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  quote:Space Town is a colourful shopping district and a major pop culture hub. It's the best place for games, CDs, comics, cosplay, collectibles, and computer parts this side of the cylinder. To some nerds it's practically sacred.  Early Access Internet Café, Upper Space, Space Town Most of Space Town's most well-known stores—the big electronics stores and the pop culture bullshit—are found along Magrathea Way, an arterial road that passes through the district, or Azeroth Street1, a wide pedestrian street that cuts across Magrathea in the middle. Most of the buildings here are about 8-10 stories tall, with public rooftops linked by walkways to create a sprawling Upper Space at around the eighth floor. Early Access is a Space Town fixture, a 24-hour internet café in Upper Space overlooking Magrathea. Most people come here for the PCs and the unlimited access to soda, manga, and Dorites; others come for the private VR booths. Some of the regular night customers are unhoused folks who sleep here because it's cheaper than renting. The café added healthy food options and a shower service for them. You're here to talk to the owner. Word is she's looking to hire some locals for a job, cash-in-hand.  Izzy Kaijou, Early Access Izzy runs Early Access. You've heard she used to be a cyber-unhoused herself, which is why she's going in hard on supporting Disaster refugees and the unhoused lately. Even as a small business owner, she gives off big NEET vibes. A journalist covering Space Town once described her look as "tired goth aesthetic", but really she is just a goth who is tired. Once she confirms you're here for the job, she ushers you into the staff room while her current assistant (an android named Astrid in a second-hand Lilim) handles the store. "Thanks for coming. You want a Bepsi or anything?" 1: A reference to the 1979 science fiction novel Fires of Azeroth by C.J. Cherryh. The three stages of becoming a Space Town regular are not knowing that, knowing that, and pretending to be mad about newcomers not knowing that as a bit. --- Here we go! Go ahead and introduce yourselves. If you have a fun idea you can decide why you're the one answering this job call (or whether you know Izzy, since Ronan/Mors put her down as a community resident.
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May 10, 2021 05:02
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 01:39 |
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Using this second post to store things that might be useful to reference later. Recruit/OOC thread here! quote:Community: Space Town Ettin fucked around with this message at 06:37 on May 10, 2021 |
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May 10, 2021 05:03
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 Irma walks in and takes a seat with eyes on the door. Never can be too careful. "Naw I'm good Izzy. So what's the job? It has to be serious if you are pulling in a full crew of people?" Irma takes a look around at the others in the room. "Oh I'm Irma Isley for those I haven't met personally," she says with a wave of her hands. quote:Name: Irma Isley
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May 10, 2021 05:19
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 "Diet Bepsi, please and thanks! The more promotion codes on the can, the better." Blake's voice clearly belonged to someone with mouse ears and a tail; high pitched and squeaky with very precise dictation. He plops down into one of the chairs, the frilly messenger bag containing his cyberdeck and many pounds of camera gear on his lap, and takes in the surroundings and the team. He had spent quite a few all-nighters over at Early Access in the past, largely in part because it was significantly more spacious than his own home and was easily the better work environment when writing deadlines were creeping close. It was all very familiar, though he had only met Izzy in passing and had never been in the staff rooms before. "Oh, and I'm Blake. Nice to meet you all!" He gives everyone a friendly smile, but cocks his head at Irma. "You sound familiar for some reason. Wander around the electronics shops a lot?" quote:Name: Blake Armstrong
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May 10, 2021 05:36
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Irma turns to Blake "I stream a lot could have been some clip from those. I like your ears"
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May 10, 2021 06:38
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 “I’m good, thanks.” Ronan nods to a few of his regulars as they pass. “I think I know most of you at least a bit, but you can call me Ronan.” quote:Name: Ronan Elliott
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May 10, 2021 13:22
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He beams at Irma's compliment. "Thank you! Streaming doesn't narrow it down too much, though. It might come to me later."
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May 10, 2021 13:49
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 "I don't drink," says R. Condor cooly. "But don't rush on my account." She looks at Izzy with the disconcerting unblinking stare of an android - technically, Lilim and Adam models usually have a blinking subroutine built in to stave off this effect, but many androids turn it off because it messes with their senses, or because they want to scare people a little. Izzy isn't really familiar to her; she rarely has a reason to visit a net cafe, but Astrid is. Astrid quietly let a friend know that Izzy's job might be important. That friend spoke to another friend. That friend spoke to Tom, who runs the local Law Zero chopshop. Tom spoke to a "friend." And now R. Condor is here to see what this important business is. The fact that it has also attracted the attention of Ronan means there's something going on here, she thinks. With that, R. Condor shuts up and listens, partially because it's the cool girl way of gathering information, and partially because her puddle of small talk is officially exhausted. quote:Name: R. Condor K Prime fucked around with this message at 20:56 on May 10, 2021 |
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May 10, 2021 15:55
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 Okay, well, normally Tsukino might have given some more thought to the wisdom in accepting a potentially extremely sketchy cash-in-hand job offer from an internet cafe. These are not normal times! There are Vtuber outfit reveals on the horizon, which means new merch, which means that expenses are going to spike, which means that her usual trickle of legal fees is clearly not going to suffice. Desperate times, desperate measures. Also, of course, Irma was working this too which meant she was involved one way or another. Might as well get paid for the potential trouble, right? For all that, though, she looks like she's here to do the job and drink a bepsi and maybe, just maybe, eat a dorite. Her clothing certainly presents as (fashionable) internet cafe chic, complete with an ironic three wolf moon denim jacket. Tsukino gives a shy wave as everyone else starts to introduce themselves, saying, "I'm Tsukino. Nice to officially make your acquaintances, if I haven't already." A beat, then she adds, "Do you have Bepsi Max? I can't do all that sugar, I just get the jitters. Diet Bepsi works too." By virtue of a Trendy Wardrobe, Tsukino is coming in equipped for a Friendly mood. quote:Name: Tsukino Faolan Tricky fucked around with this message at 16:48 on May 10, 2021 |
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May 10, 2021 15:57
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  "I'll take a Bepsi, thank you!" Hikaru says with a practiced smile as her artificial snake 5N3K-K0 lazily peaks out from her shoulder bag. "My name's Hikaru, by the way." She holds back on promoting her Pulser account, that'd be a bit rude to do when answering someone's request for help. Izzy is apparently friends with Ronan, or at least the two are on good terms with one another, so she has to be at least a decent person. Of course, Hikaru is also greatly in need of cash, so that also played a role in her applying for whatever job Izzy needed. quote:Name: Hikaru
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May 10, 2021 17:14
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 Izzy passes over the requested drinks, takes a seat, and puts a backpack on the table. The first thing she produces is a laptop. "Okay, so. I know some of you are friends of friends, so if you don't know me, I'm Izzy. We're just a netcaf, but a lot of people come here to stay the night. It's cheaper than rent. I try to help them out, and I know some of them pretty well. A lot of the newer folks are, you know, from L4." "So, the short version is, one of these guys just kinda vanished last week, and I'm worried he's gotten caught up in some sketchy poo poo. Long version, he's a friend. Name's Reg Darrow. He was one of the L4 guys staying here. I was helping him get on his feet, deal with L4 Connect, that kinda thing. Paid him to help with tech support when I could." "He stopped coming in about a week ago. I didn't say anything at first, 'cause that sometimes happens. So three days ago I get this call..." Izzy plays a recording she saved to her laptop. It sounds like a guy—presumably Reg—talking in a public area. You can make out what might be street sounds in the background. Phone Call posted:"Hey, Izzy. It's me, Reg. Uhhh, I thought I should let you know I got a job. Nothing too flash, but I should be alright for now. I'll try to stop by sometime to say thanks, pay it forward, you know? Uhh, until then. Thanks for everything." "And this," Izzy says as she reaches into the backpack again, "is all the poo poo he left in his locker." It's a stack of folders and papers, some borrowed stationery, plastic boxes with tech and other miscellaneous junk dropped in them, and some Burger Kong wrappers Izzy probably should have thrown out. "Old laptop I lent him, burner phone, some other stuff... look at this. So this is all the paperwork he's done for L4 Connect, which still hasn't processed him by the way... and this folder has all his ID papers, 'cause he needed that every other time he went in there." Izzy stops waving other people's sensitive documents around and puts the folder back down. "No L4 refugee would leave this behind. I mean, it's ridiculous, right? He didn't even ask for them! I tried telling the cops, but they just laughed. So, here we are." "I just wanna know what happened to him, that's all. I'm hoping he's fine, and I can just give him his drat papers, but... I heard he'd been involved in sketchy poo poo before, and I didn't say anything, but now I wish I did." She rubs her temples. "I don't know, I feel like I'm losing my mind here. I'll pay you cash to find where he's hosed off to. Some in advance, the rest when you figure it out. You don't need to do anything, but if it sounds like he needs help..." Izzy shrugs. "We can talk then." "Sound good?" Investigation, An Actual Lawyer, and those who know her: Izzy used to be unhoused herself—in fact, she stayed in this very cafe years ago, and the then-owner helped her out. She wants to pay it forward, and a lot of people who stay (or have stayed) here count her as a friend. She's genuinely worried for this guy.
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May 10, 2021 18:14
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Ronan is quiet as Izzy talks, watching the video. “Cops won’t care about this. He’s got a job, right? He must be fine.” He shakes his head, then picks up the phone to check the last called numbers. “Now, if I were trying to pick him up, job offer would be the easy way. Good offer, not too high, then sweep him and snatch when he comes in to the office. Quiet. But to set that up...you’d need to talk to him a few times. If he was job hunting while here, he probably made the call with this. Me, I’d just hit redial to find out who, but maybe one of you nerds has a better way.” He puts the phone down. “Still possible this is above board, of course. But...well. If I were fishing for warm bodies, that’s how I’d do it.”
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May 10, 2021 18:47
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As the pitch rolls on, Tsukino relaxes. Not visibly, mind, unless you're looking at the way her tail's moving. Izzy clearly is worried, and as a fellow aficionado of official paperwork and the importance thereof, she quickly comes to a similar conclusion: this is definitely extremely sketchy. No legit job would tender a hire without requiring proof of ID, let alone not bringing the L4 Connect paperwork with. That's a lot of potential upside if you can finish jumping the hoops. She takes a moment to rifle through the ID papers and the L4 Connect paperwork, not particularly expecting clues, but at least it'll give her a pretty good idea of this guy's demographic information and maybe an emergency contact number for a friend. Admittedly, it's probably for Izzy, but so it goes. Tsukino says, "So, do you know if he has any other friends on Grand Cross? Other L4 guys, any Crossers, that sort of thing?"
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May 10, 2021 19:04
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"Mmmm... I dunno, I think it's foul play," Blake states, standing up to grab the old laptop. "Vulnerable person, not a lot of people would notice... Checks a lot of the missing persons boxes, unfortunately. Besides, you kind of need all of that paperwork to get a job, right? Or get on-boarded, even." He sits back down and pulls out his oversized brick laptop/deck along with a few cables, looking to Izzy. "Any objections if I take a look?" He also gives Tsukino a wave to get her attention. "I'm, um, legally okay to do this, right?" Atlatl fucked around with this message at 20:06 on May 10, 2021 |
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May 10, 2021 19:39
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Ronan turns to stare at Blake. “You’re kidding, right?”
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May 10, 2021 19:43
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Blake gives a wide-eyed, innocent look to Ronan and gives it a few seconds for the gears to turn. "Oh, I don't ever do anything illegal." He is clearly working very hard not to accidentally look at the comically illegal electronic-warfare package crammed into a 30 year old laptop shell.
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May 10, 2021 19:49
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“Izzy, do you have beer? I need a drink.”
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May 10, 2021 19:51
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If Condor's eyes could literally roll out of her head (consider getting augged to do that, note to self - R) they would.
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May 10, 2021 19:54
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Tsukino giggles, "Well, it's only technically illegal if you're compromising his security measures and unlawfully gaining access." A beat. "I'm sure that's not happening, though, and the password is on a sticky note with a prompt for anyone at all to help themselves to his delicious data. Please don't tell me otherwise."
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May 10, 2021 19:59
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"Yep, right here on the screen!" He turns Reg's laptop away from everyone and lowers the screen slightly. "See? Nothing to worry about." Blake gives Condor and Ronan a toothy smile as he connects the two devices.
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May 10, 2021 20:04
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"The way I see it Reg is being used for some a guinea pig or a runner" Irma looks over Blake's shoulders, "Can we see any basic email chains?"
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May 10, 2021 20:52
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At Irma's mention of guinea pig, Hikaru runs her hand along the base of her skull. "Yeah, that's a very real possibility. If it was just a 'normal' missing persons case, I could take whatever picture you have of Reg and post it on my account to ask if anyone's seen him. But if someone has abducted him or whatever, that could just tip them off to hide their tracks better."
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May 10, 2021 21:47
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Ronan shrugs. “That’s possible, but if he was abducted, they’ll have muscle anyway. That’s why Izzy asked me to come. I don’t think you’ll find him by normal missing persons methods.” He picks the phone up again and selects the last called number, as long as it’s not one he recognizes, then hits dial. “Assume there’s an opposition. We need to find out who they are.”
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May 10, 2021 21:51
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"Just to be clear, I will pay you to bend the law for this. Anyway, it's my laptop." So, here's how I usually do things like information gathering: I'll give you some basic information without rolling, but if you can justify it, you can roll something to try for juicier info. In case it matters for what you're planning, Reg's old laptop is Network Level 2, getting in would be a Basic Hack, and with Izzy's help Blake can start with Friendly access. Tricky posted:Tsukino says, "So, do you know if he has any other friends on Grand Cross? Other L4 guys, any Crossers, that sort of thing?" Izzy passes Ronan a beer, thinks about it, then starts counting on her fingers. "The L4 guys who know him the best are Devis and Gimble. Far as I know they don't know poo poo, but I can try to get hold of them if you wanna talk. They'll probably be here tonight." "As for Crossers, let's see... He has some online friends he talks to a lot, they should be on there..." "He said a friend who works at Evil Maid Attack got him a little work there..." "Actually, he's done a bunch of odd jobs around Space Town. Don't know all the details, but you know how this place is. Ask around, someone will know him." Mors Rattus posted:He picks the phone up again and selects the last called number, as long as it’s not one he recognizes, then hits dial. The phone rings a few times, then someone with an Australian accent picks up. "Reggie, mate! How's it hangin'?"
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May 11, 2021 14:28
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Ronan takes a swig, and when he speaks its with...probably a New Jersey accent? It’s not his normal slight drawl, anyway. “Oh, you know whose phone this is? That’s fuckin’ awesome, bro. I found this and I couldn’t find no name on it! You know where I can find this Reggie and give him his phone back?” <@245023382062628864>, 'Cool bullshitting', ` 12 ` ⟵ [**6**, 4] 2d6 + 2 Mors Rattus fucked around with this message at 14:44 on May 11, 2021 |
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May 11, 2021 14:35
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Blake slowly reopens Reg's laptop so that Irma can better shoulder surf him, and - without pressing a single key thank you very much hacker movies - double clicks a few times to get some of his programs running. "Oh, Evil Maid Attack? Really? Maybe I've seen him around before, then. We can go there and ask the staff after this. Everyone knows me over there, shouldn't be a problem," he says, kicking his legs idly as he watches the cheesy HACK IN PROGRESS progress bar march up to 100%. "I'm not saying the line," he mumbles, possibly to Irma, though it's difficult to tell since he just shifts his hands to Reg's laptop and continues working. "Lemme see if I can find anything spicy in here..." --- 12 on the Basic Hack and Atlatl fucked around with this message at 14:52 on May 11, 2021 |
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May 11, 2021 14:46
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With a thoughtful look, Tsukino says, "Yeah, that makes sense. I'll plan on coming back later to talk to Devis and Gimble. Odd jobs, though... I bet I can dig something up there. I'll start working my way through people I've helped out at the office."
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May 11, 2021 14:48
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Mors Rattus posted:“Oh, you know whose phone this is? That’s fuckin’ awesome, bro. I found this and I couldn’t find no name on it! You know where I can find this Reggie and give him his phone back?” This Bullshit roll does the trick! The guy on the other end has no reason to oppose it.. for now. "Oh, yeah?" The voice takes this in stride. "No worries! Don't know his address, but Reggie does a little casual work here. We're a robot pet store over in Space Town, Bits n' Pets. If you tell the manager you called this number he'll hold the phone for the next time Reggie comes in. That sound good?" Criminal Underworld, Smuggling, Grey-Market Goods and Services: Bits n' Pets is a front business for the Ring of Coolant (HWI p. 182), an illegal underground android fight club. Atlatl posted:"Lemme see if I can find anything spicy in here..." There's a lot going on here. Reg is one of those "files and bookmark shortcuts on the desktop" guys, and it might take a while to sift through all this. Blake does find something interesting by clicking on his chat clients, though. His most recent messages are from a user called Chaosphage, and they look like this: quote:regdar 10 days ago, 1:41 PM Budding YourTuber, Idols, Social Media, VTubing: The reason this caught Blake's eye is because Chaosphage is the former handle of an online musician and VTuber by the name of Xheina van der Wort, who is moderately popular in Space Town at the moment. (She also made music as Chaosphage, so the handle's an open secret.)
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May 11, 2021 15:50
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"Bits n' Pets..." says Condor. "Casual work. Well, he might be in a little over his head there. Hear there's a lot of... aggression issues with the services. I can casually go over there and see what's up."
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May 11, 2021 15:56
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"Owo, what's this? Chaosphage in the DMs? Look at you, fancy." He looks up from his laptops with a grin. "Looks like he had a local streamer holding onto some - and I quote - tech stuff from work for him when he disappeared, and it looks like she's still holding onto it. Meet up, anyone?"
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May 11, 2021 16:02
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“You got it, bro! I’ll drop by a little later. Maybe pick up a robo cat for my girl, know what I mean? No worries, bro!” Ronan hangs up and sighs. “So, good news, I found what I’m pretty sure was his last job before this. Bad news - he was working at a fight club, unless he was real good with robot pets. I’m guessing, though, he was an under the table emergency medic or courier. Ring of Coolant’s big money...” Pause. He turns to Condor. “I don’t see the angle for them to be involved in Reg, but check with your people if they’ve heard anything. That’s a place they absolutely get a cut.”
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May 11, 2021 16:02
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Condor glares at Ronan and does a little eyebrow waggle intended to communicate not around the civvies. Specifically Blake.
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May 11, 2021 16:07
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Ronan sighs, but makes a gesture of annoyed acceptance, which easily transitions into downing the rest of his beer. “Oh, right. One other thing. If any of you think you’re in danger, or you think you’re being followed, call me. Izzy wouldn’t have called me in if there was no chance of danger, and I’m going to keep y’all alive.”
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May 11, 2021 16:12
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"Oh? Sure, of course, I'll let you know. Shouldn't be a problem!" Clack clack clack... quote:regdar Today, (now) --- Got a 8 on Bullshit (lol) then a 9 on Placate to come honest after Bullshit fails.
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May 11, 2021 16:34
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With a head full of anime hacking scenes, Hikaru wasn't really prepared for just how...mundane Blake's hack was. "Oh...that's kinda disappointing actually..." Well, if it works it works, and Blake's low-effects hack does its job. Reg dropped something important off with chaosphage, huh? Well, it should be easy enough to...wait, what was the mouse boy doing? "Hold on, did you just...pretend to be regdar, despite knowing he's missing and potentially dead, and message one of his friends while using his name? Couldn't we have just, I don't know," Hikaru pulls out her phone and points at it, "Sent chaosphage a dm or something?" Don't actually disapprove of Blake's way of doing things, to be clear, just thought it was funny that he immediately went for the most shady and illegal option.
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May 11, 2021 16:49
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"I wouldn't mind visiting some of the other streamers in the business, it should make for a fun meeting. Heh, I could make a break into vocals." Irma turns to Blake, "You got an idea of an address? Also wanna come along, you too Tsukino? Just give me a little time to find her address."
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May 11, 2021 16:56
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Tsukino looks up from her phone, where she'd been poking at potential leads on the odd jobs angle, and says, "Hm? Oh, yeah, of course. Chaosphage..." A blink, then she crowds in to read over Blake's shoulder with much more excitement, "Oh! Xheina! Yeah, absolutely gonna want to be in on that."
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May 11, 2021 17:27
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Condor would snort if that wasn't uncool as hell. "Hikaru, how would you react if some random person sent you a DM saying 'Hey, your friend is missing I think and we've been asked by a random business owner to find him, any tips?'"
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May 11, 2021 17:54
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Clack clack clack. He grimaces. "Well, uh, we're about to find out, because she's not buying it..."
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May 11, 2021 19:31
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 01:39 |
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“Dammit, Blake...”
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May 11, 2021 20:01
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