[Jackie Maradona]

[attr="class","susurrus"]

[attr="class","jikan"] [attr="class","hiraeth"]私は世界を変えたい

[attr="class","achee"] [attr="class","castleonthehill"] ❝ Though the day drew long, with the sun having inched its way across a clouded sky, its passage remained unnoticed and unremarked upon from the depths of a storage unit; Grinta, in her current lack of a permanent lab, had taken to moving between spaces where disturbances were kept to a minimum, both to better conceal her identity and to divide herself from her vigilante escapades. It was crude — she'd prefer to describe it as "aggravatingly cluttered" — but it fulfilled its duties for the time being — at least until she'd managed to find a secluded space for her work to remain permanently. Though, as the hours ticked away, the sound of keys clicking slowly came to a halt; or, rather, the clicks continued briefly before a realization of fecklessness settled. It became apparent to the vigilante that her inputs weren't fulfilled — that something had turned away from her. Not a moment sooner did the screen turn black, though the monitor itself remained alive, before strings of code began to dance across the screen. "Criosho." Criollo, the AI developed by the vigilante, had been designed with a multitude of functionalities; namely, for the given situation, Criollo had been devised as a software capable of combatting outside agents who attempted to infiltrate their protected devices. When presented with threats up until this point, Criollo had worked efficiently to lock them out, tracing the hostiles to their points of contact — but in this instance, Criollo was ineffectual. "I apologize, mistress." The sound came not from the computer, but from the cloak worn about Grinta's shoulders; for the sake of efficacy, the software had been programmed into the individual pieces of equipment adorning their creator. "The controls have been wrenched away from me despite my efforts... But it's not a hostile invasion." "The 'ell shou mean 'not 'ostile'?" "I cannot gauge the damage properly," the AI began, with the tip of its cloak pointing to the flowing monitor screen, "but as far I'm aware, actual data stored has not been altered." The code came to a stop, and left in its wake was a simple message: Coordinates, a time, and a request. Though, to the vigilante, it could only be read as a demand. "Where is the loca'ion?" "Akihabara." Grabbing hold of the mouse, which now held agency in its movement, Grinta trailed the cursor over the "Yes" input. Criollo, however, reached the cloak around Grinta's forearm, resisting the shift. "Wait! You don't know what you're getting yourself into! Even if this hack isn't damaging, a meet-up could prove-" "They want my atten'ion. They know me as a vigilante, and they bro'e through shou just to deman' a mee'ing — that's enough reason to take them seriously. Whether they prove a threat or ally will come with the meeting." The AI fell silent for a moment. But, eventually, it loosened its grip. "Is this the best course of action you see?" "Shes." The coat dropped to the side, leaving Jackie free rein to accept the invitation. Her computer, though undamaged as was further investigated by Criollo, now held as a desktop shortcut: the same details provided in the proposal. Even as Criollo scanned the system, it could not find a trace of the one who'd broken in. "Well then," Grinta, now affixing her mask properly to her face, rose from her seat. "Best not to dawdle." As the time turned to 23:00 — a time when the populace's ears would be dulled and pressed away from the affairs set to transpire — the vigilante set foot into the agreed upon alleyway; the green lambent of her mask and cloak illuminated her immediate surroundings, making Grinta a sight not easily missed, especially not to the one who'd set the table. "'ope it's worth the trouble," she'd murmur to herself, waiting for her contact. ✉ tag -- facade ✎ 637 words ※ Better be worth the trouble.

[attr="class","ache"]

MADE BY MIZO

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[facade]

---

| facade | @freelance_facade
Location: Tokyo, Japan. | Current Status: none of your business :)
Now Playing: Hudson Mohawke - Watch Dogs Theme

---

[Confirmation Received: Grinta.]
[Switching to passive mode, awaiting deactivation.]
The day had gone quickly for facade, almost entirely spent working. The past two hours, however, had been a lot harder than the freelance (and legit) work he had been doing beforehand. Even managing to gain access to Grinta's PC to place his message had been an hours-long struggle to circumvent and disable her guardian AI as well. Almost as soon as he had executed the program though, he'd received confirmation from it. Faster than he expected, honestly, and closer to the meeting time than he'd thought, too. facade wheeled over to an isolated monitor and closed the message, then set to work ensuring full control of the cameras in both his office building and the large ProjectYou store on the other side of the alleyway. While doing so, he'd attempted to gain access to any kind of microphone to gain some intel, but alas there were none to be found. "Secure, they know their stuff." He couldn't find any way to reliably track them outside of messing with CCTV cameras either, which wasn't worth the effort.

facade made his way to the alleyway shortly, making sure he was there at the meeting time as described. He was certainly a lot more plainly dressed than Grinta, his own mask (displaying a simple smiley face) the only current stand-out feature among unremarkable black jeans and a t-shirt. He had been standing in a place where he was half-obscured by shadow, only now making himself apparent as Grinta entered the alleyway. As he began to speak (with a slight but noticeable American accent in Japanese), the mask didn't seem to muffle his words at all. "Thanks for coming, I know it's a risk to come to a meeting like this without any prior knowledge. Gotta say, I love the mask, Grinta. None of the stuff I'd heard about you mentioned it! But, as you know, that's not what I invited you here to discuss." He stepped a little closer so that he could at least be seen clearly, phone in hand. "As my message said, I just want to offer a partnership, or an exchange of knowledge. I'm someone who does a lot of work to aid vigilantes, and I believe our skillsets are complementary. We're both real good at the electronics side, but you're the best I've heard of with AI & nanotech and I can work wonders with VFX, optics and getting into systems uninvited.".

He flicks something out of his sleeve and into his hand, pressing a button which causes a tiny drone to appear from elsewhere in the alley and hover above him. A 3D holographic projection of himself, and then Grinta herself, flickers into being originating from the drone. It's currently quite obviously fake and of limited utility with only one drone. "Little something I've been working on in my spare time, not anywhere near ready yet, but a proof of concept. Proof of ability. Thoughts?" He had a feeling he'd come on a little strong, but no plan survives contact with the enemy and all that. Just gotta keep up the confidence.

[Jackie Maradona]

[attr="class","susurrus"]

[attr="class","jikan"] [attr="class","hiraeth"]私は世界を変えたい

[attr="class","achee"] [attr="class","castleonthehill"] ❝ Her contact made wasted no time in their arrival, appearing as though they'd once been the shadow they hid within and quickly stepping up to pronounce himself. At a glance, he seemed a wiry figure; taller than Grinta, she noted, but most certainly thinner by comparison. Though, she supposed it was hard to compare when hers was hidden beneath her cloak. The vigilante remained silent throughout Facade's display, giving him the attention he'd so earnestly garnered without a word spoken. It wasn't as though Grinta'd been brought out in such a way before, though; sure, she'd investigated scenes that piqued her intrigue, but none such occurrences ever called for her attention directly. More often than not, intuition led her to situations where she could best be. Without any experience in a situation such as this, then, Grinta figured it best to let him have his moment. As his demonstration finally called for her input, Grinta chose to approach the holographic display presented before her. Dragging a hand through the effect, the dead stare of her mask watched as the light bent and twisted around her fingertips, seeming to pay no mind to Facade himself. "Well," she'd begin, still not turning her gaze to him, "if thi' were shour proof of ability, I'd 'ave not come. But, given shour ability to breach my work, I don't doubt shou." "But–" as she continued, her gaze finally settled itself on Facade himself– "not starting with intro'uctions? At lea't try to sweet-talk me a little be'ore shou get into the details." Though Facade had breached her system and offered a location, Grinta hadn't a single idea as to who he was. Not as though she was oblivious to rumors or conjecture — she made sure she kept up to date in that regard — but that the one who'd called her attention had yet to address himself as anyone but a nameless, yet talented, individual. "Shou know me as Grinta; a name most don't even know beyond rumors yet. Shour research and de'ication are impressive, don't misunder'tand me." Placing her hand against her neck, Grinta seemed to rub her wrapped fingers against her skin. "But shou 'aven't even offered an alias, let alone what shou exactly want from me; I'd like context before I agree to anything." Though she appreciated his forwardness, Grinta wasn't one to rush herself into any form of contract. Wherever the vigilante could take a moment to appraise, she would certainly, without hesitation, take it. In this instance, the conditions of their contact were still muddled, with little understanding of her position in his scheme; to that end, she would prod for intention. "And shou assist vigilantes? Then what do shou intend to do for me?" ✉ tag -- facade ✎ 454 words ※ What're you made of?

[attr="class","ache"]

MADE BY MIZO

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[facade]

---

| facade | @freelance_facade
Location: Tokyo, Japan. | Current Status: none of your business :)
Now Playing: Hudson Mohawke - Watch Dogs Theme

---

Not entirely fluent in Japanese to begin with, it took facade a bit to parse what Jackie had said through her accent, though with no visible expression it may have looked more like deliberation or him studying her. "Right, where are my manners! I go by 'facade'. I have a few more aliases, but any glowing reviews on back-channels would be under that name, should you want to research me. Forgive my brevity, introductions are often awkward." The display on his mask changes to katakana roughly spelling out 'facade' to illustrate his name. "As for the specifics, I don't expect you to sign a contract or anything like that, legal frameworks are kinda useless when operating in illegal spaces as we do. I simply want to put an offer out. We collaborate on a tech project or two, combining our skills to reach new heights. We share information and methods, cause I'm super interested in the tech you work with. In return, I can provide any assistance with hacking, fabrication, getaways or electrical equipment you'd need for the dangerous work you do. Mutual benefit. He took a few steps closer, to the opposite edge of the holographic projection to Jackie, and then disengaged the drones with a *click*. His mask returned to the usual smiley face once more. "If you thought that little light show was me showing off my best, then you'll be glad to know that was more of a demo. My normal hologram stuff is cutting edge, nowhere near that messy. My current best stock is sitting back at my workshop, though. I hope you'll understand the precaution, you never know if a client will come in swinging in this business."

[Jackie Maradona]

[attr="class","susurrus"]

[attr="class","jikan"] [attr="class","hiraeth"]私は世界を変えたい

[attr="class","achee"] [attr="class","castleonthehill"] ❝ "Facade." The name was familiar to Grinta. As far as she could recall, Facade was known for his world-class ability in infiltrating systems — she didn't doubt that, if such skills were demonstrative of his greater capabilities, Facade was one ally she should be eager to receive. Though, of course, she too was worth nearly as much trouble as he. "Shes, if this wa' all shou'd come to demon'trate shourself with, I'd have flown awé by now." With a laugh, the vigilante dismissed the singular drone's reflection of its creator's work. No, like was commented before, she hadn't attended Facade's invitation for any of his known technology; rather, the sheer gall to infiltrate her systems and ask for a meet-up wasn't one that could be so easily disregarded, at least not without recognition. "But, due to shour effort, Criosho should be able to improve greatly." For all the pride she took in her work, Grinta's most proud creation was Criollo. Though her other efforts had proven substantial in other endeavors, especially with regard to her capabilities as a vigilante, the potential of her AI hadn't yet been fully realized — and she knew it. Criollo would continue to learn as the vigilante did, with the intent of becoming as indispensable to her vigilantism as her quirk. For every challenge that came, Criollo would evolve to respond. And with the potential that stood before her, Grinta was sure that the same potential could be used for her ends. "I do 'ave a que'tion, though; what are shou in this for?" For all he offered, Grinta had been left with no notion as to his motivation. She, as a vigilante, had a number of reasons to be doing the things she did; some unpleasant, but part of her choice. More so than ability, Grinta cared for intention. "Can't imagine shou'd prefer to risk a vi'ilante than someone more law-abi'ing, shes?" ✉ tag -- facade ✎ 318 words ※ What game are you playing?

[attr="class","ache"]

MADE BY MIZO

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[facade]

---

| facade | @freelance_facade
Location: Tokyo, Japan. | Current Status: none of your business :)
Now Playing: Tally Hall - The Bidding

---

facade stood and listened as Jackie outlined what she thought she stood to gain from their partnership and... of course. It was never his hardware, right? Cybersecurity was a field he was incredibly skilled in, and someone so close to his level would obviously want to know how to bridge that gap. He could work with that, but it was always a little disheartening to have the scope a project limited to just software. "Oh, certainly. The vulnerability I exploited was pretty simple and will be a breeze to patch, but I should be able to help with its diagnostics and security awareness too." Jackie's next question, though... caught facade off-guard. What was he in it for? Wasn't it obvious? He'd thought so, but that seed of doubt made facade pull back the curtain a little. Maybe he'd been too closed-off? As she elaborated further though, he came to more of an understanding. This wasn't about personal motive, it was risk-reward. Ironic, coming from a vigilante. The same could surely be said for choosing to meet with him, no?

Cocking his head to the side (but with the smiley face rotating to maintain its orientation), he spoke up. "Well, I said it myself." What sounded like an exact audio recording of his own words earlier in the concersation played twice, each time an isolated snippet. "-cause I'm super interested in the tech you work with-" '1' appeared on his mask. "-mutual benefit-" '2' "-you're the best I've heard of with AI & nanotech-" '3'. His 'normal' voice then seemed to resume, along with his head straightening and mask finally shifting to '4'. "The legality isn't a problem for me, making 'heat' go away is one of my specialties. Plus, if you couldn't tell, I'm a sucker for the theatrics. Working in the shadows is a hell of a lot more interesting than working white hat for some celebrity hero or government surveillance program. Do you think I need any more motivation?" Aiden stepped closer, closing the couple steps distance between the two. Quickly, his hand was outstretched to Jackie. "So? What does this vigilante think about a partnership with this freelancer? I, for one, am excited!"

[Jackie Maradona]

[attr="class","susurrus"]

[attr="class","jikan"] [attr="class","hiraeth"]私は世界を変えたい

[attr="class","achee"] [attr="class","castleonthehill"] ❝ Facade was an odd one. Throughout this conversation, the vigilante had perceived herself as rather concise in her speech. Yet, as things progressed, she couldn't help but feel her words fly by the villain, completely missing their mark in their intention. Did her accent truly make it that hard to understand her speech? Was her use of the Japanese language — a damned failure of a communication system, as she thought it — incomprehensible to the opposite man? Grinta held herself as one dominated by principle. Though her morality charted the course she sailed, it was her duty as navigator to steer things in the right direction; lest her vessel sink beneath the waves, she couldn't go on without maneuvering the rocks ahead of her. To do so would be a disservice to her purpose, and even further an insult of her path up to this point. Though she layered it beneath a veneer of professionalism, she wanted to pry open the purpose of this freelancer, especially in relation to his interest in her. Though her deeds had slowly gathered her a reputation, she didn't trust the ones who now knew her name. And if such people were to go out of their way to contact her — and proved their efficacy as an anomaly capable of doing so — they were worth the greatest of deliberation. No one of such caliber could be doing this without an ultimate objective of their own. Though, in this world of monsters, she supposed it wasn't surprising how some might take on such mundane forms. As Facade reached out a hand, the vigilante's gaze would slowly fall down to meet it. for a moment, she remained still, staring behind the mask of a blank smile. Eventually, tentatively, her left hand — her braced arm — reached forward, poking the man's knuckle. Then she poked it again. She would poke his hand a few more times, actually. "Hm. Shou're real." As she mused the idea to herself, she pulled her hand back into her cloak. Her stare shifted back to Facade himself. "Unless this is also a ho'ogram, shou're a real person — no' even some recording that's approximating my re'ponses a'ead of time." "So then," she'd continue, "why do I feel like shou're missing my point?" The vigilante took to a circle, carefully stepping around Facade while admiring his form, almost as though she was still in disbelief of his presence — and perhaps there still remained inkling ideas of that nature. "Shou break into my sy'tem — through my AI — and tell me shou're someone I should make a deal with. Not ju't a deal, mind shou, but a mutual deal — which means shou want my work for a reason, shes?" As far as she saw it, there wasn't an inherent reason to see her as needing in assistance. Therefore, she had to guess his intentions stood in the self-serving — or that, at the very least, he felt her flawed in some regard, thus needing in his assistance. Attempting to wrap a hand around his arm, as he was just a bit too tall for her to place a hand on top of it, she leaned in just a bit too closely. "I don't mind allying with shou, don't get me wrong." She laughed aloud, patting the man on his arm as she even tried to pull him in a tad. "But I make it po'icy to know the details a'ead of time — up to and inclu'ing the type of person I'm working with. Under'tand?" "Becau'e I don't need shour 'elp with Criosho — they 'till 'ave much to learn on their own — but I do want to know 'ow shou see me as useful to wha'ever shou're planning." ✉ tag -- facade ✎ 582 words ※ You understand me, see?

[attr="class","ache"]

MADE BY MIZO

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[facade]

---

| facade | @freelance_facade
Location: Tokyo, Japan. | Current Status: none of your business :)
Now Playing: Rag'n'Bone Man - Human

---

[Buffering...]
Once again, facade was blindsided. He had, indeed, completely misjudged the other half of the conversation. Used to dealing with businessmen and small-time villains (as if the two didn't overlap), Aiden had been operating under the wrong mindset for this deal. He was thinking transactional - implicit mutual aid - but it was never actually that simple, was it? He was starting to reach the big leagues of heroics and villainy now, and Jackie's question was one he needed to answer for himself. What was his grand plan here? Everybody has one, or at least everybody important does. He drew a blank. With a buffering circle appearing on his mask for a few seconds, Aiden then pulled his arm back and re-established personal space.

"What I'm planning? Well, I get what you mean but I'm gonna have to get back to you on that. To be honest, my intentions are a little more self-serving than any big goal or plan. You're the best in the business for your field of expertise, and I didn't spend 2 days penetration testing your systems to make a threat. Call it self-interest, but look at me, Grinta." He held up his arm this time, flexing to reveal an unremarkable amount of muscle. He then gestured generally to his wiry frame. "I'm not strong, and unfortunately I'm not powerful either. As somebody who works with people who are both - and very willing to take revenge if they've been wronged - how do you think I've survived so far? You wanted my grand plan? It's just survival. If I help people, they're more likely to help me if I need it. Including if I ever do get started on a big play."
He shrugged, hands in pockets. Then, mask subtly switching to having the 'eyes' follow the vigilante, he looked her dead in her own. "You're clearly confident, so should be obvious why I wanna help you. Wanna shake my hand properly this time?" His mask switched once again to a tongue-out winky face, right hand outstretched.

[Jackie Maradona]

[attr="class","susurrus"]

[attr="class","jikan"] [attr="class","hiraeth"]私は世界を変えたい

[attr="class","achee"] [attr="class","castleonthehill"] ❝ Weakness: A feeling all too familiar to a vigilante. As meaningless actions continue to pile, and as one's existence fails to amount, the mind speaks into existence its fatal poison — "What's the point?" A simple man — one born without the innate marvels of his generation — held no place in the realm of the exceptional. Such beings held not the power to contend their contemporaries, as the merciless descent of "chance" forsook them, nor were they reserved a place in this world, criminal or otherwise, to occupy. Even for the vigilante, coincidence granted her the first rung to her ladder; a rickety, fallible rung, but a rung nonetheless. Did the same not hold true for Facade? Was his quirk too fragile a step to take? Had he been given a rung at all? Despite his weakness, he continuously pursued survival in this shadowed world. When faced with an insurmountable mountain to scale, all without the tools necessary to do so, he persisted regardless — if only Facade could see the faint smile behind Grinta's mask. Such a profoundly isolating endeavor indeed; and what a rare treasure it was to find another who shouldered that familiar burden. Grinta didn't yet trust the freelancer. She couldn't be assured of his trustworthiness, nor could she be guaranteed the sincerity of his words; for all she knew, Facade spewed the narrative he thought most convincing to the vigilante. It might simply be a hope too good to be true — but when confronted with her inefficacy until now, hope was her only real choice in that ultimate pursuit. Facade reached out his hand again. His thin muscles, though lacking in the direct strength to mold the world, were responsible for tools surely capable of meaning. It was those hands, led by that brain, that now reached to meet her own. It was those hands that arranged their encounter to begin with — a feat beyond humanity, the Argentine mused. Those were not hands that tore apart its enemies, regardless of their intent. But they were hands surely capable of ripping the world from its foundation with the right guidance. "Survi'al," she'd muse. "Shou've got one 'ell of a survi'al mechanism, then." Her gaze fell tentatively upon the offered exchange. What more reason could she be hesitant to accept this deal? Had not an opportunity of change — a risk of one, if she were truly sincere — descended upon her at last? Emerging from her cloak again, her left arm reached to meet his right — a purposefully obtuse gesture — as she wrapped her hand from the back of his, with her fingers placed into his palm. "I wouldn't say 'properly'–" she chuckled to herself– "but I wouldn't want to call anything we do from he'e on the 'proper' way. Let's call that our way of things, okay?" ✉ tag -- facade ✎ 468 words ※ The Improper Way

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MADE BY MIZO

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[facade]

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| facade | @freelance_facade
Location: Tokyo, Japan. | Current Status: none of your business :)
Now Playing: Panic! At The Disco - Victorious

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One hell of a survival mechanism, huh? If only she knew. Aiden didn't respod to that comment, but he did make a note of Jackie's initial hesitation. Not because he didn't expect it, she'd be an idiot to trust him blindly, but because she didn't hide it. She stalled. That honesty, especially of expression, was something he'd noticed about the vigilante. It'd be useful going forward, he thought. As she moved to 'shake his hand' though, he once again buffered for a good second before looking Grinta in the 'eyes' of her mask (that he presumed hid a satisfied grin). "That's just how you roll, huh? I can work with improper." He broke contact and pulled out his phone, doing something on it for a few seconds before looking back up to face Jackie.

"I've just sent you the location and passcode of one of my workshops, feel free to use it if you want. I take pride in keeping them cutting-edge. I'm there a lot, but if you wanna meet with me just message me from the computer in there. I'm trusting you not to leak anything, hopefully a vigi will know how important safe spaces are. Couple other people have access, might make some friends." He turned to leave, stopping at the mouth of the alley where he was silhouetted by a streetlight. "Oh, one more thing. I removed the malware from your system, but left the backdoor as a learning tool. Have fun, Criollo! Adios, Grinta." With that, he slipped out of the alleyway and onto the sign-lit streets of Akihabara. He'd go home, but Grinta wasn't the only one slow to fully trust. He had some shopping to do, anyway.

[Fanthes]

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✨MISSION SUCCESS!✨

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✓ What happened to sending an email? I look forward to seeing what these two accomplish!! [break][break]

+ 5.000 EXP!

[break]
Facade - 3.750 // 8.750[break]
Jackie - 22.750 // 27.750

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Tag: facade, Jackie Maradona

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