Sink, Hollywood, Sink, an experiment in running SR4 Options

[Glyph]

Dancer - The Limo

Carroway's cigarette smoke ship doesn't seem to go over as well as his other illusions - she seems less impressed, and more like someone ignoring someone else's loud belch for the sake of politeness. "We're almost there, anyways." she thinks, as she moves a bit nearer to one of the air vents.

She thanks the guard opening the car door with a sunny smile. It takes some effort, but she resists the cruel urge to tease the youngster a little bit.

Dancer - The Front Door

The guards wave Dancer through the weapon scanner, apparently under the assumption that she can't possibly be hiding much of anything under those clothes. "If you only knew, boys," she thinks ruefully to herself. The only thing she checks in is her jacket.

Dancer - The Party

Dancer smiles as she walks into the party. It seems she won't stand out, at least not in a bad way. There seem to be some intriguing people here tonight, but she has business to take care of before doing any other mingling. Seeing Richard Rosen roll his eyes confirms the wisdom of her earlier decision - act professionally, friendly but reserved, to offset the effect of her clothing.

She walks over to his table with calm assurance, as if she were an exec walking into a boardroom. With a cool smile, she introduces herself. "Good evening, Mr. Rosen. I'm Kate Doyle. I believe you were expecting us?".

[Cthulhudreams]

Dagda - The Party

Hrmm.

Dagda just ignores the DJ, his attention focused on a magically active person walking towards Rosen's table.

Looks like a hussy, but look at that poise. She's not the run of the mill either way. Plus he clearly wasn;t looking forward to anything after seeing me

He walks over towards the bar, catching sight of DD's Aura in the astral haze at the bar and pushing through the crowd to end up next to her. He doesn't notice her deft slight of hand, but spots the black lines seep through her aura with a wry smile.. He orders a bottle of top shelf vodka with a generous tip, then ignores the provided glasses, offering the bottle to DD while looking back at the new magician in the room.

Hey.. whats that.

Another magician.

Hrmm.

[Fuchs]

DD takes another sip from her drink. “Code pink, code sexy…� With the drug in her bloodstream, that sounds promising, but Richard doesn’t seem to appreciate the announcement. While she scans through some of Grant’s blog’s history to check on such occasions, she looks over the room again.

Grant's live feed shows his partners whooping in celebration at the announcement, and slipping downstairs to rejoin the dance party. Grant himself takes a moment to refresh himself (i.e. drugs) before joining them. About an hour before the dance floor turns into one big bedroom then.

Then something else catches her attention - new guests are arriving, visible on the paparazzi drones. A few real lookers among them. Shifting her weight, she turns toward the entrance of the room, in case someone makes his or her way down here. Then she notices the russian walk to the bar.

As I thought. Russians and alcohol.

DD studies the pale man more closely, her eyes hidden by her shades, when he steps up to the bar and stands next to her. He looks built like an Ork, but no tusks. And he doesn’t look that like an Ork. Muscles, yes, but something’s odd.

Maybe body sculpting?Hm…that’s definetly an ork there, though, heading towards Rosen. Cute one. And moves very gracefully.

DD takes another sip of her drink, smiling at the offer from the russian next to her.

“I am still on this one, but thanks.� Wouldn’t be good to get high and drunk.

“Quite a talent show tonight.� DD nods at the female Ork talking with Rosen now, aiming her words at the pale russian.

[JonathanC]

Richard Rosen smiles and offers Kate a handshake. "Very nice to meet you, Kate. I see you're dressed for the event. That's good...a good sense of style will take you further in this town than you think." he says with a brief, professional smile. He's the first man in the place who has actually managed to look Kate directly in the eyes; clearly Rosen is a man of great willpower. That, or he plays for a different team.

"I'll get right down to it...normally I wouldn't bother dragging you out here, but I need to confirm a few things about the two of you before you're approved. Do either of you have a criminal record?"

OOC: I know that DD and Dagda are in conversation right now, while Carroway, Dancer and Blackie are about to have their "interviews". As soon as the interviews are done, we're more or less done with this party, as it's headed into territory that GMs usually call "off screen". Anyone interested in participating in the party after is welcome to; the meet with the Johnson will take place the next day.

[Glyph]

Dancer shakes her head in a quick negative. "No, I've never done time, and I'm not on any wanted lists, either."

[Cthulhudreams]

Dagda - At the Bar

Dagda gives pleasant laugh at the talent show remark, leaning back onto the bar completely oblivious to DD's assessment of him, engrossed in his study of the mages walking across the floor. He first pours a thimbleful of vodka onto the expensive carpet, then knocks back about a fifth of the bottle and says "Yeah, if only you could see. That half naked ork he's talking to now has a connection to the other. Not particularly powerful, but guessing by the augementation and that poise, she's probably one of those 'physical enhancement' spiritual types.

As for him," he uses the vodka bottle to accentuate his guesture. "he's a real mage. To many people in the way to get a really good read, but I'm guessing he's no slouch. I wonder if thats the entire team, or if I've missed somone more subtle."

[Fuchs]

DD - At the Bar

Why did he pour good vodka down on the carpet? Is that some magic ritual? Or was the vodka bad? Can’t be, not the way he drinks it.

DD is puzzled. She knows there are some rituals mages have to do to keep their magic, but it did not look magical. She makes a note to check up on spilling alcohol and russians. She have thought they’d never waste alcohol, going from the stories of russians drinking paint thinner and perfumes if there’s no vodka around. Maybe it’s a display of wealth? Meanwhile, she listens to the russian.

So, the ork’s an adept. That explains the way she moves. Good fashion sense, if a bit too pink.

DD studies the ork’s profile, curious about her role here. The remark from the russian about „really seeing“ almost makes her snort. Nothing beats augmented and virtual reality for information, at least in her opinion.

A real mage? Handsome in any case.

DD smiles at the mage the russian points out. She wonders if he’s with the ork, looking for the mage’s profile too. Ah, there it is.

"Magical Special Effects agency of Carroway Entertainment". Hm.

The rest of the profile is standard stuff, mostly advertising his personal virtues, so to speak. Or lack thereof - this is L.A., after all.

Team? Oh. Hmm.

DD starts to consider „casting options“ for the run. They have „The odd couple“ – classic show, DD wonders if she should dowload some episodes - tension/comedy potentional right there with the two mages. The russian surely qualifies as odd enough for both, and everyone knew mages were eccentric anyway. If the ork’s a physical type, then she’s muscle. And DD for brains! All look good enough for decent ratings too.

DD’s smiles widens as she studies the rest of the „team“, thinking about the possibilities. She raises her glass to the russian, although only taking a sip, while she shuffles several AR windows in her field of view.

Picture

[Sir_Psycho]

Blackie pads away a bead of sweat with a hankerchief from his Actioneer's breast pocket and slides across the dance floor, side-stepping the gyrating half naked plastic. He keeps recording sensations and taking pictures, though the moronic garble he picks up through the pounding music tell no stories, the inflections register as cheap sexual come-ons and grunts of mindless exertion. Blackie sees no true sexuality here, it's a display of the young and the stupid, affluent enough for this beaugoise display of hedonism, the ego flaggelating drones circling like buzzards over the sweaty youth. Blackie recognized the p2.0 protocol while sniffing the drones in AR though, and makes a mental note to do some research later. But there were no real players here that Blackie could see, and their booze and cheap party kickers held no interest for him, though they might even benefit from the "thought-enhancer" that Blackie sought.

Escaping to the downstairs area, where the roar of the dance music was only a dull, permeating thudding, he strolled towards Rosen, identified by a blip on Blackie's AR. His cyber-ears caught a british accent, and a girl mentioning a "criminal record", coming from a dapper looking gent with a ponytail and a pretty young ork, oozing sex from the skin inbetween the pink straps of her outfit, which was considerably exposed. Without a polite smile or a precursor, he interrupted the conversation, quickly interjecting "Rosen. I'm here about mutual opportunities, join me for a cigarette out in the air when you're done." and moving back towards the stairwell.

He noticed a collossus of a man who looked like a well-polished alabaster statue in a well-tailored suit. A metavariant Blackie had never come across in his travels, and couldn't pin down. His AR espousing him as a magical security consultant of some sort, which probably was biz for shadowmage. Next in line at the bar was no wallflower, despite the cavernous cleavage and shapely thighs clearly on display, he could feel her discerning scrutiny on him, a keen eye to be respected, perhaps. Of course, her scrutiny would notice his fake SIN, if she was worth a damn, but hapless traveller "Ishmail McDougal" and his banal interests in landmark photography and getting a tan would probably, in a roundabout way, alert her he was... something quite different. The possibilities of interpretation almost made him smile, but he remained impassive as he moved up the stairs.

On his way up he noticed an unremarkable girl hanging awkwardly by the stairs in a failed impression of non-chalant, evoking an empathic reaction in Blackie, who felt as awkward as he looked. He bookmarked her AR profile, along with the rest of the players, before his growing itch for a hit of Psyche tore his attention away and he turned his attention to a possible free ride. After all, he was more broke than he looked.

[ Spoiler ]

Again, he's just doing another search for some psyche. But, alas, I'm pretty sure he's broke (though you still need to roll my starting cash, if you'd be so kind). He browses, although he doesn't expect to find any Psyche with a legal browser, So he performs a scan operation, and then seeing as he's already subscribed to the party node, and people's signals are flying around and networking, he intercepts traffic to see if there's any mention of Psyche (preferrably with a way to get it complementary from the party) on the wirewaves.

Blackie's Data Search 3 + Browse 4 = [3,1,6,1,2,2,1] = (1)

Yeah, right.

Hacking 4 + Sniffer 6 test = [5,4,1,3,5,3,6,2,5,6] = (5)

Also, I don't know how exactly this affects the test, as I'm only familiar with SR3's complementary skills, but he has these knowsofts:
LA Drug Dealers R4
LA Organized Crime R6

If there's any more tests I need to make, just let me know.

[Tobias]

Carroway – The Front Door

Chuckling to himself Carroway watches at how all the guys watch Dancer as she moves through the scanners and into the party. He nods as the guards let him through and sends them a tip through there commlinks.

Carroway – The Party
Following behind Dancer as she moves to see Richard Rosen he looks around the party in the astral. He spots the striking human and smiles slightly after a quick scan over her. Then looking at the pale Ork(?) he frowns slightly Mage. Shrugging he moves onto meet Rosen. He shakes his head at the question.

“No I’m clean.�

Looking up as Blackie comes over he chuckles slightly, looking over his Aura. Before shrugging as he leaves.

[Fuchs]

DD - At the Party

DD tenses when she sees a man in a suit step up to Rosen, interrupting his talk with the ork and mage. For a second she expects the man to pull a gun and shoot Rosen. Or reveal a cybergun. But the black-haired man just says something to Rosen, then walks away.

Maybe a warning of sorts?

DD opens the man’s profile. "Ishmail McDougal". And one of the blandest rpofiles she has seen so far in L.A. Interests in landmark photography and getting a tan – he needs one, that was true.

Hm.

The profile is bland, but lacks any of the standard „original touches“ boring people usually add to their profile, in DD’s experience. So, either I-Mac there was comfortable with being boring, and seen so, or – and his scene with Rosen pretty much pointed to that – he was hiding something.

DD looks over to Dagda. „What do you make of this one there, ’oney?“, she asks, indicating the leaving man with a nod of her head.

[Cthulhudreams]

Dagda - at the Party

Dagda can clearly see Carroway pausing to stare back at him, obviously sizing him up.

I guess the feeling is mutual.

He raises his.. bottle damn I should use glasses in polite company as a toast, then radiopathically sends a quick invite to Carroway

"Can I get you a drink? My shout. Skiratok." along with a business card and an AR location.

Dagda switches his attention back to Rosen just quickly enough to see the man storm? slink? off and DD's prompt. He refocuses his attention and runs his astral eye over the strange man, with a wry chuckle.

"He's like you darling," he says with a touch of sarcasm "except that he's about as happy as I am about being here, probably even less. And somewhat less appealing in high heels and a dress I imagine."

[JonathanC]

Rosen seems to ignore Blackie's sudden outburst entirely, keeping his attention on Dancer and Carroway. "You're both from out of town, no criminal record, and you have no objection to the idea of obtaining a well-secured item, correct?" he says, draining the rest of this glass. "If this is the case, then I believe we can do business. The client still wanted one more person, but I've been sitting here far too long...we're at code pink, for Dunk's sake. If it's not too much bother, tell that guy who just walked by that he's hired. I need some sleep." he says, betraying genuine emotion for the first time in the conversation by yawning.

[Glyph]

Dancer - The Party

Dancer nods with a dimpled smile. Their host's fatigue seems to be working to their advantage, making this screening meeting a quicker one. After getting the information for the next day's meet with the Johnson from him, Dancer, seeing Carroway and the tall, pale man at the bar exchanging curious glances, slips out briefly to where she saw Blackie disappear.

"Mr. Rosen says you're hired," she murmurs, PMing him the data for the meet before slipping back inside. With another smile, she walks up to the bar, deciding to get a quick drink before heading upstairs to seek her natural prey. "Hi, I'm Kate," she introduces herself to the girl in the mini-dress. Normally she would be hitting on the tall, exotic-looking man, but something about his manner says he really doesn't want to be here, the opposite of her own partying mood.

[Fuchs]

DD - At the Party

DD frowns slightly at the russian. It’s a party, she’s got some eX in her bloodstream, and who would not want to have some fun, with an upcoming job? On the other hand, every team needed a grumpy serious member to contrast with the more likeable ones. Better ratings.

She’d probably playfully punch the russian in the shoulder, telling him to loosen up some and enjoy the party, but he’s a mage… better not provoke them, they could be nasty.

So DD just smiles, nods, and takes another sip from her drink and flipping through the different feeds from the parazzi drones on Grant’s site.

Oh. The Ork in pink returns. And her name’s Kate. Pretty.

„Enchantée ’oney. I am DD.“

DD looks the girl up and down, checking for signs of wealth such as labels, her eyes hidden behind her shades, but the movement of her head not really hidden.

[Cthulhudreams]

Dagda

Dagda gives a laugh at DD's furrowed brow "I don't bite, nor can I turn you into a frog. Or even kill you with a word. I can only turn people into puddles of goo. It is a failing of mine." he says with a broad grin.

Then he switches his attention back to the ork, glancing over the other professional - and awakened. Dagda briefly reflected on the surprisingly high ratios of awakened in the shadows. A reflection of society, the only way for a poor man like himself to get ahead, even if he would sell out, they didn't want the back country sinless bumpkins. Easier for the awakened to get ahead by criminal behaviour. Bastard corporations.

[Glyph]

Dancer - At The Party

As DD looks Dancer over, she doesn't see any blatant signs of wealth - her daring outfit could as likely be sported by a stripper as by a jaded socialite. Her ink work is well done, if not anything fancy like biotattoos or luminescent holofoil ink. No signs of cosmetic work, although the Russian mentioned "augmentation" when talking about her.

As Dancer notices DD's obvious attentions, her smile sparkles with more mischief, and she seems to preen slightly. "Should I spin around?" she chuckles. She has obviously misread DD's blatant up-and-down appraisal, but seems amused and flattered rather than angry.

She takes another sip from her beer, then grins as a whoop from upstairs is heard over the blasting music. "Sounds like the party's kicking into high gear up there. Think I'll head up there in a bit. How about you guys?" She is actually only including the big Russian in the question to be polite. The man isn't even comfortable down here, so she doesn't think it's too likely that he'll be doffing that suit to party down with the gleeful hedonists upstairs.

[Cthulhudreams]

Dagda

Dagda snorts at Dancers suggestion, then says "I suspect I share our esteemed employers opinion of the festivities. I'll leave you two lovely ladies to your evening. However, if you want to catch up in a professional capacity in some entirely more antisocial surrounds, drop me a line. Dasvidania!" and with that Dagda pushes his way through the crowd at the bar towards the exit, or Crroway if he showed any interest, still holding the last half of his bottle.

[Glyph]

Dancer - At The Party

The Russian's reaction was about what Dancer expected it to be. She only saw him and DD sitting at the bar, though, not meeting with Mr. Rosen, so one of his parting comments surprises her. "Our esteemed employer?" she murmurs. So she'll be working with this guy? Well, he seems relatively steady, at least, if somewhat brusque, like the other gent outside was. But compared to some of the social misfits and borderline psychotics she has had to work with in the past, it shouldn't be a big deal.

[Fuchs]

DD – At The Party

There goes the russian. Probably one of those conservatives – alcohol orgies are fine and dandy, but sex is only for the bedroom.

„No need to turn around, ’oney, I’ve got a nice feed from that drone behind you.“ DD grins at the ork girl, pointing at the paparazzi drone circling them, and shifting her stance just a bit so the drone shows off her good side. She sends the girl a copy of her new business e-card as well.

„And yes, it looks like there’ll be some teamwork up a’ead. So, I’d like to know more about who I’ll be working with.“ DD smiles, and looks around for the mage that came with the ork. „Is that your partner?“

[Glyph]

Dancer - At The Party

Dancer looks slightly more thoughtful as she replies, "No, I just met him tonight. An entertainment mage, although if he's being hired for this kind of work I imagine he has a few more... practical... spells. The man who talked to Mr. Rosen and then went outside is apparently hired as well - not sure what his specialty is, but the Johnson seems to be hiring people from out of town, so it's not surprising we don't know each other that well. Hmm. Data services, eh? My own specialty is sweet-talking them, or acting as a distraction - I can be very distracting when I put my mind to it. I don't like violence, but I'm still a good shot when I need to be. So did the Russian say what his specialty is?"

Looks like the business part of the night isn't quite over. As much as Dancer is itching to get on the dance floor, she wants to make a good impression on someone she's going to be working with. At least this woman isn't as aloof as two of the men were.

[Fuchs]

DD - At The Party

So, she's not kung-fu-wielding death-on-two-legs. Hm. Distracting, yes, in such an outfit. Does she wear it for runs as well? DD ponders the best camera angles for a second. It doesn't matter for her simrig's recording.

"'e's a mage, I don't know much more than that. I'd say 'e does 'ave a talent for missing out on fun, though." DD giggles at her own joke, helped along with by the drug.

An entertainment mage. Oh, the possibilities!

"So, the dark man that cut in the conversation is the shooter of the team?" The attitude would fit. Dark, brooding, quick to shoot.

DD finishes her drink, putting the glass on the bar behind her, stretching for a second or two.

"'e and the russian will make a good contrast point to the rest of the team."

[Tobias]

Carroway – At The Party

“I’m okay thanks, maybe next time. Not a heavy drinker.� Pinging a message back to Dadga with his AR business card.

Rolling his shoulders Carroway looks around the site and spots Dancer and DD at the bar with a smile he wanders over. He orders a drink for himself and offers one to both of the girls. Running with nice looking ladies, this should be fun. Offering a hand Carroway introduces himself to DD.

“Hi, I’m Carroway. Nice to meet you…�

[JonathanC]

Dagda

Dagda snorts at Dancers suggestion, then says "I suspect I share our esteemed employers opinion of the festivities. I'll leave you two lovely ladies to your evening. However, if you want to catch up in a professional capacity in some entirely more antisocial surrounds, drop me a line. Dasvidania!" and with that Dagda pushes his way through the crowd at the bar towards the exit, or Crroway if he showed any interest, still holding the last half of his bottle.

Noting that you are about the leave, the bartender speaks up.

"There's a back exit from down here if you want to skip the noise upstairs. There's usually a surge of new entries after a code pink. It'll put you in the back yard, but there's a path around to the front where the valets are." he says casually, while mixing two drinks.

Outside, the air is still warm, still heavier and more humid than it would be up north. The sky is clearer now, though the stars are nearly invisible against the glare of the city lights. As the bartender predicted, there is a long line leading up to the front door...a lot of corp brats (and probably some wageslaves trying to hold onto their youth) trying to get in on the action. A large, garish jeep with a golden glowing exterior pulls up to the front of the house and the crowd begins to part. The driver, a tall muscular ork with platinum caps on his tusks. He's dressed in studded leather pants and heavy black boots, and very little else. Aggressive, animated tribal nano-tats cover his chest and arms. His hair is long and shaggy, and everyone in line seems to recognize him.

Back inside, the party is going full blast, and is, at least for the moment, still R-rated. A couple of guards walk through the crowds scanning the commlinks of the partygoers, searching for teens who might have snuck in earlier. They find a couple, but both of them manage to cough up enough in bribes to be left alone.

[Fuchs]

DD - AT The Party

"I am DD! Enchantée! And thank you." DD smiles at Carroway, and at his offer, ordering a Screwdriver while she sends him her e-card.

"So, you're an entertainer?" Can't be everything he does.

DD gives Carroway the same look-over, trying to judge his wealth by his clothes. Perfectly fitting suit... probably hand-tailored. Must have been expensive.

DD starts a toast once she has the Screwdriver in her hands "To Fame, Fun and Fortune!"

[Cthulhudreams]

Dagda - outside

Dagda is heading back to the entrance to meet the valets and recover his gun when the Ork drives up. Who the hell is he? He's obviously important Dagda instictively, checks to see if the Ork has an AR profile, and then briefly checks the guy out in his prefered enviroment - magically.

[ Spoiler ]

Asessning test
4 4 2 5 1 3 1 3 1 2 6 1 4 = 2 hits

If the guy has no AR profile, Dagda's curiosity is piqued and he closes in, stopping someone else in the crowd, otherwise he collects his firearm, warily watching the people and checking out for the night.