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12:48, 28th March 2024 (GMT+0)

[December 2059] Blood and Cherry Blossoms (Solo: Bailey)

Posted by Mr. JohnsonFor group 0
Mr. Johnson
GM, 371 posts
Sun 16 Jan 2022
at 02:59
  • msg #1

[May 2058] The Good The Bad and The Pretty (Prelude: Bailey)

That fateful night a year and a half ago...

A tiny constellation of camera flashes pop against the neon lit night sky.  All eyes focus on you as you pour yourself out of the passenger seat of the Saab Dynamit. Smiling and preening for your public, you wait on the red carpet for your date to join you after leaving the sports car in the care of the attentive valet.

Where are you? Who are you with? Why are you here?
Mr. Johnson
GM, 372 posts
Sun 16 Jan 2022
at 03:04
  • msg #2

[May 2058] The Good The Bad and The Pretty (Prelude: Bailey)

In the Prelude, we'll play through a short scene that offers some decisions that flesh out the character (attributes, moves, gear, contacts).  We'll also play though combat mechanics so you understand how the 'black box' works.  You'll win the fight, just try to act surprised...

Also, don't worry about the choices you make in Prelude. At the end of the scene if there is something you don't like, we'll just change it before calling character construction complete.

Bailey
player, 1 post
Sun 16 Jan 2022
at 03:18
  • msg #3

[May 2058] The Good The Bad and The Pretty (Prelude: Bailey)

Bailey keeps her smile wide, even as she waits. Beaming into each pop of light around her as the cameras flash. Enjoying the attention all the more for how fleeting it was. She was someone's date. More specifically, she was Kishimoto Hashiro's date. The owner and promoter of the stylish new restaurant, and child of a notable commander in the occupation military. Bailey was just the girlfriend tonight. The pretty face on his arm. Which meant that the cut of her dress was the only thing getting the cameras' attention until he returned.

But, for the moment, she has their attention. Bailey steps forward, smiling still. Smoothing her dress out. Red hair covering her ears. Jewelry shimmering as the cameras hit it. She takes a stand in front of the shifting wall of corporate logos behind her, making eyes at the camera. For the moment enjoying herself.
Mr. Johnson
GM, 375 posts
Sun 16 Jan 2022
at 08:49
  • msg #4

[May 2058] The Good The Bad and The Pretty (Prelude: Bailey)

Kishimoto arrives at your side and offers his arm to escort you up the red carpet, through the velvet rope, arm in arm past the pair of wiry, athletic looking Imperial marines doing plainclothes duty.  Looks like daddy’s rank does have its privileges...

You may be glad that you chose to wear your hair down, hiding your ears. You’re the only metahuman in sight and those I-marines aren’t exactly known to be models of tolerance and inclusivity.

But your ears aren’t the only thing that would give you away.  Elves are naturally taller, slimmer and have lighter builds.  They may have eye colors that humans do not.

Describe yourself and the steps you have taken to blend in...

Bailey
player, 3 posts
Sun 16 Jan 2022
at 14:12
  • msg #5

[May 2058] The Good The Bad and The Pretty (Prelude: Bailey)

Bailey is lucky. Well, as luck as a meta can be. Her parents had a little money. Enough for some gene-editing. Some of it had just been necessary, required for health reasons. The Free State had pitched in. But other bits had just been for her. Or just to pass by under the nose of the marines. Sure, she was still four inches taller than her date. A lot of people would just write that off to heels and ethnicity. The bigger chest helped- she had inches and inches more than most elf women. Same for the hips that stayed close to Kishi's side as they walked. Her skin tone honestly made her stand out more. A nearly milk white pale.

Her eyes were blue, tonight. The contacts covered her natural violet. Some concealer helped maintain her pale tone, covering the natural golden sparkle that would catch the lights otherwise. It took a lot, considering how much skin her dress shows- slit up to her thigh, and plunging down to her stomach. Held in place with a carefully placed combination of discrete adhesive, micro-structure fibers in the dress, and raw willpower.

Bailey smiles, arm on Kishi's shoulders. Her jewelry helped cover that her fingers and neck were longer, slimmer, more graceful than a human's. Just enough to take the fine edge off. To make her look exotic, rather than unacceptable. She knew this was part of the image- she was the girlfriend of a progressive, daring rule breaker. But the kind of rule breaker who would be great at a party instead of the kind who would actually break the rules.
Mr. Johnson
GM, 377 posts
Sun 16 Jan 2022
at 22:01
  • msg #6

[May 2058] The Good The Bad and The Pretty (Prelude: Bailey)

Presence: your style, appeal, and charisma... (+1) PocSec updated

The front end of the party was always due to be a bore. It's a restaurant launch after all.  Despite his reputation as a progressive with a rebellious streak, Kishimoto is a businessman and he knows that putting nuyen in the bank means catering to his clientele, not his own personal whims.

Tonight you're dining amongst the upper echelons of San Fran high-society.  The mayor is here, as are the chief operations officer of Shiawase Marketing in CalFree and the star of the latest action-romance simsense sensation coming out of the Empire; Wairudosupīdo

Kishimoto had also extended invitations to the elite of the Imperial occupation forces. Unfortunately General Kowabe, commanding general of the 17th Imperial Infantry Division 'peacekeeping force' was not available.  In his stead, Colonel Keiji Saito, his Chief of Staff is attending.  He is a polite, if stiff dinner companion who insists on talking only about the challenges the division faces in securing the city.

He is currently in the middle of a muted diatribe about the recent terrorist bombing on the BART and the ineptitude of Californian security companies who let their sensibilities about personal freedom blind them to the menace of metahumanity.

Do you dutifully play your role as arm-candy for the scion of an imperial military leader, or do you have too sharp a tongue, too hot a temper to keep your thoughts to yourself?

And... keep in mind that it s 2058... years before Saito seizes power in San Fran...

Bailey
player, 4 posts
Mon 17 Jan 2022
at 02:37
  • msg #7

[May 2058] The Good The Bad and The Pretty (Prelude: Bailey)

She knows she shouldn't say anything. She should just stay where she is. Elbows back on the smooth stone of the bar. Fingers curled around the bowl of her coupe glass, slowly warming up her sake cocktail. Her lips should just stay still, hanging half-parted, the same incredible red as her hair. And they should be silent.

But Bailey can't help herself. "Oh my God. Wait. Colonel. Do you think, like, maybe, Shoko Asahara was an orc?" she'd seen the name popping up on the scream sheets since the attack. The leader of the group that committed the famous sarin attack on the Tokyo subway decades ago. Bailey's voice stayed high, her eyes wide. As if she were sincerely asking a question, a naive. Letting her sarcasm settle in more subtly. Sure, she's probably going to make someone mad but... Sometimes you need to take an opportunity to let someone know they're an asshole.
Mr. Johnson
GM, 380 posts
Mon 17 Jan 2022
at 06:01
  • msg #8

[May 2058] The Good The Bad and The Pretty (Prelude: Bailey)

Craft your general education level (+1) PocSec updated

”Silly girl, what a preposterous notion.” the stone-faced old bastard seems oblivious to sarcasm while the rest of the dinner crowd assumes you’re just another dumb plaything for their rich host. Looks like you have them all right where you want them.

”The ills of the past are not my concern,” the Colonel continues, never shy about sharing his thoughts on metahumanity. ”As bad as they may have been, none of those past transgressors were so dirty and disagreeable as an orc. I am focussed only on the future. I believe that humanity is strongest when we are united. The poison of the kowaru can only be cured by unity of purpose and action.”

Before you can reply, Saito is called away by an aide and they move off to a corner of the room where a number of other officers are gathered.  Saito-sama’s response to your well concealed goading leaves the small retinue fawning over Kishimoto silent for a long moment. The old soldier makes everyone tense, but the moment passes quickly amid the clinking of glasses.

After a fresh round of cocktails, you find yourself alone with your date. ”That was... potentially damaging” Kishimoto says.  He is nothing if not perceptive; a key trait for those who profit from business savvy and dance the line trying not to offend their shareholders while cultivating a rebellious streak. It’s hard to tell, maybe you don’t know him very well, but he seems a little pissed about that little exchange with Saito. ”I’m all for bearding the old goat, but this is a business opportunity.” he chides.

Your sharp tongue gets you into trouble, but can it get you out?  You’ve got the brains and the looks to talk your way out of a tight spot. How do you do it?
Bailey
player, 5 posts
Mon 17 Jan 2022
at 15:54
  • msg #9

[May 2058] The Good The Bad and The Pretty (Prelude: Bailey)

"Oh, c'mon. He didn't even notice," Bailey answers, giving a flirty little smile to her date. Her fingertips brush against his arm. The Colonel wasn't the only person she was teasing tonight. "Anyway, by the time he figures it out, he'll only remember my dress."

She leans in to him, close enough that her voice can go soft. Heard by Kishi, but lost beneath the din of conversation. "And I promise? So will you."

Bailey does love this dress. She loves dresses. And looking good in them. Making eyes at Kishimoto from beyond the rim of her glass. Knowing just how to position it so that her lipstick doesn't smudge, so that she looks like she's drinking more than she is, so that she has enough time to give him that sultry, burning look that might melt through the real crystal coupe.
Mr. Johnson
GM, 386 posts
Tue 18 Jan 2022
at 04:59
  • msg #10

[May 2058] The Good The Bad and The Pretty (Prelude: Bailey)

Ethereal: when manipulating someone via charm or seduction, you are boosted.

PocSec updated.


It’s always been this way, ever since you were a kid. It’s instinctive the way you always just know what to say and how to say it to make sure you get your way. If you ever really sat down and contemplated it seriously, you might even think it was something supernatural. Whatever it is, when you turn on the charm, you literally never fail to get what you want.

Though sometimes, it comes with a cost...

”I will remember that dress crumpled and discarded on the hotel room floor.” he whispers back.

There it is. The inevitable expectation. Sometimes the cost is that you need to see through your flirtations. There always comes the point in the evening when you have to make the choice to see it through to the end, or make an exit as gracefully as possible. How taxing. On your mind and your spirit. How much is real and how much is just another layer of concealer to hide from the truth.

Not now... melancholy reverie makes a bad party guest. Just ask Saito.

Taking the glass from your hand, Kishimoto surveys the crowd and waves in a vaguely dismissive gesture. ”This party has served its purpose, but it is dreadfully lame. Let’s go somewhere... you pick.”

Given the choice, where do you hang out?
Bailey
player, 7 posts
Tue 18 Jan 2022
at 19:24
  • msg #11

[May 2058] The Good The Bad and The Pretty (Prelude: Bailey)

"Finally," Bailey grins as she pushes away from the bar. Hand set to Kishimoto's waist as she draws him away, too. Out into the San Francisco night, gleaming with radiating neon and ever-taller towers. There were no soldiers in this part of town. Just the well-off moving from restaurant to nightclub.

But soon the pair are sweeping through a dim alley. Tucked between a sidewalk-side ramen stand and a bodega with a burly troll in reading glasses sitting behind the counter and watching the street. Bailey raps on the steel door behind the dumpster. A grate slides open. She whispers a word to the unseen figure on the other side. The door opens, and Bailey practically twirls in with her date.

The speakeasy is crowded, but there's barely a second human in sight. An elf in suspenders shakes drinks behind the bar. A trio of dwarves stand on stage, manipulating plastic and electronic versions of a classic jazz three-part. One twirls a razor-thin piece of neon plastic, an electronic upright bass, as the pianist twinkles. Bailey is quickly trading cheek-kisses with a pair of male elves. Sitting on the edge of their table, playing every inch the femme fatale.
Mr. Johnson
GM, 393 posts
Wed 19 Jan 2022
at 05:43
  • msg #12

[May 2058] The Good The Bad and The Pretty (Prelude: Bailey)

I love the speakeasy! 1XP... PocSec updated

It’s a good thing Kishimoto opened his new place outside the HCZ.  At the next BART station over, this crowd goes from undesirable to illegal and you along with it. This speakeasy is undoubtedly the single largest gathering of metahumans east of San Francisco Bay and north of The Castro. Then again Haight-Ashbury has always been rebellious. Even the occupation hasn’t stamped out counter-culture here, but you’ll have to go all the way down to Daley City to find any metahumans moving about the streets openly.

Elves who are pretty, devious or both fair alright. Of course, people think all dwarves are tech savvy, so they are found more frequently in the city too. Most of the lower echelon metahuman workers, chiefly the orcs and trolls, are shipped out of the occupied city at the end of their shift.  Only a few hold residency passes that let them stay inside the occupied zone and all metahuman residency is temporary, measured in 3, 6 and 12 month permits.

Do you work under a false identity or are you using your real name?

Being legit and metahuman in San Fran isn’t cheap. Your SINner day job barely covers living expenses. A night on the town on Kishimoto’s cred is an opportunity that it seems you simply can’t pass up.  Now where did he go?
Bailey
player, 8 posts
Wed 19 Jan 2022
at 13:32
  • msg #13

[May 2058] The Good The Bad and The Pretty (Prelude: Bailey)

Elves certainly dominate the population of the nameless speakeasy. The beautiful, eternally youthful, the ones who have an easier time getting around in the parts of the city where the Diet has a more direct line of control. Even among this crowd, though, hats and long hair are the order of the day. Fashionable little tricks that let them blend in with the humans more easily. None of them knew how the troll on the corner kept his shop open- but he must have had some sort of secret.

Bailey's position was a bit unusual. Not a false name, exactly. More a stage name. A persona that appears for whatever modeling work she can pick up. A breathy whisper for this gene-mod. A sultry look for that shoe. Trilling laughter as she enjoys a late-night snack with her diverse friend group at the Aztech auto-shop on the corner. He identification had changed, legitimately, throughout her lifetime. And it seems to provoke confusion among at least most of the Imperial officers who stop to dig around. The Cal-State recording keeping was sloppy, at best.

She looks up from her conversation with her friends, glancing around when she realizes her date isn't present. Her lips push together into a frown, and she steps up. Cocktail going with her as she stands on the table top, perched on her heels, to look over the crowd from a troll-eyed-view.
Mr. Johnson
GM, 395 posts
Thu 20 Jan 2022
at 02:38
  • msg #14

[May 2058] The Good The Bad and The Pretty (Prelude: Bailey)

Take ID ... PocSec updated

As you climb up onto the table. a well dressed elf pantomimes taking a peek up your dress then falling out of his chair. Haming it up with some ribald slapstick much to the delight of his friends.

From your vantage point up on the table, it’s easy to spot Kishimoto across the speakeasy.  Through cigarette smoke and clouds of vape, you see him over at the bar.  He’s leaning in close to hear whatever the woman next to him is saying.

Flaming locks of auburn hair, immaculate ivory skin and eyes of emerald green.

Jolene.

Who is Jolene?

Heard on the radio that it’s Dolly Parton’s birthday today...
Bailey
player, 9 posts
Thu 20 Jan 2022
at 03:46
  • msg #15

[May 2058] The Good The Bad and The Pretty (Prelude: Bailey)

Jolene. Jolene! Jolene!!!!

They weren't enemies. Not exactly. They weren't allowed to be. They were sisters, after all. Which made the two redheads rivals. Jolene more slender, elegant, the traditional, statuesque sort of gorgeous one associated with elves. And with her degree she had the education to match. Quite the counterpoint to Bailey's more pin-up ready physique and flirty, playful demeanor.

She mimes kicking at the elf who peaked up her dress, hopping down from the table with grace despite her choice of shoe.It's a simple thing to cut her way across the bar, slipping between groups, tossing lesser women aside with a glance. Until suddenly, she's leaning on Kishimoto's shoulder. "Jojo!" she exclaims, smiling bright.

"I thought you were still down on campus."
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