>>2802242
And then she chuckles slightly to herself. “Ah, but where are my manners. I am Lorena Calmers, 2nd in Command of Valoria Squadron.” Who? You’re wracking your brain, but...nothing comes to mind. “I must admit, I feel as though we have met before, but...I cannot place it. Nonetheless, a pleasure to meet you, Miss...”

“Miranda,” you offer, accepting the handshake she offers. “Can’t say I recall you either.”

She doesn’t seem to worry too much, shrugging. “Perhaps we’ve glimpsed each other through travel? The universe is vast, after all! I must admit, such an outpost is wonderful to see, however. So many different forms of life!”

...Oh.

...Ohhhhhhh. Poor lady. You turn away from her briefly, to note the confusion on your charges’ faces. They don’t know what’s going on here. But you do.

Some people...don’t quite accept just what’s happened to them. The ones that the Deal-Makers let in, but don’t invite in- those powerful individuals that are strong enough to refuse the end but are enlightened enough to grasp at the lifeline they see...they tend to...go through phases remarkably similar to the stages of grief.

And this lady’s just started.

>How to respond, though?

>>2802244
Ohh, that's uncomfortable.
>The ones that the Deal-Makers let in, but don’t invite in- those powerful individuals that are strong enough to refuse the end but are enlightened enough to grasp at the lifeline they see
That actually sounds like what might have happened to us, all those years ago. Be kind, make some agreeable noises, and try and point her toward whoever deals with the new blood.
Afterword, if the kids ask, explain in broad strokes.

>>2802244
Do we still have room for 1 more hire? I'm not sure if I would vote for hiring her if we do though, I would have to learn more about her before making such a decision.

>welcome to The Intersection, don't forget how important earning motes is
And seconding >>2802285

Sounds rough...
>>2802285
This

>>2802294
We are not a charity group

>>2802244
supporting >>2802285
and give her our email address (or equivalent)

>>2802244
>That actually sounds like what might have happened to us, all those years ago. Be kind, make some agreeable noises, and try and point her toward whoever deals with the new blood.
>Afterword, if the kids ask, explain it.
>Give her our work contact number too.

>>2802296
I'm not asking about the possibility of hiring her because of wanting to run a charity. Handler's post mentions that she's most likely a powerful individual so her combat ability might already be on Lorelei's level even thought she's new to The Intersection. If it's as I expect she would make a good asset.

>>2802370
Fair point. Im not entirely sold on the idea though.

>>2802294
I wouldn't mind hiring her, supposing she passes the required tests.

>>2802244
> Ask her about how she's been finding the Intersection lately

Normalize it!

mmmmm yeah sure lady. Look, if worse comes to worst...

Writing!

>>2802244
>>2802285
>>2802294
>>2802296
>>2802303
>>2802366
“Riiight…” This is awkward as hell, and honestly? It’s not something that happens with you often. At least kids kinda can adapt to it quicker. Grown people are harder to deal with since they’ve had a lot more to lose… “Well, I think that if you want to know more about this place, you may want to find your way to a place called the Learner’s District. That, or otherwise ask around for one of the libraries here.” At least, that’s the quickest and easiest way to get her out of your hair.

“Oh? Interesting...I’ll have to remember that. I was told this place was where I could find law enforcement, and so I thought perhaps I could get further directions here!” Wait, law enforcement? “Perhaps you could tell me how to get there?”

“Oh, we can tell you that!” Tami speaks up- the other two look at her strangely, but she seems non-plussed as she gives the directions.

“Thank you so much!” Walking up, she shakes the little girl’s hand, beaming all the while. “I can’t say I know what race you are, but nonetheless, it’s good to see little ones with a desire to grow up and enforce the peace! I salute you all, truly!” Egh. Mistakes. Mistakes everywhere. And they aren’t yours to fix, either.

So why you’re getting her attention, you have no clue. “Thanks. Hey, look, if you, uh...end up sticking around-” and you know she will- “You look like you’ve got some skill. If that rank of yours isn’t just for show, then maybe consider looking me up. Like I said, my name’s Miranda. Miranda Styles, Silver Eye Solutions.” You end up giving her your ‘work number’ to contact you on your Intersection given phone, and she types it down on this strange little PDA of hers, only to look back up after she’s finished.

“So you’re employed? Curious for such a young girl…” She seems a bit baffled by the fact, but you’ve already called the kids to follow you back to the sim room, leaving her to stew over the thought.

“Did...did she really not know?” Noran asks quietly. Even Mewla seems more subdued than normal.

“Of course she didn’t,” Tami notes easily. “She was putting on an act- I don’t think she wanted to know.”

“It...sssshe thhheeemed sssso thhhad on the inthhide…” Ugh, her lisp is back in force. “I hope ssssshe endssss up okay.” You and her both, really.

“They usually do,” you reassure. “Now, moving on, as I was saying earlier, we’re going to be having a little fun, and by that I mean I’m going to show you three the bare basics of what Outgoers do. We’re going to use the sim rooms and I’m going to show you some of what’s expected of an Outgoer,” you say to cheers. “One rule, though- it’s going to be on Easy, and there will be a time limit. Okay?”

“Yes, ma’am!” Well...at least they’re respectable. Now, then...what to pick? Fortunately, there are a few presets- switching it to the lowest Rank gives you the following options:

cont.

>>2802461
>Beast Hunting (Enforcer): There is a large, mythical beast in a wooded land that has terrorized the countryside for years with no-one else capable of standing up to it. You have been called forth to eliminate it.

>Targeted Elimination (Enforcer): Someone specific has been targeted by your employer, who desires no way to trace it to them. Find and exterminate the target in the social gathering, without disturbing the public.

>Safehouse Defense (Enforcer): During a mission, your temporary base has been discovered, and a number of individuals are closing in on it. You must eliminate all intruders before you yourself are eliminated.

>VIP Defense (Enforcer): A VIP has contracted you to defend him from supernatural threats on his journey. Eliminate all encroaching threats.

>Capture (Enforcer): Your client has contracted you to capture a specific individual and bring them to a predetermined location. Do so without causing the death of the individual.

>Artifact Retrieval (Courier): A client has purchased your skills to locate and retrieve a specific artifact from a tomb. Do so.

>Trade Dispute (Courier): Your client wishes to obtain an item that a rival of his currently has. Determine the best way to obtain the item through trade, and present your client with said item.

>Rapid Delivery (Courier): Your client requires an object of grave importance delivered before a certain time, against opposition, and without being damaged. Bring the item to the dropoff point ASAP.

>Haggling Test (Courier): You have discovered an item that you believe would be of value to the Intersection. The would-be client refuses to relinquish it, however. Make a trade of an item of equal or lesser value to obtain the item.

>>2802465
so we choose three, right?
>Haggling Test (Courier)
>Beast Hunting (Enforcer)
>Artifact Retrieval (Courier)

These nice, while giving the kids the basics of what we do and have the plus of not giving them nightmares(on the off chance they put two and two and realize that one day they might have to kill someone)

>>2802465
>>Capture (Enforcer): Your client has contracted you to capture a specific individual and bring them to a predetermined location. Do so without causing the death of the individual.

>>2802477
Yes, three. Sorry, that was unclear. These presets are designed presuming only one Outgoer is doing them.

>>2802477
This seems fine

>>2802465
>>2802478
changing to >>2802477 because of >>2802489

Got to go, feel free to talk about it until I can get back. (Also I forgot to ask to specify who gets what anyway.)

>>2802465
>Beast Hunting (Enforcer):
Norman and Mewla
>VIP Defense (Enforcer):
Tami
>Rapid Delivery (Courier):
Harp

I'm sure they will all mess up anyway.

>>2802465
>Artifact Retrieval (Courier): A client has purchased your skills to locate and retrieve a specific artifact from a tomb. Do so.
>Trade Dispute (Courier): Your client wishes to obtain an item that a rival of his currently has. Determine the best way to obtain the item through trade, and present your client with said item.
>Beast Hunting (Enforcer): There is a large, mythical beast in a wooded land that has terrorized the countryside for years with no-one else capable of standing up to it. You have been called forth to eliminate it.

>>2802465
>Capture (Enforcer)
>Artifact Retrieval (Courier)
>Rapid Delivery (Courier)

>>2802510
Beast Hunt for the duo seems fine.
Tami for defense? Could be interesting.
Harp could also be interesting with delivery since there will be opposition.
Second this guy then.

I dont expect any if them to have a stellar performance, but they'll prolly show reasonable judgment though.

>>2802465
>Safehouse Defense (Enforcer)
Tami
>VIP Defense (Enforcer)
Norman and Mewla
>Artifact Retrieval (Courier)
Harp

>>2802510
>>2802465
I'll back this.

No update today?

Thread 43 missing.

>>2803729
>>2767668
it just isn't archived yet

>>2803733
done, with the proper tags this time
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2767668/

Updating shortly. Sorry, my time's still iffy.

Hey, good to see you, Handler! I was about to post a question for everyone out of boredom, so this is good timing.

Out of all of the new hires, who was the one that surprised you with how popular they became?

Of all the characters we've interacted on jobs, who was your favorite to write, or read, in the case of everyone reading?

>>2807533
For clarification, I'm lumping anyone who wasn't the original three members of SES as "New Hires".

>>2807533
I'm surprised there hasn't been more calls to fire Mono. ;)

>>2807533
It's been kind of a rough go. There was a pretty vocal minority of Anons who were pretty heavily not in favor of new recruits for some reason, but owlia/cylica are pretty great. And Mono's way better being solely written by Handler, Star's way of writing is like not a big favorite.

>>2802465
>>2802510
>>2803667
>>2802540

It takes some mulling over, but you eventually decide on one for each of them after a few minutes. Easy mode generally means that they’ll have a choice of weaponry at the start- basic sword, gun, magic sort of thing. REALLY glad none of it is real, though- yikes, if they just grabbed an ACTUAL weapon and went nuts? Scary.

At any rate, Noran and Mewla strike you as individuals who’ve been on the road a lot and dealing with a lot of hardship. Not to mention you’ve seen the muscle Noran has...you suspect he’s had some combat experience before. Might be good to give him a basic bounty job. Beast Hunting it is.

Tami seems more a talker than anything- but talking can only get you so far in some jobs. As for what happens when talking fails...might be a good idea to see how she handles herself otherwise. You decide on VIP Defense for this one; looking at things, she’ll have to get used to that.

Harp is the most concerning. You’re going to have to do something with her and her shyness, one way or the other...but considering she was willing to give this a shot, well...hmm...ah, wait. The Rapid Delivery one should be good. Doesn’t NEED to attack anyone, just needs to avoid everything.

There. With the jobs set, them in the rooms, you’re ready. You won’t be able to look at all of them at once, but you can glance in on them one at a time, thanks to the viewports…

After about 15 or so minutes, which should be enough to get them started, you figure it’s time to check in on them…

>Check into Tami first.
>Check into Harp first.
>Check into Noran and Mewla first.

>>2807607
>>Check into Tami first.

>>2807607
>Check into Harp first.

>>2807533
Oh! Uh...Surprised? Mono, I think has been received pretty well. Owlia seemed like she got a lot of interest from word go, but Mono was a bit of a pleasant surprise.

Out of all the characters? Honestly, it's a toss up between Gigi in the medieval job and Prima. I just like how their attitudes are and I found/find them easier to come up with stuff to say.

>>2807607
>>Check into Tami first.
Managing a VIP and combat and the same time is pretty complex, might as well check it out.

>>2807607
>Check into Harp first.

>>2807589
I get their concerns; extra characters usually means that you have to take away time from the already established ones, which is not really true. Kind of.

>>2807614
>Check into Tami first.
Leave snek for last. Delayed gratification?

Baa baa boy I hope she's doing okay.

Writing!

>>2807607
>>2807614
>>2807620
>>2807654
Well, first thing might as well be the sheep. She’s probably the most out of her depth.

Taking a glance into the room, you can see that’s it’s placed her into something that’s particularly familiar to you- a medieval land with a carriage, and about four guards on horseback that are also supporting her. Pft. Easy mode, indeed. She also seems to have picked some sort of wand. Not your first choice, but if it works for her, it works. So far, it doesn’t seem like she’s been doing anything major, save for talking to one of the guards…

Not long after that thought, though, you see her look in the distance- and immediately yell something, firing a shot from her wand that spooks the horses and the guard as what looks to be an icy beam shoots off into the distance. There’s a few moments where nothing happens, and she’s met with a glare which she’s at least got the grace to look embarrassed at as they continue on their way.

A bit more observation reveals more of the same. She’s...jumpy, in a way, but moreso seeming to want to do SOMETHING- a lot of what she does is either firing at what seems to be phantoms, or otherwise trying to goad one of the other knights into checking something out- and it seems like because of that, she’s rapidly losing her goodwill amongst the ‘entourage’. You’ve yet to see anything attack them, even- and you’re pretty certain something WILL, eventually.

There are the others to look at...but does Tami need the close eye?

>Yes, keep watching.
>No, move on to Noran and Mewla.
>No, move on to Harp.

>>2807766
>>Yes, keep watching.
Is there any way to send her a message in the sim?

>>2807766
>>No, move on to Harp.

>>2807813
Nope. Seems like they made it to be free from outside interference in such ways.

>>2807766
>Yes, keep watching.

>>2807819
What about recording software? That way we could go over what they could have done afterwards.

>>2807766
>No, move on to Harp.

Best girl!

>>2807836
Seems like yes, there's something there, actually. An auto-record for the scenario that you can choose to turn off if you like.

(Also, sorry for the small updates, but I'll be back in a day or so.)

>>2807766
>Yes, keep watching.
Keep the trainwreck going!

>>2807766
>>No, move on to Noran and Mewla.

>>2807620
The goblin didnt interest me, but I felt the depth you put in her. Prima liked though, and the quality definitely shows on both of them.

>>2807766
>move on to Harp

>>2808082
Actually scratch that, keep watching Tami. While i find Harp more interesting (and i do have a thing for lamias), Tami won first vote, so I think we should just go in-depth with one character for starters.

>>2807766
>No, move on to Harp.

>>2807766
>No, move on to Harp.
Tami might not be doing very good but she probably won't need encouraging after this so I'd rather check on the others.

>>2807766
>Yes, keep watching.

>>2807766
>No, move on to Harp.
Kinda worried about harp the most.

>>2807766
Who would have though that the sheep girl would be the hardest one.Ma6be a single scenario for each one was to much...although we already saw how good they worked together.

>No, move on to Harp.

I'm back, although late. Going to update shortly if anyone's here.

>>2814502
Here

o/

>>2814502
Unfortunately im prolly gonna be asleep. Looking forward to any update though !

>>2814502
Hey-oh!

>>2814502
Hmmm...maybe not. At this point, you know it’s highly likely they’ll fail even the this easy job; you should be able to review their performances later, but it’s not quite like seeing it happen in person, especially without the gift of hindsight to muddy the waters.

Besides, Harpsicorie worries you more than you’d really like. Checking in with her is, honestly, probably overdue.

When you move over to her section, she is…

Slithering very, VERY fast upwards and through what looks like a very large modern building. Also screaming in panic. Can’t exactly ignore that with all the attention it’s bringing.

On the other hand, she’s got something hugged to her chest…well, there’s no alarms due to easy mode, at least, even if her screaming is doing an admirable substitute job of it. She’s got a number of faceless guards almost literally on her tail, as well, and you’d bet that siren imitation is the reason why. Yikes.

Well...at least she still has the object. Looking at her closely, it seems like she’s...well, no. She’s really just panicking...although you at least notice that she’s looking out for various places to hide. She’s not making herself an easy target, either, constantly changing direction, although you partially just want to chalk that up to uncertainty.

After a few more twists and turns down some corridors, she leaps by using her body as a spring up a set of stairs- not bad- and still screaming, she takes cover in what seems to be some sort of open janitor closet...really? Shivering and nervous, she seems like she’s already at her wits’ end.

Oh boy. You both do and don’t want to see this.

>Keep watching.
>Move to Noran.

>>2814832
>>Keep watching.

>>2814832
>keep watching
You're going the wrong way!

>>2814832
>>Keep watching.

>>2814832
>Keep watching.

>>2814832
>>Move to Noran.

Hah, love it.. lot to work on, which is to be expected

>>2814832
Keep watching

>>2814832
>Keep watching.

>>2814832
>>Move to Noran.

>>2814832
>>Keep watching.

>>2814832
>Keep watching.
Is this about to end? Let’s see!

...pretty clear, huh.

Writing!

>>2814832
>>2814869
>>2814896
>>2814990
>>2815009
>>2815091
>>2815128
>>2815439
>>2815606
As second-hand embarrassing as it might be, it’s probably for the best to see this through. She’ll have to watch it again later, though.

After some shouts of pursuit from the guards, there’s a brief silence as...a number of them surround her hiding place. Two surround the door, and the third preps to open the door in a breaching maneuver. They all only have billy clubs, but…

Well, there’s little reason to try and guess what will happen next. They throw open the door, and in a few seconds and some screams she’s tackled and…

The simulation ends, and all that’s left is Harpsicorie curled up in the tightest snakeball you’ve ever seen, shivering horribly in a blank white room. Before you can open the door, however, suddenly you hear the door next to hers thrown open, and Tami marches out, grumbling and looking huffy. “Stupid thing said to defend them, it never said how I had to do it, thought the whole purpose was I got to do it how I wanted…” She looks at you, a pout on her face. “This thing cheats.”

Soooo much to learn.

Harp hasn’t come out yet, although when you glance back in, she at least seems to realize that the sim is over- and actually neither has Noran, for that matter. Hopefully, that means he’s been doing well enough…

Just as you think that, however, the door opens, and Noran comes out, looking...well, exhausted. There’s no marks on his body, but the boy looks like death warmed over and the clothes he has are pretty...wrecked. Mewla is barely hanging onto his head, it seems like, and her glow is dim.

“Well?” you ask as he makes eye contact with you. “Managed it?”

He just gives a thumbs up...and then collapses on his front, faceplanting into the actually pretty hard tile. “M’okay,” he mutters from the ground, his voice muffled. “Jus...gimme an hour. Or a day.”

Truth be told...they ALL look exhausted. Even though Harpsicorie hasn’t come out yet, she looks just as tired as scared.

>Let them rest while you review their attempts. They deserve at least a few moments before you start critique.
>No rest for the weary. Up, up, up, they can rest when they’re back home.
> “Do you all understand what you’re in for now?” Educate them on the more dangerous points of the job now.
> Other

>>2816567
>>Let them rest while you review their attempts. They deserve at least a few moments before you start critique.
We do need to get a proper look at how they each did. They're not going to be receptive to discussion at the moment.

>>2816567
>Let them rest while you review their attempts. They deserve at least a few moments before you start critique.
Pass out some water so they can cool down.

"We might need to teach you guys some weapons safety skills before we have you try again..."

>>2816567
>>Let them rest while you review their attempts. They deserve at least a few moments before you start critique.
> Other
Talk with harp. Seems like she was the most shaken out of the tree.

>>2816567
>Let them rest while you review their attempts. They deserve at least a few moments before you start critique.

>>2816567
Hah. Aww. poor things.
>let them rest

>>2816567
>>2816602
>>2816608
>>2816729
>>2816862
>>2817399
You instead choose to not say anything; instead focusing on getting Harp out of there first and foremost. Honestly, the way she looked, you wouldn’t be surprised if she wanted out right then and there.

When she turns to look at you when you open the door, though, to your surprise, she doesn’t break out in tears, or desperately beg to leave. She just looks at you, her eyes big, and sad...and something else.

Frustrated, maybe? A brief, ‘ssssorry’ is all you can get out of her before she slowly slithers towards and past you. She’s wiped, too. But before she can get too far, you make sure to grip her shoulder, looking at her in an understanding manner. “Take a minute, catch your breath. I know that was scary, but you’ll get used to it.” Sounds about right to you, although she doesn’t seem all that reassured…nonetheless, she nods and goes to sit next to the pouting Tami- who’s still fuming internally, by the look on her face.

Well. First thing’s first. “Hold on, I’m getting you all some water.” And AFTER that, time for the rough part...actually reviewing what they did.

Alright, let’s see here…

It takes you some time to look through the recordings and see just what’s what, but...well. Best to break it down by individual.

Tami’s whole issue is that, judging from what she said and what she actually DID, is that she was constantly firing off spells and wasting her wand’s power. Not to mention, she seemed to jump at every little shadow. She ended up making a lot of jokes, and her puppet routine didn’t exactly go over well with the other guards, either, causing them to keep their distance from her. Apparently, near the end of the whole thing, a group of bandits actually attacked, to which she was caught off guard due to trying to talk to one of the other guards. She took up a high position on the carriage, but she was quickly thrown from her perch with no one nearby, and attacked, presumably being virtually ‘killed’ and given a mission failure.

You saw Harpsicorie’s, no need to rewatch that one so soon- although it may be necessary later.

Noran’s is...pleasantly surprising, in that it seems he at least knows how to track a beast. He paid attention to the underbrush, as well as the trees and the animals themselves. It’s when he found the thing that the trouble started. Mewla seemed to buzz around him for something, and he gives a short, verbal negative response before heaving the club he chose and whistling. That of course, brings the beast coming...as well as a few of his compatriots that they clearly weren’t expecting. What follows is nothing more than a massive game of alternating cat and mouse, with the duo desperately doing their best to fend off the pack, and even getting the upper hand at times, causing the beast to run away to lick its wounds a bit. However, all it takes is a tired, errant swing and a stumble before he trips, falls, and is quite literally dogpiled.

cont.

>>2817710
...Oh boy. Well…how to go about this? It won’t be as simple as ‘do this, don’t do this’. There’s a lot to unpack here. So maybe it’s best to take this step by step...

>What should each kid focus on?

>>2817715
>Tami
Read the mood better, and be more patient. Don't fire off just because you want action, or think it's an attack. Take the time to really check, otherwise people won't believe you when it's really an attack.

>Harps
Don't throw yourself in without looking; figure out a way out before you commit, and try not to hide someplace you'd get trapped in.

>Noran
Pretty good, but more recon was in order. Always assume your enemy can call on backup while yours will get delayed.

>>2817715
First, all of them need to work on keeping a level head, Harps in particular.

Harps:
From what we saw, the level-headed-ness would be the most important part. She actually made things more difficult by providing her own alarm in a level with them deliberately disabled. Actual stealth skills coms after.

Tami:
Looks like once the once the immediate novelty wore off, she got bored. Being too paranoid isn't any better than not enough. Also, looks like her people skills might need some work. She scared off her allies by being openly strange. Keep it to a minimum while on a job, or at least try to spin is as big mysterious instead of just kooky.

Noran:
Appears to have mostly done well. Looks like his biggest flaw was not scouting properly once he found his target. Confirming you've found who you think you've found, and that he doesn't have friends is an important step. It can also be useful for scouting for favorable terrain, or weak spots. Reminds me a little of Totemist Quest. RIP
Also, a straight line charge is rarely the best way to enter combat, especially against an enemy you don't have a clear line of sight on.

>>2817849
This seems to be on point, supporting

>>2817710
What a tough prompt!
>Norman and Mewla
Needs to focus and tactical thinking. Strolling into a fight without evaluating the targets positron well enough was the main mistake. Did he get tunnel vision?

>Tami
Needs to work on judgment, somehow. And maybe adapting different approaches based and different situations and changing situations.

>Harp
Fuck I dunno. Maybe Tami's trick of role play here would help her. Take a step back and think what would an outgoer do in this situation.

>>2817715
>Harp
The obvious; get her emotions under control. More specifically, be less afraid of everything, but im sure that will fix itself if we make her do more social interactions.

>Tami
She could be less of a trigger happy and focus more on the job. Its not bad to try to know the guards better, but she didn't know when to stop.

>Noran
He was the one that appeared more professional. He might need to refine his abilities more (and acknowledge outside advice) since he managed to not screw up until the last part, and even then it was more or less even.

>>2817710
Tami needs some training with basic projectile weapons, specifically when to use them and how much ammo/magic/energy is in them. Additionally, some help with keeping a cool head during quiet moments; perhaps some meditative techniques could help?

Harpsi needs to learn how to get over her fear of fighting. Some self defense lessons would help with being cornered. Also, she needed to look into studying the location more, as well as figuring out patrols and hiding places.

Noran and Mewla, they should work a bit on their trapmaking. A punji pit hidden with a layer of leaves and branches, a falling log trap, trying to make the beast run off a cliff to try to catch them, using bait to lure out the main beast, stuff like that. Some scouting could have also helped with some places to lure them or hide.

>>2817878
It's tough because teaching is friggen hard.

>>2817715
>Tami
At first she was too tense and later on too relaxed. The easiest way to fix this is probably by just getting more experience with missions like this.

>Harps
She probably would've lost the pursuers if she hadn't kept screaming. Constantly revealing your position is a bad idea if you're trying to sneak around.

>Noran
Otherwise good but deliberately alerting the enemies of his presence before the fight has started is a bad idea if he's not acting as a bait or distraction. The fight would've been easier if he had started it with a sneak attack.

>>2817710
Im thinking maybe for the most part just let this be an experience? At least for the girls who had an emotionally rough time, encouragement should have priority. Noran even did pretty well.
This is square zero, they'll get better. And drilling them may result in diminished motivation

I wonder if we'll some day be hired to a world that is in the middle of its WW2 and be asked to infiltrate our client nation's enemy's front lines or something

>>2819192
Izumi for sabatoge or Lori for info might make sense, but all of us would kinda stick out as what appear to be young girls in the middle of a war, especially if we don't match the ethnicity or culture of who we'd be infiltrating.

>>2819558
I guess so. But maybe something like operating behind enemy lines such as sabotaging supply depots, blowing up bridges, etc.? That way the girls would have the option to avoid making any kind of contact with the enemies outside of fighting.
All we would need then would be an objective important enough to pay the money required to hire us.

>>2819881
wasn't that basically the medabot world? The only big difference was that there wasn't a world war going on.

>>2817849
>>2817858
>>2817860
>>2817878
>>2817892
>>2817923
>>2818650
>>2818979
Glancing over at them briefly makes it clear they’re still recovering mentally and physically, and they’ll probably need a shower or a bath later...oh yeah, you DO need to show them the bathing areas. Skipped that. Well, at least they seem a bit refreshed now...if not exactly energetic.

You clearing your throat still gets their attention, however. “Glad you’re all back up. I hope this was a learning experience for you all, and ideally, you all would’ve realized something that you could improve on. Right?” Instead of anything verbal, you just get nods- the trio too sullen or tired to really respond. You’ll take it, though. “As you might’ve noticed, your efforts were recorded, and I’ve got a fair bit to say about them.” Dismayed groans met you, but you’re quick to silence them with a hand. “Just let me get through this, okay? First up, Tami.”

“They didn’t even listen to me after a while. Wasn’t I supposed to be the important one?” she complains. “Besides the guy in the carriage, I mean!”

“You’re there to guard,” you point out. “Your problem is that you came out looking weird, because you jumped at every little thing, and then when you convinced yourself to calm down, you were WAY too casual, and you started irritating the other defenders. Those kinds of mood swings can mean people think of you strangely, or as someone incompetent if you’re in the wrong company. Read the mood better, and be more patient.”

Tami opens her mouth as though to say something, but closes it after a second, and just nods, looking away. “If you’re bored, don't fire off just because you want action, or think it's an attack. Something important is to take the time to confirm hostiles; if you just end up shooting at phantoms, you get a ‘girl who cried wolf’ situation; people won’t believe you otherwise. In short, cool your head, focus, and know how to adjust your personality.”

“Uh...right. Okay? I can do that...I think.” She looks at her puppet briefly, reaching for it after a moment of thought and cradling it close.

You nod in satisfaction. “Alright, next is Harpsicorie. Really, yours was simple.”

“I wassss tooo sssscared,” she admits glumly. “I...I couldn’t sssthop tthhhreaming because it was-s-s-s-s sssso scary…”

“Glad you noticed,” you comment evenly. “You might’ve been able to lose them if you weren’t providing your own alarm and detection system...so really, I think you just need to get over your fear of combat and conflict. Like it or not, it’s going to happen, and even if you don’t want to do it, you have to at least be able to keep yourself together well enough to figure out a way OUT of combat. Really, you just need to get used to encountering people, and we’ll work on that, okay?” You try to keep your voice lower for her; she’s still rather depressed looking, and hopefully she doesn’t take your advice the wrong way.

cont.

>>2820488
Fortunately, she nods as well, even smiling just a bit. “I-it would be niccce…”

“Don’t worry, we’ve got time,” you assure her before turning away. “And Noran and Mewla...not bad.”

He perks up a bit. “Really?” Even Mewla’s body lights up a bit.

“You did pretty well tracking the beast,” you admit “Your problems was not scouting properly once you found the target, and that whistling you did before engaging.”

He has the good grace to blush. “Thought I’d try ta lure it into a sorta ambush, but…”

“But it had friends you didn’t notice,” you finish, and he nods lamely. “You made a good attempt, but confirming you've found who you think you've found, and making sure that backup doesn’t exist is a major aspect of a lot of these types of jobs. Scouting in general is paramount, really. Understanding positions, the terrain, and any potential weaknesses is a must before engaging. You kind of just found him and went in, and paid for it. Remember- when it comes to this job, you want to get things done quickly and smoothly. Find the target, isolate, and strike quickly.”

“So you’re sayin’ I should’ve just tried to wait and then sneak ‘im?” he asks curiously. Fortunately, he doesn’t seem opposed to the idea.

“Exactly. However.” You look at all three of them in turn. “THAT was just the lowest difficulty setting, in case you forgot. There are a lot of potential factors that can complicate a job WAY more than that. Additional forces, third parties, different types of surveillance, and who knows what else. Being an Outgoer is NOT an easy job, even for couriers. It takes a lot of skill and effort to do what we do, and do it well.”

There’s a brief, synchronized sagging of bodies that a teesy part of you is morbidly impressed by before you continue. “Hold on there. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting a ton out of you, and I don’t mean that rudely. You’re still absolute beginners to this, even if you might have some sort of fighting or adventuring experience before. That’s the whole purpose of this: practice. Doesn’t matter what you’re doing, practice is what makes you good. I wasn’t any good when I started out, either. Heck, even after I had some experience under my belt, I’ve made mistakes here and there just because sometimes...you just make a wrong decision.”

“Really? Ya strike me as the ‘measure thrice, cut once’ type.” Noran opines. “What kinda mistakes have YOU made?”

...uh. Hm. Maybe not the best topic to focus on, but...well-

Before you can start talking, however, your phone buzzes. Checking your phone, it’s from Lorelei. Seems she wants to talk with you about Prima for something, and she’s calling it ‘URGENT!!!11!!’ Which probably means it isn’t, but she’ll blow up your phone otherwise.

cont.

>>2820498
So anons, what mistakes have we made that doesn't boil down to us being selectively stupid see: bleach spaghetti?

>>2820498

Maybe you can tell them ONE. For now, at least.

> There was an incident near the start of your ‘career’ that involved you being way too disregarding about the capabilities of anti-mages in fighting against a strange cult. Nearly cost you your left arm, and it DID cost you the job.

> You ended up leaving the primary alone for too long on an escort mission through some mountainous terrain; the vehicle he was traveling in was crushed, you barely saved his life, and although you made it through, it was well past when he was expected, and he wasn’t in great shape. Your pay took quite the hit for that…

> In one defense job, you ended up accidentally murdering an alien that had plans for a massive ‘mutagen bomb’ before he’d been questioned about where the device was. It went off over a portion of the planet, converting them into strange lizard-like aliens, but the contract was SPECIFICALLY to ‘protect the city’, and since the city wasn’t touched…

> Other

>>2820543
>> There was an incident near the start of your ‘career’ that involved you being way too disregarding about the capabilities of anti-mages in fighting against a strange cult. Nearly cost you your left arm, and it DID cost you the job.

A story about us being cocky is a great demonstration of some of what we just talked about.

>>2820543
>There was an incident near the start of your ‘career’ that involved you being way too disregarding about the capabilities of anti-mages in fighting against a strange cult. Nearly cost you your left arm, and it DID cost you the job.

>>2820543
>There was an incident near the start of your ‘career’ that involved you being way too disregarding about the capabilities of anti-mages in fighting against a strange cult. Nearly cost you your left arm, and it DID cost you the job.

>>2820543
>> There was an incident near the start of your ‘career’ that involved you being way too disregarding about the capabilities of anti-mages in fighting against a strange cult. Nearly cost you your left arm, and it DID cost you the job.
most relevant to their problems

>>2820538
the bleach on spaghetti and when we blew up the junk mech when we were training the new magical girls. The first crossover comes to mind (the one where we got mono), but i avoided most of it.

>>2820543
> There was an incident near the start of your ‘career’ that involved you being way too disregarding about the capabilities of anti-mages in fighting against a strange cult. Nearly cost you your left arm, and it DID cost you the job.

>>2820543
Nice, update!

> There was an incident near the start of your ‘career’...

>>2820543
> There was an incident near the start of your ‘career’ that involved you being way too disregarding about the capabilities of anti-mages in fighting against a strange cult. Nearly cost you your left arm, and it DID cost you the job.

>>2820543
>You ended up leaving the primary alone for too long on an escort mission through some mountainous terrain; the vehicle he was traveling in was crushed, you barely saved his life, and although you made it through, it was well past when he was expected, and he wasn’t in great shape. Your pay took quite the hit for that…
This might not have the impact of "a wizard nearly got me" but I don't want to scare them off. The third one is just horrifying.

>>2820543
> There was an incident near the start of your ‘career’ that involved you being way too disregarding about the capabilities of anti-mages in fighting against a strange cult. Nearly cost you your left arm, and it DID cost you the job.

>>2820543
>You ended up leaving the primary alone for too long on an escort mission through some mountainous terrain; the vehicle he was traveling in was crushed, you barely saved his life, and although you made it through, it was well past when he was expected, and he wasn’t in great shape. Your pay took quite the hit for that…
Alternatively, BLEACH IN SPAGHET

Posting in a bit. Been kind of exhausted lately.

take your time.

I passed out like 15 minutes after I wrote that...oof. Okay, so nevermind. I'll just try a new thread end of the week.

>>2828967
Yea, that's not a good sign. I've seen QMs try and stay awake with coffee, then double coffee, then double coffee made with Red Bull, and they had a tooth disintegrate mid-thread.
So don't do that, if you were considering it. We'll be around when you're ready.

>>2828977
Holy crackers. A real tooth? That's pretty impressive actually.

>>2829510
On two separate occasions, actually. It was the QM of Dungeon Life Quest (and now Cinderella Sanction Quest). Hive Queen Quest's QM had a heart attack mid-thread. Homeless Mutant Quest's QM literally died at some point.

The QM curse is real.

>>2829522
The common denominator here is you anon...

>>2829522
>literally died
Have you considered the possibility that he may have just faked his death to get away from you?

>>2829676
No Krusty said he was going to the hospital...he never posted after it.

>>2829522
Holy shit, that is scary.

>>2829522
Didn't HQQ qm manage to have an internal hemorrhage at the hospital, after driving his father there for a heart attack? He only lived because he was right next to the operating room when it happened.

Might have the details wrong but it was such an unbelievable scenario that not even a Spanish soap opera would use it