Your name is Vincent Cruz. You work in a shady government-backed facility in the middle of the New Mexico desert. By all accounts, you are a complete and total nobody to the Powers That Be. You've managed to survive the last 7 days at your job. Your job, of course, involves studying and researching dangerous anomalous entities in order to make money for the Abnormality Regulation Coalition (also known as ARC).In fact, you survived long enough to get promoted from Level 0 to Level 1. You're no longer on the bottom of the totem pole but you're still so, so far away from the top. Five more ranks to go and who's to say you'll survive long enough to reach the top?If you're going to die here, at least you're going to die at the top. You've climbed dozens upon dozens of corporate ladders, what's one more, after all? It's the only life you've known so you might as well get comfortable with it.As for a recap of some notable things that happened recently?You accidently stumbled across Liz getting herself involved in office politics. While you don't care about getting yourself entangled in them, you decided to keep an eye on Liz to make sure she won't do something she'll regret.You also learnt that one of your coworkers, Ashton, is an aberrant cannibalistic human called a 'Harvester'. For a while you thought her unconditional kindness to you was a mask for something but no, apparently she really see you as a friend. Instead of a meal, thankfully.A dream you had last night still lingers in the back of your mind. It was the only decision you could've made, it was the only right decision, you had to leave that house. One of your anomalies, IN LIMBO, has finally kicked the bucket. It decided that the best thing to do would be to move on. All that's left of it now is an ARTIFACT, a remnant of its anomalous power. Rest in peace, Rolle.And lastly, an old and presumably anomalous phone you bought a while ago has been ringing non-stop during your shift. You're currently trying to negotiate a deal with a mysterious man who's offering you something that 'doesn't cost you money', whatever that means.Your life is a surreal mess but what can you do about it? The only path you can see for yourself is doing your job to the best of your ability. You're a wageslave, born and raised to torture yourself by doing obtuse and obscene tasks all so a line goes up.For the line must always go up.ARCHIVE: https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Low%20RungVINCENT SHEET/INVENTORY: https://rentry.co/VINCENTSHEETALLIES: https://rentry.co/COWORKERLISTANOMALY NOTES: https://rentry.co/RESEARCHNOTES
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?"
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. >SLUMBERING WISH. It's the last traces of IN LIMBO.
>>6343217Oh 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?
>>6343248that'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
>>6343279Rudolf 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.
>>6343293that'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
>>6343293Yeah 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.
>>6343293oh 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 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 ACTIONESTABLISHING SHOT: GXn, niQ, BGe, qwbMAD WORLD: Eq3, SEHNOWHERE'S SOMMELIER: 1zMEL FELINO: Zz6, 60X, DF+, uPC, Y4TTALK TO:EL FELINO: GXn, niQ, BGe, qwbANTHONY: Zz6, DF+, Eq3SLUMBERING WISH: 60X, uPC, Y4T, SEH, 1zMSo, 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.
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.
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.
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 SAMPLESAMPLES GIVEN TO FANTASTICAL FEASTS: 0/16What 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 x2Tough 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 ticketIs 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 x2Leaves 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 moldOh, 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
>>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 x4Talking:>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 GIVEOBSCURA: BGe, niQ, LiX, LGX, VvJ, qwb, SEHWIRE FLOWER: VvJOILY HAIR: BGe, niQ, LiX, LGX, qwb, SEHMOLD: niQ, qwb, SEHBILE: niQ, qwb, SEHSo, 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, SEHCOMPANY?: BGe, LiX, LGX, niQ, VvJ, qWB, GXn, SEHM.A.D WORLD: BGe, LiX, LGX, niQ, GXnSAMPLE: GXnSPONSORSHIP: VvJ, qWBPROSTHETICS: SEHSo, 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>>6344181Pft. 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.
>>6344186Damn, doll joint corpo bitch is HOT
>>6344165do it count as an artificial crit?
"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."
"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+1I 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
>>6344251Actually 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+1also i wonder how would the healing of the wine or the sandwitch affect lev with how she is in the shell
>>6344267damn you have a point changing to that also yeah
>>6344251Changing vote from >>6344261 to backing >>6344263 >>6344267So>Cafeteria>Abno Material Storage>Layer 3>Wander aroundBecause >>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.
>>6344290Other anons have made a good point about Blackwell. Change ghost lady and FET to Wander and Layer 1
>>6344286I'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.
