Fun City

15: Getting Read

Episode Summary

Before Irina will work with the team, she has to get to know them.

Episode Notes

See photos of the tarot deck we used here:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_FuUzcpcM8/

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@funcityventures is the show on twitter
@funcityventures is the show on instagram

@bijanstephen is TK
@randwiches is Viv
@nguersh is Luxe
and @shodell is Lash

@taylordotbiz is the bad boys and
@mikerugnetta is everything else

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Recorded at Fortunate Horse in Greenpoint BK
Produced, edited and sound designed by Mike Rugnetta
Pixlriffs' card is The Star

Our music is by Sam Tyndall - https://pileofsecrets.bandcamp.com
Our art is by Tess Stone - http://notdrunkenough.com/
Our Discord mods are Olivia Gulin, Kestrel and Kit
The voice of Artemis is Molly Templeton

Transcript by Ian Bird

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CC-BY Licensed SFX and music used in this Episode:

https://freesound.org/people/RTFS/sounds/180453/

Episode Transcription

[00:00:00] [ Intro Theme begins ]

 

> Molly Templeton / "Artemis": [ IC ] In the early 21st century, magic reawakened on Earth, and alongside it, a new human race, with orks, elves, trolls, dwarves, and others. Humanity became metahumanity.

 

As technology proliferated and greatly advanced in the awakened world, global megacorporations seized ever more power, becoming de facto states with their own laws, courts, and armed forces. The corporations attempt to control all aspects of modern life. This has led to a vast and complex criminal underground which works for and against corporate interests. The independent career criminals who do what others can't or won't are called Shadowrunners.

 

The year is 2101. Welcome to Fun City.

 

[ Intro Theme concludes ]

 

[ Main Theme begins ]

 

> Mike Rugnetta / G.M.: Previously on Fun City, the team finds themselves in a garden of forking paths. Do they head to Verne and, having proven their mettle by warding Morgantown lawyer Odina Loulax off his case, get the next crumb leading to Evo and their strange experiments? Do they head back to Odina and ask for her help, going behind Verne's back? Or do they visit Yuri, who offered them a new job?

 

Luxe makes a case for Verne and Evo, revealing the existence of his ex-wife, who took a job at Evo a decade ago, and from whom Luxe is now estranged. But the team decides Evo can wait and heads to Yuri's where they meet Hector, a jet-black minotaur, and are paid, partially, handsomely, in advance.

 

The job: head to Highland Island out east and exterminate a bug ghost on a property Yuri has purchased there. To do this, the team must first visit his friend Irina. She will give them a useful talisman, but only once they've proven themselves. We join the team now having just arrived at Irina's place in Grand Central Station; a small business lined with magical totems and artifacts. She stands at the far end of her closet-like shop handling a deck of cards.

 

[ Main Theme concludes ]

 

> Jenn de la Vega / "Vivian Lakewood": [ OOC ] Viv would like to assense really quickly though.

 

> Taylor Moore / "The Bad Boys": Mm, yes, yes.

 

> Mike / G.M.: Please do

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] She got four hits.

 

> Mike / G.M.: As you assense this obviously very magical environment, there are some things that you become aware of that are, one, at first obvious. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Mhm.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ Gentle, Airy Music begins ] This room is dense with magic. There is all kinds of magical goods and foci and totems and everything of every possible persuasion and tradition here. It is sort of like the room lights up the way that a church with prayer candles does, it's just pinpricks of light everywhere. When you focus a little bit more on Irina herself, you can see that she is, in fact, a powerful artificer. And she is also a powerful like, a couple other things? Her aura is very multifaceted and very... trying to think of the right word - very tidy. She appears very much in control. You can also tell that she's half machine.

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Whaaa?

 

> Mike / G.M.: She doesn't have any legs. She's on like a motorized cart. Her body, her biological body, stops at about her waist and below that is kind of like a, just a treaded, motorized cart. [ Music ends ]

 

> Taylor / "The Bad Boys": And that's really unusual, Mike, right? Because like, the more you move away from your bio-body into cybernetics the less you - the more essence you lose, which is like, the engine that propels magic in the body, right?

 

> Mike / G.M.: That is correct, yeah. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Yeah.

 

> Mike / G.M.: She Is basically - her magic is essentially limited to a lower maximum than most people who would be awakened, simply because of the fact that she is half machine.

 

> Bijan Stephen / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Right.

 

> Taylor / "The Bad Boys": But there's nothing in the assense or anything that says like, this is weak magic. Like it's like, thick with - She obviously knows what she's doing, I mean it's - it's unusual.

 

> Mike / G.M.: Yeah, she is - I guess yeah, let me then - let me clarify this. 

 

> Taylor / "The Bad Boys": Yeah. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: Viv, you can tell that she is very skilled -

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Mhm. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: - and that she is very powerful, but powerful up to the point that it is possible to be with having a cybernetic enhancement as half of your body.

 

[00:05:03] > Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Got it.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Right.

 

> Mike / G.M.: So yeah, she is not like breaking any of your understanding of what is possible.

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Okay.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] T.K. sees Viv assensing, because I think he knows by now like what that looks like, and is like, "Huh, maybe I'll just do my version of this." That's a matrix perception test. Three hits.

 

> Mike / G.M.: Yeah. I mean, is there anything specific that you are interested in?

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] No, he's just trying to get the lay of the land because I mean, I don't think - he doesn't know anything about the room, but like he - he can tell there's some weird magic stuff going on because like he's like. "Ah it feels weird in here." But, you know, he's like "Well, maybe there's some computer stuff too." 

 

> Mike / G.M.: Okay. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] We're in the middle of Grand Central Station.

 

> Mike / G.M.: Okay.

 

> Taylor / "The Bad Boys": Mmm.

 

> Mike / G.M.: I'll answer - I'll answer both a general perception and a matrix perception test.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Okay.

 

> Mike / G.M.: How's that?

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Yeah, that sounds good.

 

> Mike / G.M.: This is a - this looks very much like a reputable business. This place looks like a place that people come to buy things and have things appraised and sell stuff - [ Gentle, Airy music begins again ] - and it is organized and presented in such a way that it has a fair amount of, I think, credibility. It does not look like she's trying to hide her magic use. It does not look like she is being sneaky in any way with the presentation of anything. This is not like a chop shop or a pawn shop. This is a true informational, spiritual, and material resource for people that these sorts of objects are important to. 

 

When you do - when you look through AR, and you sort of poke around to try to find anything that is connected to the matrix in this room, you find three things. You find a control panel that is slightly behind where Irina is standing, that is likely for the elevator and the metal cage that you just came out of, and the intercom. You find a cash register that is on the counter closest to the kitchenette, and you find Irina's cart.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Okay, T.K. doesn't say anything.

 

> Mike / G.M.: That's it.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Just like, "Hm." [ Music ends ]

 

> Nick Guercio / "Luxe Scythe": [ IC ] [ Nervously ] Hey there - [ Nick and Jenn laugh ] - we, uhh, we were sent from Yuri.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC as Irina ] Ohh! You are some of Yuri's! Oh gr - he told me you were coming. Okay, come, come in, come in, come in.

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Yeah.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] My name is Irina, it's very nice to meet you. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Hey Irina, so nice to meet you. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Hello. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Hi, Irina, wonderful to meet your acquaintance. [ Jenn laughs ]

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] It's "make your acquaintance". 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Wonderful to meet your acquaintance. [ Shannon laughs ]

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] "Make".

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] What is it? What is it? I'm sorry. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] I just want to make sure we get it right. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] I'm sorry, Luxe? 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] It's ma -

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Did you say something? 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] It's "make your acquaintance". 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Guys, really? 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Are you sure?

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Really, right now?

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Oh, s -

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Sorry.

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] Viv extends her hand through the group - [ Mike and Shannon laugh ] - because she's standing in the back and she goes - [ IC ] Pleasure. Vivian. [ OOC ] And she puts her hand out like she greets all magicians - [ Jenn, Shannon, Mike laugh ] - like just awkwardly leaving her hand out and waiting for the finger tickle. [ Jenn laughs ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Uh-huh okay, hold on one sec. [ Jenn and Shannon laugh ]

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Ominous he's rolling dice for this. [ Jenn laughs ]

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Seriously, Mike?

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Hey, listen. [ Dice rolling ] 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Oh, god.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Your hand is palm down?

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] It's... yeah, palm down .

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Irina does the thing where you like grab someone's hand like, underneath the outstretched fingers -

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Mhmm. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] - and puts - puts her thumb on the top of your hand -

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] [ Uncomfortably ] Mmmmmm. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] - and then just lightly squeezes

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Viv doesn't change her face, but - [ Jenn and Nick laugh ] - says - [ IC ] Pleasure's all mine. [ Nick laughs ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] You can see the complex arrangement of tarot cards in front of her laid out in a circle, with two cards in the middle and two lines of cards on the - on two sides, and as you approach and she puts her hand out to grab yours and to squeeze it, she removes her hand and then passes her arm over the arrangement, and in a flash they're all collected into a very tidy pile. And she says - [IC ] I wish I would have known that - [ OOC ] Oh, now I'm going to - fuck, I'm going to do Yuri, hold on. [ Nick laughs ] This is going to be like a Verne situation -

 

> Taylor / "The Bad Boys": Yeah.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] - where I eventually work my way towards it.

 

> Taylor / "The Bad Boys": Welcome to hell! [ Mike, Nick, Taylor laugh ] Meet you in six weeks! 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Yeah. [ IC ] I wish I would have known; I would have - I would have a warmer welcome for you. Come, come! Don't be shy. My name is Irina. Can I get you maybe a tea or a soykaf? We are gonna have a lot to talk about. We have to meet one another and become fully acquainted and I need something to do with my hands while we chitchat.  [ OOC ] And she sort of wheels away from the cabinet and you can hear the whirring - [ Motorized whirring ] - of the treads on her cart, and she kind of spins around, and it's at this moment you can see that this thing is - it's like, very serious. It kind of looks like a mini tank that she's - [ Nick laughs ] - just sort of planted on top of. But it also has - [ Mike laughs ] - an apron tied around it -

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Mm. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] - with a bunch of little pockets in it and you can see silverware, decks of cards. There is just, you know, pens and some pieces of paper, and she rolls towards the kitchenette.

 

[00:10:05] > Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] I'd love a tea. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] I'll take one as well. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] You know what? I would love a tea.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] No caffeine for me, please. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] I mean - alright! 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Viv is good. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Okay, three teas coming up. So - [ OOC ] As she is pouring hot water into a couple cups, - [ Dishes Clanking Gently, Water Pouring ] - she is looking at all of you and she says - [ IC ] Now. What has Yuri told you? 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Well so far, we uhh, we met with Yuri and he said - he told us his issue with a property he has purchased over at Highland, and he's got a little bit of an exterminator problem? 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Oh, yes. Yeah yeah yeah yeah. The bug demon. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] The bug demon. Oh! Bug demon?

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Yeah, what did Yuri tell you?

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Bug ghost? 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Oh, that's - Oh! Yeah, that sounds much more manageable than bug demon. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Yeah, well, it's some kind of bug thing. And he said you were the person to come talk to. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Mmm, interesting. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Specifically about a talisman that you may be in possession of. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Ah, yes. Yes yes yes. The talisman. Did Yuri mention arrangement that I have with him?

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] Not exactly. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Oh, interesting. Okay.

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] He did say that for your help, you would be given access to our services. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] For my help? 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Yes. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] I would be given access to... 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Our services. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Oh. See, it is, in fact, the other way around.

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Okay.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] It is for your help that you will be given access to my services. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Okay. I think it's kind of the same thing either way. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Okay, great. [ Nick and Bijan laugh ] I am glad we are on the same page. [ OOC ] She pours a bunch of hot water into the cups and she hands out teas to Luxe, Lash, and T.K., and she says - [ IC ] Yuri and I have an arrangement where you know, he is all about - [ Mike laughs ] - he's all about the business and profit and he, you know, he has a lot of money, but he spend a lot of money. I like to make sure that we give back. It is very simple. All we have to do is, Yuri needs something from me that will help you, that's the talisman, I need something from you! This - that's all it is. It's just how we keep balance. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Sure.

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Makes sense.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Okay.

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] I have to be up front, we haven't fully taken this job yet, and in part, it's because we've been given threats from people about taking any job with Yuri. Specifically a many-armed red-colored man, a metahuman -

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Ooh, that sounds very bad.

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] - threatened us. He is working with a group, we were hoping you might know something about, called The Seven. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Hmm. No, this is not anything I've ever heard of. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Hm.

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] [ Under breath ] Damn.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] The - The Seven?

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] The Seven. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] No. I'm unfamiliar. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Okay. The other -

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] The man had - the man was red, and had many arms? 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] And a crown, a floating crown. And slippers!

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Who wears a crown?

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] I - we were thinking the same thing. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] [ Laughing IC ] Yeah, true!

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] It was really imposing on this guy. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] He wasn't wear - It was floating above his head, he wasn't wearing it. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] True, true.

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] True.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] So he was a magic user, is what you're saying. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Yes. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Probably.

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] You could say the crown was wearing him a little bit, you know? [ Shannon and Bijan laugh ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] I mean I - It is - It is no - you know, I can ask around and see if there is anybody that knows who this man is?

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] That would help. The other, well, the other issue for us is that we have been informed that Yuri actually has killed people that he's worked with before.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Yeah. [ Shannon and Nick laugh ]

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] You work with him though! You're not afraid of -of Yuri turning his back on you? 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] I mean - ohh. We are - we are putting the cart a little before the horse -

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Sure. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] - here. I will say this about Yuri, and then we have business that we should talk about.

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] I understand, yes. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] We are - you know. I do not like to gossip with strangers, but you seem like a nice bunch, so. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] That makes sense.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] This little bit. I think Yuri is... kind of like Boogeyman.

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Right.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] He... Or - Or Jersey Devil. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Okay.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] People tell stories about him. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Yeah. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] You know, you do not know how much of the stories are true. Some probably very true, some just a little true, some extremely true. But I think he... he number one thing is that as long as you are his friend -

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Mhm.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] - and as long as you work with him, and not against him -

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Right.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] - he is very good to you. And I work with Yuri many years now, we work on many projects together, and he - he only bastard maybe half a dozen times, and never once kill me! 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Yeah.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] He, you know. [ OOC ] And she like, reaches behind her and presses a button on the control panel, T.K. that you saw, and she says - [ IC ] Excuse me, I just, you know, for privacy. [ OOC ] She pushes the button and you - [ Electronic chirp ] - hear the - you hear another lock go through the door that you just came through - [ Whirring, ka-chunk ] - and you see to the right of that button, the intercom that she talked to you through turn - the light on it turns from a dull blue to just a slowly pulsating orange. [ Electronic bloop ] She says - [ IC ] You know, in business - that in the business that you are in, and that Yuri is in, you people die. Sometimes I think that people choose this work. 

 

[00:15:15] > Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] This is absolutely true.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] So that - No, it is! And I think that sometimes people choose this work knowing this, because it is deep, deep in them, what they want. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Right.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] You can't... If you do not know the whole story, it is tough to pass judgment. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Okay. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Do you know - you - I mean -

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Yeah.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Is there a particular - listen, again we are get - cart before the horse. Also to be honest, I also have not accepted job. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Right. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] You know? 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Sure.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] I do not know you, and I do not work with people that I do not know.

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Makes sense.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] So we must, you know. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Forge ahead. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] We got to figure - figure some things out. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Let's get to know one another, shall we? 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Yes! You - Ah! 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Yeah.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] You are you would like to? 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] I'd love to. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Yes. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Yes. [ Mike and Shannon laugh ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Yeah.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] T.K. is finishing his tea. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] This is great. This is great. I know that it will be difficult for us to know one another the way that you know each other. You and I, we do not have the benefit of going out for drinks every Friday after work for a number of years. So we have to, if you do not mind, we will skip small talk and go right to the essence of the soul. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Oh!

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] This - this is okay?

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Okay. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Yeah. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Great. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Oh, wow. Okay! 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] And as she is saying this, she's reaching underneath the counter that separates you, and you hear the whirring - [ Whirring ] - of the treads on her cart going back and forth. You hear sliding doors opening and closing - [ Doors Sliding ] - underneath the back side of the metal cases. She's bringing out multiple felt mats, and she's putting them out along the top of the counter that you're standing at. And after she does this, she carefully goes between each of the mats, she reaches into some of the pockets that are on her cart and, you know, you notice that the cart has - it's got all of these LED readouts on it, it's got a bunch of touch screens on it, there's a lot of dials and it's just - it's a very - it's a very impressive piece of technology. 

 

And you're watching her pull, out of the pockets that are tied around it, all of these tiny stones of varying colors: glittering green, bright gold, gold interleaved with dark black and gray. And on each of the mats that she's laid out - she's laid out four of them - she makes shapes with the stones. She makes a circle on one, she makes a diamond on another, she makes a square, she makes an oval. She says - [ IC ] Please! Please, each of you take a spot in... just - here.

 

[ OOC ] And she, you know, points at one for Luxe to stand in front of, guides Lash over to one, guides Viv over to one, and guides T.K. over to one. And she says - [ IC ] We do just a little ceremony, it will be - it will be quick. This way, I get to know you, I get to learn, we show each other, and we learn who we are. And then after that, I promise, you ask as many questions of Irina as you would like. I am open book once we know one another, but, you know. And I will not lie, I promise. I'm very bad liar. I - you know, will be very obvious if I am not telling the truth. So I promise, you know - 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] [ Laughing IC ] Me too. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Yeah, I can tell. [ Shannon laughs IC, Nick laughs ] This one, I feel like we have a lot in common! 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] [ Laughing IC ] Yeah. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] And she says - [ IC ] Okay, everybody is - everybody is ready. You - yeah. What I ask is just, you relax. Everybody feels okay? 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] Mhmm.

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Yeah.

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Yeah.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] You feel safe?

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Yes. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Sure.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Okay. Just try to clear the mind and I think we will both learn a lot. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Viv lets out a - [ Exaggerated Exhale ] [ Shannon and Mike laugh ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Nice. She puts a hand underneath the - the counter and you hear a little click and the lights just dim slightly. [ Low, Mysterious Music begins ]

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Hmm. How many buttons you got down there? 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Oh it's a lot. It's -

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] T.K. -

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] - and they all need to - yes. Yeah.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] T.K. just nods approvingly. [ Mike and Shannon laugh ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] There's - yeah there have been no surprise buttons up to this point. She has not - she has not pushed anything that you did not already know existed. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] T.K. loves a button, man! 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] You see Irina reach into her - one of the pockets that's on her cart and she pulls out a tarot deck that's different from the one that you saw her using at the beginning of your meeting, and she begins to shuffle it. [ Cards Shuffling ] And you can see as she pulls it out of her pocket that the edges are worn and bent. She's standing in front of you, Luxe. Some of the cards are a little creased and the art is really faded. It's been put through its paces. She's used it a lot, this is a very well-worn object. And she places the deck in front of you, in the ring of stones that she placed on the mat, and she closes her eyes and passes her right hand over the deck and mumbles some words - you can't really tell what it is. And she picks up the deck and, letting it lay flat in her right hand, she picks the top card with her left hand, she places it carefully in the center of the ring. [ Low, Mysterious Music ends ]

 

Nick, could you describe the card that I have just drawn, that you are looking at. 

 

[00:20:35] > Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] The card before me is - [ Increasing Synth Note ] - The Magician. It has a Rom - Roman numeral one at the top of the card. It is a - looks like a man, wearing a robe of stars, in front of a stump. [ Magician Theme begins, it is Cheerful, Synthy ] The stump has a chalice, a dagger, and some dice upon it. The Magician is holding a branch of a tree, has twigs in his hair, and a bird with several eyes - well, several birds with several eyes - are above his right shoulder. But The Magician is also tattooed. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] As she pulls this card, she gets a little like, surprised look on her face and she goes - [ IC ] Oh! Very fun! The - [ Shannon, Nick, Jenn, Mike laugh ] - The only one of you who is not awakened! 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Uhhh....

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] [ Nervous laughter, Fake coughing ]

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] And Viv looks at T.K. and - and Lash like, "Oh." 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] T.K. looks at Lash like - [ Magician Theme ends ]

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] [ Still coughing ] Lash is - touches her - Last touches her comm-link like "Ah getting a message!" [ All laugh ]

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] A message from where? 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] - gets The Magician! Interesting. How does this make you feel? 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] The card? [ Jenn, Taylor, Mike laugh ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] I don't know, baby, you tell me.

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Well, there's two things at play. I could - it's either the - only non magic-user - being the only non magic-user can make me feel one way and the card can make me feel another. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] I would like you to answer whatever question you think I asked. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Hm. I am actually really grateful to not be having to use magic. It seems very complicated. Sometimes it hurts them - [ Nick, Shannon, Mike laugh ] - when they - when they use it pretty badly. So, I am actually happy to not have to be involved in these arts that I don't understand. The card it -

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Oh, oh -

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] The card itself seems really cool. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Oh, but, sorry, what did you say your name was again? 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Luxe. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] My friend, you - you are casting spells all the time. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Mm. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Your magic is just of a very different sort, it would seem. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Huh!

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] With words, Luxe. [ Jenn laughs ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] You are a skilled - The card tells me you are a skilled... diplomat? Is that? 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Yeah. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] This is how you - this is how you change the operation of the world. This is how you bend the world of man to - to your needs. I mean, this is what your friends do, this is also what you do? 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Yeah, I can see that. [ OOC ] The Magician also has four eyes, two of them are closed and two of them are open.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] I think you are - where I grew up, you are maybe what we would call a bullshitter. [ Nick laughs ] Yeah? Is this right? 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] [ Laughing ] Yeah, I've been called that before. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] But it is - you say your friends... you say your friends get hurt by what they do. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Yeah. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] You - is this not also true of you? I see that your confidence sometimes dominates.

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Yeah, yeah.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] That it... it erases. It erases possibilities?

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Sure. I could see that, yeah. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] It is perhaps that you... are you afraid? Of what you do not know? Or of - [ OOC ] And she picks up the - she picks up the card, kind of turns it in her hands. [ IC ] Is it of not knowing?

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Hm. [ Long pause ] [ OOC ] And Luxe just stares at the card.

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Viv lives - leans over to Lash - [ IC ] [ Half-whispered ] Do you think she hit a nerve? [ Mike and Taylor laugh ]

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] [ Half-whispered ] She read him like a book, I can't wait for me! [ Shannon and Mike laugh ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Slightly unfair that your DM is also a fortune teller, but - [ Shannon and Bijan laugh ] - the universe must speak through someone. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Jesus. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] So amazing. [ Jenn laughs ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] She lingers with Luxe for a moment, waiting for him to say something, but if he says nothing, she under - I mean, you know, she's done this plenty of times. She moves on. Nick - Nick the person is nodding, so. [ All laugh ] 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Hell yeah.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Mike the person will move on. [ Nick laughs ]

 

> Taylor / "The Bad Boys": Jeez, this is - this is more terrifying than Jast. [ All laugh ]

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] It is - It is! Absolutely it is, it's confrontation! 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] At least -

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Yeah.

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Yeah.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] She doesn't have a dog, but she has that fucking deck. [ Mike, Jenn, Shannon laugh ]

 

[00:25:03] > Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] She wheels over to Lash, who's next in line, and she repeats the same hand motions with the deck, putting it in the center of the ring of jewels and stones. She picks it up, she puts it in her left hand and produces a card. But this time the whole time she's doing it, she doesn't close her eyes. She just looks directly at you. She looks at you the whole time and she has this like, little smile on her face. Like you and her are sharing a fun secret -

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Mhmm.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] - and like this is a fun game that you're playing and like, "Don't worry about these other people."

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Mhmm.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Like, "It's whatever like, this like - it's us now." 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Yeah, Lash has a huge smile on her face the whole time. [ Shannon and Nick laugh ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] And when she - she holds the deck again in her right hand - [ Card Theme begins, it is Fast, Quietly Percussive, Twinkly ] - produces a card with her left hand, and when she puts it down, she raises her eyebrows slightly, as if like, in like slight surprise? Like "Ooh, this is fun."

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Mhmm.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] It's - it's kind of like the face that someone would make when they win -

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Mm. [ Nick laughs ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] - when they win five dollars on a scratch ticket. It's like "Ooh!" 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] "Ooh!" [ Nick laughs ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] "Alright, sure!" 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] "I beat the system!" [ Shannon and Nick laugh ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Yeah! Shannon, if you could please describe your card. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Okay. Ooh. [ Shannon laughs ] So, the card in front of me is Death. It has the Roman numerals... 13? [ Shannon laughs ]

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] Yes.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] That is 13. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Yeah, oh okay. And it has a skeleton - looks like a skeleton person, but there's two heads coming out of the skeleton. One looks like maybe it's a horse, one a human skull, and they are holding a scythe. The scythe has two symbols on it: one an eye, another a - I would call a shooting star, maybe? The skeleton looks like maybe it has - the only organ in it is like near the stomach. It looks like maybe there's a stomach or something. Or it's fire. [ Shannon laughs ] My reading of these symbols. [ Mike laughs ] There's also a severed head on the right side, or on the left side of the skeleton, and there's a snake. Looks like maybe there's the edge of another severed - severed head on the other side. There's a dragonfly. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Should say there's a lot going on in all of these cards. [ Nick laughs ]

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Yeah. There's lots of sunshine in the background. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] So to that point, Irina taps the card after she draws it, and it is drawn in the upright position.

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Yes.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Irina taps the card and she says -[ Death Theme ends ] [ IC ] This... many people when they get this card, they become very scared, but this is not bad news. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Mm.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] You are - this is a big change. You are undergoing some kind of big transition. True? 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Yeah, I mean, every day. [ Shannon laughs ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] I mean, how - yeah. How - you will - you will have to excuse me. I am - I don't know your people very well, but - 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Yeah.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] - you know, you are an ork. How old are you? 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Um, uhh, I'm 19. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] [ Loudly ] Oh! [ Normal volume ] Everything for you is change. [ Nick laughs ]

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Yeah, I'm 19. [ Shannon laughs ] But you know, that's - that's getting up there for an ork. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Is that - do you... are you afraid of death? 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] No, I'm not afraid of death. Me? No. I'm not afraid of death. I just - I just know it's happening soon, so. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] You are afraid of failure. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Yeah, I'm afraid of not doing anything. I guess. [ Long pause ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] She's just looking at you. Waiting for you to say something else. [ Long pause ] She's like, locked eyes with you. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Lash looks down, looks up again, notices that she's still staring at her. [ Nick, Mike, Bijan, Jenn laugh ] And goes - [ IC ] But that's not going to happen. I'm doing big things with my life. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] I can tell that you have made a big decision, or you are - you stand in front of a big decision? There's something you're not sure about. Something... something that you are - you are worried about where it will lead you, and you are worried about not being able to do what you feel you must before you are through. Is it to have come here? 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] [ Laughing ] [ Quietly ] Sounds like Shannon the person is confused.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Then talk to me as Shannon. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Oh, uhhh - 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Just in Lash's voice. [ Shannon and Nick laugh ]

 

> Taylor / "The Bad Boys": If you can stretch that far. [ Taylor, Shannon, Mike laugh ] 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Oh, yeah yeah, voices are the same. [ IC ] I mean... 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] You feel - you feel rushed, it seems, to make a decision because you feel the end is rushing towards you. 

 

[00:30:02] > Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Yeah. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] And you are always changing what it is that you are - you are going this way and that you are... 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Yeah, I mean, listen, I - I - sometimes I look at Luxe and I see how he has an opinion and he has a drive and he knows what he's doing and why he's doing it. I look at Viv, she knows what she's doing and what she - what she's guided by. I don't know. Sometimes I feel like I trust one person, then I trust the other. I just wish I knew what exactly I was - what's right and what's wrong. But, in the meantime, I just trust these guys. They seem like they know what's going on. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] I think you should know, and I think your friends should know, that you are very brave to trust this quickly, and to be decisive in that trust. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] [ Quietly ] Thanks.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] You should know that the surest way to death is stillness. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Yeah. I won't be still, that's for sure.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] She winks at you. [ Mike and Jenn laugh ] [ IC ] I know. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Lash winks back. [ Mike laughs ] But she kind of closes the other eye too. [ All laugh ] 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] That is such a great little detail!

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Perfectly Lash. [ Shannon laughs ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] So, when Irina gets to Viv, she places the - the deck in the circle of gems between you, and then puts her hands out -

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Mhmm.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] - palms up, and waits for Viv to take them.

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Yeah.Viv inhales very slowly as if in meditation and puts her hands on Irina's. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] And she asks - [ IC ] You answer to the sea, right? 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] I do.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] She closes her eyes and she tilts her chin up slightly and she says - [ IC ] Oh most forceful keeper of the depth - [ Gently, Airy Music begins ] - She who shapes the winds, on behalf of the Oracle, your humble servant seeks divine permission to divine this, your ward, your charge. Do you grant it? [ OOC ] You can feel the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, and you think you can hear like a distant rush of water. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Yes. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Sort of sounds like there's a rainstorm coming overhead, but like -

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Like we have seashells on our ears and there aren't any. [ Jenn and Nick laugh ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Sure, yeah. And there's no voice, your mentor spirit does not speak, but there is a pervasive kind of tension that you feel. No one else in the room feels it, no one else in the room hears anything. [ Music becomes a mid-high tone, Wind Blowing ] You just - you hear Irina mumble some things and then her and Viv are still for a couple moments. But then - [ Fingers Snapping ] - in an instant, the tension's gone, the sound is gone. [ Music ends ] When you look down, a card has already been turned over, and Irina has not once let go of your hands. Could you describe the card in front of you? 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] [ Judgement Theme plays, it is Serious, Deep, Slow ] So Jenn is going to be describing this, but Viv is look - is - has her eyes closed and it's still holding hands. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Yes. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] It says it's Judgement. It's got 20 at the top and it's a red background with shooting stars. There's four swans surrounding a blindfolded person, and each swan has eyeballs on the wings? The person is holding a bell and their arm is on fire. I think they're coming from behind the sun, the - they're coming from the sky, I think that's what it is. I'm sorry, I thought there were four birds, it's two birds on their - on each shoulder, and then another bird, but bird is blindfolded. There are clouds in front of this person. There are also two four-eyed raccoons below them - [ Mike laughs ] - and a rabbit that has four eyes and it's on fire. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Irina lets go of your hands and lowers her chin and opens her eyes, and she looks at the card, she looks at Judgement, and she goes - [ IC ] Oh. Unlike these two, you are... very sure of yourself.

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] Indeed. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] It seems here you value calm. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] I do. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] You are cursed with impatience though. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] Yes. [ All laugh ] [ OOC ] And her hands tighten a little bit.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] You have waited so long, so much during such a long life. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] And you can see Viv is relaxing into the words because it's true. [ Jenn laughs ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] You are eager to get on with... maybe you do not know. [ Pause ]

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] Everything. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Oh, but everything is also nothing. [ Long Pause ] [ Judgement Theme ends ]

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] [ Shuddering Sounds ] She's trying to calm down, but she can tell her blood pressure is rising. [ Jenn laughs ]

 

> Taylor / "The Bad Boys": She got you. I saw that hit land. [ Taylor and Jenn laugh ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Mm. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] No soak rolls here. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] This explains the distance that you have.

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] Distance? 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] You struggle, I think, with being powerful enough to lead and yet only knowing how to follow. [ Long Pause ]

 

[00:35:10] > Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] I choose not to lead.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] It is clear that it is a choice. [ Long Pause ] She's doing the same thing to you that she did to Lash. She's waiting for you to say something. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] [ Grumbles ]I appreciate that you asked mother for permission. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] You are clearly a good disciple. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] I do what I can to follow.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] It is clear also that you follow your friends.

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] I don't have many. [ Jenn laughs ] [ OOC ] And then Viv - all that Viv is thinking about is the dart that landed on her just last week. [ Jenn, Mike, Nick, Shannon laugh ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Not - not knowing this thought, Irina says - [ IC ] You know that they need you. Do you know that you need them?

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] [ Grumbling ] Hmm, the thought hadn't crossed my mind.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Judging from what I have - [ OOC ] And she like leans in, and she gets a little quiet and she's like - [ IC ] [ Nearly whispered ] Judging from what I've seen so far, they need you a lot. [ Shannon and Jenn laugh ]

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] And then Viv just nods, cracking a tiny smile. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] [ Whispered ] That means, you probably need them... more.

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] Oh, alright! [ Nick, Shannon, Mike laugh ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] She - She gives you - she gives you a like, a very wry smile like, kind of like a gotcha - [ Nick laughs ] - but between friends, you know, there's no - there's no implied judgement. It's very good-natured. And as she leans back across the counter to stand more upright above her cart, she takes a moment and she passes her hand again over the deck, and the card that was flipped over, by who knows what ethereal force, just sort of disappears. You don't know what happened to it. Did it get folded back into the deck? Is it somewhere else? It's gone now. And she takes a small moment and she places her left hand in front of her right hand in front of her heart, and she says a couple words that you can't hear, and she picks the deck up and she moves on to T.K. [ Jenn laughs ]

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Viv shakes her hair a little bit and some sand falls to the ground. She's like [ Grumbles ] [ Shannon and Jenn laugh ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] In front of T.K., she is very businesslike. It's - all of her emotions have become very crisp and very fast. She repeats the now familiar gesture. She places - places the deck in the ring, places her hand over it, picks it up, puts it in her right hand, and produces a card. And when she does produce this card, she inhales, sharply. Not dramatically, not loud enough that everyone hears it, this isn't a gasp, just enough that only T.K. hears it. Bijan, could you describe the card that I have just handed you. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] [ Tower Theme begins, it is Severe, Dramatic, Low ] It's The Tower. So it's six - the number 16. It is a - this is - there's a lot going on in this. There is - the main figure of this is a Tower that's on fire and broken in half. It looks like it's being broken - or sorry, The Tower has eyes on every brick and a bunch of stars in the middle where a window would be. And it is clearly on fire and is clearly being destroyed by an external force that has tiger-like claws. And there are what looks like little volcanoes, but I think they're supposed to be people, that have eyes on them, that have - yeah, that have flames coming out of their tops. Underneath The Tower, there's a little skeleton man that's buried in the ground, and there is, beside him, also buried, what looks like an eyeball. It's a lot going on. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] She looks at you with this look of like... it's hard to tell. It's like, kind of like pity? 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] [ Bijan laughs ] Great. [ Nick laughs ] 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] And she says - [ IC ] I will be honest; The Tower means more of what most people take the Death card to mean. Do you feel as though you are crumbling, like The Tower?

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Sometimes. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Do you feel as though you are - I mean, The Tower is often found in a wasteland. Are you in a wasteland? 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Right now? Yeah. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] [ Tower Theme ends ] It feels as though you have left behind something. You have some past that you escape. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Sure. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] I mean that much is clear, I guess, even from -

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] I mean -

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] - looking at you. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Shadow -

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] She points at your - your like collar is open a little bit, and she points at some of your tattoos that are sticking out, and she can see the - you know like, when tattoos get old, the edges kind of get a little faded? 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Mhm, mhm.

 

[00:40:07] > Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Yeah. [ IC ] Where are these from?

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Uh...Ancient history. It's a long time ago. Back... maybe at least 15 years? 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] It feels like you attempt to leave the wasteland, but you... you are stuck there. It... it follows you. Maybe you do leave, but it expands beneath your feet. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] T.K. doesn't reply.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Like the tattoos, you will run from it, but it is on you. Is the wasteland your city? Is it your work? 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Might be the work. I mean, at least it was until I met these guys.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] I do not often give advice. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] I don't often take it. [ Nick laughs ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] So we are in a similar boat. It would be good for you to be careful. You would be right, and brave, to ask for help when you need it. Do you understand?

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] T.K. nods. [ Long pause ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] She looks at you for a little while. She wheels back to the control panel. [ Treads Whirring ] She very unceremoniously turns on the lights. [ Electronic Chirp ]

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Ah!

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Viv is jarred by this, and she's like - [ IC ] Oah! [ Nick and Shannon laugh ]

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Oh!

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] [ Airy, Mysterious Music begins ]So, looking at your cards: no Lovers, no Chariots, a lack of Strength - though, I'm sure that you have it in spades, in other ways. [ Jenn clears throat, laughs ] Not even a Hermit! So, there is a lack of conviction that is missing. It's as if you are all born yesterday. It's as if you are low level characters in an RPG. [ All laugh ] 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Thanks, Mike.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] I'm going to cut that part out. [ Nick laughs ]

 

> Taylor / "The Bad Boys": I don't know - [ Mike laughs ] - in a hundred years, you know, leveling up has become such a - 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] [ Laughing ] Yeah.

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Yeah.

 

> Taylor / "The Bad Boys": - like, everyone knows what that means. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Yeah, sure.

 

> Taylor / "The Bad Boys": So, maybe you know. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Right. [ IC ] Perhaps we can find a job for you that gives you some purpose. But first, before I go and consult my grimoire, promise is a promise. You ask me any questions, I will answer them if I have answers.

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Viv can I see the rings? 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] And Viv nods and produces them from her - her pocket. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] Luxe hands the rings over and ask - [ IC ] What can you tell us about these rings? 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] She puts down - she reaches down - she doesn't take them from your hand.

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] Okay.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] She reaches down underneath her case where she got all the felt mats. She pulls out another felt mat and she gestures for you to place them down. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] Luxe places them down. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Okey-dokey. Hold on one sec. [ Music ends ]

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Good call. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Yeah, this is like the one place that we - [ Bijan laughs ]

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Yeah,I was more going to be like, "What's your favorite sport?" [ Shannon, Jenn, Mike laugh ] 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Viv, as she handed the rings over, it was kind of like holding kettlebells.

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Mm.

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] And they're - they're very small objects, but she could feel the weight. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Irina reaches into a pocket that's on her cart and she produces a jeweler's loupe that she places in front of her eye. [ Mysterious, More Serious Music begins ] And she - you can tell she's like keeping a safe distance from these things. She's not getting right up in them, she's kind of hovering over them a little bit, and she looks right past Luxe and looks at Viv who's the one that produced them, and she said - [ IC ] Where did you get these? 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] [ Hesitantly ] From... 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] She's - she's - she's - let me clarify because -

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Mhmm.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] - the tone of that, I think, is something that's unclear. She's not accusatory. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Yeah. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] She's interested. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] These were bound to a mage that had perished in battle.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] These are very powerful. These are not... it is not good to have these. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] I could feel that. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] This one - [ OOC ] And she picks up a - she reaches into her pocket and pulls out a set of long tweezers like, you know, foot-long tweezers, and she picks it up - [ Music ends ] - you know, as though she's lifting it with a 10-foot pole, and she - it's the silver one and she says - [ IC ] This is a level two masking focus. You know what this is for. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] Mhmm.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] And she looks at the rest of you and she's like - [ IC ] We have a way for people to see us in the astral plane, it has a shape and this one, it make the shape harder to see.

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Mm.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] She puts it back down and she says - [ IC ] This, very old. I - hard to tell. You would have to send it to a lab but... Mmm. It is maybe Celtic? Maybe Norse? I don't know, but it comes from somewhere in that region. It is very old, very European. It has a very - it has a baroque energy to it. Very sloppy, very wild. [ OOC ] Jenn. 

 

[00:45:14] > Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Mhmm?

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] For you. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Mhmm.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] You should know that... yeah, this is a - this is a masking focus, level two, like she said. The practical effects of that is that when resisting someone else's assensing test, you can add the force of this focus to your dice pool. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Mhm.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] She puts the ring back down and she very slowly puts the tongs - the tweezers back into her pocket as she's looking at the red one, and she doesn't even pick that one up. And she says - [ IC ] How long have you had this? 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] Hmm, not even a week. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Have you put it on? 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] No. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Okay. Good. [ OOC ] She like, you can see - you didn't realize that her shoulders were up, but you can see her kind of like - [ Jenn laughs ] - relax a little bit. She says - [ IC ] [ Low Music w/ Periodic High Tones, Static, begins ] This... I do not know where this is from but, this is bad. This is a power foci, level two. This - [ OOC ] She looks at the rest of you and is like - [ IC ] If you are a magician, this make you more of one. This make you powerful. This is black magic ring. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] I thought so.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] This ring, this is imbued with the power of the Dark King. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] Wha? [ Jenn laughs ] 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Who's the Dark King? 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Dark King is a mentor spirit who traffics in secrets. His wards, his charges call upon him to give them power, and when they pay their alms, he takes only alms of secrets of the living. It is the only thing he is interested in. Is god of blackmail, of shame. [ Music ends ] He and his - his f - well, let me guess, the person who wore this, he died terrible. Was - was awful. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] It wasn't that - Okay - It was -

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] [ All talking over each other ] It was bad. It was bad. It was really bad.

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] It was bad. It was very bad. He was microwaved.

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] It was bad.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] It was bad, it was bad, yeah. We sm - we all smelled it. We smelled it. [ Crosstalk stops ]

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] And Viv is looking at the ceiling like -

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Have you ever - you ever see -

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] I - I won't say it was me.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] It is - it is very common for the followers of the Dark King. He - he knows, right? Secrets you hold, you don't willingly give a secret, so a charge, a ward of the Black King, he knows they have secrets that - that they have not told him. And so, he, unlike most other mentor, he rush them to death. He want them to die, because when they die, they go to his plane and he torture them - torture their souls, forever, until they give their secrets and it is then that they die. They die twice. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Hm.

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Viv feels a little bad now. [ Jenn laughs ] [ High-pitched ] Just a little - tiny - tiny bit bad. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] You should know that you wear this ring, it make you - makes you like the Mad King. You - you feel very powerful, makes you brash, makes you very confident. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] Does it make you lose weight? [ Shannon laughs ] [ OOC ] Because she's thinking about Cairn and what he looked like. [ Jenn laughs ] 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] No. It - It - It makes - it gives you a singular foc - You become obsessed? Maybe that is why - [ OOC ] I mean, she doesn't know what you're thinking so - [ IC ] It gives you a sense of invincibility, of nobility, like you are chosen, like you are better than everyone, and it gives you a kind of entitlement - that what other people have is yours. And it fades when you take it off, but it fades very slowly. This is - this - you should destroy this. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] We shall.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] I can destroy this for you, if you would like. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] You think the sea might want it? 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] No, I would not like to - [ Jenn laughs ] - I would not like to burden my mother with this. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] No - no - The Dark King's - [ OOC ] Do you ask - actually ask this out loud? Yeah.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Yeah, yeah. Cause I mean he's think - T.K.'s thinking about the gun and how it just disappeared. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Mm. No, the other mentors will not be interested in artifacts of the Dark King. It's - they would just as soon see it destroyed. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] Mother would spit it back out. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Can you make anything... powerful but not evil with it? 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] No, it is too... It is too dangerous. It would just be destroyed. I mean, I - it would not work for you. I mean, you would put it on, you would probably feel quite bad. I could b - I mean, I would not bond this to you, but if you would like it bonded, I know people who will do this work, but I would highly recommend against it. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] It is like Lash wearing her comm-link.

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] What? [ Nick and Mike laugh ] This thing? 

 

[00:50:00] > Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] That's what that feels like, when it's on. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Irina, I gotta tell you, I'm a technomancer. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] I know, darling. [ Nick laughs ]

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] [ Sighs ] Everyone knows! [ Nick and Bijan laugh ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] You put on the comm-link, I can see your eyes cross. [ All laugh ]

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] What? [ OOC ] Lash bumps into the case. [ IC ] What? [ Jenn laughs ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] I will take this from you, but I will only at your - with your permission. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] Oh, yes, of course. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] She reaches underneath the case again and pulls out a thick rubber glove - [ Mike, Jenn, Nick laugh ] - and then - and then pulls out an even longer set of tongs and grabs the red ring. And you can hear it - [ High-Pitched Ringing ] - as she's moving it around the room, you can hear this like, ringing, whining sound. It's like, you know when you used to leave a CRT television on -

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Oh.

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Mmm.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] - in another room. It felt like there was someone there, even though - it's like that very high-pitched noise. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] And Viv is surprised by the sound of whispers starting to fill her head. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] And she goes, and she brings it over to the opposite side of the room from the kitchenette and reaches underneath one of the shelves and pulls out a lead box. And she opens the lead box, and you can hear it clink in there - [ Metallic Clink ] - with another couple pieces of jewelry, and she closes it and puts it back, and she says - [ IC ] These will go to be destroyed next week. So, I will -

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Oh my god. [ Jenn laughs ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] - I will take care of this. 

 

> Taylor / "The Bad Boys": She's gotta wait for the ring guy to come around? Yeah. [ Taylor and Nick laugh ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Yeah.

 

> Taylor / "The Bad Boys": Yeah.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Listen, man. It's -

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] Yeah, they're gonna go to Mount Doom. [ Mike, Shannon, Jenn laugh ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Yeah, yeah.

 

> Taylor / "The Bad Boys": So pickup's gonna be bi-weekly...[ Shannon, Nick, Mike laugh ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] It's expensive. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] They're sharps.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Listen, the hazard pay for that job is ridiculous. [ Nick and Shannon laugh ] That's just a whole other side story. [ Mike laughs ]

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] I would like to hear that! [ All laugh ] 

 

> Taylor / "The Bad Boys": Yeah.

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Irina, would - would it surprise you or disturb you to know that that was a police officer's? 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] She gives - [ Mike laughs ] - she gives you a look and she's like - [ IC ] Yeah, if you are asking if I have met anyone from the NYPD? 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Oh. So it's not uncommon? 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Hm. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] What about the other ring? Can she use that? 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Yeah, if you would like me to bond this to you... well, let's talk about work. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Yes. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] Yes. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Sure, yes yes yes. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] Work first.

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Yes, yes. Work first.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Let me go - now knowing who you are like - if you have any more questions for me, I will answer them. We got so sidetracked by ring. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Oh, right, yes. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] What do you want to know? 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Did you guys have any questions?

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] What do you want to know about Irina, Irina's world? I will tell you. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Um. Uhh. Irina why, um. [ OOC ] [ Shannon laughs ] I want to ask about her - her cyber bottom, but I don't - [ All laugh ] - want to be rude.

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] That's so cute! [ Jenn laughs ]

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] Luxe is giving you a look with his eyes saying "Don't - don't ask about - too late." 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] T.K.'s like - T.K.'s like "Nnnn".  [ Nick laughs ]

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Uhhhh...

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] What you say - you say you're -

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] If anyone in the group was going to ask that question -

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Yeah.

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] - it was going to be Lash. [ Jenn laughs ]

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] T.K. was like "Mm -

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] You say - You say your name was Lash? Lash?

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Mhm, mm!

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] I see - I can tell - I can see you looking. It's okay, you can ask. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] What? [ Jenn and Shannon laugh ] Uh, I was just, uhhhh, wondering when... [ Jenn laughs ]

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] I hope you all can imagine Shannon in real-life, squirming - [ Nick laughs ] - in her seat.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] She's arranging her dice very carefully. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Yeah. [ IC ] You know. Your - I'm - I love... that. [ Bijan and Jenn laugh ] 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] She's not giving you any - [ Shannon laughs ] - She's just waiting for you to put it together. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] When did you, umm... get your cyber limbs? 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] I've been like this for... [ OOC ] She counts on her fingers. [ IC ] 25 years? 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Wow. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] You would like to know how? It's a very unfun -

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Yeah.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] It's a very uninteresting story. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Oh. Uninteresting? 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Mm.

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Mm. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] I was hit by a car. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Oh... 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Yeah - 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] They - it would - this - that's... you know, that rarely happens now. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] I mean, and this is one of the reasons that I - my office is by Grand Central: no - no cars allowed nearby. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Mmm.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] I... Yeah. It - I had - I had, like you - [ OOC ] And she points at T.K. - [ IC ] Cyber legs, but I'm... I don't know. This is a new model they put together, I saw it, I figure I give it a try. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Tank treads, huh? 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] I like it so far! Very, you know - goes upstairs. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] I got legs on my Bentley. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Whoo. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] It's pretty cool. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Creepy. [ Shannon, Nick, Mike laugh ]

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] I think it's cool. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Well, thank you for sharing that with me. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Mm. It - I appreciate your honesty. Thank you for asking. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] I got -

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] You would be su - So many people, they just stare that I wish they would just say something. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] I got these legs from years at the gym. [ Mike and Nick laugh ] 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Anything else? 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] Irina, who is it that you worship? 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Oh. The Oracle, who else? You have seen the tarot cards. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] Yes, I'm just unfamiliar. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Mm. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] Because I'm so buried in what I worship. Always trying to understand. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] I will give you some literature. [ Mike laughs ]

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] And Vi - Viv is like "Ooh, old-school, yay!" [ Mike, Shannon, Bijan laugh ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] And she does, she reaches behind the cash register and you can see that there's several like, actual paper printouts, like xeroxed copies of zines, and she hands you one and it says on the front, in like hand-drawn block letters, "So You Would Like to Learn About The Oracle". [ Shannon laughs ]

 

[00:55:03] > Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Viv savors the crinkle of paper in her hand. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] And yeah, if you flip through it you would see that there is - it's a description of who The Oracle is as a spirit, what her mission is, what sorts of things she's - expects of her followers. It's got a card-by-card description of the tarot deck that Irina specifically uses, but indicates that there are many many other ways of divination, points to other pieces of literature about the I Ching, about geomancy, about all kinds of stuff. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] Cool. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] Luxe looks at Irina and says - [ IC ] Say the first card that comes to your mind... right... now.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Knave of Cups. [ Jenn laughs ]

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] And he pulls a card from the top of the deck and puts it down. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] As you go and reach for her deck, she swats your hand. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Ow! [ Jenn, Mike, Bijan laugh ] [ OOC ] He doesn't see the card. [ IC ] I just wanted to see. [ Jenn, Bijan, Nick, Mike laugh ] Did anybody else have any other questions? 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Yeah, Irina, how old are you? [ Mike laughs ]

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] Why are you asking a woman how old she is? 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Tank treads. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] 49. [ OOC ] One thing that you could -

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] She just - I mean I just get the sense that she seems sort of ageless. [ Mike laughs ]

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Mhmm.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] She - She's like -

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] The - You guys have already talked about Yuri. If you have any other questions about Yuri, she could try to answer them. I'm trying to think of other ways that you can - I mean, she's not going anywhere. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Yeah.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] You could probably ask her questions again. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Also - Yeah T.K. asks - [ IC ] So, I - what do you know about the bug? 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] So. I would love to answer this question, but we have strict rule. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Mm.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] First, we talk about work you do for m -

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Mhmm.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] - then we talk about work we all do for Yuri. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Okay. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Okay.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] So what do you need from us? 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Okay. So, let me go consult the grimoire and I will see, you know, based upon your cards, maybe what we can do that is good, that is helpful, and that will give you some good experiences because we all would like to learn and grow together, yeah? 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Yeah 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Yes.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Sure.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Great. [ OOC ] She goes and she walks - [ Treads whirring ] - over to a filing cabinet - [ Cabinet Doors Opening, Closing ] - that's in the kitchenette and she pulls out her quote unquote "grimoire" - [ Thud, Pages Turning ] - which is a giant, bright white, three-ring binder. [ Mike and Shannon laugh ]

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Oh my gosh. [ Jenn laughs ]

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] And it's actual paper? 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] And it's actual paper.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] T.K.'s like "Ahh, yeah."

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Yeah.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] And she plops it down and she starts flipping through it, and you can see, if you lean over the edge of the counter, that it's all of these handwritten forms -

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Mm.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] - and notes that are shoved into plastic sleeves and she's slowly going around - like going through and flipping. You get the very quick sense that this is going to take a few minutes. [ Taylor laughs ] And so this is your opportunity to look around the shop if you'd like. 

 

> Taylor / "The Bad Boys": Hm!

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] Hm.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] If anyone wants - does anyone want to look around - do you want to look around the shop? 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Yeah!

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Yes.

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] I do. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Yeah.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Okay. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] I think T.K.'s just going to wander and see like, what grabs his attention. So he's just trying to find some - like he's just looking and I think he's maybe idly looking for something he's drawn to. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Could you, Bijan -

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Mm.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] - give me three words - three adjectives that indicate the kind of thing likely to be in this shop that T.K. would be attracted to. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Um...

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] So I'm looking for things like -

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Yeah. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] - you know "shiny", "rare", whatever. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] I think - I think probably like "rare", "dull-colored", and also like, maybe like, a little "fiery".

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Could you roll three d6s, please? 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Oh, yeah. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] And tell me which one is "rare", which one is "dull", and which one is "fire". [ Nick laughs ] 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] I don't know man. The - I'm just like - I think he's looking for like a cool brown rock. He's like - [ Nick and Bijan laugh ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Yeah, I'm gonna - Yeah. Yeah yeah yeah. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] That's a 1, a 3, and a 4.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Yeah. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] So I'm gonna let you just decide. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] I'm just going to do it in order of the ones - I'm just gonna do it in the order of the ones you told me. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Cool cool cool.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] So 1 - 1: "rare", 3: "dull", and 4: "fire". Okay. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Sure.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Hold on one sec.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Feels weird to play with actual dice again. Kind of nice. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] In a... sort of shoved into the corner of one of the shelves on the wall, closest to the wall that you walked in through, where the cage is, it's kind of hard to see. [ Low, Entrancing Music begins ] You see a perfectly spherical ball. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Tight.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] It's on a little stand and it's dull gray. It's very smooth. It looks like it's made of stone. You can't really tell what, but - and it's behind the counter so you can't reach out and grab it.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] T.K. can reach out and grab it. Grapple-hand! [ Mike, Shannon, Nick, Bijan laugh ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] It would be rude for you to grapple - yeah. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] He's not gonna - he's not gonna grapple-hand it. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] And -

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] But I just want you to remember. [ Nick laughs ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] And what you can see, what it looks like you can't really tell because it's slightly far away, but there's, in the gray, seemingly stone, sphere that sits on this little plinth, there's a circular hole and you think that you can see, through the circular hole, just the lightest little flicker of a flame. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Hm. T.K. walks over.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] I mean you'd have to walk behind the counter?

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] He walks as close as he can get, he's like clearly staring at it. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Yeah. I mean you're attracted to it, you have no idea what it does, but you see it. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Yeah.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] It is - because it is not in the case, it is unlabeled, so you don't really know what it is. [ Music ends ]

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Cool. He's gonna ask Irina as soon as she turns around. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Yeah. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Viv is scanning the aisles for anything sea-related. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Jenn.

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Mhmm. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Give me three words that come to mind when you think of the word talisman. 

 

[01:00:00] > Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Let's see... "hanging", "jeweled"... I don't know, the sound "whirring" makes sense to me for some reason. [ Jenn laughs ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Can you roll 3d6 and tell me which one is "hanging", which one is "jeweled", and which one is "whirring"? 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Go in order, it is 6, 3, and 2. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] In the case, kind of almost directly underneath Irina, where she's looking through her book, on a brass arm with a hook on it, hanging from it, is a heavily jeweled dream-catcher. [ Deep, Windy Music begins ] And in the center of it you can see there is a blue stone. It's been painted with a calm sea, you can just see little white caps of small waves on it, and hanging off of it are a number of turquoise stones, aquamarine jewels, and it has a little info, you know, little info panel next to it that's handwritten and it says that it is from the local tribal council. It's a Lenape dream-catcher, and there's a price next to it, and it is 2,000 nuyen.

 

It does not describe what it is for or how it is used, but it describes what it is, as if the person who would need it would know what it is for. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Yeah, Viv tilts her head at it. Is it like kind of just moving? 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Nah, it's just - it's just still.

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Just standing? 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Yeah. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Interesting. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Very much like a product on display. Just in this fluorescently lit, bulbous, glass counter. [ Music ends ]

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Viv admires the colors but knows it is not of her practice. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] You guys good? 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Anybody else? 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Everything's very colorful - Yeah, you guys don't really know anything about any of this stuff, but. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] No. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Lash there are no - nothing that looks like a soccer ball. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] [ Sadly ] Ohh. [ Nick laughs ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Apol - I apologize.

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Damn. [ Bijan laughs ] That's - Lash has looked at every single thing. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Just imagine - imagine if there's like a -

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] I won't - I won't.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Imagine if there was a bejeweled soccer ball just like, in the corner. .

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Well Lash would buy it, with all her money that she has left. [ Mike laughs ] 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] I would like to see that, but I guess.

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] She would very easily just give every cent - [ Bijan laughs ] - that she owns, and like any kind of future job - [ Shannon laughs ] She's like "Ah, I need this."

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] Luxe can't really do much with magical artifacts, so he thinks they look cool, but he really doesn't need to go examine them. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Yeah, Lash is just kind of looking around, and she knows herself enough where she's just like trying to not knock into anything because she's - [ Shannon laughs ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Roll agility. [ Shannon, Bijan, Nick, Jenn laugh ] Just kidding, just kidding, just kidding. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] I - Doesn't Lash have really good agility? [ Bijan laughs ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Yeah.

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] Yes.

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] She does. She does but if she's distracted she could, I mean, she could hit a - just throw a dart at someone that is on her team. [ Jenn laughs ]

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Yes. Lash in a - Lash in an artifact shop. [ Bijan and Shannon laugh ]

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Yeah, exactly.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Okay, so as you guys are standing around, Irina finally comes to a - you know, she flips back and forth in her grimoire, quote unquote, for a number of times, and finally she goes - [ IC ] Ah! Okay. [ OOC ] And she pulls a piece of paper out from it and sets it down on one of those little mats, and she says - [ IC ] I think I have a job for you. You know where the South Bronx is? 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] Yes.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Do you know, north?

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Yes?

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Yeah, north from here? It's where all the cities fish come from?

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] I'm familiar. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Yeah. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Oh. Yeah, you would be. [ Jenn laughs ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] So. They have - they're having a little problem. This new small corporation moved in called... - [ OOC ] And she squints and holds a piece of paper close to her - [ IC ] Flippr?

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Flipper?

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Yeah. No "e".

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Hmm.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Hmm.

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] Sounds very... 2019. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Yeah. It's run by a bunch of real estate bros.

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Oh, wow.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Hmm.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] They have bad taste. [ Mike laughs ]

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Mm.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] You know, they wear the shirts made specialty to not tuck in? 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Right.

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Ugh, yeah.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Untuck. Hm. [ Mike laughs ]

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Yeah, they have like, ventilation holes, like that does anything. 

 

> Taylor / "The Bad Boys": What a generous approx - [ Nick laughs ] - like what a generous appraisal of the staying power of - [ Nick and Mike laugh ] - untucked.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] There are still assholes with no style a hundred years from now. [ Shannon laughs ]

 

> Taylor / "The Bad Boys": Yeah, AT&T has fallen, but - [ Mike, Shannon, Taylor, Bijan laugh ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] You know this type, right? The - yeah.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Bro.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] White man, bad haircut. So what they are doing is using the city's automated real estate purchasing system to snag real estate in the South Bronx, as soon as it goes up for sale, before anyone in the neighborhood can even see it. You know, you got grandma, grandpa, they're getting tired of farming or printing the mar - mackerel, and they want to move back to Metropole or wherever it is they come from. So they put their six unit building up for sale, and you know, before cousin Joaquin can even put his pants on, these guys, they - they just buy it. They renovate it. They make it look just - Eugh! Ugly. And then they rent it to whoever can afford their stupid high price, you know, certainly more than you make selling -

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Are they -

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] - selling fish for a living.

 

[01:05:03] > Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Are they condos or is it - is it little - other small businesses, or? 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] It's - they turn them into rental property. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Oh, okay, so to rent - to live in. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Hm.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Yeah. They are landlords. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] I see.

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Mm.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] I think T.K.'s going to do matrix search for Flippr.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Please do. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] I mean he's not saying anything, he's just doing it. [ Nick laughs ] He never d - He never says anything when - [ Shannon laughs ] - he's doing stuff on the matrix because he's like, "You guys wouldn't get it anyway."

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Mm.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Can also give you guys some background, if you'd like, right now. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Yeah. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] Sure.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Here are things that you would likely already know. You would know that the South Bronx is the tri-state area's fis - fishing village, basically. It is where most of the fish in the city and the Eastern Seaboard comes from at this point. It is home to a number of fisheries and fish farms, including facilities that grow and print fish flesh. It is a largely immigrant community. It is a combination of Italian, Brazilian, and Chinese immigrants. It is well known for what is called Mistura, which is the dialect that they - that they speak. It is a mixture of English, Portuguese, Italian, and Mandarin. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] Wow.

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Wow.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Hm.

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] None of those language does - Lash has none of those language skills. [ Nick laughs ]

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Wait, hold on, let's see.

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Neither does Viv. [ Jenn laughs ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] So it's very working class, even though there is a lot of really high technology, you know, this stuff has been around for a while like, printing fish flesh is old school -

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] Mhmm.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] - at this point, but this is where all of it comes from. There's a huge fish market there, it's very famous. The South Bronx did sink in the climate catastrophe. It was, at one point, home to a huge number of Polish and Russian immigrants who formed a large portion of the construction market in New York. And so, as they were building the super structure around Manhattan, a lot of those construction workers took what they learned on the job rebuilding Manhattan and applied it to sunken South Bronx. And so it's kind of like a community that was built up by bits and pieces, with the construction workers learning what they could from the engineering of Manhattan. And as you go further and further close to the water, it becomes a little bit more improvisational, a little bit more sort of rickety, but it's built atop literally like, ground built by the people. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] Mm.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] And - what are some of the other things that you would likely know about the South Bronx. I think that's it. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Can I clarify something? 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Yep.

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] So the printing of fish flesh, this is printing like soy fish flesh? Or is it real fish flesh? 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] I mean -

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Fre - [ Shannon laughs ] - I can't say that. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] It depends upon - this is a philosophical argument that many -

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Ah.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] - people still have. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Ah. [ Nick laughs ] 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Is it - it is printing protein. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Yes. Okay.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Protein is protein. Remember? Gains. [ Shannon and Taylor laugh ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] It is - Yeah.

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] [ Laughing ] Yeah, gains.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] It is - It is lab-grown. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Yeah. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Someone is not piping soy through a thing -

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Into a -

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] - into something that looks like a -

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] A fish.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] - salmon steak. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Sure. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] But it is not - it has never been alive. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Right, exactly. Okay. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] When she says "city's automated real estate purchasing system", this is also something that you would likely be familiar with. There was a big housing market crash a number of decades ago, and there was a lot of housing speculation. There were a lot of empty apartments in New York and the city is even still dealing with some of this, that there are a number of investment properties in large high-rises that are going unrented just because people have bought them and they're investing in them. To mitigate a lot of this practice, to mitigate crashes, and to mitigate price - you know, price fixing, and to mitigate held stock, and to mitigate all these other things, essentially the city municipalized the selling of real estate. 

 

It still works roughly the same way, but the city is your real estate broker. They take a cut of everything that's sold and they arbit all of the sales of all - of all property. And in the last decade, there has been a push towards automating this system, so that when something goes up for sale, it is put onto a central information system that is accessible by citizens and corporations, and it is very sophisticated. It deals with bidding wars, it deals with taxes, it interfaces with another equally extremely complex system that's put together by the banks to determine if you get a loan and if so, for how much. And so like, it's gotten to the point where, in the right circumstances, which are, not rare but you know, not extremely common, you can purchase real estate now from the city in less time than you purchase your groceries.

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Mhm.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] If enough of your financial information is freely available to the city, the property is within your price range, you're cleared for a loan, you have the amount of money upfront, there's no one currently bidding, you can basically go and add property to cart and buy it. And then you just have a 30-year mortgage and you're done.

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] This totally explains why everybody was cr - squished into Viv's boat at the beginning of the -

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Mm.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Yeah. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] - the show. Yeah. Wow.

 

[01:10:00] > Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Imagine how much money we had. None. [ Jenn laughs ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] And so, it sounds like what this company is doing is taking advantage of that, somehow. T.K. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Talk to me. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] What you learn from Grouper, is -

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Sorry, from what?

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Sorry, not Grouper, Flippr. [ Mike laughs ]

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] It reminds me of Shamu for some reason and I - [ Jenn laughs ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] I'm into it.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] - and / or Flubber, and I'm just like, I - neither of those things make sense to me.

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Wasn't -

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] Well Flipper was a show.

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Grouper was that horrible dating app. Anyone do a Grouper date? 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Yeet.

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] No.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] No.

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] I did.

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Whaat? 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Was it with a group of people? 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Also -

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] It was me and two friends went on a date with three guys.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Eugh.

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Who happened to be real estate bros. [ All laugh ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] I just - I just intuited that. [ Jenn laughs ]

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Yeah. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Yeah, wooow.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] The Oracle delivered that to me. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] I could not imagine a group of three men that were - [ Laughing ] so our total opposites. [ Mike laughs ]

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] Yeah.

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Wow. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Amazing. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] So dating is still bad in the future, huh? [ Shannon laughs ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Mmm.

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] That really -

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] I mean there are still bad men. [ Nick laughs ]

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Yeah.

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] That re - must really be like magnified when it's three versus three, because I feel like with two people might be easier to meet in the middle -

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Yeah.

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] - but with three, you're still amplifying who they are to each other. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Exactly.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Because the bros aren't going to back down from being themselves.

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] The bros aren't gonna back down, yeah.

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] No, because their friends are there! It's just like, what -

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] So they're not going to admit to watching Oprah. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] - is this? Yeah. [ Shannon laughs ]

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] Or whatever.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] In the daytime. [ Taylor, Mike, Nick laugh ]

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] That's what I - That's what I look for. 

 

> Taylor / "The Bad Boys": In the past!

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] That's what I look for in a real estate bro, if he says he watches Oprah in the past?

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] [ Deeper voice ] I'm watchin' Oprah! 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] [ Deeper voice ] Hey! Hey, pipe down. [ Jenn coughs ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Okay. Flippr. You find a very slick website, it looks very hip, it's very well-designed, lots of parallax view, you know, some great high-quality images of the neighborhood, and a listing of all the things that -

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] T.K. instinctively does not like it. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Yeah, all of the - all - it's very designy. Lots of, you know, moving elements with a list of all of the properties that you can rent, and it looks like they have a similar system to the real estate purchasing system. It's like, you know, apply for a property now, input all of your information, and we'll get you approved as soon as possible, you can move in tomorrow. If you do a search for news about them, then you would find kind of, you know, fawning portraits over the company and how they are revitalizing the South Bronx. They are making it, you know, they're like, renovating these old buildings that have gone into disrepair. They are -

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] So I find - I find the Wired Magazine perspective. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] You absolutely do! Maybe an Atlantic article here or there. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Mhmm! 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] And you find that they are hiring, they're always hiring, they have a thing on their website that's like "Flippr is always hiring!" with a list of - [ Bijan laughs ] - with a list of positions: engineer, salesperson, front desk help, like, everything. It says "We're growing very quickly!". [ Mike laughs ] You can find a couple blog posts about their rounds of investment and what companies are investing in them, and you can find several interviews with their very attractive, extremely rich, untucked shirt, CEO. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] So nothing useful. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Well. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] Could be.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Think some of those things are very useful. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Actually, yeah, But we don't know that because T.K. isn't -

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Yeah, I mean, I guess I'll just send them the hits. Obviously a picture of the CEO and a picture of their business practices. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] He looks kind of like Armie Hammer. [ Jenn laughs ]

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Mm. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] Ah.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] You know, side note here, Armie Hammer is a man that I cannot recognize. I don't know what his face looks like. Every time I try and remember it, it disappears. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Sorry, did I say he looked like Armie Hammer? I meant he looked like Chris Pine. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Same thing, I g - These are the s - 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Sorry, sorry, did I say Chris Pine? I met Chris Evans. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] I actually remember that guy's face. [ Mike laughs ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Okay, alright.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Because I feel like he's always wearing eye shadow? I don't know. [ Jenn laughs ] Or eyeliner. One of the two. No, no no no, definitely eyeliner. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Okay, that's - that's the stuff that you guys would likely now and the things that in a quick Google sesh - or a quick matrix search sesh you figure out. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Hittin' up Hearth.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Yeah hittin' up Hearth. Any questions for Irina so far? 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] No. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Nope. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Okay, great. [ IC ] Here is what someone from the neighborhood asked. They don't want any trouble, they don't want anybody to try to put Flippr out of business, they don't want anybody to go and strongarm them, because, you know, who knows how they react. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Right. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Worst case, you know. Best case, they get scared, they file a lawsuit, they double down. Worst case, you know, police get involved, and then reputation of the neighborhood is bad and, you know, Flippr gets to go on a PR campaign talking about how they really are making the neighborhood more safe, etc., etc., etc. So apparently this is how they do it: they build their office directly behind the South Bronx City Information Services Office and Data Center. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Mm.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Uh-oh.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] And they do everything over the wire, not over wireless. So, they run it, they get it run directly from the datahub that's there. So whenever data bits go from the info center server out to the greater matrix, it's an instant, but it's quick enough, they're able to buy it immediately, before it gets anywhere else. So no one - they poach - prospect? 

 

[01:15:10] > Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] They're doing high-speed Wall Street trades. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] High-speed Wall Street - yeah, basically, yeah, but for real estate. [ IC ] And the system, their system is programmed to negotiate price the same way, but you know, if there are no multiple simultaneous bidders, and if it's within seven milliseconds, there won't be, it's very easy for them to just get in, buy it immediately. It's like lightning. The people who live there asked the city to put it in a, like a waiting period, like it lists for a day and then you get to - you get to do your bid but, you know bureaucrats, they don't - mm - they don't care. They don't give a shit. 

 

All to say, maybe what you do is this: one, you go to Flippr, you install skimmer in their system. You make it so that their... I dunno, property tax, is hundredth, thousandth of a percent higher than it actually is. I'll give you information, you have this sent to bank system my friend Esmerelda set up. Is offshore, is very secure, no one will know. I make sure that the community get the money, when it's enough. They have automated system that just pays the taxes like, you know, the bros, they won't look, they're too busy crushing soy brews? I don't know what they do. [ Shannon laughs ]

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Yeah, that's right.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] But like, it will just pay, I don't think they will notice this little much and I would guess that they never look at their taxes anyways, because it's all, you know, it's all automated. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] T.K.'s like - [ IC ] Direct action. [ Mike laughs ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Yeah. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] He's very - he's very into this job. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] So this way at least, every time property gets sold, the community gets a little bit more money, they figure out what they can do with it. Maybe they can invest in their own property that they... you know, I don't know, I'm not going to tell them what to do with their money, but this is what they ask. Some way for them to get some money back into the community from the sales of these very greedy, very - Eugh, gross. [ Spitting ] 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Mmm.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] She spits. [ Mike laughs ] [ IC ] The landlords. This is one idea, you have a better idea, I hear but, you know, this is what we have talked about. Other things, maybe optional? But not a bad idea is if you can put in a backdoor so that someone, maybe you, probably someone else, can keep an eye on it, and that if we need to adjust or we gotta delete so that we cover tracks, easy to get into Flippr system, edit, change, remove, etc. Again, not required, but would be very, very helpful. And second thing - I don't know, very open-ended this part - maybe figure out how to slow them down, or how to get info to someone who lives there before them. I have a couple contacts but I don't know, you would have to figure out who, you know, who to - who to get ahold of or who would be interested in it, but you know, that would - would be nice. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Do you know who their investors are? A lot of these startups won't last long if their investors pull out. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Yeah, you - so T.K. would have seen that a bunch of the Big Ten corporations -

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] Okay.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] - have given them five million nuyen here, ten million nuyen there. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] Okay.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] So there are a bunch of people who - cause conceivably, if you're buying up real estate in a -

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] Cheating. [ Nick laughs ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] - lower income community, then you're heralding some amount of gentrification that will then be profitable to a corporation once -

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] Uh-huh.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] - once a more wealthy community lives in - moves in. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] Right.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] So like, you know, Saeder-Krupp would be interested, Aztechnology would be interested, you know, even Shiawase might be interested. They all - they all have neighborhoods in New York and so they're looking at this thinking like, "Oh, this is an unbranded neighborhood."

 

> Taylor / "The Bad Boys": Hm.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] "If this goes well for us - if this goes well then, yeah, there'll be a bidding war, and we want to be - we want to ingratiate ourselves to the corp - to the mini-corporation -

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] That owns most -

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] - that owns a lot of it." 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Yep.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] T.K. is really into this job. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Yeah, Lash is also into this job. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] Yeah, Luxe is too. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Let's fuck 'em! 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] It is - it is like I found the perfect, you know, job for how you feel. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Yeah, morally we feel - [ Shannon laughs ] - like this job is -

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] This one feels easy. [ Mike, Nick, Shannon laugh ]

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Yeah.

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Yeah this feels - Not much to get our head around. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Honestly Irina - Honestly Irina though, we've had some tough - some tough - [ Shannon laughs ]

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Yeah.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] - some tough business before we met you. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] You work with Yuri, it is always a, you know... good and bad is a complicated thing when you work with this man. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] He has a way of doing that. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] In exchange for this, can you tell us more about this talisman Yuri wants? 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Mmm. No, this is strict. Once this job done, we discuss talisman. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Can you tell me about that orb in the corner, I've been looking at it. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Orb. Which - say more? 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Gray, flame in the middle. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Mmm. An interesting one you have chosen. [ OOC ] Bijan, tell me three adject -

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Mhmm, mhmm.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] - adjectives that describe to me what you would like it to do. [ Nick laughs ]

 

[01:20:03] > Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Umm... [ Jenn laughs ] I think I would like it to - to enhance T.K.'s magic skills. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] So a power foci. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] A power foci that is... sort of unorthodox in its like -

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Weird. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] - workings. Yeah. And that is also maybe like, not discreet? Like sort of like a last resort sort of, like -

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Loud. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Loud. [ Nick laughs ] But it's like I feel like he - like he would want it to just like, "Oh, here's my get-out-of-jail-free card". [ Bijan laughs ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Please roll 3d6 and tell me which one is power foci, which one is weird, and which one is loud. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] We'll just do it in that order. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Okay. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] [ Dice rolling ] Ah! I caught it.

 

> Taylor / "The Bad Boys": Good. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] I got it. I - The dice were just fall - flying off my computer. 1, 2, 5. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Let me think for a second. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Mhmm, mhmm. Just want a cool rock. [ Jenn laughs ] Cool magic rock. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Okay hold on, I have to generate a name. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] fantasynamegenerators.com? 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] It's like our favorite thing to do.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Yep.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Let's go.

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] On this show. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] They - I mean, we should - maybe we should sponsor them. We should do ads for them. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] [ Laughing ] Yeah. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] We use it so much. [ Bijan laughs ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Can someone just go to random.org and generate a random number between one and a hundred? 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] random.org! [ Shannon laughs ] Uhh -

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] That's a thing? 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] One and a hundred. 68. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Fuck. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Almost. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] So close. Pretty good for a random though. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Does anyone else want a number just for funsies? 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Yeah, give me one. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] 26. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Oh, that's good. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] I want one.

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] 64. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] That's what I want. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] And for Nick, he didn't even ask. 43.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] 43. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Prime. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Feels like a Nick number. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] It is an interesting item you have chosen. It is a very strange, unorthodox, power foci. It is called the Orb of Heg'zual. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] Whoa.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Sure.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] And what one does is they break it at their feet, you smash, you are engulfed in flames for six seconds. And for those six seconds, you become a slightly more powerful magician. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] So exactly the same thing as the spell I have, nice. [ Nick, Jenn, Bijan laugh ] 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] You rolled low on weird, so.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Yeah.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] But it - it would stack. In mechanics terms, I would allow you to stack it. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] Nice. [ Jenn coughs ]

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Yeah, but it's one-time use? 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] One-time use. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Mm.

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Wow.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Destroys itself. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Mmm. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Tell you what, I have one more - one more favor to ask, you do this favor, I give you orb. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Okay. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] If you take this job and you go to South Bronx, get Irina two Rainbow Trout steaks?

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Okay. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Yeah, we could that.

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] Gladly.

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] We could definitely do that. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Oh yeah.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] It's just that it's hard, you know. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe":  [ IC ] Yeah. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Hard to get there, little bit. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Of course. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] It's such a - Eugh, it's a schlep. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] You're in Grand Central - [ Nick laughs ] How do you get anywhere? [ Mike, Taylor, Bijan laughs ]

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] On tank treads! 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Right. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Oh, no, I let me be clear. I am very mobile, just lazy. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] I hear you. [ Jenn and Mike laugh ] Do you have anything that - that a non-magic user can use? 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] The Oracle trains us all in the ways of divination, you just must unlock this part of you. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Mhmm.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] So with training, there are stones, cards, decks that you - you might find very useful and you might develop a strong relationship with. I cannot make you awakened. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Oh, no, I wasn't. Yeah, I didn't. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] But yes, it is very easy for you to tap into the larger spiritual plane. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Yeah.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] You just would never be able to assense or to astrally project. Nothing personal. [ Mike laughs ]

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] No, I - none taken. Just was curious. I guess the card made me think I - [ Nick laughs ] - there was some potential. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] You - my friend, the point of the card is that -

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] I know, I know, I - [ Nick laughs ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] - you are already a very powerful - [ Mike, Nick, Shannon laugh ] [ OOC ] She reaches into a pocket and she gives you a tiger's eye stone. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Oh!

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] If you ever need to focus your energy, you just squeeze this. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Okay. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] And Viv is just smiling at this because it's so cute. [ Jenn and Nick laugh ] 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] So. How do you feel? You will -

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Yes. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] You will -

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Yeah. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] You will take this job?

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Yes.

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Yeah.

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] We're ready to skim the hell out of these real estate bros -

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Yeah.

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Am I right team? [ Shannon laughs IC ] 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Hell yeah. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Weird laugh, but yeah, let's do it. [ Mike and Nick laugh ]

 

> Taylor / "The Bad Boys": Wait, is - is Lash being sincere? 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Yes. 

 

> Taylor / "The Bad Boys": It doesn't sound like she's sincere. [ Nick laughs ] It sounds like she's making fun of the idea that she's saying. [ Shannon laughs ]

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] No, I think she just is always trying to kind of be like Luxe - [ Nick laughs ] - and I think her impression of Luxe is like, "Ho-okay, right?" [ Taylor and Jenn laugh ] When everything's in front of like - that's like why she when she introduced herself, "Pleasure to mate - meet your acquaintance!" [ Nick, Mike, Jenn laugh ]

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Pleasure to mate your acquaintance

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] [ Laughing ] Yeah.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] I think I've heard someone say that before. [ Nick laughs ]

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] [ Laughing ] Yeah. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] So, just to be clear. I don't pay. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Yes. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] That's perfectly fine.

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] That's fine.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] I pay in help? 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Yes. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Mm.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Maybe you got another orb back there. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Ehh, we'll see. You come in next time, we'll see what's here. Timeline, when does Yuri need the bug ghost? 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] He didn't -

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] He was very flexible in time. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Yeah.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Bug ghost, right? He said bug ghost. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Yeah.

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] He said bug ghost. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Yeah. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Even though it's a - even though it's a demon?

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Bug demon.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Well, I mean, you know, it - I guess it is a shifting scale. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Are ghosts demons? 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] No, these are two very different entities.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Okay. 

 

[01:25:00] > Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] But it is a shifting scale? 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Yeah. A demon may be related to a dead b - you know what? [ Nick laughs ] This is a longer conversation than we -

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Okay.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] We have later.

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Yes. My only question would be, in taking this job for you, are we now taking the job for Yuri? 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Oh that is a question that you have with -

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Yuri. Okay. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Yeah. You - I mean here is how Irina feels. If I - if I give you a tal - you give me your word. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Mhmm. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Mhmm, and I give you talisman.

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Yeah. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] And you steal, that is you problem, not Irina problem. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] I see. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Okay. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Makes sense. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Mm. So for me, timeline is only people who I care about, because they live in my city, being screwed. 

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Mm.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] So, sooner better, but. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Yeah.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] T.K. salutes. [ Mike laughs ] 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Yes, we might go past the skimmer, but we definitely won't do anything that will bounce back on you or the community. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] What does that - say that again? 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] We might fuck them up more than just skimming a couple of -

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Oh I see what you're saying. [ Nick laughs ]

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] - a couple of percentage points -

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Okay. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] - but we won't do anything that hurts anyone else. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] And she -

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] 6.9% [ Nick laughs ]

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] Much higher percentage points. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] And she - she says - [ IC ] Oh! And also, one more thing. [ OOC ] And she picks up the cards and she shuffles them. She fans them out on the table and she asks each of you to point at a card. 

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] We all do. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Okay. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Yeah. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] Yeah.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ OOC ] Okay. She takes those four cards and she shuffles them in her hands. She's just sort of like moving them back and forth over one another and then she flips it over and it's The Tower. And she says - [ IC ] This one leads. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Fuck yeah.

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Alright, T.K. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] T.K. - T.K. salutes again.

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Mm.

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Thank you Irina. [ Jenn laughs ] He's - yeah, he's like "Hell yeah! Alright"

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ OOC ] Lash fist-bumps T.K. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Hell yeah. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] May The Oracle guide you on your journey. 

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ OOC ] Viv clasps her hands and gives a tiny bow. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ OOC ] T.K. looks at Luxe and is like, "Chest bump?" [ Nick laughs ]

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ OOC ] He does the patented chest bump. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Looks like we're good to go. Everyone roll out. 

 

> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] I will - if you don't mind, I will roll in. 

 

> Bijan / "T.K.": [ IC ] Okay. Alright. [ Nick laughs ]

 

> Nick / "Luxe": [ IC ] Yeah.

 

> Jenn / "Viv": [ IC ] Let's go catch some fish. [ Bijan, Nick, Jenn laugh ]

 

> Shannon / "Lash": [ IC ] Hell yes!

 

[ Main Theme begins ]

 

> Mike / G.M.: You are now leaving Fun City. Thanks for listening, if you want to support the show, get access to ad-free episodes, our Discord, our bi-weekly post-episode chat show "Fun Chatty", and more, head to patreon.com/funcityventures. And of course, thank you to all of our current patrons for help keeping this ship afloat. If you like to show you can give us a rating on iTunes, you can tell your pals about it, I'll put a link in the show notes, or you can come say hey to any or all of us on Twitter, or Instagram! Which we just got. Head to FunCityVentures and you'll be able to see photos of the tarot cards from this episode.

 

[ Main Theme concludes ]

 

[ Outro Theme begins ]

 

> Bijan: I am Bijan Stephen, and I am T.K. You can find me online @bijanstephen on Twitter, which is B-I-J-A-N S-T-E-P-H-E-N. Or on Instagram, and you should just google that.

 

> Jenn: I'm Jenn de la Vega! I am Viv. You can find me online @randwiches, that's the word sandwiches but just replace the S with an R.

 

> Nick: This is Nick Guercio, I play Luxe Scythe. You can find me on Twitter @nguersh and Instagram @nguercio, G-U-E-R-C-I-O.

 

> Shannon: This is Shannon Odell, I play Lash Goodbog. You can find me on Instagram and Twitter @shodell, S-H-O-D-E-L-L.

 

> Taylor: This is Taylor Moore and I play all the Bad Boys. I'm @taylordotbiz.

 

> Mike: My name is Mike Rugnetta, I am your G.M. You can find me on Twitter and Instagram @mikerugnetta.

 

You can find the show on Twitter @funcityventures. Fun City was recorded at Fortunate Horse, in beautiful Greenpoint, Brooklyn. It was produced, edited, and sound designed by me, Mike Rugnetta. Pixlriffs' card is The Star. Fun City's music is by Sam Tyndall, special thanks to Sam for writing a theme for each tarot card this episode. You can check out Sam's new Castlevania-themed project Pile of Secrets at pileofsecrets.bandcamp.com. Our art is by Tess Stone. Our Discord mods are Olivia Gulin, Kit, and Kestrel, and the voice of Artemis is Molly Templeton.

 

[01:30:07] [ Outro Theme concludes ]