DarknessDawning

E:\cyberpunk\the_deadliest_question.exe

I was told yesterday that now I don't need to change it by the chair of the department. >_< ugh I'm so ready to be done.

LF Long term, multi chara partners (Mature 18+)

Re-opening for a couple more.

E:\cyberpunk\the_deadliest_question.exe

There was the slightest stiffening to his shoulders when he made up his mind to defy her recommendations. To any regular person it would have been completely unnoticeable... to Ona it was a slap in the face. They were meant to be a team. She hadn't sent him out to conduct the interviews just for him to waste both their time. Suddenly his offer seemed less charitable and more controlling. Subconsciously she reached over and took the fancy coffee that he'd given her and dropped it bluntly off the end of the desk in to the waiting waste basket. She would not be buttered up like this little floozy of a girl was doing to him. She could not be bought. She had a purpose here.

A couple more times he would hear the earpiece click on just long enough for the order to be repeated: "Terminate the interview." After that it merely fell silent and heavy with the fact that Ona was watching them... sitting there behind the glass in her own steaming cage of building anger and frustration. In the outfit she wore today her mood would perhaps look somewhat comical; one of those things that you know you're meant to look away from but simply can't peel your eyes off.

Ms. Boulanger on the other hand was more than happy to oblige the continued attention. She was sweet and bubbly, and perhaps slightly flirty. The more the spoke the less demand seeped in to her voice and the more casual her conversation seemed. Perhaps she was genuine. Perhaps Jules was just a good, comfortable conversationalist for her... but Ona saw a manipulative child playing on the edge of pedophilia to bend Jules to her will. Finally she'd seen enough and she abruptly removed her headset, firmly setting it down just hard enough that it screeched a high pitched squeal in Jules's ear before going silent again. Ona pushed off from the desk and stood, leaving her tiny prison through the door to the hallway so as not to be seen by Jules and his pet as she headed towards the waiting room to personally collect their next candidate.

E:\cyberpunk\the_deadliest_question.exe

I noticed. Sorry for the delay :( . I was told I need to change my dissertation topic AGAIN, so this weekend I spent my time somewhere between working and wallowing in self-pity. I also found out last week that medicaid simply decided to unfund a significant portion of my profession which included my job as of 2/1. So it's been a bit of a long week for me.

Let's Gush!

Many people, unfortunately, know this cycle: I open my 1x1 Interest Check thread for 2-3 days which is usually plenty of time for a lot of replies to come in. Because my thread is fucking awesome. Anyway, only half of these PM replies actually result in roleplays, because the other half couldn't be arsed to continue replying. Then of those roleplays, another half drop out (without telling me, of course) because the RP wasn't what they wanted it to be, despite repeated and earnest attempts to avoid exactly that problem via open lines of communication. And by the time all this is said and done, so many RPs have been lost that it's time to open the IntChk again!

All my 1x1 RP partners are new to me this week except two. And while I feel very optimistic about many of these partners, the two who have been nothing but loyal and ingenuous in their desire to keep the RP alive, and to tell good stories therein, are @ThatWeirdChick and @DarknessDawning. These are the two with whom the threads have survived over two months and with whom they very feasibly will last much longer. They express gratitude for my willingness to take the reins and steer the direction of the story (when it's needed), but they're also willing to do the same themselves; thus neither of us is putting all the work into keeping a thread alive, which in my experience leads only to resentment. Both are interested in more than just their own characters and experiences, and have eagerly contributed to my enjoyment of the RP and to the depth of the world in general, designing NPCs and little setting quirks to the benefit of both partners. They're not here just for cheap escapism nor shallow wish-fulfillment; and this fact shines through in the care they have poured into their writing.

And oh, yeah; when you send them a message, they actually bother to reply. I wish this wasn't such a rare virtue on this website that it deserves special mention, but it is. Such is the zeitgeist which we as Guildsmen must endure.

If either of these ladies responds to your Interest Check, take her up on it. You will not regret it. ✩✩✩✩

@pugbutter

^_^ Thank you for the compliment. The admiration is reciprocal. I appreciate that you are understanding when at times, life interferes with the immediacy of posting, and yet are able to return a few days later without any animosity in your posts nor any lack of enthusiasm. I appreciate that in our quest to equally contribute to the story line, I never really know what is going to happen next. My passion for roleplay revolves around the concept that I am working on stories that are "impossible" in reality. Accomplishing such a task requires quite a bit of imagination and dedication from all parties involved. I look forward to continuing our collaboration for many months to come.

E:\cyberpunk\the_deadliest_question.exe

"Oh... of course! Actually if you look at my school transcripts, I was in the chess club and the math society. I also served as the treasurer for the student government. I volunteer with the Student's Reach Out society. I intend to complete the hours required for my scholarship application with them. Eventually I hope to go to college on scholarship and work towards a finance degree. If I were to become employed with a company before that time, or to be sponsored by a company, then I would be open to their suggestions on what degree would be the most beneficial or what areas of finance I'm needed most in."

It all seemed so well thought out in her mind. She'd been practicing for this moment, but the perception on opposite sides of the table was something she would never have truly been able to prepare for. Ona's method of reading in to every word and twitch was something that few even really knew about, let alone knew how to overcome. The ear piece clicked in his ear.

"Non-specific reference to the company indicates a lack of loyalty to any one group. Contraindication of long-term employment based on a seeking of 'best case scenario' placement. Further indication of intent to appeal for exceptional contributions from the company at point of entry. Applicant is sub-prime. Terminate the interview." The ear piece clicked off with the same abrupt, soulless sound that ignored every potential positive attribute of the young girl sitting across from Jules.

E:\cyberpunk\the_deadliest_question.exe

Interviewing for your first job... The world claimed to prepare you for it. There were classes in school specifically aimed at it, your parents spoke about it, your aunts and uncles and grandparents spoke about it. You practiced it, thought about it, lost sleep over it, but at this very moment Sarah realized how utterly inadequate all of those processes were. The room itself was enough to make her want to turn and run for the hills, but the hovering expectations of everyone around her kept her rooted in place. She felt like a sheep walking voluntarily in to slaughter. Life revolved around getting a job though. Trying to find the best, strongest organization with the best pay and the best benefits and create a family loyalty to that line that encouraged the company to keep hiring out of your stock so that future generations were nearly guaranteed a job as well. It was how people survived.

"Yes'sir, I am a full time student. I just turned 15 last month, so I wanted to put in an application as soon as possible. I submitted a copy of my transcripts. I work really hard at school and I'm working towards a scholarship for when I graduate. I think work experience would be very beneficial to my scholarship application, and my parents have loyally worked for this company for many years." The ideas were a bit jumbled and smooshed together as though she'd prepared a script but in the heat of the moment two paragraphs had become three sentences. Young eager children had a hard time keeping their composure in the interviews, not unusual.

The small ear piece tucked neatly out of sight in Jules's ear made a soft click sound before Ona's voice filtered through it. "Her grandfather was a transfer from the Vitality Corporation. No record of grandmother working... parents are line level workers in sector 7 and 9." Just as abruptly as the transmission started it stopped, feeding him only enough information to allow him to guide his follow up questions and better flesh out the limited information that the interviewee had given him. Rather did interviewees provide actual details... they always gave the sob story - working hard, scholarships, starving family... whatever reason they felt would compel the interviewer to feel pity for them and give them a job they didn't deserve.

E:\cyberpunk\the_deadliest_question.exe

I'm fine with whatever mix serves the purposes of the rp.

E:\cyberpunk\the_deadliest_question.exe

Ona nodded and took a seat as Jules made his way to the interview room. It was a little unlike him to be this kind in the morning, but Ona was too exhausted and frazzled to make much of it. She had already gone through and earmarked the files, highlighted, notated, and otherwise dissected them in anticipation of being on the other side of the glass with Jules taking his first look at the files. She was sure that her notes would suffice to remind her of anything that she might have wanted to touch on. She allowed her body a moment to relax then eyed the coffee that Jules had left her. She considered leaving it there, not drinking it for perhaps no real reason other then self-deprivation, but her need for a clear mind won out and she picked it up and sipped at the sweet warm liquid.

The girl in the room snapped to attention when he entered, but just as quickly as she'd jumped, her eyes examined this new person before her and her shoulders relaxed some. Something about Ona's outfits, pale skin, and thick makeup seemed to always put people on edge. It was alien in nature to the common man. The girl herself was dressed in a simple and ill fitting three piece suit. Probably something that belonged to her mother that was borrowed just for today's events. She swallowed her nervousness and forced a smile to meet his. "Yes'sir, nice to meet you sir." She stood up just enough to reach across the table and offer him her hand to shake.

Her change in comfort levels wasn't something that went unnoticed for Ona. She loathed how people seemed to clam up around her. Simultaneously, it gave her a sense of power she rarely felt in her life. At this moment, it made her jealous and distrusting of the girl. Ona could see what was happening. Of course this girl would try to suck up to the male interviewer. She would try to sway him to her favor, but Ona would make sure that no stone went unturned in this interview. The change in mood resulted in Ona sitting forward, losing that relaxation she'd momentarily experienced and instead focusing carefully on every movement of the manipulative young girl before her.

E:\cyberpunk\the_deadliest_question.exe

Yes'sir. My apologies. It was a crazy weekend. My uncle who I haven't seen in 15 years and who just had a major heart attack suddenly showed up... so we were spending time with him. Changed my whole schedule. I'm getting everything back together starting today.