citylogs | [MINGLE, ESPECIALLY TO NEWCOMERS] ROOFTOP FESTIVITIES!!!

[MINGLE, ESPECIALLY TO NEWCOMERS] ROOFTOP FESTIVITIES!!!

WHO: All!
WHAT: Rooftop festivities!
WHERE: On a rooftop of an office building in the second open district!
WHEN: 8/14, evening!
WARNINGS: alcohol, tba as it goes

Banner displayed inside the train station, outside city hall, and on the most used residence buildings.

Follow the arrows.
So you're unaware. Maybe new. Or maybe you just didn't care the first time you saw it. That's fine. Between the banners hanging around key areas, and the flyers quickly drawn up in a similar fashion scattered across the city, it's hard not to know something is going on -- and there's helpful arrows, chalked on building walls and the streets the day of the party, to let people know where to go.

The Rooftop

A splendid scene awaits those who travel heavensward. Fairy lights connect the corners of the roof access building to metal poles at the corners of the building itself, lifted by cylindrical supports where needed, each one held straight by pots filled with well-packed dirty and stone. There's multicolored stars hanging from some of the lights, while various painted flowers hang on others, and what greets the ears first is some royalty free party music played from a CD player off the the side.

There's a long folded out table in the center for those who'd like to share cuisine, just set and serve yourself! Nearby is a space for Daan to do some bartending as well, a man who can make a multitude of cocktails and mocktails for those who want something less alcoholic. Also, pints of various ice cream flavors in a cooler!

Don't worry -- they won't have any odd effects on them, Don verified the lack of them herself. Not all of them are normal. Think loaded baked potato weird.

For those who'd like a quieter space, there's beanbags and a swirly, fuzzy carpet to sit on more away from the center of the party area. This'll be a great time to play some games, such as truth or dare, spin the bottle, and... whatever else you play at parties. Get to know your fellow man and such. Play the violin.

Naturally, no party... hosted... by Don Quixote would be without a space to fight, if one wishes to show off a little! It's also taking place on a swirly fuzzy carpet, just so no one smashes their head in, and there's a neat little banner hanging down from a string of lights that says thus:

WIN THREE MATCHES AND A PRIZE AWAITS THEE!!!!!!!
- NO KILLING
- HANDS ONLY

What the prize is, no one knows. But come find Don Quixote with your battle scars and she'll grant it -- and stick around a while, 'cause this party's gonna end with a bang... that is, with homemade fireworks donated by "a friend" through Junpei.

Anyway, have fun!!! Share words about your worlds!!! The society your characters are from, the cuisine they've brought, how they're working out in the city -- help the new kids along, too. There's more vets here now than there were a few months ago, after all.

Navi: Truth or Dare - Two Truths and a Lie - Hydra Storytelling w/Junpei - Drink Up With Daan - Qixi Festivites

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ ...this seems like a game that works way better when you know a little about the participants, but Reno's up for a challenge.

he narrows his eyes consideringly, head tilting back and forth, then says, ] Last one.

[ Yeah, but wasn't the point to get to know someone? At least until it got a little too personal, as these things tended to do.

Emerick smiled faintly, friendly. ]

I wish. Having my license would be a hell of a lot easier than having to call a cab to get anywhere.

Oh yeah. Cheaper too. [ but at least they have trains here?...

if it's not the one about driving, then Reno has to spend another second considering whether this guy looks like a firearms expert. ]

First one, then? [ being a blogger seems... marginally more likely, although Reno's keenly aware he shouldn't underestimate anyone. ]

[ Emerick's smile grew a little. That the gun was the guess meant Emerick certainly didn't look like a killer, and that brought him some comfort. ]

Unfortunately, I think knowing your way around a gun's a requirement where I'm from. But I guess there're some people who prefer their fists.

Reporting news to my blog was my job, but it didn't really pay the bills. Had to take up another job that became my main focus, before ending up here.

Y'know you can't just drop a fact like that and—not... [ he trails off, then pauses, a look of consternation briefly crossing his face. ] Fuck, I can't make you demonstrate it, huh?

[ for a brief and shining moment Reno had forgotten there's no weaponry in this place at all, except for the makeshift. oh, well—he'll just take a raincheck until such a day may come as there's a pistol available for him to make Emerick field-strip. ]

So what'd you do that had you blindfolded and disassembling your sidearm? [ there's open curiosity in Reno's gaze—he definitely hadn't taken this guy for a killer, although again, books, judging, covers, etc. ]

[ That such a thing was enough to require demonstration surprised Emerick, really. Sure not everyone knew their way around a gun to precisely that level but was it really so uncommon? ]

If one of us ever find a pistol lying around I'd be happy to demonstrate, but I haven't seen shit since getting here. [ Which he wanted to find reassuring but he wasn't exactly physically imposing. ]

Uh, well, it wasn't for a job. [ Embarrassment slunk into Emerick. His gaze fell away from Reno. ] Something I learned to do as a teenager. I got it in my head that I needed to know my way around a gun if I was gonna make it as an adult and I might have a tendency to dig into things until there's nothing more to learn.

I'm Emerick, by the way. May as well introduce ourselves if we're gonna get to know each other.

[ not in Reno's world, which is why it's so fascinating—of course, Reno himself could do it in his sleep, but he can only imagine that for the average citizen of Midgar Edge, the inner workings of a pistol would be a deep mystery. which is fine for Reno and his job security, but means he won't pass up the chance to watch someone skilled at work.

he offers a hand to shake, letting his manners catch up to him. Tseng would be so proud. ] Reno. I just got here.

[ well, a couple of days ago, but not long anyway. enough that he's still sort of getting used to the way that different universes rub up against each other in this place.

if he notes the embarrassment, Reno doesn't comment. after all, he started learning his way around firearms as a teenager too. ] Eh, not a bad thing to learn. Especially if you're from somewhere it comes in handy to know. [ he shrugs. ] Back home it ain't exactly commonplace.

[ although maybe more now than it had been a couple years ago... ]

[ Emerick took the hand in a solid but gentle grip, giving a solid shake. ] I got here back in June.

[ He gave a wan smile at the mention from Reno that it wasn't really commonplace. ] I've seen kids running down alleys waving guns around where I'm from. I don't know how many of them try to learn to disassemble them, though. Just seemed pertinent at the time.

But, uh, I think it's your turn?

June, shit. You've been here a minute, then. [ he'd heard about the groups who hard arrived before him, but it does make something sink in to actually meet someone who's been here that long.

frankly Reno had been so caught up thinking about guns that he'd forgotten this had started with a game, and he grins at the reminder before leaning back in his chair to think. ]

Hmm... [ even though there's no Company in this place, Reno's still a little hesitant to give up Company secrets, so he has to filter through his colorful past to come up with things he can use. he ticks off on his fingers: ] I'm a licensed helicopter pilot, I can build a bomb with common household cleaning supplies, and I once crossdressed so convincingly my own boss didn't recognize me.

For better or worse. [ There was resignation there, and also relief. There was a distinct possibility that Emerick was still alive because he wound up here rather than staying in Night City.

As for Reno's two truths and a lie, it was Emerick's turn to consider. While Emerick certainly had no skill in it, making a bomb from household supplies was something he could find on the net in a pinch, if need be. He also would put money that any tech worth their salt could do that in a pinch. As for crossdressing, well... Night City had no hangups or qualms about that, so that didn't strike him odd like it might others.

No, it was the specified "license" that caught Emerick's attention. Perhaps Reno could pilot a helicopter, but the specifics of a license felt like the same trick that Emerick pulled with regards to his work. ] I think I'm going to go with the first. Maybe you can pilot, but the license feels like a sticking point.

[ Reno's grin spreads wide at that—does that mean Emerick does think he looks like the kind of guy who could make a bomb in his apartment? nonetheless, he makes a tsk-tsk gesture with one finger as he shakes his head. ]

Oh, no. The boss makes sure that everything with our names on it is done on the up-and-up. [ the things their names aren't on are a very different story, of course—but Reno is indeed licensed, though he's sure by now Tseng rues the day he allowed that to happen. ] Guess again~

Edited (subj-verb agreement,,, my nemesis) 2023-08-16 03:35 (UTC)

[ Look,,,, Emerick did say kids ran around with guns where he was from.

Emerick's brows raised in surprise that the man before him had a pilot license at all. There was naked surprise before Emerick broke out into a chuckle, speaking in the midst of it. ]

I can't even drive a car and you have a pilot's license. Fuck man.

[ When he stopped chuckling, he regarded Reno again. If his boss was enforcing a license then the man was probably corporate something or other -- security, maybe, or a cop. If that were the case then making bombs at home could go two ways: he either had the backing or finances prior to his job to learn enough chemistry that it reinforced Reno's ability to make such bombs, or he was privileged enough to have enough access to never have needed to learn.

As for crossdressing? Probably not in a work setting, Emerick thought, unless... It was possible that Reno could be some sort of infiltrator or an edgerunner like himself, in which case it would be possible? If the catgirl he worked could be wrangled and turned into a respectable, boss-fear corpo then crossdressing still wasn't really off the table either.

It was a coin flip. ]

Hm, this is tough. I guess I'll have to go with the crossdressing, if only because your boss must be pretty straight laced if they care about something as trivial as having a license.

[ the logic is sound! if Reno could hear it out loud, he would approve. well, not of the part about backing, finances, privilege—it's really more like Reno has always had a mild penchant for troublemaking and destruction, and a drive to learn things he probably didn't have any business learning as young as he did—but that's beside the point. ]

Right! And also wrong. [ Reno laughs. ] It was the crossdressing. Not 'cause I didn't do it but 'cause my boss did recognize me—probably the tattoos. [ he pulls an exaggeratedly disappointed expression as one fingertip traces the line of one of the tattoos along his cheekbones.

describing Tseng as straight-laced isn't wrong, but Reno is incorrigible and full of scattershot ideas ideas that still somehow manage to get the job done at the end of the day. plus, as long as nobody could trace the jobs back to the Turks, Rufus (and by extension, Tseng) weren't terribly picky about methods—in fact, Rufus often preferred not to know. plausible deniability. ]

[ Emerick's curiosity was clear on his expression as Reno confirmed that he was correct, while also not being correct. He broke into a laugh at Reno's exaggerated expression as he gestured at the tattoos. It was a silly thing to get caught on, really, with the way makeup was, or other technologies that likely didn't exist where Reno was from. ]

Assuming those are traditional ink -- you didn't have a full coverage foundation or concealer, I take it? Could have covered them up.

[ It was clear that Emerick might was familiar with the topic, and that he was maybe lightly teasing Reno about it because it seemed like such a simple solution to him. ]

They're traditional enough where I'm from. [ which might be different than what's traditional where Emerick's from! although Reno's not sure how much tattoos could differ universe to universe, short of using some weird magic shit as ink. ] But I'll admit it was kind of a rush job. Not my best work.

[ he can tell he's being teased and doesn't mind it at all—after all, he'd told this story specifically with the purpose of being entertaining. plus, younger Reno probably does deserve some ribbing for being shitty at makeup. ]

Alas, ya live and learn, right? Next time I go undercover I'll be ready.

Yeah, that's true. Guess it also depends if the goal is to fool your boss or not, too. Fooling strangers is certainly much easier.

[ His comment was a little absent as he was already trying to figure out his next set to prompt Reno with. Much like the other man, even having been here for three months, there were certainly things he didn't care to share about his own past. He needed to buy a little time. ]

If I may, what's the story behind the crossdressing? Or is that something you want to save for a later round?

Ain't that the truth. [ absent though the comment may be, it's right on the money. the people Reno had dressed up in front of had been none the wiser, even if the Turks were able to see right through his disguise.

the corner of his mouth quirks up. the real story is mostly classified—or would be, if the Company existed in this place—or would be if the Company hadn't been mostly razed to the ground and rebuilt. Reno's not sure what kind of leash Rufus would want to keep on this one, but he figures he can tell an abbreviated version: ] Nah, I'll tell.

The prez—the company president, my big boss—needed some intel on one of the big players in the local market, trying to fish up the deals he was making. And wouldn't you know it? Turns out the big man has a taste for leggy redheads. [ Reno shrugs like it's nothing, because frankly, to him it is. ] So in I went. He didn't clock me, so I still count it as a job well done.

[ The story - clearly abridged - sounded like any job Emerick would be sent on, really. It was likely that Reno's luck was better than his when it came to such jobs (though a piece of Emerick wondered how he'd fare working alone rather than with the people he'd thrown his lot in with). He chuckled. ]

I'm surprised a suit let you go about it like that. Most corporate outfits I know of prefer to go in with a credchip and blackmail to try and bribe their way into getting what they want. [ Among other tactics, but the boards liked to laugh at failed jobs and many of them were failed blackmailings or briberies. ] Creative solutions usually work better.

[ wtf is a credchip. from context clues Reno will assume some kind of currency situation—payoffs and blackmail do sometimes go hand in hand. ] Sure, that's one way of doin' it. But those are easy to fuck up.

[ money moving between accounts, documents being requisitioned... even for ShinRa, the de facto government of the world, there were situations in which it was better not to risk it. the origin story of Administrative Research: doing the jobs you don't want to leave a trail. ]

Plus, if you bribe somebody then ya gotta send someone in like, [ here he puts on his best middle management, corporate shill impression, ] "The President has considered your position thoroughly and is prepared to make an offer that we sincerely hope will encourage amicable relations between our companies," blah blah.

I mean, ya gotta put somebody's name on it so they know what the bribe's for. Sometimes it's better to send in the folks who'll get it done without leaving fingerprints, y'know?

[ Emerick felt that a bribe was probably the easiest route to go when you were as violence avoidant as he was, but he had never really considered what it would be like to have to try to bribe someone while actually on some corporate payroll. He laughed at the impression, though his smile didn't last too long after as he pondered on it more. ]

I suppose - I feel this is a difference in where we're from. If you don't want to leave fingerprints, you typically hire some edgerunner to do it for you. If they die then no personnel are lost, and if they get caught then there's nothing that ties them back to the corp trying to run the job.

But that does have a lot of risk, too. Some merc won't have the loyalty to the company a suit would, and they could be bought off or bribed themselves. Companies usually have the kinda scratch they can afford the edgerunners with the best reps, though, so that usually doesn't happen unless they pick a merc with some particularly strong anti-corpo sentiment. Someone'd probably be fired for failing to do their research if that happened, I imagine.

Just depends on what type of job it is, I suppose. [ He smiled a little, apologetic in tone. ] I haven't worked much with the megacorps so take my impressions with a grain of salt.

[ even as Emerick's smile fades, Reno's just grows. he props his cheek in one hand, braced against the back of his seat, and his expression is all open interest and fascination as Emerick talks. ]

Definitely a difference in where we're from. [ he studies Emerick's face, gaze sharp, putting together the information he's received into a clearer picture of the kind of world he hails from. learning to strip a pistol as a kid, the amount he knows about the underbelly of these kinds of corporate deals. ] Now, megacorp I get. Credchip, I think I figured out. But what does an edgerunner do? Merc work? What edges are they running on?

[ okay, that last one is a little facetious, but Reno really is interested. ]

[ For as comfortable as Emerick was, as relaxed and chill he acted toward Reno, there was the same attention and focus reflected back at the other man. He acted the way he did to be purposefully disarming: an unfortunate habit, but useful when his entire job was soaking up information like a sponge.

The question as to what an edgerunner was made Emerick's brows lift a little. ]

Well, a credchip's easy... [ He shifted and pulled his wallet out - yes, he still carried it; he felt fucking weird without it, okay? - and pulled a credchip out and showed it to Reno. ] Just a card with eddies - uh, Euro Dollars, my home's currency - on it. More common for large amounts of money where cash isn't convenient.

[ Reno could take it and look it over, if he wanted. It was worthless here so if Reno decided to be an ass then it was no real loss, but Emerick would want it back if the other wasn't so inclined to be a jerk. Either way, the wallet would be folded back up and put back in the pocket it came from and Emerick settled back in his chair. ]

I guess if you want a dictionary definition of edgerunner... It's someone who lives outside of the edges of what society deems polite or acceptable - anyone who lives a not quite legal lifestyle. The more common usage is just synonymous with mercenary, really.

Once upon a time, edgerunner meant someone who was railing against the megacorps, but that war was lost decades ago.

[ Reno takes the offered card, turning it over in his fingers. ] Huh. [ it does look just like a chip, in the electronics sense of the word, which he supposes shouldn't be surprising given its name. ] We're still pretty cash-heavy where I'm from, unless you're a real big shot.

[ once upon a time, old man Shinra had gotten nearly everything on credit—after Meteorfall, not so much. banks were reluctant to lend in the wake of an almost-apocalypse, turns out.

he hands the card back—no desire nor need to keep it, especially given the fact that there's no currency required here, and Reno's only an ass when he has something to gain from being so. ]

Interesting. [ he means that—even if it's very clear to him that they're both dancing around the subject of how each of them fit into their respective worlds, Reno is fascinated by hearing about others. ] And megacorps are big companies, I take it?

[ Emerick was glad that his world was mostly wireless transfers and cards - cash was always something of a hassle. Having to count it out, get change, you know. It was a whole to do in an almost otherwise wireless world. Sort of. Tech's weird. ]

Yeah, big transnational corporations. They're more or less sovereign entities on their own. I'm from a city called Night City, and we're more or less owned by a Japanese company called Arasaka because they have the most money to throw around.

[ There was a whole discussion on what was and wasn't an independent sovereign state when it came to the Californias as Night City but he hardly wanted to ramble on about that unless Reno asked. As for Arasaka itself, Emerick certainly spoke in a way that suggested he had thoughts, feelings, and opinions on the subject, despite seeming to be pretty neutral when it came to other topics they'd discussed. ]

Aha. [ hearing the word itself, "megacorp," certainly called to mind the kind of company that wielded power on the scale of a small nation—so Reno's not surprised to hear Emerick confirm it. ]

I know the type. [ not the same company, obviously, he doesn't even know what Japan is, but the concept. in fact, he knows it intimately.

in comparison to the carefully dispassionate way Emerick has talked about other things so far tonight, the tone of his voice when he mentions Arasaka is interesting. Reno lifts an eyebrow, curious. ] Not a fan, I take it?

[MINGLE, ESPECIALLY TO NEWCOMERS] ROOFTOP FESTIVITIES!!!

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)