This place is horrible.
I don't know how anyone survives this place straight. The walls are color of abandoned daycares, pastel and faded. The world is dull and grey enough, but take away the trids and the ads and the nanotattoos and replace it all with paint that someone thought wouldn't cause strong emotions. It's like the real world but worse.
I probably should have been talking to people. Should have been setting up a distraction. Shouldn't have been huddled in a corner with the Witches of Madison County on repeat for days.
Probably should have set the chip to expire in time to take my meds.
The feeling of fungus eating my brain is the most interesting sensation I've seen outside of a chip in years. Not quite BTL worthy, but close. I wish I was wired up to record. It could be something. Edited. Amped up.
Finally, something I'd pay to feel again.
Finally, I get to leave. At least I met a new pusher, though. Not selling anything I'm interested in, but a fix is a fix.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Janus - Enter the Guinea Pig
Getting to the hospital's easy. It's easy when you've got a little something extra putting a spring in your step. Dulling the ache of the sidewalk and turning the clouds into dragons fucking.
Someone's either getting killed for this chip or a raise.
They sky's electric blue, and the buildings are the color of leprechaun vomit.
It's not a pretty color. Cats was friends with a leprechaun. You'd think they could hold their whisky, the Irish bastards.
The worst bit is unplugging the thing for long enough to get in the study.
The second worst thing. The worst thing is ducking into a Starcaf bathroom and taking a multitool to some cyberware. There's arms that have compartments for this sort of thing. Then there's arms where you stick in some duct tape and hope you've got everything out of the way of the important stuff. And try not to flex.
The entry's a blur. A vague gray haze, trying to spot the fuzzy cameras on the gray walls.
Find a place that's clear. Even these corporate assholes don't want to watch you shit.
Out come the chips. Out come the drones.
It's time to get to work.
Someone's either getting killed for this chip or a raise.
They sky's electric blue, and the buildings are the color of leprechaun vomit.
It's not a pretty color. Cats was friends with a leprechaun. You'd think they could hold their whisky, the Irish bastards.
The worst bit is unplugging the thing for long enough to get in the study.
The second worst thing. The worst thing is ducking into a Starcaf bathroom and taking a multitool to some cyberware. There's arms that have compartments for this sort of thing. Then there's arms where you stick in some duct tape and hope you've got everything out of the way of the important stuff. And try not to flex.
The entry's a blur. A vague gray haze, trying to spot the fuzzy cameras on the gray walls.
Find a place that's clear. Even these corporate assholes don't want to watch you shit.
Out come the chips. Out come the drones.
It's time to get to work.
Janus - The Troll Who Loved Me
So there was this guy. He went by the name Squeedly. Big guy. Troll. Thought it was funny to live under a bridge. Had a knack for unlocking BTLs, getting them to play for as long as he wanted.
Good times, living with Squeedly. He always had BTLs to share. They weren't going bad any time soon.
Squeedly's dead now. Vegas found out he was cracking BTLs, and Squeedly found his way into Sand Creek. Parts of him. All up down the place.
He gave me a cracked chip of an Amazonian mating ritual. Right up to the disembowling part. I must have slotted that chip a hundred times.
Where was I?
Oh yeah. Point is, whenever he needed money he'd go hit up a research place and volunteer for science. He loved it. Spend a couple weeks indoors, get fed, sleep in a bed, and walk out with a fistful of nuyen.
He always said they didn't mind chipheads. You had to hide something at first, sure. But it was only chemicals that would slag up their science shit, and a turned-on chiphead never caused a researcher no trouble.
I always figured they didn't get too many awakened trolls to play with.
Either way, he always came back not-dead. And they never much cared when he ate a few chips in bed.
How hard can it be?
Good times, living with Squeedly. He always had BTLs to share. They weren't going bad any time soon.
Squeedly's dead now. Vegas found out he was cracking BTLs, and Squeedly found his way into Sand Creek. Parts of him. All up down the place.
He gave me a cracked chip of an Amazonian mating ritual. Right up to the disembowling part. I must have slotted that chip a hundred times.
Where was I?
Oh yeah. Point is, whenever he needed money he'd go hit up a research place and volunteer for science. He loved it. Spend a couple weeks indoors, get fed, sleep in a bed, and walk out with a fistful of nuyen.
He always said they didn't mind chipheads. You had to hide something at first, sure. But it was only chemicals that would slag up their science shit, and a turned-on chiphead never caused a researcher no trouble.
I always figured they didn't get too many awakened trolls to play with.
Either way, he always came back not-dead. And they never much cared when he ate a few chips in bed.
How hard can it be?
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Personal Log
Personal Log by [Redacted]
I miss working with professionals. It's a real shame most of the field operatives I worked with in [Redacted] ended up either dead or hospitalized. I warned them about taking that exclusive contract with [Redacted] but they made their choice and now they're living with it. Or not, in many cases.
This current crew seems anything but professional. There's the decker who likes to make as many crazy assumptions as possible, and then gets tremendously confused when you point out that his assumptions might not be accurate. There's the covert ops specialist, who will walk out on a job because she was called a mean name. There's the chip addict who could actually be quite competent if he kept his addiction under control, but good luck with that. There's the rigger who's greener than that slimy [Redacted] back in [Redacted]. The other half of the operation may be decent, but they're all quiet types, so they don't do much to get the talkative types to focus on the task at hand.
I know the types of people who get into shadowrunning tend not to work well in the system, hence why they became shadowrunners. But this is getting ridiculous.
So if I want these jobs done right, I'm going to have to start herding these cats, and get them to act like a competent team. God help them.
I miss working with professionals. It's a real shame most of the field operatives I worked with in [Redacted] ended up either dead or hospitalized. I warned them about taking that exclusive contract with [Redacted] but they made their choice and now they're living with it. Or not, in many cases.
This current crew seems anything but professional. There's the decker who likes to make as many crazy assumptions as possible, and then gets tremendously confused when you point out that his assumptions might not be accurate. There's the covert ops specialist, who will walk out on a job because she was called a mean name. There's the chip addict who could actually be quite competent if he kept his addiction under control, but good luck with that. There's the rigger who's greener than that slimy [Redacted] back in [Redacted]. The other half of the operation may be decent, but they're all quiet types, so they don't do much to get the talkative types to focus on the task at hand.
I know the types of people who get into shadowrunning tend not to work well in the system, hence why they became shadowrunners. But this is getting ridiculous.
So if I want these jobs done right, I'm going to have to start herding these cats, and get them to act like a competent team. God help them.
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Janus - Back in the Game
It feels good to be back.
Sloted some hubris and went to go see an old friend. I've never negotiated like that. Never been so fragging sure we were the right team for the job.
Too bad he took so long to get back to me. Slotting pride just didn't work as well. But it worked okay to make sure we all got a few more nuyen for being such an perfect team.
The elf found a job, too. Don't know who the hell he thinks he is. I guess it's fair. They don't know me. They will.
Took that meet up sober. Might have been a mistake, but what can you do?
It's not like it's hard. A simple meet up. Plan the recon. Meet up later to take a look at all the data and figure out a proper plan. Then we'll see what these children are made of.
I'm gonna' need more mood chips. Some more trip chips, too, if I'm planning to make it through this run.
I just hope the kiddies are as good as I hope. I hope I don't have to dump my own neice and find myself a proper crew.
Slag it. It's business, not personal.
It's business as hell.
Sloted some hubris and went to go see an old friend. I've never negotiated like that. Never been so fragging sure we were the right team for the job.
Too bad he took so long to get back to me. Slotting pride just didn't work as well. But it worked okay to make sure we all got a few more nuyen for being such an perfect team.
The elf found a job, too. Don't know who the hell he thinks he is. I guess it's fair. They don't know me. They will.
Took that meet up sober. Might have been a mistake, but what can you do?
It's not like it's hard. A simple meet up. Plan the recon. Meet up later to take a look at all the data and figure out a proper plan. Then we'll see what these children are made of.
I'm gonna' need more mood chips. Some more trip chips, too, if I'm planning to make it through this run.
I just hope the kiddies are as good as I hope. I hope I don't have to dump my own neice and find myself a proper crew.
Slag it. It's business, not personal.
It's business as hell.
Janus - Missing the Beat
Always thought it would be enough.
BTLs are the best damn thing that ever happened to me. Leave the world behind. Float off into someone else's reality. A better reality. A cleaner, dirtier, happier, sadder, more peaceful and more violent place that makes the real world look like life with the mute button on.
I never should have taken that troll job.
After the club, I felt dead. I felt nothing. I went back into the loop for a while, to lose myself, and... nothing.
I unplugged myself after a while. I was bored.
Kept thinking back to the rush. The BTL roaring in my head merged with the high of fighting that troll. Watching his body twitch in black and white as his roars screamed across the helmet in radiant color. Not following someone else's script, either. Following *mine*.
I've never been one for trip chips. Never been one for mood chips, either.
But I want that again. That BTL high with myself in the drivers seat. The jacked up sense of danger with real teeth behind it.
I want to run again. I need to.
I just hope to God it feels like something.
BTLs are the best damn thing that ever happened to me. Leave the world behind. Float off into someone else's reality. A better reality. A cleaner, dirtier, happier, sadder, more peaceful and more violent place that makes the real world look like life with the mute button on.
I never should have taken that troll job.
After the club, I felt dead. I felt nothing. I went back into the loop for a while, to lose myself, and... nothing.
I unplugged myself after a while. I was bored.
Kept thinking back to the rush. The BTL roaring in my head merged with the high of fighting that troll. Watching his body twitch in black and white as his roars screamed across the helmet in radiant color. Not following someone else's script, either. Following *mine*.
I've never been one for trip chips. Never been one for mood chips, either.
But I want that again. That BTL high with myself in the drivers seat. The jacked up sense of danger with real teeth behind it.
I want to run again. I need to.
I just hope to God it feels like something.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
>>>> [Mass Letter to Various Members of the Goat's Team]
[Meta note: if your regular communication device is not usually easily observed on the Matrix (running silent/deck-for-brain/built in the 50's/swapped out after every run/not a taxi service/fails its existence check), you will probably not get this mail.]
Hi there. :D
You don't know me, and this almost certainly sounds crazy, but I am looking out for you. And no, I'm not asking for money. ;) You see, your big friendly decker is keeping a nasty little secret. Talk to him. Ask him if the commlink was worth it. Watch how he responds.
Now I'll be honest, I don't really know you folks at all. Maybe you won't care. Maybe you prefer hooding, even when there's nothing to gain; maybe you're so casual in your ops that nobody minds when a teammate betrays the rest. But no matter what, I just feel that this is something you should know about.
Feel free to contact me for details, if he doesn't trust you enough to tell the truth. :\
<---->>
Your friend in crime,
∆ Facetime ∆
Leader of the Orkland Angles
-Voted Best Rookie Freelance Team of
-January 2075 by Torimono Megablog
-Voted Best Freelance Team of March
-2075 by Torimono Megablog
-Voted Best Freelance Team of June
-2075 by Torimono Megablog
-Voted Most Stylish Shadowrunning
-Team of October 2075 by Tuskpulse!
Hi there. :D
You don't know me, and this almost certainly sounds crazy, but I am looking out for you. And no, I'm not asking for money. ;) You see, your big friendly decker is keeping a nasty little secret. Talk to him. Ask him if the commlink was worth it. Watch how he responds.
Now I'll be honest, I don't really know you folks at all. Maybe you won't care. Maybe you prefer hooding, even when there's nothing to gain; maybe you're so casual in your ops that nobody minds when a teammate betrays the rest. But no matter what, I just feel that this is something you should know about.
Feel free to contact me for details, if he doesn't trust you enough to tell the truth. :\
<---->>
Your friend in crime,
∆ Facetime ∆
Leader of the Orkland Angles
-Voted Best Rookie Freelance Team of
-January 2075 by Torimono Megablog
-Voted Best Freelance Team of March
-2075 by Torimono Megablog
-Voted Best Freelance Team of June
-2075 by Torimono Megablog
-Voted Most Stylish Shadowrunning
-Team of October 2075 by Tuskpulse!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)