We all have very important jobs down here." Anderson hands you a pen so you can sign the document. "We're all simply cogs in this machine, Vincent Cruz."

More of that pitch-black ichor dribbles out of his smiling maw. "How about some free advice?"

"Ya really don't gotta, sir."

"I-I think w-we're good w-with the, uhm, 'boon' or wh-whatever you said."

He ignores your coworkers' words. All of his attention is on you. "Dogs rule in this facility, Vincent. For only a starving, mangy dog can survive in a world like this. You understand what I mean, yes?"

"I can't say I do." He's babbling incoherent gibberish to mess with you. That's all this is.

Your words don't appear to dissuade him in any meaningful way. "You'll understand in due time. Please, sign the paper."

He doesn't have to say that twice. You scribble down your signature before sliding over the required 'offerings'. Anderson gingerly collects your offerings, and in return, he tosses something to you. Your vine instinctually reaches out to catch it.

On further inspection, it's a nicotine patch? That's what it reminds you of, at least.

"It may look like one, yes, but it isn't." Anderson points at his own shoulder. "Place it there and wear it overnight. You'll wake up to a brand new you."

Okay. At this rate you've learnt to roll with whatever nonsense ARC throws at you. You lift up your sleeve, and you slap the patch on. "Right. Are we done here?"

"Mmh hmm, yes sir. You can leave now. Out there, where the dogs are."

Right, uh huh, time to get out of this dump. Lucy is already out of here, and Anthony is waiting for you to join them. You power walk right out of this room before Anderson can say any more cryptic nonsense.

You swing your head around to make sure the door didn't vanish or something, but no, it's still there. That was an actual person, apparently, despite the tar and other nonsense that was pouring out of his mouth.

You can feel the onset of yet another migraine hitting you. "I'm starvin'. How about you guys?"

"Oh, Vinny, ain't nothing like a nice good meal after a long day." Anthony smacks his stomach to sell the point even harder. "I'm starvin' like a Harvester, if ya know what those are."

"Mm-mmh. S-same here. I-I c-can feel my body g-getting, uhm, soupier. Heh."

You gently grab Lucy's arm to check on her condition. While her body isn't particularly stable even at the best of times, it doesn't even feel like you're touching flesh anymore. The best way to describe it is if you're rummaging through mucus instead of gelatin. A slimy residue now stubbornly clings to the palm of your hand.

"Eugh." You let go of her arm and you start frantically rubbing the gunk off using your lab coat. "Yeah, let's get something to eat."

"Ain't gotta say that again. Been a long day, Vinny, let's wrap it up."

Time to find an elevator.

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Thankfully, having Anthony around means you're spared from dealing with the tedious task of aimlessly wandering to and from identical hallway after identical hallway. You easily find an elevator that brings you back to Layer 2, and, well, it's a short trip back up.

Anthony casually leads the two of you towards the cafeteria. It's nice having someone who actually knows how to travel around this place. He clearly knows this facility like, in his words, not yours, 'the back of your hand'.

"I-I wonder." Lucy breaks the peaceful silence that settled between the three of you. "H-how do you feel about y-your, uh, aura? Anthony?"

"Like. M-me and Vi-vincent, w-we don't have all of the i-information we need to u-understand them but...?"

"Well, missy, I can confirm this much to ya. It ain't wrong, those specs, those damn things read me like a book." He doesn't seem particularly bothered by his own aura. "Ya live long enough, ya do some regrettable things."

"That's life. Heck, ain't Vinny got that regret in his spiral whatsit?"

"Yeah." You're still not comfortable with your own 'aura'. It feels like a private part of you got pried out, for everyone to see. "But I'll just keep moving forward."

"Mmh. All I'll say is this, ya know, don't let the past clin' to ya. That's how ya git your head twisted like ol' Rolle, yeah?"

"C'mon!" Anthony points a pair of finger guns at you and Lucy. "Look at the bright side. Ya got some cool shades, yer robot friend's getting all tuned up and stuff, and ya got one less sponner-rino to worry about."

"Yer doing good, Vinny, yer doing good."

You can't really disagree with him. You ARE doing a good job.

Lucy does her best to stop herself from breaking into a giggling fit. "Y-yeah. Y-yeah, w-we're doing great! W-we're going to live forever."

"Eh, don't jinx it." You dryly laugh.

The conversation dies once the three of you finally arrive at the cafeteria. Which, as you quickly realize, is packed beyond all belief. An almost solid wave of noise slams into you as your brain processes the sheer quantity of conversations going on at once. It doesn't even sound like speech anymore; it sounds more like a roaring ocean wave.

If there are still any tables available for your group, you certainly can't see them from here. Hell, there's a massive line of people pestering the cafeteria staff for more food. You appreciate your slop as much as anyone else, but you're clearly missing something here.

"Hey." You approach a random table. "Why is this place so packed? It wasn't like this yesterday."

"Apparently some big shot from Layer 5 impressed some Feast company." One of the strangers at the table answers. "Like, a hundred twenty samples in one day or something like that."

"So we're getting actual food today! REAL FOOD!" The stranger shows you a tray filled with actual, high-quality food on it. You can actually identify what's on it! Is th- Is that a steak???

"Better hire to get your own, man!"

"Damn. Okay, okay, thank you. Enjoy your meal." "Mmh hmm."

You return to your actual coworkers. "They got actual food. That man had a steak on his plate. We need to make a move. No-" And they're already making a mad dash to get in line. Welp.

You're on your own now. Before you follow after them, you begin to scan the room in search of someone to hang out with. That's half the reason you even came here, right?

Choose three people to hang out with. You probably don't have the social energy to pester them with questions like Rudolf and Angel; you just want someone to talk to.

OLD FACES
>SACA. A towering hunk of metal is hard to miss, even if you try. You wonder why it's here of all places...
>ASHTON. She's waving you over. "hey! long time no see, huh?" She's a safe choice to talk to, sheIS real chummy with you.
>THE MAN. He's acting like a complete fool right now. Did he get himself sloshed..?
>NICOLE. She's one of the few people in this room who isn't smiling or celebrating. She barely touches the steak on her plate. Is she okay?
>EDWARD. He's a chill guy, he'll be chill to hang out with. Someone low energy would be nice right now.
>MONIFA. The screen-faced robot is bored out of her gourd. She's barely paying attention to her surroundings. Maybe you can cheer her up.
>Search for someone else? (Write in the name of someone you've already met.)

NEW FACES
>SILVER-SUITED MAN. The garishly dressed man is pacing around the room, analyzing everything and everyone inside. There's not a hint of emotion in his expression.
>SOCIAL BUTTERFLY. Seems you're not the only one trying to meet new people. A lady with tacky sunglasses is roaming around, talking to anyone she can see.
>BIOMECHANICAL HUSK. Their body is better described as raw meat and machinery than anything 'human' at this point. They're patrolling around the room with the rest of the guards.
>SHADOWMAN. There's only a vague, shadowy outline of a human here. Its two, glowing white eyes aimlessly dart around the room.
>JANITOR DRONE. A humanoid robot dressed in grey and purple is doing its best to keep the cafeteria clean. It is on the verge of stabbing itself with its own broom. A kindred spirit.
>MASKED FIGURE. Anything identifiable about them is hidden under a thick cloak and a gas mask. They're keeping an eye on you for some reason?
>Search for someone else? (Write in a KEYWORD.)

Considering you hung out with Anthony and Lucy for a while now, I think it's fair Vincent has a chance to talk to some people without them.

>>6346763
>ASHTON. She's waving you over. "hey! long time no see, huh?" She's a safe choice to talk to, sheIS real chummy with you.
If she's asking for Vince...

>Search for someone else? (Hidaka)
My beloved

>MASKED FIGURE. Anything identifiable about them is hidden under a thick cloak and a gas mask. They're keeping an eye on you for some reason?
This sonovabitch is eyeballing us

>>6346763
>NICOLE.
concerning
>ASHTON.
>SILVER-SUITED MAN.
Silver organization/agency?

>>6346763
>MASKED FIGURE. Anything identifiable about them is hidden under a thick cloak and a gas mask. They're keeping an eye on you for some reason?
Okay Mysterious Figure, what sort of dank plot are you involved in now?
>THE MAN
We gotta help our BRO while he's drunk
>SILVER-SUITED MAN. The garishly dressed man is pacing around the room, analyzing everything and everyone inside. There's not a hint of emotion in his expression.
An echo of a different world, a different time, a different group, a different allegiance. That's all this man is. Let's get a brief taste of it just to humor it and then move on. This quest is different enough and I would like to keep it that way.

>>6346763
>ASHTON. She's waving you over. "hey! long time no see, huh?" She's a safe choice to talk to, sheIS real chummy with you.
>SHADOWMAN. There's only a vague, shadowy outline of a human here. Its two, glowing white eyes aimlessly dart around the room.
>MASKED FIGURE. Anything identifiable about them is hidden under a thick cloak and a gas mask. They're keeping an eye on you for some reason?

>>6346763
>ASHTON. She's waving you over. "hey! long time no see, huh?" She's a safe choice to talk to, sheIS real chummy with you.

>THE MAN. He's acting like a complete fool right now. Did he get himself sloshed..?

>SHADOWMAN. There's only a vague, shadowy outline of a human here. Its two, glowing white eyes aimlessly dart around the room.
THE MEN and Ashton

>>6346763
>SACA. A towering hunk of metal is hard to miss, even if you try. You wonder why it's here of all places...
THE MAN. He's acting like a complete fool right now. Did he get himself sloshed..?
>SILVER-SUITED MAN. The garishly dressed man is pacing around the room, analyzing everything and everyone inside. There's not a hint of emotion in his expression.

>>6346763
>NICOLE. She's one of the few people in this room who isn't smiling or celebrating. She barely touches the steak on her plate. Is she okay?
>THE MAN. He's acting like a complete fool right now. Did he get himself sloshed..?
>SHADOWMAN. There's only a vague, shadowy outline of a human here. Its two, glowing white eyes aimlessly dart around the room.

>>6346763
>ASHTON. She's waving you over. "hey! long time no see, huh?" She's a safe choice to talk to, sheIS real chummy with you

>SOCIAL BUTTERFLY. Seems you're not the only one trying to meet new people. A lady with tacky sunglasses is roaming around, talking to anyone she can see.
>SHADOWMAN. There's only a vague, shadowy outline of a human here. Its two, glowing white eyes aimlessly dart around the room.

>>6346763
>ASHTON. She's waving you over. "hey! long time no see, huh?" She's a safe choice to talk to, sheIS real chummy with you.
>MASKED FIGURE. Anything identifiable about them is hidden under a thick cloak and a gas mask. They're keeping an eye on you for some reason?
>NICOLE. She's one of the few people in this room who isn't smiling or celebrating. She barely touches the steak on her plate. Is she okay?

>>6346763
>>JANITOR DRONE. A humanoid robot dressed in grey and purple is doing its best to keep the cafeteria clean. It is on the verge of stabbing itself with its own broom. A kindred spirit.
SS13 here we go

>>6346839
>>6346763
Forgot other 2

>THE MAN. He's acting like a complete fool right now. Did he get himself sloshed..?
>MONIFA. The screen-faced robot is bored out of her gourd. She's barely paying attention to her surroundings. Maybe you can cheer her up.

>>6346796
+1

>>6346763
>ASHTON. She's waving you over. "hey! long time no see, huh?" She's a safe choice to talk to, sheIS real chummy with you.
>THE MAN. He's acting like a complete fool right now. Did he get himself sloshed..?
>MASKED FIGURE. Anything identifiable about them is hidden under a thick cloak and a gas mask. They're keeping an eye on you for some reason?

>>6346763
Reminder that Blackwell is watching us. We probably shouldn't interact with THE MAN in that case.

>NICOLE. She's one of the few people in this room who isn't smiling or celebrating. She barely touches the steak on her plate. Is she okay?
>ASHTON. She's waving you over. "hey! long time no see, huh?" She's a safe choice to talk to, sheIS real chummy with you.
>MASKED FIGURE. Anything identifiable about them is hidden under a thick cloak and a gas mask. They're keeping an eye on you for some reason?

>>6346893
SHIT YOU'RE RIGHT

>>6346763
Changing vote in >>6346798 from
>THE MAN
to
>SHADOWMAN. There's only a vague, shadowy outline of a human here. Its two, glowing white eyes aimlessly dart around the room.

>>6346888
Shit, I forgot about Blackwell. Change my vote for
>THE MAN
to
>SHADOWMAN

Why did I vote for this damn sponsorship? I thought it would be mostly goofs about some incompetent wagie doing a poor job of hiding from us, but this shit is seriously inconvenient.

>>6346912
>Why did I vote for this damn sponsorship?
Easy money?

>>6346912
It's just two days, relax. Worst case scenario we can just message him on the intranet during our work hours.

>>6346763
Changing vote in >>6346809 for
>THE MAN
to
>ASHTON

>>6346763
The social butterfly is still alive?!

>SHADOWMAN. There's only a vague, shadowy outline of a human here. Its two, glowing white eyes aimlessly dart around the room.
another MAN
form the schizo squad
>MASKED FIGURE. Anything identifiable about them is hidden under a thick cloak and a gas mask. They're keeping an eye on you for some reason?
What's this guy's problem?
>ASHTON. She's waving you over. "hey! long time no see, huh?" She's a safe choice to talk to, sheIS real chummy with you.
she's calling vince. can't say no to that.

>>6346763
Changing my vote >>6346801 to
>ASHTON

>NICOLE

>SHADOWMAN

>>6346763
>Ashton
>MONIFA
She looks bored and I liked her
>Shadowman

Wow, lot more votes than I was expecting. I guess you really do want Vincent to socialize with some new faces, eh? Let's see.

ASHTON: qzs, ApP, noC, 1zM, 60X, SEH, GXn, bwo, Zz6, duY, VvJ, UnM
SILVER SUIT: ApP, noC, uPC, niQ
HIDAKA: qzs
MASKED: qzs, uPC, 1zM, GXn, bwo, Zz6, duY
NICOLE: ApP, noC, 60X, GXn, Zz6, VvJ
SHADOWMAN: uPC, 1zM, 60X, SEH, bwo, duY, VvJ, UnM
SACA: niQ
THE MAN: niQ, AJh
SOCIAL BUTTERFLY: SEH
JANNIE: AJh
MONIFA: AJh, UnM

So, all in all, you're going with Ashton (everyone give a warm applause to our favorite redhead harvester), the MASKED FIGURE and the SHADOWMAN. You really are sticking true to that advice you were given in Thread #1: Sticking to the freaks and weirdos.
Nicole just barely lost out and she would've been your fourth pick, have I given you the choice to pick four people.

Duly noted and marked. Writing now, I hope you don't regret the freaks you picked :)

>>6346912
Because it's free money :)

----

I continue to scribble down notes about the subject. Vincent Cruz, was it? I think that's his name, at least, but it's hard to remember anything about him. He's so...boring, at least compared to the other subjects I've studied.

I don't get why my bosses decided he was worth archiving. They said they had a 'gut feeling' that he was hiding something. Something 'very very interesting', I think that's what they said. Something about a certain connection he has to certain anomalies, something about an Egg, but they were vague on the specifics.

By the looks of it, the only interesting thing he has on him is a bunch of stupid ARTIFACTS. That's not worthy of our supervision. I used to watch after actually INTERESTING people with actual INTEL inside their meatbrains. This is a waste of my time.

I suppose the fact he even has friends is a notable anomaly in of itself, right?

Oh well. I'm being paid to do this so I guess I shouldn't complain. I should follow after him before I lose him in the crowd in here. I overheard something about this being a diversion from FEASTS. Never liked those guys. Too much meat and gristle for my tastes. Too gamey.

>>6347120
Get fucked corpo spook, we're onto your shit. We were RIGHT to avoid our unseen bro

>>6347120
>You really are sticking true to that advice you were given in Thread #1: Sticking to the freaks and weirdos.
I mean, they're insteresting so can you blame us ?

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You mentally map out everyone you want to talk to. There are so many choices you could pick from; it's a little disorienting, to be frank. There have to be at least a hundred people in here, maybe more. The constant gibbering, the incessant laughter, it's.

It's getting to you. Your mouth forces itself into a grin. Not because you're happy; it's closer to a survival instinct. Something to let you blend in with the crowd. Everyone else is smiling and having a great time! Why shouldn't you?

Right. You need to find interesting (and ideally useful) coworkers to talk to. You already know someone you can't talk to, sadly.

The deepest recesses of your gut tells you that you cannot, under any circumstance, talk to the Man right now. Even as he's downing another bottle's worth of some cheap rotgut. You want to stop him but not with them watching.

You don't know where the BLACKWELL rep is but you can sense them. You can feel their eyes drilling into the back of your head. It's best to play it safe with that stalker following you.

Ashton's a safe choice. She's a nice girl. She's probably one of the more tolerable people you've met here. Even if you're still getting used to her whole Harvester deal. Heck, she's even waving you over, trying to get your attention.

"hey! long time no see, huh?" Her whispery, scratchy voice is nearly lost in the sea of noise. Maybe your senses really are getting sharper.

You respond to her wave with a wave of your own. "I'll be there in a moment!" You yell out, hoping she's able to hear you. This time, you can't hear her, so she decides to respond with a pair of thumbs up. Excellent. It's nothing against her, but you know that the two coworkers you're going to be chatting with right now are, uh.

You'll need a palette cleanser after dealing with them, surely.

Their table is the only one that isn't packed to the brim with people. In fact, there's only two people sitting there, as if their presence is physically repulsive. You approach their table and you quickly understand why your coworkers are avoiding these guys.

The SHADOWMAN, as you call him, can barely be considered human. Its body flickers and shifts like a lit flame. It's mesmerizing to watch his body twist and curl and collapse in on itself. His body is barely contained by the clothes clinging to his immaterial frame.

A tattered leather jacket wrapped around his 'chest', and a pair of tacky one-size too small jeans around his legs', both work together to keep him 'compressed' into something humanoid.

Even the Man at least had a solid form, though you can't remember much about what he specifically looked like.

"..." The SHADOWMAN stares at you. The two blinding orbs of light on its face must be its eyes, right? It's really hard to tell with this guy.

"Go away." His weathered voice crackles like a roaring fire. Even a smoker wouldn't have their vocal cords as fried as this guy. "Please. Now."

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"No need to scare him off, my comrade." The masked figure lightly chastises their 'friend'.

Their voice is artificially deepened and muffled, like what you'd hear in a documentary when they're keeping an interviewee anonymous. There's no way it's their actual voice. You don't know if it's a man, a woman, or an anomaly underneath that mask.

Anything identifiable about the masked figure is covered. A thick robe (or coat?) with long sleeves covers most of their torso, with a stitched-on hood helping to cover their head. A pair of dim red lenses stare at you instead of eyes. Their hands are hidden underneath thick, padded gloves, and a sturdy pair of steel-toe boots covers their legs.

You'll probably end up calling them a 'he', just out of convenience, but you couldn't really tell. At the very least, you know they're a cautious type, like you are.

"Is it safe to assume you wish to become acquainted with us?" The masked figure cordially asks. "Please do tell me if you are only here to ogle. We do stand out compared to the rest of the crowd."

"I, uh, am. Yes. Sorry. Still new here."

"That is understandable. To truly get used to this den, this maze, it takes a lot of time. I understand, and I empathize with you. I was like that too when I first came here."

"Nngh. Still don't trust him." The SHADOWMAN voices his displeasure at your presence. "Prefer to eat with only you."

"Sorry if I'm intruding."

"Please, do not worry about that, sir. You are welcome to stay here. May I ask for some patience out of you, SHADOWMAN?"

"Ngh. Don't say I didn't warn you." The SHADOWMAN scoots over so you can sit next to him. So that IS his name. Another 'MAN' to memorize.

You sit down, briefly glancing to see what they're eating. The SHADOWMAN is gorging himself on piles and piles of random food stuffs. The MASKED FIGURE, given the gas mask they're wearing, isn't eating at all.

"I do apologize. I believe you deserve a proper introduction from me. For the sake of convenience, you may refer to me as Nine." Nine bows their head towards you.

"I'm Vincent. It's nice to meet you two." You're still not sure if it's a great idea talking to these two, but at least the chance of them being ARC shills is next to zero. "Why...Nine, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I like the ring of it. There's no real 'meaning' to it, if that's what you meant to ask, apart from hiding my true name from unsavory characters."

"Names. Mean something." SHADOWMAN mutters in between bites of food. "Can't trust names. With strangers."

"My umbrageous friend is correct. I would implore you to use a codename, but alas, alack, it is too late for you."

"I see no reason why I'd hide my name. I'm nobody in particular." A dry laugh exits your throat. "Maybe you guys are important to someone but not me."

"Hhh. We'll see."

"Oh, I do apologize, I have spent far too long rambling your ear off."

"Please. Speak, Vincent, I wish to get to know you more."

Well, this is the hard part now. Actually talking to them beyond surface pleasantries. It's time to actively participant in a conversation, Vincent, instead of interrogating someone.

What topics do you want to bring up with them? Choose up to four. You'll need time to interact with them before you can ask them to work for you.

>Bring up funny things that happened during your various SHIFTs. A solid icebreaker, no?
>Complain and vent about BLACKWELL. Their sponsorship is turning out to be a pain in the ass.
>"You don't like talking much, huh?" Be as cordial as possible with SHADOWMAN. You want him to open up a little about himself. (DC 65, +6 to roll from ANOMALY TOUCHED.)
>Bring up your friends. Maybe they can impart some advice on how you can get closer to them.
>"How long have you two been friends?" You doubt anyone else in this room has bothered to chat with them.
>"Hey, what codename WOULD I have?" Try to bond with Nine. Get them to open up a little. (DC 55, +3 to roll from ???.)
>Show them some cool SLUMBERING WISH tricks. You want to IMPRESS them. (Feel free to write in what trick you're doing with your vine.)
>Bring up ARC and their bullshit. Surely, these two have their own horror stories they wanna vent about.
>Write in.

Anything else you want to do while you're here?
>Write in.

Woo, got distracted, sorry.
I'll try to update earlier next time around.

>>6347228
>Complain and vent about BLACKWELL. Their sponsorship is turning out to be a pain in the ass.
Best if we start with that, so that they know someone is watching.
>"You don't like talking much, huh?" Be as cordial as possible with SHADOWMAN. You want him to open up a little about himself. (DC 65, +6 to roll from ANOMALY TOUCHED.)
>"Hey, what codename WOULD I have?" Try to bond with Nine. Get them to open up a little. (DC 55, +3 to roll from ???.)
>Show them some cool SLUMBERING WISH tricks. You want to IMPRESS them.

>>6347228
>Complain and vent about BLACKWELL. Their sponsorship is turning out to be a pain in the ass.

>"You don't like talking much, huh?" Be as cordial as possible with SHADOWMAN. You want him to open up a little about himself. (DC 65, +6 to roll from ANOMALY TOUCHED.)

>"How long have you two been friends?" You doubt anyone else in this room has bothered to chat with them.

>"Hey, what codename WOULD I have?" Try to bond with Nine. Get them to open up a little. (DC 55, +3 to roll from ???.)
THE GREY MAN

>>6347236
+1

>so do being like this hurt? because i have a friend with a condition also and we manage to fix part of it and i don't know but helping people is kinda my thing

>>6347236
+1