World Tree MUSH

    The Afterlife bar is a famed spot in Night City. Run by Rogue Amendiarez, the 'Queen of the fixers', and built in the remnants of a morgue, it is a place that serves the dual purpose of relaxing for a few drinks and as a spot for the various mercs, solos, and hard working guns for hire to find jobs in the city.
    Rebecca has rented out a small room to the right of the bar for herself and a few friends and acquaintances to have a small party and get together tonight!
    "Hey, Claire, gimme another Silverhand Special!" The diminutive solo calls out to the local barkeep, Claire Russel, who plops a glass of tequila splashed with beer and chili pepper in fromt of Rebeccq a moment later, who downs the drink in a quick shot to keep from choking on it. 
    "Haaaaah! That's the stuff!"

    "Dunno what a Silverhand special is." Claire sounds like she knows she wasn't addressed, and walks to the bar with a crate full of wine bottles. "I can get you some Starfruit Wine, though. This is a good batch, too, and aged properly to be just perfect." She looks to the person behind the bar, "You guys can have half the crate for free so long as you don't mind me sharing the other half with people, and if you want more, I have more. Straight from the source, no middle men to eat up extra eddies." She opens up a bottle and pours herself a glass.

  The door to the Afterlife Bar bangs open, and in shuffles the one-eyed SHIELD pilot who's been seen taking occasional jobs around Night City. She's wearing a plain black windbreaker over black slacks and black combat boots. It would all look very generic government spook if all her stuff had the emblems torn off. It's just a plain and nondescript outfit that blends in well here.

  She's carrying something under her arm. Slumping into the chair next to Rebecca, she clunks her burden down on the table. It's heavy. It's glass. It's a fine bottle of Stojespal estate vodka. Home-brewed stuff. Top-shelf quality. "Here. You can enjoy this now, or you can enjoy it later." She reaches up to rub at her face, yawning. "Today kicked my ass. A drink sounds good. Thanks."

    "Sea Breeze." comes the laconic drawl of the Zalak, as she puts down an eddie chip on the bar. "Keeping it light for now." she adds when she gets a funny look or twelve.

    The Exotic-looking offworlder looks a bit discheveled, her ears pinned down from the ambient sound of the bar. She looks a little uncomfortable, probably from so many people.

    Regardless, she takes her drink once it's offered to her, and joins the others, shrugging out of her heavy suit-top and leaning back in her seat. She looks around at the others, yellow eyes flickering faintly in the shadow of her fringe, before she lifts her glass. "To friends, to allies, and to fucking the corpos over, one convoy at a time." she offers, before taking a sip.

     Twintail isn't usuall seen around here, she tends to hang out at her own spots, but it's hard to reject an invite from a solo she's had good performance and feedback from. But seeing some people come in, she can't help but feel just a little embarrassed and disappointed at what's going on. She looks over at Emmerick, the bar's bouncer and Animal gang member, giving a shrug and a shake of her head. "Fucking Bennies." 
     After taking an extra moment to finish up a holocall, she strides her way over, a 'Silverhand Special' also in her hand. Plopping the drink down on the table, then herself with the group building up, she just makes herself comfortable by whipping out that cigarette from seemingly nowhere, up to her lips to light and take in a drag before blowing the smoke aside. 
     "Least somebody's got the right idea." She mentions it just after Scavenger offers her toast, raising up her glass to that and giving a sip of her own.

    "I'll uh, I'll keep it light. I'm driving later," Catra says, though only half-lamely. She is, however, slowly nursing a tall glass of ... probably a light beer. Not that she's a lightweight or anything! She's sitting with the group, and Melog is nowhere to be seen. The alien cat-thing is probably outside, avoiding the thudding of bass so deep that tin cans could probably spontaneously implode. It's got Catra's ears laying flat half the time, that's for sure.

    She casts a shy smile towards Scavenger, and raises her glass to the toast. "Good a goal as any! If we can misbehave -and- do a good deed or two? I'm down!" Thensiiiiip.

    Hyouka has just arrived when Rebecca is putting in her order; she settles in near the tiny cyborg in a relaxed posture, and gives the barkeep a curious look. "If you've got any sake, I'll have some. Otherwise, I won't waste your booze." Whatever her seat, she somehow manages to sprawl in it, just a little. "You know, I was the equivalent of a 'corpo' back home," she observes idly. "Can't say we had nearly this much murder and class warfare, though. Mostly it was just mind-numbing drudgery."

    Well, shoot, another night at this crazy place that leans so hard into death for atmosphere and vibe despite being so vibrant and alive? Sweet. Marceline appears out of thin air, mugging like she'd pulled off the prank of pranks.

    "Yo, peeps. Just something red for me- Don't care what." Beat. "No brake fluid."

    There's no telling what some of the chromed out types might drink. Right? Are some of them actually robots? Eh. Whatever.

    "Dang, musta missed something tasty last time. Sorry bout that!" She reclines on air, hovering above the group and making it easier to fit that many more people in the little enclosure.

    With her drink in hand, she swirls it a little, dips a fang in the stuff and offers, "Cheers anyway."

    She looks like she dragged herself in after a pickup game of basketball. Complete with the band holding her hair out of her face.

    "So like. Spill. Survive something crazy? It wasn't the Animals; those dudes are weird but pretty chill." She sets her glass down as she leans in to hear the tale, her red liquor now perfectly clear but otherwise untouched.

    Scavenger glances at Catra. A shadow passes over her face, and in that split second there may have been a smile on the Zalak's lips... It's gone when the light returns to her face though. She then looks at Hyouka. "Corpos, not Corporate Workers... There's a difference. A corpo is someone completely enveloped in the party line, out for their own gain at the expense of everyone else, including their peers and isn't afraid to get other peoples hands dirty to get ahead." she rolls her shoulders, nudging the white polymer band around her upper arms against the seat back a little bit, making the green lights glow a bit brighter for a moment. "Your version isn't anything like these gonks."

    Surrounded now by familiar faces and friends all around, Rebecca kicks her feet up on the table, legs crossed.
    It looks like Claire's gracious offer to let the bar have half a crate of wine is accepted. Claire will probably try and flag Claire down later to try and set up a supply deal.
    Enter Anneka with MORE BOOZE and Rebecca is practically leering. Oh she'll be trying some of that vodka later.
    "Anneka, yo yo yo. Try the tequila, it's great."
    Scavenger makes a toast, and Rebecca raises her glass, before downing the last of its contents in a hard pull before shaking her head at Hyouka, "Nah it's--" Scavenger sums it up well enough and the solo motions right at the Zalak, "That's exactly it and-"
    And Marceline makes a red drink as clear as water.
    "...That's a pretty slick trick."
    It's once the fixer of the hour settles in that Rebecca flashes Twintail a grin.
    "They may be new in town, but not all of 'em are half bad. This crew here's pretty handy I'll tell you."

    Catra's got fast reflexes. And she's largely perceptive. It helps she was looking at Scavenger, too. It makes her blink, of course, but her own smile remains. Maybe she's keeping count. Is that two now? Whatever. She takes another drink. "We don't have corpos on Etheria. I guess the closest thing was the Horde?" she shrugs one of her shoulders. "I mean..." she glances up at Scavenger again. "...you're describing them pretty much to a T. Like. There were some good soldiers but in the end it was all because Hordak was trying to impress some intergalactic asshole. Like a middle manager trying to brown nose their CEO or something. Did I get that right? I've been spending way too long here..."

    She grunts and takes a longer drink of her beer and grumps a little. "...seriously though the Horde would fit right in here."

     "Took the words out of my mouth. Sounds like someone's actually been reading into how things work around here." Twintail flicks her ears as she sits up some and leans forwards, resting her elbows on her knees as she hunches forwards, ears pinned back with that tail only occasionally flicking behind her. 
     "The higher up the ladder, the worse it is. More they can get away with, too, Law can't even touch them, just other corpos or their own subordinates and superiors." 
     'TT' sits back some to hear in on Rebecca, flicking one ear up. She closes her eyes and smiles just a little bit, just a bit. "Long as the crew isn't getting the wrong kind of attention. Last gig went pretty well, had some very satisfying deals after the fact. Don't be surprised if you find an Arasaka suit in the scrap yard in the next few days."

    And then Hyouka has a misconception corrected. "Ah, I see. That's good to know." The magitech cyborg has a bottle of sake handed to her, and her eyes light up just a little. "Oh my, thank you very-"

    Did that vampire just drink the red out of a drink?

    Hyouka wears a baffled look for a moment. "...The World Tree is an interesting place," DARGN chimes in.

    Shaking her head, Hyouka turns back to Scavenger, Rebecca and Twintail. "I mean, there's some elements of that in corporate culture back where I come, but it's not nearly this... bad. And I was just a records manager. Didn't really have the ambition to be much more. Oh, I played the social game well enough to not make my life any harder, but I didn't really care to climb."

  Try some of the tequila. Frowning, Anneka sighs, before putting in a hasty drink order. She only waits a few minutes before one of the waitstaff comes back around with a bottle of tequila and a shotglass. The pilot wastes no time in cracking the seal and pouring herself a shot, raising it up in salute to Twintail as the fox exotic pads by, and casting a dubious glance at Rebecca, before draining it. Her grimace suggests it's a good kind of burn. Probably. Maybe.

  A casual salute is likewise offered to Hyouka and Marceline. "A culture of internal sabotage. You do not get ahead by merit; you get ahead by being the meanest son of a bitch on the roster." Anneka clicks her tongue, disapprovingly, and shakes her head in resignation. "Absolutely I think I would have been miserable working in an office." She's a pilot; nothing more, and nothing less. Clipping her wings would deprive her of her reason to live. "Also I am terrible at... 'office culture.'" Her tone and expression both suggest what is that even?

    "Yeah I used to be an office drone for Joja but it was just a paycheck, you know. I don't think anyone would think of me as a corpo." Claire sips her wine, and looks at the others, "So I don't know all of you. I'm Claire Getaway. This wine is made from starfruit from my farm and winery. It's good stuff I promise. If anyone wants some, go ahead." She takes another sip, "Oh and don't drink Joja Cola unless you've got good medical insurance. Joja Corp basically demolished all the health and safety regulations the Republic had, and that includes food safety."

    "I mean." Marcy rubs the nails of her thumb and forefinger together as she stares at them. "I kinda get that, though. It's like a survival situation; the corporation is this gross environment, hostile to life and everyone inside is struggling. Sometimes, the only way to keep your head above the water is to push someone else's under." Her teeth show as she grimaces, "I've done it. The other creeps I croaked defs deserved it so whatever but like, I kinda get why some of those peeps are so nasty."

    She inclines her head to Anneka, sttles into a seat rather than hovering over everyone like a gloomy grey-black cloud.

    "So like, hnh. Arasaka's set up to be a place where you fight to survive. Messed up like the end of the world. Wild, dudes." At that, she touches a finger to the clear liquor and sets it alight and burning with a dull blue flame. Then she grins across at Rebecca. "I got all the tricks, homie."

     "Sounds like a typical corp from here, Claire." Twintail chimes in, sighing and leaning forwards. "Guess I'll introduce m'self here, those of you that ain't seen me, those of ya I worked with." 
 
     "Name's something I like to keep off the streets, people just call me Twintail, or 'TT', 'Double T', whatever works for you. I'm just a fixer, sort of like Rogue here, where ever she's at..." She pauses to lean her head up, ears perking... "In the back, probably making deals." 
     At the offer for wine, she reaches for a bottle, unscrewing/uncorking the top and pouring it into her now empty glass, just a bit to give a taste test... Her lips smack, and she looks up in thought, before nodding. "S'good. Feels so foreign actually having something this good 'around here. S' probably one -good- thing about this hole 'new worlds' business we got, maybe we can get some actual food in here instead of this 'Kibble' replicate stuff..."

    Catra can't help but laugh when Anneka brings up being 'the meanest son of a bitch on the roster'. She holds up her glass, freeing one finger and pointing it at her, "Hey, sounds like me back then! Was a time I was practically second in command of the whole Horde! And I was leader of a gang before that, too!" She knocks back the rest of her drink and thuds the glass on the table. "Not that any of it mattered in the end..." she stares at the lingering foam in her glass as it slowly slides down the inside of it to collect in the bottom.

    She lets go and leans back, "I don't miss those days. I don't think I'd want to go back to them. As fun as they were..." she grins. "...more fun running with folks like you all, feels more like a gang than an army or an organization or anything. And that... *those* are the times I miss. Just a... small group of people... tearing it up together. You know. Like. Friends. Just. Real violent ones," she laughs. It's a little more half-hearted, though. 

    "Yeah. Friends."

    Scavenger puts her glass on the table, leaning on her knees in a mirror to Twintail's posture. "I guess I should properly introduce myself. My name is Scavenger. I'm a Vanguard Operator with Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals Inc. So, I guess I'm a Corporate Worker myself in a way." she rolls her shoulders. "Don't deal with the politics though... that's The Doctor's or Kal'tsit's job. I worked in the underworld as a Mercenary for four years before joining up with RI... that's where I earned my name." she looks around at the various people. "When you're willing to crawl through the shit to do a job, you're not much better than the Scavengers feeding off the carrion that falls through the cracks, right?"

    "Well if you want some real food?" Claire hands over a card to Twintail, "Come visit sometime. I don't just grow fruit for wine. My farm's got a lot of variety, because I'm not in this to get rich. I love my farm and I don't want to pidgeonhole myself into a monoculture that'll ruin my love of the work. If you want something unusual, I can recommend the dinosaur mayo. It's not my favourite, but people seem to love the stuff, especially offworld." She recommends. "And if you want to make a supply deal for regular deliveries of fresh produce, I can work something out."

    Hyouka gives Anneka a casual salute with her bottle of sake, then continues drinking from it. But introductions seem to be in order, so the woman sits herself up a little bit. "Hyouka Kiyama. Former office worker, now an adventurer. I'm a cyborg, ah... very heavily modded. My world's starting to get the hang of combining magic and technology, so I run on both. And because I'm sure you've all heard that other voice bantering about..."

    It's here that the other voice in question speaks up. "I am the guardian node for Hyouka's digital-assist reflexes. DARGN for short. I'm an artificial intelligence that also serves to manage her communications."

    MEANWHILE, Rebecca is already assaulting the vodka bottle Anneka brought with her, pouring herself a shot and downing it.
    "GUH! HOLY SHIT." She chokes on the drink, thumping her chest with her giant oversized mechanical gorilla hand. "What the hell is this made of? Because it's fuckin' good." She's already pouring herself another.
    "Ugh god." She declares though. "I was raised on the streets, I don't think I could ever stomach... 'office life'." She says with a scowl that speaks volumes of her disdain. But she moves on.
    "Seriously though, offworld commerce could be a good thing." She seconds Twintail. "I donno about you but I'm kinda tired of SCOPdogs." Pause. "Don't ask what SCOPdogs are." That's to the offworlders.
    Then she pauses again.
    "Aite, I already know you all and you already know me." And that's why she's not bothering with an introduction like some of the others.

  Colour Anneka mildly surprised when Marcy opts to sit in a chair and not hover like a creepy whatever she is. Twintail's introduction earns a focused look, and Anneka inclines her head, politely. "Agent Anneka Stojespal. Quinjet pllot. SHIELD." She thumbs at Rebecca. "Been working jobs with her. Few others here, too. Night City feels like every city I've ever known. Only everything is turned up to eleven." The grin she flashes creases the scar tissue over the right side of her face ghastly-like. "I like it here. It's interesting."

  Her expression sours mildly at DARGN's introduction. It's nothing personal. She just really doesn't like AIs. In fact, she only tolerates the one that lives in her quinjet because she has to... even she's not brave enough to refuse an order straight from Director Fury.

  Rebecca assaults the House Stojespal bottle of vodka, with its own lavish custom label and everything, and... Anneka snickers as the solo chokes and thumps her chest. "Should have warned you. Has a kick. Wheat. It is made from wheat. Polyuchyn, the city where this comes from, it is surrounded by wheat fields for miles. They are generous."

  The shotglass of tequila is squinted at, and with a shrug, Anneka downs it, coughing. "Damn. That has a kick, too."

 
     "Getting some actual food into San Domingo sounds good." Twintail takes that card, looking it over as her eyes flash. A picture? A scan? Who knows, but she pockets it anyway. "I'll be in touch later. People are gonna prioritize weapons before food. There's one thing you learn about Night City, everyone and their grandma has been to a 2nd amendment store." 
     What catches her attention is DARGN talking. And upon hearing just what it is, she looks at Hyouka, sternly, and pins hear ears back. Her voice shits to a tone of warning. "Stay out of Pacifica. Keep DARGN off the net here. Voodoo Boyz might want to get their hands on something like that. S'fine if you got something going on with the Animals though. I work out with them, now and then."

    "Well, since we're sharing." Marceline takes a breath as she cups her hands around the blue flame of her former drink. Now handwarmer. "Marceline the Vampire Queen. Took the title for myself after I ate all the others." She pokes at the holes in her neck. "Last one got me before I finished him off. So, here I am, a thousand years later or whatever hanging out with you losers! Haha, psyche. All of you so far have been pretty rad. Even-" She stops, nose flattening all batlike as she sniff-sniffs. "Where's your magic dog or whatever, anyway?"

    She nods to Catra. Then reclines a little, dragging her faintly glowing fire closer to the edge. Then to Twintails, "Work out with them? Dang, I just hang out and try to creep them out but I think they wound up liking me or something. Weirdos."

"Well if you want weapons, I can hook you up, too. I make artisanal explosives." Claire grins at the topic, "Got em with fuses or on an impact trigger. I use the latter with a slingshot." As she says this, the farmer pulls out a slingshot and a small supply of red orbs clearly sized to go with the slingshot. "I can offer a demo if you're interested."

    As the noise gets louder and the conversation and mixed voices all whirl around her, Catra starts to shrink down in her seat. Her head dips forward and her shoulders lift, higher and higher until she jerks straight and plants her hand on the edge of the table in front of her. In a single motion, she rises and hand-springs up, over, and artfully does a one-eighty before landing at the entrance to the little cubby room. All without bumping into anyone present. Easy way to extricate oneself from a booth.

    She straightens out her coat and makes a small gesture to herself, "Catra." She makes a good show of it all, swiping the bottle of vodka and taking a drink, grimacing hard and shuddering before setting it back down. "Melog, alien thing, last of its species, doesn't talk," she gestures to nothing. Melog isn't there. Outside, still. Then she takes a hard, bracing breath before jamming a hand into her pocket and turning. The other is waved over her shoulder and she starts to stalk towards the exit. "Later."

    Scavenger nods. "The Animals, for all their brawn, seem like mostly reasonable people under the surface... I help them with hand-to-hand training occasionally on my offtime." she remarks, cracking her knuckles.

    If noone had seen just how strong the Zalak was, they'd look at her stick-like arms and slender frame and laugh... and then they'd be introduced to the ground.

    "Hey, Catra?" she calls out as the Etherian makes to leave. She stands and moves to follow leaning in to speak softly. Her tone is strained, as if she's not sure she wants to say what she's about to, but does so anyway. "C-Can we... go clothes shopping, sometime... I feel like I need a new look for... some reason."

 
     Twintail is about to respond when WOOSH, Catra just makes a show and springs up, over everyone and to the entrance of the little party room, giving her name and explaining Melog before taking her leave. She waits a bit, then leans back some as she relaxes, taking that cigarette up to her mouth to drag it once again and let that moment sink in. "Not a crowd person, I guess." She also notes Scavenger moving along, and she leans back further, just letting the mood settle.

    "Hm~. Not the first secret I've been warned I should keep while I'm on this world," Hyouka replies to Twintail, eyebrows arched. She does glance briefly back at Rebecca, but then returns her gaze to the fixer again. "I'll have to tell you about the other one if we ever meet up somewhere with no prying ears. But don't worry," she adds. "DARGN only manages my communications. She generally doesn't get on the comms herself without my express permission. Generally."

    She does watch Catra go, however, once again looking a touch surprised.

    Catra freezes when she hears her name, shoulders going up, tail going rigid. Her head turns slowly, and much like that flash of a smile Scavenger had shown, there's a brief 'trick of the light' that shows the Etherian is trying /very/ hard to keep it together. The expression, brief as it is, is pained, saddened. But her poker face is on point and it clears up and she hears the other woman out. In fact, her expression softens and she blinks at Scavenger.

    "Huh?" she asks, looking her over briefly, then nods slowly, "Yeah, sure. Give me a call anytime. I'd like that." She may or may not have a Rhodes Island comms tag from her time working with the rat, or she forgot about it. So she just... extends her claws and cuts a roughly business-card sized piece of metal out of the nearest wall. SKRIT SKRIT SKRIT. Then uses said claws to roughly scratch her Night City mobile number in before handing it to Scavenger.

    "I'll uh, I'll be around," she says, looking away, ears laying flat again. "...you know. Getting in trouble and stuff. Stay safe."

    If Scavenger notices the expression, she doesn't show it. She does take the 'card', but then taps her comm-bead, making Catra's jingle softly from wherever it is on her person. "Rhodes Island comm-tag. Remember." she offers.. then adds softly. "Take care of yourself."

    The Zalak looks back at the group, lifts a hand to signal she's leaving, and follows Catra's path outside; having left time for the Etherian to put some distance in.

 
     Twintail lifts a hand to wave Scavenger and Catra off as they go, then turns her attention back to the group. 
     "Gonna be interesting to see exactly what all this stuff is going to bring in. Wouldn't be surprise if one of you bennies came to get chipped in'. We haven't had any medias throw out stories about any of them rejecting cybernetics or going psycho yet, guess that's a good sign." She things for a moment, looking to Rebecca. Then back to everyone. "Wonderin' if you've seen some of the lesser known things around her. Like BDs?"

    "Yeah, none of that biz gonna work with this bod. I'm mad dead. Body heals like banaynays fast, too." Marceline pushes the hot glass toward the center of the table as the flame gutters and dies, then lifts a hand to wave at Catra and Scavenger's backs. "Laters!"

    She slouches a bit in her seat. "BD's? That the thing where people go all glassy eyed and kinda just sit there until something, uh..." She rolls her hand. "Ugh, I think I know what you mean but that requires all that port and polish stuff to work, right? So don't really get it. Like some kind of super immersive TV? Or a dream? Mine are weird enough, I think."

    Scavenger and Catra head on out, and Hyouka gives them a wave and... well, a faintly concerned look, but she still doesn't know them well enough to pursue yet. She'll just let them be. "Well, cyberpsychosis isn't really a 'thing' back home, but then, it's like I mentioned to Rebecca, our cybernetics are still just getting off the ground. If anyone would be a test case for it, though, I suppose it'd be me. And I'm fine."

    DARGN quips in a dry tone, "By which she means, she was abnormal even before the cybernetics. Most people who earned a grand boon from a dragon wouldn't cash it in for 'a body to go on adventures with'." Hyouka scratches her head, looking embarrassed.

    But oh look, a topic shift. "Ah, no, I can't say I've heard anything about 'BDs'. We had an old media format by that abbreviation back home, but it stopped being a thing when I was little. I imagine you mean something else."

"Braindance." Twintail starts, leaning forwards a little. "The best way I can sum it up is... You live as someone else for a little bit. It's all pre-recorded stuff. You're still you, but you feel everything the person's feelin', all five senses." 
     "Mox got this place called Lizzie's Bar, they do BD Stuff a lot, but it's all about your adult entertainment for them. Others are more..." 
     TT leans back, looking aside. Maybe she's in thought. Then she shakes her head, leaning back in. "I'll leave that to your imagination. Skies the limit."

    Off go Catra and Scavenger.
    "Heyyyy, don't be strangers. And try not to get yourselves killed getting in trouble out there."
    Nevertheless, Rebecca leans back in her seat, folding her huge mitts together behind her head.
    "They're basically recordings of people's experiences, that let you feel everything from their sensations to their emotions and feelings and thoughts and stuff and junk."
    T mentions Lizzie's and Rebecca nods. "Lizzie's is like The Mox's headquarters too."

    Immediately grimacing, Marceline shakes her head. "Right, gotcha. Wizard did that to me once, sorta. Sounds a little too wild for me, anyway. Got plenty of my own weird biz knocking around upstairs. Don't need a whole buncha someone else's. Glad it's fun for some peeps; my fun is just funnin' and music. Maybe fighting sometimes, too. Haha."

    "So, whatcha gotta do around here to get a drink named after you? Die or somethin?"

 
     "Snuff it." The foxgirl fixer nodds to Marceline, sitting back fully in her seat now. Unlady like, one leg lifts up to rest her boot on her other leg's knee, absolutely relaxed as a small trail of smoke goes up from that cigarette to the ceiling. "Gotta go out in a blaze of glory. Take Johnny Silverhand, for example: Went out putting a -Nuke- in Arasaka Tower back in 2023." The fixer takes a moment to put a hand to her chest, giving one of those rare smiles. "My personal role model. Got every Samurai album they put out."

Marceline says, "Pfft, geez. Alright. Guess I'll make peace with keepin my name off anyone's glass for a bit." For her part, Marceline has slouched enough that she can rest both grey knees against the table's edge while she hooks the back of both sneakers on the seat she's claimed. She perks up as an example is offered but does nothing to hide her frown as Silverhand's grand finale is revealed to be punctuated with a nuke.

    "He sounded a lot cooler before that part. Even dig his sound but..." She sweeps her gaze back and forth over the table. "Man, I just ain't about those things. Guess it wasn't so bad they couldn't rebuild but dang, man. That's a pretty nasty way to poke the big bads in the eye.""

>> SUMMARY[Marceline] >> In Marcy's head: https://i.imgur.com/puZcyEP.mp4

 
     "Oh. 'Scuse me. -Mini- nuke. Jus' nuff for the tower. Sides, he was endin' a corporate war. 'Saka scumbags don't deserve anything less." Twintail's ears pin back some as she talks, her mood apparent as Marceline has her focus. 
     "Sure, I don't know all the details, hell you can't trust anything they put on the net these days, and can't exactly ask him yourself. But I'd like to think he was in the right. Lotta big name people were with him at the time..." She pauses, taking another drag from that cigarette, and exhaling smoke into the air. "But that's my take. You'd agree if you were in my seat, trust me."

    Marceline continues to play with her hands, picking at the table and generally giving off an uncomfortable, squeamish vibe. "Mm. Maybe they had somethin comin, Iuno. Hard for me to say what's best or right for here when all I got is experience from a totally diffs world." She lets her head bump back against the wall.

    "Bet they were all saying he was mad cray for wanting to do a thing that wild. But hey, it's done. No changing it but..." She sticks out her forked tongue, eyes rolling up as she thinks. "Bet I could call in a favor. Get someone that knows where and how to find dude. If he ain't reincarnated or somethin anyway. Might be if that's how he died he's a ghost ridin around somewhere being angry and shiz."

 
     "If he is? Hook me up." Twintail smirks a little, but she does sense the conversation getting uncomfy. She didn't even need her enhanced senses for that. That forked tongue is a first though, and it catches her interest. "Probably the only person that'd know for sure is Kenny Eurodyne, one of Johnny's bandmates in Samurai way back. But he doesn't bother with some no-name gonks like us, and I'm sure his record label is going to shill his music out all over to rake in those eddies and fame. At least it's kinda good, just don't have that same spirit it used to."

    With the dead? The afterlife? Death? Marceline's right there with it. She even smiles. "Yeah? Like I said, I know a guy. He may know somethin-somethin but this ain't his turf so. Might be he'd ask for a gratuity. Death's kinda all serious about that question jazz but we hang and he jams with me some. Who knows?" Wait, what?

    "Huh, rad name. No-name? Nah, I'll make a mark here. Was thinking about playin the club here before I found out the shrimp paid up front for a room so we'd have less goin on." Becca gets a look but luckily, there's vodka to keep everyone else occupied.

    "Anyway, so you're like where Becca's been coming up with some of these jobs? Wild stuff. You and the J-town granny, anyway."

 
     "Wakako?" Knew exactly who Marceline was talking about. Pretty easy enough to guess, honestly!. 
     "I throw a few gigs Becca's way when I need heavy firepower. Guess she's just got you all tagging along to help out." She looks over to the idle Rebecca, frowning. "I still gotta get on her ass about that direct deal she did with someone. Body in a fridge on the edge of the river, heard about that one fast..." She shakes her head, looking back over to Marceline. "That's why you get a fixer. I can't make money if you don't survive, and I got no reason to get you killed. Win win deal."

Marceline says, "Ah, yep. That's the name. Kinda, uh, got a sorta-fixer back home. She was getting most of the messages from out this way until I got set up for this network. Sort of. I guess? I don't really know about how any of that works."

    "Haha! Oh dang, she doesn't mess around. The uh... Oh dang, you heard about that? Hilarious! Though yeah, I getchu. I guess if these peeps ever get smoked I can bring you the pieces. Or whatever." Well. Someone's confident. Or she's just watched that many people die. Hard to say; she just looks like a scrawny, pallid girl with pointy teeth and way too much hair.

    "I feel you tho. Win win." She lifts her glass in salute, then sets it down."

 
     "I hear about a lot of things. That's kind of what a Fixer is about." 
     "Gotta say, you Bennies are surprising. Some of you look like exotics, you look just as young as Becca, and you ain't even chipped." 
     TT leans forwards, taking out that cigarette and stuffing it into an ashtray to kill the flames. "But that's a thing you learn about fixers. We get info. We get info -fast-. It's costly, but being in the know gives you an edge in this city." She glances up. "Speakin' of, keep your ears open. I get client calls everyday for different things, just a matter of when I need people like you to handle it. More you do, the more your name is gonna spread around. Maybe Dex will hit you up, or Rogue. Or... I can get you in on one of my more serious ops."

    Marceline looks TT over seriously, "You really don't look all that old yourself. Though I'm guessin you're all borged out right? Or whatever those Animals peeps are about.

    Finally giving up on sitting and playing like she's normal, she lifts off of the chair to hover, crossing her legs as she arranges herself to face TT to keep talking. Presumably listening, too!

    "Yeah? Aight. I'll do that- Though, if anyone's looking for music. Hit me up. Maybe that's not what you're about but I can bring a show that'll wake the dead. Literally, maybe." She accompanies that with a fangy grin, "But yeah, no serious biz is fine too. Some of the creeps in this city need handling. Happy to help." Though the money thing? That's totally lost on her.

     "If you got rock, I'm all for it. I just got certain tastes." 
     Twintail then sits up, looking aside. "Me? Yeah, I got a few cybernetics, but I'm not lookin' to fit so much into me that I go full cyber psycho. Mostly for my line of work, though. I leave the uh..." She makes a little head-lean over to Rebecca. "Tough stuff to the solos geared up for it. Netrunners, mercs in certain specialties... Hell, sometimes I hire medias. People need a lot of things done in Night City. Once everyone settles down a little, I plan on expanding. There's a claim to be made to be the first fixer that goes out and handles more than just a city." 
 
     In that moment, her eyes glow blue for a bit, and she looks up. ... "Next time, I got a nice spot. No drinks, but less crowded. Some where no one goes anyway."

    "Yeah dude, totally got rock. Eh, we all got some kinda taste. No biggie."

    "Yeah, those dudes that chop themselves crazy... I dunno, I don't really feel bad tearin their skriz up. You gotta good look, seems you gotta good head." The head-lean earns a grin and a little 'heh' noise. "Certain, yeah. Maybe you can network up in some of the other worlds; lotsa biz waitin to be taken up. Lotta worlds, lotta problems."

    That blue glow seems like a signal for her to shut up and wait. "Yeah? Meeting place or...?" She scratches at her cheek, then rolls over in the air. "Hrnf. Gonna have to find something red and mess it up. I'll catch ya around. Becca has my number."

    She grabs for the door to let herself out and at the first blink, she's just gone.