<div class="floatright">(https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/351223450284720130/588434188890406932/Gina-Godfrey-plus-real-now-17_2017_9003.png)</div>Becky sat during the presentation, watching the sides of skillfully created concept art as Mateo began explaining the world and the ideas within it. Her dusty jade eyes kept flickering to Anissa for a reaction but as usual, the woman was a cool, calm statue, as beautiful as a work of art to the young engineer.<br/><br/>The character art flashed up on the screen, one at a time and as they were paraded in front of them, her fingers started to fidget. A clear sign that something was bothering her. They fiddled with the hem of her vintage printed t-shirt, folding the edge in between her fingers as one might crimp the pliable dough of a soon to be baked pie.<br/><br/>Typical… she thought. It's what his company was known for. Women in scantily adorned chainmail bikinis and men overly ripped and dripping with oodles of testosterone. Everything that Naughty Otter tried to shy away from. Not to mention they were all white, save for one token person of color. There was no diversity. None whatsoever. Sure, it was concept art and nothing was set in stone but she couldn’t help chewing on her cheek. Another telltale Becky sign that the girl was feeling feels about something.<br/><br/>He wanted them to do the characters, huh? Did he really understand what the company the two of them had built was about? Had he even really studied their products or read up on their reputation? If he had then nothing in his concept art reflected it. It was, if she was honest, a bit insulting.<br/><br/><em>“…If we agreed… Does Naughty Otter have the capabilities and talent depth to pull that off?”</em><br/><br/>Becky realized all too late that the question had not been in general, so lost in her own annoyed thoughts, that when she looked up to see how they would answer, two sets of very expectant eyes were weighing on her.<br/><br/>“I uhh…” She began, twisting her shirt into a little knot around the tips of her skilled fingers.<br/><br/>Her thoughts were like a pack of cats who had suddenly been startled when one had popped a balloon. Each feline scattered in a different direction, each one clawing their way over the other in a mad dash to clear the room, leaving her standing there, uncomfortable and awkwardly alone.<br/><br/>“I don’t think it’s a question of if we have the talent.” She began, clearing her throat and giving herself time to coax a few less timid thoughts back into the room.<br/><br/>“It’s more a question of style… I’d say. These… concept characters aren’t exactly… what we do.”<br/><br/>She was dipping her toe into the waters of the conversation, testing the temperatures and, after an encouraging look from Nissa, she felt a bit more at liberty to stick her feet in.<br/><br/>“If I may say, I couldn’t help but notice that the characters are a bit… uhh… pedestrian.” she finished lamely then added hastily “Not to say that they aren’t visually great pieces of artwork. I just mean…”<br/><br/><em>"Come ON, Rebecca. If you can’t stand up for your beliefs now then when can you?"</em>She felt a small, stubborn voice chide her in the back of her head. It sounded uncomfortably like her girlfriend.<br/><br/>“To be honest…” She looked down at her keyboard, anywhere but the man across from her. “We’re all about inclusivity here. That means all shapes, sizes, colors, sexual orientations, and kinks. The concept art you provided kinda goes against, well, everything we’re known for.”<br/><br/>She gestured at the screen where the last image of a woman in armor sat with a sword.<br/><br/>“Your artists are stunning but every single female is wearing pointless, and utterly useless armor meant only to sell them as sex objects. Sure, you may script them as badass barbarians, but not a single one looks like they could lift a fork, let alone that double handed bastard sword in the image. Every single one looks like airbrushed models.”<br/><br/>She took a deep breath and continued.<br/><br/>“The men aren’t much better. Insanely ripped and impossibly masculine to almost a comical level. Only a single person of color, too, I might add. It just drips of stereotypes and worn out tropes that we have intentionally avoided.”<br/><br/>She felt a simmering in her stomach. Remnants of the many rants she had with Nissa over drinks after they had left game cons like PAX and GDC and Gamescon. How many industry men had walked up to them, looking at their badges and said “Oh, do you play games, sweetheart?” knowing full and god damn well that they not only played but owned their own studio. How many times had they been taken for booth babes or Becky had her ass slapped by some random passer by.<br/><br/>No… today she would finally say what she’d wanted to say all along. She would throw caution to the wind, business deal and personal boundaries be damned.<br/><br/>“If we were to partner with you, the only way me or the team would sign on is if we could do the characters… and do them OUR way. That means men with Dad Bods, girls with stretchmarks and bellies, furries and love is love in all the colors of the fucking rainbow!”<br/><br/>She finished at a pant, her plump chest rising and falling as her pulse raised in her ears. It wasn’t until she blinked a few times that she realized she was staring Mateo dead in the eyes.<br/><br/>Instantly, her face softened, as if her brain had finally caught up with her runaway mouth, which now sat slightly open as if stunned by her own daring.<br/><br/>She could feel the cold sweat starting to form on the palms of her hand and worries about what this would mean for their little beloved company if he took it poorly. But somewhere, deep down that little voice murmured…<br/><br/><em>“Fuck yeah, that was awesome!” </em><br/>