01 🕊️ TEXT / @ANONYMOUS

[transmit]

[ During one of the lulls between storms, a certain individual may or may not be losing his mind. Welcome to the network's first anonymous post! What better way of breaking in the function than… drum roll… ]


️‍🔥 HOT OR NOT: DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO BE NEO TOKYO'S HOTTEST OUTSIDER? ️‍🔥


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( ooc: with mod permission, you're free to assume any implant glitches when it comes to posting an auto-generated profile and/or reacting to others! anon is "enabled", though characters don't necessarily have to use it. have fun! )

Comments

[zauneyete]

None.

[ It is an automatic answer, sharpened by years of being worn down. ] Where I am from, we only take.

[ A pause, though. ]

I must ask. Are you challenging my bravery? I do not back down when challenged.

[ this is decidedly a challenge now ]

[immortalpoet]

Hum. I see. In the Backstreets, it's that way, day in and day out. In the Nests, its hidden under fancy contracts and formal business. It's all the same in the root, though.

[The sharpness of the other's answer reminds him of what he saw that day in Silco's eyes, the hard glimmer of something like a knife in the coat.]

[A selfish, self-sufficient man of grit, of toil, of something gnarled.]

[He knows it well. A part of him is there.]

Am I? It could stand as such. Maybe you have to squint. If it is, I suppose you'll put it more to action than to words. Would you?

[zauneyete]

In the Undercity, it is the same. Worse, we have the topsiders to take what we gain from each other. It makes people like us strong.

[ There is pride there. It's fucked up, but there is pride from this man, in being the type that will give nothing. He is both a product and a perpetrator of his people's suffering, and he would never have it any other way. Zaun under Silco could only go one way. Down. Deeper into their own selfishness and self-destruction.

Vergilius seems to know it, too. He isn't surprised, given that the man had not even flinched, when Silco had stomped on that man's arm, nor when he injured him to begin with. No. There was a monster there, clearly. ]

I do not balk at any. [ real, or perceived, actually. Ask the last god he killed. ] I'll prove it to you.

[immortalpoet]

[Ah yes, this is Backstreets talk. Though at the same time, it isn't. Nobody was this ambitious. The Nests considered them to be bottom feeders, and even if someone had such lofty aspirations to attempt to kill the kings in their thrones, they'd be smashed like bugs. Be hungry, but no, you can't be too hungry. That's how the world works. It rolls over the backs of others to make its railroad track.]

[All the more to hate it.]

Of course. I can see it in the way you carry yourself a mile away.

[An acknowledgement of that pride. In a way, an expression of respect. He's no ordinary person, either, and as much as cynicism has made him cold to the idea of most being able to make a difference, there's still that hope that...it can happen, somehow, even if its bloody and destructive as a result.]

Heh. Excellent. Name the time, place. I'll be there.

[...Should he be doing this, especially with everything he's done with Malkuth? The devil on his shoulder says yes. After all, she's not someone who has put her gaze squarely on him as much as he has done for her.]

[He muses if Silco can.]

[zauneyete]

Heh.

[ The laugh is short, and still prideful. Though what he would ask Vergilius to do is... probably also not going to be the expected kind of thing to do.

Then again, Silco's idea of fun isn't great, so. ]

Why don't you meet me in the city? Kabukicho Street.

I have something particularly fun in mind.

[ Is it roughing up people behind on their money?






Yes. ]

[immortalpoet]

Alright. I think I know the one. I'll be there. Want me to bring anything?



[Vergilius coming up like man ARE WE JUST DOING MY OLD JOB..........THIS IS FIXER SHIT...............GET YOUR DATE ACT TOGETHER!!!!!!!!!!]




[But he won't say no.]

[zauneyete]

[ Look, he doesn't know any better... Isn't this fun enough?? ]

Oh, why don't you bring your favorite tool?

[ breathes in
breathes out

i don't have an excuse. ]

I'll make sure we'll have good reason to use it.

[immortalpoet]

[🤨?]

My favorite tool.....?

[Wondering if



this is an innuendo. Hm.]

I do have one. But its not one I'd use lightly. I suppose you'd just like to see it in action, hm?

[zauneyete]

[ This is, unfortunately, not an innuendo. Silco really is Just Like That.

Y'all say date, he says: let's commit atrocities together. ]

Perhaps I would. Think of this as an...opportunity. To show off, if need be.

[ Sighs. But then he says shit like that. ]

[immortalpoet]

To show off.

[Hrrmmm.]

Will you clap for me if it impresses your high taste?

[zauneyete]

Oh I have very high standards. If you meet them, I'll clap for you, certainly.

[ Can't believe he's promising this. ]

[immortalpoet]

Ah. Something to work for.

[He sort of means that, but he's dryly wry as usual.]

Will you bring any tool, yourself?

[zauneyete]

I have not been granted any, yet.

Don't worry, I tend to find a way to... improvise.

[ It's obvious, from the way the man speaks, he didn't need to bring a weapon to find one. Silco may be scrawny, small, and frankly unassuming... but Verg's earlier assessments about the man were spot on. Silco, after all, might be those things, but he was mean and driven, and didn't exactly let people hold him back. ]

If not, well. I did promise you entertainment, didn't I?

[immortalpoet]

You sound like the kind of man too. You'd better not renege on your promise. I would lose some respect for someone like you.

[But yes, he'll move to sheathe his blade, here. Best to get ready.]

See you soon?

[zauneyete]

Oh, now, we can't have that.

I'll be waiting.

[immortalpoet]

[And sure enough, after some time, here comes the man of the hour, a noticable holster strapped onto his back with a sword handle sticking out.]

[A brief little nod to Silco, as he glances around.]

Show the way, then. To your...opportunity.

[zauneyete]

[ Silco's eyes trained onto the sword, and his lips curled into a slight smile. Honestly? He's a little surprised that he showed, but... you know. He's used to disappointment.

Silco, in opposition to Verg, is unassuming in his dress and frame. No weapons (save for a small knife he'd pulled from a kitchen somewhere nearby tucked into his boot) and all in black. It seems to cling to him, waiting by the shadow of the building, but it's hard to miss that eye, glowing even when he was in the shadow of the large building next to him.

He stepped out of it, when Vergil approached. ]

Gladly. Hope you don't mind a bit of a walk.

[ Technically it isn't far, but he takes them the long way around, but for reasons not explained. ]

[immortalpoet]

Not at all.

[Again, the glowing eye - it begs attention. Maybe in his world, it was a sign, an omen of not to be trifled with. For Vergilius, it's a common denominator, a familiar image to latch onto.]

[No weapons that he sees. That's fine. He's used to being the heavy hitter.]

Where are we going?

[zauneyete]

Down the way.

[ He gestured, even as they moved. It was a bit of a wide berth, like they were circling the destination, partially like a shark, centering in on its prey. ]

You see, there is a gentleman who owns a butcher nearby. Upstanding businessman, by all accounts. He even helps the police on occasion, when there is unsavory activity. [ A beat, and a curl of his lip. ] Except, you see, he has been leading them away from my employer, up until recently. Selling out the others around him, until... well. Someone else decided to pay his fees as well.

Now he has decided to cut and run, and... [ A shrug ] We can't have that. I noticed that there was a bit less money requested by his business, and yet it seems he is buying more stock more lately. [ Silco tutted, softly. ]

Amazing what one can find when one looks at books, and pays attention.

[ Did the owner of the... organization Silco was cooking for ask him to take care of this? No, but you know how it is. One has to be proactive to get credit. ]

[immortalpoet]

[The more Silco explains, the more this situation winds gently under his skin, tickling against old, familiar scars and spots.]

[It feels nostalgic, it really does. A wayward scoundrel to find and poach and tear apart. A business to demolish. A crew to massacre. Its all part and parcel of his existence.]

[He keeps apace with Silco, taking the information in, before he offers a smirk.]

And you are a man of the books, of course. I suppose not many could evade that piercing eye. Now...you're dragging me along your adventures, aren't you?

[zauneyete]

Adventures? Oh, this is nothing of the sort.

[ He waved a hand, as if this wasn't remotely the same. ]

This is business.

[ He says it with such a matter of fact confidence, that it's obvious that he believes this. That business really did just work like this.

To be fair... ]

Who knows, it might even play to your advantage later.

[immortalpoet]

Business is business.

[He won't argue that at all - he knows it far too well, himself, that's the rule of things in his world - but that smirk isn't going anywhere. He even looks more amused, a little bit of a surprising expression on his usually dour face.]

I hope it does. Given that this is supposed to be a date...I'd expect for you to sweep me off my feet if you make me do some dirty work, Silco.

[zauneyete]

Ah, well.

[ Had he forgotten the date thing? Had I? No, it's definitely Silco, and he certainly had forgotten that this was supposed to be a date.

Is it because he's a workaholic? Or is it because Silco so rarely engages with other people at that level that he forgets to bother? ]

I'll do my best, but you'll have to keep your expectations low, I'm afraid. It's been quite some time.

[ Probably uh. You know. Since he was trying to stage a revolution and before. All Of That. ]

[immortalpoet]

[Of course he forgot. Vergilius isn't aggrieved - the whole premise was them joking about it to begin with - but accepting, perhaps even when he shouldn't.]

[Silco is the kind of man who sinks his teeth into a problem and never lets it go, he's finding. Good in some ways, bad in some ways. Bad in most ways, mostly for the people Silco is trying to work against.]

We'll see. If you do alright, maybe I'll allow you to buy me a drink. A little reward, you know how it is.

[zauneyete]

[ Bad in every way, because the man is relentless, coupled with cautious. It can be the sort of problem that seems to vanish only to reappear later, because while other people might forget, or try to sweep it under the rug... Silco. Doesn't.

No, he'll just hold onto that resentment for forever. Great. Healthy. ]

Oh, I'll get to buy you a drink? [ A laugh. ] I suppose I'll have to work hard to gain that honor, hm?

[ They're getting close, rounding a corner, and there's a small business at the end of the way. ]

Well, I suppose I'll have the opportunity, there it is. Owner is a man called Osuke, he's generally the only one running the place around this time of day, too. [ A tight smile. ] No collateral.