[X] [Plus One] Yourself, Alone - Minimizing how much the Tong's know about you and your operation might be wise. Show up alone and make a show of how little they intimidate you.
[X] [Offer] Go All In - Agree to give him the recording, and an interview alongside that - provided it doesn't take any time away from patients who need it. Make sure you get a chance to sell your side of the story.
[X] [Plus One] Yourself, Alone - Minimizing how much the Tong's know about you and your operation might be wise. Show up alone and make a show of how little they intimidate you.
[X] [Offer] Go All In - Agree to give him the recording, and an interview alongside that - provided it doesn't take any time away from patients who need it. Make sure you get a chance to sell your side of the story.
I think the interview gives us a chance to make our pitch to the for brothers, without making it a direct pitch to the four brothers.
[X] [Plus One] Yourself, Alone - Minimizing how much the Tong's know about you and your operation might be wise. Show up alone and make a show of how little they intimidate you.
[X] [Offer] Go All In - Agree to give him the recording, and an interview alongside that - provided it doesn't take any time away from patients who need it. Make sure you get a chance to sell your side of the story.
[X] [Plus One] Yourself, Alone - Minimizing how much the Tong's know about you and your operation might be wise. Show up alone and make a show of how little they intimidate you.
[X] [Offer] Go All In - Agree to give him the recording, and an interview alongside that - provided it doesn't take any time away from patients who need it. Make sure you get a chance to sell your side of the story.
[X][Plus One] Bring an Edgerunner: You've accumulated a fair few favors over the years. Call one in - just in case. Didn't Tama say something about a Missus B he's done work for in the past?
[X][Offer] Go All In - Agree to give him the recording, and an interview alongside that - provided it doesn't take any time away from patients who need it. Make sure you get a chance to sell your side of the story.
[X] [Plus One] Yourself, Alone - Minimizing how much the Tong's know about you and your operation might be wise. Show up alone and make a show of how little they intimidate you.
[X] [Offer] Go All In - Agree to give him the recording, and an interview alongside that - provided it doesn't take any time away from patients who need it. Make sure you get a chance to sell your side of the story.
[X] [Plus One] Yourself, Alone - Minimizing how much the Tong's know about you and your operation might be wise. Show up alone and make a show of how little they intimidate you.
[X] [Offer] Go All In - Agree to give him the recording, and an interview alongside that - provided it doesn't take any time away from patients who need it. Make sure you get a chance to sell your side of the story.
Huh nice to see this being updated, as long we stay out of any gang business, its good.
It would be interesting if we end having to move out of the area if things gotten way too dangerous, change of location and people would be nice.
[x] [Plus One] Yourself, Alone - Minimizing how much the Tong's know about you and your operation might be wise. Show up alone and make a show of how little they intimidate you.
[X] [Offer] Go All In - Agree to give him the recording, and an interview alongside that - provided it doesn't take any time away from patients who need it. Make sure you get a chance to sell your side of the story.
[X] [Plus One] Yourself, Alone - Minimizing how much the Tong's know about you and your operation might be wise. Show up alone and make a show of how little they intimidate you.
[X] [Offer] Demure - You don't know this reporter from Adam. Say you'll think about it, then do some digging when you have time. Osiris says waiting will lessen the impact of the story somewhat, but you'd rather be safe than screwed over.
[X] [Plus One] Bring an Edgerunner: You've accumulated a fair few favors over the years. Call one in - just in case. Didn't Tama say something about a Missus B he's done work for in the past?
[x] [Offer] Recording Only - Sell the recording, stick to the terms of the deal as presented. They seem fair, and Osiris seems a good enough guy.
[X] [Plus One] Yourself, Alone - Minimizing how much the Tong's know about you and your operation might be wise. Show up alone and make a show of how little they intimidate you.
[X] [Offer] Go All In - Agree to give him the recording, and an interview alongside that - provided it doesn't take any time away from patients who need it. Make sure you get a chance to sell your side of the story.
[X] [Plus One] Yourself, Alone - Minimizing how much the Tong's know about you and your operation might be wise. Show up alone and make a show of how little they intimidate you.
[X] [Offer] Go All In - Agree to give him the recording, and an interview alongside that - provided it doesn't take any time away from patients who need it. Make sure you get a chance to sell your side of the story.
[X] [Plus One] Yourself, Alone - Minimizing how much the Tong's know about you and your operation might be wise. Show up alone and make a show of how little they intimidate you.
[X] [Offer] Go All In - Agree to give him the recording, and an interview alongside that - provided it doesn't take any time away from patients who need it. Make sure you get a chance to sell your side of the story.
[X][Plus One] Bring an Edgerunner: You've accumulated a fair few favors over the years. Call one in - just in case. Didn't Tama say something about a Missus B he's done work for in the past?
Looking at the vote, bringing in an Edgerunner isn't just about protection? This guy's also apparently done business with Missus B before, so he can help vouch for us.
[X] [Plus One] Yourself, Alone - Minimizing how much the Tong's know about you and your operation might be wise. Show up alone and make a show of how little they intimidate you.
[X] [Offer] Go All In - Agree to give him the recording, and an interview alongside that - provided it doesn't take any time away from patients who need it. Make sure you get a chance to sell your side of the story.
[X] [Plus One] Yourself, Alone - Minimizing how much the Tong's know about you and your operation might be wise. Show up alone and make a show of how little they intimidate you.
[X] [Offer] Go All In - Agree to give him the recording, and an interview alongside that - provided it doesn't take any time away from patients who need it. Make sure you get a chance to sell your side of the story.
[x] [Plus One] Yourself, Alone - Minimizing how much the Tong's know about you and your operation might be wise. Show up alone and make a show of how little they intimidate you.
[x] [Offer] Recording Only - Sell the recording, stick to the terms of the deal as presented. They seem fair, and Osiris seems a good enough guy.
Adhoc vote count started by Doordox on Mar 11, 2023 at 1:39 PM, finished with 29 posts and 25 votes.
[x] [Plus One] Yourself, Alone - Minimizing how much the Tong's know about you and your operation might be wise. Show up alone and make a show of how little they intimidate you.
[X] [Offer] Go All In - Agree to give him the recording, and an interview alongside that - provided it doesn't take any time away from patients who need it. Make sure you get a chance to sell your side of the story.
[X][Plus One] Bring an Edgerunner: You've accumulated a fair few favors over the years. Call one in - just in case. Didn't Tama say something about a Missus B he's done work for in the past?
[X] [Offer] Demure - You don't know this reporter from Adam. Say you'll think about it, then do some digging when you have time. Osiris says waiting will lessen the impact of the story somewhat, but you'd rather be safe than screwed over.
Adhoc vote count started by Doordox on Apr 19, 2023 at 9:02 AM, finished with 30 posts and 25 votes.
[x] [Plus One] Yourself, Alone - Minimizing how much the Tong's know about you and your operation might be wise. Show up alone and make a show of how little they intimidate you.
[X] [Offer] Go All In - Agree to give him the recording, and an interview alongside that - provided it doesn't take any time away from patients who need it. Make sure you get a chance to sell your side of the story.
[X][Plus One] Bring an Edgerunner: You've accumulated a fair few favors over the years. Call one in - just in case. Didn't Tama say something about a Missus B he's done work for in the past?
[X] [Offer] Demure - You don't know this reporter from Adam. Say you'll think about it, then do some digging when you have time. Osiris says waiting will lessen the impact of the story somewhat, but you'd rather be safe than screwed over.
"Fine. We can talk. But later. Once this crisis is over and done with, I'll happily chat with you But no harassing my patients. Talk to them *after* they check out. I get a single complaint and you get nothing from me, understand?"
You press a finger to your temple, just in front of your ear, and withdraw the slender BD-storage chip your particular rig prefers, dismissing the recording program's little warning from your vision and offering it to the media. You turned it off for your trip into the Night Market and your conversation with Dr. Lee - there shouldn't be anything incriminating on it.
Osiris' grin seems to grow wider. "Excellent, Excellent! Good biz, choom!" he extends his hand to shake yours and against your better judgment you oblige. His skin rough against yours - not the typical handshake of a Media. "You won't regret it, Dr Baudin, believe me!"
You turn on your heel and enter your office, where Widget is sitting in the corner fiddling with a game console. Osiris doesn't chase you. You grab a bottle of water out of a minifridge, then some square tablets from your desk drawer, cumbling them into the bottle and shaking. Widget looks up at the noise and frowns. "Stims, love?" Her voice is soft, concerned, but not judging. Much. She knows it's been a night, that you're both running on fumes.
Stim Strength vs Body Type + Tolerance (2) DC: 7 (1d10!+1 = (8) + 1 = 9) Bare Failure!
Jeanne has a minor dependency on stimulants from years of a work-life culture that encourages casual substance abuse.
It's not like stimming is uncommon in your profession, or that you never touched the stuff in medschool. Sometimes it was the only thing keeping you awake in class after a residency night shift. Your old bosses at TT made a mint off the stim vending machines in the Tower - it was encouraged (in moderation) the same way cigarettes and coffee were, a casual culture of use that often springs up in high stress low-downtime professions.
You still feel guilty anyway as you knock the bottle back, swallowing cool mouthfuls of your makeshift pick-me-up. The grey fuzz at the edge of your vision recedes, and some of the fog in your head clears too. Widget sighs and thumbs her handheld, muting it with a flick of a finger.
"You said you got some rest."
You wince. "I… napped a little! Before we went to the Market." She just gives you a look. A hard one. She never liked you burning stims to keep yourself awake. You're really anticipating staying up through sunrise, just in case things take a turn for the worse.
Trauma Team taught you to always expect things to get worse.
"Besides, I really shouldn't be negotiating with a Fixer half-dead from exhaustion."
Widget maintains the stare. She doesn't regularly push things like this unless she's genuinely concerned. And you've always respected that. And today has been...
Well. Today.
"You're waking up the natural way tomorrow," she insists, uncurling from her corner to wrap her arms around you. "No coffee, smokes, none of that. I mean it. Okay?"
You nod. You're not getting out of this office til you agree, and it's a good idea besides.
It's not like you could say no to her in your current state. Not like you would anyway.
"I promise, love.. I'll sleep it off proper, and won't even complain. Much."
"Don't complain at all-" she offers, to sweeten the deal, "-and I'll grab us breakfast from that bagel place tomorrow, if it's open."
"Is that a promise?"
"If it's open," Widget reiterates, with a ghostly smirk.
"Then deal," you say, and you can't help but share the smile.
She nods, satisfied, and you kiss her goodbye and call a cab. Just before you leave, Candy surreptitiously peels a sticker from the blindspot between your shoulder blades, and you spend your time waiting for your taxi plotting yet more revenge.
Your taxi pulls up to the unassuming mahjong parlor address 20 minutes before meeting time.
Moving with runners taught you to case the place for exits and mark any security. So you sit across the street and grab a screamsheet (printed six hours before the bombing, or several lifetimes ago, depending,) and pretend to read while counting windows and doors. The headline is something about a girl at Corpo Plaza losing her head. Literally. Taken from her in a snatch and grab - but swiftly returned by an anonymous citizen.
Honestly. The things they'll print these days. You earmark a few coupons that catch your eye and keep the building in focus.
It's one of the rare buildings in Little China that bothers to cater to tourists - tucked alongside the main thoroughfare of 22nd Street as it bisects the neighborhood like a butcher's cleaver. Cio-Cio's is a modest three-story brick-and-concrete box sculpted out what might once have been a block of row-houses a century ago, before Richard Night and the people of Little China got their hands on it. A massive stylized mahjong tile hangs superimposed in neon tubing above the door, cycling through a set of three symbols you don't recognize but figure have to involve the game some how. If you plan to stick around Little China, you might have to learn. Maybe the Lee's could teach you?
Exactly fifteen minutes and thirty seconds before your appointment, you ditch the paper and cross the street, pay the cover charge at the door, and step inside. You stand politely while one of the coat-room goombas scans you for any ware they'd consider "dangerous", and leave your raincoat with them. A big security mirror above the door gives you time for one last check of your outfit, and ready yourself for the talks to come.
[Synergy Trigger - Arasaka School of Medicine Background + Car No. 5] Dressed To the Nines - Opinion +1 with Mdm. Butterfly
You haven't had much cause to do so lately, not since your wedding and your final exit interview with TraumaTeam, but when you need to, you can really dress up. You take stock in the coatroom's mirror and find yourself pleased with how well you cleaned up. A well-tailored cream blouse, slacks and sensible pumps, and a suit jacket slung confidently over one shoulder. Minimal makeup, you only had enough time in the cab to cover up the worst of the night's damages. Maybe a little more board-room than you'd prefer, but it's a professional look for a professional meeting. If you had a little more time, you would have been able to do something more...
Character Vote: How does Jeanne feel about Fashion and dressing up in general? Will impact her general sense of style when in her civvies, and may lead to her caring more about how people dress than most citizens of Night City:
[Fashion] Live and Breathe It - Paris is the center of world fashion (according to Parisians, anyway) and you claim that city more than the city of your own birth. Working with blood and chrome is not an excuse to dress like a heathen. Walking out of an operating theatre spotless takes skill, and it's a skill you take joy in having perfected. Plus, you can tell a lot about people by what they wear. While in Paris, Jeanne did her best to internalize and naturalize to the culture and stylistic presentation of her foster-city. Gain "Wardrobe & Style" skill at +3, Expert (Global Fashion) at +2
[Fashion] You Enjoy Looking Good, On Occasion - There's a time and place to look nice. You don't spend your formative years in Paris without developing a sense for these things, and while your sense of professional decorum is stronger than your desire to look nice,you don't mind going the extra mile off the clock or for special occasions. In-fact, you rather enjoy it (and you know for a fact that Widget does too.) Knowing what you were talking about helped you fit in back home too. While in Paris, Jeanne learned enough to fit-in, and enjoys looking good when the situation demands. Gain "Wardrobe & Style" skill at +3, Expert (Western Europe) +2
[Fashion] Resigned - You don't care one way or another, but you know it can matter to others. You know how to look good and when duty demands you'll dress up, but when left to your own devices you much prefer form and function over aesthetics. Making sure your hair is washed, skin scrubbed, that you're as clean and sterile as your surgical tools when you were done with them. This did not stop your foster-sister and her friends from dragging you clubbing constantly, nor your fellow APSM students when you finally, finally graduated. Most days are sweatpants kinda days. Jeanne understands the necessity of looking good for appearances' sake, and has her own personal standards she will not compromise on. While in Paris, she did the bare minimum to fit in, and could never quite shake the sense of distance between her and her peers. Gain "Personal Grooming" skill at +4, Resist Drugs/Torture +1
[Fashion] Couldn't Care Less - Ahahahaha no. Literally impossible given background choices. Option locked. AN: These are functionally vanity skills - vote less along the lines of what skill you wants and more along the lines of the kind of person you'd like Jeanne to be. Mechanically, Wardrobe & Style and Personal Grooming are the same skill - taking W&S doesn't mean Jeanne doesn't shower, it's more an interpretation of where Jeanne devotes most of her effort.
With your style in check and no stray flecks of food in your teeth, you follow the very patient goon out onto the parlor floor. The slot machines sit unoccupied, and empty gaming tables sit bathed in pools of light, unused tiles gleaming like so many teeth, neatly stacked. Goon #1 leads you down the floor and up the stairs, where you're passed to a bigger, scarier Goon #2.
Another flight of stairs and through a beaded curtain, and you're handed off to Goon #3, who you mentally re-label and reorder Goon #1 due to his sheer presence. You've met Solos before, the type of people who live and breathe violence to the point killing becomes a part of them. Lance and Hansa had that way about them. So does this guy.
Identifying Cyberware: MedTech/2 (Wrong Skill) + Int vs DC 5/10/15/20 = (1d10!+4+8 = (3)+4+8 = 15) Graduated Success - Average!
He also, literally stands out - he's taller than any other goons by a solid six inches, and seems to be pure chrome from the upper-thigh down. He's sporting some serious hydraulics, sleek but menacing Corvette stompers that, in your professional opinion, could kick through a tank if the wielder was so inclined. Those were serious kit - Edgerunner-expensive, and no doubt equally expensive to maintain. It's hard to miss the combat-claw additions to the heel either (sheathed, for now.) A black leather vid-jacket looping pixelated blue dragons and a featureless black helmet complete the look. He looks you over once, seems to deem you harmless, and jerks his head towards a door. Goon #1 (formerly known as Goon #3) knocks once, politely, then in a strangely gallant gesture, holds it open for you.
"Doctor Baudin! Thank you for arriving promptly." Purple cigarette smoke lingers around the ceiling of the tiny office. A middle-aged Chinese woman sits enthroned within, a butterfly broach on her lapel and a long cigarette holder dangling from a hand. The masked solo follows you into the office and carefully pulls out a chair for you to sit, and you do so.
"This is Bounce, my personal Runner," the Tong Fixer explains casually. "He'll just be over there to the side, in case we need anything. Think of him as furniture - when the time comes to seal our little arrangement, he'll be the one making your delivery."
"I see," you say carefully, as Goon #- no, as Bounce silently steps into a holding position by the door. The fact someone can move that silently on legs that heavy makes your hair raise.
"Now I understand you've a pressing need for material, my dear. As it so happens, I'm in the business of helping the community, and I'm sure that we can come to an agreement...."
Negotiation Time! How does the Talk with Mdm. Butterfly go? No matter what, she can get you the eyes you need. In addition...: Choose Two:
[Deal] Mdm Butterfly's option is fast. Tonight level fast. (Less risk of infection or complications brought about by waiting for supply.)
[Deal] Mdm. Butterfly's option is legal. No risk of blowback or unfortunate street-level mix-ups. (What it says on the tin. Taking this reduces potential social complications.)
[Deal] Mdm. Butterfly doesn't gouge you on price. (Clinic Funding only drops one level vs two.)
[Deal] The cybernetics Mdm. Butterfly obtains don't require expensive anti-rejection drugs to fully utilize. (Good for your patients, bad for your bottom line.)
Clinic Funding
To abstract the money situation out a little bit, the Clinic currently operates on a ten point scale representing the amount of funding it has and the amount of capital you have. Jeanne and Widget saved up a little bit of a nest egg (Edgerunning pays well) so they started at Rank 5 - Afloat. Due to slow business, however, they've dropped a level - Leaking.
1 Facing Bankruptcy
2 Hemorrhaging
3 Bleeding 4 Leaking
5 Afloat
6 In the Black
7 Extra Cash
8 Rich and Comfortable
9 "Have you considered Franchising?"
10 Small Corporation
Sometimes, the fiction will demand that you pull on your resources, moving the needle up or down. But while this does have fictional consequences, this isn't a quest about optimizing these things, and the game isn't over if it hits zero. When one door closes, etc etc.
AN:
I'm alive! My capstone is basically done, and wow did this update fight me the whole way. I'm supremely jealous of those Quest authors who can maintain a consistent output. Shoutout to my beta-buddy for the editing passes and encouragement to actually get the next part. I wasn't sure if I wanted another "pick 2" vote here, given you already voted to go to Mdm. B, but I don't think Jeanne would ever just accept someone's initial offer as the only option.
To be clear about the stimulants addiction, what I'm describing is like Caffine+, one step up from coffee but one step down from prescription ADHD medication - this won't have any serious effects probably, but I thought it fodder for a nice little moment between Jeanne and Widget.
5 Hour Discussion Moratorium before voting starts please! Because I don't really think a plan vote would work well, the most popular of all the options will win for each category (this includes the most popular of the two Deal options) - if I could, I'd *like* to work out some way to divide it, but my vote-fu's gotten a little rusty since last I posted.
Thanks again for reading! Here's to the next update taking *significantly* less time (hopefully)
[][Fashion] You Enjoy Looking Good, On Occasion
[][Deal] Mdm. Butterfly's option is legal. No risk of blowback or unfortunate street-level mix-ups.
[][Deal] Mdm. Butterfly doesn't gouge you on price.
[X]Plan: Just a simple man women trying to make her way through the universe Night City
-[X][Fashion] You Enjoy Looking Good, On Occasion
-[X][Deal] Mdm. Butterfly's option is legal. No risk of blowback or unfortunate street-level mix-ups.
-[X][Deal] Mdm. Butterfly doesn't gouge you on price.
That's a given, but the question is, how much? Even "I do this because I have to" Jeanne has the vocabulary and understanding that being immersed in the style-focused Euro world brings.
