“Well, I feel that it isn’t entirely fair to say ‘fan’ as I have yet to attend a concert... Ah! Not that the ticket price isn’t worth it, just, well, I’m sure you know as well as anyone how fast they move even as the price keeps climbing… Ahem, regardless, I discovered long ago that having music playing in the background when I’m working on a project can be beneficial in a multitude of ways. However, lyrical music can sometimes be counterproductive, as it occasionally shifts into becoming a distraction instead. Also, the overall tone can certainly affect my mood, and therefore my thinking process as well.” While Miss Calculated is still only starting to warm up for her gushing, she and Josephine have begun walking away from the rest of the gathered group, with Josephine making an amused smile and occasionally nodding.
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In short order, and despite his initial intentions, Lucas cedes the lead over to Mark. Between Mark’s superior knowledge and experience, it would be foolish not to, and Lucas’s enhanced proprioception aids in his role as the follower enough to compensate for some of the performative ability gap between himself and Mark.Not that something being too foolish has necessarily stopped Lucas all that often in the past, if ever.Jonathan manages quite a few decent pictures between the dancing duo and the prodigal pair, and even sneaks in a few candid shots of Mikah, Miss Masher, Miss Chievous, and 23. Apparently, at some unknown point, Dan has wandered off again while no one was paying attention. One photo that stands out, in particular, is of Miss Chievous with
As the melody-induced gyrations continue further, 23 rotates its head to stare directly at the newly arrived individual. Past due for a little oil, there is a slight creak from its movements, and the young man immediately looks over at it. Noticing that 23 is looking right at him, he flashes a smile and raises up one finger in a ‘shh’ gesture before turning his attention back to Josephine.Mikah has glanced at the recent arrival a few times with an amused smile, obviously looking forward to seeing people’s reactions once they realize he’s there.Considering that Lucas would rather die than be outdone; when he can tell the song is winding up for a flourish before ending, he leads Mark for a spin, and during the return, he takes on a wide stance, crouching slightly. Once Mark has returned, Lucas supports
Upon the humans finally reaching a lull in their nonsense, 23 walks over closer to Miss Calculated. Its movements are overt enough that she notices, leading to her turning around to face it with a questioning look.“If you would be so kind, Mary, would you come with me to inspect your prospective temporary workspace? It will still take some time before it will be suitable for use, however, it would perhaps be best for you to evaluate if my proposed arrangement is to your liking? I am fairly confident that my estimates will suit your needs, but it would be most efficient to make the confirmations in advance, in the event of a miscalculation on my part. ...Oh. That… was not intentional.” After making its request, 23 locks up a bit after its accidental pun. While Lucas is still leisurely taking his sweet-ass time before finally joining the others in the brotherhood HQ-destined elevator, Mark, Miss Calculated and 23 have already left to go examine 23’s instruction set progress. Unable to continue using Mikah as a walking handbag, Mark had to settle for stuffing his phone halfway down the front of his dress, keeping it pinned in place by virtue of the dress’s snug fit.Standing inside the waiting elevator, Jonathan’s tense expression finally relaxes a little bit. He successfully finished his nerve-wracking task of passing on the contents of their ‘totally normal and definitely not incited by a system’s request’ conversation to Mikah, thankfully managing to skip the extra challenging modifier of having to actually say it out loud.“Hmm, I tI'd Like to Change My Reincarnation Subscription, Please Ch163 - Planning Out Mission: Easily Possible
As Mikah is wrapping up his follow-up text for Mark, he suddenly looks up with an apologetic expression.“Oh, you’re absolutely right, Marsha, I’m so sorry guys. I probably should have left a long time ago, getting scatterbrained like this is one of my early warning signs of an incoming bout of power fatigue.” Upon sheepishly admitting this, Mikah goes to reach for the button for the 13th floor, but he is interrupted by 11 suddenly speaking up in front of the doorway to the elevator once more.“Excuse me. It is highly recommended that all of you consider wearing protective face coverings as well. After the… Incident on the 15th floor, a few service bots that were active on floors 14 and 13 similarly activated the climate controls, with the same results. An auxiliary unit is on its way to t
While the elevator is in transit, Mikah sighs softly and reaches up with one hand, gently kneading his forehead for a few seconds.“Hey, you okay, man? If you need us to give you a few minutes alone or something, it’s cool.” As Lucas notices these movements on Mikah’s part, he speaks up without even pausing to give it any thought, eliciting a small smile from Mikah.“It’s fine, I’m fine. It’s nothing to worry about.” While saying this, Mikah can’t help feeling self-conscious about his actions upon having attention brought to them, so he lowers his hand and turns his line of sight to the steadily climbing floor counter above the door.&ldqu
Upon nearly reaching the end of the corridor, Mikah stops in front of the very last of the doors set into the right-side wall. Perforce of their current positioning, Lucas can’t see the nameplate mounted on the door that Mikah is in the process of opening, but he can see the one on the lone door at the end of the corridor. The visible nameplate is a large golden rectangle affixed to the solitary door at eye level, with a very ornate scrollwork engraving that spells out ‘Mind Flare’.Once Mikah has opened his targeted door, he freezes after taking half of a step into the room. After making a confused “Huh?” he hesitates for a few moments
Once Mikah has ensured that the desk drawer is securely shut, he wheels his chair back a short distance, getting ready to stand up. However, rather than getting up, he stays in place, visibly lost in thought for a few moments before finally speaking up.“You know… Isn’t it rather, hmm, fortunate, I suppose? That the bots decided to test out the climate system in advance, with enough time to report the results to us accordingly? That we were caught just in time to put in a request for the masks and everything, mere moments before heading up there ourselves? Sure, coincidences happen all the time, but if you don’t mind my asking, do you have any plans that involve Alley Cat anytime soon?” Once Mikah puts his thoughts in