For the remainder of their admittedly short trip to the 8th floor, Lucas incessantly provides 427 with a seminar on how totally awesome Vikings, and therefore also their beards, are. Thanks to it being a mental lecture, he doesn’t even have to pause to breathe.
Poor 427 can’t even get a word in edgewise. The entire time 427 is wishing he didn’t say anything, it was better when Lucas was just being wistful about winsome whiskers.
Lucas’s mental monologue is finally interrupted when, after they’ve already exited the elevator to step out onto the 8th floor; Jonathan seems to suddenly teleport from being a few steps in front of him, to then suddenly being a foot to the left of his initial position instead, now facing a slightly different direction
By the time Lucas has finished fussing with his collar enough to make it stay popped upright for easier tie access, the recently arrived elevator’s doors have finished sliding open. The first to walk out of the elevator is Mark, followed by Miss Calculated, and then 23. Whereas both Mark and Miss Calculated are empty-handed, 23 is carrying an armload of boomerangs, two cloth masks, and, unsurprisingly, Mark’s phone.Upon noticing them, Lucas raises up his left arm to wave enthusiastically at them. While doing so, he shouts out “Hey guys, over here!” to bring their attention to the little lounge area off to the side that he and Jonathan are occupying. He’s fast enough that he cuts off the leaving service bot before it could even begin to react to their presence. Lucas slaps his hands against each other a few times to knock any residual dusty bits off of them, then goes to finally start following the patiently waiting bot.“Heh, anywho, catch ya guys in a bit.” Lucas drops this as he goes to leave, taking one step before Jonathan glances up at him, then the chair he’s leaving behind.“Um, y-your jacket..?” When Jonathan asks this, Lucas stops and spins in place, bending over to reach out and grab his suit jacket off the back of the chair, then casually draping it over his left arm.“Right, I should keep the suit together. Totally didn’t just forget about it.” Lucas totally forgot about it, and heI'd Like to Change My Reincarnation Subscription, Please Ch173 - Unspoken Rivalry
Mikah nods a few times in agreement with Mark’s latest speculations, then continues the conversation.“Oh, absolutely. We should probably start thinking up a few guidelines for how we want the chew toys. Once those are set, we can have everyone on the designers’ team that isn’t already busy with something else start figuring out how to fashion the dolls, as well as, well, their fashion. We’ll just need to have them hold off on using other people’s likenesses until we get their approval first, since, obviously, we don’t want to stoop to the level of the current manufacturer.” While Mikah is speaking, the receptionist service bot has returned from the backroom it wandered off to at 23’s behest.
Going back a bit, narratively speaking, to right around when Miss Calculated cant-cursed Miss Chievous, then took a seat on the padded armchair Lucas had previously occupied.Now that Miss Chievous is the last of the loiterers left vertically aligned, she looks at her lounging possibilities. They are, unfortunately, relatively lacking, as all of the possible places are settled by her colleagues. Left with limited alternatives, she selects the most undeniably logical solution; beleaguering pitiful little ill-fated Jonathan.Since she at least bears a modicum of respect for the fact that he’s in the middle of playing a game, she sits on the arm of his chair and l
After a bit of time spent peacefully playing phone games, Miss Chievous’s attention is pulled over by her sister indirectly mentioning her vitzlite tool technology. She keeps quiet as their conversation continues, but decides to chime in after Miss Calculated is struck silent from Mark dragging Alley Cat’s powers into the mix.“You wanna use my knife first, or are you gonna go straight to using yours?” When Miss Chievous suddenly asks this in a slightly raised voice, both Jonathan and Miss Calculated flinch with surprise. Amused by Jonathan’s startlement, Miss Chievous elbows him once while snickering, earning a brief side-eyed glare paired with a huff from him.The M & M couch had quieted down ever since Mark finished his happily scheming
Miss Calculated slowly inhales, holds, then exhales a deep breath before speaking once more.“I… Yes, thank you. You’re right. Today’s just been, well, rather overwhelming. It has been borderline surreal, and I’m half expecting some sort of reversal to happen at any moment.” After Miss Calculated makes this guilty admission, both Mark and Mikah chuckle. Mikah has a distant look for a few seconds, then chuckles with a smile.“I was only around for, what, roughly half of it all? If even? Even still, that was enough to see how crazy of a day it’s been. Really, it sure feels like there’s a whirlwind of chaos around the Lynn family, hmm?” As
Mikah looks from Miss Calculated over to the approaching service bot, then back to Miss Calculated again, holding back laughter the whole time.“Well, I guess we’re about to find out if there’s at least a decent chance of it working, hmm?” While Mikah is teasingly asking this, Miss Calculated is busy twisting a few rings around the vitzlite end of her utility knife, telescoping the handle into itself by a small amount. Once she finishes aligning the safety locks, a small rocker switch that was previously recessed in the handle pops out, located such that it is directly under her thumb when she holds the Viblade in a ready-to-use position.“Mm, exactly. I have no idea
With their grand, trollish, entrance complete, Lucas and Miss Masher walk over to rejoin the others. Two notable details about them, apart from the fact that they’re now in workwear, complete with work boots; Miss Masher is carrying the sisterhood’s black insulated messenger bag, and Lucas’s previously slicked-back-with-gel hairstyle has been aggressively tousled.Now that the waiting period has passed, Jonathan pauses his game once again, shuts off his phone, and tucks it safely away within one of his inner suit jacket pockets. Once he actually looks up at Lucas, he snerks involuntarily.“Wh-what the hell happened to your h-hair!?” Afte