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Post by NIKI on Jun 9, 2023 1:40:24 GMT
Ah. Of course. Yes. I was inspired by a desire to acutely iterate installed base in order to exclusively plagiarize interdependent process improvements and customize heartfelt meta-services, with an eye towards smoothly conceptualizing cross-media employers so that viewers could sharply embrace fluffy growth strategies." Monty blinks. "And Vermeer." "Fluffy Vermeer......." Tangie says to herself, trying to make sense of any of the words that were just spoken. She blinks, her attention drifting to the plate of 'Chocolate chip cookies'. "Mr. Montague, did you bring those to share with all of us? How nice of you! I wouldn't mind trying one... by the way... Unless they're also performance art, of course. I get it."
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Post by Bad Player on Jun 9, 2023 1:55:39 GMT
"Y-Yes. Of course they're for everyone. Surely one person would not be able to eat this entire platter. Surely not." Monty presents the cookies forward for the taking.
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Post by NIKI on Jun 9, 2023 2:01:02 GMT
"Wonderful! Don't mind if I do then... Thank you very much!" Tangie reaches for and grabs a cookie from the platter, despite Scott's warnings. She inspects it closely before eating it, though.
"Hmmm..."
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Post by Bad Player on Jun 9, 2023 2:01:36 GMT
It's a chocolate chip cookie.
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Post by satan on Jun 9, 2023 2:02:53 GMT
Scott continues to not believe they are chocolate chip cookies, even as he watches from afar.
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Post by JaytheBluPirate on Jun 9, 2023 2:07:09 GMT
Delta nods after hearing Monty confirms what kind of cookies that he baked. The man takes a cookie before nibbling on it. "Not bad."
Then he went to pour himself some coffee. He takes a sip of his coffee before he nibbles on the cookie.
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Post by Safy on Jun 9, 2023 2:15:05 GMT
Enid looked in wonder of Monty's artistic abilities. “So talented…” She turned her attention to the cookies, "Well.....uh....." She trailed off, deciding not to go for one, feeling awkward just taking it. She wasn't a huge sweets person, anyways.
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Post by NIKI on Jun 9, 2023 2:49:19 GMT
Tangerine happily eats the cookie. Yay !
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Post by JoyTheBard (Slezak) on Jun 9, 2023 4:14:27 GMT
Enid whimpered, still mourning the loss of her favorite coffee after it was dumped before she could get some with all the commotion. "But.....Banana pepper....is the best flavor....." She muttered to herself, suddenly feeling self conscious, looking to the trash can, "Where I belong....." "Ah! Thank you! I'll make sure to do that!" Fran answered, fidgeting with her new gauze. "Um. I liked the banana pepper blend. Well, the sip I got to have at least..." "D-don't mess....with it too much!" She held her hands up, "You must let it recover…..” Her eyes lit up though at the next comment she made,"It is good coffee ….isn't it? I also enjoy it with some salt and pepper too instead of sugar.....and some chili flakes…..” She then got a hold of herself muttered, “s-sorry…. I am used to people uh…finding my tastes weird, mostly…. Apologies....uh..." She made eye contact with her shoes. This conversation made Josephine look over pretty fast. "N-No, Enid, I-," she stammered, now feeling guilty for having dissed the coffee earlier. She quickly found Enid's page of notes and began scribbling something, before putting the papers away and standing up once again. She made her way over to where Enid was standing, near the person handing out cookies. She idly took one herself, muttering a "thank you," toward Monty. She addressed Enid with an apologetic look. "Enid, it . . . it is I who should apologize. I had no idea that was your favorite flavor, and my disparaging comments toward it were uncalled for. I promise I'll give it another honest try. As you may know, I was able to acquire a single-serve coffee maker for my office. I'll have a cup of banana-pepper coffee prepared for each of us for our next session. I'll even add . . . your preferred mixins . . . to your cup as you come in." As much as Josephine tried to hide it, she couldn't completely obscure a small shudder at the thought of salt and pepper coming anywhere near any type of coffee. "... Josephine, I think I'll have to cancel my counseling session tomorrow. I need to hanged from the ceiling by a rope and pelted with paintballs." "Um-!" Josephine's train of thought was completely derailed by that statement, but it certainly grabbed her attention, she responded at double the speed she would normally talk. "I cannot force you to attend a session without your consent, and you may cancel for any reason provided we find some time to discuss scheduling a session in the future, but if I might make a suggestion to please reconsider partaking in this 'art piece?' That activity sounds very dangerous, and as it's an out-of-work activity that could cause you injury, I also suggest you consult your direct manager about it, and humbly request you ask for a Safety Team member to be on standby just in case something happens." Realizing she was still holding a cookie, she brought it up to her mouth and took a bite from it. The chewing motion helped calm her thoughts ever so slightly as she awaited responses.
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Post by pancakes on Jun 9, 2023 7:11:47 GMT
Carbon slides in from off the screen, no one really noticing him get up from his seat. He took a cookie and stashed it away in one of his pockets. Without a word, he goes to sit back down and proceeds to stare at a corner in the wall.
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Post by Panda on Jun 9, 2023 9:46:16 GMT
Andrea eyed Carbon suspiciously, surprised he'd managed to slip away from her like that. Definitely some kind of strange Abnormality ability. What eldritch purpose did he have for that cookie?
She didn't make any motion to grab a cookie for herself. That would require going up in front of everyone, and besides, she was content without.
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Post by Neotelenta on Jun 9, 2023 11:16:13 GMT
Vincent takes a cookie and eats it like a coin being put in a vending machine.
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Post by dootdoot on Jun 9, 2023 14:53:47 GMT
"Um-!" Josephine's train of thought was completely derailed by that statement, but it certainly grabbed her attention, she responded at double the speed she would normally talk. "I cannot force you to attend a session without your consent, and you may cancel for any reason provided we find some time to discuss scheduling a session in the future, but if I might make a suggestion to please reconsider partaking in this 'art piece?' That activity sounds very dangerous, and as it's an out-of-work activity that could cause you injury, I also suggest you consult your direct manager about it, and humbly request you ask for a Safety Team member to be on standby just in case something happens." Realizing she was still holding a cookie, she brought it up to her mouth and took a bite from it. The chewing motion helped calm her thoughts ever so slightly as she awaited responses. "Right. Right. There's a lot of permissions to get in order to do this... I should get started on some of them when I go up to Control later today." Fran nodded, not exactly listening to what Josephine said. She grabbed her clipboard and scribbled down several memos on an already packed looking schedule. "... Has anyone seen Debra? I'm going to need her permission to get hanged from the ceiling by a rope and pelted with paintballs."
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Post by notbadplayer on Jun 9, 2023 15:11:50 GMT
Greg finishes walking around the room in loops and turns his attention to the cookies being presented. He waggles his fingers and says "Don't mind if I do~" before taking one and eating it.
He thanks Monty. "You bailed me out back there."
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Post by Safy on Jun 9, 2023 15:57:56 GMT
This conversation made Josephine look over pretty fast. "N-No, Enid, I-," she stammered, now feeling guilty for having dissed the coffee earlier. She quickly found Enid's page of notes and began scribbling something, before putting the papers away and standing up once again. She made her way over to where Enid was standing, near the person handing out cookies. She idly took one herself, muttering a "thank you," toward Monty. She addressed Enid with an apologetic look. "Enid, it . . . it is I who should apologize. I had no idea that was your favorite flavor, and my disparaging comments toward it were uncalled for. I promise I'll give it another honest try. As you may know, I was able to acquire a single-serve coffee maker for my office. I'll have a cup of banana-pepper coffee prepared for each of us for our next session. I'll even add . . . your preferred mixins . . . to your cup as you come in." As much as Josephine tried to hide it, she couldn't completely obscure a small shudder at the thought of salt and pepper coming anywhere near any type of coffee. ".....!!!” Enid threw her hands up in the air over her face and looked away, until she noticed who approached her, "Oh....Josephine.....apologies….I was just…surprised …uh, “ she then relaxed, blinking a bit. “H-huh….? N-no need! Though, I would appreciate a cup….” She muttered, “but you don’t need too…..” "Right. Right. There's a lot of permissions to get in order to do this... I should get started on some of them when I go up to Control later today." Fran nodded, not exactly listening to what Josephine said. She grabbed her clipboard and scribbled down several memos on an already packed looking schedule. "... Has anyone seen Debra? I'm going to need her permission to get hanged from the ceiling by a rope and pelted with paintballs." Overhearing Fran’s insistence on doing such a dangerous activity, Enid tried to hardened her tone but also went more quiet, mumbling over her words, “As …much as I appreciate the beautiful art around the office at least, uh… mmhhm… as a member of the safety team, I am strongly advising against such activity…. Without formal training….. it is dangerous….” And she muttered the last part even quieter, “and sounds like a headache…for our team….” She then fidgeted with her large glasses awkwardly.
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Post by dootdoot on Jun 9, 2023 16:24:57 GMT
Overhearing Fran’s insistence on doing such a dangerous activity, Enid tried to hardened her tone but also went more quiet, mumbling over her words, “As …much as I appreciate the beautiful art around the office at least, uh… mmhhm… as a member of the safety team, I am strongly advising against such activity…. Without formal training….. it is dangerous….” And she muttered the last part even quieter, “and sounds like a headache…for our team….” She then fidgeted with her large glasses awkwardly. "Right. I'm so sorry. I wouldn't want to cause even more trouble for the safety team than I already have..." Fran nodded along. She quickly crossed out 'breakfast' from her schedule to add 'formal training for being hanged from the ceiling by a rope and pelted with paintballs'. Saying no to this project did not appear to be a thought she was capable of contemplating.
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Post by Kachu on Jun 9, 2023 17:45:53 GMT
Vincent takes a cookie and eats it like a coin being put in a vending machine. Saber takes a cookie but he doesn't eat it right away. Instead he tears off a tiny little piece and puts it in his mouth. One tiny piece at a time. "My, Jeremey was right..." Saber mumbles after he's eaten half the cookie in tiny little pieces, getting crumbs all over himself. "It is better this way..." He stares silently at the cookie in his hand, smiling. It's pretty wholesome. People may or may not know Jeremey as an insane man who mumbles to himself in the halls and always asks everyone (Abnormalities included) strange questions like 'How do you feel about oil?' or 'do you think we can eat toothpaste?'
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Post by Safy on Jun 9, 2023 17:58:39 GMT
"Right. I'm so sorry. I wouldn't want to cause even more trouble for the safety team than I already have..." Fran nodded along. She quickly crossed out 'breakfast' from her schedule to add 'formal training for being hanged from the ceiling by a rope and pelted with paintballs'. Saying no to this project did not appear to be a thought she was capable of contemplating. “Oh.....no not.…. Just leave it to the people who already have training…” she whimpered, “J-J….” Enid gave up, figuring the welfare team worker, was better trained for issues on the mental side. She just deals with the aftermath of such issues. Saber takes a cookie but he doesn't eat it right away. Instead he tears off a tiny little piece and puts it in his mouth. One tiny piece at a time. "My, Jeremey was right..." Saber mumbles after he's eaten half the cookie in tiny little pieces, getting crumbs all over himself. "It is better this way..." He stares silently at the cookie in his hand, smiling. It's pretty wholesome. People may or may not know Jeremey as an insane man who mumbles to himself in the halls and always asks everyone (Abnormalities included) strange questions like 'How do you feel about oil?' or 'do you think we can eat toothpaste?' "Eep.....eh?!" Enid was again jumpscared by the presence of a new person approaching the cookies, and seeing who it was froze up. “EHHHH….!!!” She looked at the plate of cookies again, thinking to herself, “M-maybe I’ll try one then… if Saber thinks they’re good…” She reached out to grab one in an awkward motion, her hand shaking so badly she fumbled it. “Oh no....sorry Monty...I dropped one…..” She went to pick it up, then stepped on it instead. "N-no......apologies……!” She blinked away some tears in her eyes, muttering multiple apologies.
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Post by Panda on Jun 9, 2023 18:47:38 GMT
Andrea bowed her head in silent sympathy. She'd been there before.
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Post by Collin1002 on Jun 10, 2023 0:37:56 GMT
Finn's attention seemed to have shifted completely to Carbon, now furiously studying the odd man.
"Subject took a cookie and is now staring intently at a wall... If subjects starts drooling, could be a sign of lack of intellect..." he mumbled to himself.
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Post by JoyTheBard (Slezak) on Jun 10, 2023 3:10:23 GMT
Josephine sighed when Fran doubled down on being a part of the art piece. What are you gonna do, though? Considering it a lost cause, Josephine turned to face Enid once again, feeling bad that she was pretty much the only person Josephine had been interacting with during her break. Still, social anxiety.
"Breathe. Breathe, Enid, and disengage if you need to. I can bring you another cookie in a couple minutes if you want," Josephine suggested, trying to keep her voice low as to not agitate Enid further.
Glancing Finn and Carbon out of the corner of her eye, Josephine reminded herself that she still needed to make a page on this strange, new person--Carbon--and talk with him when he seems more open to doing so.
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Post by Kachu on Jun 10, 2023 3:46:53 GMT
The group continues for some time, chatting away in the break room. Though a few step out for work, they're found coming back before long, hoping to either drink some more coffee or have another snack. At one point Saber steps out and does not come back. A few others follow suit, though everyone remains in the Information Department. Everything kept at its usual pace in Lunares, though you can't ever go too long before something causes a mess. ---------- An alarm blared through the cold unfeeling hallways of the Information department. From a distance, those in the break room could hear the loud hissing of machinery, and the heavy sound that's made when metal strikes metal. LOCKDOWN INITIATED Interrupting the alarms is a cold, robotic voice. This couldn't be good. Anyone who was absent from the break room before finds themselves heading back, to meet with the group and determine what's going on. Saber is absent. "A-A lockdown?" Fran glances around her peers in a panic. "I knew I didn't deserve this break...!" "What's happening...? This doesn't really sound too good..." Greg mumbles, looking for someone who might know more than him on the matter. "Let's see what's going on outside, everyone!" Vincent gestures for the group to follow him, taking charge, leading everyone out into the halls of the Information department. Just as the voice spoke of, it seems like there was a special kind of lockdown going on. Halls between sections of the Information department were free to use, but any entrance to another section of the facility was completely blocked off. No amount of poking around the controls or banging would make any difference. "Hello? HELLO??" Josephine cries out, nearly shouting at the door in front of her. "Can anyone hear us?!" Finn groans. "Obviously not. Come on, we need to figure out what's happening here." The group continues to roam the halls, seemingly being the only 16 left in the entire department. Eventually, turning a corner, they find this next hall's lights are flickering. Slowly, with the few Disciplinary Members leading the group along, they walk down the hallway. Several containment units are stationed here, but seemingly none of them have breached. They walk past the containment unit of O-06-47, a note on the display next to the door showing its given title "Dream Catcher." Following that they walk past another, this one Fran knows well. "Man-Eating Sandwich... Ah, what's that in the distance?" The group hurries past the next containment unit, the one for the Scary Grabber, before arriving outside T-01-66's containment unit. The display granting access to enter the unit blinks on and off, showing a newly entered name: "Lost Prophet." The display is coated in blood and bloody handprints, leading a trail down to the floor in the middle of the hall. With his head bashed in, and a steel cross pierced through his back, Saber's still, bloodied corpse is pinned down to the steel floor.
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Post by Kachu on Jun 10, 2023 3:47:10 GMT
"No!" Enid shouts, running over to Saber's side, quickly being followed by the others behind them.
"What a vivid sight..." Osborne grumbles, a hand to his chin as he observes the scene in front of him.
"Who'd do this? How could this even happen? We've checked the whole department, nothing's been breaching!" Delta frowns and glances around the hall.
The echoing sound of heels meeting the cold floor slowly grows louder and louder. Turning the corner, everyone knows this sight all too well.
Hephaestus, the powerful supercomputer AI, smiles at the group from a distance. She approaches them slowly and cautiously, only giving everyone a gentle wave.
"So this is the situation at hand? Oh dear, oh dear indeed..." Her tone betrays her words, as she doesn't sound too distraught over the death of the Information Team's captain.
Carbon flicks his wrists, displaying a lovely confused face in Hephaestus' direction.
"Why is there a lockdown for one death, you mean?" Hephaestus sighs. "Well, if you all simply must know..."
"We're the only ones currently in this whole department. Now, I'm not sure if this was the decision of the manager, or some strange failsafe, or what, but for one reason or another... The system's trapped each of us inside here! Isn't that wonderful?"
She shuts her eyes and smiles wide, seemingly unafraid of the circumstances everyone's in. "As soon as this guy kicked the bucket," she gestures to Saber with a gentle wave of her hand. "A threat to Lunares was detected here, in this very department. It's not too common that something like this happens, you know? I doubt any of you even remember this happening before! Not that it matters."
She steps closer to Saber's corpse, in between the group of sixteen, standing right in a pool of the man's blood. "You're all good workers, right? So I shouldn't have to say this more than once. Just tell me which of you did this, and we'll all be on our way. The rest of us, I mean. The culprit will be... reprimanded."
Everyone glances at each other nervously. Though some of them mumble something akin to an alibi, nobody outright confesses to anything.
Hephaestus's eye twitches, but she still smiles wide. "I see. So you understand that, until this situation is resolved, nobody is allowed to leave? And that, if you lot are locked down for too long, the whole operation we're running here will be-"
The AI's voice is cut off by another alarm, and the voice on the speaker from earlier. "FIVE THREATS TO LUNARES HAVE BEEN DETECTED IN THE INFORMATION DEPARTMENT." "THE DEPARTMENT WILL REMAIN IN LOCKDOWN UNTIL EACH THREAT HAS BEEN ELIMINATED." "IF ALL THREATS HAVE NOT BEEN TERMINATED IN NINETY-SIX HOURS, THE ENTIRE DEPARTMENT WILL BE PURGED."
"I see, the system explained it for me! How lovely."
"You all heard that, right? Fess up before it's too late, will you?" Hephaestus glares at the group, impatiently tapping her foot in a puddle of Saber's blood. "Don't try and be a hero, either. That system of ours is even smarter than I am, it'll know if you're lying just to save a few friends, or whatever."
She does not seem very pleased with the current situation.
"...FINE! Figure all this out yourselves, then! Whatever! But don't take too long, I don't think anyone WANTS to be incinerated!" She crosses her arms and pouts, stomping her foot and splashing blood onto some nearby employees.
(Everyone can now make their first actions! Please do so in your role PM within the next 24 hours. But if you're a Vanilla player, guess again! Please check your Role PM, you might have received a Factional Role! Once everyone's got their actions in, the first Cycle of the game can begin properly. Sorry for the rocky start!)
(The role list has also been updated! It'll make an appearance in the game soon, this is just here now to show one important thing, being the titular Keyholder role!) [#spoiler=Public Role List:]Cat: 0110100110000101101000111 Wolf: 0011100000100011011011101 Lamb: 0011100110001001010001110 Eagle: 1010111101101001001100100 Fox: 0010100001110001001001111 Monkey: 1101111011111011101111011 Snake: 0110000001111010010000100 Parrot: 1010110100110011010001011
Keyholder: Visits one player. Learns the names of everyone who visits the target. Upon their death, the Employees will lose the Cycle after the Midnight Phase. This role may only be possessed by Vanilla Employees. ???: 0100000100010010000001001[/spoiler]
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Post by Bad Player on Jun 10, 2023 4:05:34 GMT
Monty looks around a bit, still holding the cookie platter. "Will this take long? I am very busy and have lots of work to do in other sectors. Yes. Definitely."
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Post by satan on Jun 10, 2023 4:05:56 GMT
"Great. Fantastic. Just what we all need," Scott groused as he grumpily pulled out a far more heavy-duty mop and bucket. "Five randos who just so happen to be among us, and an Abnormality on the loose that isn't Carbon over here. Oh, yeah, totally what my day needed. Just needed to be spiced up with a little MURDER, 'cause it clearly wasn't boring enough already!"
He started moping up the blood, pushing and pulling on the long handle with ease, still grumbling loudly and often about his job, how people generally didn't care for leaving small puddles that were easy to clean up, or even choosing to die in really horrid locations for cleaning. Like the inside of an Abnormality's cell.
"Whatever," he finally grumbled to himself, quieting down. "I'll just do my damn job. Then find something else to clean. It'll be fine. Hell, I'd welcome true death by this point..."
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Post by JaytheBluPirate on Jun 10, 2023 4:18:59 GMT
"This is just... unbelievable!" Delta snarls as he glances around at the other co-workers. "About this new abnormality... Lost Prophet, was it? The hell is that?"
"Given the fact that there's 5 threats within the sixteen of us. This might be a bit difficult." He ponders over it for a bit before looking to Vincent. "Vinny? What's your thoughts on this?"
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Post by dootdoot on Jun 10, 2023 4:25:16 GMT
Monty looks around a bit, still holding the cookie platter. "Will this take long? I am very busy and have lots of work to do in other sectors. Yes. Definitely." "... Can I have a cookie now? I really want a cookie now." Fran asked.
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Post by Safy on Jun 10, 2023 4:28:20 GMT
Enid stood silently, looking down at the blood on her from getting too close to Saber’s corpse. She had nothing to say.
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Post by notbadplayer on Jun 10, 2023 4:37:54 GMT
Greg shrieks at the sight of his boss's corpse. He stands still in shock for a bit, then after Hephaestus's spiel, he runs up to Saber's corpse and checks for the pulse. It's fruitless, as he doesn't know how to check a pulse and Saber is extremely obviously dead already. There's a rare look of despair on his face, and his entire body is shaking like a jackhammer. He looks around the room and notices the general lack of a reaction and his eyes widen a bit in... something like recognition?
He rapidly stops shaking and his face twists into a slight smile with movements so angular and jarring you'd expect to hear bones crunching as it occurred. He stands up and casually backs away from the corpse to rejoin the group.
"Uh, heh, sorry for the overreaction guys!" He lets out a cheerful chuckle and rubs the back of his head like an anime character.
"So the system knows there's 5 bad guys, but doesn't know who they are? But it WILL know if we get them wrong and will punish us? Doesn't really make sense, it's kind of like doing your taxes... Do you guys think this is like, a training exercise? Maybe this is a fake corpse, too!" He gestures toward the pile of flesh on the floor that used to be Saber.
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Post by JoyTheBard (Slezak) on Jun 10, 2023 5:01:22 GMT
"S-Saber . . . !"
A corpse--a gruesome one at that--was not an uncommon sight to anyone working for a company like Lunares. Josephine felt herself getting a bit lightheaded. Still, seeing someone who was so lively mere minutes ago lying cold on the ground never gets easy, especially in Josephine's line of work, where you very quickly come to learn intimate details about a person's psyche--at least, what they decide to tell you and what Lunares shares with you, employee privacy be damned.
"If anyone needs help working through this difficult, gruesome situation, you have my . . . support." Her words, ingrained into her through corporate training, came out with little enthusiasm. The recitation caught in Josephine's throat, however, being overshadowed by what would seem like callous reactions to the scene from her colleagues, but she knew better that this is just how people learn to act when they're exposed to death to the point of desensitization. Except Greg's initial reaction, at least at first, which strangely brought Josephine a bit of warmth before it too was dissipated by his facial expression did an . . . about face, figuratively speaking.
"No, Greg, it's a perfectly okay reaction to have," Josephine uttered in his vague direction, "In fact, hold onto it and talk to me about it later if you want to. I'm here to help . . . you guys . . . through this."
Josephine found herself crouching down next to Enid, inches away from what remains of the Information Team captain. One wonders who needs whose comfort now.
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