synflux | WELCOME TO THE AUCTION [ OPEN LOG FOR ALL ]

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WELCOME TO THE AUCTION [ OPEN LOG FOR ALL ]

WELCOME TO THE REDD ROOM

Neo Tokyo is a glittering and shining city that still prospers despite continuous kaiju attacks and natural disasters that plague it. However, there's more to Neo Tokyo than what meets the eye. Below its sparkling surface, there is another world that also flourishes out of sight for most. The people who live in this version of the city meet in the shadows and deal under the table, using cunning and power to secure their means. Instead of papers and feeds, this world receives news in the form of whispers and connections.

Rumors have been flying for months. They talk about long lost masterpieces, valuable information, and a certain recently discovered sword. The shadows whisper and share their opinions, making it known if they believe there's any credibility to the stories and if there's really anything to gain. While plenty is still unknown, what is known is that these rumors are beginning to converge and soon a name, a place, and a date will be chosen.

Those with enough money to live well in Neo-Tokyo rarely earn it honestly, and those with strong personalities all know who is the best broker of deals: Madame Redd. A divorcee who’s always found wearing a red-fox stole, she’s a wealthy arts dealer known for her keen eye, and propensity to occasionally sell fraudulent paintings to the unobservant client. She’s a sharp, witty woman who always seems to have a scheme up her sleeve, and hosting an event like this truly is where she’s at her most comfortable.

In a world where everything is done with technology, Redd opts for something more traditional. Securing an invitation means obtaining a simple, nondescript red card. With no name, address, or information on it, it's clear that having an invitation doesn't mean you'll be able to find the venue. However, by scanning the card with the right settings, a microchip embedded in the card will provide them with the information they need before wiping itself clean. Arrive to the venue, show your card, and pay your entrance fee.

To enter the gala, you need to pay a fee that proves you're serious. After all, this isn't a child's game. This is where the adults come to have fun and spend their hard won earnings. You will be prompted to scan your eye so they can read your implant and extract precious personal information. After uploading and submitting your identity as collateral, you'll finally be let in.

You are formally invited to the auction.

The gala

The Entertainment
Upon entering the venue, the invited will find themselves in a large, dimly lit room. The lights are low, obscuring corners and leaving plenty of areas out of sight. There's a veil of smoke in the air that occasionally flickers as lines of holographic light activate, displaying hologram menus and programs for the guests to peruse. There's plenty of plush and comfortable seating, chairs, and even private alcoves and rooms for any attendee to make their way into. Madame Redd runs a high-class establishment, that's catered toward any taste one can imagine.

At the front and center is a stage where a virtual singer with teal hair sings original songs and takes requests, providing vintage and modern tunes. As she sings, she dedicates her music to her fans and it's almost like her likeness shifts. She's the perfect idol, able to become the exact person you admire and love down to their appearance and voice. Even their mannerisms are the same and their songs draw you in, like a siren, making you want to devote yourself to your idol.

The Libations
The Bar is one of the few places that is brightly lit. Spotlights shine on the liquor shelves, showing off a wide array of spirits ranging from common and popular favorites to rare bottles that probably cost more than what the average salary is in the city. Be careful, but feel free to peruse the menu.

— Menu —

SONIC BOOM. Makes your hearing better, like you could hear secrets shared across the room. A fat-washed bourbon old-fashioned

THIRD RAIL. An electric lemonade that fills the drinker with the feeling that they need to yammer on incessantly. Like lightning on the tongue

LET'S DO THE MIND WARP AGAIN. A spicy tequila drink, it makes you more perceptive of the emotions of others to the point that you can get a sense of them empathically.

FATHER WINTER. Makes the area around you drop several degrees, to the point that glasses are frosted. A boozy mint hot chocolate.

VAMPIRE'S KISS. Makes consumers want to drink blood, and tastes of red fruit juices (and alcohol) (real fangs not included, but the drink comes with a pair of plastic fangs)

MOTHER EARTH. A red sangria that makes you feel like you're basking in a too-warm summer's sun.. It also makes you feel more impulsive and violent. Oops!

BURN DOWN FOR WHAT. Like having a redbull and a Celsius at once. Hyper enough that you might feel like you're moving faster than everyone else — and you might be! Several liquors topped off with LILITH-brand energy drink, served on fire with a high-proof float.

RIFT CORRUPTION. they SAY drinking could affect you in any number of random ways – truly dangerous! Really, it’s a virgin mocktail.

BEE POSITIVE. Will be able to communicate telepathically with other people who'd drank the same drink, a honey and gin concoction.

PLANTS DOWN. The aphro one, made with smuggled pollen. It’s a sweet and fruity drink that makes you think about lying down and having fun on the beach.

GILTTER. A drink with iridescent shades of purple, blue, and green. The bartender may challenge you to a round of dice to pay for drinks for everyone at the bar before serving.

coding

The menu contains some surprises

High Stakes Games
At some of the tables, you can put down your bets and play a round of cards or throw some dice. The stakes vary at each table, with some betting cash fortunes and others are more creative. At certain tables, people play for the thrill. They make dares that losers have to carry out and invite everyone to take a bit of risk. Some of these tables have clear shots lined up in simple glasses. After each loss, losers have to take shots, and while this might seem like a mere drinking game, it's more complicated. The shots have a sharp, tingly taste and a strong burn when it goes down. Not long after consumption, the loser will temporarily lose a sense.

However, it is not limited to the traditional five senses. You might also lose more metaphorical senses. You're playing a drink roulette and there's no telling what you might lose.

Traditional senses: Touch, taste, sight, hearing, smell
Perceptual senses: Balance, pain, space (spatial awareness), time
Abstract senses: Humor, justice, duty, honor, belonging, purpose, urgency, direction, judgment (common sense)

Effects can stack, so playing too long could be disastrous. Fortunately, the effects are also temporary and will usually wear off after a short amount of time. Every person is different so it depends on each person. Still, a lot can happen in a short period of time, and this is a dangerous environment to be vulnerable in, so it's best to drink responsibly.

The Back of the House
In contrast to the shiny, chromed-out and minimalist curves and neon lights up in the club and VIP section, the back of house or the alleyway and loading docks behind Madame Red’s club is darker, betraying the seedier underbelly of her establishment. Outsiders who feel uncomfortable in their skin on the best of days, and even worse when asked to polish up for an event can still make it in.

However, if Outsiders go that route, they will be informed that they’ll also need to keep their eyes and ears peeled in case of danger. Madame Redd has been helping with the rumors of this legendary missing Muramasa for months, and people are very interested in it. She’s not certain that there might be an attempt to steal it, but she is concerned, so Outsiders will need to listen in on conversations as they serve or act as security. However, if you’re acting as security, you’ll be required to wear a fox mask, to remain anonymous to everyone.

And in fact, while some members of the party are busy playing the game on the floor, the Outsiders helping out with the back of house will start to hear rumors from some of the rougher-looking staff members. From the rumors, they’ll discover that some of the staff corridors are being used by certain entities to get closer to the treasure being auctioned off tonight. After all, some elements want to keep the mystique, and what’s more exciting than a recently recovered ancient sword, than if it goes disappearing. So several of Neo-Tokyo’s crime syndicates are vying to steal it. Outsiders can choose to pit them against one another, redirect them using their positions as staff, coordinate with their fellow outsiders in the party proper, or even just straight up fight them! Anything goes, but Madame Redd’s directive was clear: This should not impact the Auction itself. No bringing the fight to the main floor!

THE AUCTION

The Auction
And what a main floor! The organizers clearly have gone all out for this special art auction – there’s holographic displays of everything from paintings to jewelry to the swords themselves, each identifiable with an ocular implant stating the object name, providence, and current bid. Much of the bidding is happening anonymously, but there are signs amongst the crowds on the floor of who might be attempting to outbid who. Outsiders are, of course, welcome to bet their Kryptos on just about anything under the sun, though the rarer and finer the object the more likely they are to be outbid. But there are some small art pieces that are feasible for Outsiders to win, should they choose to try.

Finely crafted silver bracelet with a heart charm from maker “Theophania”
A corner of Van Gogh’s “Scream” - something’s off about that
A certificate of ownership for a digital png of… you’re not sure, a monkey? Or is it a grape with a bored expression? Someone tells you that you can use it as an ‘icon’. (People have not used digital icons in at least 100 years)
“Girl with A Pearl Earring” – closer inspection reveals that the pearl is a red and white orb from a popular children’s cartoon from the beginning of the millennium, but did you look that closely at it before you won?
Colorful folder with a wild cat design, comes with a set of matching stickers
A hand crafted statue of a woman in a compromising pose and very little clothing. She looks heavily stylized and more like an animated piece
A glass rose
A nice lacquered box with a real pearl inlay of a nice ocean-related design
A pair of thick plastic shoes in something called ‘sport mode’
A painting with rectangles of color
Three smaller tantos (one listing for each)

Time for a Bidding War!

When someone wins an object (ten minutes go by without any bids), the staff will bring the individual into the back room where the real items are – proudly displayed and very securely guarded. No one is taking any chances. Well, there is one object that seems to be gaining a lot of attention, including significant press in the lead-up to the auction itself.

The one item not tucked away is the one that several Outsiders have been checking in on: Muramasa, Aventurine, and Silco, namely. It’s in the center of the main auction area, with appropriate mood lighting giving the blade a dangerous glow. A pressure-sensitive railing surrounds it, and if any Outsider so much as touches it, they and anyone around them will be ushered into a small room to be grilled by security. Yes, even if you accidentally did it. Getting out of questioning proves to be a time-intensive process, especially if you’ve indulged in any of the unsavory options of the evening.

Good luck!

The Heist Begins! (And where did Asaboo go??)
The highlight of the night is the betting war over the star of the show – the genuine “reclaimed” Muramasa sword, perfect and pristine. Madame Redd stands next to it as she tells the story of how it was found and brought to her by a secret faction within LILITH, as evidenced by Asaboo guarding it as well. She adjusts her fox-fur stole and expresses that it’s a great honor for her to present it tonight to auction to the highest bidder, someone who truly appreciates art, and history. The bidding commences, with several clearly Yakuza types offering increasingly large sums for the item.

That is, until a woman stands and offers an exorbitant amount, with a striped stole around her neck, her tone is laid back and belligerent. Madame Redd hisses out a soft oath to any outsiders who are nearby, but the woman laughs when one of the bidders folds, and she offers him a loan to keep going, if he’d like. A few escalations later, however, and the sword is indeed taken by the notoriously wealthy loan shark and arts dealer (and Madame Redd’s ex) Tammy Nook.

As the auction concludes, it’s time to indulge in the rest of the night's festivities – except the power flickers – and as the lights lift again, the sword is missing – along with Asaboo, who wouldn’t let go of it. Everyone will have to track down the thieves, since they can’t have gotten far, right? As Outsiders start spreading out to find the thieves, they’ll encounter new security that hadn’t been there before: humanoid machines that shift and jerk...until they project holograms of other Outsiders over their bodies. They’ll have to determine friend from foe, as those uploaded identities are now a danger, and they’ll have to fight their way through these false outsiders to try and keep chasing after the thieves! Someone had better save the sword (and Asaboo!) so it's time to fight your way through!

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[ meanwhile, silco: drinks in the middle of every stressful event in his canon ]

Oh, my head is clear enough.

[ So he may be something of a functioning alcoholic. If anything, he doesn't seem any different than he did before. So maybe he really is always just a little bit... rolling.

He sips at his drink, and his fingers tap against his glass. He's mentally tallying the time before he needs to disappear. It'll still take a bit before his bodyguard gets here. ]

And Madame Redd is the one in charge of all of this. [ A wan smile. ] I'm just the connections, is all. My part of the event is done.

[ given silco's canon? honestly, fair. ]

I see.

[ A mild response, lacking any real judgement or even skepticism. It isn't really any of Yuta's business so he doesn't question the validity of the statement, he merely takes it as it is. Even in his current intoxicated state, he has enough sense to know that his own currently ongoing experience is not the standard to hold an adult more well-versed in the vice to anyway.

Yuta reaches for the Rift Corruption set down for him, but it's more to keep his hands occupied than anything now that he's lost the desire to drink it, turning the glass in a slow circle between his fingers idly just to have something tactile to focus on and distract from the ache-itch behind his teeth. ]

Madame Redd can't be too pleased about all this. [ The chaos. The mess. ] But I guess none of it matters now that it's over so long as everyone gets paid.

[ Is that last bit slightly pointed in defense of Muramasa and his master's deserving of a share? Maybe.

Yuta doesn't really care about this whole thing beyond that. He very much wants to be done now, too. What was first on his hierarchy of wants and has been knocked down to a close second thanks to the weird urge to bite is the desire to go grab Muramasa and go home to the forge. For all that it's been somewhat overtaken, it's no less pressing. ]

Oh, I can assure you that she is not.

[ His eyes scanned the crowd, looking them all over. Madame Redd looks furious, but it's hard to tell if it's the mess or with the way she keeps looking over at the winner of the sword, whether it's the fact that someone she didn't want to prevail... had. ]

However, that is hardly our fault. Thanks to the lot of us, the sword has been returned, the machines are disposed of, and the perpetrators will be dealt with in time.

[ How? He doesn't say. Silco's already gotten at the cameras and pulled the footage he needs. Now he just needs to analyze it, and find out who it was...

That's for another time, though. ]

I think the amount of money we made for both her and us will satisfy any poor feelings. Don't fret. We'll be paid.

[ Oh they most certainly will be. ]

[ He waits a moment for Silco's gaze to linger on a singular point before he turns his head to follow it, ignoring the faint dizziness that the motion causes, and— ah. As expected, really. None of this seems to have gone to her liking, but if her displeasure doesn't interfere with what everyone's owed, it doesn't matter much. Silco's right and it earns the man a soft hum of agreement; the sword has been retrieved, the machines taken down, some nefarious plot successfully thwarted. For most of them their part is done here. There's some vague curiosity as to how the perpetrators will be caught and dealt with and Yuta's almost tempted to ask.

Almost.

Just not enough to actually do so. Because what goes on in these circles is not his business and he does not care to make it so. That's not his job. So Silco's answer leaves him mollified enough, the relaxing of his shoulders and mellowing of his expression further aided by the feel-good buzz of the alcohol. ]

Good. Shishou put a lot of work into it. [ The blade, that is. ] He deserves to be compensated.

[ Both for the work and the use of his name with all the (unjust) infamy that comes with it that's made all of this possible in the first place. ]

Anyone who does the work should.

[ He says this firmly, pointedly. ]

And he put in a great deal of it. We all did.

That's why we did, of course. To get paid.

[ Silco is surprisingly odd about this. In that he does want people to get their pay. It's an odd little thing that doesn't mesh with his reputation, but comes from a deeper place, the experience of someone who has been subjected to unfair labor in the past. His background of organizing of a different sort shining through. ]

[ The sentiment, with all the vehement insistence behind it, comes as something of a surprise given what little Yuta does know about Silco through his notoriety. It's certainly a welcome one though, further placating him when Silco seems so genuine about it. ]

And you all should be. [ Easy agreement. Whatever Yuta might think of this whole thing and the type of crowd it has primarily attracted, it's obvious a lot of work and planning went into this that deserves to be fairly compensated as well. His defending of his master is simply because: ] Shishou just thought Aventurine-san's initial payment was going to be it and that was enough for him.

[ Which, Muramasa being Muramasa, of course. A wearied sigh escapes along with his next statement as Yuta (rather unprofessionally) slumps over the bar a little, fingers still toying idly with his drink. ]

But he's just really bad with money in general.

[ A soft scoff. ]

Really? I couldn't have guessed.

[ He knew. Muramasa's charge for his knives had been less than the going rate, though he made up for it with the silks. At least something to compensate him for it. ]

Ah, I knew people like him in the past, when I was a boy. It's the reason why I learned to keep books back when...

Well. When one had to be very good with money, to make something form nothing.

[ The scoff and the sarcastic remark tell Yuta all he needs to know and it briefly turns his expression wry and sheepish. It really isn't hard to tell that Muramasa is bad with money for anyone who pays attention, but for it to seem like widespread knowledge... Yuta has his job cut out for him.

His regard turns curious for a moment, almost like he's about to ask about the part where Silco trailed off just now, but ultimately he doesn't pry and just sighs quietly. ]

I set his prices now, but he could really stand to learn like you did.

[ An almost put-upon little lament. (One that would never have been uttered so casually if he'd been sober.)

It's not that Yuta minds being relied upon, it's quite the opposite even if having to deal with finances is stressful and something he's having to learn on the fly, but if LILITH ever sends him back... he hates the thought of what that might mean for Muramasa and his business. ]

He could, but he sees no reason to.

[ A soft huff of air. ] People like him... they have no need. There's nothing they want, after all.

[ A roll of his eyes. ]

Even when the creature comforts would be preferable, hm? They seem to not be swayed by it.

That's true... He's definitely like that.

[ His next sigh is louder, defeated and rueful, and he fully just slumps over now, heated cheek pressed against the cool counter of the bar. It's some sad, wistful draping, about as professional as his continued lamenting. ]

We don't even have electricity or running water at the forge. You would think those would be basic needs at this point...

[ They are to a modern day boy like him, but no. Not to Muramasa. Water is something they need to go fetch. ]

Inconvenient.

[ He admits it. Even Silco appreciates creature comforts like water, plumbing, and electricity. They've done without, of course, but... ]

Even at my worst, we had that. [ He drags his fingers down his lips, considering. ]

You have to find a way to make it more reasonable for his work, I think.

Water should be easy, yes? For forging.

Right?

[ See, Silco gets it. Although the motion is awkward with the dragging resistance of the bar's surface against his cheek, Yuta's nodding fervently. ]

Yes, you need water for things like quenching and removing scale from the anvil. Right now we have to fetch water from the main base every morning or whenever we run out, it's a hassle.

[ There's a certain charm to doing things in such an old-fashioned way, but it also gets very inconvenient. Especially on the days that he ends up staying over at the forge and has to bounce back and forth between the base and the smithy for the most basic things. (That's a more selfish reason though and Yuta does not think that holds enough sway.) ]

I guess efficiency could be a good argument...?

See? Speak his language.

[ He gestures with a hand toward the vague direction of where Muramasa is at the moment. ]

When you're convincing people to do what you want, you need to speak in a way that they'll understand. We both know that it is easier to have convenient facilities. He, however, has probably been doing without for his entire life, and doesn't really consider a better way.

You have to find a way around the "that's how it's always been done", and since he doesn't have a competitor making them faster because they have water...

Well. Remind him how many more swords he could be making, with all that extra time.

[ Yuta finally lifts his head from the bar to follow the gesture, expression softening for a brief moment when his eyes catch on the familiar mop of unruly red in the crowd before his face shifts and lapses into drowsy thoughtfulness.

His head bops in a slow nod, taking in the words with a pensive hum. ]

It's difficult because a lot of what shishou does is just because he loves doing it, so I'm not entirely sure if he's really going to care about quantity all that much when he's fine with how things are.

[ Muramasa's already churning out swords at a rate no other normal swordsmith could, production speed and efficiency really aren't any problem whatsoever when it comes down to it. Still, it could be a start. ]

But that's worth a try.

Oh, I'm well aware. It's why he was happy to take my commission, I assume.

[ Well, he did pay, just... not as much as he should have. But Silco, at least, believes in paying for work. He also brought him silks.

Hey, he'll do what he can. ]

Well, worse comes to worse, maybe withholding your presence will work, if the others don't, hm?

[ Yuta's nodding in affirmation. It if were up to Muramasa, people would only need to bring him the needed materials and he'd be happy to do the work. ]

My presence...? [ Give his inebriated mind a second to parse that, head tilting and brows furrowing before: ] Oh, like a labor strike sort of thing?

[ That seems— extreme. Also not exactly a thing for an apprentice to do? Maybe? ]

Yes, precisely.

[ Silco has less an idea than Yuta does that there's anything going on there. ]

If one wishes for better conditions, withholding labor will often do the trick. Ensure the rest of your little cavalcade joins you, if you wish to see change. Otherwise, he'll continue on.

[ Silco: here to organize labor strikes ]

[ He's taking the words into Deep (Drunken) Consideration, taking it oh so seriously and being very pensive about it before ultimately lapsing into doubt. ]

Hmm... I wonder if that will work when we're apprentices and we're there to learn a trade, not because he really needs us.

[ They're mostly there for their own benefit and everything they do, Muramasa can do just fine on his own. It'll just be more chores for their master if they're not there, but he can't imagine it hindering Muramasa all that much. That's not what fills him with apprehension at the idea the most though. ]

Besides, the forge is my home too...

[ He'd have to stay away from the place he considers his home even if he spends most nights at the Kyoto base itself. The mere thought already has him looking dejected. ]

[ A shrug. ]

Then you will be without collateral.

[ Silco still thinks he should withhold labor, but that's because he thinks in these ways. Dollars. Profits. What foremen and business owners want, because it's how Silco conducts his own business. He doesn't skimp on pay, on what people need to work, because he knows what they lead to.

Or as Tezcatlipoca says: his principles are funny. ]

Hm, but what do I know? I just organized labor strikes in the past.

[ He stands. His leg is ok, but it still smarts. His eyes dart to the doors, and then to one of the private rooms in the back. Yes, he'll head there, first. Get picked up in private. ]

I'll leave you to sober up.

[ If only Muramasa would think a little more like a business owner instead of just being a simple swordsmith through and through, Yuta's life as his apprentice/accountant might have been a little easier, but alas. (Or actually, if only Yuta were to think to just ask on his own behalf, it would be fine and none of this scheming would even be necessary. Sadly it doesn't occur to him.)

He sighs, forlorn in his conviction he has no collateral indeed, and finally picks up his Rift Corruption to knock it back as though he's a seasoned drinker trying to drown his sorrows. He only barely keeps from making a face when the previously enjoyable drink tastes too sweet to taste buds now craving something far more metallic. Fortunately, before his disappointment is made manifest too visibly, he gets distracted by Silco getting up to leave. ]

Oh— okay. Thank you for your advice, Silco-san.

[ The sincere gratitude buoys his mood right back up and so it's accompanied by a matching smile as ready as the next comment he throws out without inhibition. ]

You're not as bad as people say. [ Said very earnestly. Silco did just try to help him and he agrees on Muramasa getting his dues after all. ] Have a nice evening.

[ And with those parting words, he's slipping right out of his seat to go make a (slightly unsteady) beeline for where they spotted that telltale unruly mop of red hair. ]

[ Yuta's on his way out too, but he probably wouldn't miss the slight roll of his eyes.

Silco half-limps his way to one of the private rooms, so he can wait out the time for his pickup, but under his breath, he does mutter a soft: foolish boy as a half-hearted rebuke.

Really, the amount of foolish boys here, if they had seen him a little over a year before, they would never have said something like that. ]

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WELCOME TO THE AUCTION [ OPEN LOG FOR ALL ]

WELCOME TO THE REDD ROOM

The gala

THE AUCTION

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