Cast of Shadows
Tatsuo "Mod" Mashinnisunde:
Mod is an elven decker in his late 50’s who has little to live for anymore. He once worked for Renraku at their arcology in Seattle. Yes, that arcology. He was one of the few to survive the horrific events of the arcology shutdown, but his wife and daughter were not. Witnessing his wife’s death in the Labyrinth (where he also lost his lower left arm), and having to identify his daughter’s mangled and decomposing body for authorities after the arcology was finally released left Mod deeply, deeply traumatized. His undying hatred of Deus, the sweet yet temporary relief granted to him by his near-constant use of eX, and the warm embrace of many a joygirl are the only things that keep him going these days.
Mod left Seattle after being pursued by Red Samurai for years, using his skills as a decker and the vast amounts of paydata he took with him after leaving Renraku to barter safe passage to Berlin. He fell in with a new team of shadowrunners calling themselves the Havoc Team. He doesn’t yet trust a single slotting one of them, but he won’t betray them either. Until the players find him in Berlin, he is completely unaware of Tara’s pregnancy or his responsibility for that fact.
Physically, there’s not much about Mod that sticks out. He is clearly Asian, though an astute player may notice that his features are distinctly Japanese. He has straight, shoulder-length black hair that he usually keeps tied back with a neon green ribbon. He still has his natural brown-black eyes, but there is a decidedly unnatural glint of cold-blooded hatred blended with a deep and unending grief. He still refuses to get a smartlink or any other eyeware implanted. The reason for this is as simple as it is heartbreaking. Deus “marked” his otaku, including Mod’s daughter, by giving them green cybereyes. Ever since then, the idea of eye surgery has freaked Mod out.
Mod is average height and weight for an elf, and is augmented with alphaware, courtesy of Renraku during his tenure there as a system moderator. He keeps his ‘ware maintained but rarely upgrades it. Even the obvious, matte black cyber replacement for his lower left arm is still the original one he got almost immediately after his escape, despite multiple opportunities to upgrade to a synthetic or cultured replacement. The only upgrade to it was the addition of a reloading slide. His only other obvious ‘ware is the two shiny chrome datajacks in his right temple.
Mod has no fear of death, and a deep, seething hatred for the rogue A.I. that ripped everything from him. He is also a man who has done terrible things in his pursuit of Deus and those who follow the A.I. He is a haunted, broken, and exceptionally dangerous man who desperately wants to do the right thing for the first time in a decade. Make no mistake, Mod may be a psychologically traumatized drug addict, but he has still managed to elude the Red Samurai for ten years. He possesses a terrifying intellect, and is really fragging good at what he does, which mostly consists of using the Matrix as his personal hunting grounds. Under no circumstances should he be underestimated. Don’t say I didn’t warn you, omae.
Tara:
How do I put this gently? Tara is a joygirl. That’s a slightly more polite word for “whore” for those of you who have been living under a rock. Tara is a tiny, adorable elven woman in her early 20’s with curly, fire red hair, friendly green eyes, and freckles galore covering her alabaster skin. Put more simply, Tara looks like pure, distilled Tir na nOg (Despite never having actually set foot there). She is also not the sharpest tool in the shed, which makes her easy to trick or take advantage of. She used to be a mild eX addict, but recent events have forced her to dry out. Oh yea, Tara is also pregnant and fragging terrified.
Despite her name and appearance, Tara was born and raised in the Puyallup Barrens in Seattle. Her mother was also a joygirl who died of a drug overdose a few years ago, and her father was a shadowrunner who disappeared shortly before her birth. She believes he was probably geeked (An accurate assumption). History just loves to repeat itself, doesn’t it, chummer?
Dionysus:
Glutton, alcoholic, sex addict, and completely incapable of shutting the hell up, Tara’s pimp is a right bastard who earned his handle exactly the way you’re thinking. An unapologetic hedonist, Dionysus’ only redeeming quality is that he actually cares about his joygirls on a level that is almost creepy. So when Tara came to him in tears to say she was pregnant, he immediately went on the hunt for the father to shake him down for whatever passes for child support in the barrens.
Dionysus is a reasonably attractive human in his late 40’s, and is in decent physical condition despite his age and breathtakingly unhealthy habits. He attributes his good health to a “strenuous workout regimen to keep up his stamina” (You can cringe, it’s ok). His thick black hair is just starting to grey out at the temples, adding a bit of dignity to his appearance. His cognac-colored eyes dart around his surroundings as he observes and carefully catalogues everything going on around him at any given moment.
Oh, and did I mention he’s a Chaos Mage with the Seducer mentor spirit? He spends far too much time partaking in carnal pleasures to focus any great deal of effort on honing his talent, but he is still powerful enough to be scary if he or his girls are threatened. He’s not an easy man to listen to either. He’s unbelievably full of himself, and his trains of thought take a far longer route to the station than can possibly be considered reasonable. He is not stupid, however, and can offer some truly enlightening insights if you have the patience to listen to him fluff his own ego first.
It should be mentioned that Dionysus doesn’t have anything personal against Mod. He just wants to make sure his girl is taken care of. Unfortunately, his loose lips have alerted some of Mod’s old enemies, who neither Dionysus nor Tara are equipped to deal with. Oopsie.