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
After Lucas gives Willy a few comforting pats, he holds his arms outstretched before him.“Here, buddy, lemme pick ya up. It’s gonna be tight in here, don’t want no one steppin’ on ya.” Once Lucas makes this offer, Willy barks agreeably and climbs up Lucas’s chest, resting his front paws over Lucas’s shoulder, with his snoot between them, holding the chew toys dangling over Lucas’s back.After Lucas takes a moment to melt a little, he makes sure his left forearm is securely under Willy’s rump. He slowly stands back up again, ensuring the awkward long boi is staying comfortably in place, which he is.As the rest of the group files into the elevat
Post important pupper protective equipment placement, Mikah pulls Mark and Miss Calculated’s masks out of his pocket, as well as Mark’s phone. Not inclined to walk around while the elevator is still in motion, he holds onto Mark’s belongings for now. But, he does hold out Miss Calculated’s mask towards her.“Here you are, Mary. I imagine that all of you want to have your masks on in advance before getting there.” After Mikah says this, Miss Calculated turns to face him. Before she manages to secure a solid one-armed carry for the box of miscellaneous contents that she’s carrying, Miss Chievous claims it on her behalf.“Oh, thanks, both of you.” By the time Miss Calculated finished saying this and turns her attention fro
Lucas is still staring past Miss Calculated’s shoulder, transfixed by the recently revealed wreckage of racks, robots, ruined remnants of remodelings, promotional materials, and more. As the elevator doors finish sliding all the way open, he clears his throat before speaking up.“Hey, uh, Marsha? Are ya gonna be busy the next few days?” Lucas asks in a deadpan voice as he slowly blinks.“...I guess I am gonna be, now. Seems I’m havin’ a protein shake for dinner tonight. Eheh…” Miss Masher matches Lucas’s tone at first while staring past Miss Calculated’s other shoulder, but she gains a simultaneously delighted and dangerous smile when she starts chuckling. Although, the smile is hidden from sight, courtesy of her
Meanwhile, as the mannequin madness is mounting, Mark and Miss Calculated amble out of 23’s way when it reaches the clear space around the elevators.23 brings the decommissioned bot over near the boomerang pile, gingerly setting it down so it is sitting upright next to another inactive bot, which is missing an arm. Behind the two inactive bots is a modestly measured mound of a motley mix of miscellaneous machine materials in myriad magnitudes of mottled marring. At least, they’re ruined by wealthy people’s standards. Miss Calculated began eyeing the collection hungrily once she noticed it, as her eyes were previously fixed on the robot in 23’s arms without paying any attention to anything else. Mark snorts and sharply turns away, marching to the elevator. He has to circle around Miss Masher to get there, and she pivots in place to keep her eye on him while he does so.As she is tracking Mark’s path; when her gaze passes Lucas he covertly points at her and gives a thumbs up, then gently pats his chest in solidarity. Even though he can’t see her smile directly, her eyes visibly crinkle a bit from it, and she gives a small nod in acknowledgment and appreciation.Mark hits the elevator’s downward call button before turning back to look at Miss Calculated once more.“Even if you’re right, that was unacceptable. I expect an apology once you’ve calmed yourselfI'd Like to Change My Reincarnation Subscription, Please Ch184 - Educated Estimates of Scam Specifics
Mark groans as he rubs the side of his head, managing not to smudge his makeup with well-practiced ease.“Okay. Okay. I see where you’re coming from, now. Following that logic, whenever they encouraged me to decommission any bots, it was probably because the parts they’d cycle through it were no longer mainstream. Of course, a new bot is much more profitable for them than needing to actually keep out-of-date spare parts around… Since everything worked reasonably well and they never seemed to make any outrageous requests, they had enough credibility that I just believed them when they said a bot was at that point… Arg.” Once Mark finishes speaking, he heaves a deep sigh.Miss Calculated nods a few times, but before she has a chance to r
23 has all four of its hands grouped up in front of it and is looking down at them. After letting Miss Calculated delight in her crazed laughter for a few moments longer, it finally speaks up.“To accommodate storage for retractable components, I suppose I would require new, thicker arms. The power lead currently running through them may still suffice, but perhaps a new one that has the new tools directly hardwired into it would be better. Ah, the power draw of the power tools would be notably higher than what it takes to operate my current hands, so I really would be better off with a new cable, too. Adjusting to the upgraded appendages’ usage shouldn’t be an issue for me... But, If you were intending on implementing any of your newly developed, limited availability, technologies, improved durability may be necessary..? Also, I
Lucas is staring at Miss Calculated with a huge grin, even if it is covered by his mask. There are a few alarming creaking noises as he hugs the armload of mannequin limbs he’s carrying a bit too tightly against his chest.Both Miss Calculated and 23 slowly turn to stare at him. Meanwhile, Mark just snorts out a bit of laughter.Blinking a few times, Miss Calculated opens her mouth and hesitates, speechless for a few seconds before thawing enough to begin her academician analysis.“...Where