|
CourValant posted:Oh lovely, possessiveness and codependency all wrapped up in teenage love. This can't possibly go sideways. I like to think that while Sasha and Fuzzy are still making semi-intelligent choices most of the time I have to remind myself that they're teens who are inexperienced with relationships and therefor will make mistakes. Also despite their calm demeanor they're internalizing all of that horror differently since they all chose to believe.
|
#
?
Oct 17, 2017 21:42
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 25, 2024 10:27 |
|
|
Ice Phisherman posted:I like to think that while Sasha and Fuzzy are still making semi-intelligent choices most of the time I have to remind myself that they're teens who are inexperienced with relationships and therefor will make mistakes. Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. Yep. Still works.
|
|
#
?
Oct 17, 2017 22:37
|
|
|
CourValant posted:Two households, both alike in dignity, Let's not have a double suicide as the baseline for relationship mistakes.
|
|
#
?
Oct 17, 2017 22:48
|
|
|
CourValant posted:
Yea this: While Fuzzy might incourteously probe into the details of how this works over food(because she probably doesn't know better), this is too weird to initially start questioning, even if they all believe it. Later, when they have time to think "Wait, how does this effect me? the school? Edward/Kenji? Maybe, but for now they are too... shell-shocked? Especially Sasha. Nothingtoseehere fucked around with this message at 00:28 on Oct 18, 2017 |
|
#
?
Oct 17, 2017 23:31
|
|
|
I think someone needs to ask about talking to Kenji, and I think Sasha, being the currently more calculating one, would be the one to broach the topic. Even given her misgivings about Kenji, she would know that he is also someone they need to talk to, because he's also their friend and they want him to know they're there for him, too. I suppose Marco would be the one who would ask if he needs privacy or anything else to make it easier for him to bring Kenji out.
|
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2017 00:21
|
|
|
Xarbala posted:I think someone needs to ask about talking to Kenji, and I think Sasha, being the currently more calculating one, would be the one to broach the topic. Even given her misgivings about Kenji, she would know that he is also someone they need to talk to, because he's also their friend and they want him to know they're there for him, too. Agreed!
|
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2017 00:46
|
|
|
I took a walk and thought about ripping out the line where Fuzzy gets all possessive. I think it's good enough to stay and when she's having a personal crisis I think her reverting back to thinking things are "hers" is okay. I don't plan to keep it going though. She was just in a high stress situation. It look like there's a split between questions, going out immediately to eat and talking to Kenji. I'll try to work these in. Writing now.
|
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2017 03:02
|
|
|
Edward, Marco, Fuzzy, Julie and Sasha - Friday October 20th - Early afternoon - Orc Underground, Our Abbey Underground As it turned out Edward had a lot to get out. Julie was the first one to feel uncomfortable and excused herself. Sasha, no longer seeing Edward as Kenji, at least for this moment, made small, cooing noises to him to soothe him. Marco's posture became rigid as he continued to silently pray. Fuzzy just squished Edward between her and Sasha. This lasted for a few minutes before Julie came back. To her credit Julie came back with a box of tissue paper, pulled a few out and handed them to Edward. He wasn't in a state of mind to take them though and so she sort of awkwardly held them out for him as he did nothing but cry. Julie was relieved of her burden by Sasha, loose tissues and tissue box both. "Thanks Julie," said Sasha. Now Julie was left without anything useful to do. She fretted silently as Edward continued his keening wails. She didn't know how to be useful and didn't know what to do so in the end she just sat down in a chair and tried not to listen. She listened for a long, long time. Edward, Marco, Fuzzy, Julie and Sasha - Friday October 20th - Early afternoon - Docks Area, Pizza Right Now The skies were overcast and there was a drizzle as was often the norm. Megacorporations may run the world, people marry their flesh with metal, spirits and magic had returned but Seattle being rainy never changed. It reflected the mood of the five. Another thing hadn't changed though, and that was that even terrible pizza was solid comfort food, and the immediate takeaways from Pizza Right Now was that their pizza came in three distinct styles: Sausage and pepperoni greasy, pepperoni greasy or merely plain cheese greasy. There were no tables and so they stood outside under an awning. "This is going to be hell on my skin," complained Sasha. Fuzzy was already eating, but Julie paused as she reached for her second slice. "You think so?" asked Julie. "I really do," said Sasha, absentmindedly. Julie made a whimpering noise and silently envied Fuzzy and Sasha's excellent skin. She couldn't afford skincare products or anything, really. Even as a talented magician who'd finally learned a few helpful spells Mother Bear couldn't find her any work. Apparently no one wanted to hire someone with a felony manslaughter charge for a part time job even if she could heal the injured with magic. She wouldn't even have been able to afford this pizza if Marco hadn't paid for it. Now she couldn't even have the pizza. She sighed miserably. "Something wrong, Julie?" asked Marco. "It's nothing. I'm not very hungry," she lied. Edward hadn't spoken much despite some coaxing, however it was appearing that one of his odd quirks was that he very much liked to be touched or to touch others. It didn't really matter how. Even sitting close enough to touch sides was enough. It helped keep him calm. They'd figured this out early after leaving the church on their walk back and so after some trial and error Fuzzy just held his hand on the way out. Now it was Sasha's turn and so Edward seemed relatively calm. He watched cars go by with mild fascination as he ate. Having spent most of his life in the ACHE owning or even using a vehicle was still mildly strange to him. The five ate in relative silence save for a small sentence here or there. No one really knew what to say. That ended when Sasha next spoke. "Hey Edward?" she asked. Edward paused mid bite and looked at her. "Um...What do you want to do?" asked Sasha. "Do?" "Yeah, I mean going forward. You're two different people. Do you get smarter when Kenji does for instance? Do you get anything from being at school?" she asked. "Sort of. I get muscle memory. Sometimes when Kenji learns a new skill I do things without thinking about it," said Edward. "Yeah, but what about school and stuff? You know, regular education?" "No. Not really," said Edward. "If he learns something I don't. If I learn something he doesn't. That's just how it is." "But do you think we should tell Julian or something?" asked Sasha. "Who's Julian?" asked Edward. "Hr refrooted ws," said Fuzzy, around a piece of pizza. "Hey Fuzzy, do you know that it's considered rude when you talk when you're eating or when your mouth is full?" asked Sasha. This actually wasn't her being passive aggressive. Fuzzy still didn't know a lot of things. She looked to Marco who smiled slightly and nodded and then to Julie who looked vaguely jealous for some reason and nodded as well. Fuzzy swallowed her pizza. "Oh, sorry," she said. "Anyway, he recruited us. Well, Kenji, Julie and me. Maybe you could talk to him about your situation and get help." Edward looked from one face to another before finally landing back on Sasha's. He looked anxious despite having one of his hands held. "So on the way here you told me about Blake Island and that the students are all from different corporations, right?" asked Edward. "Right." "Right," said Marco. "So what are the chances that someone who works at that corporation that...Well...That it has a kid going there?" asked Edward. "Edward, corporations are absolutely huge," said Marco. "The odds of you..." "No, he's right," interrupted Sasha. "Maybe saying less is best. At least for right now. I think that'd be best. You know, right?" One by one everyone began to turn and face her. They stared as the rain fell. "You know something," said Marco. "Uhhh..." "Is this Ares?" growled Marco. Sasha took a half step backwards as something dark fell overtook Marco's features. "What?! No!" implored Sasha. "Marco how could you?" That darkness passed and he looked away, suddenly ashamed. Fuzzy glared at him. "Be nice," said Fuzzy. "We came here because you asked us." "Sorry," he said. "That's...You're right. My fault. Sorry." "It's okay," said Sasha, who then repeated it to Fuzzy, as she attempted to smooth things out. "It's okay, really. We're all just strung way too tight right now." Julie held out her hand tentatively for a few seconds before she patted Marco on the arm. "It's just...That's Christina's last name. LeBlanc." Everyone looked back to Sasha now. She hadn't told them everything of course, that her method could very well be what Edward had been trained to do, and when he failed was dropped into the garbage pit. It fit too well. She noticed Marco gauging her again. He didn't lob accusations this time, but she knew he knew she wasn't telling them everything. "Oh nice, pizza," drawled Kenji. "And I'm holding the hand of a pretty girl. Lucky duck." Sasha flicked his hand away and wiped her own on Kenji's coat. She scowled at him, but chided herself internally. This was her fault. "You know, I haven't felt this great in a long time," said Kenji. "Oh, wow, those glasses. I won't ask." He took a piece of pizza from Julie as she was the one holding the box and chewed thoughtfully. "So what do you guys know?" asked Kenji. "Actually, wait just a second." He took a white noise generator from his pocket and flicked it on. It was about as small as a pack of gum so when Kenji closed the pizza box he put it right on top of it for Julie to hold. "Doesn't work the greatest outside, but you know, the rain helps. I have to say that this is probably the best I've been woken up in quite some time. Usually when Edward wants me I'm getting choked or shot at." Julie, Marco and Sasha shifted uncomfortably, but it didn't phase Fuzzy. That had once been her life too to an extent. She tried not to talk casually about violence anymore though. It hurt Sasha's feelings. "We know everything," said Fuzzy. "drat. He gets a good time out on my tab and I get sold out. Great," Kenji groused. "Maybe you should be kinder when you speak about him," growled Marco. "Tell you what, Marco, how about you come back to me and say that again when you spend some time as a slave under penalty of death," said Kenji, his tone bored. "When you talk to your maker you pray. When I talk to mine I send texts and sometimes I get answers back if he's feeling charitable. Maybe if I'm actually a person I might meet your maker or something someday, but you sure as hell met mine just now, and he's not so benevolent in my eyes. If I displease him enough he can just end my existence. So yeah, he just threatened my life by outing me to four people. You know what? I wish I'd woken up to getting choked or shot at now pizza be damned. Anyone else got anything to say before I enjoy what..." Kenji's eyes went out of focus as he checked his augmented reality contacts for the time. "poo poo...Hour? Last hour of my free time? I thought I'd have at least three. And I've got ten messages and half of them look urgent. loving poo poo...Nuyen doesn't just grow on trees," he grumbled. "I got to take these fast. Anything urgent before I go? I got to get this dust back in me too so I don't accidentally blind someone if someone randomly assenses me. I don't feel it in me so I'm just walking around Seattle showing my wrecked rear end soul to everyone. drat it." CYOA Time How does everyone feel about Kenji now that they all know his secret and that he thinks of himself as a slave to Edward? Normally he wouldn't be so openly bitter, but he feels like Edward really screwed him over after he did all that work. Sasha rolls a critical glitch on her con test. She cannot keep a straight face and has outed herself. If she were more calculating and ruthless she would've done that alone and not in front of her friends. You take the good with the bad. Ice Phisherman fucked around with this message at 08:46 on Oct 18, 2017 |
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2017 08:15
|
|
|
The immediate visceral reaction will probably be anger given the jarring shift in the conversation and Kenji insulting them. Ultimately when they think about it the whole situation paints Kenji in a much better light. Kenji has been Edward's tireless protector this whole time and what he says is completely true he is a slave compelled to work for the betterment of his master under the threat of non-existence. Kenji has had a bad hand dealt to him and if he seems crass about Edward's emotional situation, that is because that is how Edward made him. They were friends with Kenji before this all happened and he needled them before this so this is mostly jarring return to normality. -Marco probably follows what I outlined above, but he is going to be the most angry initially, but he'll also cool the fastest and think about what Kenji said. -Julie is probably going to be less contemplative about the Edward/Kenji drama and more focused on what Sasha said about Christina and Marco's reaction. She is probably working on connecting the dots and is more willing to pry at Sasha than Marco is, in order to be useful, score points with Marco, and get back at Christina for publicly outing her as murderer. Sorry if this is incoherent sleeping pills and insomnia.
|
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2017 09:14
|
|
|
MinutePirateBug posted:Sorry if this is incoherent sleeping pills and insomnia. Hope you get some rest.
|
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2017 09:26
|
|
|
It seems to mw that Marco would feel that first flash of anger, bit be able to calm himself down. Julie is more concerned about what everybody else thinks. Fuzzy is just like, "Whatever, sup Kenji."
|
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2017 16:26
|
|
|
Ice Phisherman posted:CYOA Time Marco: He's going into full Christian savior mode with Kenji/Edwards. Edwards is a frightened, damaged child who needs protection, and Kenji is the best he's got (which Marco doesn't think its good enough). Now that I think about it, Marco might be the greatest threat to Kenji; he wants to save Edward, and that might mean getting right of Kenji in the long run because ultimately, Kenji's not good for Edward. Now THAT would be an interesting story. Fuzzy: No real change; she gets the protector role that is Kenji. Sasha: She doesn't gave time for this; she's too distracted by the Christina, LeBlanc, Ares, and Long Star connection. Julie: "Hmmm, what? Sorry, I wasn't listening, I was too busy starring into Marco's eyes, I mean, not starring at Marco, wait, no, I mean this pizza is really greasy, unless, you like it greasy Marco, oh I didn't just say that, tee hee hee." /blush.
|
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2017 19:28
|
|
|
I posted another call on the Shadowrun thread to see if anyone is interested since the last time I did so was about when Fuzzy's arc was wrapping up if I recall. https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3563160&pagenumber=237#post477503078 You don't have to, but I'd appreciate it if I could get some +1's over there. I lucked out and got the top of the thread. Maybe rate this thread too if you feel like it. Thanks for the attention. 
Ice Phisherman fucked around with this message at 19:39 on Oct 18, 2017 |
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2017 19:36
|
|
|
Ice Phisherman posted:Thanks for the attention. Rated and Reccie'd! You deserve everything we can do to help spread the word Buddy, you work hard on this. 
|
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2017 21:59
|
|
|
Poor Kenji, put into an awkward situation with only an hour left to handle business. If they want to talk to him they'll have to do it back on the island I suppose. Fuzzy: She's more likely to accept Kenji's situation at face value, like Cour said, she gets it. When push comes to shove I think she'll be willing to stand up for Kenji if there's any conflict. This also adds a degree of further understanding that she didn't quite have when it was just Edward's side of the story, and when Kenji said he's basically a slave working on pain of death, she realizes, "Oh. This isn't a good situation for either of them." She empathizes with Edward, but she recognizes that Kenji protects him and protected her too. Even if he clearly did so as part of cultivating her as an asset, Fuzzy's experiences mean she deeply values having people she can trust in, and she trusts in Kenji. Integration of Kenji and Edward is a simple solution and so she would be the best one to put it forward later down the line. This isn't the time for it, I'm thinking about potential scenes down the line. Julie: I want to say she came here mostly for Marco, but the realization that one of her enemies might have something to do with this makes the gravity of the situation a little more real for her. She's harder, and less kind than the other kids in the group, but might be willing to open up more to Kenji. Especially if he lets her in on any kind of payback on Christina, however petty. Julie's still pretty separate from the rest, emotionally, and while she's become at least good acquaintances with Fuzzy, she hasn't been in the trenches with the gang, so to speak. However, I think she'll be willing to give it a shot now that she's established links, however tenuous, to the other POV chars. She doesn't have a lot of baggage with Kenji in the way the team empath does, so I think she might make an effort to get him to open up, especially if he can find work for her. Maybe start a working relationship, since she can't find a legitimate job with her record and we know, but Julie doesn't, that Kenji is looking to move out of running and into fixing. But Kenji really needs his own friend, and Marco is complicated by deeply empathizing with Edward, and Julie might be willing to fill that role. Especially since she doesn't really have a friend, either. Marco: Yeah, he might feel more pity for Edward than Kenji, especially since Kenji is the more composed and least vulnerable-seeming of the two, despite him being much more vulnerable than Edward in reality. I don't think Marco will suggest Edward get rid of Kenji and not just because he would have to go through Kenji to see Edward. He will be sterner with Kenji when Kenji takes risks since he knows he's basically steering for two. But, remember, Marco was the one who first realized Kenji was lonely too. And Kenji might be rightly annoyed if Marco decides to be more protective of Kenji since he feels protective of Edward, and even more annoyed if Marco starts feeling protective of him. Because Kenji doesn't know how to deal with that. Sasha: Definitely taking the big picture scope of this, it's what she would be expected to do as a corp princess. Kenji's matter-of-factness about his lovely situation, not to mention his usual antics, was definitely a bucket of ice water on the mood as she remembers she's not dealing with the soft and vulnerable Edward, but the kind of skeevy operator, Kenji. She'll back up Fuzzy if she starts to advocate for Kenji's sake if anything comes up with that. Giving much more elaborate thoughts since this may have ramifications for long-term developments down the line. Runa fucked around with this message at 00:33 on Oct 19, 2017 |
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2017 00:23
|
|
|
First of all, thanks for the +1's on the Shadowrun thread and the votes. I appreciate it. Second, my friend who I normally see on Wednesdays is having a date night with his wife which I think is fantastic because it's good for him and his wife. This means I'm going to instead take Friday off, and even then I'll probably post at least once that day. I won't try to design the website tonight in this case since I'm in a mood to write. Third, I've been thinking about what to do next after the four arcs are complete. This was after all a writing exercise to start out and I think despite it ballooning out of control it's serving its purpose. I've been doing some storyboarding for year two as well as a non-shadowrun CYOA that I could take half a month or even a month to do in order to cool down and recharge my batteries for more shadowrun. Year two of Shadowrun's theme will be something along the lines of "May you live in interesting times" along with dealing with the ramifications of our choices from year one. This would be how we do or how we don't engage with the metaplot I'm weaving into each arc. I won't spoil it, but I plan on starting strong and shocking the gently caress out of whatever sensibilities you have. I know it'll shock you because it shocks the gently caress out of me and I'm pretty jaded. That's later though. Much later. I really want to spoil it, but I'd rather surprise/horrify you all. However as long as I have time and creative energy I'll continue writing after all of this is done. Arc 2.5 is mostly just going to be a number of short stories though there will be some good and necessary character development there as well as more lampshading on the metaplot so I don't just blindside you all. Then there will be Julie's arc and finally the last arc which will most likely be Fuzzy's. The metaplot is humming along nicely in the background and I'm going to have it bump against you folks to grab your attention before I'm done with Kenji's story. In story it would be just after Halloween and be at the end of Kenji's story with a cliffhanger because I'm a giant tease. In short, I feel like I've complicated the world well enough that I'm now able to start knocking people together and generating believable and intense conflict. While there are villains they'll have real character driven motives rather than being force of nature villains like the Joker in the Nolan Batman films who just sows chaos and blows poo poo up because he can. Interesting if done right, but it's hard to really understand or despise the Joker. On the other hand the non-Shadowrun story I'm thinking about would be a one shot book in a universe of my own design with the potential of going for three books if I like it. I'm actually a huge fan of the Persona series and have been since I was an older teen so it'd be along the lines of a Scooby gang urban fantasy story. Far less gods, demons, magic and silent protagonists though. Just cute talking mice with thimble pushpin swords, repairing connections between people in the form of physical thread, making friends, feeling feelings, avoiding the cat, and trying to solve a mystery in order to stop a tragedy before it happens. I'm hoping for wider appeal and to try my hand at making a story that's entirely my own even if the format is familiar. There's nothing new under the sun, but I can shine on what I want to. Also since it would be mine I could actually sell it for money when I complete it instead of pitch it someone else that owns the property and hope. I've longed for years to hear one of my own books in audiobook format and be successful outside of the romance genre. That's way in the future though if I can make everything work. In the meantime I keep honing my craft and plugging away. The website will be up eventually. I will definitely take a few days after Kenji's arc to get it done if nothing else, though I don't really want to. My personal curse is that while I'm good as a writer I suck at almost everything else. Covers, editing, blurbs, self-promotion, email, everything not related to making a book, I'm bad at it. I just want to string words together but that's not enough if I want to be successful. I've thought about a patreon for when I get the website up and after giving it a good long think I'd rather have all content be 100% free and not hide anything which I think sucks. I'd rather have tips in the tip jar because people want me to keep going rather than block off content because people can't afford it. I remember being poor and I think this would help me get around pirating. There's no point in pirating what's free. You'd think that a lower-middling author would never get his books pirated but oh no. No, no. Those middle aged Southern housewives' romance pirating game is just as strong as any fifteen year old trying to pirate the newest of new gaming hotness. Anyway, I'll just stick with the tagline "Real stories written in real time guided by a real audience. That means you." and see how far I can get. As far as I know I'd be the only person doing it which is both good and bad in terms of marketing. That's future stuff though and I'll see if it can get any traction. Anyway, on to the writing. I'm reading your comments and getting them together. Here's what I've got from thread comments: Looks like Fuzzy is pretty down with this all. Not that it isn't weird. It's weird, but she's more accepting. She's pretty adaptable as we've seen Marco looks like he's going to be mad at first, but once he thinks about it he's going to be thoughtful and I'm going to read that as conflicted. Edward, ostensibly the slave master is more sympathetic than Kenji, who's a dick, who is also the slave and protector both. They also share the same body and are technically the same person. Julie looks like she's going to have a more nuanced response to this. Yes, she's doing this initially to please Marco, but she might find that she has quite a lot in common with Kenji and may be able to look past her racism to talk to him, at least to a point. However she's also concerned about what the group thinks and if the group decides something she is more likely to go along to get along even if she disagrees. Sasha is thinking furiously about the Lone Star connection and therefor isn't thinking about the group dynamics overmuch. This is a serious crisis for her and she's probably pretty close to calling for outside help. She's currently weighing the safety of everyone else versus the safety of Kenji in thinking about calling for outside help which means appealing to dad. Not writing just yet. I'm going to relax for a bit since I'm a little tired. I'll try to get something out just after midnight EST. Ice Phisherman fucked around with this message at 02:42 on Oct 19, 2017 |
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2017 02:21
|
|
|
Good luck, IP. Here's hoping it all works out. Unfortunately I also know nothing about making a website or running a patreon. I think Atma from GBS had a small CYOA patreon for a time but I don't know if they're still active. You'll want to reach outside of just SA if you can, though. I realize that's difficult all around, though. And heck, it's hard enough getting the attention of people who are already down for Shadowrun. Anyways, take your time. The business side of things is way over my head so all I can offer is best wishes and the occasional vote for what's in characters' heads.
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2017 03:01
|
|
|
Xarbala posted:Good luck, IP. Here's hoping it all works out. Unfortunately I also know nothing about making a website or running a patreon. I think Atma from GBS had a small CYOA patreon for a time but I don't know if they're still active. You'll want to reach outside of just SA if you can, though. I realize that's difficult all around, though. And heck, it's hard enough getting the attention of people who are already down for Shadowrun. I figure it's hard to be disappointed if all I want to start is beer money. I'll work on Shadowrun and release that as a web novel, work on my own stuff and actually sell it and see what happens. Setting correct expectations for myself at the start keeps me from being disappointed. And yeah, I will eventually take it off SA, but I'll also post here too. I 100% know that I could be making good money doing what I do now if I went back to romance, but it's soul draining and creatively unsatisfying to write the same stories over and over again as the formula is so rigid. This is me trying something new.
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2017 03:06
|
|
|
Ice Phisherman posted:I 100% know that I could be making good money doing what I do now if I went back to romance, but it's soul draining and creatively unsatisfying. I can only imagine.
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2017 03:07
|
|
|
Long-term I kinda see Sasha and Fuzzy being forced to go their separate ways - exes who still carry candles for each other, but who can't reconcile how different their lives have to be. Maybe even a situation where Fuzzy ends up Sasha's secret wildcard in the shadows, and Sasha ends up Fuzzy's corporate hookup. You know, the kind of thing where they never really get over each other, but neither can actually live in each other's worlds. Or maybe it has a happy ending with Fuzzy doing double duty as an undercover cop, a shadowrunner, and a 'vigilante' with strong ties in disadvantaged communities. Or maybe they both burn their bridges and go try for something different somewhere else. Or maybe Fuzzy ends up being the person who finally serves as the bridge to employing orks in Knight Errant to police the Underground, cementing the prestige of the Oliver dynasty. There's a lot of directions I could see this going, but one of the major ones I see is their different lives proving incompatible, no matter how strongly they feel for each other.
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2017 04:14
|
|
|
IP if you start something outside SA I'll  . I lliked your gods in the various godgames we were in and I love this. I would almost, almost, buy one of your romance. Just to have it, not to read. Never to read.
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2017 05:37
|
|
|
Kenji, Marco, Fuzzy, Julie and Sasha - Friday October 20th - Afternoon - Docks Area, Pizza Right Now There was something intensely dissatisfying about eating after Edward did. Kenji ate to cover up the taste of food in his mouth. He made that taste his own despite not being hungry. He'd wait for the space of a slice of pizza for them all to have their say and then go about his business. An hour was not enough time. "So what, this explains your outlook on life?" asked Marco. "It sounds toxic both ways." "Yeah, that's because it is. If you've got a problem with it maybe you should talk to management. I barely get any say in what I do, only how I do it. In the meantime I have to be the responsible one since Edward hands off almost all of the dirty work to me," said Kenji. "Any of you got anything else to say?" "I think it's messed up, but I think I get it," said Julie. "Sort of. Not being in control of your own life that is." Kenji nodded grudgingly at her as she looked to Marco for approval or disapproval. He was too busy brooding to notice and so she looked back and sighed. When Kenji looked to Fuzzy she just shrugged. "Life is bad sometimes. I'm not good at talking, but you can talk to me if you want," she said, simply. Kenji paused for half a second and felt momentarily touched. A small smile played across his lips but was soon hidden by another bite of pizza. It was almost gone now. "I have stuff to think about," said Sasha. She was done opening her big mouth. She needed to think. "Right. I'll see all of you in about an hour on the boat," said Kenji. He finished up eating, grabbed the white noise generator, turned it off, pocketed it and looked at the group. All of them looked demoralized in some way. He'd have to ask, but whatever Edward said to all of them had to have hit them particularly hard. He walked past them, looked into his hidden compartment in his shoe and lo and behold there was that dust, though he was missing some of it. Thankfully not much. With care he took off his shoe, changed his face to open it just enough and carefully poured the dust back in. His aura now obfuscated he checked, double checked and triple checked to make sure all the dust was out of his shoe and none hit the floor. Then he walked past all of his friends without another word. He'd deal with the fallout later. He had directives to fulfill. He'd protect moms, make money and gain favors, and that meant checking his email. He needed to save money to keep her in the assisted living facility come this summer. He had time, but being a weekend fixer was barely enough to get by. Kenji, - Friday October 20th - Late afternoon - Seattle Docks Gentoo had no less than three requests for hookups for bioware all marked urgent. That was out of his wheelhouse though. If Sawbones didn't know he didn't know. Bioware was expensive and most ACHE runners only dealt in the cheap cyberware in the used and standard varieties. He was able to contact Clever and hook him up though. That cost nuyen and no, Clever wasn't sharing his contact with Kenji without plenty of nuyen his way. He'd have to get that out of him if he was going to be working with Gentoo and taking care of his needs. Octo was looking for something called a CD player. He'd never heard of it, but one matrix search later and he had. It turned out that his fence actually did know a guy who had an old one he could use, but it was for rent only since they were so expensive with a deposit on top of that that was held until it was returned. The email turnaround from Octo was immediate and grateful, and just like that he'd answered four emails in the space of half an hour. Next was from Julian marked urgent. The subject was simple. "Where are you?" Apparently his teacher had been keeping tabs on him. He messaged Marco. "Hey, where was everyone today?" texted Kenji. "Ork Underground, Our Abbey Underground," texted Marco. "Was I with you the entire time?" "Yes. Also, sorry for the anger. I have a lot to sort through," texted Marco. "Don't mention it," texted Kenji. Kenji immediately emailed Julian. "Ork Underground at Marco's church. Marco was there with entire time. Check with him. I only remembered matrix access down there is spotty after fact. Apologies," read Kenji's email. Kenji used the short speak that was so common in text and email to cover up that he hadn't went down there with Marco. Edward had. The rest was spent scanning through his email. He wasn't able to answer them all, but he could scan them after the fact. He switched his commlink's matrix access off so he could view the emails in private as he boarded the boat. An update on moms, no change, an email from some girl titled "I don't normally do this, but..." He couldn't check her social media profile, but she looked cute from the photo and was somewhat jealous of Edward for a brief moment. As it turned out everything was answered, read, deleted or archived and he'd addressed all of the most critical emails. His first week as a fixer wasn't a success, but at least it wasn't a failure and he'd even netted a small windfall for being the go-between. He dreaded the night that was to come and its emptiness, but that emptiness that he'd felt on Friday never came. He looked inside of himself and felt...Something. Something instead of nothing. He wasn't sure what changed, but he didn't care. He slept like a baby and continued to do so for most of the rest of the week. In the end he'd avoid most of the group. He wasn't sure how to deal with them despite half-hearted efforts and pulling Edward back out from his slumber was too risky outside of the set hours. He kept it all tightly controlled and tightly regimented to preserve his and Edward's safety. Edward went to therapy and talked with Marco, though this time in more private places so the dust could be outside of him just in case. He couldn't lose any more of it. Not a single grain. He'd been feeling the edges of that creeping dread by Friday, but come Saturday he was right as rain again. This time he questioned it, but came back with no answers and Edward had none for him either. Kenji, Marco, Fuzzy, Julie and Sasha - Friday October 31st - Noon - Blake Island "Blah!" shouted Sammy the salmon in his worst, faux Eastern European accent. "Hello kids!" "gently caress my life," groaned a girl. "Why do they do this to us?" Sammy the salmon, the augmented reality fish educational mascot of Blake Island moved about on stage. He had in cheesy vampire fangs and raised his black cowl and cloak in front of himself in a pose despite having no hands. He would occasionally turn into an equally terrible cartoon bat and fly about as well. "Laaaaaame!" shouted someone from the crowd. "Shhhhh!" shushed Mother Bear. Sammy the Salmon didn't care about looking lame. After all he was just a program. He once again turned into a bat and flew around the bored students. One girl screamed as he clipped through her. He wasn't real so no one was injured, but the teens at the assembly laughed for a minute. Sammy was momentarily paused while order was restored before the teachers booted him up again. "Now I know Halloween is a time for good tricks and treats, however, due to legal concerns we can allow no funny business on the island, blah! There will be a Blake Island approved costume party though, so ask your teachers about the school dance and activities. And don't forget to sign up for the spookiest social media sensation that's sure to sweep the nation, Salmon Run! Blaaaaah!" Sammy the Salmon disappeared into a poorly animated swarm of bats and into what at some point was supposed to be a pumpkin, but was instead a blue error screen in augmented reality that simply read, "Pumpkin.jpeg" with a large X in the middle. He he flew into instead. Mercifully that was what ended show. The crowd stirred and that meant Fuzzy, Sasha, Julie, Kenji and Marco got to their feet as well. "It's like they're trying to make him so lame he wraps around to cool on purpose, but it's just an endless feedback loop of lame," said one boy, conversationally. "I know, right?" said a girl. Kenji rounded on the four. He'd been planning for this, and this seemed like the perfect moment. "So I want to talk to all of you about something," said Kenji. "Maybe over there where it's quieter so we can all hear one another." The four looked at him dubiously. Their morale had never fully recovered from the blow it'd taken nearly two weeks ago and it showed. Marco was angrier. Fuzzy and Sasha were awkward around him. Julie tried to talk to him, but didn't really know how. He'd wanted to engage with them on his terms, not theirs. In any case they followed him to an out of the way spot anyway. "So what is it, Kenji?" asked Sasha, warily. "Yeah, I want to get ready for the dance," said Julie. "Actually, it's about you, Julie," said Kenji. "What? Me?" asked Julie, surprised. "What about her?" rumbled Marco. "My promise. Remember at the start of the year when I said I'd help her with her reputation?" asked Kenji. "All too well. I'm glad you didn't forget. How are you doing on that?" asked Marco. "Quite well, actually. I worked my charms and I feel like I've reasonably fulfilled my obligations to shelter her from the worst of the badness that could've come her way. However, I do have one final touch before I feel like I'm done. It's been enough time and I've learned that Christina has messed with enough people that a little revenge is in order and there are just too many people to pin it on anyone in particular. I bought something from my cousin a few weeks ago for a special occasion. I suppose we could use it now," said Kenji. With a small flourish he produced a perfect clear cylinder about the size of a softball filled with some sort of clear liquid. It sloshed and rolled awkwardly in his hand. "What's that?" asked Fuzzy. Kenji did not look from side to side, but did flick his eyes this way and that to make sure no one was close. He lowered his voice. "This is a lube grenade," said Kenji. "Gross," said Sasha. "I can only imagine what you normally use it for." "And for once my mind isn't the first one into the gutter," teased Kenji. "Thanks, Sasha." Sasha huffed and looked away. Fuzzy suppressed a smile behind her hand. "Anyway, this little baby will detonate with a signal and a full liter of industrial superlube will paint a ten meter radius. Quite enough for say...A cabin, maybe? Perhaps we could even use it when a certain someone is inside?" "What, you're not going to do it?" asked Sasha. "Nope, can't, she messed with me too recently. I need to be seen doing anything else. However I can assist if you need help from afar," he said. "Count me out," said Marco. "I've already seen too much. Your debt is paid, Kenji. I'm no liar and I don't want to get you all in trouble if someone asks me. I'm just going to pretend I didn't see anything." He walked away. Julie and Fuzzy looked intrigued though, Julie especially. "There's a catch," said Kenji. "Two, actually." They looked less intrigued now. "What is it?" asked Julie. "Well, your clothes? They have augmented reality tracking devices sewn into them. Can't wear them." "Okay, so you want one of us to strip?" asked Sasha, exasperated. "No thanks." "I thought you had other clothes," chided Kenji. "No, one of you just walks about with the shirt of someone else on the island. Maybe you want to "get away" or "be away from everyone," he said, and used air quotes with his free hand. "Besides, a lot of people are going to be using costumes tonight. They're not going to wear said clothes under the costumes. At least not everyone. Tonight is perfect for this." He pocketed the lube grenade and smiled. "Someone here needs to be close enough to set it off though. Within at least ten meters. Matrix signals out here are terrible, but you can send it a short distance. Or we could just set it for a specific time. Whatever your little hearts desire. Christina really screwed all of us when she outed us. I think it's payback time. Or we could just forget it," he said. "Though I'd really rather not. This stuff is definitely contraband." CYOA Time Operation lube grenade is a go. Tonight people aren't as keen on wearing their AR tracking devices sewn into their clothes because they're going to be in costume. Both Fuzzy and Julie have the true invisibility spell, but will have to be close enough to trigger the grenade wirelessly or anticipate when she's coming by or will be in her room. If it's just sitting there it's pretty big so it'll need to be hidden and the cabin is pretty small. Wrecking her cabin won't be a big deal, but I'll give two karma for splatting her and getting it on film. However if we get caught red handed something bad will happen. We can sneak in and plant it. Fuzzy would be decent at that with high stealth. Or we could magic it in. Julie has levitate as well and could jiggle the latch on one of the windows while invisible. She's actually great at sustaining spells too and suffers no penalties for holding one. Sasha might be able to socially engineer something. Or they could work together for a more intricate plan. Or something else. So who wants to do it? Julie? Fuzzy? Sasha? A combination of the three? Kenji is out for the moment as Christina humiliating him was way too recent and he'd be the obvious one to do this, so he's going to be at the party. Kenji rolls 14 dice and is able to get through 7 of his emails as a part time fixer. I'll say that he got all of the important stuff. This isn't going to make him a ton of money, but it will keep his contacts from seeking other people for the moment. Kenji makes a small commission due to the fact that he criticals. Kenji makes 700 nuyen. 6 more hits the next weekend. His contacts are aware he's available once a week at this point, but his rates are low so they feed him the less urgent stuff. 600 more nuyen. He loses 150 nuyen for Edward's therapy. He gained 1150 nuyen total. This sounds like a lot, but much of this money is being banked for moms and Edward's continued therapy. It's hard out there.
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2017 06:40
|
|
|
Deadmeat5150 posted:IP if you start something outside SA I'll Thanks for the praise, Deadmeat. But please, don't buy my romance. It's trash. It provides me with a nice passive income but I don't want to do it anymore. New projects please. Not even going to link it. I always loved playing those gods in my godgames. I love playing useful characters that get by by being kind and perceived as weak. Usefulness and perceived weakness is the best armor. After operation lube grenade we're going to have one, maybe two more posts before I end this arc. Get hype for A Very Shadowrun Christmas Special! Ice Phisherman fucked around with this message at 06:46 on Oct 19, 2017 |
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2017 06:43
|
|
|
Oh this one is going to be hard to choose. I'd love to see an elaborate plan carried out but, to be honest, that's a case of too many potential points of failure. Julie hasn't had a chance to shine, so maybe a bit of wingardium levigofuckyourself might be in order. Sasha can play interference to keep people away from the cabin while Fuzzy's hiding on lookout. Also the whole Persona fan thing does help explain why you chose a school theme, IP. Though maxing an S-link involves completing a loyalty mission, and that's rougher.
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2017 07:37
|
|
|
Xarbala posted:Also the whole Persona fan thing does help explain why you chose a school theme, IP. Though maxing an S-link involves completing a loyalty mission, and that's rougher. I actually didn't think about it for this go around. The choice was incidental. If I do the other story that'll be more obvious that I'm going to urban fantasy scooby doo route.
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2017 07:45
|
|
|
Operation lube grenade should be a team effort, the gang's first pseudo-shadowrun together. The main thing is avoiding detection, so someone looking out for magical detection, watcher spirits and the like, (Julie or Sasha or both) and also it would be good to have Kenji introduce Sasha to Octo in order to have someone looking out for electronic security (recording devices/silent alarms etc..). I can imagine that the island has a lot of security measures in place to protect all the various Corp princesses and princes, also given Christina's corp is primarily focused on policing/security I can imagine that she has had high tech security devices privately installed in her cabin, after all if someone could place a lube grenade easily in a cabin someone could just as easily plant a frag grenade and she has been a dick to a lot of people. Sasha can probably pay whatever fee Octo has for overwatch/hacking on the fly services and it gets Kenji some $$ for setting up the job for Octo, although Sasha might have some fancy toys of her own for getting around or detecting security devices. Also if they find anything interesting or incrementing like personal communications devices or some sort data storage medium or tech that Christina as a teenager shouldn't have but does because corp Princesses, Octo can hack it for the group to get better dirt on Christina or something potentially more interesting. Kenji, while not directly participating, can still potentially run social interference to delay the cabin's inhabitants return or at least signal that they have left the party. They also need to manufacture some sort of reasonable alibi as to where they are while this happening, because they are all potential suspects given their past interactions with Christina. Having some false documentation + video on social media of being off the island in some public space like a restaurant. Or at the very least everyone should come up with a simple lie that they are able to tell and keep straight when questioned about what they were doing. Fuzzy should probably be the one to physically plant the lube grenade/recording device as she is the sneakiest and least likely to panic if things get dicey, while Julie and Sasha can run magical overwatch and support her with spells, also having Octo running electronic overwatch + troubleshooting technical problems she might have planting and arming the grenade (actually fuzzy should cultivate a good relationship with Octo, because I sense she going to be spending a lot of time sneaking into places while a hacker guides her). Also Kenji should remind everyone to wear gloves + possibly hairnets to avoid getting any DNA shed accidentally within the cabin (or he could just give them the spare DNA Chaff grenade). If the group is feeling really cunning they possibly falsify a receipt in Christina's name for the grenade and plant it in Christina's cabin in so it appears that Christina was planning to use the Lube grenade against someone else, but accidentally set it off in her own cabin.
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2017 08:21
|
|
|
That's incredibly devious. I like it.
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2017 08:26
|
|
|
I will say that the snag with this plan is that the island is being jammed. It raises what's called noise which takes dice off any attempt to subvert systems. Octo would be at a -6 dice penalty to hack anything on the island. She could attempt to work around this and boost her dice pool, but it would be difficult. Contacting Octo would seem to be tricky, but the jammer doesn't actually extend that far off the island. I wasn't going to reveal this yet, but most of Julie's known spells are meant to isolate her and levitation literally allows her to walk off the island if she wishes because she just keeps herself weightless enough to walk without breaking the surface tension. It's line of sight, but she could just get Kenji to walk out far enough onto the Sound to call Octo. Matrix actions can be done, but they're difficult. The island has extremely limited matrix access for reasons we haven't learned yet. It's no secret. We've just not made a point of asking why.
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2017 11:20
|
|
|
Well, fine. This is me asking why now 
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2017 13:31
|
|
|
Plan PirateBug is just devious enough to work, and it would also build a sense of camaraderie among the girls. Be dont need Octo to run electronic overwatch if they all wear halloween masks which they promtly ditch'n'switch after the "run". Ice, are you secretly Daniel Steele?
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2017 16:31
|
|
|
... Yea, why would Octo be getting involved, there's so little Matrix on the island there would be nothing to watch? Idea of making it a team effort as a mini-run sounds fun, even if the objectively best idea is just a sneaky Fuzzy
Nothingtoseehere fucked around with this message at 17:40 on Oct 19, 2017 |
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2017 17:36
|
|
|
Really liking the plan so far, minus the Matrix/October element. Maybe have Kenji play ultimate puppet master by having people indirectly corral Christina back to her cabin, some one ruins her outfit so she has to go change, but with enough buffers it won't look like Kenji. Also the idea of making it look like her own thing going awry; is there anyway to change the dentonated lube grenade to trace back her own Corp, Lonestar right? Toughy fucked around with this message at 17:50 on Oct 19, 2017 |
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2017 17:47
|
|
|
I definitely like the idea of this being an official team-building op, and I also dislike the ideas of getting October involved. Go Team Blake Weirdos.
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2017 19:20
|
|
|
I'm loving the idea of making this a team building op and pinning it on Christina as though she planned on using it on someone else. The spare DNA chaff grenade is also a fine addition.
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2017 19:38
|
|
|
Thoroughly coating all her poo poo in a slurry of blood and hair seems.... kinda extreme, but also gently caress her.
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2017 19:47
|
|
|
I think we should stick with lube. This is retributive, not escalation.
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2017 19:49
|
|
|
Crazycryodude posted:Thoroughly coating all her poo poo in a slurry of blood and hair seems.... kinda extreme, but also gently caress her. I'm pretty sure they meant that it would have traces of her DNA if they analysed it, not "literally cover her room with it"
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2017 19:56
|
|
|
The DNA chaff grenade is basically a firecracker inside a bag of nasty old blood and hair. Setting it off in her cabin seems like a bad idea.
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2017 19:59
|
|
|
I thought it was described as a pressurised canister of hair and skin cells, not gore, though that's an amusing idea too
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2017 20:04
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 25, 2024 10:27 |
|
|
Ice Phisherman posted:I've been doing some storyboarding for year two as well as a non-shadowrun CYOA that I could take half a month or even a month to do in order to cool down and recharge my batteries for more shadowrun. Congrats Ice, you've put off your eventual 'Misery'ing until at least Year 3. Ice Phisherman posted:I won't spoil it, but I plan on starting strong and shocking the gently caress out of whatever sensibilities you have. You're burning the school down ain't ya? Either that, or you're removing the sanctuary factor from Blake Island and turning it into the Hunger Games. Ice Phisherman posted:. . . because I'm a giant tease. Yeah you are. Ice Phisherman posted:I'd rather have tips in the tip jar because people want me to keep going rather than block off content because people can't afford it. I'll tip your Patreon, set one up. Ice Phisherman posted:There was something intensely dissatisfying about eating after Edward did. Kenji ate to cover up the taste of food in his mouth. This sounds like a rather unpleasant feeling actually. Ice Phisherman posted:Fuzzy suppressed a smile behind her hand. Nani? Apparently the Corp Princess consort training has started? Ice Phisherman posted:CYOA Time I like the idea of all three, Fuzzy, Sasha, and Julie getting involved. Fuzzy: Does the actual breaking and entering; she's good with that sort of thing. Sasha: Magic Support; detecting spirits, checking auras, whatever it is that mages do in Shadowrun Julie: Overwatch / Lookout and camera-orc. She finds a nice vantage and records the 'fun'. MinutePirateBug posted:If the group is feeling really cunning they possibly falsify a receipt in Christina's name for the grenade and plant it in Christina's cabin in so it appears that Christina was planning to use the Lube grenade against someone else, but accidentally set it off in her own cabin. This is too awesome not to try. Get Kenji to do it, he doesn't need to be near the cabin to falsify the paper-trail, and he's good at this sort of thing.
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2017 21:05
|
|