[X] Afflict them with Guilt, make them see the errors of their ways. (-5 Faith)
[X] Afflict them with Guilt, make them see the errors of their ways. (-5 Faith)
You gather a small amount of your powers that you can spare, your lowermost hands making a cradle for the spark of light that comes to life in your palms as you perform a series of gestures with your middle hands as your topmost hands pressed together, palms flat as if in prayer.
'You consume and consume but leave much to waste,' You narrow your gaze upon the looters, oblivious to your growing displeasure, you watch as the man throws much of the homeowner's food to the floor or into his pockets after taking one or two bites out of each.
'You take from others to satisfy your selfish desires,' The dirty man's lips spread in a disgusting smile as he snatched jewelry from drawers, rifling through pockets and under the mattress for hidden and loose eddies.
'You take delight in causing pain and suffering on your victims with no remorse.' Laughter erupts from the woman as she takes out a can of paint from her large jacket, gives it a good shake as it rattled about and starts to vandalize the walls with obscene language.
The glowing light in your lower hands grew brighter and your upper hands reached into the light to pull out flicking sparks which you then flick towards their general direction, each one landing on their hearts.
'No more, so sayeth I, may your shriveled hearts swell with empathy for your fellow men.'
'So mote it be.'
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Life was always hard for Cord Fiberfetcher, shitty parents, shitty home, shitty life. With no eddies to his name save for the clothes on his back. The only way for him to forget that everything sucked was to huff SynthCoke cut with Black Lace, but that takes eddies. Eddies that he doesn't have, so he nicked a few things here and there to afford the stuff but when his chooms Knox and Cleo invited him along to one of their little 'parties', he just knew he was going to score big and score big he did! He just found some pretty preem jewelry stashed under the bed. It looks pretty old and valuable, probably an heirloom?
He knew a guy who could pawn this stuff off for a good cut and the stacks of eddies that he found with it would keep him set for a couple of weeks when he split it with the others.
After all, it's not like the poor gonks that lived here are gonna really need it, they never had to live the life he had and he deserved a fair 'cut' of the good life, even if his definition of the good life was to get high in a dark alley somewhere.
He could see it now, endless hours for days on end getting high as a kite and just riding out the sweet bliss that'll take him to beautiful new worlds that only he could see and all it took was to ruin someone's financial stability. Heh… Ow… why did his chest hurt? Must've been a gag reflex. He's been having those as of late.
Tearing open one of the drawers and sifting through its contents with a dirty hand, Cord tossed aside useless junk like old combs and letters. Geez, where do they keep the rest of the valuables? There's got to be some more some-Oooh~! What's this shiny thing? He pulled out a small gold ring and looked it over, it seemed pretty plain, a bit worn though. Hm, is that something engraved on the inside? He squinted to get a better look,
'R&D Together Forever'.
The dirty man frowned and looked at the drawer's contents again. A man in a suit and a woman in a white dress, smiling brightly as they looked at each other, two gold rings on their fingers.
He dropped the ring as if it burned him, the metal band making an audible thunk as it landed back into the drawer before picking it back up and putting it into his pocket. This should be worth a pretty enny or two and he resumed his efforts in filling his pockets with each and every valuable he could find. But why did it feel like his pockets were getting heavier? His eager smile slowly turned strained as hands started to shake, a deep pit welling up inside his stomach. The wedding ring in his pocket felt like it was burning a hole through his clothes and when he stuffed a few more eddies in there, he felt like he just shoved anchors into his pockets.
Eventually, he was left frozen, staring at the mess he had just made of the bedroom, pillows were strewn about, the mattress turned on its side with drawers pulled out and their contents all over the floor. Why… Why was this suddenly bothering him? He's done this dozens of times before, what makes this time any different? It's the only way he could be happy, right?
…
… Right?
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Knox Mech took another bite out of the burrito that he found in the fridge. It had already been half-eaten and it seemed like a huge waste to not finish it and besides, he was hungry. He was always hungry. Not having an eddy to your name can do that to you, especially while growing up, going to bed with an empty stomach was a regular occurrence. On the extremely rare days he was able to go to bed with a full belly would have him feeling very content and satisfied but even then, it never lasted long. By the next day, he'd be hungry again. So whenever the chance to eat crops up, Knox was down on it like the Watson Whore gagging himself on a huge hunk of studmeat.
"Yo, is this an actual Apple!?" If Knox still had his eyes, they'd be bugging out at the sight of the red and juicy fruit that sat in the fridge, the light reflecting off the shiny looking surface. Knox had always heard about RealFruit, some kind of corpo that cloned actual fruit to sell cheap to the masses but this didn't look cloned at all! At least to his untrained eyes, as far as he knew, this was the real thing and it looked way more beautiful up close! "Chooms, this is Nova!"
Snatching it out of the fridge to hold it in his hands, gazing up at the delicious red fruit in awe and wonder. "A real, actual apple! Here! In my hands! We scored BIG with this house!" With a laugh, he polished the apple against his synth-leather jacket like he's always seen in those cartoons as a kid.
His mouth watered as his mind ran wild with imagination, what would a real fruit taste like? Is it sweeter than what RealFruit sells? Is it thicker? When he was still a little shitstain living with his parents, he once overheard some fat suit say how the cloned stuff can't compare to the actual thing and has always been and always dreamed of having one someday and here he was, about to live the dream! Looks like Night City really does live up to its reputation, baby! The city of dreams for the big dreamers!
He licked his lips and opened his mouth wide to take in a big bite, but froze when he saw a note near where he found the apple.
'To D, congrats on the promotion! Love, R.' Huh, looks like someone splurged for someone. Heh, fucking sap. Knox would've rolled his eyes if he still had them but it was half-hearted at best.
'
Nobody ever got me anything… 'A dark little whisper sprung up in his head, which he quickly smothered but another took its place before he could stop it. '
It would've been nice…'
Fuck them! He's had to take what he's wanted because no one gave enough shits about him to give it to him! Not his mom or his deadbeat dad. '
But some of your chooms did, before you stabbed them in the back.'
The apple creaked as his clenched around it, he was hungry! He needed it! He swore he'd never go hungry again if he had anything to say about it!
'Even if it meant someone else going hungry as you did?'
Knox shoved the troublesome thought away and made to take a big bite out of the apple to spite it but strangely couldn't muster the strength to lift it up to his lips.
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Cleo Vaban liked to call herself a girl who loved to party. She was always looking to have a good time, whether it was to go to the club, to fuck or even just smash someone's skull in with her bare hands. Particularly that last bit, nothing gets her going like a good fight, the scars that marred what once was a beautifully symmetric face were the results of several brawls turned deadly, mostly because of her. After all, a fight's not
really a fight if the danger of getting shanked isn't there.
Sure, she's won a few fights and even lost a couple but that was all part of the charm. Either way, win or lose, she still got what she wanted. A good fight to get her blood pumping and remind her of her own mortality but even she would admit she needs a break sometimes and nothing relaxes her more than ruining other people's shit.
Taking a step back from the wall, she admired her handiwork with a proud and malicious grin. The cream colored walls of the humble abode they've infiltrated now had expletives painted in big, bold and colorful letters that ran over the framed portraits hanging on the walls.
"Hey Knox! Check it out!" She put her hands on her hips, eager to show off her 'work' to her choom but after a moment of waiting she called for his name again. "Knox!" Another moment of silence and waiting. "Goddamnit, asshole's probably choked to death." Grumbling under her breath, she went into the kitchen only to find her mohawked friend staring at an apple in his hand, an unreadable expression on his face but she wasn't paying attention to Knox anymore, her attention was solely on the apple.
"Is that an actual apple?" She gawked, reaching out to take it from his hands only for Knox to twitch and yank it away from her reach.
"Huh?" Knox's lens focused and unfocused on her, the lens audibly whirring as his gaze goes back and forth between her outstretched hand and the apple in his. "Oh.. Yeah, I think so. It looks… redder than I thought it'd be." He stared at it for a long while and Cleo was growing more and more puzzled by how weird he was acting.
Then to her surprise, he put it back in the fridge and returned everything he had taken out. "Knox, what the hell?!" She's never seen him act like this before, the Knox she knew would've been scarfing down every morsel he got his hands on. "I thought you were hungry!"
"I lost my appetite." He gruffly replied, pushing his way past her once his pockets were empty, and what he said next made Cleo stumble. "I'm out of here."
"What? But I thought we were having fun!" She protested, and before Knox could answer, Cord came stumbling out of the bedroom, his hands shaking and eyes red with unshed tears. "Cord? What's wrong?"
"I…" His voice shook when he tried to answer, the man looked shaken. "I gotta go." He made a beeline for the bathroom and when Cleo caught up to him he was already climbing out the window.
"Cord! What about the loot!?" She yelled, scowling.
"I don't want it! Just leave it! Leave me alone!" Before she could even stop him, the dirty man climbed through the window and disappeared into the busy and rainy streets.
"Cord! CORD! Get your ass back here dammit!" She screamed, not caring who could hear her, far too angry and confused by recent events. What the fuck was going on!? "Knox, you seeing this shit?"
She turned to look at him and the man just simply stared at the state of the home he and his friends had just left the house. "Yeah… I am." His voice heavy with shame.
Cleo immediately picked up on it, "What the hell is up with you and Cord? We've done this tons of times, are you seriously developing a conscience right now!?"
"Cleo." Knox said, his voice unchanging, "Are you even happy with it?"
The question caught her off guard. "What?"
"Fucking up people's shit." He gestured to the ruined interior of the home with a despondent gesture of a hand. "Does it make you happy?"
She found herself unable to answer. She did it for fun! That's what she does! She fucks up people's shit and have a blast while doing it! It was fun! It was exciting! But why couldn't she say any of that? Does
any of the shit she's done actually made her happy? When she started thinking about it, she couldn't help but imagine the faces of everyone she's hurt.
Looking back at the home she had just vandalized, she couldn't help but ask herself. Does it make her
happy?
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You stood there, watching them clean up after themselves. The man and woman slowly, picking up pieces of broken glass and washing off wet paint off the walls as best as they could. You sense that this will be the last time they'll be doing any of that nonsense and you make your leave but before you did, you looked back to Knox who kept glancing towards his direction, a bit of golden light reflecting off the lens of his optics, his brows furrowed in confusion.
Feeling a small boost in power, you simply nod in satisfaction and take your leave. You had a feeling that you've taken a step in the right direction.
[Aequitas Veritas is now a Rumor in Little China]
What will you do for the rest of the week? (1 action)
[ ] (Aequitas Veritas) Explore more of Night City, who knows what you may find?
[ ] (Aequitas Veritas) You're still pretty weak and don't have much influence. Find and fight Injustice in Little China
[ ] (Aequitas Veritas) Talk with Tano Asa. She would like to have a word with you.
[ ] (Aequitas Veritas) Write in: (If you have any ideas on what you can do, feel free to chime in!)
What will Det. Montoya do for the rest of the week? (2 actions)
[X] (Montoya) Fill out the paperwork, you're already a week behind and those reports need to be filed yesterday. (Mandatory) (- 1 action)
[ ] (Montoya) Because of a chronic case of being understaffed, there are simply not enough cops to keep the city safe. Support your fellow officers and keep Night City safe by going on Patrol
[ ] (Montoya) Indulge in some self-care.
[ ] (Montoya) Write in: (Think there's something else Tanner could do? Throw in a suggestion!)
Faith: 5/35 (+20 every month)
A/N: Aaaaaaa! Sorry for taking so long to make this! I really, REALLY need a beta reader to go over my writings… or at least someone to act as a soundboard, but anyway! Enjoy the update! Next turn will be posted soon!
Edit: Forgot to put in how much faith we had
