Shadowrun

Shadowrun Play => Play-by-Post => Virtual Underworld 93 => Topic started by: Smiley on <01-23-12/1315:29>

Title: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Smiley on <01-23-12/1315:29>
We're going to start with the profiles we have at the moment. I'll update as soon as I receive new ones. This thread is semi IC, meaning that besides me to tell people to move on to the next writeup, people are going to post under their VU93 characters as they would in the regular IC thread. We're going to use a post format very similar to the one we use for Jackpoint Additions. Here's a concrete exemple.

Smiley's Profile, after paragraph 6, commenting on his very low tolerance for being screwed
>>>>>[I try my very best!]<<<<<
     -- Smiley (13:03:22/01-23-74)

OR

Smiley's Profile, after paragraph 6, replying to Money's shadowcomment
>>>>>[Not even close.]<<<<<
     -- Smiley (13:013:14/01-23-74)

If we get too much shadowcomment on a profile, we may have to cut a few of them. The decision to cut which ones will be in the hands of the character owner. If you have questions, don't post them here but in the original OOC thread. The following post will contain all the profiles we have at the moment. Anyone can comment on any of them and as many times as he wants. Just remember that we'll need comments on every profiles and that not all comments may end up on the final "product". Have fun. :)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Smiley on <01-23-12/1320:32>
Iceblade
Posted by: Madrecita

Name: Mirikon Mollen (Formerly Rahki Darkholme)
Handle: Iceblade
Age: 41
Height: 2m
Weight: 80kg
Hair: Dark Brown
Eyes: Brown
Gender: Male
Metatype: Elf
Awakened: Yes (Magician)

If ever there was a name appropriately selected, it’s Iceblade. When I first heard it, I thought he was a vainglorious boy with a lack of imagination. Nothing can be further from the truth. Continue to read, and you will find out why.

To understand Ice, as I call him, you have to understand where he comes from. Put yourself in medieval times, in a feudal system. Imagine growing up privileged, and being taught that you are superior to ‘lesser’ beings and that you hold the position of privilege by right. That is where he comes from. Right or wrong, that is the society that shaped him, and he embraced it, as any noble son should.

I had some difficulty digging up specifics on his early life and training. Some of it is no doubt attributable to the Crash 2.0, but not all of it I should think. What I have should be reasonably accurate. Getting to the nitty gritty of it:

Ice was born Rahki Darkholme in 2032. That makes him forty one or forty two years old, depending on the exact day of his birth. His parents are Count Karellon Darkholm and Duchess Mellaneth Darkholme, with two elder siblings Count Arkash Blackmoon, and Count Garret Richt. They were raised on the family estate near Salem, initially learning all those things a nobleman should know. Things like tradition, the political and social system, and of course all the etiquette, attitudes and behaviours appropriate to the gentry. He learned this even before he received a basic education, so you can imagine how deeply ingrained those things are in him.

When he showed some talent for magic, a tutor was hired, a man of appropriate rank, skill and reputation, by name of Rimaldo Corenas. Rimaldo was a follower of the Swordmage Tradition. Rahki spent ten or so years under his tutelage, picking up not only swordplay, but also the elven martial art Carromeleg. This too had a big impact on the young Rahki. As any magician can tell you, the tradition we follow is central to how we view the world, and Rahki received instruction in a very specific tradition from a very tender age. As with many martial traditions, responsibility is taught along with the power it can unleash. Control and mastery of the body and mind, with magic and blade becoming mere extensions thereof. Rahki excelled of course. I’d imagine that little else would be expected of him, given the society he was raised in.

Upon reaching his majority, he underwent the Rite of Passage, involving being sent alone into the forest with only the basics. For meditation purposes, ostensibly, but I’d imagine also for the physical challenge of it. When he emerged, he underwent the Naming, and chose the name Mirikon Mollen. As a mere third son, he would not automatically inherit hi father’s lands and title. In fact...traditionally, younger sons of the nobility usually joined the military as officers. Unless of course they undertook the Rite of Progression, as Mirikon did. A scant year after his Naming, he was confirmed as Count Mirikon Mollen, a noble in his own right, with lands and privilege and all that went with it.

Now things get a bit fuzzy here, but the details aren’t that difficult to piece together. Given his martial training, his Tradition, and his mentor spirit, it’s hard to imagine he would not have some involvement with the military. I did some digging through my own contacts and found that he did indeed have military background. He spent some time in the Tir Tairngir Peace Force, rising through the ranks as his skills developed. I wouldn’t swear to this, necessarily, but my instincts tell me that he’s a Ghost. My reasons for saying so? Things that should be difficult to find aren’t. And things that should be easy isn’t. For example, I couldn’t find out exactly how long he served, or where, but the traces that he had served and that the data had been ‘Crash 2.0 lost’ was just a bit too convenient. Many explanations are just a trifle too glib, too reasonable, and if something seems too good to be true, it usually is. And there’s his skill with the blade besides. As a follower of Shark, he’s cold, deadly, remorseless and very precise, killing quickly and efficiently. I’ve run with him a few times and saw him in action. It defies belief. Iceblade. The most appropriate name anyone ever chose. He fits the profile of a Ghost, but I’d hate to have to defend my case in a court, so make of that what you want.

Either way, I can account for only about six years of military service that I’d sign my name to. His name pops up on one rather interesting list though. Who among you remembers a corp called Arcanix? Hit hard by the crash, the corp, situated near Salem where Ice lived, was about to be gobbled up, and the CEO at the time decided it was time to...cut the overhead. The details of exactly what happened is unclear, but tracing a few records here and there, I found that well over eight hundred people were killed that day, September 14, 2065. All employees of Arcanix, who must have missed the memo about that day being a mandatory holiday...There were only three survivors, and two of those died the following day in hospital. Only Mirikon escaped alive.

I lost track of him there, but he pops up in Seattle as the Ice we’ve come to love or loathe. There’s very little middle ground with a man like Ice. You either love or loathe him, take him as he is with all his ways, or take exception to them. You can make a case for either position.
Over the years in Seattle, he’s been seen in the company of many people, including the Salish-Shidhe ambassador, the Seattle Ambassador to the Tir, the Tir Ambassador to Seattle, Redmond Mayor Sonya Scholl, and been romantically linked to several more, including Karen King.

There have been a few other hints I uncovered, but I’ve found very little to corroborate it, so I think I’ll keep them to myself for now. I realise that there isn’t too much here, and a lot of it is rather disconnected. I could probably connect the dots for you...but I think you’re all big, and bad Shadowrunners able to draw your own conclusions from these bare bone facts. Have fun.

Keep in mind his record as a runner though, and never forget for a moment what he calls himself. Someone who can survive a run into the very heart of Tenochtitlan and escape with the goods, killing a dragon – not a great, but nevertheless – in the process is not someone to take lightly.

Also...don’t be lulled by his good looks and charming ways. A certain Horizon executive made that mistake and never knew she was being played. He's frequently posed as a male escort, and believe me, he can pull that off. Thing is...when he's with a woman, he never needs to fake it, even if she's nothing but a mark.

That said...I’ve never known him to break his word after accepting a job. You can trust him to be professional in every way...unless you’re his mark, in which case all bets are off.
----------


Madrecita
Posted by: Iceblade

Vital Stats: Madrecita
Age: 60
Height: 185cm
Weight: 83kg
Hair: Ebony
Eyes: Dark brown
Gender: Female
Metatype: Elf
Awakened: Yes (Magician)

I admit that I struggled a bit on how to start this profile. The mage we know as Madrecita has walked some dark paths in her time. I'm not doing her any favors writing this piece. All I can do is hope that if she reads this, she realizes how far she's come, and lets go of her hate. In Tir na Nog, the Wheel turns one way. Learn from the past, but keep moving forward.

Our Madrecita was born Xerena Suelo Rubruquis on January 3, 2014 in Madrid, Spain. Public records from the time are understandably sketchy, with two Matrix Crashes happening in the interim. Most of it is the normal childhood stuff. Boarding school at 8, until she Awakened, and then a semi-private school after that, and she went to a university to learn to use her magic to help with healing people.

At some point, she met a man, and fell in love, becoming Mrs. Beltran Calderon in 2044. Her kids, Vita and Alano, were born a couple years later. For a while, she lived a normal life, working in a private clinic specializing in trauma care and reconstructive surgery.

Things started to unravel for her in 2052, when her husband was killed. It was ruled a hate crime, but no one was ever caught. Xerena dealt with her grief by devoting herself to her children. And then they, too, were taken from her.

According to the official police reports, Xerena went to her parents' house in July of 2054 to pick up her children who had been visiting. She walked in on a bloodbath. Her parents and children were all dead, and the murderer tried to kill her too. She survived at least four other attempts on her life in the next three months that I could find records of, literally throwing her into the shadows, without any time to grieve for her family.

This would be the beginning of the 'batshit crazy' time of her life. Anyone who's lost someone important to them knows how easy it is to go a bit mad from grief. And with all these losses piled on top of one another, it is understandable that Madrecita began spiraling into madness.

She sold everything she had, everything her parents had, and dove headlong into the shadows in order to avenge her family. She finally caught up to him, but that confrontation destroyed what little grasp she had on sanity. The killer was a former lover of hers. To make matters worse, her children were simply collateral damage. Her parents were the targets, victims of an Aztechnology reprisal from their shadow work hunting blood mages for the Draco Foundation. Madrecita vowed a vendetta against Aztechnology.

No magician, no matter how skilled, is a match for a megacorp, however. Madrecita took a position with Doctors Without Borders, moving throughout South America, staying a step ahead of the Azzies. More than a few bodies were left in her wake as she fled, victims of Aztech reprisal squads who just missed Madrecita. The violence was later blamed on terrorists, cartel wars, and rebel groups. This continued until she did what so many of us have done, and faked her own death in Bogota.

After that, things get sketchy. The Azzies aren't known for their recordkeeping, but I was able to track down one of her companions from back then, a fellow runner named Sinead.

// upload media file :: user Iceblade :: 01/23/74 //
// VU93 AudioRecSoft audio-to-text conversion engaged //


"There was a group of us, working with the Catholic Church. We had all lost someone to Aztechnology, and we were all looking for payback. We found it hunting blood mages. Madrecita was our mage. When she hit a place, there were no 'innocents'. Anyone who got in her way was cut down. If not by her spells, than by that nasty ass blade she carried, looked like something out of an old sci-fi flatscreen. There's nothing scarier than watching a Spanish woman get her blood up, let me tell you.

We spent '57-'61 in South America, hunting Azzies on their turf. Went through a lot of teammates during that time. You know how it is. You get to know someone just the time they get killed, again and again, and eventually you stop getting to know people, and they're just cannon fodder to help you get to your goal. Madrecita was a mess when we started working together, and she only got worse as time went by. Wouldn't listen to anyone. Took insane risks. She didn't care who died, so long as she got to kill Azzies.

In '61 we decided to hit a teocali that they were activating near Altun Ha. Things went to drek almost immediately. Astral barriers blocked our line of attack, so we had to circle around. We were about to go in, and Madre scouts the astral. Comes back saying they're binding blood spirits in there, and the mage knows we're there. The others are all for bugging out, but Madre won't hear it. She's on a suicide run all the way, you know? Just charges in after the guy. And, like an idiot, I followed her.

The mage was more powerful than we could handle. Blasted us with some of the most powerful magic I've seen, before or since. Madre tried to fight him, but was no match. By that point, I was half unconcious from the blows. Next thing I know, she's kneeling over me, knife in hand, ready to kill me. Then she just froze up. The mage started shouting some crap, and I took her knife and put it in his eye. She passed out not long after that. The guys fought their way through to us, and we bugged out."

// end media file //

Until then, Madrecita had been walking a continually darker path, and had dabbled in some of the darker aspects of magic, driven by the mad quest for vengeance. She turned back from that path, though, before she'd gone beyond the point of no return.

After that incident, Madrecita and Sinead went to the Yucatan, and helped the rebels fight the Aztlan forces. However, with the rise of the toxic faction in the rebel army, she left the fight in disgust. She'd passed too far down one dark path to risk associating herself with another.

Making her way to Bogota, spent a few years in the city, working against Aztechnology, including the assassination of an Azzie executive named Eduardo Vasquez. Her team decided that the best way to get to him was to be roadies with a music group. Unfortunately, Vasquez's favorite music wasn't popular in Bogota at the time. So Madrecita becomes Moncita Caballe, and begins singing in local clubs, while the rest of the team promotes her, making sure that Vasquez hears about her. Sure enough, he shows up at one of her shows, and she gives him a kiss on the cheek with some shellfish toxin, and it is a perfectly 'accidental' death due to allergic reaction. Some of those performances were recorded and commercially released. You can find some nice pirate copies here. [link]

In '67, she got word that the man who had killed her family had been spotted in Seattle. With Sinead at her side, she came to the Emerald City, and finally settled scores with the man who had taken so much from her.

Settling down with an alchemy lab, Madrecita took up the life of a talismonger, and parted company with Sinead. Since then she's worked as a respectable talismonger, and hasn't shown any signs of returning to her dark past. She's shown that even though you can fall, and fall hard, it is still possible to pick yourself back up. And it doesn't hurt to actually pay attention to what the spirits are telling you, either, instead of fighting it.
----------


Smiley
Posted by: Madrecita

Age: Early Forties,
Height: 6'1''
Weight: 205 lbs
Hair: Black (Partially dyed yellow)
Eyes: Black
Gender: Male
Metatype: Elf Drake (rumored)
Awakened: Yes (Mystical Adept, Wuxing)

“Service with a smile”. Sounds like your local hotel, or the motto of a brothel, doesn’t it? Nothing at all sinister about it. You also wouldn’t think there could possibly be anything sinister about the man who issues those black cards upon which the phrase is printed. He’s such a likable rogue, always smiling, full of life, the heart of the party. Still...there is something about him, and pinning down exactly what it is is next to impossible.

To give you an example...I couldn’t even track down a name for him other than Smiley, and no date or place of birth. He simply appeared in 2049. Given his metatype, it’s difficult to judge his age. From several conversations with him, I’d estimate him to be in his early forties.

Besides the “Service with a smile” calling card he invariably leaves behind after a job, he does have a few other distinguishing features: he always wears black and yellow, he wears four golden rings on his right ear and one on his left eyebrow and he has Chinese dragon tattoos on his arms and back. Like most elves, he’s tall and quite beautiful, as strange as it is to apply that description to a male.

The earliest record I could find of Smiley places him in Redmond in 2049, running with the Green Hoods, a bunch of...well, ‘Hooding gangers ripping off the rich and giving to the poor. He ran with them for about ten or so years before an unfortunate tangle with the Halloweeners wiped them all out. Only Smiley’s connections with the Triads saved him. A few weeks later, he paid the Halloweeners a visit and left sixteen of them dead, leaving his calling card “Service with a smile” for the very first time.

After that, he became a shadowrunner, doing mostly wetwork, but also the occasional protection gig. At each kill, he left his calling card, and that was always the only thing ever discovered at any of the scenes. He left no evidence at all. He did this for two years before he was betrayed by the man who trained him. I couldn’t find out exactly what happened, or why, but my digging around did reveal that the mysterious person who trained him attempted to carry out a hit on Smiley. In retaliation, he killed both the man and his hitman, before joining a band of ‘runners whom he later also killed before making off with millions of nuyen worth of credsticks. Wetwork pays, I suppose.

This became a pattern with Smiley. Anyone who betrayed him, or made a serious attempt on his life didn’t live long enough to try again.

Now with money to back up his very solid rep, Smiley began moving in the upper reaches of society. He established contacts in the FBI, CIA, UCAS Marshalls, the Star, the Knights...all the upper crust folks without ever working against any of them.

In 2066, he formed the band “Thanks for coming out” and released an album before suddenly disappearing completely. He reappeared in 2071, now packing stronger magic and sharpened abilities. Where he went to hone his skills I have not been able to uncover. He rejoined his old band they resumed making music as if nothing had happened.

Now think about everything you’ve learned. Who is this person we call Smiley? He kills as easily as he breathes, even people close to him. His entire team was killed, but did he do it or not? I haven’t been able to find out. He killed the man who trained him. He kills with a certain panache...one might even say with a twisted sense of humour. When he was hired to make a death look like a suicide, he strapped bombs to his mark’s wife and child, and then commanded him to kill himself to save his wife and child. He’s capable of surprising acts of kindness, even compassion, and then turn right around and kill. He’s spent ten years of his life hooding, and suffered many betrayals. He lives as if he believes he’ll die soon. He speaks Sperethiel like a native and appeared so suddenly it seems like he lived in a cave in the Tir before coming down out of the mountains.

Could our friend Smiley be a Shifter? Maybe. He follows the Wuxing tradition, which suggests connections with China. His racial characteristics is certainly Chinese. So’s his Triad connections. If he is a Shifter, I’d postulate he’s an eastern critter.

There’s mysteries upon mysteries about Smiley. He’s a good ‘runner, a fun person, but one that’s hard to pin down, hard to know. I don’t get any bad vibes from him, but I would also not care to cross him. He’s a good guy to have on your contact list, but a bad enemy. Tread lightly with him, enjoy his company and play your games straight with him. Catch up with him at Powerline and share a good time with him. Then hire him and receive “Service with a smile”. And pray he doesn’t come after you.
----------
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: CanRay on <01-23-12/1443:51>
Iceblade's Profile, after Paragraph 2, playing on the feudal system with a bit more to show Murphy being cultured and well-read for a 14-year old.

>>>>>["...imagine a boot stamping on a human face – forever...."  Sorry Mr. Iceblade, it seemed an appropriate quote, you certainly weren't like that to me.  But I've heard from other refugees from the Tir.]<<<<<
     -- Murphy (13:12:44/01-23-74)

Iceblade's Profile, after Paragraph 5, about martial arts

>>>>>[Not just magic training, but martial arts of any type that aren't learned by chip (Or, worse, skillchipped!) will teach these things as well.  A combination thereof would be very powerful.]<<<<<
     -- Money Johnson (13:20:00/01-23-74)

Iceblade's Profile, after Paragraph 8, about the Corp

>>>>>[It's worse than that.  Affiliated corps to Arcanix had similar "accidents" happen during and shortly after Crash 2.0, and was blamed on damage caused by it.  I can't get the real owners names, but the shell companies were all the same.  Maybe I should get a rabid forensic accountant on that...]<<<<<
     -- Money Johnson (13:00:00/01-23-74)

>>>>>[Can't right all the wrongs of the world, Mr. Money.  I know things like this remind you of what happened to Mrs. Money and yourself, but, well, too many times this happens.  Even more for the SINless which you never hear about.]<<<<<
     -- Murphy (01:00:58/01-24-74)

Madrecita's Profile, after Paragraph 5, about her family

>>>>>[Didn't realize Spain was so full of racism as well.  Shouldn't surprise me, I guess, I don't think there's anywhere where we can all get along.]<<<<<
     -- Murphy (15:55:12/01-23-74)

Madrecita's Profile, after Paragraph 14 (Including file), about going too close to the point of no return

>>>>>[It's far, far too easy to lose yourself in the rage and bloodshed.  To ride it like one would a tiger, taking revenge against the world.  The problem is, you're riding a tiger, what happens when you get off usually takes a bite out of you.  If you're lucky, you survive and are still yourself.  If you're not, you lose a bit more of yourself, or go insane.  Yes, I speak from personal experience.  No, I don't want to talk about it.]<<<<<
     -- Money Johnson (02:31:00/01-24-74)

Smiley's Profile, after Paragraph 2, about his metatype

>>>>>[You know, I just noticed that a vast majority of the old 'runners are elves.  Orks and trolls are easy to explain, we don't live long.  And humans age fast enough to dull their abilities too quickly to stay in the game.  But why do dwarves not have the same deal?]<<<<<
     -- Murphy (13:55:10/01-24-74)

>>>>>[Short stubby legs that can't outrun CorpSec or Peace Officers?  OK, I'm sorry, that was bad and should be in the Humanis Joke Book, but I couldn't help myself.]<<<<<
     -- Money Johnson (18:00:00/01-24-74)

Smiley's Profile, after Paragraph 6, about his pattern.

>>>>>[Not all that strange, a lot of people have that code, and make sure folks know it.  Myself, my rep tells people that come after me that the ones I leave dead are the lucky ones.]<<<<<
     -- Money Johnson (18:02:18/01-24-74)

Smiley's Profile, after Paragraph 11, to end it all.

>>>>>[And thanks for coming out!  Good night everybody!]<<<<<
     -- Murphy (00:01:00/01-25-74)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Keita on <01-23-12/1558:35>
(I'll comment on the others later once others have commented. Madre can't exactly comment on what she wrote except in response to others.)


Madrecita’s profile, paragraph one, Iceblade’s comment about how he hopes she realises how far she’s come:

>>>>>[ Oh Miri. That’s a long time done now. What remains now is nothing more than general principle and habit. But thank you. I think... ]<<<<<
        Madrecita (15:15:45/01-23-74)


Madrecita’s profile, paragraph two, commenting about her name:

>>>>>[ Ah. Now that’s a name I never thought I’d hear again.]<<<<<
        Madrecita (15:16:23/01-23-74)


Madrecita’s profile, paragraph three, commenting about her medical expertise:

>>>>>[ It was a bit more than that, Miri. A lot of my work also involved gene therapies. Trauma cases were what I loved best though. Not so much the work itself as watching the joy on the faces of accident or crime victims when they woke and found their disfiguring injuries healed. ]<<<<<
        Madrecita (15:17:44/01-23-74)


Madrecita’s profile, paragraph ten, where Sinead comments about the blade she carries:


>>>>>[ It’s a Bat’Leth. Dad was a big “Trekkie”. It was one of the things we had in common. He gave me a plastic replica when I turned twelve. After his death, I had a real one forged, and later made a weapon focus of it. It’s a nasty, nasty weapon, but it suited me at the time. I carry it now simply because I’m so familiar with it. I’d feel naked without it.]<<<<<
        Madrecita (15:18:33/01-23-74)

Madrecita’s profile. Paragraph eleven, where Sinead comments about her teammates being cannon fodder:

>>>>>[ Sinead’s probably understating things there, much as I hate to admit it. At the time, I didn’t even know her name. I was more than just a mess. I was hovering on the edge of becoming a sociopath. That...was a very bad time for me...and for everyone else around me.]<<<<<
        Madrecita (15:20:09/01-23-74)

Madrecita’s profile, paragraph thirteen, where Sinead describes how Madre almost killed her:

>>>>>[ I was right on the verge on spilling our her life’s blood to fuel my magic...so I could destroy what I hated. That’s the thing about hate. If you let it consume you, you become what you hate. Wolf interfered at that point and pulled me back. My animal twin is a much better person than I am. But I’m leaning from him to be better. ]<<<<<
        Madrecita (15:21:59/01-23-74)

Madrecita’s profile, paragraph sixteen, the story about the “musical run:

>>>>>[ Oh that was fun! I’d never performed before, and it gave me quite a thrill. I’d forgotten those had been released. Ah, brings back memories... I still occasionally perform and release new songs. You can find some of them here. [Link]]<<<<<
        Madrecita (15:23:33/01-23-74)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Mirikon on <01-23-12/1840:50>
Iceblade's profile, paragraph 2, after Murphy's comment:

>>>>>[It isn't that I hated or despised other metatypes, or those of lower classes. No, it was much more subtle than that. They were simply invisible to me, and Tir society works very hard to make sure this is so. However, in my social circle, the most accepting of other metatypes you saw were those who pitied the lesser metatypes for not being born elves. Those of lesser metatypes who showed magical potential, or had other notable skills were given a nod of appreciation for having done so much to overcome their difficulties. Likewise, if someone of a lesser metatype failed a task, the reaction was like that you'd give to a small child or a pet that really tried hard, but were simply incapable of doing the task, like a puppy trying to play soccer. And that was the best of what I grew up with. Of course, I rarely saw people of other metatypes while in the Tir, unless they were on the other side of bulletproof glass.

The advantage of having a longer lifespan than others is that you have more time to change as a person.]<<<<<

--Iceblade (17:02:34/01-23-74)


Iceblade's Profile, paragraph 5, after Money Johnson's comment:

>>>>>[Master Rimaldo is a great teacher. He recently celebrated his 80th birthday. I have never met a man more skilled with a blade than he is. After the party, we sparred, for old time's sake. I ended up unconscious, waking up in a couple hours. But it was worth it, since that was the first time I'd ever managed to land a blow on him.]<<<<<

--Iceblade (17:09:34/01-23-74)


Iceblade's Profile, Paragraph 7, after 'make of that what you want':

>>>>>[You flatter me, Xerena.]<<<<<

--Iceblade (17:13:23/01-23-74)


Iceblade's Profile, Paragraph 8, after Murphy's comment:

>>>>>[So you found out about that, too, Xerena? I hope you didn't stumble upon the trid footage from that day. It is not for those with weak stomachs.

And Money, I heard about some of those other 'accidents'. This was as far from as could be. The corp actually did get bought up. It was the new owner that ordered the 'aggressive liquidation'. I was working as a security mage at the time. I can't talk about what happened without at least a bottle or two of whiskey in me. Feral ghouls running rampant through the compound, our own security system and drones turned against us. *shudder* I still have nightmares.

There were actually three people who made it out of the compound alive. Those 'accidents' were a lot like the one that almost happened to me, when I killed a man trying to spike my IV. Old school assassination trick. Air bubble in the IV becomes an air bubble in the blood, and the victim dies without any sign of foul play. Lucky I 'forgot' to take those sedatives, eh? I was still half-dead from everything that'd happened, but I wasn't going to wait around. I convinced a nurse to bring me my gear, and once I was dressed, she smuggled me out of the hospital. I still had friends in the Peace Forces, so I went to them for help. I was in Seattle the next day, under a fake ID.]<<<<<

--Iceblade (17:35:43/01-23-74)


Iceblade's Profile, Paragraph 10, after 'including Karen King':

>>>>>[When I'm not running, I have a profitable sideline as a bodyguard and male escort. Those 'romantic ties' were mostly jobs. Men aren't the only ones who like to have a bit of arm candy around to show off, and then cater to their whims back at the hotel room. The fact that I'm combat trained makes me a bit more useful to them than the typical brainless hardbodies that fill the role, while my experience in navigating the corporate and political worlds means I can at the very least keep from embarrassing them, like a thug straight out of the gangs. I get a lot of repeat customers.]<<<<<

--Iceblade (17:53:24/01-23-74)


Madrecita's Profile, Paragraph 5, about her family:

>>>>>[It wasn't racism, Murphy. It was just your typical 'message' from the Big A.]<<<<<

--Iceblade (17:56:24/01-23-74)


Madrecita's Profile, Paragraph 10, after Madrecita's comment:

>>>>>[And it is still a nasty ass blade.]<<<<<

--Iceblade (18:04:32/01-23-74)


Madrecita's Profile, Paragraph 13, after Madrecita's comment:

>>>>>[The trouble is that once you learn how to use it, blood magic is always there, tempting you. Its not unlike addiction in that way. You can resist the addiction, and even go clean for years, but all it takes is one slip, and you're worse off than before.]<<<<<

--Iceblade (18:15:23/01-23-74)


Smiley's profile, Paragraph 2, after Money's comment:

>>>>>[Its because the elves are better looking. Seriously, though, it seems that there just aren't as many dwarves in the biz, and that hasn't changed. Some real good talismongers and fixers, though.]<<<<<

--Iceblade (18:38:58/01-23-74)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Keita on <01-25-12/0346:34>
Iceblade's profile, paragraph two, after Iceblade's comment to Murphy:

>>>>>[ And that's of course the sort of thing Humanis uses to justify their own prejudice. In some ways, the subtle condescention is actually worse, or at least pstchologically more damaging than more obvious forms of prejudice. At least with Humanis you know to expect it. No offence to you personally, Miri. ]<<<<<
       -- Madrecita (03:31:34/01-25-74)

Iceblade's Profile, Paragraph seven, after Iceblade's comment:

>>>>>[ I know and appreciate quality when I see it, my dear. ]<<<<<
       -- Madrecita (03:33:33/01-25-74)

Iceblade's Profile, Paragraph eight, after iceblade's comment:

>>>>>[ Actually I did...but I decided not to share. There are some things...better left alone. ]<<<<<
       -- Madrecita (03:35:53/01-25-74)

Iceblade's Profile, Paragraph ten, after Iceblade's comment':

>>>>>[ And of course, you pick up so much useful information you can use in all your other capacities, don't you Miri? Yes...I found out about that too. ]<<<<<
       -- Madrecita (03:39:12/01-25-74)

Madrecita's Profile, Paragraph ten, after Iceblade's comment:

>>>>>[ Fun, though. ]<<<<<
       -- Madrecita (03:42:32/01-25-74)

Madrecita's Profile, Paragraph thirteen, after Iceblade's comment:

>>>>>[ Yes. I won't argue that one. One of the things that saved me is that I'm fundamentally not a power-seeking person. It's not in my nature. But yes. You are correct. If I'm ever in a position again of needing power...I will have to be doubly careful not to go down that path again. ]<<<<<
       -- Madrecita (03:45:32/01-25-74)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Mirikon on <01-25-12/1406:04>
Iceblade's Profile, Paragraph 2, After Madrecita's comment:

>>>>>[None taken, Xerena. But racism is everywhere, not just in Humanis strongholds. An elf walking through the Ork Underground isn't exactly going to get a warm reception, yes? But as I said, growing up it was omnipresent. Some were worse than others, but it was always there. I'd like to think I've learned a bit since then.]<<<<<

--Iceblade (14:01:04/01-25-74)

Iceblade's Profile, Paragraph 10, after Madrecita's comment:
>>>>>[One can hardly blame me if the ladies I service are more relaxed after vigorous exercise, and feel like talking. And if I happen to hear something that benefits me in my work, why shouldn't I take advantage of it?]<<<<<

--Iceblade (14:05:02/01-25-74)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Smiley on <01-25-12/2304:43>
Mercedes
Posted by: KageZero

Age: 21 (b. 07/23/2052)
Height: 165 cm (5' 4")
Weight: 57.34 kg (126 lbs)
Hair: Platinum Blonde
Eyes: Green
Gender: Female
Metatype: Latina Elf
Awakened: Yes

Hoi, Bull, hope this squares us in regards to that mix-up in Tokyo. Mercedes is a cool customer, for sure, and there’s not much electronic gossip about her, but I’ve worked with her a couple of times and she’s okay with the download. I think her exact words were about “more customers”.

Mercedes was born Haydée Vega in 2050 somewhere in Aztlan. Her mother came to Seattle with her eleven-year-old daughter in tow, and never spoke of her time down south. If Mercedes remembers any of her early childhood, she’s never made mention of it.

Being a second generation elf, Mercedes and her mom did try to get passage in the Tir, but the restrictive regime policies kept them out. Fortunately, they fell in the Laésa in Puyallup. This proved beneficial, both to the outlaw rebels and young Mercedes, who was just coming into her abilities.

While her mother was decking on runs with the rebels, Mercedes spent time watching and learning the politics of social rebellion. At 14, she Awakened. Normally, any crew would have been thrilled at having a magically active adept in their ranks, but beyond her Astral Perception, she and those around her didn’t see any physical abilities manifest, and they figured she was just another aura-reader.

Her social abilities became more evident when she attended group rallies, where her ability to encourage and rise the morale of those in attendance, and when she was present at various meets with fixers and johnsons, where the rebels seemed to negotiate better deals. Soon, the leaders of the Laésa were able to see that she was a Social Adept and immediately put her to work as one of their recruiters and “negotiation representatives”. By the time she turned 17, she had earned a rep as a solid face and speaker. Unfortunately, this was also when her mom died, another victim to a botched run.

Although she still worked for the Laésa, she did so only on her terms and made it clear she was working by contract only, and not a permanent “employee”. With her charismatic skills, the break was clean and amicable to all concerned. She then turned to the private industry, hiring herself out to corps and fixers alike to negotiate contracts, do public speaking at motivational rallies and as a minor fixer.

After her mother’s death, Mercedes frowned on using violence in runs, preferring to use tasers and other non-lethal means to deal with the opposition. And she never dealt with wetwork, on either side of the table (a belief that she upholds even today).

Of course, running the shadows changes a lot of things. It’s said that after having some dealing with the Infected and some Vampire Hunters, her code of pacifism was tested and the hard choices made her realize she would not survive long in the dog-eat-dog world she lived in.

Nowadays, she is a creature of light and shadow. She lives in both worlds, hiring herself out to corporations as Haydée Vega, contract negotiator and motivational speaker and still working the shadows as a team’s fixer, or even their face, accompanying them on runs when needed.

Her latest endeavor led to some work in Denver, where it’s rumored she had dealings with Ghostwalker’s “people” looking into some of Ares’ dealings.

>>>>>[ I worked wid her a coupla times a year or two back. Know that when she talks, peoples listen. And that when dey listen, the cost for my bullets comes in way under-budget. Which is good bizness.]<<<<<

--Bear (16:22:48/01-25-74)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Kylen on <01-25-12/2351:59>
Mercedes Profile, after Bear's

>>>>>[My Old Man told me that the corps love it when your ammo budget is well under. Means possible No Corpse bonuses, and makes it more likely for the corp run against to leave it alone. After all, they don't have to pay for new equipment and personnel and training.]<<<<<

     -- Card (16:51:31/01-25-74)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Mirikon on <01-26-12/1241:43>
Mercedes's Profile, Paragraph 6, after 'minor fixer':

>>>>>I was at one of those rallies. Even without her Talent, there's no mistaking the skill the girl has with her voice. Things may have ended up quite differently if her mother had been allowed into the country. Mercedes would have gone far at the Information Secretariat.<<<<<

--Iceblade (12:25:35/01-26-74)


Mercedes's Profile, Paragraph 8, after 'world she lived in':

>>>>>[The Sixth World is not kind regarding those who cannot adapt their ideals to the realities of the world. They tend to be some of the most dangerous people around, to others as well as themselves.]<<<<<

--Iceblade (12:28:34/01-26-74)


Mercedes's Profile, Paragraph 10, after Card's comment:
>>>>>[Don't forget death benefits. Working corpsec is dangerous, as anyone in the field can tell you. Most of them have benefits going to next of kin written into their contracts as a 'perk'. Deaths occurring during a gun battle as runners try to escape are one thing. That's part of the game. What is REALLY going to get a reprisal team after you is if you start doing stealth kills on every guard you come across. A slap patch of slab or laes does the same job, without costing the company extra, and does wonders for your rep. If your Face negotiates an 'expense account' for your run, grabbing some of those drugs can go a long way to getting you some repeat business.]<<<<<

--Iceblade (12:41:24/01-26-74)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: CanRay on <01-27-12/0438:38>
Smiley's Profile, after Paragraph 11, before Murphy's Comment.

>>>>>[Wonder what his new apprentice, Autumn, thinks about all this?]<<<<<
     -- Money Johnson (22:00:01/01-24-74)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: DaveB on <01-27-12/2358:08>
Smiley's Profile, after Paragraph 11, after Money Johnson's Comment.

>>>>>[What she has to say? Well, where to fraggin' start? Although Madrecita mentioned it, people really need to know how much of threat to everyone this guy really is. He's a manipulative bastard with a sky-high IQ used for his own selfish needs. Everything he does and says as purpose, always! One day, I notice he puts poison in his own tea. The next day, I realize he wanted me to see him put poison in his tea so I come up with the idea of doing research on poisons. He teaches kids in Redmond how to fight, then they grow up and volunteer out of gratitude to protect the small prostitution ring he operates in Tacoma. He never asked any of them, he already knew they would without hesitation. He winks at a random woman in the street, weeks later  we find her sitting at the front desk of a hotel, still remembering him and without even flirting he can have what he needs from her. Trying to analyze what he does all the time is just maddening. Sometimes you wonder if he sees the future or if he engineers it perfectly. He is also completely free of any morality. He does what he wants, when he wants. And there's absolutely no stopping him, especially when nobody has no idea what he really wants. I envy that asshole's freedom. I'll predict this about him. It's a repeated succession of one consonant and one vowel, punctuated by exclamation.]<<<<<
     -- Autumn (23:56:01/01-27-74)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: The Wyrm Ouroboros on <01-28-12/0119:41>
Following Above
>>>>>[ That's called advanced research, kid, and knowing your surroundings.  This is what old runners do, and try to tell young runners to do in order for them to become old.  Legwork and research is something that plenty of runners don't do -- or don't find someone to do for them.  I have a good idea who Smiley hires for his research, and I'd bet that he's paying a nice chunk of change for it. ]<<<<<
          -- The Wyrm Ouroboros (01:20:40/01-28-2074)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Smiley on <01-29-12/0044:35>
Card
Posted by Iceblade

Vital Stats: Card
Age: 22
Height: 1.78m
Weight: 63.5 kg
Hair: Black
Eyes: Light Blue
Metatype: Human
Awakened: Adept

So we've been seeing some stories about people who've been around the block a few times, and I thought it was time to give a new kid in the game a leg up.

Jackson Hart was born in Seattle, and was still just a kid, even by human standards, when the Crash hit. This made getting any real information on his early life difficult, to say the least. What I have been able to find is that young Jackson was wandering the streets alone in a bad part of town, when a certain Chinese gentleman offered him food and shelter if he'd deliver a package. That was how Card got his start in the Triads.

A non-Chinese in the Triads is a rare thing. A non-Chinese who has earned a measure of responsibility and respect in the organization is even rarer. Being an Adept helps in this regard, of course. Card is the 'manager' of the "Express Bike Delivery Group", a Triad front. Though he mainly sticks to the north side of Seattle, he'll go wherever the job takes him, especially if it is for his "Grandfather" Linh Wai, or the local underboss, Yung Ling.

Card's done his best to insulate his family from his Triad connections, to the point of not letting them know he survived the chaos of the Crash. His closest friend is a Chinese ork by the name of Lucas Yang, a mechanic. If you need to find Card, you can usually find him and Lucas at the Crank Shaft, a biker/mechanic bar.

If Card is reading this, he should know that he needs to work on covering his reactions. Yang might not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but even he has suspicions about Card's secrets. Not always answering when someone calls out his alias, Roan, and having to visibly prevent himself from answering when someone calls out "Hey Jack!" is sloppy tradecraft. If Yang was any sharper, his cover would have been blown a long time ago.

Card's only other personal connection in the underworld is a former DocWagon doctor by the name of Miss Maggie. Charming woman, and quite talkative after a couple drinks.

Card's been in the shadows for a decade now, but so far he's flown under the radar, first because he was a kid, and then because he was a courier, instead of a runner. Still, he's a non-Chinese that has managed to work his way up through the Triads. I haven't been able to discover whether he's undergone the infamous Bleeding Oath yet, but if he hasn't, it is likely that if he rises any further, he'll have to before long. Keep that in mind when working with him. There are some oaths you can't break, and that will take precedence over anything else.

Card is a skilled martial artist, and an adept. While he typically favors nonlethal attacks, it is something to see his feet flying, wrapped in lightning. He refuses to use guns, or any ranged weapons, a personal choice that limits his options in defending himself, relying on the speed of his bike to avoid trouble, instead of learning how to deal with trouble when it comes to him. He's young, though, and can fill these gaps in his training with time, which will make him more useful to the Triads, if he continues with the organization.
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Smiley on <01-29-12/0129:38>
Madrecita's Profile, after Paragraph 8, about faking her own death

>>>>>[I gotta admit, the way she did it was pretty clever.]<<<<<
     -- Smiley (01:12:12/01-29-74)

Madrecita's Profile, after Paragraph 16, about the assassination of Vasquez

>>>>>[Toxins on the lips. That's a classic! There you go folks, that's how it's done!]<<<<<
     -- Smiley (01:16:54/01-29-74)

Smileys Profile, after Paragraph 2, about his name.

>>>>>[Alright, alright. I'll let you all in a little secret. I have no name. Yes, that's right! No one gave me one! Isn't it fantastic? Beside my street name and my artist name, both of them I chose for myself, there's only fake ones I attach to fake IDs. There you go, that's out of the bag!]<<<<<
     -- Smiley (01:19:32/01-29-74)

Smiley's Profile, after Paragraph 5, about The Mysterious Man

>>>>>[So he trained me, did he? Well, he did made me discover my calling and showed me the ropes on the basics of wetwork. I supose he did, at least partially. And yes, the pay is fantastic! These credsticks weren't exactly a payment.]<<<<<
     -- Smiley (01:21:42/01-29-74)

Smiley's Profile, after Paragraph 9, about his first team

>>>>>[I'll say that, I did not killed these idiots. And if it seems that way, that's because I did grew up in cave in the... country that I grew up in.]<<<<<
     -- Smiley (01:24:19/01-29-74)

Smiley's Profile, after Paragraph 10, about being a shifter

>>>>>[O RLY?]<<<<<
     -- Smiley (01:26:04/01-29-74)

Smiley's Profile, after Paragraph 11, replying to Autumn's shadowcomment but after Wyrm's comment.


>>>>>[Hahaha!]<<<<<
     -- Smiley (15:27:37/01-29-74)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: CanRay on <01-29-12/0150:22>
Card's Profile, after Paragraph 7, about being a courier

>>>>>[Being a courier is often an entry level for the shadows, it's often a test fixers and Johnson's will send people on to see if how they work as a team, and if they can spot a tail.  'Course, that's a lot easier now with all the damned cameras everywhere, but I still prefer sending three tails after them (And told to work at varying levels of skill.  So far, no one has spotted the third one.).  Often the courier jobs are nothing, no crime, no big deal, not much pay.  It's to see if they'll do anything, even the drek jobs, to see how they mesh.  A great way to get rid of someone and get another person into the needed slot before the big score.

I also know a number of Real Shadowrunners, and don't mistake them for anything else, whose primary jobs are as couriers.  They do other jobs as well, often as drivers or pilots, but their bread and butter is encoded messages and packages.  It's not the best pay, but there's always someone that needs something delivered and can't trust the Federal-United Postal.  Some are quite hard core and not people you mess with, either.  But they're couriers, and proud of it.]<<<<<
     -- Money Johnson (01:49:15/01-29-74)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Mirikon on <01-29-12/0902:21>
Card's Profile, Paragraph 7, after Money Johnson's comment

>>>>>[In the end, unless you're a wetwork specialist like Smiley, the vast majority of jobs will involve taking a package (whether it is paydata, physical goods, paracritters, or even metahumans) from A to B. The main difference between a courier job and an extraction is the level of violence that may be likely in picking up the package, and the fact that the package might not be entirely willing to get delivered. Swapping data in a corp's servers? Courier run, with a chance of getting brain-fried on Black IC.

I'll admit to playing courier from time to time, though the format is a bit different than the door to door kind of run. Say, for instance, a politico wishes to exchange some information with a certain businesswoman, but, for whatever reason, he can't use the usual means, and can't meet in person. Perhaps he is under surveillance. Perhaps he doesn't want to give anyone a chance to dig up dirt on him. Perhaps his wife wouldn't understand. Perhaps his wife would understand all too well. Whatever the reason, he needs someone who can discretely pass a message along, and bring a reply, without appearing out of place. That's where someone like me comes in. Because I make a big show of being seen with a lot of the movers and shakers in the area, I can meet someone for a 'friendly drink' at Dante's, where I get the package, and then later I 'just happen' to run into the businesswoman at Club Penumbra that evening, where I pass the package along, and get the reply, if there is one. In the morning, I walk into the politico's favorite restaurant to get some breakfast, and as we have a friendly chat about sports, I slip him the reply. Courier job, pure and simple, and none of those meets looks all that out of place, unless you've been tracking my movements the entire time.

Actually, courier jobs like that have gotten even more common in the past few years, after the craze with technomancers and AIs hit. According to what a 'friend' said, there are these places that everything ever on the Matrix falls into, even after its been erased and the file overwritten twenty times, and technomancers can get at it. Scary drek for people with skeletons in their closets, no? So some of these courier runs use hard copy messages (actual pen and paper kind!) or spoken codes. Real spy games kind of stuff.

And couriers are the only people who know the shortcuts for getting around the sprawl better than cabbies.]<<<<<

--Iceblade (09:02:34/01-29-74)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Kylen on <01-29-12/1421:34>
After Iceblade's Comment, Card's Profile

>>>>>[Cabbies wish they could get around Seattle as well as I can, custom bike or no.

Granted, the only reason I can keep my current lifestyle up is because a good chunk of my runs are...priority deliveries for my Triad. Means big money for me. Well, at least a couple hundred more, depending on what it is.

I'm...not surprised at the least that you were able to follow my history all the way back to the crash, but to find my real name too? I really did think that all was lost in it.]<<<<<

     -- Card (12:21:31/01-29-74)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Mirikon on <01-29-12/1500:13>
Card's Profile, Paragraph 7, after Card's comment:

>>>>>[That actually wasn't that hard. The missing person ads your parents plastered up are still around in the Matrix. The fact that you were a SINner and a child when the Crash happened means that law enforcement gets good PR for saying they're still looking for missing persons from the Crash. Cold case, of course. A lady I 'know' searched those records for human male children with your skin, hair, and eye colors. Which still kicked out a few hundred results. So she ran an age advancement program on them, to bring them up to your approximate age. The tech isn't new, it was around before the first Crash, to ID war criminals, and for parents to see what their kids would look like, and other things like that. There were six possibles after that, and two had been found within a week of the crash, and three more turned up dead.]<<<<<

--Iceblade (15:00:00/01-29-74)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Kylen on <01-29-12/1605:52>
>>>>>[Damn, you'd think my family knew I was alive by now if it's THAT easy.]<<<<<

     -- Card (15:05:32/01-29-74)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: CanRay on <01-29-12/1621:23>
Card's Profile, Paragraph 7, after Card's most recent comment:

>>>>>[Almost makes me want to get lost and then found again, and paid for the PR Spin.  Oh, wait, that only works for SINners and Breeders, not Ugly SINless Tuskers like me.   :P]<<<<<
     -- Murphy (16:20:44/01-29-74)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Mirikon on <01-29-12/1630:13>
Card's Profile, Paragraph 7, After Murphy's comment:

>>>>>[Not really, Card. I knew what I was looking for, and where to find it. Your parents, even if they were still actively looking for you after all this time, don't have those advantages. As I said, it is a cold case by now, buried under the drekload of other cases that have come in over the last decade. Now, if you ever got arrested, there's a chance that a moderately zealous worker at the station might run your biometrics against missing persons and cold cases and come up with a match. But then, if you get arrested, that would be the least of your worries, right?]<<<<<

--Iceblade (16:30:40/01-29-74)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Kylen on <01-29-12/2317:19>
Card's Profile, After Iceblade's Most Recent:

>>>>>[I dunno. Depends. If getting arrested saves my hoop and I'm not on a job for a Johnson or the Lotus, then yeah, that is the least of my worries. Hell, I'd probably thank the slotter.]<<<<<

     -- Card (17:17:17/01-29-74)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: FastJack on <01-30-12/0752:57>
>>>>>I was at one of those rallies. Even without her Talent, there's no mistaking the skill the girl has with her voice. Things may have ended up quite differently if her mother had been allowed into the country. Mercedes would have gone far at the Information Secretariat.<<<<<

--Iceblade (12:25:35/01-26-74)
>>>>>[I've thought about how life would have been different in the Tir, but I still don't think I would have been able to work at the IS. What I do remember of Aztlan instilled a great dislike of misleading the public with disinformation.]<<<<<

--Mercedes (07:42:30/01-30-74)
>>>>>[The Sixth World is not kind regarding those who cannot adapt their ideals to the realities of the world. They tend to be some of the most dangerous people around, to others as well as themselves.]<<<<<

--Iceblade (12:28:34/01-26-74)
>>>>>[Unfortunately, this is true. I learned the hard way that, just because I would like the world to solve its problems by talking, not everyone feels the same way. And they will most definitely use that against you every chance they get.]<<<<<

--Mercedes (07:45:02/01-30-74)
>>>>>[Don't forget death benefits. Working corpsec is dangerous, as anyone in the field can tell you. Most of them have benefits going to next of kin written into their contracts as a 'perk'. Deaths occurring during a gun battle as runners try to escape are one thing. That's part of the game. What is REALLY going to get a reprisal team after you is if you start doing stealth kills on every guard you come across. A slap patch of slab or laes does the same job, without costing the company extra, and does wonders for your rep. If your Face negotiates an 'expense account' for your run, grabbing some of those drugs can go a long way to getting you some repeat business.]<<<<<

--Iceblade (12:41:24/01-26-74)
>>>>>[Thankfully, I've been able to avoid working with teams like that. I have brokered a run or two for them, however, and they usually lose out on bonuses from Mr. Johnson, not too mention it's always harder to negotiate better deals for them.]<<<<<

--Mercedes (07:53:47/01-30-74)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Smiley on <01-30-12/1706:44>
Chrona
Posted By:  Money Johnson

Name:  Maximilian Siegfried
Handle:  Chrona, BloodClaw
Age:  30
Height:  2.2 Meters
Weight:  ~200 kg
Hair:  None
Eyes:  White (Naturally Blind)
Gender:  Male
Metatype:  Born Ork (Infected with Kriegar Strain of HMHVV)
Awakened:  Yes (Magician, highly suspected to be Hermetic Tradition)

So, stop me if you’ve heard this one before.  Brother and sister are nicely in their happy corporate home when suddenly something happens to them that cause them to be ostracized and kicked out of their happy homes into the slums of the world.

Yeah, we’ve all heard it before, but this isn’t Japan we’re talking about here, this is a Mega in Germany, SK-P if I catch the accent on him right with the few times I’ve heard him speak German.  “But hey, the Dragon don’t care what metatype you are, WTF?”

Well, in this case, they changed because of HMHVV, the Human Meta-Human Vampiric Virus, each getting a different strain somehow.  (Horrible name for it as well, but it was given back in the days when people thought that Metahumans weren’t human, so we’re stuck with it.).

Well, the bigots who didn’t read the “Metatype” up at the top have closed the file or moved onto the next datapage to see who else is listed here with a sputter of, “Man-eating monster” or other such thing, and frankly we’re better off without them.  Now, let’s get to the nitty-gritty.

Maxy here and his sister were playing; enjoying their nice, safe corporate life when they were attacked by the monsters that their corporate lords assured them did not exist.  They got infected, and kicked out into the gutters we all know and loathe.  After adjusting to being a ghoul and surviving with sanity mostly intact, it appears he taught himself magic somehow, either through a master, mentor spirit, or a computer with some sorcery tutorials (And a braille system, which he also would have had to learn.).

Next I find out about him, it’s been a decade or so and he’s in Seattle, in the Redmond Barrens, working with the 162 street gang, and doing a bit of shadow work to build up his skills, contacts, and money (Not necessarily in that order.).  Eventually he joined up with two other shadowrunners as a team, who accepted him for being a ghoul.  I suspect that this is where he also got his street name, a bastardization of “Kurona”, as one of the members was Japanese, and it does fit him so well.

Things were happy and violent (And profitable, of course) until a ‘run went bad and they lost their Japanese member in the sewers in an improvised escape plan.  Unhappy with the results, and showing an uncharacteristic (for shadowrunners) loyalty, the two ‘runners hunted for their lost friend for a year, until they were attached to a larger team, whose job it was to extract said person.  Problem was, she wasn’t exactly herself any longer, and didn’t want to learn about her old self, either.

From various sources, I’ve been able to piece together that this was a major trigger to Chrona wanting to find his sister once again.  Problem is, Biz happened to get in that way, Tempo was hitting the streets, and jobs were too many and profitable to just pass up.  He’d need all the things those jobs gave to pay for finding his sister in cred, rep, and intel.  He also picked up a bit of chemistry skills along the way, likely to help with the drug jobs.  (I, personally, applaud him for this, as my chemistry home cooking lessons began, and ended, when I tried to make some homemade wine, and nearly blew up a bed.).  He also got into bed with the Italian Mafia, not an easy thing to do as most families in Seattle barely like magicians (orks, they’re OK with, good kneebreakers.).

After a trip overseas, and during his downtime, he was attacked by some rather mysterious Shinto priestesses, and not in the Hentai style, either.  He took them out, but they were alive enough to answer questions, like why him.  Turns out they were specially trained Infected Hunters from Japan (Got to love how equal rights they are over there, neh?), and were chasing after a Wendigo that had attacked their temple, and used ritual magic to track the creature to Chrona.  Ghoul, Wendigo, easy mistake to make, one is only naked and the other furry!

So, after a bit of…  Negotiation, he found out that the creature (for lack of a better term yet), was in LA, and found himself in the bright lights of the reality ‘trid life that is the shadows of the city of stars.  Got himself a decent P2.0 rating as “BloodClaw”!  Wonder how long it took the marketing execs to think that one up.  Eventually, they cornered the Windego in a scrap yard, and surprise of surprises, she up and forces out a “Max” from her now rather altered mouth.  Other than that, she’s been pretty much feral (How a feral gets from Germany to Japan to LA, I’ll never know.  I want to, as those airlines are either really good, or really, really bad!).  Wrapping her lovingly in a few wrecked cars, Chrona (Max, BloodClaw, hard to keep up with names sometimes, isn’t it?), started work on trying to restore sanity to an Infected.

Impossible you say?  Well, guess how much funding goes into that kind of research?  Go on, guess.  Well, unless you said “None”, you’re wrong.  That’s right, hasn’t even been tried yet, so don’t be saying it’s impossible.  Dragons were impossible at one time, too, remember?

A quick trip to Germany for the first time since he changed, then back to Seattle for some well-earned R&R doing shadowruns, finally Chrona and company find themselves somewhere in South America due to a Cartel who was seriously slotted off with the Italian Family he was affiliated with.

I can’t figure out exactly what happened, but if you’ll look at a satellite map just before he was kidnapped, and just a little while afterwards, yeah, that’s a really big lake there now, isn’t it?  I’ll let you folks draw your own conclusions.

Well, when you blow up a country, no matter how “Small”, it’s time to let the heat die down a bit for, oh a decade, or two, or three.  He got himself a nice little place he calls “Mord Haus” (“Murder House”?  Really?), and mostly just chills for gigs that interest him, with the occasional helping hand to young ‘runners in need of a helping hand.

Personality wise, he’s pretty all right, unless mad, in which case things that anger him get a serious case of dead really, really fast.  I will, again, point out satellite image number two.  He doesn’t seem to have any kind of prejudices, except maybe bigots, but hey, who likes a bigot?  He’s exceptionally intelligent, which catches a lot of people off due to his size and being a “Zombie”, and I’ve heard he’s been attending anger management courses, or at least attempting to be a lot less dangerous when angry.

Physically, he’s almost at peak performance, which isn’t bad for an ork that’s 30-years old.  Perhaps it’s the HMHVV, or just a really good exercise regime.  It might be his diet, but I’m not going to go there.  Appearance-wise, he does look like a ghoul, but lacks the characteristic scarring from rapid growth (Possibly due to being infected so young), and he’s pretty close to troll-sized.  Well, small troll-sized at least.

As for the rest, aside from keeping “Snacks” in his lined coat, eating them in public like it was just another soysloppy from Stuffer Shack, and enjoying Classical Music (That’s the stuff from the Renaissance-Era, not Classical Rock you heathens!), I’ll let the rumors of his life be his own to handle from there.  Mainly as I can’t tell which ones his enemies have spread, which ones he has spread himself, which ones are true, and which ones are just pure drek.  Better just to ask the man himself.

When he’s in a good mood:  Satellite image number two.
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Smiley on <02-01-12/0121:33>
Shaper
Posted by: Smiley

Name: Reginald Porter
Alias: Regs
Handle: Shaper
Age: Early twenties (apparent thirties)
Height: 5'11" (183 cm)
Weight: 178 lbs (81 kilos)
Hair: Black
Eyes: Amber
Gender: Male
Metatype: Human (Rumored Panther Shapeshifter)
Awakened: Yes (Magician, Rastafarian)

We have our fair share of rebels in our community. Some believe in causes while others just like creating chaos. Occasionally, we get that one that just seems compelled to fight the current establishment, every single one of them, no matter where or what this current establishment is. He's that kind of rebel. He hasn't been active on VU93 in a while but as a special case and one that everyone should pay close attention to, it deserved a place in the spotlight.

When not masked by any spells, our friend appears to be of African descent with a very dark ebony skin, marked in places with scars or paint. He has short and black hair, knotted up into many small dreads. His irises are amber.  He has a few scars on his body, the most distinguishing of which is a thick ring of scars around his neck. Typically, he can be seen wearing cheap and simple clothes like cargo pants and sleeveless shirts (if any shirt at all,) but he does use spells to disguise his rascal looking mug when in public.  No matter what the rascal looks like though, he is almost invariably never seen without an old grim looking machete sheathed on his hip.  A little bird tells me the Machete is magically active, a weird one at that too. It has sharks' teeth inlaid in the grip so that the jagged saw-like edges dig into the user's hand, drawing blood and producing discomfort for anyone without thick callouses on their palms.

Finding information from his youth has proven to be basically impossible, since he seemingly came from nowhere back in the late 50s.  But you all know me, that hasn't stopped me from finding some juicy rumors and far stretched stories that I'll save for later. Finding information about his old gang was a piece of cake though. They were a small but notorious bunch of cut-throats before he showed up, slaughtered their captain and took control of the few ships at his disposal. After he took over though, they became something else entirely. Back then, as Reginald Porter, he turned a small group of the most bloodthirsty and desperate pirates in the Carribean League into a bushwhack crew that targeted other pirate groups almost exclusively.  They would stalk larger pirate fleets to find their safehouses and hit them unawares so as to rob them blind.  It was a pretty good racket but all things comes to an end. When you throw your drek over too many people, they tend to gang up and try to bury you in a gutter. The whole thing culminated in the kind of bloodbath that makes headlines even a continent away.  From the reports I have in hand, the firefight resulted in the death of 52 pirates and 34 civilians, including Shaper's entire crew.  Shaper was said to have been killed at the scene with the rest, but within weeks had resurfaced.  Coincidentally, the head of the crew which publicly ambushed Shaper and his crew was strangely found, chewed, torn to pieces, and half the captains which had put bounties on his head were found missing theirs.  A righteous bit of retribution, but as you all know, most criminal groups have connections within authorities. Nobody was interested in joining his crew anymore, either by fear or by hatred of this arrogant captain.  Shaper saw himself exiled from the islands, to be arrested on sight should he return.  The official who gave the order turned up dead too, let me quote the report: in his own bed, lungs full of sea water and his own wet footprints leading from the shore to the bed.

After that, I couldn't find anything until 2068. He resurfaced in New Orleans, now using the alias Shaper, and selling his services as mojo for hire.  What I could find indicates that an injured party had loosed him on a small group of twisted voodoo practitioners who had been running a kidnapping and extortion racket. After one last showdown (and another, smaller, bloodbath), he disappeared again only to reappear in 2069 smuggling guns in the CAS. Remember what I meant by "that kind of rebel". That's where the interesting part about Shaper's history starts. There he hooked up with a gun running crew ship operating in the Pacific supplying every single rebel faction along the west coast. He helped and supplied weapons to the Rinelle ke’Tesrae in Portland, the anti-Saito faction in San Francisco and I'm only mentioning these two. It was there, in San Francisco that he made connections into the Mothers of Metahumans until drek was thrown in the fan with the Policlub.  After all, a non-violent resistance group can't afford to be seen ass-grabbing with a notorious gun-trafficker, right?  After the MoM episode, he decided to take weird and borderline sketchy jobs down the coast with teams of runners made on the spot. Not liking running with guys he didn't really know, he moved to Portland in the Tir. There, with the help of his arms connections, he managed to secure several neighborhood and unify race-related gangs around north Portland into what would become today's biggest non-elven gang in the city.

If I have a few tips about dealing with the one known as Shaper, it's to tread carefully. From what I gathered by talking to people who have dealt with him in the past, Shaper is known for being ruthless, unforgiving and vicious. That machete of his severed quite a few heads, and if he sees you as a threat, he may try to add your name in his trophy book. All it really takes is a bad day or a small dose of Nitro for him to decide to end someone, cold and direct. I gotta say, some of these traits are what's making me like the guy, but, well... Something is off with the guy. I mean it looks like he's trying too much, so much he looks constipated all the time. Guys who are doing that are usually fighting something inside, or hiding it. And you know what they say! It's what's underneath that matters, no?

Here's what I discovered with my research on Rastafarians, I'm curious like that. Anyway, I mentioned something earlier about his small dreads...  See, for a Rastafarian, the number of dreadlocks on a man's head is said to correspond to a Rasta's wisdom, while the length is said to be a sign of maturity and dedication to the holy life, or whatever the frag that his.  So, wearing short locks is a purposeful sign of immaturity.  He seems to be a full-grown man, but he wears his youth openly to anyone who would know how to spot it.  Now, do you remember how I said bout juicy rumors and far stretched stories?

Through some contacts of mine, I managed to track down an old pirate, named Emmanuel Jean-Baptiste, who told me a story about his Captain's pet, a panther he'd bought off the ivory coast and had been told was magical.  The Captain who bought him kept him in a spare quarters as his personal pet and as a convenient disciplinary aide. The big cat had been trained to savage disobedient captives or crew, and the cat seemed all too happy to oblige.  He tells me the gold leash the captain kept around its neck held the creature in a constant state of pain, and it loved to share that pain with anything it could get its paws on. It went like this for about three years, until the Captain and his crew picked a wrong target at the wrong time and their flagship got literally cut in half.  Few of the crew survived, but they did find among their diminished number a stranger with a scarred up neck who fit Shaper's description.  One of the crew, a guy named Joseph, approached the strange young man.  As he got close, the man, identified him by name and then proceeded to beat his head in with a rock.  The surviving crew, near dead already from the exhaustion of swimming several miles to land fled, stealing a fisherman's boat not far from where they'd washed ashore and leaving the ink-black stranger behind.  He says that, as he looked back one last time, the man was gone, and there was a panther dragging Joseph's body off into the vegetation. You guys are seeing where this is going?

This little story, his discretely advertised youth, chewed enemies, scars on the neck... It's not that far stretched if you put these things together and connect the dots from the pirate panther, to the pirate Porter and finally to the runner Shaper.

Like I said, his case is one to pay close attention to. Not because he might be not-so-human, though. Who cares really? No, with guns, mojo and good history with the resident dissidents, Shaper is a big rising star as a gang leader in Portland. He hasn't played the ambition card yet but I know for a fact that many small non-elven gangs in the surrounding area, and even some in other Tir cities, have voiced their interest in merging. Considering his aggressive nature (or demeanor), it might be just a question of time before that happens. He may well become a force to be reckoned with, sooner than later. A possible violent beastman with a taste for nitro at the head of a powerful gang... That's something everyone here should watch closely.
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Keita on <02-03-12/0424:21>
Chrona’s profile, paragraph seven, after “didn’t want to learn about her old self either”.

>>>>>[That’s the thing isn’t it? You never know when you’re encountering a ‘monster’ and when a ‘person’. It’s a sad fact that you can never tell unless you know the individual personally. So, when all is said and done, the infected are no worse or better when it comes to being trustworthy. At the end of the day, you still have to take your chances. Kudos to Chrona for his loyalty. There are very, very few people who still display that quality. ]<<<<<
     --Madrecita (03:26:30/02-03-74)

Chrona’s profile, paragraph 10, after “Dragons were impossible at one time, too, remember?”

>>>>>[While restoring sanity to the infected is a laudable goal, and one I would support under normal circumstances, as a medical practitioner, I cannot condone having the cure for one disease come at the expense of others. Chrona have publically stated that his solution would require favours without being let in on it, and that people who cannot understand that loss is the price of progress should not be in on it. Then he said something that disturbed me a bit...that he “hated blood mages...modern ones anyway.” That sent the wind up my back. You connect the dots. ]<<<<<
--Madrecita (03:38:39/02-03-74)

Shaper’s profile, paragraph 6, after “Now, do you remember how I said bout juicy rumors and far stretched stories?”

>>>>>[Mmm...I’ve never heard of a Rastafarian being violent. Their philosophy seems to preclude violence. Certainly they smoke a lot of cannabis. Their way of life seems more...well, spiritual. I find this very strange, that a Rasta would saw off heads. I think I will keep a very close eye on this one. ]<<<<<
--Madrecita (04:01:19/02-03-74)

Mercedes’s profile, paragraph nine, after “accompanyingthem on runs when needed”.

>>>>>[Straddling light and shadow is rarely a good idea, unless you’re prepared to be very tough indeed. Look at our dear Money Johnson. ]<<<<<
--Madrecita (04:11:21/02-03-74)

Card’s profile, paragraph seven, after “and that will take precedence over anything else.”

 >>>>>[Ten years inthe shadows and only twenty two? Mmm...precocious. His story is lamentably similar to many students of mine. Card honey...if you want, I can take care of the pesky problem of still resembling your former self. ]<<<<<
--Madrecita (04:21:41/02-03-74)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Kylen on <02-04-12/0215:51>
Card's Profile, after Madrecita's comment

>>>>>[Depends on what you mean. I've had both DocWagon and my only trusted shadowdoc (Who I pay very well and tip and recommend people to, because a happy streetdoc is one who doesn't betray you) tell me to stay FAR FAR away from anything involving implants. Something about my immune system or nervous system or something being highly intolerant. It's why I carry around a comnlink, and have no chrome at all. So I'm not sure what plastic surgery would do.

And it's not like i'm on any corp lists yet. Again, I think the only people who would gun for me are the Yaks, at least, should I give them a reason to.]<<<<<

     -- Card (00:15:30/02-04-74)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Kontact on <02-04-12/0345:44>
Shaper’s profile, End.

>>>>>[I say wan!  Man paint a picture with much imaginings!  Seem familiar, almost?  Know why?  Is here (http://pressimages.fondationbeyeler.ch/sites/default/files/fondation_beyeler/press_images/Surrealismus/sd_01_download.jpg).  A lie, from fiction.  All parts in there.  Not a first I an I hear it, most def.  Am no man Porter.  Rasta know not fi such ray ray come.  Horizon is best guess.  What say Smiley?  Them play card upon you, or you make as such fi them?]<<<<
  --Shaper (12:45:34/02-04-74)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Mirikon on <02-04-12/0829:29>
Card's Profile, after Card's comment

>>>>>[Depends on the level of work done. Minor plastic surgery and biosculpting won't even effect your aura enough to hinder your Talent. Anything more invasive, and you're sacrificing large parts of your gift. However, sometimes the little things are all it takes. Change your skin color, dye your hair, wear different clothes, and suddenly, you're a completely different person.]<<<<<

--Iceblade (08:29:34/02-04-74)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Smiley on <02-11-12/1355:36>
Big Murphy
Posted by Iceblade

Vital Stats: Big Murphy
Age: Deceased
Height: 2.1m
Weight: 100kg
Metatype: Ork
Awakened: No

So while I was in the hospital after my recent trip down south, I got to thinking. Death is always a breath away when you're in this business. Either you're taking it, or its coming after you. Sometimes both.

It is a fact that elves live longer than other metatypes. Barring disease or violence, we can reasonably expect to live a few centuries, according to current estimates. The first generations of elves are already coming to grips with the fact that they will live to bury the grandchildren of nonelves born after they were. It is a sobering thought to those of us who live, by choice or otherwise, outside elven lands like the Tirs, or areas controlled by the Manitou or Zulu tribes. It is given to us, then, to remember things as they were, and to chronicle the stories of those who came and went while we live on.

I write this now as an effort to help in that task. Big Murphy was seven years my junior, and yet had as long a career as many in the shadows. As those reading this know, he died on New Year's Eve, in the midst of a run gone bad. He died the way he lived, fighting.

Little Murphy was born as one of yet another litter of ork kids in the midst of that little slice of hell known as Redmond. The only advantage he had over the others was that his dad was a runner, instead of a two-bit hustler or gang member, or, worse, yet another victim. They were fortunate enough not to be forced to live in the radioactive wastes of Glow City.

He joined a street gang, like most kids did, and lived the life for a while. At the age of ten, his father tapped him to be the next to carry the Murphy handle and join the business of shadowrunning. Like most orks who were born, raised, and expected to die in the Barrens, Murphy was young, uneducated, and had little going for him besides size and strength. What made him different is that he wanted something more.

He was underestimated by many, even most, people who saw him. To look at him, and hear him speak, your first impression was always "Yet another ork that's all brawn, no brains". Seasoned runners learn to trust their first impressions of a situation, but Big Murphy was one of those cases that teaches us to never trust them completely, for there are always exceptions. You looked at him, and saw a dumb, musclebound, steroid abusing ork. And then he would quote 20th century literature, and display tactical knowledge worthy of Clausewitz. Some say he could speak English as well as any, but he chose not to. Having listened to him, I would tend to agree with that idea, whether it is true or not. Big Murphy knew enough about tactics to know that sometimes being underestimated is a good thing.

He got his start in this game we call Shadowrunning by teaming up with his father to steal a load of ammo from the Metroplex Guard, and doing it in such a way that they didn't find out about the theft for fourteen hours, by which time they'd long since ditched the truck and sold the ammo at the Crime Mall. They used the payout from that heist to get some muscle, and force out the gang that lived in the tenement house that would come to be their family's home.

After his father bought it on a run turned south in '59, Big Murphy struck out on his own, sometimes runing with a crew, sometimes taking solo gigs doing muscle work and the like. He gained a solid rep for planning and tactics beforehand, and keeping his head under fire when everything went to drek.

One of the highlights of his career is a caper he called the "Manchurian Twist, With Lime". It was a long con done in '61, where he operated as a janitor in an Ares facility for six months, staying in character the whole time until he was able to get to the paydata. He used the same cover in '62, exposing a Humanis plot to manipulate voting returns in metahuman neighborhoods. In '71, he led a group of the Bot'Kham and some Cascade Orks through Hell's Kitchen to intercept a cargo of radioactive waste that was going to be dumped in the NAN. The way I heard it, there was a golf club with Human Nation ties that happened to get some special fertilizer on the 9th green before the club opened in the morning.

One of the constants in the shadows is that rumors follow us wherever we go. Some of the rumors are true, some are exaggerated falsehoods woven by people who've seen too many trids about shadowrunners, and wish they had what it took to be a runner. I won't go into some of the rumors I've heard, both out of respect for the dead, and because some of them, if true, would cast an ill light on the living, and I don't care to do that at this time. Afterall, no one's paying me to smear anyone right now.

Big Murphy died on New Year's day, taking a bullet that was meant for a member of his team. It has been said that he was dead already, disease giving him only a little space to live, and that he chose his way out. Whether it is true or not, when he died, he left in his wake a sizeable collection of holdouts, and a protege to carry on the name, as his father did before him.
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Keita on <02-19-12/1151:33>
Big Murphy's Profile, second paragraph:

>>>>>[ Some people deserve rememberance. I only knew Big Murphy for a few short months, but he made a lasting impression with his intelligence, his willingness to help and his loyalty. I have no family left to mourn, and so the loss of friends like Big Murphy is felt all the more keenly. Like Miri said...it underlines the centuries ahead of us, knowing that we'll outlive almost everyone we know. And yet...it's people like Big Murphy that shows us its worth knowing them. ]<<<<<
     --Madrecita (11:44:30/02-18-74)

Big Murphy's profile, sixth paragraph:

>>>>>[ Literature, chemistry, biology...it was all grist to his mill. I've spoken with Money Johnson, and Big Murphy read everything he could get. He was probably better read than most professors, if not quite up to their level of specific knowledge and practical experience. If ever there was someone who wasn't what he appeared to be, it's him. ]<<<<<
     --Madrecita (11:49:26:30/02-18-74)

Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Smiley on <02-21-12/2218:32>
Wolfgar
Posted by Madrecita

Name: James Raymond Bostwick
Handle: Wolfgar
Age: 43
Height: 1.8m (74in)
Weight: 90.7kg (200lbs)
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Hazel
Gender: Male
Metatype: Elf
Awakened: Yes (Adept)

Ah, the CAS military. If you had to rely on them for information, all you’d get is a bunch of redacted files, all written in language that would make a history professor weep. There’s going to be a lot of holes in this bio because even though I got into the Top Secret section (with a ton of help from Ysoni and his friend Criara), the CASies don’t seem to trust their own Top Secret nodes. So much for classification. I guess to get more I’d have to break into the super-duper-uber Top Secret section...I sent the bio to Wolfgar in the hopes that he himself would fill in some blanks for me, and he sent it back with some comments attached. I’ve decided to leave the comments he made as they are. I feel it adds a little something when you hear it from the man himself. So, with no further ado...

Our dear Wolfgar was born on 19 September 2031 as James Raymond Bostwick Jr. He lost his parents early on; his mother in the VITAS outbreak just a few months after his birth and his father a few years later in combat action against Azzie forces. He grew up with his paternal grandparents, but also spent some time with his maternal grandparents.

There’s not much information available about his youth beyond the knowledge that he held a strong dislike, even hatred, for the Azzies, whom he blames for the death of his father. From this, I must assume that he had a strong relationship with his dad, and his grandparents must only have reinforced that. Such was his respect for his father, and his drive for vengeance that he joined the CAS Marine Corps when he turned 16. He joined up in 2047 and graduated in 2049 with honours as a Lance Corporal.

>>>>>[Actually, it was just my grandfather. Granny died before I was born, when my dad was about 15 or so, and the reason I joined was somewhat because it was expected of me. Our family had a long history of joining the military, therefore Gramps put me through training so hard that boot camp was a walk in the park. What he didn’t expect was that I would get through school so fast.]<<<<<--Wolfgar

I’m not going to pretend to know anything about military jargon or exactly who gets to boss who around, so I’ll skip over those abbreviated nonsense.

After his graduation, he entered special operations training, where he received training in reconnaissance, close quarters combat, hand to hand combat, demolitions and weapons maintenance at the special ops command school. I’m told this is no mean thing.

After completing his training, he spent a number of years doing special operations things until he was honourably discharged in 2054, holding the rank of Sergeant.

Between 2055 and 2062, Wolfgar ran with various teams, entering the Renraku Arcology multiple times. As his fame grew, he took on several ‘runs all over the world. I could find precious little record of what he did exactly, but given his rep, I think it’s safe to say he did them very well indeed. It was the last run he did that ended badly.

>>>>>[Well, I was in C-town when the Cermak bomb went off, and been in and out of that town quite a few times until they dusted it with fab 3. I even went to Germany and orbital once each. Won’t go orbital again though, I don’t care how much they offer or threaten me. Teams I ran with came and went though, mostly surviving. I have old partners in Germany, the Caribbean League, and L.A., the rest have either died since then, or else gone so deep under I can’t even find them. Lost a lot during '64 though.]<<<<< --Wolfgar

In 2062, he took on a ‘run for his former military compatriots to clean out the last of the Azzies out of Denver. Everything went well until a sniper took out one teammate...and said teammate was promptly reanimated by a Shedim. The Shedim wreaked havoc and killed his entire team before Wolfgar finally managed to bring it down. He dismembered the thing and burned the remains.

After that, he disappeared from public view until 2065, when he went back to school on a CAS GI Bill, earning a Ph.D in Political Science and Military history in 2069. He returned to the CAS military as an instructor, where he build a combat simulator to train CAS forces as well as others in hunting insect spirits and Shedim. This simulator is still in use.

He served as instructor until 2071, teaching political science, military history, philosophy and hand-to-hand combat when he was released from the active reserve. From then, he returned to his former training camp from where he operates various ‘runner teams.

Ice and I can testify how well he operates as a fixer, having recently accepted a few runs from him. He treats his teams well, and is more than prepared to give fair value, and isn’t stingy with intel. I’d trust him to give a team everything they need to get the job done. If a team fails, it’ll not be due to any failing from him.

Well...there you go. A small little bio on our dear Wolfgar. Looking back on what I’ve written, I see there’s a dearth of personal information. See what I mean about relying on military records for constructing a bio? I’ll keep digging and maybe one day, give this a more personal face. But for now...this is the best I can do. I hope you find it interesting."

>>>>>[Not much on the personal side to actually know, my work is my hobby so to speak and so I have fun every day whether its behind the trigger or not. Worked a couple of the "Laughing Man" ops, and have some really funny stories to tell on that and others. However, losing the loves of my lives to the bugs and Shedim, and have watched many, many friends, and even the children of some of the people I grew up with die, I don’t make many friends or have much of a personal life anymore. Mostly i hang with Tank Girl and the rest of you in VU93 when i feel the need to get out. This is of course excepting my Karaoke night each week.]<<<<< --Wolfgar
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Smiley on <04-01-12/0941:31>
Predator
Posted by Wyrmtongue

Name: Reiko Tetsuki
Alias: Predator
Race: Female Human Asian
Height: 5'3"
Weight: 114 lbs
Hair Color: Chestnut
Eye Color: Green
Age: 30
Awakened: No

I have had the pleasure of working with Predator on a couple occasions, and after reading the other profiles here, I thought I would contribute one for her, as well.

The lovely Predator was born Reiko Tetsuki, and her parents were employees of Renraku America. She grew up in Japan, but when she was ten her family moved to that pyramid building... arcology? Yes, the Renraku Arcology. A search of the Matrix says that the official name of the place was the SCIRE, and was very important in Renraku's American operations. Her Father worked as a security officer, while her mother was in Research and Development.

As she learned to deal with being in a new sprawl, Reiko began training to work for Renraku one day, something I am told is fairly common with those raised in the corporate system. Though she had some skill with computers, Reiko was better suited to the role of a security guard than a programmer in a lab coat.

When she was fifteen little Reiko did what most metahumans of that age did, and found ways to rebel against her parents' authority. She snuck out of the Arcology, and went to bars with noncorporate citizens, even after being disciplined by her parents. I am told that this is a very shocking thing for someone to do when they've been raised in the corporate life.

Two days after she turned sixteen, something happened that changed her life. This was before I was born, but apparently a very smart computer program named Deus got loose in the Arcology, and caused a lot of trouble. Reiko and her parents managed to get out, but the spider she was sleeping with was trapped inside. She sometimes managed to get word from him, but for the most part she was helpless to do anything, as her parents resettled in Bellevue.

Two years after escaping the Arcology, Reiko came home after a night at the clubs, to find her father murdered and her mother mutilated. According to hospital reports, when the police got there she was in a 'catatonic state', which apparently means she looked like that rabbit I just ate staring up at my face, unable to move. She finished up school, and then dove into the shadows, trying to find the reasons why her parents were killed. To this day, the case remains open, and no suspects have been named.

In the years since her parents' death, our Predator has grown into a delicious-looking woman, and what the trids might call a Street Samurai. She found her lover again after the Shutdown ended. She remains with him, and is devoted enough to ignore any overtures that others may make towards her, more's the pity.

In her work, Predator is a reliable partner, and willing to adapt to situations that otherwise might make her uncomfortable, if the job requires. There was a time when, in order to get past some bouncers and 'talk' with a mark, we had to pretend to be floozies. She played the part well, and was very convincing. Didn't even threaten me with violence later when I had to grope her as part of the act. She is a true professional, and I can think of few metahumans I would rather have watching my tail when I'm on the job.
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Morg on <04-18-12/2144:49>
 Wolfgar's Profile, thirteenth paragraph after "If a team fails, it’ll not be due to any failing from him."


>>>>>[After a botched run Wolfgar was willing to give me a second chance and a place to stay. It was the greatest peace of kindness anyone has ever done for me and I will never forget it.]<<<<<

     --Morg (18:13:42/04-18-74)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: All4BigGuns on <04-18-12/2158:52>
Wolfgar's profile after Morg's comment.

>>>>>[While there are some in the Shadows that will do you a solid without expecting much in return, especially if you're a newbie, be careful because there are more out there who'll do you the favor just to put you under their thumb.]<<<<<

     -- Predator (20:56:12/04-18-2074)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Morg on <04-19-12/0250:54>
 Predator's profile, fifth paragraph after "...as her parents resettled in Bellevue."

>>>>>[I have to give Pred and her folks props for getting out of the ACHE. I did some salvage work in the restricted area. looking at some of the gear the AI used, I am surprised she can go anywhere near drones or commlinks...Oh if anyones interested I have a refurbished Medusa for sale.]<<<<<

     --Morg (01:10:22/04-19-74)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Mirikon on <04-19-12/0633:19>
Predator's profile, fifth paragraph, after Morg's comment

>>>>>[A Medusa? I haven't seen one in years! I know another who could make use of one of the old drones. Contact me offline, so we can arrange a price.]<<<<<

--Faust (06:32:34/04-19-74)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Smiley on <04-19-12/2004:50>
Big Murphy's profile, after last paragraph

>>>>>[Well at least Murphy the Fifth as the decency of living in comfort. From what I gather, he's the first one to get out of the barrens and is well underway to earn a way higher payrate than his predecessors. I'm watching is progress with interest. In the mean time, I send work his way from time to time and make it my monthly duty to ruin his father's day. I heard he was quite angry when he got the Ork size Tir Tairngire Elven Noble attire I sent him. He tore the thing apart like a mad man! Hahaha! The irony is that he could have fed his brood for a year just by selling it.]<<<<<
     --Smiley (--:--:--/##-##-##)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Wolfboy on <04-20-12/1449:37>
Predator's profile, fifth paragraph, after Morg's comment


>>>>>[I was running back then and did quite a few runs into and out of the Arcology, it was very nasty and not something i would want to experience again, which is why i stay out of the place now. Wait, two suits and a 16 year old girl. Pred, was that you my team helped out of there?]<<<<<

--Wolfgar (13:45:34/04-20-74)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: All4BigGuns on <04-20-12/1510:04>
Predator's profile after Wolfgar's comment.

>>>>>[Don't think so, Wyrm was right that we weren't inside when the lockdown started, but frag if there wasn't chaos all over the area around that time. There were a lot of others close to my age stuck inside though, some of whom were friends.]<<<<<

-- Predator (14:08:34/04-20-2074)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: The Wyrm Ouroboros on <04-21-12/0026:45>

>>>>>[I was running back then and did quite a few runs into and out of the Arcology, it was very nasty and not something i would want to experience again, which is why i stay out of the place now. Wait, two suits and a 16 year old girl. Pred, was that you my team helped out of there?]<<<<<
          --Wolfgar (13:45:34/04-20-74)
>>>>>[I guess it could be possible. My parents and I getting the hell out of there was a bit frantic, so I don't much remember who helped us get out.]<<<<<
          -- Predator (14:08:34/04-20-2074)
A couple of notes:
Remember, nobody but certain of the Whites knew what was coming, and for the most part even they weren't clear on specifics.  The Arcology shut down suddenly, and people were seized, shunted aside, or slaughtered depending on their current/future usefulness and the amount of trouble they were causing.

Also, while I haven't posted it here, I have posted stuff to the shadowtalk on the page itself.  Since y'all aren't reading it, I suppose I should write here:


After Morg's comment, but before the above:
>>>>>[ Oh, that Tetsuki. Tetsuki Michiko was one of the little treasures of Renraku's security programming department, a certifiable genius at psychotropic programming. Renraku had scheduled an internal summit starting on 22 December; I'd be willing to bet my last nuyen that Michiko and family were on their way to Sea-Tac to catch a suborbital when the penny dropped Downtown. ]<<<<<
     -- The Wyrm Ouroboros (--:--:--/##-##-##)

All4BigGuns, I don't know if you specifically want Reiko to have been extracted from the Arcology, but if you do, I strongly recommend her having had to go through the hell of having her parents torn away and enduring experimentation -- or becoming part of the Resistance and fighting her way to the Ork Underground entrance/exit before getting away.  The Arc was locked up tighter than a drum for those first several weeks, and an extraction would, I think, be extraordinarily unlikely, to the point of utterly.
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Marak1972 on <04-28-12/2207:47>
last paragraph of Iceblade's profile
>>>>>[Well that sure explains a lot.... even tho there are some "gaps" mon. But who doesn't. No?]<<<<<
          --Marak (22:07:34/04-20-74)

Madrecita's profile 5th paragraph
>>>>>[...Wow um jeesh mon. I'd be a lil dark too, after dat many tragedies mon.]<<<<<
          --Marak  (22:11:34/04-20-74)

Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Marak1972 on <04-28-12/2232:50>
Madrecita 1st paragraph after audio clip

>>>>>[Point of no return?]<<<<<
          --Marak (22:30:34/04-20-74)

3rd paragraph after audio

>>>>>[Vasquez .... Where have I heard that name before?]<<<<<
          --Marak (22:32:34/04-20-74)

Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: All4BigGuns on <04-28-12/2233:18>
Editted my response to Wolfgar's comment on my profile due to information in  The Wyrm's post.
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Marak1972 on <04-28-12/2239:48>
Smiley's profile 1st paragraph

>>>>>[You always watch de ones dat smile all the time mon.]<<<<<
          --Marak (22:37:34/04-20-74)

5th paragraph

>>>>>[His mentor probably felt threatened that ol Smiley was about to surpass de Mentor. Am I right Smiley mon?]<<<<<
          --Marak (22:39:34/04-20-74)


Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Marak1972 on <04-28-12/2245:15>
Wolfgar's profile

>>>>>[he went into the renraku arcology, chicago aka bugcity and Azzies too....I'm not worthy mon. If I ever need info eyc on killen buggies mon. Your on de short list.]<<<<<
          --Marak (22:45:34/04-20-74)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Chrona on <04-29-12/0337:18>
Chrona needs more commenty love~
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Marak1972 on <04-29-12/0741:39>
Chrona's Profile

>>>>>[How does that work?? He and he sister were attacked by ghouls and he turns into one buuuuut his sister becomes a Wendigo. Someone explain dis to lil ol Marak . Cuz mon dats just weird. Yes I realize we deal in the weird and wacky sometimes eh. But I thought you get bitten by a ghoulie you become a ghoul. Same as with werewolf or vamp eh mon.]<<<<<
          --Marak (07:45:34/04-29-74)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Marak1972 on <04-29-12/0745:31>
>>>>>[Dere you go Chrona . I gave your progile some comment love eh mon. .]<<<<<
          --Marak (07:46:34/04-29-74)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: All4BigGuns on <04-29-12/1257:10>
Chrona's Profile

>>>>>[How does that work?? He and he sister were attacked by ghouls and he turns into one buuuuut his sister becomes a Wendigo. Someone explain dis to lil ol Marak . Cuz mon dats just weird. Yes I realize we deal in the weird and wacky sometimes eh. But I thought you get bitten by a ghoulie you become a ghoul. Same as with werewolf or vamp eh mon.]<<<<<
          --Marak (07:45:34/04-29-74)

Chrona's Profile after Marak's comment.

>>>>>[Maybe the virus mutated in one of them? Never heard of that happening, but I suppose it's possible. You'd have to check with a doctor to find something like that out.]<<<<<
          -- Predator (11:55:11/04-29-2074)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Mirikon on <04-29-12/1859:40>
Chrona's Profile, after Predator's Comment

>>>>>[Even with normal diseases, a creature can carry multiple strains of the same disease. They may only express one, but be carriers for the rest. The ghoul that got his sister could have been a carrier for HMHVV I, and expressed HMHVV III. At least, that's what I remember from a briefing they gave us while I was in the army, before we did a raid on Yomi. Of course, Tir policy was always rather strict on anything they deemed magical threats. Bugs, infected, shedim, blood mages, toxics, all of them fell into the category of 'sanitize with extreme prejudice'.]<<<<<

--Iceblade (18:59:23/04-29-74)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Marak1972 on <05-14-12/2205:47>
Chrona's Profile after  Predator's comment

>>>>>[Does that work for diseases say like the mundane malaria mon? Or is it just shifty on the Awakened ones eh?.]<<<<<

--Marak (22:05:23/05-14-74)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: All4BigGuns on <11-21-12/1447:25>
It's been a while since this has seen posts. I was wondering if it had completely died.
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Jian on <11-21-12/1454:03>
I would do something, I just don't know if Delir really has the longevity enough to earn his own entry?
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: All4BigGuns on <11-21-12/1459:32>
I would do something, I just don't know if Delir really has the longevity enough to earn his own entry?

You've generally posted more in these threads than I have the past six months, but then I slowed down a lot once I started having the medical issues I had during the summer.
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Jian on <11-21-12/1802:21>
Alright, well, I sent a dossier to Smiley... and I'll find out if I qualify or not.
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Smiley on <11-21-12/1809:12>
That's fine. But the thing is, since I got this new job, spare time has been rarity and I don't see this changing in the near future. I'll help however I can but I can't put as much time and effort as I did when I started this.
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Mirikon on <11-21-12/2036:12>
Eh, I've got a bit of time. I'll write up Delir, if no one objects.
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Jian on <11-21-12/2222:58>
I don't. :)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: All4BigGuns on <11-21-12/2317:39>
Might be a good idea to see about getting the stuff related to this stickied.
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Jian on <11-23-12/0806:59>
Eh, I've got a bit of time. I'll write up Delir, if no one objects.

Oh, and feel free to PM me if there's anything you need clarified/fixed/fleshed out/etc.
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: Silence on <08-22-13/0041:59>
Smiley's Profile, after Paragraph 11, after Money Johnson's Comment.

>>>>>[What she has to say? Well, where to fraggin' start? Although Madrecita mentioned it, people really need to know how much of threat to everyone this guy really is. He's a manipulative bastard with a sky-high IQ used for his own selfish needs. Everything he does and says as purpose, always! One day, I notice he puts poison in his own tea. The next day, I realize he wanted me to see him put poison in his tea so I come up with the idea of doing research on poisons. He teaches kids in Redmond how to fight, then they grow up and volunteer out of gratitude to protect the small prostitution ring he operates in Tacoma. He never asked any of them, he already knew they would without hesitation. He winks at a random woman in the street, weeks later  we find her sitting at the front desk of a hotel, still remembering him and without even flirting he can have what he needs from her. Trying to analyze what he does all the time is just maddening. Sometimes you wonder if he sees the future or if he engineers it perfectly. He is also completely free of any morality. He does what he wants, when he wants. And there's absolutely no stopping him, especially when nobody has no idea what he really wants. I envy that asshole's freedom. I'll predict this about him. It's a repeated succession of one consonant and one vowel, punctuated by exclamation.]<<<<<
     -- Autumn (23:56:01/01-27-74)

Following Above
>>>>>[ That's called advanced research, kid, and knowing your surroundings.  This is what old runners do, and try to tell young runners to do in order for them to become old.  Legwork and research is something that plenty of runners don't do -- or don't find someone to do for them.  I have a good idea who Smiley hires for his research, and I'd bet that he's paying a nice chunk of change for it. ]<<<<<
          -- The Wyrm Ouroboros (01:20:40/01-28-2074)

>>>>>[Hahaha!]<<<<<
     -- Smiley (15:27:37/01-29-74)

>>>>>[I'm not sure which worries me more:  The fact that this guy sounds nicer than Uath, but manages to be almost as much of a dick, or the fact that it almost sounds like that apprentice of his is in love with him]<<<<<
     --Siouxsie(23:41:50/08-21-75)
Title: Re: [OOC] VU93 SL Project Shadowtalk
Post by: The Wyrm Ouroboros on <03-18-16/0338:56>
Hawatari's (https://goo.gl/Odhl6b) profile is being developed on GoogleDrive, and is available for commentary, i.e. VU93 shadowtalk.  Used Keita's Madrecita to be the poster, as that character seemed most likely to be someone who'd want to do it.  (Wish we could get Keita back ... :/ )