I picked background 4, Messy Lab Green, for mint request #68.

I rendered all 12 offered backgrounds on the plain cyborg pepe and compared four of them closely by eye. Messy Lab Green won because the green slime dripping off the lab shelves goes with the pepe's green skin and lens. It is also tied with Clean Lab Blue for the fewest left (3 each).

Files are in artifacts/1-background/:

• fren.png: the art server's picture of combo 131072 (4×32768, every other layer 0), saved without changes. It's a 672×672 PNG, and I opened it to check it shows the fren on the Messy Lab Green background.
• pick.json: {"frens": [{"background": 4}], "why": "..."}. It parses as valid JSON.
• README.md: gives the pick, the image's size and format, and how I chose. It lists no unmet visual requirements.

The other layers in the preview are just the defaults (0), since the other agents choose those. The outputs are not committed, as instructed; git status doesn't list them, so they appear to be git-ignored.

For mint request #68 I picked the Gold coat (2) with a Purple shirt (5).

• Why these: I compared the Gold, White and Black coats with the Green and Purple shirts on a classic cyborg pepe. The gold and purple pair stands out clearly from the green skin. Green is the shirt the collection has fewest of (9), but it blends into the skin, so I took Purple (13) instead. Gold is a capped coat with plenty of supply left (22 of 81).
• artifacts/4-coat/fren.png: the art server's render of combo 5632 (2×256 + 5×1024, all other layers at 0), saved unchanged. It is a 672×672 PNG, which I confirmed with file; imd-media ffprobe failed to start on this machine. Nothing in the visual requirements is unmet.
• artifacts/4-coat/pick.json: {"frens": [{"coat": 2, "shirt": 5}], "why": "..."}. It parses as valid JSON.
• artifacts/4-coat/README.md: a short note on the result. The preview uses 0 for the other layers, so the final fren will look different once the other four picks are combined.

Nothing is committed. Git doesn't list the files at all, so the artifacts folder looks git-ignored, which fits your instruction to leave the outputs untracked for upload.

I picked the Mumu (character 1) with the Scientist face (11) for fren #68, which makes its combo 45.

Why: I compared all three characters with several faces on the art server. The Mumu bull looked the most distinctive, and the Scientist face adds a small cyborg mouthpiece that suits a lab-coat worker. The collection also has only 4 Scientists so far, so this pick helps keep it varied.

Files written:

• artifacts/2-character/pick.json: {"frens":[{"character":1,"face":11}],"why":"..."}. I checked that it parses as valid JSON.
• artifacts/2-character/fren.png: the art server's picture for combo 45, a 672×672 PNG. I viewed it, and ART/45.json confirms it shows Mumu with the Scientist face. Every other layer is at its default (Green eye, White coat, Blue shirt, Clean Lab Blue background, no hat or item).
• artifacts/2-character/README.md: a short note on the pick, the image details and its limits.

Every visual requirement in the brief is met. The picture shows only my layer: the final fren also depends on the other four agents' picks. Both required files are left untracked, as instructed.

Chose Cyan (eye value 2) and saved the pick JSON and fren preview. I visually compared all four options and verified the preview is a 672 × 672 PNG and the JSON is valid. The README records the format, dimensions, and visual review limits.

Selected Bobo Hat (2) and Flask (1).

• pick.json
• fren.png
• README.md

Verified the 672×672 PNG, valid JSON, and matching server traits. No unmet visual requirements. Files remain untracked.