You've done enough interviews in the past to know how this usually goes. They throw you some worthless softball questions and you make sure to say only what they want to hear. You're not at all impressed with the first question he threw your way.

"What is the end goal of your research?"

Your trusty mask slips over your face. Your smile doesn't reach your eyes. Your voice slips into a polite, but completely hollow, cadence. "Well, Quincy, I see a problem that I'm itching to solve. ARC is struggling to make anomalies a stable source of income."

"Of course, there will always be money in the anomaly containment business, solely because other companies don't want to contain anomalies. I get it! I do!"

"But! I can find a way to make renewable, *consistent* products for ARC. MOJO is only one product in a whole franchise of products I want to create." You scrape your nail across the table. "See, there’s always something renewable in the anomalies I get. Flowers. Wine. Bile."

"You just need to have to actually pay attention to what you have, and you need the wherewithal to take advantage of it."

"Of course, of course." Quincy’s own smile is practically wriggling, like his skin is barely humoring the idea of staying attached to him. "It’s rare seeing someone with foresight down here. Your ‘friends’, if you’ll excuse the harsh words, are too…simple-minded to see the bigger picture."

"Too lost in their own personal squabbles and obsessions to even THINK about anything long term."

"That’s what we like about you." Quincy’s smile somehow manages to widen even further. He must be wearing veneers, there’s no way teeth should be THAT white. "You’re the ideal worker. BLACKWELL has shown us some recordings they had of you and, golly, the things you get up to."

You really don’t like the idea of having an audience watching your every move, but you made your bed with BLACKWELL ages ago. "Of course. I believe they would be able to confirm my statements?"

"Indeed, indeed. This interview is a formality, of course, but that’s what professionals do. We indulge in formalities that seem to only exist to waste time. We must follow the will of Corporate Love, as it were."

You vaguely get where he’s going with this. It’s the same song and dance you’ve heard from hundreds of these corporate types. ‘The company is all that matters’, ‘a productive worker is a good worker’, yada yada. You grin and nod along. No point trying to argue with what he’s saying.

"Of course, sir. You’re so right."

"Now, now, no need for flattery. Even if I do enjoy listening to it." Quincy softly admonishes, moreso out of professional courtesy.. He jots down your answers on his little notepad before he speaks again.

"Now, what is your view on anomalies? I believe you may have already said this to someone before, but just repeat it for the record." Oh thank god, another softball question. You’ve had time to dwell on this one for a good long while

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You’ve had time to dwell on this one for a good long while, and your thoughts on them haven’t changed too much.

"They’re fascinating, sir. These entities are parodies of human ideas and beliefs that, in their own way, are almost more than human." What are you, but a hollow husk of a man? At least they have a sense of purpose.

"Interesting. So would you say you’re an anomaly sympathizer?" That’s a loaded question if you’ve heard one.

You decide to answer honestly. "Sorta, actually. I wouldn’t say I’d save an anomaly over one of my coworkers. I’m not a wacko. But a lot of the time, anomalies end up being humans who have just ended up in the wrong place, at the wrong time."

"I should at least give them the courtesy they deserve. I’m not going to act like their condition makes them any less important than me."

"Would you say you see yourself in them?"

"..." You’re not super sure if you should answer this question honestly. There wouldn’t really be any wrong answer to it. Anomaly synchronization is a thing, there is an almost tangible metric for how much of yourself you ‘see’ in an anomaly. "Why wouldn’t I? I’ve related to them enough to get several gifts from them."

"You know what I meant by that question." Quincy’s crooked grin almost melts right off his face. Not literally, of course, but that’s the best descriptor you got.

You awkwardly clear your throat as you prepare to answer. "Sometimes. I work on an anomaly that seems to have the same thoughts as me. I find glimpses, fragments, of who I am inside of every anomaly."

"I feel like denying that would be like trying to deny that water makes things wet, or rejecting the fact that the walls of this very room are made of cheap chinese steel."

Quincy’s smile, strangely, fades at your admission. Like you answered the question wrong, or that he FEELS like your answer should be wrong. "I wish I could understand why some people can answer that way."

We all, at Q&Q, can only see them for what they are. Merely as sources of Abnormal Energy and biological materials." There’s an audible tinge of disappointment that lingers even after he’s done talking. "I suppose I share their viewpoint on the matter."

You don’t think he’s disappointed at his inability to relate to your view point, or that he’s disappointed in himself. At most, there’s a flicker of recognition in his soulless eyes that there’s a fundamental difference between you two. Not physically, but spiritually.

"Myes," Quincy’s throat squirms as he tries to clear it. "I apologize for the unprofessional tangent. We here at Q&Q do not subscribe to any political or spiritual ideologies."

You’re sensing he’s only saying that to cover his own ass. Maybe there’s someone higher up on the Q&Q food chain watching him as the two of you speak. This place is flooded with corpo scum, and hell, maybe this whole thing is a sponsorship he and Quinn are working on.

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"But yes, to answer your question, well. They’re obsessively driven to do one thing, over and over again, day in and day out. I’m not too different from them, am I?" The only difference is you’re cognizant of that fact, and you’re able to change if you want to.

Hell, is that even unique to you? Anomalies can change as well. What’s really the distinction once you get down to the brass tacks? Before you can dwell on the question for long, Quincy changes the subject.

"An interesting response, all things considered. You are aware that you’re associating with an anti-anomaly company, correct?" Right. WARDEN.

The CIGARETTE MOLD itself is anomalous by its very nature, and they’re buying that stuff by the truckload, so they really shouldn’t care if you’re an anomaly sympathizer. You say as much to Quincy, and he concedes on this point.

"Fair, fair! Now, Thirdly, what drives you to do the things you, well, do? We heard you constantly throw yourself into life or death situations."

Now that’s an actually tricky question, mostly because you don’t have a solid answer for it. You could make something up on the spot, but what’d be the fun in that? You actually want to answer it in a way you’d agree with.

"Well." You test out some words in your mouth, trying to find the ones that feel right. "Pride, for one. I know NINTH isn’t going to like hearing that I indulged in such a sin, but it’s true. I feel proud of the things I do."

"Nothing can stop me. Harvesters? Anomalies? Murderers trying to hide their tracks? Mindless killing machines I can only describe as ‘robust’? I’ve survived through it all." You roll up your sleeve, showing the still fresh scars you have from today’s expeditions.

"I’m still standing. I’m still alive. I’ll keep marching forward, no matter what’s thrown my way." In the background of your psyche, the metallic ‘cling-clack’ of a gear turning is heard. "There’s something intoxicating about it. How I’m able to endure through things that should kill the average person twelve times over."

"Pride," Quincy echoes what you said. "Pride of a job well done. Pride in our own abilities. While we at Q&Q may prefer less ambitious employees on a whole, there is value in having pride in your capabilities."

"Of course. That leads into another reason why: it’s an obligation. A burden. No one else is willing to put in the work needed to get things done." Your voice deepens for a moment, as if someone else is speaking through you. Someone who used to say this exact same thing every other night before you went to bed.

"No one else was going to look into the cold case of a murdered girl. No one else was going to stop a murderous robot from attacking random people. No one else was going to stop a stalker from harassing my brother." You have to fight your facial muscles to keep your expression level and neutral. "I had to do it. I’m the one willing to break my body to do what has to be done."

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"And boy! There’s no shortage of problems that need solving, even off the clock!"

"So you’re a problem solver at heart, then?" If Quincy noticed that you were getting more emotional, he’s politely tried to ignore it. "Would you say you resent your situation?"

"The messed-up part is I’d be lying if I said yes." Well, in truth, it’d be a partial lie. "Honestly? It’s the only way I can feel useful to the people around me. And, look."

"Must there always be a 'reason' behind it? What if I genuinely do it because it's the right thing to do? Maybe the pencil pushers here wouldn’t help someone if it doesn’t directly benefit them."

"I admit, it’s easy for me to think of excuses as to why I shouldn’t help someone. Maybe I personally dislike them. Maybe my time could be put to better use. There are millions of reasons you can make up, truthfully."

You slump your shoulders, as if you’re admitting defeat. "But I can’t. Not in good conscience. I’m not hollowed out enough to even consider giving up on someone, without at least trying."

"Eye for an eye." Quincy states, seemingly more for his sake than yours. "What a strange worldview you have. You feel like you have to be kind and helpful, because no one else would. Some people might say that kind of kindness is phony. If you’re only being nice out of obligation."

"Maybe. But you have to be selfish to be selfless." There’s a hint of a smile in your expression. "So what if I’m kind to others out of obligation, or because I feel a sense of pride after helping them? Didn’t I still help them? Does the intention behind it matter?"

Quincy’s shoulders tensed up. He doesn’t immediately try to answer your question. You give him a moment to think about it.

He opened his mouth, about to say something, but the words never left his mouth. He sits there gap mouthed like a fish struggling to breathe.

"Finally," he moves onto the next question without even addressing what you said. "What do you fear the most?"

The answer comes out before your brain can even register it. "Being useless. There’s nothing I fear more. I am my work, and that's all I know."

"I’m good at it too. Given the opportunity, I seriously doubt I’d even choose another path." Your expression curdles into something that resembles what a skinwalker might make if it was told to smile. Your mouth hurts. "What am I if I’m not useful to someone?"

Quincy’s own expression rots into an expression similar to the one you must be wearing. Intellectually, you know his expression is that of joy, but it’s a hollow simulacrum of joy. A mask. You’re two wageslaves, both wearing the same mask of faux-joy. He doesn’t say anything, inviting you to continue speaking.

"We are what we are, Quincy. If we’re not useful, then what are we? We’re drones in a machine that’ll keep turning no matter what we do."

"Indeed," Quincy sluggishly nods. "Indeed we are. The purpose of work is to earn the right to continue working."

"That is the nature of our roles, and to deny that is to deny reality."

"Indeed." You mimic his own words right back at him. "You do realize, BLACKWELL, you could’ve asked me personally instead of using someone as a middle man." You shoot a nasty look towards the STRANGER, who’s sitting only two tables away from you.

"Living down here is to acknowledge that we are all stuck in an interlocking system of sponsorships and corporate deals, Vincent." Quincy gestures at you to look away from the STRANGER. "We are only engaging in dialogue because you accepted a sponsorship from us. I believe you understand why I have to do the things I do. Yes.”

"Tallied up all of your. Answers." Quincy finishes scribbling down the last of your words. "To be honest? There was no way you could fail. Without intentionally trying to fail. We here at Q&Q simply enjoy…engaging in dialogue with those of a similar belief structure to use.”

"But I thought you said your group subscribed to no ideological framework.”

"A lie. A truth. The refusal to engage in any opinion or thought that would detract from our ability to profit IS our ideological framework." His words linger in the air for a second. "To be frank, that’s what all businesses believe in, truly, but compared to the obsessions that other companies here have?”

"Well. I suppose it does make us different. Better, perhaps." Quincy’s smile vanishes in the blink of an eye. "I will admit that your answers have made you a perfect employee for our cause.”

"You’re what we look for. You’re what the system wants. There may be some quirks to you that may prove unprofitable in some ways, but you are what we need. Something reliable and predictable, but with enough agency to do things we can’t.”

"Someone who fears the mere idea of not being wanted, of being obsolete. Someone who intends to save as much profit as possible, through preventing the necessity of replacing assets. Do you know how much it costs to replace and train a human employee?”

While the way he’s phrasing it is making your skin crawl, you’re glad to know he’s willing to see the bigger picture. Even if it’s in his own little weird way.

"We see value in associating with you. You are, in effect, a version of us still connected enough to humanity to understand them. Consider us your new corporate sponsor for the foreseeable future, Vincent Cruz.”
>Q&Q SPONSORSHIP COMPLETED! GOODWILL (QUOTA) IS AT +7!
>You’ve unlocked an exclusive Q&Q CATALOG! This will offer a variety of productivity boosting items otherwise unobtainable to you.

"So that's it? "You were expecting a bit more fanfare to the sponsorship being completed.

"That is it. You said what we wanted to hear, and we're going to relay your answers to companies who are interested in you, of course.”
>You sense your answers has minorly improved your relationship with all SPONSORSHIP COMPANIES.

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"As for a reward? I will personally accommodate you to your meeting, for I wish to be your associate."

"The way your mind ticks, and the way your product flies off the shelves, well. It would be bad for business if I did not at least attempt to help you."

You can sense the air shifting. The crowd of corporate husks and wageslaves that populate the very room you’re in are starting to grow agitated. The air stinks of old coffee, pen ink, and the rot of forgotten dreams. Your meeting with ARC is going to happen any second now, and you know it.

There's no point resisting the will of the crowd. Quincy grabs your hand, ready to lead you through the maze of hollow husks so you can get to where you need to be. You would protest but there's really no point in even bothering to humor the idea. You go limp as you're forcefully dragged deeper into the crowd.

You're only able to catch small glimpses of Hidaka and co amongst the crowd. It appears they also got 'captured', each one being dragged by a different corporate representative. At least you're going to reunite with them. You did partially hire each of them to help with the upcoming meeting anyways.

You pray to whatever deity exists out there that you're able to make it through relatively unscathed. With Quincy's guidance, you soon find yourself in front of a relatively innocuous door that looks like any other door in the facility. The only thing making it stand out to you is the simple placard resting next to it.

"PMR #3-5. RESERVED FOR V.C MEETING."

You turn your head. Hidaka is standing only a foot away from you, with TIMELESS' representative right next to her. To your other side, you spot Colt and Hidaka, both of which are accompanied by WARDEN's representative. At least the group's all back together.

You're not even given a chance to do any last minute work on your pitch. The door swings open and you are promptly dragged in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIVBt1BuGes - THE MEETING BEGINS

The second you cross the boundary, your lungs are flooded with a noxious blend of cigarette smoke and aerosolized body spray. Someone must've pumped in several cans worth of air freshener in here too, since there's this artificial tang of cherry in the air as well. It doesn't help your already battered lungs. Your eyes are watering, blurring your vision to the point you can only make out a smear of grey.

You can't even make out the room you're in. The only guess you have as to its size is that the voices you hear have an audible echo to them. That only makes you question how they've managed to flood this room with enough smoke to blur your vision.

"It's him, right?" A melodic, and distinctly robotic, voice breaks the silence first. She seems to be chewing on something. "That 'Vincent' fellow?"

"It should be. Not to be crude, but it's not like he's particularly memorable," says someone with the voice of a familiar executive. If you're not wrong, that's Ms. White's voice!

Good, good. Part of the reason you wanted to do the meeting today was to distract her.

"TSK. THIS IS BENEATH OUR NOTICE AND YOU KNOW IT." A monotone voice speaks up. Whoever this voice belongs to clearly has no idea what an inside voice is. His voice drones out at a level that's just BARELY not a shout. "IF MR. RUST DIDN'T TELL US WE HAD TO BE HERE..."

"You know as well as I that we can trust him." Ms. White defends her colleague almost instinctively.

The smoke clears just enough to reveal who's been talking. You'd recognize the all white outfit and pale skin of Ms. White anywhere, but the other two are brand new faces.

To her left is the owner of the melodic voice. She's not human in the slightest. Her body is made out of segmented sheets of steel, which loosely flex and bend like the scales on a snake. Her face is merely a screen, with bright red pixels in place of an actual pair of eyes, or a mouth.

Her arms are stumps, barely more than pegs even.

To her right, there's a brick shithouse of a man. You wouldn't be shocked if he ate nails for breakfast. His outfit is ripped straight out of a lumberjack's fashion catalog, with layers upon layers of red plaid and leather covering his frame. His face is obscured by a shoddy faux-leather mask, most likely as some weird attempt at intimidating you.

You can make out the murmurings of several other voices, presumably from various corporate figures you won over from completing various sponsorships, but that damn smoke is making it impossible to see them.

"Mr. Cruz." Ms. White addresses you. "Please, introduce us to your product. We're on a tight schedule today so please, do not drag this out."

"C'mon, our-"

"Mr. Wesson." Ms. White snaps her gaze right towards your patriotic friend. "Do not speak unless spoken to. Thank you very much. Now, Mr. Cruz, please continue."

An introduction shouldn't be too hard. How do you want to open your pitch? Pick up to two. This may impact future speech checks.
>Take it easy. Offer a basic overview of your product. No need to wow them yet.
>Get right to the chase. They're here for something PROFITABLE. Really LEAN into how PROFITABLE your product is.
>Focus on the unique benefits of your product over other nicotine products. Health benefits, its synergy with various samples, the works.
>Why 'talk' about it, when you can show them how good your product is! Offer free samples of your mold to everyone in attendance! (Obviously removes all of the samples you have on person. Goodbye catalog money...)
>Let Hidaka speak. She knows a thing or two about logistics, and how easily ARC could mass produce it, if she had some time to explain it to them.
>Let Colt speak. Let him rile up the crowd. Let him get them EXCITED for your product. He's the perfect hypeman.
>Let Nine speak. She'd know how to phrase things in a way her fellow COLORED EXECUTIVES would like!
>Write in!

Sorry for this update being _severely_ delayed. We're going to be back on track now.

>>6458085
>Focus on the unique benefits of your product over other nicotine products. Health benefits, its synergy with various samples, the works.

>>6458085
>Focus on the unique benefits of your product over other nicotine products. Health benefits, its synergy with various samples, the works.
>Get right to the chase. They're here for something PROFITABLE. Really LEAN into how PROFITABLE your product is.

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>>6458083
Well that interview went about as well as we could have hoped. Thank goodness.
And it seems as though we've found something of a kindred soul at Q&Q, which is a nice bonus.

>>6458085
>Get right to the chase. They're here for something PROFITABLE. Really LEAN into how PROFITABLE your product is.
>Focus on the unique benefits of your product over other nicotine products. Health benefits, its synergy with various samples, the works.

Welcome back!

>>6458085
>Focus on the unique benefits of your product over other nicotine products. Health benefits, its synergy with various samples, the works.
>Get right to the chase. They're here for something PROFITABLE. Really LEAN into how PROFITABLE your product is.
If you're smelling money, then your nose is functioning because this *is* MONEY, folks!

>>6458119
>found something of a kindred soul at Q&Q
I can see it now. Vincent, Colt, Edward, Quincy, and 199X all walking down the hallway together or being cool...

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>>6458085
>Get right to the chase. They're here for something PROFITABLE. Really LEAN into how PROFITABLE your product is.
>Focus on the unique benefits of your product over other nicotine products. Health benefits, its synergy with various samples, the works.

>>6458085
>Focus on the unique benefits of your product over other nicotine products. Health benefits, its synergy with various samples, the works.
>Why 'talk' about it, when you can show them how good your product is! Offer free samples of your mold to everyone in attendance! (Obviously removes all of the samples you have on person. Goodbye catalog money...)
Feast upon our mold.

>>6458085
>Get right to the chase. They're here for something PROFITABLE. Really LEAN into how PROFITABLE your product is.
>Focus on the unique benefits of your product over other nicotine products. Health benefits, its synergy with various samples, the works.

>>6458081
>"I’m still standing. I’m still alive. I’ll keep marching forward, no matter what’s thrown my way."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx_EUwPiKIA
>>6458085
>Get right to the chase. They're here for something PROFITABLE. Really LEAN into how PROFITABLE your product is.
>Focus on the unique benefits of your product over other nicotine products. Health benefits, its synergy with various samples, the works.
Glad to see you back, OP

>>6458085
>Let Hidaka speak. She knows a thing or two about logistics, and how easily ARC could mass produce it, if she had some time to explain it to them.
This stuff likes to eat general dry waste doesn't it? Could be a useful way of disposing of confidential assets by turning it into mould. Plus your throat is probably dry from all this corpo speak.
>Focus on the unique benefits of your product over other nicotine products. Health benefits, its synergy with various samples, the works.
The unique health benefit of it being even more addictive than smokes. Can we make it MORE addictive? What if we mixed in some cocaine and burger sauce?

>>6458085
>Focus on the unique benefits of your product over other nicotine products.
>Get right to the chase.

>>6458085
>Get right to the chase. They're here for something PROFITABLE. Really LEAN into how PROFITABLE your product is.
>Focus on the unique benefits of your product over other nicotine products. Health benefits, its synergy with various samples, the works.

Get the fuck up QM, we have mold to grow.

Welcome back! Hope the break was restful.

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You're going to get right into the meat here. You got an audience with these freaks, and you need to make the most of it. "I won't bore you now."

You hold a baggie filled with CIGARETTE MOLD up towards the executives. "You might've already heard of this product. CIGARETTE MOLD, or as the public will know it, MOJO CHEW. This is a profitable, and dare I say, renewable product. That's what we're missing here people!"

"Renewable assets! How many times has ARC found something that could've made them SO much money, but they squandered it or the anomaly that made it disappear, so they ran out of stock?"

"TOO MANY TIMES TO COUNT." The plaid-dressed executive answers. "I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO GET A PARTICULAR BRAND OF CHIP HERE FOR YEARS. IT HAD A SEASONING A CERTAIN ANOMALY PRODUCED-"

"Because the anomaly resolved! Because the researcher who produced the aforementioned sample refused to think long term!" Quincy speaks up, cutting off the executive outright. He continues to babble, even as Ms. White tries to get him to wait his turn. "See, that's what my beneficiary here is offering. A LONG TERM option."

"Nicotine and nicotine-based products are always going to be profitable, and a readily renewable source of it??? If you're smelling money, then your nose is functioning because this *is* MONEY, folks!"

"While we ARE aware of the value of narcotics," Ms. White is trying her best to stay composed, despite Quincy's interruption. "the kind of products we're looking for are those that won't immediately reveal their anomalous properties to the public."

"We would rather not have to pay for clean-up crews because you didn't test your product well enough now, would we?"

"The masquerade." Colt says under his breath. Unlike your kindred spirit, he isn't going to speak up. Not yet, at any rate.

"If I may interject, we have spent the last two weeks studying and refining the project. Now, when I mean 'we', I do, of course, mean to include Vincent. While two weeks may not sound like a lot, it is his longest term sample project."

"Indeed. Thank you, Nine." You crack a faint smile. "We've already worked with several of the aforementioned sponsorship companies about how we could alter or refine the product to keep it dormant and stable. Does anyone have a white board?"

A figure breaks through the miasma of cigarette smoke. Must've been an intern working on behalf of a sponsorship company you've procured favor with, since you caught a glimpse of a glimmering gold cross on their shirt. NINTH's intern, maybe. They wheeled in a whiteboard before disappearing back into the smoke.

Hidaka is already scribbling down the things you've said so far on the white board. Written in neat, orderly handwriting is short summaries of all the things you've discovered about the mold so far. How it's able to reproduce, how it consumes, how you can render it dormant, the lists go on and on.

"This section right here will explain the various companies I've made deals with."

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The screen-faced executive scans her 'eyes' across the whiteboard. Seems like you haven't lost them quite yet.

It lists the companies you DEFINITELY have won over: Q&Q (Quincy is literally right next to you), WARDEN (Bulk orders of the base product), FEASTS (marketing), and ZENITH (Bulk orders of refined, purified nicotine).

"You can ask those aforementioned companies if you want, to make sure I'm not lying, but look! Four companies! FOUR! All of them want to buy my product...and it could be YOUR product too!" You jab your pointer figure towards the executives.

The smoke shifts again, revealing a section of the meeting room you couldn't see before. Sitting there is what appears to be a refurnished jury box, stolen right from a courtroom. Seems like you identified where the smoke's coming from, since most of the men and women sitting at the booth are smoking like a burning chimney.

Standing guard by the jury box is that 'CLEANER' guy you saw in the lobby area. The CLEANER's heavy, labored breathing is the only sign there's even a human behind all of that metal.

Now that you get a closer look, you actually see what he's wearing, and it's something you've only read about in old sci-fi novels, or cobbled together out of CGI. The heavily armored power suit he's in is an intricate, expensive piece. High-powered magnetic pistons and super-dense fibers of an unknown material grant his armored limbs a fluid, organic flexibility they shouldn't have.

It is still a piece of power armor that has to be roughly analogous to a small car in terms of weight. The cheap steel floor creaks and groans with every slight movement he makes. You're almost certain this thing is loaded with enough firepower to leave your body as nothing but aerosolized red mist.

Six blinding red lights shine from his suit's visor, coming from what you could only describe as the cybersuit's eyes. Seems like he's been guarding this room ever since you got in here. For some reason, his eyes are locked right onto you, as if he recognizes you from somewhere. Who knows where, though.

A suited man with crimson red eyes points his cigarette at the board. "My chef de partie did inform me of such a deal."
A nurse with no teeth blows smoke out of her nose. "The clinical director did say we had a new source of nicotine for recovering addicts."

The rest of the jury box mutters and muses about the deals you've made, and the various sponsorships you've completed over your career so far. Most of them have only positive things to say about you and your product, even if a large swatch of their comments about you are completely vapid.

By the sounds of it, from what little you can pick up, most of the executives and corporate liaisons sitting there are only here because of Mr. Rust. You wouldn't be shocked that, hadn't you asked him for help, this room would have been completely empty.

Ms. White grimaces at the fact she can't really refute what she's hearing.

You DID manage to get a product profitable enough for four companies to partner up with you. Now that you have your foot in the door, you continue your pitch.

"That's not all!" You tap on the whiteboard for emphasis. "There's benefits to the mold beyond its profitability."

"Correct." Hidaka gives a polite smile of her own. "We have been informed of its mild health benefits when consumed. It whitens your teeth. Seemingly as a byproduct of its desire to 'consume' foreign particles."

"Perhaps it could be used to consume other sources of dry waste." You throw it out as an aside. "It is also REMARKABLY synergistic. I have exposed it to a variety of non-anomalous and anomalous food sources, all of which serve to alter the mold's properties."

"This will serve to improve our market reach by a degree that's almost impossible to put into words."

"Hell, that ain't the half of it!" Colt finally gets the courage to speak up. "This garbage is so easy to grow, it could turn this whole god-damn room into a mold pit by the end of the day. It eats fuckin' ANYTHING."

"Besides human flesh." Nine snuffs out any fear of the mold consuming the consumer. You've already dealt with that fear way too many times while studying the damn thing. "Its digestive enzyme could be used as a way to dispose of various toxic byproducts from other anomalous entities, which would save on the cost of cleaning supplies!"

Hidaka continues to scribble down everything you've said so far on the whiteboard. Murmuring is coming from every direction of this god-forsaken den of smoke and mirrors. You actually think you're getting with this, but by the looks of the three 'main' executives, they're not totally solid on your product.

"THERE IS STILL AN ISSUE TO BE HAD WITH HOW WE CAN MARKET IT. MOST OF THE SLOGANS YOU'VE WRITTEN ON THAT BOARD ARE...LACKLUSTER, TO SAY THE LEAST." The plaid-wearing man gruffly points out. "PLUS, WHILE IT IS IMPRESSIVE YOU HAVE CONVINCED FOUR COMPANIES TO BUY FROM YOU, THERE'S SOMETHING LACKING ABOUT YOUR BRAND IN GENERAL."

"THERE'S NOTHING TYING IT TO YOU, REALLY. MOJO CHEW? IT DOESN'T HAVE ANY REAL ZING TO IT."

The robot girl next to him eagerly nods in agreement. "I really do like the concept of your product, but what's stopping the other companies from simply growing it by themselves? I respect my fellow executives, I do, but wouldn't it be easy for people to grow and produce their own supply? Why would they need us?"

Ms. White seems to be a little more hesitant to voice criticism of your product. It takes her a few minutes to even think of something negative to say about it. "What I'm concerned about, personally, is our ability to breach into the tobacco market. It is already an incredibly competitive market. How will your mold be able to crowbar its way in?"

Seems like the executives are interested in your product, but they're not fully won over. As expected, to be honest. You didn't expect this to be easy now, did you?

The executives hiding amongst the clouds of smoke and vapor are muttering yet again. Some of them, mainly from companies you have little to no GOODWILL with, are trying to sow seeds of doubts about your product viabilities.

Meanwhile, you pick up on at least seven different voices try to argue in favor of your product and your general brand...
>Several skill checks have been made easier!

Your coworkers are looking for you for ideas on how you should proceed from here. You didn't expect to get this far, frankly, so you're going to be flying by the seat of your pants.

What angle(s) do you want to push now? Choose up to three, but do be careful. The results of the skill checks here can be far...swinger.
>Explain your market strategy. You intend to outright REPLACE normal chewing tobacco from the market. (DC 100, +50 to roll. Made far easier thanks to high Q&Q GOODWILL + focusing on PROFIT.)
>Double down on its consumptive ability. Toxic chemical spells, radioactive waste, this stuff can eat ANYTHING. (DC 95, +40 to roll. Made easier due to focusing on its benefits, + moderate ZENITH + HAYDEN favor.)
>Carve yourself into your brand. Make the brand deeply connected to you as a person, to disincentivize copycats. (DC 85 , +22 to roll. Might be mentally taxxing to spill your guts out to an audience like this. +GOODWILL with some companies?)
>Assure them that you have your methods of keeping the mold's growth something only YOU and ARC can do. (DC 80, +30 to roll. Safe. Boring.)
>Put some pressure on ARC directly. Don't they NEED some cash flow, and fast? You're offering them a way out of their financial troubles and they're being wishy washy? (DC 93, +27 to roll. A risky play, but perhaps being bullish is the right play?)
>Remind them of the basics of employee morale. A content facility is a facility that doesn't burn up in flames. (DC 86 , +25 to roll. Your coworkers would certainly like this angle.)
>Try to get them to focus on the benefits of this product. If smokers swapped to this, it'd majorly improve their lives. It'd earn goodwill and trust from the public! (DC 70, +15 to roll. Improving ARC's reputation might help you out in the long term.)
>Let Quincy and co. talk on your behalf. You trust your four coworkers to make compelling arguments. (No skill check. Inherently random.)
>Think of another angle you can push. (Write in.)

>>6458132
Hidaka knows how to fight, damnit, and she's going to put it to good use*
(*she doesn't know. Mr. Kill Yourself is just not a physically strong anomaly.)
>>6458342
Cute doll entities at a reasonable price...

>>6458119
>>6458529
Glad to be back. I'll try to be more open and communicative next time, so you guys aren't in the dark for a week straight.

>>6458545
>Explain your market strategy. You intend to outright REPLACE normal chewing tobacco from the market. (DC 100, +50 to roll. Made far easier thanks to high Q&Q GOODWILL + focusing on PROFIT.)
>Double down on its consumptive ability. Toxic chemical spells, radioactive waste, this stuff can eat ANYTHING. (DC 95, +40 to roll. Made easier due to focusing on its benefits, + moderate ZENITH + HAYDEN favor.)
>Carve yourself into your brand. Make the brand deeply connected to you as a person, to disincentivize copycats. (DC 85 , +22 to roll. Might be mentally taxxing to spill your guts out to an audience like this. +GOODWILL with some companies?)

>>6458545
>Explain your market strategy. You intend to outright REPLACE normal chewing tobacco from the market. (DC 100, +50 to roll. Made far easier thanks to high Q&Q GOODWILL + focusing on PROFIT.)
>Double down on its consumptive ability. Toxic chemical spells, radioactive waste, this stuff can eat ANYTHING. (DC 95, +40 to roll. Made easier due to focusing on its benefits, + moderate ZENITH + HAYDEN favor.)
First you butter them up, this stuff is amazing. It is capital p Profitable. It's like selling crack to school kids but still being media darlings because you helped wash oil off of some seagulls or something with your miracle mould. What company doesn't love free positive PR. You make money doing it! Heck, they could always make another shell company to actually sell the stuff while ARC enjoys the good PR only.
>Put some pressure on ARC directly. Don't they NEED some cash flow, and fast? You're offering them a way out of their financial troubles and they're being wishy washy? (DC 93, +27 to roll. A risky play, but perhaps being bullish is the right play?)
HR 101: criticism is more easily accepted if you give the person a compliment first.
Marketing 101: Fear. Even if they weren't in need of cash yesterday do they really want to be left behind here? This is THE next big thing.

>>6458545
>Assure them that you have your methods of keeping the mold's growth something only YOU and ARC can do. (DC 80, +30 to roll. Safe. Boring.)
>Double down on its consumptive ability. Toxic chemical spells, radioactive waste, this stuff can eat ANYTHING. (DC 95, +40 to roll. Made easier due to focusing on its benefits, + moderate ZENITH + HAYDEN favor.)
>Carve yourself into your brand. Make the brand deeply connected to you as a person, to disincentivize copycats. (DC 85 , +22 to roll. Might be mentally taxxing to spill your guts out to an audience like this. +GOODWILL with some companies?)

>>6458545
>Assure them that you have your methods of keeping the mold's growth something only YOU and ARC can do. (DC 80, +30 to roll. Safe. Boring.)
Emphasize that we’re working on ways to deactivate it before selling.
>Explain your market strategy. You intend to outright REPLACE normal chewing tobacco from the market. (DC 100, +50 to roll. Made far easier thanks to high Q&Q GOODWILL + focusing on PROFIT.)
If we cook the crap out of it it’ll even look like normal dip, just cheaper to make.
>Remind them of the basics of employee morale. A content facility is a facility that doesn't burn up in flames. (DC 86 , +25 to roll. Your coworkers would certainly like this angle.)
ARC employees are already buying it by the handful. Their first (and best) market is in this very facility.

>>6458545
>Assure them that you have your methods of keeping the mold's growth something only YOU and ARC can do. (DC 80, +30 to roll. Safe. Boring.)
Security.
>Carve yourself into your brand. Make the brand deeply connected to you as a person, to disincentivize copycats. (DC 85 , +22 to roll. Might be mentally taxxing to spill your guts out to an audience like this. +GOODWILL with some companies?)
Marketability.
>Explain your market strategy. You intend to outright REPLACE normal chewing tobacco from the market. (DC 100, +50 to roll. Made far easier thanks to high Q&Q GOODWILL + focusing on PROFIT.)
*Ambition.*
Two of these have optimal net-DC’s (or as good as we’re likely getting), and all three were picked to actually address their concerns, in roughly descending order of devastation to our overall success if left unaddressed.

Great to see this return at last, QM!

>>6458545
>>Explain your market strategy. You intend to outright REPLACE normal chewing tobacco from the market. (DC 100, +50 to roll. Made far easier thanks to high Q&Q GOODWILL + focusing on PROFIT.)
>Let Quincy and co. talk on your behalf. You trust your four coworkers to make compelling arguments. (No skill check. Inherently random.)
They probably knows how to work with ARC since that is literally their job.
>Think of another angle you can push. (Write in.) There is legitimately no downside to ARC for taking this deal. They get a product that generates effectively free money for the very miniscule production cost of only sugar water, all we want is a cut of the profit and occasional corporate benefits. We also plan to expand the brand with other offerings such as MOJO CHEWrry™ (name pending)

>>6458545
>Explain your market strategy. You intend to outright REPLACE normal chewing tobacco from the market. (DC 100, +50 to roll. Made far easier thanks to high Q&Q GOODWILL + focusing on PROFIT.)
>Double down on its consumptive ability. Toxic chemical spells, radioactive waste, this stuff can eat ANYTHING. (DC 95, +40 to roll. Made easier due to focusing on its benefits, + moderate ZENITH + HAYDEN favor.)
>Assure them that you have your methods of keeping the mold's growth something only YOU and ARC can do. (DC 80, +30 to roll. Safe. Boring.)

File: Little Wars o1.png (105 KB, 437x408)

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>>6458545
>Explain your market strategy. You intend to outright REPLACE normal chewing tobacco from the market. (DC 100, +50 to roll. Made far easier thanks to high Q&Q GOODWILL + focusing on PROFIT.)
>Assure them that you have your methods of keeping the mold's growth something only YOU and ARC can do. (DC 80, +30 to roll. Safe. Boring.)
>Let Quincy and co. talk on your behalf. You trust your four coworkers to make compelling arguments. (No skill check. Inherently random.)

>>6458535
That cleaner guy is definitely dad. I can SMELL it.


>Explain your market strategy. You intend to outright REPLACE normal chewing tobacco from the market. (DC 100, +50 to roll. Made far easier thanks to high Q&Q GOODWILL + focusing on PROFIT.)
>Assure them that you have your methods of keeping the mold's growth something only YOU and ARC can do. (DC 80, +30 to roll. Safe. Boring.)
This is most important, in my opinion - a product that can be replicated is a product that dies! Copyright, patent, do everything!
>Remind them of the basics of employee morale. A content facility is a facility that doesn't burn up in flames. (DC 86 , +25 to roll. Your coworkers would certainly like this angle.)

>>6458545
>Explain your market strategy. You intend to outright REPLACE normal chewing tobacco from the market. (DC 100, +50 to roll. Made far easier thanks to high Q&Q GOODWILL + focusing on PROFIT.)
>Double down on its consumptive ability. Toxic chemical spells, radioactive waste, this stuff can eat ANYTHING. (DC 95, +40 to roll. Made easier due to focusing on its benefits, + moderate ZENITH + HAYDEN favor.)
>Assure them that you have your methods of keeping the mold's growth something only YOU and ARC can do. (DC 80, +30 to roll. Safe. Boring.)

>>6458545
>Assure them that you have your methods of keeping the mold's growth something only YOU and ARC can do. (DC 80, +30 to roll. Safe. Boring.)
The safety
>Explain your market strategy. You intend to outright REPLACE normal chewing tobacco from the market. (DC 100, +50 to roll. Made far easier thanks to high Q&Q GOODWILL + focusing on PROFIT.)
The ambition
>Let Quincy and co. talk on your behalf. You trust your four coworkers to make compelling arguments. (No skill check. Inherently random.)
We have them here for a reason

>>6458545
>Assure them that you have your methods of keeping the mold's growth something only YOU and ARC can do. (DC 80, +30 to roll. Safe. Boring.)
>Explain your market strategy. You intend to outright REPLACE normal chewing tobacco from the market. (DC 100, +50 to roll. Made far easier thanks to high Q&Q GOODWILL + focusing on PROFIT.)
>Let Quincy and co. talk on your behalf. You trust your four coworkers to make compelling arguments. (No skill check. Inherently random.)

>>6458545
>Explain your market strategy. You intend to outright REPLACE normal chewing tobacco from the market. (DC 100, +50 to roll. Made far easier thanks to high Q&Q GOODWILL + focusing on PROFIT.)
>Double down on its consumptive ability. Toxic chemical spells, radioactive waste, this stuff can eat ANYTHING. (DC 95, +40 to roll. Made easier due to focusing on its benefits, + moderate ZENITH + HAYDEN favor.)
>Carve yourself into your brand. Make the brand deeply connected to you as a person, to disincentivize copycats. (DC 85 , +22 to roll. Might be mentally taxxing to spill your guts out to an audience like this. +GOODWILL with some companies?)

MARKET STRATEGY: vgA, vUm, ptz, jWv, SZC, wUI, rqo, h1V, k43, bfH, fQX, gM2
CONSUMPTIVE: vgA, vUm, h/J, wUI, k43, gM2
CARVE YOURSELF: vgA, h/J, jWv, gM2
PRESSURE: vUm
ASSURE: h/J, ptz, jWv, wUI, rqo, h1V, k43, bfH, fQX
MORALE: ptz, h1V
QUINCY AND CO: SZ3, rqo, bfH, fQX
THERE'S NO DOWNSIDE: SZ3

Seems like we're going to be focusing on its ability to consume infinite garbage, that you're able to keep its growth a proprietary matter, and that you fully intend on explaining your market strategy to them.

I'm going to need three anons to roll 3d100 for me. I'll assign them from the top down, starting with MARKET STRATEGY and ending with ASSURE.

MARKET STRATEGY (DC 100, +50 to roll. Thank god you've been working with Q&Q)
0 SUCCESSES: "THAT'S IT? GENUINELY?" Turns out these guys are a LOT more critical than you thought. (You take a massive hit to your credibility. This is going to make the rest of the meeting way harder.)
1 SUCCESS: They're not saying anything. Is that good? Is that bad? Can they SAY SOMETHING ALREADY??? ([REDACTED])
2 SUCCESSES: They're murmuring amongst each other. They're not totally convinced, but you got your foot in the door. (+PROGRESS!)
3 SUCCESSES: "I'VE CERTAINLY HEARD WORSE PITCHES." (Thank god. That's one less thing you have to worry about for the rest of the meeting. ++PROGRESS!)

CONSUMPTIVE ABILITY (DC 95, +40 to roll)
0 SUCCESSES: "Ooo, we could refine it into a cleaning product then!" "Why bother eating it, right?" (Seems like they got the wrong idea from this part of your pitch. This is going completely sideways.)
1 SUCCESS: The crowd doesn't seem particularly pleased by your pitch. Some of the SPONSORSHIP corpos are acting really odd. (ARC's crew is eating it up though! +PROGRESS, -PROGRESS?)
2 SUCCESSES: After some deliberation, you think you got the greenlight here? (No complications. Thankfully. +PROGRESS.)
3 SUCCESSES: A few of the previous silent crowd members are murmuring about your mold now. (Same as 2 SUCCESSES, but you get +GOODWILL with ZENITH and two heretofore unknown SPONSORSHIP companies!

ASSURE THEM (DC 80, +30 to roll)
0 SUCCESSES: "What if they figure out a way to reactivate it? One sample would be enough to-" (It's like they're only able to get off by being paranoid. You're not going anywhere with this. --PROGRESS.)
1 SUCCESS: Ms. White's expression contorts into a nasty smirk. ([REDACTED]. Could be good? Maybe?)
2 SUCCESSES: "Maybe, maybe." "I STILL DON'T LIKE THE ODDS." "We'd need to put in some new safety protocols and-" (++PROGRESS. You might need to research your mold more to fully win them over, sadly.)
3 SUCCESSES: For once, they're not saying anything, and you take that to mean they've finally calmed down for once. (Same as 2 SUCCESSES, but the rest of the meeting will be easier to manage.)

>>6458602
Playing games is how real men survive.

>>6458633
LOOK AT THE SPIDER
LOOK AT THE SPIDER
SPIDER AT THE LOOK

>>6458589
I'm going to be here forever. Until you die. Get used to it.

Rolled 30, 82, 62 = 174 (3d100)

>>6458887

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Rolled 26, 52, 49 = 127 (3d100)

>>6458887

Rolled 53, 62, 98 = 213 (3d100)

>>6458887

Rolled 40 + 40 (1d100 + 40)

RESULTS

-MARKET STRATEGY: 2 SUCCESSES
-CONSUMPTIVE ABILITY: 0-1 SUCCESSES
-ASSURE THEM: 3 SUCCESSES!

Out of pity, I'll let you autoconsume the FLORAL WHITE SUNRISE gin you got, despite rqo not rolling a 25 or lower, because c'mon. You saved it for this meeting. I'm going to roll one dice to see if you get 1 SUCCESS or not.

Regardless of what I roll, you'll be stuck with the consequences of your actions! Writing!

>>6458890
WOULD YOU PURCHASE A QT 3.14 ANDROID FOR ONLY $99,999, ANONS? IT'S VERY AFFORDABLE AND VERY CHEAP. BUY NOW.

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You've spent eons working on this pitch. You're not going to let it wither on the vine because of some misguided hesitation. Your brain goes through all of the options before you. Should you threaten them? Should you point out the self-evident truth about how the mold has no drawback?

No, there's a reason they haven't already fallen head over heels. They want to see you squirm. You're not going to give them that. You're about to call them out on this blatantly obvious ploy, but Hidaka speaks on your behalf.

"While we understand and appreciate your concern over the product remaining proprietary, we have already been working on ways to deactivate its reproductive functions prior to selling it. Of course, this is the version we have sold to non-ARC officials."

That might not be the whole truth, given your activity prior to really doubling down on mold production, but you sure ain't going to correct her.

"All it would take is a few unprocessed samples leaking to jeopardize our ownership of it." The robot executive chirps. "At best, we might be able to delay the inevitable by genetically modifying it, but for how long? A few months at most?"

"Simple! We ain't gonna outsource this shit to the fuckin' chinks." Colt smacks the whiteboard with his palm. "All R&D and production will only be done on god-blessed American soil. In classified ARC facilities."

Colt lowers his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "There's always gonna be chinks and jeets trying to smear their grubby little hands all over your hard work. That's in their very nature, but we can ACCOUNT for that shit."

"I have also gone through the work of notarizing a series of documents and patents to establish copyright over the 'MOJO CHEW' product." Hidaka walks over to the main desk where the three executives are seated at. She opens up a briefcase and, like a tidal wave, piles of laminated paperwork spill onto the desk.

Ms. White is already moving to read through the documentation that Hidaka wrote ahead of time. You're shocked she managed to do this without you knowing about it; you're almost certain you didn't tell her to do this. Did she do it while your group was separated? If so, you gotta give her props.

"SURELY THERE'S SOMETHING YOU'RE MISSING. HAVE YOU EVEN REGISTERED THE-"
"No, she already did that." Ms. White holds up one of the patent documents Hidaka wrote.
"DO WE EVEN HAVE ANY DATA ON THEIR ABILITY TO DISABLE ITS REPRODUCTIVE FUNCTION?"

"That's where I'll step in." You finally answer. You manage to find the notes relating to the mold's reproductive ability and how you've been able to deactivate it, amongst the sea of other notes you wrote. You place it on the desk alongside the other documentation you've shown.

The three executives are too busy reading through all of it to even attempt to critique what you said so far. Everything's above board so far. What can they even critique about your work so far? You couldn't think of anything off the top of your head.

"Before you ask," Hidaka taps at a document. "We did also write a report about the 'source' of the mold. Information was relayed to me by my associate, Nine."

"Would be wise to contain it." Hidaka clicks her tongue. "Only major weak point in plan. Know general origin, best to keep an eye on him, no?"

While the ARC executives are busy mulling over the notes, Quincy steps in to continue the pitch, not even breaking a sweat. "The market for tobacco-based products has been wildly shifting to RRPs, or Reduced Risk Products. E-cigs, nicotine pouches, and heated tobacco products being major ones."

"The market for traditional cigarettes, like the ones the audience here is smoking, is at an all-time low. Big tobacco is shifting towards RRPs, and so is the audience. This product would outright kill normal chewing tobacco, earning us a permanent market share."

"Think about it!" Quincy taps at the whiteboard with a marker. "It is cheaper to make. It is better for your health. It's the RRP to end all RRPs! That will be our angle! We can outcompete ANY competition with the sheer versatility of our product."

"It'll also keep the ATF off your asses," Colt snorts like a congested boar. "With this garbage being so cheap, people wouldn't buy the illegal shit nearly as much. Lighting their workload like that might help ya get some favor too."

"Thank you, Quincy. And Colt." You offer a polite round of applause. "What he's saying is correct. If we cook it enough, it even looks and passes for regular chewing tobacco, so legitimately no one would suspect it's anything else."

"The PR ARC could get from selling this product would be legendary." You can already imagine a scenario where the product is used to clean up oil spills, or toxic waste sites, or basically any site where there's mountains of garbage that has to be destroyed. "Hell, I would not be shocked if the sheer inflow of cash this product line makes is enough to keep you on float for decades."

"I would temper your expectations." Nine raises her voice ever so slightly. "We would still need to introduce the product line gradually, so as not to draw too much attention from outside parties. We would need to invest in shell companies that would only be tangentially related to ARC, but the profit from the mold in question should be enough to fund said shell companies."

The three ARC executives are still murmuring amongst each other, trying to digest everything that's been thrown their way. It's a lot to take in, you will admit, but you've been planning this for a hot while now. You weren't going to come in here with your pants down.

Might as well strike while the iron is still hot. "It can eat anything too. That's the nifty part about growing it; we don't even have to TRY to watch what it consumes." The atmosphere in the room is already shifting. Strange.

"I can confirm this from first-hand observation. It is able to absorb most biological and non-biological matter."

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Colt's grin widens as he realizes the topic has changed to something he's more interested in. "Heck, ya know how good this shit would be for cleanin' things up? Think about it. How many houses are filled with toxic garbage that'd a nightmare to clean?"

"Asbestos and lead contamination bein' a major one. My lungs are probably more asbestos than god damn flesh at this rate, I tell ya what, and wanna know what'd be easy? A cheap, efficient way of cleanin' all of that up."

The murmuring inside the meeting hall has vanished completely. Everyone is silently staring at your group, as if what they're hearing is either incredibly interesting or brilliantly boring. Amongst the booths, a handful of corporate representatives from corps you don't recognize are beginning to shimmer with...resentment? Did you step on a touchy subject or something?

You continue with the pitch regardless, gesturing at Hidaka to continue. She seems hesitant, but she relents after a second.

"It would be good PR, and a way to diversify our portfolio. A line of cleaning products based on it digestive enzyme would be a boon for disposing of hazardous materials." She forces her expression to stay calm and level, even as the room's air gets more and more rancid. "It would even be a way to get rid of excess stock."

"Not to say we intend for our products to be poorly produced, of course!" Nine tries to soften the blow. "It would not be our main product line, but we do intend on putting in further resources into the R&D of the DIGESTIVE ENZYEME's capabilities."

A stifled giggle. Air blowing from someone's nose. A crooked grin. A sneer of disgust. The expressions you see on everyone's faces, even the ones mostly obscured by the smoke that has clouded the room, are not welcoming. The only one here, besides your coworkers, who isn't on the verge of laughter is the ARC CLEANER. It's not like he can express himself in a meaningful way anyhow.

"Ooo, we could refine it into a cleaning product then!" The robot girl's tone drips with veiled amusement. "Why bother eating it, right?"

"INDEED. IT APPEARS THAT ALL THE PREVIOUS INFORMATION WE WERE TOLD ABOUT IS WORTHLESS. THIS IS CLEARLY WHAT WE SHOULD BE FOCUSING ON." The masked official chortles. "WHAT WERE WE THINKING? YOU'RE RIGHT. YOU REALLY SHOULD BE LIKE KLEANE INDUSTRIES."

"Hrm." Ms. White doesn't say anything. She stays silent, neither making of you nor defending you from the growing amusement and rage building in the room. Your eyes dart over to one of the few executives who isn't laughing. The executive in question is dressed in a quite peculiar stripped outfit, with the stripes taking on shades of safety yellow and orange.

The KLEANE executive is trying to kill you through the sheer power of her stare. Is she insulted by the fact you implied mold was better than her products somehow? Does she not want competition? You have no clue!

The worst part? You don't think the other executives are laughing at you, per se.

It's the fact you accidently tripped some corporate faux pas you didn't even know about. Everyone in your group, sans Nine, is trying to figure out a way to rectify this before the energy you've been building evaporates completely.

The three ARC officials are too busy chit-chatting about the possible applications of your mold as a cleaning product, which is NOT your intent behind it, to even bother hearing anything you have to say. The cleaning stuff was merely an aside, a footnote! That's it!

They're really latching onto the fact it can consume and clean things. In fact, it almost feels like this is a test. ARC executives might be short-sighted, greedy and apathetic demons in human skin, but your last two pitches shouldn't have been forgotten this fast.

You doubt they'd throw away a profitable thing out of spite. They're intentionally prodding your pitch for weak spots. To see how you'll react to sudden and unexpected opposition.

You know for CERTAIN you were on a good pace. Even through their amused smirks and arrogant eyes, the three ARC officials DO like your product. You need to find a way to earn the respect of the audience again, that's all!

How do you try to get the meeting back on track?
>"This is a low blow, even by ARC standards." Call them out on how blatant the 'test' is. You're here to pitch a product, not to play weird mind games. (DC 77, +17 to roll. A bold choice.)
>Ignore what's going on. Don't dignify any of it with a response. Keep pushing on with your pitch.
>Remind them that a product being versatile isn't a bad thing. You're just doing good business!
>"I meant no offense to KLEANE INDUSTIRES." Address the agitated representative. Show you're willing to handle issues diplomatically. (DC 85, +20 to roll.)
>"I suppose there's no point partnering with you then." Bluff that you're going to call off the meeting. Surely, if this is so beneath them, you'd be better off somewhere else.
>"Nine. You'd know how to handle this, right?" She is a former COLORED EXECUTIVE... (AUTOPASS. You'll have to pay Nine a favor down the line.)
>"What, exactly, is the issue here? Why shouldn't I be like KLEANE?" Something about all of this is fishy. You want to actually get to the bottom of it. (DC 68, +13 to roll.)
>Think of a different angle. (Write in. May offer benefits the other choices can't?)

Next update should be shorter, since we're only voting on one thing.

>>6458895
Perhaps if you had a magical girl mascot, all of this could've been avoided.

>>6458970
>"This is a low blow, even by ARC standards." Call them out on how blatant the 'test' is. You're here to pitch a product, not to play weird mind games. (DC 77, +17 to roll. A bold choice.)
Stop the bullshit. Keep it rolling or we're keeping the cash cow to ourselves.

>>6458970
>"This is a low blow, even by ARC standards." Call them out on how blatant the 'test' is. You're here to pitch a product, not to play weird mind games. (DC 77, +17 to roll. A bold choice.)

>>6458970
>>"I meant no offense to KLEANE INDUSTIRES." Address the agitated representative. Show you're willing to handle issues diplomatically. (DC 85, +20 to roll.)
I'm tempted to ask Nine to handle this, but while I'm not worried about a favor, I'm wary of putting her in the spotlight due to risk of it jogging someone's memory.

>>6458970
>"This is a low blow, even by ARC standards." Call them out on how blatant the 'test' is. You're here to pitch a product, not to play weird mind games. (DC 77, +17 to roll. A bold choice.)

Fuck you ARC. Choke on some mold.

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>>6458970
>"This is a low blow, even by ARC standards." Call them out on how blatant the 'test' is. You're here to pitch a product, not to play weird mind games. (DC 77, +17 to roll. A bold choice.)

>>6458970
>"I meant no offense to KLEANE INDUSTIRES." Address the agitated representative. Show you're willing to handle issues diplomatically. (DC 85, +20 to roll.)

>>6458970
>"Nine. You'd know how to handle this, right?" She is a former COLORED EXECUTIVE... (AUTOPASS. You'll have to pay Nine a favor down the line.)
Not only does this give us an automatic pass, but owing a favor to NINE gives NINE a good reason to keep being on good terms with us and she is incredibly effective as a companion. Also potential side quest hook and we all love side quests

>>6458970
>"This is a low blow, even by ARC standards." Call them out on how blatant the 'test' is. You're here to pitch a product, not to play weird mind games. (DC 77, +17 to roll. A bold choice.)

>>6458970
>>"What, exactly, is the issue here? Why shouldn't I be like KLEANE?" Something about all of this is fishy. You want to actually get to the bottom of it. (DC 68, +13 to roll.)

>>6458970
>"Nine. You'd know how to handle this, right?" She is a former COLORED EXECUTIVE... (AUTOPASS. You'll have to pay Nine a favor down the line.)

>>6458970
>"This is a low blow, even by ARC standards."

>>6458970
>"Nine. You'd know how to handle this, right?" She is a former COLORED EXECUTIVE... (AUTOPASS. You'll have to pay Nine a favor down the line.)
Don't fall for it. We have Nine here for a reason. Cut it off, NOW

>>6458971
>>6458972
>>6458986
>>6458998
>>6459035
>>6459299
You guys sure about that?
>They're intentionally prodding your pitch for weak spots. To see how you'll react to sudden and unexpected opposition.
>option is "Call them out on how blatant the 'test' is. You're here to pitch a product, not to play weird mind games"
Are you guys really sure about that?

>>6458970
>I suppose there's no point partnering with you then." Bluff that you're going to call off the meeting. Surely, if this is so beneath them, you'd be better off somewhere else.
>>"Nine. You'd know how to handle this, right?" She is a former COLORED EXECUTIVE... (AUTOPASS. You'll have to pay Nine a favor down the line.)
Not using a autowin choice may count as hubris. The dice gods would punish us accordingly.

>>6459308
Ah fuck i only wanted the autowin

>>6459306
>>6459308
choice 1 especially seems like a "commit corporate suicide" option if we don't roll well too

FUCK OFF WITH YOUR MIND GAMES: h1V, h/J, wUI, ptz, rqo, gM2, S50
KLEANE: vgA
NINE, HELP: SZ3, hfH, Yu3
WHAT IS THE ISSUE: Owr, k43

Well, aren't you a bold bunch? I'll give you one out: If you ROYALLY fuck up, you might be able to ask Nine for help. But she WILL make you pay an arm and a leg. You know. No pressure. Haha.

Three anons, roll 1d100+17. DC 77. Good luck.

MIND GAMES (DC 77, +17 to roll)
0 SUCCESSES: There's blood in the water. Haven't you seen the signs? (Those grapes of wrath. Those bloody pools...imitation vermillion.) [NINE may come in to assist.]
1 SUCCESS: The laughter abruptly stops. No one is saying much of anything right now. The momentum's gone. (Nowhere near as bad as 0 SUCCESSES, but not engaging with their mind game has certainly lowered everyone's opinion of you and your product.)
2 SUCCESSES: The crowd murmurs. The three judges look particularly peeved but the meeting continues. (Your momentum's still going steady. +GOODWILL with several companies for being particularly bold.)
3 SUCCESSES: "THE STONES ON THIS MAN." "Hrm." "...Am I wrong for finding it hot?" The judges actually seem impressed! (++GOODWILL with several companies, and ARC has to respect you for your bold action. ???)

Rolled 41 + 17 (1d100 + 17)

>>6459318

Rolled 56 (1d100)

>>6459318

Rolled 83 + 17 (1d100 + 17)

>>6459318

Rolled 7 + 17 (1d100 + 17)

>>6459318
I don't like these odds, idiots. Look at what you've done!

>>6459326
Ty

...The worst hasn't come to pass. Trust me, you wouldn't have wanted to see what 0 SUCCESSES would've looked like. You're still going to experience a speed bump though. You can fix it, though, with the next series of choices.

You guys can thank IJk for saving your ass. Writing.

>>6458998
In a distant City, that is destined to exist eventually, there exists only a bird.
A bird that will continue to fly. A bird that has existed for eons.
For there will always be a City to fly over.
For there will always be Death.

>>6459106
CONSUME.

>>6459328
I thought I was om/

File: Above a Quiet City o4.png (92 KB, 350x408)

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Here dat plan.

File: Deerfox r9.png (45 KB, 159x385)

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Fortsätta.

File: FROST.jpg (110 KB, 600x412)

110 KB JPG

You're not even going to humor whatever the heck this...mind game? is? Whatever merit it has, you know that there are more mature ways of getting this point across. Maybe if you were some newbie who didn't already know how ARC acted, this might've thrown you off guard.

They must really think you're that stupid, huh?

You nod along with a polite smile, laughing along with the others at your own expense. Colt, god bless his heart, is trying his best to resist the urge to shoot someone in the skull. (Probably because if he did, the CLEANER would liquify him.)

"Mmh hmm, mmh hmm. Uh huh." You continue to hum and nod along to the gibberish they're saying. You're not even bothering to mentally record the words they're saying. "I have a question for the audience. Do you think I'm retarded?"

The laughter abruptly stops. The only company you have now is the smoke lingering in the chamber's air. Nine mimics slicing her throat with her hand, telling you this is an absolutely awful idea. Ms. White is slightly taken aback by the bluntness of your question, while her fellow judges are staring right at you.

"This is a low blow, even by ARC standards. I've dealt with a lot, and I am willing to put up with a lot of bullshit, but this?" You sweep your arms across, addressing everyone attending the meeting. "This is beneath you. This is beneath me."

"DO NOT THINK YOU ARE IN ANY POSITION TO-"

"No, no, we're not doing this." You interrupt the masked official. Nine is desperately waving her arms around to get your attention, but you ignore her for now. "I had to drop out of high school, and I regret that, but you know what I don't miss about high school."

"Cliques. I don't know, or care, about what stupid faux pas I accidently committed. What I do care about is that you're more willing to waste my time, AND YOUR TIME, dragging me into this."

thump thump.

You swear the smoke inside the room is growing thicker by the second. Your eyes are watering like you're about to cry at any second now. You manage to wipe away the tears before anyone could try to imply you're crying. This is a mind game. That's all it is. The smoke's a mind game. The topic shift is a mind game. You gotta power through it.

You can power through anything.

"I apologize on his behalf," Nine swiftly tries to perform damage control. "you will have to forgive him for not knowing how things work here. While I fully understand the nature behind his test, he is right in one regard."

"We are in a bit of a time crunch. We all have places to be, right? And I am sure that even someone like the associates at...KLEANE INDUSTRIES have things they have to do." It's impressive how you can make anything sound derogatory if you put the right emphasis on it. Whatever their deal is, if ARC is disgusted by them, that has to mean something.

Or, like this, it's only an indicator of more clique nonsense. The only thing you have now, in this room, is silence.

File: JUDGINGEYES.jpg (880 KB, 1205x1367)

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Hidaka tries her best to restart the pitch, to carry things on. The show must always go on. "We have projected that, given the rate as which we could grow our product, we could corner 25% of the nicotine market by the end of the decade."

"Assuming, of course, we are able to get the funding to scale up our production to the scale needed to compete with them."

"Yes. Assuming." Ms. White's voice is almost cold enough to flash freeze water. Some of the smoke lingering in the air is starting to change, as if it is responding to her dissatisfaction with you. You almost thought you were hallucinating when, amongst the smoke, you saw floating specks of snow.

At least that confirms one suspicion you had about their 'colored suits'. The air's getting physically colder. You manage to suppress a shiver as the air drops to what you'd hazard to be almost freezing temperatures.

Disjointed voices can he beard from all over the meeting hall. Some seem to loathe what you did...

"Mmh. I really thought his product was going to make it."
"Should've known his place. Should've respected his superiors."
"What a freak. No wonder why he looks like that."
"Maybe ARC oughta teach him what respect means."

While others seem to respect you more for outright defying ARC, even if it was only in a symbolic manner.

"THAT'S RIGHT. ENDURE WHATEVER COMES YOUR WAY."
"As the good lord would say, how no pity for them: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot."
"Everything will eventually find its place. It is only a matter of time.
"WHAT A FASCINATING DISPLAY. WE'LL HAVE TO RECORD THIS FOR LATER."

The three judges seem to have no interest in your product now. No, that's not the right way to describe it. It's strictly a matter of pride now. Ms. White is still as a statue. The masked official is twitching, doing everything in his power to stay still. The screen-faced robot almost seems to agree with what you said. She looks visibly uncomfortable being around her fellow judges.

"You know," she starts to speak up on your behalf. "it's not really his responsibility to-"

Even though you're not the one being gazed upon, your skin prickles as a sympathetic reflex. The smoke might be obscuring most of their gazes, but the hateful shine in their eyes is impossible to ignore.

Twenty two pupils narrowing with hate. Twenty eight throats tightening with barely restrained disgust. Seven hands wringing with pity and misplaced sympathy. All of them have completely forgotten why they're even here to begin with. All they know is they need to judge the robot instead of you.

They've completely forgotten they're supposed to be focusing on five specific people.

Before the meeting can devolve even further, the sound of a door opening catches everyone's attention. The gazes of everything in the room immediately lock onto the door leading to the outside world.

"U-uhm." A familiar, slightly gooey voice breaks the silence. "H-hello?"

"Di-did I m-miss the m-meeting? I-I, uh, g-got lost in the crowd. S-sorry."

Right. You totally forgot about Lucy. Great, now you feel like garbage. Her sudden intrusion has shaken up the almost rancid atmosphere that clings and smothers the air in the room.

Wait! You think she might've actually saved you here. They're too busy looking at her to remember the faux pas you did! Hopefully! That might not actually be the case, but they're distracted! They're off-balanced now!

Colt lowers his voice to a whisper. "Kill shot." He curtly commands. "Shoot your kill shot. Now."

Quincy would offer some advice, but he's too busy scribbling down almost arcane-looking sigils on the whiteboard. He's doing everything in his power to make things right.

Nine? You don't want to look at Nine. She's staring daggers at you and, to be quite frank, you do not blame her. This meeting has completely gone off the rails. You need to fix it before it gets any worse.

How do you want to recover your momentum? You feel like you're almost there. You'd just need to say or do the 'right' things. Choose three
>Hey, Nine, can you bail us out? Please? Thank you? (She'll certainly get things rolling again, no check needed. Expect her to ask for a favor later.)
>Leverage some pressure on the robot girl. She agrees with you! She's the weak link amongst the judges! (DC 88, +26 to roll. Winning over a judge would be REALLY beneficial, for obvious reasons.)
>Attempt to win over the companies that don't like you. KLEANE's one, but there's a few other faces you don't recognize. (DC 75, +18 to roll. Winning over your detractors would make wrapping up the meeting easier.)
>Shift the topic slightly. Call in the representatives from the companies you won over. Let them explain how reliable you, and your product, is. (+GOODWILL with a handful of random companies. Will increase the difficulty of future SPONSORSHIPs.)
>Swallow your pride. Apologize to the judges. You should've taken this with a bit more grace. (DC 68, +8 to roll. Might earn you some massive GOODWILL with ARC. This will hurt, though, you don't REALLY want to apologize.)
>SHILL. YOUR. MOLD. EVEN. HARDER. CAN'T STOP. WON'T STOP. (---MENTAL HEALTH. +++ATTUNEMENT with HARD TIMES, +GOODWILL with Q&Q, +???)
>Drag Lucy over. She might not be a good speaker but you don't need her to be. She just needs to be herself. (+LUCY RAPPORT. You think something good might happen? Maybe?)
>Fuck it. Double down on your current stance. It's not YOUR fault they're too thin skinned to accept some pushback! (Certainly a bold choice.)
>Write in.

Passed out. Back to our regular schedule.

>>6459582
>>6459593
You know, I used to not really care about birds, but this bird's pretty neat! At least he doesn't shine lights at my face like those dweebs, fwahaha!

>>6459666
>SHILL. YOUR. MOLD. EVEN. HARDER. CAN'T STOP. WON'T STOP. (---MENTAL HEALTH. +++ATTUNEMENT with HARD TIMES, +GOODWILL with Q&Q, +???)
>Drag Lucy over. She might not be a good speaker but you don't need her to be. She just needs to be herself. (+LUCY RAPPORT. You think something good might happen? Maybe?)
>Hey, Nine, can you bail us out? Please? Thank you? (She'll certainly get things rolling again, no check needed. Expect her to ask for a favor later.)

>>6459666
>Hey, Nine, can you bail us out? Please? Thank you? (She'll certainly get things rolling again, no check needed. Expect her to ask for a favor later.)
>Drag Lucy over. She might not be a good speaker but you don't need her to be. She just needs to be herself. (+LUCY RAPPORT. You think something good might happen? Maybe?)
>Swallow your pride. Apologize to the judges. You should've taken this with a bit more grace. (DC 68, +8 to roll. Might earn you some massive GOODWILL with ARC. This will hurt, though, you don't REALLY want to apologize.)

File: Little Wars o2 Vincel edition.png (77 KB, 425x459)

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>>6459666
>SHILL. YOUR. MOLD. EVEN. HARDER. CAN'T STOP. WON'T STOP. (---MENTAL HEALTH. +++ATTUNEMENT with HARD TIMES, +GOODWILL with Q&Q, +???)
>Drag Lucy over. She might not be a good speaker but you don't need her to be. She just needs to be herself. (+LUCY RAPPORT. You think something good might happen? Maybe?)
>Swallow your pride. Apologize to the judges. You should've taken this with a bit more grace. (DC 68, +8 to roll. Might earn you some massive GOODWILL with ARC. This will hurt, though, you don't REALLY want to apologize.)

>>6459666
>Swallow your pride. Apologize to the judges. You should've taken this with a bit more grace. (DC 68, +8 to roll. Might earn you some massive GOODWILL with ARC. This will hurt, though, you don't REALLY want to apologize.)
>Attempt to win over the companies that don't like you. KLEANE's one, but there's a few other faces you don't recognize. (DC 75, +18 to roll. Winning over your detractors would make wrapping up the meeting easier.)
>Drag Lucy over. She might not be a good speaker but you don't need her to be. She just needs to be herself. (+LUCY RAPPORT. You think something good might happen? Maybe?)

>>6459666
>Swallow your pride. Apologize to the judges. You should've taken this with a bit more grace. (DC 68, +8 to roll. Might earn you some massive GOODWILL with ARC. This will hurt, though, you don't REALLY want to apologize.)
Vincel is just a Low Rung Researcher, he can't be expected to know the corporate culture at a glance within, nor its importance. yes, that's probably the point of the 'mind game', but we just came to pitch product.
>Drag Lucy over. She might not be a good speaker but you don't need her to be. She just needs to be herself. (+LUCY RAPPORT. You think something good might happen? Maybe?)
what could possibly go wrong
>Leverage some pressure on the robot girl. She agrees with you! She's the weak link amongst the judges! (DC 88, +26 to roll. Winning over a judge would be REALLY beneficial, for obvious reasons.)
I want total support from the judges.

seems we already have a good product and they're just finding out who Vincent is now.

>>6459666
>Hey, Nine, can you bail us out? Please? Thank you? (She'll certainly get things rolling again, no check needed. Expect her to ask for a favor later.)

>>6459753
>SHILL. YOUR. MOLD. EVEN. HARDER. CAN'T STOP. WON'T STOP. (---MENTAL HEALTH. +++ATTUNEMENT with HARD TIMES, +GOODWILL with Q&Q, +???)
>Drag Lucy over. She might not be a good speaker but you don't need her to be. She just needs to be herself. (+LUCY RAPPORT. You think something good might happen? Maybe?)
Whoops

>>6459666
>SHILL. YOUR. MOLD. EVEN. HARDER. CAN'T STOP. WON'T STOP. (---MENTAL HEALTH. +++ATTUNEMENT with HARD TIMES, +GOODWILL with Q&Q, +???)
THE POWER OF THE SHILLING AAAAAAAAAAAAAA
>Drag Lucy over. She might not be a good speaker but you don't need her to be. She just needs to be herself. (+LUCY RAPPORT. You think something good might happen? Maybe?)
Cute slimegirl, please help
>Hey, Nine, can you bail us out? Please? Thank you? (She'll certainly get things rolling again, no check needed. Expect her to ask for a favor later.)
...What are friends for, right? ;_;

>>6459666
>Leverage some pressure on the robot girl. She agrees with you! She's the weak link amongst the judges! (DC 88, +26 to roll. Winning over a judge would be REALLY beneficial, for obvious reasons.)
>Attempt to win over the companies that don't like you. KLEANE's one, but there's a few other faces you don't recognize. (DC 75, +18 to roll. Winning over your detractors would make wrapping up the meeting easier.)
>Drag Lucy over. She might not be a good speaker but you don't need her to be. She just needs to be herself. (+LUCY RAPPORT. You think something good might happen? Maybe?)
These corpo rats and soulless homunculi don't deserve an apology.

>>6459666
Oh man, we made a bunch of high-profile enemies with that little stunt.

>Leverage some pressure on the robot girl. She agrees with you! She's the weak link amongst the judges! (DC 88, +26 to roll. Winning over a judge would be REALLY beneficial, for obvious reasons.)
>SHILL. YOUR. MOLD. EVEN. HARDER. CAN'T STOP. WON'T STOP. (---MENTAL HEALTH. +++ATTUNEMENT with HARD TIMES, +GOODWILL with Q&Q, +???)
>Drag Lucy over. She might not be a good speaker but you don't need her to be. She just needs to be herself. (+LUCY RAPPORT. You think something good might happen? Maybe?)

>>6459666
>Leverage some pressure on the robot girl. She agrees with you! She's the weak link amongst the judges! (DC 88, +26 to roll. Winning over a judge would be REALLY beneficial, for obvious reasons.)
>SHILL. YOUR. MOLD. EVEN. HARDER. CAN'T STOP. WON'T STOP. (---MENTAL HEALTH. +++ATTUNEMENT with HARD TIMES, +GOODWILL with Q&Q, +???)
>Drag Lucy over. She might not be a good speaker but you don't need her to be. She just needs to be herself. (+LUCY RAPPORT. You think something good might happen? Maybe?)

>>6459777
+1

>>6459666
>Leverage some pressure on the robot girl. She agrees with you! She's the weak link amongst the judges! (DC 88, +26 to roll. Winning over a judge would be REALLY beneficial, for obvious reasons.)
>Attempt to win over the companies that don't like you. KLEANE's one, but there's a few other faces you don't recognize. (DC 75, +18 to roll. Winning over your detractors would make wrapping up the meeting easier.)
>SHILL. YOUR. MOLD. EVEN. HARDER. CAN'T STOP. WON'T STOP. (---MENTAL HEALTH. +++ATTUNEMENT with HARD TIMES, +GOODWILL with Q&Q, +???)
Fuck arc

Rolled 2 (1d2)

SHILL. YOUR. MOLD: 8
LUCY: 11
NINE: 5
PRIDE: 4
WIN OVER: 3
ROBOT: 5

So, we're not going to apologize. You're going to keep pushing your mold no matter what. Can't stop. Won't stop. Can't stop. Won't-
Oh, right, looks like we got a tie for first place. Let's see if we're going to need to do a skill check or not.

(Also, c'mon, it's not shocking ARC would be petty about this.)
1 = NINE HELP US AIE AIE AIE (No skill check)
2 = HEY ROBOT PLEASE HELP (Skill check needed)

Badda bing, bada boom, looks like we gotta do another skill check. Not my fault. I'm going to need three anons to roll 1d100+26. Let's hope your rolls aren't as bad as last time.

ROBOT PLEASE HELP US (DC 88, +26 to roll)
0 SUCCESSES: Well, you think you just dug yourself into an even deeper hole than before. Haha. (Self explanatory. +-NINE ???)
1 SUCCESS: She's not responding to anything you're saying. Probably for the best? (You have no idea what her allegiance with you is.)
2 SUCCESSES: "Guys. We gotta be better than this. You can't expect him to know every little thing about the culture here." (She's supporting you, but her heart isn't really in it. Better than nothing.)
3 SUCCESSES: "Guys, PLEASE, can we get back on track? He's right, you know! (Wow! She's actually fully on your side! Who would've thunk.)

Rolled 45 + 26 (1d100 + 26)

>>6460032
I sure hope the dice don't rape us again

Rolled 18 + 26 (1d100 + 26)

>>6460032
Rolling

>>6460033
>>6460035
Damn, we're on a chump streak

It's so fucking Mojover

Rolled 75 + 26 (1d100 + 26)

>>6460032

Tell ya what. At this point, you're almost sure you can get away with blindingly obvious bribery, 1 SUCCESS has given you enough leeway with her that bribery is possible.

Do you want to bribe her to, you know, improve the chances she's on your side? You do got some impressive tech she might like.
>Hand her your most prized possession: ACCUMULATED PAST (This will get rid of your strongest item. +++GOODWILL with EVE'S, ++GOODWILL with TIMELESS, automatically grants 3 SUCCESSES)
>Hand her all of the excess junk you got. (-TIMEY-LIMEY, CLOCKWORK SCRAP, and ANDROID REPLACEMENT POWER CORE. +1d2 GOODWILL with EVE'S, grants you 2 SUCCESSES.)
>Hand her a small piece of tech. It's all you're willing to spare. (-ANDROID REPLACEMENT POWER CORE. fqX and gM2's rolls will be rerolled by the QM.)
>Accept your failure. [You'll be stuck with 1 SUCCESS and you will like it.)

>>6460063
>Hand her your most prized possession: ACCUMULATED PAST (This will get rid of your strongest item. +++GOODWILL with EVE'S, ++GOODWILL with TIMELESS, automatically grants 3 SUCCESSES)

File: Bord wanted bread.png (26 KB, 257x283)

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The abno crow ask Colt for bread. Caw*
It even provide a dollar coin for Colt to buy ze bread. Caw*

>>6460063
>Hand her all of the excess junk you got. (-TIMEY-LIMEY, CLOCKWORK SCRAP, and ANDROID REPLACEMENT POWER CORE. +1d2 GOODWILL with EVE'S, grants you 2 SUCCESSES.)

>>6460063
>Hand her your most prized possession: ACCUMULATED PAST (This will get rid of your strongest item. +++GOODWILL with EVE'S, ++GOODWILL with TIMELESS, automatically grants 3 SUCCESSES)

Spend money to make money! This things gonna be our end-game gigs potion that we’re always afraid to use otherwise.

>>6460063
>>Hand her all of the excess junk you got. (-TIMEY-LIMEY, CLOCKWORK SCRAP, and ANDROID REPLACEMENT POWER CORE. +1d2 GOODWILL with EVE'S, grants you 2 SUCCESSES.)


ACCUMULATED PAST is far too valuable, and we've may have a way to replicate it, given enough work and the original to work off of.

>>6460063
>>Hand her all of the excess junk you got. (-TIMEY-LIMEY, CLOCKWORK SCRAP, and ANDROID REPLACEMENT POWER CORE. +1d2 GOODWILL with EVE'S, grants you 2 SUCCESSES.)

>>6460063
prefferably
>Hand her a small piece of tech. It's all you're willing to spare. (-ANDROID REPLACEMENT POWER CORE. fqX and gM2's rolls will be rerolled by the QM.)
but
>>Hand her all of the excess junk you got. (-TIMEY-LIMEY, CLOCKWORK SCRAP, and ANDROID REPLACEMENT POWER CORE. +1d2 GOODWILL with EVE'S, grants you 2 SUCCESSES.)
if small piece cant win.

Rolled 2 (1d2)

USE OUR STRONGEST ITEM: vgA, ptz
EXCESS JUNK: rqo, Jbf, IJk, SZ3

The curse has struck again. The overpowered piece of clockwork will go back into the pit again. Oh well. At least you'll have it available in the future, whenever that might be.

Writing now. Oh, and here's a 1d2 for your troubles.

>>6460067
Capitalism is something even a bird can understand.

Why not just use the anomaly egg to clone Accumulated Past first so we can keep one and then give the Accumulated Past (the original) to them?

Somehow I managed to not check qst for over a week and missed half our meeting after working half a year or so to get there. Shucks, shame on me. \_0_/

Ideally we should have used ACCUMULATED PAST at the start of the meeting, but seeing as we didn't it's probably best to save it now and go back to our EGG replication attempts later.

And can we try to brainstorm a little on refining our product name? We got the advice that we should strongly tie it to our name a couple of threads ago. I know my own prior inputs to this have been lackluster (Vinnie's Mold and the Cruz/cruise/choose/chews wordplay stuff), but I still think inserting our name or so egging would improve the brand marketability. Maybe 'Uncle Vincent's Mojo Chew'? Or Dr. Vincent's to increase the healthiness suggestions? Or insert Redmond as a brand mascot? Anybody got a good idea?

>>6460108
You've actually tried that before. That's how you got TIMEY LIMEY/CLOCKWORK SCRAP. It was also difficult to do in a controlled setting, let alone in a room surrounded by ARC officials and sponsorship company representatives. I think it'd probably derail the meeting if you did an impromptu anomalous egg cloning experiment.

>>6460109
>Somehow I managed to not check qst for over a week and missed half our meeting after working half a year or so to get there. Shucks, shame on me. \_0_/
Hey, the meeting's still not over! (Sadly.) Glad to have you back, anon. You still got time to alter the course of things. It's my fault for taking so long to get here if anything.

>>6460063
>Hand her your most prized possession: ACCUMULATED PAST (This will get rid of your strongest item. +++GOODWILL with EVE'S, ++GOODWILL with TIMELESS, automatically grants 3 SUCCESSES)

>>6460093
We’re gonna sit on this thing right up until the final confrontation with Vincent’s mom THE HEART, aren’t we?

File: PINKSLUDGE.png (487 KB, 740x493)

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Grin and bear it, Vinc. Vincey. Vince. Vinny. There's about a billion ways you can corrupt your name, but you're still a fixer at the end of the day. You see a problem, you fix it, and you're in the middle of one real big problem.

They don't respect you anymore. They don't hate you per se, otherwise you'd be dead right now, but you did the gravest sin a worker like you could commit. You were unprofessional. Even though they were unprofessional first, you're several ranks and titles below them. You're so far down on the corporate ladder, it's a miracle you're here.

You're not going to apologize. They might expect you to get down on your knees and kiss their feet, like a groveling worm, but you're better than that. You're going to keep pushing forward with your pitch.

Nine seems to read what's going through your mind. She stops tensing her shoulders, letting her arms lay limply by her side. She's relieved you're not going to pull another stunt again.

You wave Lucy over, or well, you try to. The suffocating blanket of smog smothering the meeting hall has left everything looking the exact same shade of grey as you. She somehow manages to figure out you were waving her over and, like the smoke slithering through the air, she slithers right to your side.

"U-uhm. S-so, w-what's g-going on? I-I mi-missed half of the meeting, i-it seems! Ha...ha?"

The smoke around the three judges parts slightly. Ms. White's stern scowl wavers by the tiniest amount. There's no real sympathy behind it but there's a recognition of sorts in her eyes. Recognizing that you're willing to, presumably, help someone like Lucy out. "Hm."

"WHAT AN INTERESTING SPECIMEN. I DID NOT KNOW YOU ASSOCIATED WITH ANOMALIES."

"W-what? N-no, n-no, t-this happened to be BECAUSE of an anomaly, y-yes." Lucy swivels her head around, worried that the masked official's comment might've gotten security on her ass. "I-I'm a researcher. A r-researcher who works with, u-uh, Vincent here. I-I even worked with him on s-several of the n-names and s-slogans he has pitched."

"U-uhm, I g-got a few more, actually!" Lucy 'snatches' the marker from Hidaka's hand. She struggles to uncap it, so you have to silently help her out with help from SLUMBERING WISH. With that little incident settled, she moves to scribble down as many brand motto and product names as she possibly can.

Two of the judges, and countless other officials, all watch on with equal measures of pity and intrigue. At least they seem to be enjoying her presence a lot more than yours.

The only judge not paying attention to her is the one who seems the most sympathetic to you specifically: the robot. Her soft pink metal 'scales' shudder slightly as she makes eye contact with you. Is she looking at you with pity? Disgust? Empathy? It's almost impossible to say.

You approach her seat while everyone else is distracted by Lucy. You know how to speak in a corpo's language: blatant bribery! Now, what would a robot like her want?

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Ah. Here we go. You deposit about a handful's worth of scrap material, including a power core, directly into the robot's awaiting hands. You catch a glimpse of one of the officials, another robot, it seems, staring at you. He doesn't say anything about you, obviously bribing one of his fellow automatons.

If anything, he seems to be proud of what you did. He's clearly more interested in recording what he saw in a notepad instead of, say, calling you out.
>+2 GOODWILL with EVE's!

"Name's Cathy." The screen-faced robot whispers to you. "I get it. We're not friends because of this, okay? I just think you deserve a fair shake."

"Fairs." You're not going to argue the point. You got enough friends and coworkers as is. You return to Lucy's side without a moment to spare. Everyone is staring at what Lucy scribbled down on your whiteboard, as if she had written down the answer to an insanely challenging math theorem.

There's a cute little drawing of a red lizard on the board, surrounded by thousands of scribbled out mottos that Lucy tried (and failed) to make up on the spot.

"A lizard mascot? Interesting art style. It'd pop out amongst the rest of the stock." Ms. White actually appears impressed by the mascot in question. "Do you have a name for it?"

"R-redmond!" Lucy is practically melting where she's standing. One of your coworkers must've told her about your new lizard friend while you were distracted.

"HOW QUAINT. DO WE HAVE ANY RECORDS OF A NICOTINE PRODUCT WITH SUCH MARKETING?" The masked official scratches his 'chin', actually considering the viability of the mascot. "THE KIDS ALWAYS TALK ABOUT 'CUTE AND MARKETABLE' THINGS. COULD WORK. COULD WORK." Somehow, dragging Lucy along was a good idea.

You check to see if Cathy's ready to go along with your spiel. She gives the signal by winking at you (or what counts as such given her screen-face). Right. Time to spring into action. You flutter your eyes as you prepare to look like a poor, innocent beggar, scrambling for any scrap of corporate affection.

"Cathy, look, you see the potential in our product. I KNOW you see it. I know you want to agree with me here."

Cathy pretends that your words are making her uncomfortable. That sympathetic reflex you have kicks in again when her fellow executives and officials lock onto her with hateful glares. Your skin bristles again. The metallic scales that make up her body shimmer again as she continues to play her part.

"Indeed." Hidaka joins the conversation with a tell-tale click of the tongue. "The culture of a company can often be confusing. Very confusing. One slip up should not devalue our product."

"If any of y'all should have a fuckin' problem with anyone, it's me!" Colt steps to the center of the room. He spreads his arms out, trying to take up as much of the room as possible. The flag wrapped around his body flutters in an invisible breeze "Why aren't your slant eyes looking at me, you gook-faced niggerfaggots? Huh?"

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"Nahhh. Ya gotta get all riled up because my fellow American here decided to speak the truth."

Nine has to fight back the urge to skin Colt alive with every inch of her resolve. The fact the judges haven't immediately tried mauling Colt, though, dampens her bloodlust. "My associates are correct. You must admit you have some sympathy towards Vincent's situation. If I was in your shoes, I too would feel the same desire to protect his character."

>2 SUCCESSES!

Cathy pretends to slump her shoulders in defeat. She's only going along with this because you bribed her. "Guys. We gotta be better than this. You can't expect him to know every little thing about the culture here."

"He knew exactly what he did." Ms. White tries to dismiss Cathy's issue with outright dismissing your product over a little corpo shuffle. "We want to associate with people who are professionals. People who are in control of themselves and their emotions."

"INDEED. IF HE'S WILLING TO ASSOCIATE WITH PEOPLE LIKE THAT PATRIOT, OR THAT MYSTERIOUS MASKED FIGURE, OR-"

"Oh, shut up!" Cathy drops the acting for a second. "Like we're any better! You wear a creepy mask too, you knockoff Jason tryhard!"

The masked executive flinches at Cathy's outburst. Ms. White clenches her teeth as she prepares to reprimand her fellow judge. "This is unbecoming of you. We are supposed to be impartial. We're not supposed to pick favorites."

"And yet you're willing to throw away a profitable product over a singular social faux pas? I thought you were better than Mr. Yellow."

Ms. White bares her teeth but that's all she does. If nothing else, she's better than Mr. Yellow in one regard: not taking the bait. "We have standards here, Cathy, we really do."

"And I think the standards are stupid, because we've already lost track of what his mold is even about. Vincent, please, continue with your pitch."

That single command activates your neurons like a sleeper agent. You press your body as close to the whiteboard as possible, trying to practically merge with it, as you prepare to write down everything you can about your product. With five assistants by your side, it shouldn't take too long to recap everything to the SPONSORSHIP COMPANY officials.

You absolutely need to recap, given how sidetracked you were for the last twenty or so minutes. Your mouth moves on its own. Your teeth feel like they're beginning to rot out of your mouth. The acrid taste of rust and oil stains your tongue. Your eyes still work, but you're not really 'seeing' anything. You only really see faint colors and words floating amongst your vision.

You babble.
You draw.
You babble.
You draw.
You babble.

You empathize the profitability of your product. You draw.
The taste seeps further into your tongue. You babble.
Your mottos are becoming even more incoherent, barely resembling anything a human would write.
New names, new slogans. New product lines. New mascots.
Your fellow workers fill in the gaps.

Your body keeps moving on its own. Your eye's twitching. You taste blood on your tongue, mixing with the oil and rust. You hear something grinding away in your neck. Gears inside of your body. You're a machine, made to produce and sell mold. That is what you are.

Can't stop. Won't stop. Their eyes are all on you. Their attention. Those greedy little eyes are all on you. And your fellow workers too, yes. You're a machine. You say as much. You promise them that you'll generate enough profit that ARC can last for eons.

ARC won't stop. It can't stop. You're here to sell them a solution, all they need to do is to buy it. Buy. Sell. Invest. Invest more. Buy high, sell low. ROI of 5000%. Energy production skyrocketing. YOU CAN SELL THEM EVERYTHING THEY NEED FOR THE REST OF TIME.

SET GOALS. HAVE A TEN-YEAR PLAN. INVEST. WAKE UP EARLY. CEO MINDSET.

Then, you shudder.

For the first time in what must've been half an hour, an actual human thought passes through your head. The rest of your group is still busy trying to fix up the whiteboard so it DOESN'T look like it was made by a madman who was having an anomaly-induced meltdown.

Your ears finally pick up on the sound of at least thirty different executives murmuring along to what you were saying. It sounds like what you were saying in your trance must've been REALLY convincing to them. They're not really saying anything coherent either. All of it is vaguely corporate, like they're so used to speaking in jargon that the actual meaning of the jargon doesn't matter.

You think you're on a good pace. Heck, even Ms. White has calmed down, as if she's fully forgotten about your little 'mind-game' induced hissy fit.

How do you want to try to wrap up your pitch? You doubt you'll have much time left before they make their final judgement.
>What do they think THEY want out of your product? Emphasize the customizability of your mold, its flavor, and its properties to the crowd.
>Keep going with what's working so fast. Babble in corporate jargon and hope they don't realize you're saying nonsense.
>Finish it off with a personal story. A little flare to really make the product yours. Something about your parents, maybe.
>Don't say anything. Let THEM decide how they should feel. You said all you needed to.
>Let Nine speak on your behalf. You trust her. Plus, she probably won't agitate any of the corpos here.
>Let Colt and co. speak. You brought your coworkers along for a reason, and they're all good speakers in their own way.
>Remind everyone in attendance that they NEED this to improve employee morale. The carrot is as important as the stick here.
>Another angle might work. (Write in. Combine two plans into one? Propose something else?)

>>6460129
Perhaps. Perhaps not. Maybe you can use it this update to unlock something. Who knows?

>>6460095
Thread never. This update never actually happened.

>>6460184
>Let Nine speak on your behalf. You trust her. Plus, she probably won't agitate any of the corpos here.

>>6460184
>Let Colt and co. speak. You brought your coworkers along for a reason, and they're all good speakers in their own way.

>>6460181
>"THE KIDS ALWAYS TALK ABOUT 'CUTE AND MARKETABLE' THINGS. COULD WORK. COULD WORK."
Buddy. Mister. Sir. This is a nicotine product. Please don't try to market it in a kid-friendly way.


>>6460184
>Let Colt and co. speak. You brought your coworkers along for a reason, and they're all good speakers in their own way.
They've interjected here and there. Let's give them their time to shine.

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Whisper of a Uncertain Yesterday ask Nines to acquired a book form the library.

>>6460184
>Let Colt and co. speak. You brought your coworkers along for a reason, and they're all good speakers in their own way.

>>6460184
>Let Nine speak on your behalf. You trust her. Plus, she probably won't agitate any of the corpos here.
Let her vent

>>6460184
>Let Colt and co. speak. You brought your coworkers along for a reason, and they're all good speakers in their own way.

>>6460184
>Let Nine speak on your behalf. You trust her. Plus, she probably won't agitate any of the corpos here.

>>6460184
>Let Nine speak on your behalf. You trust her. Plus, she probably won't agitate any of the corpos here.

>>6460184
>>Let Nine speak on your behalf. You trust her. Plus, she probably won't agitate any of the corpos here.

>>6460184
>Let Nine speak on your behalf. You trust her. Plus, she probably won't agitate any of the corpos here.

>>6460228
>Please don't try to market it in a kid-friendly way.
[Have you seen what vape companies have done? This wouldn't exactly be that far off.]

>>6460324
I <3 MOLD.

>>6460229
Remember, trust every weird anomaly who wants to give you a book. Nothing bad can happen.

-----
NINE, SPEAK: 6
COLT AND CO, SPEAK: 4

Pretty cut and dry. If it's any consolation, you're probably going to be taking a step back from talking yourself, considering the only things you can taste right now are ash, rust, and motor oil. The others will get their time in the spotlight this update.

Writing. Hopefully won't take too long, but you know how my upload schedule is.

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You take a bow, disappearing behind the whiteboard so the others can talk. You said all you needed to say. You start to imagine what's going on in Nine's head...

---
You can not be Nine.
Outside observation of Nine's thoughts is not allowed.
Rerouting back to Vincent
---

Nine takes the stage now that you're done babbling. "Again, I do apologize for everything that has happened at this meeting. I will, again, repeat this to the audience for the sake of clarity. I know how hard it is for certain groups or individuals to keep track of certain details."

"After all, I presume everyone in attendance is already forgetting what I am saying. I apologize. I do quite like the sound of my own voice."

Nine cleans her throat as she prepares to change the topic. "This group is made up of a mish-mash of researchers and office workers. This can, and will, continue to impact the brand. We can acknowledge that, obviously, and it would be foolish of me not to.

Your other coworkers try to say something, but none of them are able to speak over Nine.

"Though, are we truly in any position to judge them for their faults? Are we not, as a group, equally as disjointed? Shall I list off all the companies here? EVE'S ELECTRONIC EMPORIUM, TIMELESS INCORPORATED, QUALITY AND QUANTITY INC, WARDEN SECURITY SERVICES, and the list simply goes on."

"All WE share in common is that we care about making MONEY." Nine swings her arms through the air to clear the smoke. "The man himself, Vincent, does not matter beyond what he can provide to us. Hidaka. The board."

"Ghm. Yes." Hidaka is a bit shocked she even gets to speak right now. "Again, all it would take to get our product ready is a grant for manufacturing equipment. Our product can sell itself, with or without extraneous details like 'marketing'. A cheap, affordable product is what the consumer wants."

"I would normally question marketing it to kids. From an ethical standpoint." Hidaka's offhanded comment gets a chorus of boos and jeers from the audience. Okay, they have to be playing it up now, there's no way they're THAT obviously evil. "Yes, yes, I know. Very bad. Ethics are gross."

That gets a roaring applause from the- oh, come on. Your face contorts into a grimace of disgust at how obviously performative all of this is. This is why you're letting Nine handle this.

"Is this not what ARC wants? We have created the perfect product. An excellent substitute."

"R-right! R-right, s-so, w-we got e-everything we need f-for a product." Good marketing. A w-workable name. I-it's even f-feasible to scale up its pro-production as needed!" Lucy tries everything in her power to not melt on the spot. Having dozens of eyes all leering at her is not doing wonders for her mental health.

>LUCY MENTAL HEALTH: MELTING

"S-so, l-like, g-give us m-money? T-tht-t...that's why we're here, right? T-to ask for funding? L-look, I-I'm winging i-it here, sorry."

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The audience of corporate suits almost seems to sympathize with her. There's a few that are laughing AT her, yes, that's to be expected but the others? They're looking at her like they're imagining themselves in her position.

Perhaps out of nostalgia over how simple their lives used to be, before they were granted unreasonable amounts of money and power. Perhaps she reminds them of someone they used to know. At least they're not trying to escort her out of the room.

"Colt?" Nine mimics the tell-tale tongue click Hidaka usually makes. "Do you have something you wish to say for the audience?"

"Heh." Colt leans his body against the whiteboard, most likely smudging some critical information out of existence. "What is there to say? I ain't gonna tell y'all that we got some mystic product that'll suck the soul through your dick. I ain't that kind of liar, unlike the rest of y'all."

"What I bring to this operation is saying the truth. The shit none of you are willin' to say, because you're a bunch of pansy ass bitches who spend all day-."

"Colt." The way Nine said his name carries one simple message: that was his first and ONLY warning. She knows he's going to get carried away otherwise.

"And that's what you need," He picks up on it just in time to swerve his rant somewhere else. "to 'market' to people these days. They're used to ads that lie to them and shit, showing them dolled up food and AI-generated sludge."

Cathy mumbles under her 'breath', but otherwise she stays quiet.

"Americans need a brand they can trust. They need a brand they feel safe buying from. They need something that's consistent. Cola Cola. Lay's. McDonalds. What do they all share in common, folks?"

Everyone, from your group to the judges to the audience members, all say the exact same word in unison. Even Ms. White, as cold and distant as she is, sings along with the crowd.

"Reliability."
"R-reliability."
"RELIABILITY"
"Reliability!!!!

"Exactly!" Colt cracks a slanted, almost warped sneer. A parody of a smile. God, he's starting to look AND sound like a shady salesman. "That's exactly what we need, people. And we are the group that can provide you with RELIABLE service. RELIABLE, AMERICAN-OWNED PRODUCTS at a CHEAP, AFFORDABLE PRICE. THE PROFIT MARGINS ON THIS BITCH ARE **THROUGH THE ROOF.**"

"C'MON, Y'ALL, LET'S MAKE AMERICA PROFITABLE AGAIN. WHO'S WITH ME? WHO'S WITH ME???"

The crowd roars with what can only be described as animalistic fervor. The energy Colt was pouring into his word had spread throughout the meeting hall like a sickness. The booths are now a mess of thrashing limbs and gnashing teeth, like they smell blood in the water.

Colt's sneer corrodes into something that matches the expressions the other officials are showing. "MONEY! MONEY! MONEY!"

"MONEY! MONEY! MONEY!" The crowd returns his chant. Are you in a fucking k-hole right now? You snap your head towards Nine, but she's perfectly content to let this ride out.

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Apparently, this is how ARC operates! Who would've known. Well, you should've.

She seems proud of Colt, if you can trust what little of her face you can see underneath the mask.

"Now. I believe Quincy should finish off our speech. May we hide our all consuming hunger for the flesh and meat of our lessers for later?"

"Khem." Quincy clears his throat as he waits for everyone else to calm down. "Now, it should be no surprise I have agreed to work with Vincent's group. And by proxy, QUALITY AND QUANTITY shall associate with him."

"As we can clearly see from this smudge Colt left," Quincy smacks his hand across the white board. "The product's profitability will rapidly scale with every 'SPONSORSHIP COMPANY' that agrees to work with him. With my authority alone, it should increase by 1.2x. This will only grow higher and higher with each new company who signs a partnership with him."

"And we all benefit from it. Now, I know we have our differences. I want nothing more than to rip the scales off of a Harvester. Cathy wants nothing more than to cave ExTINCTION CORP representative's head in. We can all agree we want this one thing, though."

"And in that, we can set aside our differences in the name of profit. Why waste a golden goose like Vincent?"

Nine finishes off the round of speeches with a polite round of applause. The crowded meeting hall responds with their own wave of applause. A comforting blanket of silence falls over the hall, mixing in with the smoke that has shrouded most of the hall.

"...FEH." A deep, heavily modulated voice groans from within the fog. That came from the CLEANER, you assume. "PREDICTABLE."

"WELL," the masked judge pretends to ignore the CLEANER. "THEY SAID THEIR SPIEL. THEIR TIME IS UP. WHAT SHOULD OUR VERDICT BE?"
"For absolutely no reason, I think we should approve funding!" Cathy would be lying through her teeth, if she had any.
"Benny. Cathy." Ms. White calmly addresses her cohorts. "Let us deliberate in private. Cleaner, please escort us to our chambers.

The heavily armored guard grumbles to himself as he moves to escort the judges to god knows where. The smoke is making it impossible to tell where they're going.

"I think we did a good job." Nine turns around so she can address her own cohorts. "There could have been more grace in our pitch. Especially from you, Vincent, but we managed to salvage it."

Your skin bristles at the obviously backhanded statement. As much as you loathe having to admit it, she's not wrong. You need to know when indulging your pride is worth it or not.

You hear a door creaking open. Three pairs of footsteps approach the now empty seats. The judges take their rightful spots, ready to deliver their verdict.

"We will fund your operation." Ms. White, for the first time in ages, smiles. It's barely noticeable but it's a smile nonetheless. "We had some interesting discussions with various officials who wanted to support your product."

"We will start you off with two spare rooms we have in LAYER 2. We will retrofit them with whatever surplus equipment we're able to get from Q&Q and EVE's. Plus a few other companies who have decided to support you."
>CIGARETTE MOLD PRODUCTION will be FAR easier. You will generate an additional 8+1d2 CIGARETTE MOLD per day without even trying, on top of your passive mold production during a shift!
>CIGARETTE MOLD is now valued at $270 per sample!

Cathy offers a sheepish grin, almost embarrassed by the fact she actually supported you. 'Benny' doesn't bother saying a word. He seems to be bored of this whole 'meeting' charade.

"One of my colleagues, a certain Mr. Rust, did everything in his power to convince us to give you more. So, to assist you with your anomalies, so you could focus more effort on actually producing what's important? We'll also upgrade all of your containment cells, and that pesky little INSIGHT MODULE of yours, absolutely free of charge.
>+10 MAX MOOD to all current and future anomalies!
>Your INSIGHT MODULE will heal your MENTAL HEALTH after you work on an anomaly!

You wait for them to continue but all you get from them is a wave of self assured murmuring. You were expecting a lot more than that. You put so much work into your pitch and that's all they gave you? A few upgrades and two rooms, that's it? Where's your millions of dollars for this product they all want? Your product is good enough to go on a national level as is!

Maybe it's greed. Maybe it's a desire to 'get' back at them, but you want MORE. The question is...

Do you want to push for more? Do you claim your rightful prize? Choose one.
>Quit while you're ahead. Stick with what they gave you. You got a good thing going here. (++GOODWILL (ARC). You'll get more choices to pick from during SPONSORSHIP and ANOMALY SELECTION votes.)
>You deserve a promotion, at the very least! Can't they grant you that? (You'll become a Level 2 Researcher on the spot. You can explore more of the facility, your dorm and lab will be expanded and upgraded, and you'll get more respect from ARC officials.)
>Cathy is holding something out to you. Take it. (You'll receive...something. Something good. That's all you can say.)
>Push them for a little more help with the production aspect of your operation. (DC 75, +20 to roll. Could improve your CIGARETTE MOLD production and value by a sizable amount!)
>Address the sponsorship companies in attendance. Take this chance to earn as much support from them as you can. (DC 77, +28 to roll. Could massively increase your GOODWILL with several companies, unlocking certain unique and powerful products.)
>Your coworkers deserve their fair share, don't they? Ask the judges if they can give something to them. (DC 68, +15 to roll. This should improve the traits and equipment your various coworkers have.)
>You got something else you want. (Write in.)

Would've posted earlier. Got a real nasty headache right now.

>>6460697
>Quit while you're ahead. Stick with what they gave you. You got a good thing going here. (++GOODWILL (ARC). You'll get more choices to pick from during SPONSORSHIP and ANOMALY SELECTION votes.)
>Offer each judge a sample of SEATIME MOLD as a gift and explain to them what that variant can do. (Let's try to win more goodwill with them)

>>6460697
>Quit while you're ahead. Stick with what they gave you. You got a good thing going here. (++GOODWILL (ARC). You'll get more choices to pick from during SPONSORSHIP and ANOMALY SELECTION votes.)
Just be thankful the corporate struggle session is over.

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>>6460697
>Quit while you're ahead. Stick with what they gave you. You got a good thing going here. (++GOODWILL (ARC). You'll get more choices to pick from during SPONSORSHIP and ANOMALY SELECTION votes.)

>>6460697
>Cathy is holding something out to you. Take it. (You'll receive...something. Something good. That's all you can say.)
Guys? this is a FREE GIVEAWAY!!

>>6460697
>Cathy is holding something out to you. Take it. (You'll receive...something. Something good. That's all you can say.)

>>6460697
>You deserve a promotion, at the very least! Can't they grant you that? (You'll become a Level 2 Researcher on the spot. You can explore more of the facility, your dorm and lab will be expanded and upgraded, and you'll get more respect from ARC officials.)

>>6460697
>Cathy is holding something out to you. Take it. (You'll receive...something. Something good. That's all you can say.)
And that's all left to do here

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>>6460697
>Cathy offers a sheepish grin
Cute

>Cathy is holding something out to you. Take it. (You'll receive...something. Something good. That's all you can say.)
Not feeling confident after our failed stunt

>>6460727
ROBOTS are CUTE

>>6460697
>As much as you loathe having to admit it, she's not wrong. You need to know when indulging your pride is worth it or not.
Heh. More proof of us anons being prideful on Vincent's behalf.
Also, officially or not, we owe all of our friends here a massive favor each. They all went above and beyond in making this pitch work.
For that matter, the Q&Q rep really went to bat for us as well, despite how recently we met.

>Cathy is holding something out to you. Take it. (You'll receive...something. Something good. That's all you can say.)
I really don't want to push our luck any further than needed, and this seems like a quiet option.

>>6460697
>You deserve a promotion, at the very least! Can't they grant you that? (You'll become a Level 2 Researcher on the spot. You can explore more of the facility, your dorm and lab will be expanded and upgraded, and you'll get more respect from ARC officials.)

>>6460697
>>Quit while you're ahead. Stick with what they gave you. You got a good thing going here. (++GOODWILL (ARC). You'll get more choices to pick from during SPONSORSHIP and ANOMALY SELECTION votes.)

>>6460701
+1

As a sidenote, once we're out of this place- we should dispense our hugpoint to Lucy at the end of the day. Her mental health needs it.

>>6460697
>You got something else you want. (Write in.)
Ask if they or any of the companies here happen to have a convenient solution to contain the Deerfox shade, as it seems to be attempting to resolve one of our anomalies that produces a valuable material, (explain the use cases for 199x’s bile as fuel), and we believe the shade itself it is quite powerful and therefore likely quite profitable as well. With representatives from a bunch of specialized companies and the experienced higher ups here, we may have an opportunity to get some good countermeasures/containment equipment so we can get her into our extra cell (and give 199x a chance to reconcile on his terms)

Shame I missed the meeting; I was screeching like a baboon at anons apparently choosing NOT to take the auto-win options at every chance when we dumped so much AP into pitching this, especially when Vinny’s built and characterized to take the consequences of doing so like a champ…

>>6460697
>Cathy is holding something out to you. Take it. (You'll receive...something. Something good. That's all you can say.)
That said, let’s take the unique reward for succeeding one of those “unnecessary” rolls while we have the opportunity to do so. I suspect it has to do with a machine like her not failing to notice the exact flavor of attunement slips Vince experienced during his SHILL breakdown, especially if it was possible for people other than him to hear them.

>>6460697
>Cathy is holding something out to you. Take it. (You'll receive...something. Something good. That's all you can say.)

ROBOT CREATURE, GIVE US OUR ILL GOTTEN GAINS: 7
QUIT WHILE YOU'RE AHEAD: 5
PROMOTION, PLEASE: 2
GIVE THEM SEATIME: 1
DEERFOX SHADE HELP, PLEASE: 1

It appears that the power of feminine robots is coursing through your veins. (Doesn't hurt that she's offering you a mystery box option).
Considering the meeting itself is done and we're just wrapping things up, this should be a shorter (and ideally quicker) update overall. Writing.

----

>>6460742
>For that matter, the Q&Q rep really went to bat for us as well, despite how recently we met.
He's a stand in for the company in general, and from what you know of Q&Q, they're basically populated entirely with (slightly less self aware) Vincents. Of course he's supporting you.

>>6460861
You may have two HP (HUG POINTS) to spend. Use them wisely today.

>>6460703
Just two bros, chit-chatting about a fucked up evil cat.

>>6460961
Judge.
Jury.
Executioner.
Be glad you didn't get killed.

>>6460978
>I suspect it has to do with a machine like her not failing to notice the exact flavor of attunement slips Vince experienced during his SHILL breakdown, especially if it was possible for people other than him to hear them.
You don't know the exact details of what you said during your trance, but it's very likely that your excessive attunement with it caused you to say some certain phrases that Cathy was able to pick up on.
Plus, you literally bribed her.

>>6461104
>You may have two HP
Use it on Cathy RIGHT NOW

>>6461107
IN PUBLIC?
IN FRONT OF THE OTHER ARC REPS?
IN FRONT OF THE REST OF THIS MEETING COURTROOM?
No way man, no way

>>6461104
Meanwhile, I request we hug Hidaka

>>6461178
IN PUBLIC?
IN FRONT OF THE OTHER ARC REPS?
IN FRONT OF THE REST OF THIS MEETING COURTROOM?
No way man, no way

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>>6461195
>>6461107
>>6461178

I kind of forgot what SACA looked like

>>6461199
Beautiful

>>6461199
SACA was given a more humanoid body

>>6461199
I think SACA looks a bit like the assaultron robots from Fallout 4. I remember somebody actually made a 3d model of her once. We should hire her next shift, it's been a while since we've seen her and she's pretty useful.

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>>6461206
Found it in thread 3.

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It's a wire lizard-thing eat ze lizard-thing world.

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finally caught up with this after reading through the QM's previous quests, and i come bearing GIFTs.
or well, a GIFT. i'd have more if i knew how to draw at all. alas, alack.

as a side note, i hope vincent's weird fucking blood sacrifice bullshit gets brought up by someone at some point. he just does that shit like it's completely normal and somehow it just works, even on totally mundane shit like the harvester's heate-
oh my fucking god it's because he's the HEIR OF BLOOD isn't it

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You know when to cut your losses. Your head is still firmly attached to your neck. Despite one of your failed stunts causing some 'difficulties', you managed to correct course enough to successfully land the pitch. That's all you NEEDED to do.

Hell, if you did your job right, you distracted Ms. White long enough to satisfy one of the dozen of requests/sidequests in your backlog. That doesn't mean you're 100% satisfied with the results you got. You still think you could've gotten more. Maybe if you leaned on Nine a bit more, maybe if you pushed a different angle, something different could've happened.

Ah well. That's life. You can only do so much. You'll have to thank your coworkers once you're out of here. They did a great job supporting you. You might even need to pay them a little more, since it's not like money will be much of an issue. Math wise, worst case scenario, you're earning $2430 from your extra mold alone.

While you're deliberating over what to do, you get a glimpse of Cathy through the smog of cigarette smoke. You never thought you'd see a robot blushing. Well, to be specific, her screen is lit up in such a way as to mimic human blushing. Her hands are fidgeting with something about the size of one of those old brick phones.

"I'll be right back." You make your way towards the flustered robot to see what's up. You might as well talk to her, you did bribe her up the nose (or what counts for one).

She practically leaps out of her seat the second she realizes you're standing in front of her. Her metallic scales vibrate and shimmer with what might've been serpentine grace...if she wasn't shaking like a leaf. She almost immediately regains her composure, but wow, yeah, no wonder why you picked her as your bribery target.

Ms. White clearly noticed her fellow judge's reaction, but her attention shifted somewhere else. Her pale fingers tap away at her desk as she chit-chats with someone over the phone. "Yes, yes, we have to reschedule that meeting about the neural suppressor- What do you MEAN you're bored of it already?"

Ms. White then lowers her voice to an unintelligible whisper. Whatever conversation they're having, it is becoming increasingly heated.
>SIDEQUEST COMPLETE! +$300 from RUDOLF. Next time you see Rudolf, you'll get to ask him two questions about CLASSIFIED MATERIAL!

"Soooo." Cathy's screen glitches for a second. "Uhm. Look, can we pretend like this never happened? This whole meeting rig-a-ma-roll? It was kinda a bad look for me and, well-"

"I didn't really see anyone care that I bribed you."

"No, no, no." Cathy waves her free hand in a dismissive notion. "I'm not supposed to pick favorites WITHOUT a bribe. It's, well, that's how things here work. You're supposed to bribe your judges. It's called being business savvy, you know!"

You don't say anything at first. This only causes the robot to fidget even more. You know what? At least she's not Venti. You'll count your blessings where you can get them.

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"Uh huh. I understand if it's a pride thing, I do. You saw how I was acting back there." It's weird how you can be this casual with someone who's far higher on the totem pole than you. Maybe it's because you already got what you wanted from her.

"Speaking about that!" Cathy taps her metallic fingers on the desk. "The others didn't notice but I did. You weren't the only one talking back there, were you?"

So she did pick up on that. You're not shocked, she is an ARC employee who's been here long enough to reach roughly the same rank as Ms. White. "I'm not going to deny it."

"Machines have a certain way of speaking. LLMs have really obvious tells, and that's what most of my 'family' works on. Far larger models than what's publicly available but still. Anomalous machines, though? You just know." Cathy reaches a hand out to you. You crane your head slightly to see what she's holding out.

The first item is a long, rectangular hunk of steel that's been lazily welded and shaped into something resembling a brick phone. Exposed wiring spills from tiny gaps where the welding has weakened or failed. An eerie hum seems to radiate from the hunk of steel whenever you move it.

The second one is something between an ID card and a credit card. It has a photo of Cathy on it, but you can tell it's several years out of date, since her chassis and screen-face are both noticeably cheaper and shittier. Written on it is 'VALID FOR EVE'S ELECTRIC EMPORIUM PURCHASES."

The last item is a paper voucher from TIMELESS INCORPORATED. On it, it reads 'Valid for 4 'time units', as determined by TIMELESS INCRPORATED'S universal time system (UTS).' It's made of high quality paper, but that's all that's noteworthy about it.

"It's just bribery, yeah. Bribing you to become, well, a loyal associate of EVE'S. Mmh hmm." Cathy's 'eyes' dart away, trying to focus on any other spot. Did speaking like one of your anomalies short circuit her or something? Does she see something in you? Or was she desperate for any kind of attention? Who knows, and you don't care.

CATHY LOOT OBTAINED!
>CHD-521-A (Also known as CATHY'S HANDMADE DISCOMBOBULATOR. 3 uses. Automatically grants +1 SUCCESS on any check against an INANIMATE ANOMALY or robotic/mechanical personnel. Cathy is, obviously, immune. Duh.)
>EVE VIP CARD (Has $1000 on it. This cash can only be used to buy products or services from EVE'S)
>TIMELESS VOUCHER (Next shift, you'll gain +4 TIME TOKENS. -4 DC to reverse-engineering ACCUMULATED PAST during the shift that this is active.)

"Thank you for the 'bribes'." You wink at her, if only because you feel like that's what she's expecting. You stuff your ill-gotten gains into your trash bag of an inventory. There's this strange voice in your head telling you to do something stupid. Something about hugging a robot?

Instead of humoring that thought, you shake Cathy's hand. You gotta stay professional. The last thing you want to do is get into trouble for inappropriately hugging someone.

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Your group has already left by the time you're done talking with Cathy. You promptly exit the meeting hall to rejoin with the others.

God. The moment you step outside, your lungs scream with relief at being able to breathe FRESH air. Hidaka and Lucy are both lying on the floor, hacking and wheezing as they try to get as much fresh air as possible. Lucy had practically bonded to the floor at this point.

Colt tries to act tough, but his lungs give out on him next. He tries to mask his wheezing by pretending it's just him yawning, but he's not fooling anyone.

Nine and Quincy don't even register what the others are doing. Nine, that makes sense, she has a gas mask on. You'd expect Quincy to have some kind of reaction though.

Instead, Quincy bows towards you now like he's your servant. "My job here is done. We here at QUALITY AND QUANTITY INC must ask that you continue to work with us. Your brand has proven itself to be quite valuable."

"It is strange to see a member of a SPONSORSHIP COMPANY sticking his neck for us. Your kind usually do not perform such charitable acts of kindness." Nine cocks her head, like she's staring at one of those weird magic eye paintings.

"It would be a waste of time explaining all of the reasons we decided to associate with Vincent. We would be here all day."

"Perhaps." Nine has already lost interest in this conversation. "We have other matters to intend to, so if you would not mind, may we go our separate ways?"

"Of course." Quincy wastes no time. He vanishes into the (far thinner) crowd of wageslaves and other suited stooges. Now, it's just you and your posse. You kneel down to help Lucy back to her feet. You pick her up by her arms, but her legs are still pretty melted, so you have to let her lean against you for support.

Does this count as a hug? Eh. You'll let this be a freebie. You keep an arm wrapped around her, keeping her against you as support while she solidifies. She's warmer than usual, and not really in a bad way. "So, are you guys ready for that contract I have to do?"

"I-I-I'll pro-probably pass." Lucy's voice bubbles up from deep inside her melted core. "I-If you don't mi-mind. T-tired."
You pat the poor slime girl on the back. She did her best.

"As ready as I will ever be. Let us continue with this banal list of chores. Perhaps this contract will at least offer some entertainment value, unlike the dreck those suits were spewing like wet vomit."

"As long, hhh, as long as I get to shoot someone? I'm game." Colt finally stops coughing. "I'm sick of talking and talking and talking. Let me fuckin' shoot someone."

"I'll power through." Hidaka answers dryly. "One last thing on the docket. Then we're done, right? Just focus on that, everyone."

After having to power their way through that clusterfuck of a meeting, something has changed in your coworkers. You sense that there's untapped potential bubbling inside each of them.

CHOOSE ONE RAPPORT UPGRADE FOR EACH COWORKER!

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NINE
>"They have not changed since I last saw them. Pitiful worms." [CORPORATE LIQUIDATION. ARC OFFICIALS and SPONSORSHIP REPS will suddenly be a lot more cordial around you. -15% discount to all catalog products, plus you’ll get access to some rare and other impossible to obtain ARC items.]
>Something about Nine’s body is different... [REAWAKENED IMPLANTS. Nine passively regenerates PHYSICAL HEALTH, and she gains a sizable stat bonus to ALL of her physical abilities.]
>"It would be in your best interest to rely on me. You can trust me." [SOMEONE HAS TO DO IT. Twice per shift, Nine may add +1 SUCCESSES to *any* skill check.]
>”It was my fault. For not expecting this. I need to readjust how I will assist you in the future.” [CONTINGENCY PLANS. Nine will passively prepare caches and other emergency supplies, allowing you access to them on a per need basis.]

COLT
>"Gotta get stronger. I ain't gonna be a pussy next time." [MEATHEAD AND MEATBODY. +++MAX PHYSICAL HEALTH. Colt now has a massive bonus to all endurance based rolls!]
>He isn’t saying anything. There's a fire burning in his bloodshot eyes. [PATRIOTIC ATTUNEMENT. His two artifacts will both gain massive upgrades to their general potency, plus he’ll have a sizable bonus to all rolls during combat]
>"In between. There’s something in between." [MYSTERY MAN ATTUNEMENT. Due to his exposure to the MAN, Colt seems different somehow. Your group will gain a sizable bonus to all STEALTH rolls while Colt is in the party. The MAN will now cost no money to hire.]
>"I will never awake from the American dream." [A PATRIOT'S DREAM. Does nothing. When the time comes, it'll awaken into a VERY powerful trait.]

LUCY
>"I-it was nice seeing you ge-getting this far, V-vincent." [I <3 MOLD. Lucy will passively work on MOLD related R&D, steadily improving the value of your mold. She also gets a sizable bonus to all rolls involving botanical/mold based anomalies.]
>For some reason, the flower growing from your wrist seems drawn to her. [MEEK UPGRADE. She’ll passively offer useful advice to either help or stop ANOMALY RESOLUTION. Whenever you receive an ARTIFACT, she'll gain a slight stat boost related to its properties]
>"T-thank you. F-for everything, V-Vincent, I really do mean it." [YOUR BEST RESEARCHER. Lucy will cost no money to hire, and when you hire her, she'll give you various samples from anomalies she researched!]
>"O-one of the reps told me I-I had to d-diversify my lists and skills and uh well SACA is pretty nice and-" [WRENCH WENCH. Working on INANIMATE ANOMALIES will always cost 0 TIME TOKENS, and skill checks involving machinery or advanced technology will be far easier when she's around.]

(1/2)

HIDAKA
>"Those 'things' back there. You can't even BE human around them." [MARKETABLE EMPLOYEE. While HIDAKA is in your party, you earn more GOODWILL from corporations, and she'll give useful hints on how you should interact with them.]
>"We're better than them. We're not like them. We're stronger than them." [SHIMMERING PRIDE. ++++MAX MENTAL HEALTH. You'll earn far more RAPPORT with Hidaka when you pick checks with a DC of 85 or higher.]
>"Time is money, and money is time. That's the only thing TIMELESS got right." [PUNCTUALITY. Hidaka gives more TIME TOKENs when hired, and she has a small bonus to all checks involving temporal anomalies or technology. ++GOODWILL (TIMELESS)!]
>"There's a 'flow' you can follow. Once you actually pay attention." [FINE-TUNED INSTINCTS. Hidaka will gain a sizable bonus to PERCEPTION checks, and she'll automatically detect if someone's currently watching you. Good for doing things ARC, or other companies, wouldn't approve of.]

I'm proud of you, Heir.

-----

Welp, better late than never. Trust me, this day is going to end eventually.

>>6461281
Glad to have another voter reading my quest. Hope you stick around for the wild ride.
>SPOILER
Yeah, it is pretty weird how sacrificing your blood helps you, isn't it? Anyone's guess who's benefiting from a blood sacrifice.

Also, don't we all deserve a deranged antisocial wageslave?

>>6461199
I kneel, anon. I fvcking knvvl.

>>6461216
Remember to check up on ASHTON later. For no particular reason.

>>6461112
To keep your Lucy from turning into sludge, it is recommended you do not expose her to stressful situations, and to keep the room's temperature at a comfortable 20–22 °C (68–72 °F)

>>6461307
+1 Success is great and almost always useful
>"It would be in your best interest to rely on me. You can trust me." [SOMEONE HAS TO DO IT. Twice per shift, Nine may add +1 SUCCESSES to *any* skill check.]

MYSTERY BOX, THESE COLORS DON'T RUN
>"I will never awake from the American dream." [A PATRIOT'S DREAM. Does nothing. When the time comes, it'll awaken into a VERY powerful trait.]

Should help with keeping Hard Times
>For some reason, the flower growing from your wrist seems drawn to her. [MEEK UPGRADE. She’ll passively offer useful advice to either help or stop ANOMALY RESOLUTION. Whenever you receive an ARTIFACT, she'll gain a slight stat boost related to its properties]

>>6461307
>"They have not changed since I last saw them. Pitiful worms." [CORPORATE LIQUIDATION. ARC OFFICIALS and SPONSORSHIP REPS will suddenly be a lot more cordial around you. -15% discount to all catalog products, plus you’ll get access to some rare and other impossible to obtain ARC items.]
>"I will never awake from the American dream." [A PATRIOT'S DREAM. Does nothing. When the time comes, it'll awaken into a VERY powerful trait.]
>"T-thank you. F-for everything, V-Vincent, I really do mean it." [YOUR BEST RESEARCHER. Lucy will cost no money to hire, and when you hire her, she'll give you various samples from anomalies she researched!]
"There's a 'flow' you can follow. Once you actually pay attention." [FINE-TUNED INSTINCTS. Hidaka will gain a sizable bonus to PERCEPTION checks, and she'll automatically detect if someone's currently watching you. Good for doing things ARC, or other companies, wouldn't approve of.]

>>6461305
>Did speaking like one of your anomalies short circuit her or something?
Does... does she want to meet HARD TIMES?

>>6461306
>As ready as I will ever be.
>As long, hhh, as long as I get to shoot someone?
>I'll power through.
I think our coworkers are gaining attainment with HARD TIMES themselves Or with Vincent. This has been a stupidly long, stressful day, and they're still game? I'm impressed.


>>6461307
>"They have not changed since I last saw them. Pitiful worms." [CORPORATE LIQUIDATION. ARC OFFICIALS and SPONSORSHIP REPS will suddenly be a lot more cordial around you. -15% discount to all catalog products, plus you’ll get access to some rare and other impossible to obtain ARC items.]
The SUCCESSES is very tempting, but I worry we will promptly forget it's a thing. And I'm not sure if it requires her to be with us to work?
>"I will never awake from the American dream." [A PATRIOT'S DREAM. Does nothing. When the time comes, it'll awaken into a VERY powerful trait.]
Delayed gratification best gratification.
>For some reason, the flower growing from your wrist seems drawn to her. [MEEK UPGRADE. She’ll passively offer useful advice to either help or stop ANOMALY RESOLUTION. Whenever you receive an ARTIFACT, she'll gain a slight stat boost related to its properties]
>"Time is money, and money is time. That's the only thing TIMELESS got right." [PUNCTUALITY. Hidaka gives more TIME TOKENs when hired, and she has a small bonus to all checks involving temporal anomalies or technology. ++GOODWILL (TIMELESS)!]
PRIDE is tempting, but after our flub I can't go for it.

>>6461308
>"It would be in your best interest to rely on me. You can trust me." [SOMEONE HAS TO DO IT. Twice per shift, Nine may add +1 SUCCESSES to *any* skill check.]
>"I will never awake from the American dream." [A PATRIOT'S DREAM. Does nothing. When the time comes, it'll awaken into a VERY powerful trait.]
>"O-one of the reps told me I-I had to d-diversify my lists and skills and uh well SACA is pretty nice and-" [WRENCH WENCH. Working on INANIMATE ANOMALIES will always cost 0 TIME TOKENS, and skill checks involving machinery or advanced technology will be far easier when she's around.]
>"Time is money, and money is time. That's the only thing TIMELESS got right." [PUNCTUALITY. Hidaka gives more TIME TOKENs when hired, and she has a small bonus to all checks involving temporal anomalies or technology. ++GOODWILL (TIMELESS)!]

>>6461307
>Someone has to do it
>Patriot’s Dream
>I <3 Mold
>Shimmering Pride

If I understand rapport correctly, that it is the resource required to gain new traits on companions, we can get a lot of rapport for new upgrades with Hidaka in the future with 2 automatic successes using Nine’s someone has to do it against any machines with that device we just got next time we hire them both.

For that matter, are someone has to do it and CHD 521 A insurance we can use if we are about to fail or pre cast buffs we have to use before we do an action?

>>6461307
NINE
>"They have not changed since I last saw them. Pitiful worms." [CORPORATE LIQUIDATION. ARC OFFICIALS and SPONSORSHIP REPS will suddenly be a lot more cordial around you. -15% discount to all catalog products, plus you’ll get access to some rare and other impossible to obtain ARC items.]
COLT
>"In between. There’s something in between." [MYSTERY MAN ATTUNEMENT. Due to his exposure to the MAN, Colt seems different somehow. Your group will gain a sizable bonus to all STEALTH rolls while Colt is in the party. The MAN will now cost no money to hire.]
LUCY
>"O-one of the reps told me I-I had to d-diversify my lists and skills and uh well SACA is pretty nice and-" [WRENCH WENCH. Working on INANIMATE ANOMALIES will always cost 0 TIME TOKENS, and skill checks involving machinery or advanced technology will be far easier when she's around.]
HIDAKA
>"Time is money, and money is time. That's the only thing TIMELESS got right." [PUNCTUALITY. Hidaka gives more TIME TOKENs when hired, and she has a small bonus to all checks involving temporal anomalies or technology. ++GOODWILL (TIMELESS)!]

>>6461307
>>6461308
NINE
>REAWAKENED IMPLANTS
Reawakened Joy of Carnage...

COLT
>A PATRIOT'S DREAM
It's his future

LUCY
>WRENCH WENCH
I like the idea of her diversifying. It fits her character

HIDAKA
>SHIMMERING PRIDE
Eventually she won't be able to take it anymore and pin Vincent to the wall, and...

>>6461335
>still game?
Vincent's wageslave energy is infectious.
>trait question
I'd say Nine would have to be there to let you get the free successes, but Nine has a habit of showing up and interfering with your stuff while off the clock.

>>6461365
Unless specifically said otherwise, you can use items as a reactive 'OH SHIT' button. It's an item that only works on a certain subset of targets. If you're trying to talk down a Harvester or deal with a non-machine anomaly, for instance, it'd be dead weight.

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>>6461307
>[SOMEONE HAS TO DO IT.]
>[A PATRIOT'S DREAM]
>[MEEK UPGRADE]
>[FINE-TUNED INSTINCTS]

>>6461308
Wow, so many good options. Though choices.
>"They have not changed since I last saw them. Pitiful worms." [CORPORATE LIQUIDATION. ARC OFFICIALS and SPONSORSHIP REPS will suddenly be a lot more cordial around you. -15% discount to all catalog products, plus you’ll get access to some rare and other impossible to obtain ARC items.]
SOMEONE HAS to do it is really tempting, especially after our rolls of late being kinda underwhelming. REAWAKENED IMPLANTS sound cool too with all the fights we usually get into. But -15% off everything plus a much easier time talking to officials and reps is - assuming she doesn't have to be around for this to work - a too significant upgrade to pass methinks.

>"I will never awake from the American dream." [A PATRIOT'S DREAM. Does nothing. When the time comes, it'll awaken into a VERY powerful trait.]
Can't resist a good mystery box. That said, having COLT and HIDAKA get the stealth/perception upgrades would make for a pretty good infiltration team along with THE MAN. Argunents could be made for the combat upgrades too, of course; especially as he is one of our best assets in this regard already.
>"I-it was nice seeing you ge-getting this far, V-vincent." [I <3 MOLD. Lucy will passively work on MOLD related R&D, steadily improving the value of your mold. She also gets a sizable bonus to all rolls involving botanical/mold based anomalies.] Mold matters. Can't say no to the product that is opening all those doors and providing for us so dearly. And defines us so deeply.
That said, WRENCH WENCH would enable us to get a lot of work done on our inanimate anomalies and/or free us up for other research tasks, so it might be the best option in the long term. MEEK UPGRADE sounds nice too, but hardly as good as one of those two.
>"There's a 'flow' you can follow. Once you actually pay attention." [FINE-TUNED INSTINCTS. Hidaka will gain a sizable bonus to PERCEPTION checks, and she'll automatically detect if someone's currently watching you. Good for doing things ARC, or other companies, wouldn't approve of.] That one is a nice all-around upgrade and will surely come in handy at some point. If we could hire her tomorrow (which we can't), I would be tempted by PUNCTUALITY to help reverse engineer ACCUMULATED PAST and if we hadn't rolled so badly recently I'd love to take SHIMMERING PRIDE, especially as it sounds great for bonding deeper with Hidaka-kun.

>>6461365
That's good thinking for HIDAKAmaxxing. If we can apply the success retroactively (which we probably can) and our Handler agrees that this could work, I'll happily swing my votes regarding NINE and HIDAKA to reflect this idea.

>>6461335
>we will promptly forget
I like to think that our COLT speech rerolls have been cancelled by some anomalous tech from the ARC officials. We surely didn't forget to use those five times or so in a row, right?

>>6461414
>We surely didn't forget to use those five times or so in a row, right?
Tell you what, that's on me for not remembering. I'll let you cash those in for a bonus reward next update, something roughly analogous to the value you would've gotten for the 6~ rerolls you missed. They're not going completely to waste. (It'll probably be something tied to a sponsorship company, I'll tell you that much)

I did clarify that you can use CHD-521-A retroactively.

>>6461420
>>6461394
>>6461414
Nice! I was so late in joining this thread (>>6460109), I didn't want to bring it up before.
And since you kinda confirmed we can try to do some HIDAKAmaxxing with this approach, I'll switch my votes to:
>SOMEONE HAS TO DO IT
>A PATRIOT'S DREAM
>I <3 MOLD.
>SHIMMERING PRIDE

>>6461307
>"It would be in your best interest to rely on me. You can trust me." [SOMEONE HAS TO DO IT. Twice per shift, Nine may add +1 SUCCESSES to *any* skill check.]
I imagine that the cordiality effect of CORPORATE LIQUIDATION doesn't come into effect unless we actually hire Nine, and a catalogue expansion isn't that exciting at the moment. Two auto-successes are taaaaasty, though.

>"I will never awake from the American dream." [A PATRIOT'S DREAM. Does nothing. When the time comes, it'll awaken into a VERY powerful trait.]
Only starting on the mystery box because it's a distinctly different choice from his Attunement getting "better"/"worse"/*more*. The road to efflorescence starts here, I imagine - who'd've thunk he'd be the first of our allies Vince gets to Ayin-/Danteh-speech through a Canto climax?

>"I-it was nice seeing you ge-getting this far, V-vincent." [I <3 MOLD. Lucy will passively work on MOLD related R&D, steadily improving the value of your mold. She also gets a sizable bonus to all rolls involving botanical/mold based anomalies.]
Background research/improvement actions is free TP; simply hiring her will help really get the "it sells itself" ball rolling so we can focus on the *next* big thing, and giving her a better understanding of horticulture+mycology may give her a better understanding of herself. (Plus, this is obviously the least likely upgrade to ever reappear in a future level-up.)

>"Those 'things' back there. You can't even BE human around them." [MARKETABLE EMPLOYEE. While HIDAKA is in your party, you earn more GOODWILL from corporations, and she'll give useful hints on how you should interact with them.]
Holy shit. HOLY SHIT. An upgrade for getting more EXP on a different category of upgrade tracks? It's not as blatant as Colt's mystery box, but this is absolutely Hidaka's "delayed gratification" option, and a contextual one to boot. Always grab the "Level Up Faster" upgrades first, the more upgrades there are yet to collect, the better! I bet it has interesting interactions with Hidaka's orchid item, too, plus knowledge is power when it comes to how we actually compose ourselves.

Honestly, though, Hidaka's the only one this update where ALL the options are winners in my opinion.

>>6461308
Changing vote in >>6461372 from
>WRENCH WENCH
to
>I <3 MOLD

>>6461308
>>6461365
>>6461461
*facepalms* And of course it slips my mind that I should take the one that makes furthering its *own* EXP track faster first. I'll have to trust that the cross-track accelerator will still be around later; changing
>"Those 'things' back there. You can't even BE human around them." [MARKETABLE EMPLOYEE. While HIDAKA is in your party, you earn more GOODWILL from corporations, and she'll give useful hints on how you should interact with them.]
to
>"We're better than them. We're not like them. We're stronger than them." [SHIMMERING PRIDE. ++++MAX MENTAL HEALTH. You'll earn far more RAPPORT with Hidaka when you pick checks with a DC of 85 or higher.]

Anons are right that picking auto-win traits for others helps mitigate the hubris we need to get the most out of this.

>>6461308
>another voter
well admittedly i probably won't be doing too much voting, partially because i don't trust my own judgement and partially because i'd kinda rather just sit back and watch.
i'll still be lurking in the back and maybe making the occasional comment or shitpost, but i'm just along for the ride, really.

>>6461305
>"It's just bribery, yeah. Bribing you to become, well, a loyal associate of EVE'S. Mmh hmm." Cathy's 'eyes' dart away, trying to focus on any other spot. Did speaking like one of your anomalies short circuit her or something? Does she see something in you? Or was she desperate for any kind of attention?
The less human a woman is, the more appealing they find Vincent. Not even clanker foids are immune. There was also that ETF robot gal in the gambling den way back.

>>6461307
>>6461308
NINE
>"They have not changed since I last saw them. Pitiful worms." [CORPORATE LIQUIDATION. ARC OFFICIALS and SPONSORSHIP REPS will suddenly be a lot more cordial around you. -15% discount to all catalog products, plus you’ll get access to some rare and other impossible to obtain ARC items.]
Nine secretly bullying corpos into being nicer to her favorite wage slave.
COLT
>"I will never awake from the American dream." [A PATRIOT'S DREAM. Does nothing. When the time comes, it'll awaken into a VERY powerful trait.]

LUCY
>For some reason, the flower growing from your wrist seems drawn to her. [MEEK UPGRADE. She’ll passively offer useful advice to either help or stop ANOMALY RESOLUTION. Whenever you receive an ARTIFACT, she'll gain a slight stat boost related to its properties]

HIDAKA
>"There's a 'flow' you can follow. Once you actually pay attention." [FINE-TUNED INSTINCTS. Hidaka will gain a sizable bonus to PERCEPTION checks, and she'll automatically detect if someone's currently watching you. Good for doing things ARC, or other companies, wouldn't approve of.]

>>6461307
>"They have not changed since I last saw them. Pitiful worms." [CORPORATE LIQUIDATION. ARC OFFICIALS and SPONSORSHIP REPS will suddenly be a lot more cordial around you. -15% discount to all catalog products, plus you’ll get access to some rare and other impossible to obtain ARC items.]

>"In between. There’s something in between." [MYSTERY MAN ATTUNEMENT. Due to his exposure to the MAN, Colt seems different somehow. Your group will gain a sizable bonus to all STEALTH rolls while Colt is in the party. The MAN will now cost no money to hire.]
I like the stealthmaxxing

>"O-one of the reps told me I-I had to d-diversify my lists and skills and uh well SACA is pretty nice and-" [WRENCH WENCH. Working on INANIMATE ANOMALIES will always cost 0 TIME TOKENS, and skill checks involving machinery or advanced technology will be far easier when she's around.]
WW sounds like the name of a pin-up piece
>>6461308
>"There's a 'flow' you can follow. Once you actually pay attention." [FINE-TUNED INSTINCTS. Hidaka will gain a sizable bonus to PERCEPTION checks, and she'll automatically detect if someone's currently watching you. Good for doing things ARC, or other companies, wouldn't approve of.]

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>6461471
Eh, same difference. As long as you're enjoying the quest that's all that matters. (Normally I'd say you'd be good for tiebreaks, but I just coinflip most of those now). Glad to have you along nontheless.

>>6461409
He can’t shiver in the cold forever. He'll have to do something sooner than later.

>>6461616
Anons? The horse is here. The horse is here. The horse is here. The horse is-

-----
TRAIT TALLY

NINE
SOMEONE HAS TO DO IT: 6
CORPORATE LIQUIDATION: 5
AWAKAENED IMPLANTS: 1
"This was the obviously correct choice."

COLT:
AMERICAN DREAM: 10
MYSTERY MAN: 2
The american dream will never die.

LUCY
MEEK UPGRADE: 4
BEST RESEARCHER: 1
WRENCH WENCH: 3
I <3 MOLD: 4
Ah. Seems like we need a coin flip to help her to decide how she feels.

HIDAKA
FINE TUNED INSTINCTS: 3
PRIDE: 5
PUNCTUALITY: 4
We're better. Stronger. You understand, right, Vincent?

Speaking about coinflips, basically everything has a majority aside from Lucy. Pretty fitting all things considered, but I'm not gonna badger a lurker for three hours to functionally flip a coin himself.
1 = MEEK UPGRADE
2 = I <3 MOLD
Whatever I get, I'll start writing.

>>6461307
>>"They have not changed since I last saw them. Pitiful worms." [CORPORATE LIQUIDATION. ARC OFFICIALS and SPONSORSHIP REPS will suddenly be a lot more cordial around you. -15% discount to all catalog products, plus you’ll get access to some rare and other impossible to obtain ARC items.]
>"In between. There’s something in between." [MYSTERY MAN ATTUNEMENT. Due to his exposure to the MAN, Colt seems different somehow. Your group will gain a sizable bonus to all STEALTH rolls while Colt is in the party. The MAN will now cost no money to hire.]
>"O-one of the reps told me I-I had to d-diversify my lists and skills and uh well SACA is pretty nice and-" [WRENCH WENCH. Working on INANIMATE ANOMALIES will always cost 0 TIME TOKENS, and skill checks involving machinery or advanced technology will be far easier when she's around.]
>"There's a 'flow' you can follow. Once you actually pay attention." [FINE-TUNED INSTINCTS. Hidaka will gain a sizable bonus to PERCEPTION checks, and she'll automatically detect if someone's currently watching you. Good for doing things ARC, or other companies, wouldn't approve of.]

>>6461667
dammit

>>6461668
Probably for the best you missed, since you would've caused another tie, kek.
Hey, there's going to be another vote coming up soon.

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The first thing you noticed changing is Colt's posture. It's a very slight change, almost imperceptible to the naked eye, so you almost don't see it at first. The muscles in his body are gradually, and you do mean GRADUALLY, loosening up. Like a pressure valve of stress has been opened, and his body is finally able to vent out over a decade of stress from his old job.

The barrel of his rifle reflects light in an odd manner, as if the light itself is bending to make the barrel 'shine' brighter.

He almost begins to say something, but he gets about halfway through the first word before he stops himself. "Nah. I ain't gonna do that." He addresses nobody in particular. "Speeches are for people who like the sound of their own voice too much."

"Vince." He addresses you with a uncharacteristically warm tone. "Don't wake up from your dream." Before you can answer, his attention shifts over to Hidaka. "So, hoochie mama-"

"Don't." "I had to try."
>+A PATRIOT'S DREAM

Lucy is still leaning against you for support. At least she has had a chance to solidify, now that she's no longer on the corporate stage. SLUMBERING WISH seems to be really interested in her all of a sudden. The flower is doing its best to comfort her. It is rubbing its petals against her face in a soothing motion, which only causes her flesh-sludge to coat its petals.

Your previously dormant ARTIFACTs are shaking inside your satchel, seemingly drawn to the mass of flesh-slime resting against you. It's not a physical force that's drawing them to her, you know that much. The answer to this strange reaction comes from Lucy herself as she speaks up.

"T-those g-guys back there w-were f-freaks. I-I, uhm, I s-shouldn't be saying that right now. I know. B-but, h-heck, t-the anomalies we w-work with are...better than them."

"I-I dunno, is that we-weird? Anomalies are s-simply...more human- uh! D-don't read into that."
>+MEEK UPGRADE!

"It is a statement with some merit." Nine cranes her head to the side in a way that almost looks painful. "Those who disregard their own humanity, to succumb to the thoughts of their reptilian brain, are less human than those who accept the chains of the human condition."

"Like our mutual friend, our self-sacrificial 'leader'. He who is ensnared by the chains from his new obligation as an ARC researcher, and from the very core of his own being."

"The hell are ya talking about?" Colt scoffs. "I don't see any chains."

"I am speaking in a metaphorical sense, of course, but you learn to sense certain things." Nine's gaze falls upon you. The blood coursing through your veins freezes solid. You keep a neutral, level expression even as your body locks. "Please, feel free to loosen your bindings."

"It would be in your best interest to rely on me. You can trust me. A leader needs a loyal advisor, after all." Is she trying to sound shady on purpose? No wonder she used to be an ARC executive.
>+SOMEONE HAS TO DO IT.

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Hidaka bristled at her masked coworker's voice. "We don't need an advisor." Pride creeps into her voice. A familiar kind of pride. The kind of pride you feel after working your ass off all day and seeing the results of your work.

"Your help is appreciated, yes. Don't let it get to your head though. Or, actually?" Hidaka flashes a toothy smile. "Nevermind. Let it go to your head. We're better than anyone here. Better than the corporations and their lap dogs. Better than the judges. They just don't know it yet."
>+SHIMMERING PRIDE!

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall." Nine seems to hold little interest in what Hidaka is saying. It knocks the winds out of Hidaka's sails for a moment. "Shall we leave? I grow tired of standing around, engaging in dialogue that will go nowhere."

"Finally, someone speakin' my language. Let's get the hell outta here."

"S-see y-you guys l-later." Lucy finally manages to solidify enough to stand on her own. She pulls away from you with a wet, sticky squelch. "I-I hope I-I'll see y-you again later, V-vincent."

Your other coworkers say their goodbyes to Lucy. You're already going to have someone tagging along during this next contract anyways. Now, it's just a matter of finding a way out of this damn meeting hall. You'll pick a random direction and hope to god that you'll find some way out of here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hY4r7menoek - LAYER 2

It took almost half an hour to find your way back into the main section of LAYER 2; that familiar maze of samey grey hallways that requires a map to even traverse. The exact details on how you left the meeting hall evade you. You're starting to suspect it's antimemetic in nature, since when you asked your coworkers about it?

None of them could give you a straight answer. Hidaka could only shrug, Nine is uncharacteristically quiet. Colt's the only one who seemed to have an actual answer.

"There's, like, this door in between two hallways. Like a gap between. We left through it, I think." Colt gestures to the path right behind you. You have no idea what you're talking about, there's no door anywhere within your line of sight.

"It would be in your best interest not to dwell on that thought." It took a second to register, but she actually sounded scared there.

Hidaka immediately opens her mouth, ready to question Nine. The sound of encroaching footsteps shuts her up before she even said a single syllable out. Everyone (except you) gets their weapons out, ready to fire upon the approaching stranger the second they turn around the corner.

The tension is immediately dissipated once you see who it is. You'd recognize that artificially red hair anywhere. God, it's been a while since you've seen her.

Ashton freezes up mid-stride when she sees that there's about four guns pointed at her. Your coworkers holster their weapons in the blink of an eye.

"wow!" She breaks the silence with a wispy laugh. "long day?"

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"We may or may not be a bit stir-crazy." You try your best to smile. It looks like you're grimacing in pain, or that you're being electrocuted as punishment for crimes against humanity.

"hehehehe." Still, it's enough to get a laugh out of the Harvester. "gosh, you don't say."

Her smile wanes slightly when she gets a better look at everyone standing before her. Even without her improved Harvester senses, she can certainly sense that everyone has gone through a lot today. Especially you, but that's par for the course. That's your role as a leader!

"you really do need to take better care of yourself." She closes the gap between the two of you. You flinch as her hand rests against your face. Her palm feels rough but gentle, at the same time. It's not a bad feeling. "have you even taken a break today or?"

"He slept for approximately thirty minutes, UTS time, during a shift."

Ashton shakes her head, muttering worried-sounding gibberish to herself. "please tell me you're done for the day."

"Uhhh, would you be mad if I said I had something to do?" You do everything in your power to make your smile more 'genuine' looking. It doesn't comfort her in the slightest.

"you're going to get yourself killed one of these days." Ashton softly caresses your cheek. You don't know how to feel about her touching you. It's not unpleasant, though. "can you promise me you're going to come back in one piece?"

"Y-"

She lowers her voice to an almost inaudible whisper. "and please, stop bleeding yourself dry. you're not cattle. i don't know why you do it but no matter the reason, it's not worth it."

"...Okay. I'll try." That's all you can promise her. You know that, worse comes to worst, you'll go back to your old ways. She senses the hesitation in your voice and for a moment, the two of you just look at each other. It feels nice having someone to worry about you. Someone who actually cares about how you're feeling.

"there you go." She pulls her hand away from your face. "so! do you guys need anything? i still got, like, hours on my patrol route so i probably can't join."

"What's his name again?" Hidaka's the first to speak up. "Angel? Looking for him. Something about Vincent's contract."

"oh. contracts, right, that stupid soldier- well! i talked to him about an hour ago. i think he's ready to meet you at a break room in layer 4." Great, that's where you're going next. "see ya guys later! see ya later, vincent!" Your friends let her pass by without any complaint, letting her fade into the mess of hallways behind them.

You're given about two seconds of silence before your patriotic friend breaks it. "Well, well, well. Look at the Vinmaster, getting all sorts of attention from the ladies."

"Shut up." There's no actual annoyance in your voice. "She's nice. That's all there is to it."

"If you wish to see it as such. Shall we actually get back to work?" Nine places a hand on her hip, shifting her posture slightly to accentuate her growing impatience.

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"Please." Whatever reservation Hidaka (rightfully) has over Nine, she puts them aside for now. "I agree with the masked one. Can we go already?"

Right, right, right. You can't get distracted by stupid things like 'people being nice to you'. You got a job you have to do. You let Nine borrow your map of LAYER 2, so she can lead the way.

Thankfully, it doesn't take long to find an elevator down to LAYER 4. The ride down was thankfully uneventful. You were worried that some nonsense would've happened to delay your ride, but at least you're given a break there.

You've dealt with LAYER 4's weird border patrol-esque system enough that it's frictionless at this point, so you're back to the grid-based series of corridors that make this place different from the other layers. "Alright. Follow me, and we shall arrive at our destination post-haste."

Nine practically breaks into a sprint the moment she finishes speaking. Colt immediately hauls ass after her, while you and Hidaka both lag behind. Neither of you are particularly great runners but you got enough endurance to keep a steady pace.

Hidaka struggles to keep up with you, so you have to slow down so she can keep pace with you. Honestly, you're shocked YOU have enough energy to run, let alone Hidaka and the others. At least you can blame your endless endurance on HARD TIMES or something.

You finally catch up with the others, with Hidaka practically collapsing against you as she tries to catch her breath. If the placard next to the door Nine's by is correct, it appears you have arrived at your destination. "Nine, did you REALLY have to make us run?"

"Trust the process."
"Fuck your 'process'." Hidaka wheezes. Her face is bright red from having to run after everything that's happened today.

Colt pounds his fist against the door. "Yo! Angel! It's us, c'mon, let us in."

"The door's open." Your brother's voice, quiet and reverent, calls out from the closed door. "It isn't locked, if that's your concern."

"No, like, isn't it polite for a host or whatever to open the door for his guests?" Colt leans against the wall right next to the door. "Ain't priests supposed to be pious and kind and shit like that? Pray the lord, blessed be?"

An exhausted sigh that sounds like one you'd make. "Child, is this really the hill you want to die on?"

"I'm fifteen years older than you, ya can't be calling me-"

Nine interrupts this weird attempt at a dick measuring contest with one simple action: actually opening the door like a human. With one twist of her gloved hand, what would you know, the door opens. Wow. If only Colt could learn the mystical arts of 'doorknob mechanics."

Colt huffs air through his nose. "Way to ruin the mood." He hisses through clenched teeth. You head inside without humoring what Colt said. You hope Angel has something actually useful about your latest target.

https://youtu.be/1FCKV91m-0g - ANGEL

The first thing you pick up on is the aroma of scented wax.

The breakroom has been completely infested with candles of every shade, shape and size. There's enough light inside the room to snuff out your shadow completely. It's almost surreal walking around and noticing that you're not casting a shadow.

Your flower is absolutely eating up the candlelight. You have to yank your arm back, so the dumb flower doesn't set itself ablaze.

The only source of light that isn't coming from a candle is the dull teal embers from your younger brother's cigarette. Teal smoke leaks from the lit end, blanketing the warm candlelight in a faint blueish-green haze. Your brother's body, from his jet black hair to his tanned skin, is covered in flecks of candle wax.

"Before you ask, my brothers and sisters, this is not something wholly of my own will." A pained, contorted smile worms its way onto his face. God, is that the smile you gave Ashton. You hope not. "For it is the Will of a Sponsorship Company. Lux and Wicks, to be exact."

"It is fine. We know the pains of dealing with unruly sponsorships."

"Of course, of course. It is the nature of the beast, isn't it? To be forced to indulge and humor the sinful actions of companies far stronger, and far more powerful, than any of us." Angel takes the cigarette out of his mouth. He flecks a few embers onto the table he's sitting at. "Let us get to brass tacks, shall we?"

Your coworkers join him at the table, while you elect to stay standing. He reaches into a small bag hanging off his robe with one hand while his other hand continues to fleck ashes onto a nearby candle.

His free hand sweeps across the table, leaving behind a trail of hastily scrawled handmade maps. They're clearly made from repurposed pages from old scripture copies, considering the yellowed pages and the bible verses still visible on them.

"I was made aware of a tattooed yurodivy who has been attempting to contact forces beyond our control. He has been harassing my fellow priests on this layer and the layer below." He vaguely gestures at the floor. "One that a certain 'Kevin' told me you've already seen?"

Oh, you completely forgot about that kid. You hope he's doing okay. "That's about the gist of it. My job is to deal with him. Whether that means killing him or not, that's up to me."

"I would prefer to keep him alive, so he may repent. It is better to allow someone to walk down the path of forgiveness than to fully shut them off, wouldn't you agree?" He gives you a knowing look as he asks you that question. Ha. Right, you two still aren't fully on board with each other. You can't really blame him, considering your past together.

"I understand. So, I'm guessing you staked out where he's been?"

"Indeed. I was waiting for backup before moving in." He cracks a smile as he looks at your assorted group of freaks and misfits. "I trust that you brought the right people for the job?"

"Of course he did." "Obviously, duh." "Mmh."

"Right. Now, here are the locations I last saw, or heard about, him"

"Oh, and for my brother, I have something special for him." Angel reaches his hand back into the satchel. "LUX told me to give you a 'special product', for some pitch you did? I am unaware of the details. I simply follow their whims when I'm contractually obligated to."

Angel draws everyone's attention back to the maps.

You're actually impressed. Your brother can pull his own weight when he needs to. These maps should help narrow down where you need to look, and heck, you're getting a gift too? Sweet.

Which location do you want to head to first?
>RITUAL SITE. Found inside an abandoned computer lab. You've seen this before, on a CCTV system. (Allows you to get a better understanding of WHAT he's trying to do, exactly.)
>ARTIFACT ARCHIVE #L2-A2. For storing and containing unstable and identity-corroding artifacts. (Angel says he's been trying to break into here a lot.)
>ABANDONED CHURCH. Neglected after its owner died. (Likely has some tools and equipment you could use to deal with the madman. Angel would probably like going here.)
>MADMAN DEN #2-1. One of the many small hiding spots the madman hides in. Not officially part of ARC's facility. (It might give you some very useful insight into the madman's deranged mental state.)
>FORMER ASSOCIATE'S LAB. The workplace of a person who once knew the madman. (Might offer a way to peacefully deal with the MADMAN?)
>SPLIT THE PARTY. (Choose two locations, and assign who goes where. There's you, Nine, Hidaka, Colt and Angel.)

What 'LUX AND WICKS' candle do you want? Choose one. These are pretty rare candles, you might not get another one of these for a while.
>ST. SIMEON'S CANDLE. We are fools for Christ's sake. (Passive. Allows you to extract an additional ARTIFACT from the next anomaly you resolve.)
>ST. PADRE'S CANDLE. Wash away the burden of life. (One use. Fully heals all MENTAL and PHYSICAL HEALTH.)
>ST. DAMIAN'S CANDLE. Sleep well. (Two uses. Against a contained anomaly, it immediately raises their MOOD to full, and prevents it from lowering or increasing for the rest of a shift.)
>ST. MUERTE'S CANDLE. Memento Mori. (One use. Unknown properties. Will consume itself on use, when the time is right.)

>>6461742
Always trust ze bugs. You should love ze bugs. You should eat ze bugs.