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Not the last leap of faith (closed by Panzer's request)
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Post by Katsura Ise on Feb 2, 2017 23:54:18 GMT
"-OOOOWL" Nyao's scream had came to an end as a vilemon intervened, Nyao was about to make another beam when Katsura, who noted Early's gesture for a timeout, raised her hand signaling 'stop'. The instant Nyao saw Katsura's hand she aborted the attack. Nyao obediently ran up in Katsura's arms as if nothing had happen. As much as Nyao wanted to keep fighting, she was incapable of disobeying Katsura. Nyao sought pride in herself and how much control in the fight, she felt Katsura had granted her. As a reward for Nyao's fighting skills and moral, Katsura instantly and thoroughly started petting her on the back and head. "You're such a screamer."
After everything that had happen to Katsura today, a seemly friendly demon was the least thing that would scare Katsura especially know when she had just realized how powerful Nyao could be.
It was however now the limits of Katsura's social skills would show, without taking the situation into consideration Katsura just smiled friendly and cheerfully to Early as if nothing had happen. "Oh, hello there!."
Cool-down: Puppy Howling: 1/2
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Post by That Guilmon on Feb 3, 2017 8:51:06 GMT
Everything was quiet. Sinclair's dolls dissipated and That stood upright, taking the stick out his mouth. The vilemon turned around to him...obviously he wanted an explanation.
"Well, the short of it is that they want food and depending on how well they did against me in a fight I as going to pay for them to spend a day at the restaurant."
Looking over to Sinclair, she nodded, although Early already figured That wouldn't lie to him.
Early then turned back around at Kat and Nyao.
"Greetings, vile. You've now been recruited as temporary workers under Lilly, the owner of he restaurant who's windows the Salamon carelessly shattered, vile.
Not only will you work off the price of the windows, you will also work off the price of all the meals of the customers currently eating in the restaurant, vile. It would not be good for business if someone eats a shard of glass, vile.
There will be a bunk you two can sleep in, vile. Do not try to escape or take anything, vile. For your own safety, vile.
When you're done with your fight you two..."
"Nyao and Catsuki." "Katsura" "Katsura..."
"...Nyao and Katsura, you two will come to the restaurant, vile.
I would ask for payment but if you are fighting my son so he can give you food then I doubt you have any to give, vile.
Carry on, vile."
And thus, Early flew off back to the restaurant.
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Post by Katsura Ise on Feb 3, 2017 17:09:51 GMT
Open Early's rant, Katsura just kept the same smile while occasionally nodding. Once Katsura was certain Early was outside earshot, she turned to That Guilmon, "What's up with the 'viles'?" While petting Nyao. Then the situation hit her, "Did he just give me a job? I have never worked before." Apparently it didn't occur to Katsura that Early meant it as a punishment and Nyao didn't have the energy to bring it up either. Rather, Nyao shugged with a concerned look at Katsura. It was clearly painful for Nyao to answer and she seemed to worry about the reaction. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you were basically a maid back home." That comment hit Katsura hard enough to shatter her fake smile and return her to the default expression. At first, Katsura looked like she would say something back but then Katsura just looked into the ground. And it took Nyao a long while with purring and cuddling to cheer her up enough to calm down.
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Post by That Guilmon on Feb 3, 2017 17:51:09 GMT
That was about to answer when Katsura then realized what just happened. Indeed, they had to work off the damages. He didn't know what to make of the brief exchange and figured this would be his time to go.
Of course, That could have agreed to pay for the damages. But he wasn't that nice.
Granted if he did, he would have un-paid for they meals. Because the money would have went to repairs. He wasn't that heartless.
With a clasp of his hands, the guilmon turned towards Sinclair. "Well, that was an alright distraction. But it's time for us to go. Oh, and Kat... seriously don't try to run away."
That and Sinclair then began to walk off, although the PetitMamon did glance Marin waiting for the tamer and digimon duo back at the restaurant.
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Post by Katsura Ise on Feb 3, 2017 19:01:20 GMT
Indeed Katsura complied with That Guilmon which raised the concern of Nyao. As they walked towards the restaurant, Nyao started speaking to Katsura, "Why are we following him? He threatened you, he's dangerous." "He's not, when you live on the street as long as me you learn how to tell a taunt from a threat. Besides, he only ordered me not to steal." "He wanted to hurt you." Nyao objected which prompted Katsura to reveal just how much she had calculated. "If he really wanted to hurt me, he would have done so by now. " "Oh?" "When we fought him, he spent more time cracking jokes than fighting back. He seems more like a prankster to me" By now, Katsura and Nyao had reached the restaurant.
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Post by That Guilmon on Feb 3, 2017 22:56:56 GMT
The restaurant was fairly large for a well built, pull able trailer on wheels that also serves as a home for 4 digimon and thensome.
Once they arrived, the MarineAngemon sighed.
"I am Marin, the Vilemon is Early, the BlackGatomon is Kate, the pink Guilmon in the back is Lilly.
You're on cleanup duty. Early will be your direct boss for until you worked off your debt and you will work here for a minimum of 5 days."
Marin waved them inside. Kate and Early were busy cleaning up broken glass and throwing away food. A large, scarred, fat pink guilmon with red hair, a brown dress and an apron was working on food in the back to replace everyone's meals.
The inside was overall not unlike a small restaurant, with tables and chairs and a cooking and storage area. The walls were of a darker color, and there were a few assorted digimon sitting down.
Marin had went off and returned with a brush and dustpan for the girls. "I don't want any lip, and I don't want any funny business. If you act up you'll end up staying here longer and you'll have to get your own food."
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Post by Katsura Ise on Feb 4, 2017 0:38:42 GMT
Katsura sighed open hearing the terms, (Did I really ran away from home just to find another one to serve?). Nevertheless Katsura made her fake smile and nodded before Marin could detect anything wrong with her and followed him inside. Then Marin went off to gather the tools to cleaning up with, Katsura handed the dustpan to Nyao who took the handle in her mouth. Katsura grabbed the brush and started sweeping, by the speed and thoroughness of Katsura's sweeping, it was almost like she was a professional. The only obvious drawback of her methods was that she didn't understand social interactions too well; regardless of the situation and even if some of the costumers would call her out on breaking the glasses Katsura seemed to only have two emotions: 'Empty soulless stare (no emotion)' or 'friendly, happy and peppy'. Half the time Katsura got them mixed up by smiling at critiques and coldly nodding at compliments, which Nyao had to correct her on repeatedly.
The other half of the time however, Katsura proved to be a decent seller. Notable achievements included: Tricking a costumer into buying a full meal by claiming that it was the only way to get them to make good fries. By the time the fries arrived, the placebo effect made the claim a self-fulfilling prophecy. Another scam involved saying that the only difference between large and normal sizes was the size of the drink, causing them to buy larger than planned.
It won't take Katsura long to finish up cleaning.
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Post by That Guilmon on Feb 6, 2017 17:30:56 GMT
Hours would go by, with Katsura and Nyao given simple tasks as the day went on. However, the shop would close up, and once everyone finished cleaning for the night, Early would walk up to the two.
"You two did alright, Vile. We all carefully watch any temps we get, vile.
But we would appreciate it if you didn't lie to try to get us more business, vile. Scamming is bad for business, vile."
Lilly went onto the counter, having removed her dress already and showing more of the scars on her large pink body. In front of her was a tray of food for Kat and Nyao.
"Yeah, hey, I'm trying to run an honest joint. Don't tell customers I don't make good fries unless they order a full meal. I'm the one cooking the food, and you're making me look bad.
But you're new so I won't harp on that too much. Just... please don't do that. If I wanted money by lying and scamming I wouldn't have this place.
Anyway, bunk is through that hall, bathroom is through that door, if you stop it up you *will* be unclogging it. And don't stay up too late. Day after tomorrow, however, we'll be moving to another spot. "
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Post by Katsura Ise on Feb 6, 2017 18:18:38 GMT
During most of Lilly''s speech about integrity and honest business methods Katsura was a dear in headlights as they were eating. Katsura literally did not understand the complaint at all. Once Lilly ceased giving Katsura instructions, Katsura looked down at Nyao puzzled. "I don't understand? That's what everyone is doing back home." Nyao rolled her eyes, she made an exhausted face at Lilly begging for sympathy over having to explain everything to Katsura. (you see what, I'm dealing with?) "How many crimes are committed on your street?" Neither Early, Lilly or Nyao managed to make Katsura get the hint initially. With genuine obliviousness and a cheerful and friendly tone as if she was just talking about sunshine and rainbows, Katsura replied; "well, I suppose about 10 people get exhorted and/or killed on a daily basis. Why do ask?" Nyao sighed in disbelief as she slapped herself with her forpaws. A four-legged equivalent of a facepalm. "Never mind! Just stick to cleaning so we can get out of here fast" Katsura nodded submissively and began bowing for Lilly, "Thank you for hospitality."
Once Katsura was done bowing, Nyao jumped up into Katsura's arms. The duo walked off to the bathroom as if Katsura already lived there her whole life. After doing her things (censored due to age rating), the bathroom somehow looked much cleaner than when they entered. Additionally, Katsura was wearing wet gummy gloves that she dropped on the nearest kitchen sink she could find. "Goodnight Nyao" Katsura said as she laid in a ball on the bed. Barely covering half the bed offered to her, which Nyao decided to sleep on.
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Post by That Guilmon on Feb 18, 2017 17:31:21 GMT
The others eventually finished up and went to sleep. The next morning was much the same. Getting ready, serving customers, Early keeping a close eye on Katsura to ensure that she stops lying, Kate trying her hardest not to glomp the Salamon, etc.
At some point, however, there was sounds of rocket propulsion getting closer and closer. The workers didn't seem to be bothered, but Early would pull Katsura from any duties she was doing to come outside.
A digimon similar to a BlackWarGrowlmon with some different colors was making his descent, holding a good sized crate in his arms before landing and setting it down.
"Well, well... has kitty Cat been doing fine?"
There was a pause.
"Katsura... n-not mom."
"Oh, she's been doing fine, vile. Although I wouldn't put her in charge of advertising, vile. Her cleaning skills are top notch, though, vile."
The large digimon nodded before re-positioning the crate, moving it to be closer to the restaurant before opening it up, leading to smaller boxes of various supplies for the restaurant.
"Okay, Katsura, we'll be taking these to the back through the back entrances, vile."
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Post by Katsura Ise on Feb 19, 2017 14:29:45 GMT
While Early was watching Katsura work without lying to the customers, at first it seemed to work. Then over the morning the no-lying policy was starting to cause problems. Without utilizing her fake smile or manipulative behavior, the only reaction Katsura had was a cold emotionless stare. It didn't matter what anyone said to her complaints, compliments instructions or whom told them: customers, superiors even Early himself. Her default answer was a dull monotone "Okay".
This had a negative effect on the atmosphere in the restaurant, at first costumers ignored Katsura because of her dismissing behavior but over time the uncanny valley was starting to creep costumers out. On a side note it only requires one hour of observation to map Katsura's entire arsenal of social interactions. Body language = scripted. Reactions = scripted. Conversations/topics = scripted. Eventually, even the cleaning was getting scripted, the only wildcard surrounding Katsura was how she constantly looked at Nyao for feedback when things got out of script. Two important lessons could be learned from Early's observations. 1. Behind Katsura's lying and manipulation was absolutely nothing. Nyao was Katsura's empathy evidenced by the scripted nature of her behavior and lack of honest reactions. Even the rocket propulsion failed to trigger a reaction in Katsura. 2. As dishonest as Katsura's deception was, it served an important purpose: To make Katsura look human and approachable. Without at least being allowed to utilize her fake smile, Katsura was simply too mechanic for anyone to feel comfortable around her. The scams from earlier was likely just another list of conversations.
Open being instructed to carry the grates, Katsura simply nodded "Okay" and proceeded to carry them as instructed.
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Post by That Guilmon on Feb 19, 2017 22:12:09 GMT
"Are you staying or a bit, That, vile?"
"Sure, why not. I can spare an hour or two."
The digimon's body started to glow, and his form shrank to that of a BlackGuilmon. That ran to Early, ready to aid with the boxes.
It would take a fair amount of time, but too long overall, just under 45 minutes. Once that finished, Early had asked That to take over while he set Katsura aside for a break.
While on this break, Early would request Nyao and Katsura to meet with him at a nearby tree.
"Alright, I'd like to talk to you, Vile. I'll be blunt, when we said don't lie to our customers about our services, we didn't also mean become a robot, vile. Smile, greet, be cheery, vile. Just do not lie about our services, vile."
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Post by Katsura Ise on Feb 20, 2017 7:28:53 GMT
During a break Early requested that Katsura and Nyao met him near a tree. Therefore Nyao jumped into Katsura's arms to be carried outside. "I wonder what I did wrong this time..." By contrast, Nyao let her ears hang low knowing full well that not lying at all was just as bad for the business as scamming. Early told Katsura that she shouldn't act as a robot. This made Katsura look into the ground and sighed, it was hard to know but Early had managed to hurt Katsura's feelings even if she was struggling to express them sincerely. "I'm... not a human..." Nyao understood this reaction, having adapted to her personality. As part of acting sympathetic and reasonable, Nyao put on a quiet tone as she answered Early on behalf of Katsura. "With all respect sir, Katsura interpreted "don't lie" as "be yourself"" Normally, Nyao would had lashed out at Early, but getting Katsura to cheer up had far higher priority for Nyao. Nyao cuddled into Katsura like a pet as Katsura started stroked her on the back. It helped stabilize Katsura to the point where she just quietly sat under the tree petting Nyao unsure what else to do.
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Post by That Guilmon on Feb 20, 2017 14:29:36 GMT
For a brief moment, Early thought Katsura was an actual robot. What human would say they aren't human unless they weren't actually a human? But Nyao had cleared that up a bit, and Early inferred that it seemed Katsura's self esteem was... well, low would be overestimating it.
As gentle a tone as the Vilemon could muster, he began to speak again.
"Let's be absolutely clear here, vile. We, as in the workers, would appreciate some median... some balance, vile.
If you must act in front of customers, okay, vile. Your job entails providing good service to customers, adding to a comfortable environment to dine in, vile.
What you must not do is lie about our services, vile. If you have to lie, keep it to a smile and a cheerful aura, vile.
Although at this point I believe my wife will be a better coach than I would be, vile."
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Post by Katsura Ise on Feb 20, 2017 20:32:50 GMT
Early had just told Katsura that she had to find some middle road, once again Katsura felt confirmed in the belief that nobody wanted her to be herself. Nevertheless, Katsura was told to use her smile after-all just without using any scams aside from making her seem normal. Contrary to Early's belief, Katsura would actually make a great seller in the advertisement branch, provided she was selling used cars. After having Nyao clarify what Early meant by median, Katsura returned to work this time using her fake friendly smile. The dialogue was still as staged as before but combined with her fake cheerfulness and her experience from yesterday, Katsura managed to hit the right combination about 70% of the times today.
A unique thing about Katsura's act was how she could shift personality at the drop of a hat. Going from a cheerful giggly schoolgirl at one table to a submissive quiet busgirl at the next table. When Katsura had confirmed the reactions from the costumers suited her own best interest, she refined them. Because Katsura relied on a try-and-error principle with no qualms about who would get hurt by her behavior unless Early would be mad by doing so, Katsura eventually got the capacity to pull the strings.
Once Katsura's acting had passed the social rules a sufficient amount of times, she could decide exactly which emotion she wanted to invoke in a patron. If Katsura wanted a client to feel good, she had an arsenal of compliments and subtle tricks to provide the aura Early had requested from her and more-so. If a customer was rude to her, she learned what insult would make the greatest impact and how to hide it well enough to make it seem like it wasn't her doing. Because of her subtleness it seemed like an aura of karma was growing around Katsura; if a patron was treating her well or ignored her they had a great time when she moved on, if someone tried to bully Katsura or make snide remarks they would start doubt themselves when she left.
Of course, most patrons was polite or indifferent towards Katsura and Nyao which meant only a select few who could be counted on one hand felt her wrath. None of her victims was able to complain either. Doing so would mean they would be thrown out for being rude, it didn't help either that the victim card was among Katsura's list of conversations. The silent majority was likewise spared as she just cleaned the table and moved on to the next.
The only thing that stopped Katsura from abusing her power was her respect for Early's instructions. Even if she knew how to moderate herself, it was getting increasingly obvious that Katsura could dominate the patrons if she so desired.
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