LanaStorm — Roleplayer Guild

//whistles

Now those are some nice gifts. Shame, Vincent can't win 'em all. xD@Estylwen

Gotta give Emily's lover some noc nocs for the battle to come.

Aetheric Dive

This is the true nature of Vincent's ability, and something he prides himself on. He is able to take his aetheric wisps, and sink them into the mind around him. From there, he can read, insert, and remove thoughts and memories. Essentially, the brain becomes his home, and he can fashion it how he likes. He can fashion commands that change the very structure of the brain, rewiring synapses and making the changes near-permanent. 

It is possible for a target of his to fight against a thought implanted. However, they first have to recognize that the thought is foreign. This is a difficult thing to do, especially if Vincent inserts thoughts, memories, and commands that seem natural. If a person is prone to eating ice cream, and Vincent commands them to eat ice cream, it is very unlikely they will notice the foreign input, and instead go eat their ice cream.

However, if someone notices a thought is foreign, they can try to resist it. This is an incredibly hard thing to do as they are going against the rewriting Vincent has done to the mind, but can be done with consistent effort and time, typically a few days.

It is due to this that Vincent will often write in a command that will force a person to seek him out, so he can tamper with their mind again and solidify his hold. When he repeats his rewritings, they become stronger, less malleable, and more permanent.

Due to his influence in the mind, there is a sudden surge of chemicals like serotonin and dopamine, which flood the mind when he is done, giving the person almost a high. They'll become very happy for a few hours, before crashing and craving more. This too, can be overcome, though it is a difficult thing, just like any withdrawal and addiction.

(A 1d12 dice roll. If his is higher, he gets into the victim's mind successfully. If his is lower, he suffers mental recoil, unable to retry until two posts pass. An intoxicated mind or traumatized body takes -2 on their dice roll. A person can choose not to roll, meaning they allow Vincent into their mind.)

Limitations and Weaknesses:

If a person is listening to music or is otherwise actively shielding their thoughts with surface nonsense thoughts, like what they want to eat or what groceries they need, he is unable to dive past that in Aetheric Hearing.

If a person electrocutes themselves or him continuously, this will disrupt his influence and he'll be kicked out of a mind (if he is in one). It will also make him unable to enter into or hear a mind.

He can attack or hear multiple targets at a time, but can become quickly overwhelmed with the stimuli and be unable to move.
@Estylwen

Last minute buff

Vincent / Emily

Clash,

I'm interested in a bit of parley with you. Why don't you stop by my office when you have some time today, at the Arakasa Tower. The receptionist will guide you up.

That was the text Emily would have received in the early morning. And now, as little later, with the slightest patter of rain fallow outside, Arakasa Tower stood proud and tall against the oppressive sky, like the last bastion of rational thinking.

So the vixen was shown up, the clacking of boots was heard and the sight of swaying hips followed as the off duty beauty showed up to the mob boss’s throne room to be. Or was it a pent house?

The receptionist leading Emily up through the levels of Arakasa Tower stopped by a carved oak door, the name plate bearing ‘Vincenzo Accardo’ fit into the wall beside it. The receptionist knocked, before letting Emily into an ornate office. It wasn't on the highest level of the tower, but it was high enough that cars moving down below on the streets looked like little toys. 

Vincent had a pleasant smile on his face as Emily entered, sitting neatly on his throne. He gestured to the leather chairs opposite his desk for Emily. ”Detective Newport, I'm so pleased you could make it. Please, have a seat. Care for coffee, tea?”

“Bring me something sweet, tea, surprise me.” The bad cop purred as she made her way over to the leather seat, placing her sitter down upon the fine italian leather. She made herself comfy awaiting her drink, a smile dashing on her parting lips as she looked over to the King of Noc Noc city himself. “What do I owe the pleasure Mr. Accardo~?”

The receptionist nodded and left for a moment, shutting the office door and allowing them some privacy. Vincent still had a pleasant smile on his face, eyes watching Emily like a hawk. He leaned back in his padded seat (really, he was just missing the crown).

”Right to business, mm? Very well. It's come to my attention you had a certain… Meeting, with a certain smoke head. I'd like to propose a counter offer for you, if you’d be willing to entertain me.”

That was when the receptionist softly rapped on the door, coming in with a gold tray. She set a saucer and round glass cup in front of Emily - it appeared to be filled with a pink liquid, topped with crushed pistachios. An identical cup was placed in front of Vincent. 

”Your pink tea, miss.” The receptionist said, ”Pleasantly sweet.”

And indeed, if Emily were to take a sip, it would be hot, milky, with undertones of cinnamon and star anise, a pinch of salt, and a helping or two of sugar.

Vincent took a sip of his own drink, cup landing in its saucer with a soft clink. ”It’s a special import, you know. Originates from Kashmir… And no, I haven't poisoned it.”

Emily sniffs it before taking a sip, yummy. The detective had a nose for this type of stuff, much like how she was a noc noc connoisseur.

“Mmm yes smoke head, quite a hot man. Steamy even, let’s hear it then. I like doing business when faces look - handsome.” She giggled.

Vincent smiled a little at that, taking another sip of his tea. ”My proposal is fairly straightforward. I give you access through White Pine, we take down Riverbend, you keep Riverbend and any Order Upper Echelon to bag for the Crown. I'm sure evidence for their crimes will be easy enough to procure.”

“Why me out of anyone else in the city, you seem like the type to stab a girl in the back, no?” Emily sauntered over pink tea in hand as she sipped along.

Vincent tilted his head slightly, eyes half-lidded. ”Because you're resourceful, detective. And due to our proximity to each other, I'd prefer us to have somewhat of an understanding between us.”

The big ol’ detective sat her derriere on Vincent’s lap as she put her tea cup down allowing the mob boss to feel the whole brunt of the law. “Mmmm… Comfy, Vincent if you are serious about this maybe you should show me where Delacroix is. I want to meet him, make sure he isn’t y’know… dead.”

Vincent merely raised an eyebrow, not moving an inch as Emily made her seat. ”You ask a lot, detective. I'll let you talk with him, through a screen.”

He shifted a little, procuring a phone in his hand. ”What do you say?”

“Need a little more good faith than that, think a lil girl like me will break him out? What do you have to lose?”

Vincent smirked, tilting his head at Emily. ”Quite a bit, actually. The best I can give you is the screen, which should work for you. Unless you really wanted to ‘break him out’, which would be quite uncouth of you, sitting here on my lap.”

“I like men that have no fear, Vincent.” A finger tracing his jaw line to his lips, she frowns slightly. “Show me our dear boy Matty then, get the face time goin!”

A hand reached out as he grabbed her unruly fingers, a warning in his red eyes. ”No need to get carried away, Detective. Or I might keep you here indefinitely.”

He reached around Emily's waist, opening his phone and swiping to a certain app. Soon, four feeds of a small gray cell appeared from various angles, Mathieu seen seated in a chair. He pressed a button that ticked, highlighting green. The speaker. 

”Go ahead, you can ask him whatever you like. He'll hear you.”

“That wouldn’t be so bad, wouldn’t it~?” Emily purred before looking onto the screen where the little Delacroix (unrelated to Adam and Eve of course) sat.

“Heeeeeeyyyy Matt, can you hear me !?”

Mathieu sat in the chair, his posture deceptively relaxed despite the dull, persistent ache radiating from his hand. He did not spare a glance at the bandaged ruin where his pinkie had once been; the absence was already etched into his awareness, more phantom than flesh. The pain was also inconsequential. 

It was the silence that unsettled him, a vast and yawning thing that stretched its limbs across his cell, pressing in, pressing down. 

Time had surrendered its meaning. The walls remained stolid. The air hung heavy with a persistent stale familiarity. Even the food-decent, almost laughably so- was nothing but another leash disguised as kindness. They fed him not to nourish but to remind him. Control was not exerted through chains but through consistency, routine, and the slow erosion of anything unexpected. 

Then, a voice cut through the quiet. 

His head inclined by a fraction like a man registering an unfamiliar song playing from a distant radio. Not Vincent. Not one of the guards. A woman. A voice honed with sing-songy amusement. Too casual. Too comfortable. 

Someone who thought this was fun. 

Mathieu exhaled softly, his gaze drifting to the ceiling now. He could picture the setup: a speaker wired into his cell, eyes on him from the other end of a monitor, waiting for his reaction. 

He gave them nothing at first. Instead, he blinked once before looking down at his lap. And then… 
“I’m going to assume that wasn’t for me and give you a chance to correct yourself.” 

A pause. No panic. No aggression. Just the polite patience of a man sitting across from an overenthusiastic stranger in a coffee shop. 

Then, as if offering a gracious clarification typical of him, he looked up at the ceiling and added: “Because I don’t believe we’ve met, and I’d hate to be rude.” 

“Name is Emily, kind of like Emilia?” She adjusts herself putting more Noc Noc weight on Vincent’s lap. “I know your sister, she like totally loves you and wants you out of here. I wanted to know how they’ve been treating you down there?”

“Ah.” His voice was untouched by panic or defiance-just mild amusement as if this were some kind of routine conversation instead of a hostage situation. “You know, I have to say, the hospitality has been…généreuse. A personal doctor, three square meals a day, and someone even folded my clothes after my last shower.” He allowed a beat to pass before adding with a wry edge: “But the service took a bit of a hit after the whole ‘snipping off my fucking finger’ thing. Can’t say I’d recommend that part to you, Ms. Emily.” 

“I see I see, well your sister says I-L-Y and we’ll get you out so uhh… Have some hope lil’ guy help is on the way.” She snickers, letting Vincent hang up the call. He pulled the phone away a bit, before speaking softly into the mic.

”I'll have the men change you into some fresh clothes, as I'll be visiting you later today. Look forward to it~.”

Then he disconnected the feed, flicked his phone off, and stowed it away in his pocket. His arms returned to the arm rests, pointedly not touching Emily. He glanced at her, smirking.

”Satisfied, my dear?”

“Mmmm.. Yeah, I’ll get back to you on your proposal.” Click clack click, Emily was already walking towards the door hips doing their thang.

“You know the highest bidder wins, right~?” Clash purrs before making her exit.

Vincent merely sipped his tea in the silence after. ”I don't need to crack open your mind to see where your true allegiance lies… Detective.”

Aiden / Emily

A bit later in the day, when Emily had some time to return to her office, her work phone would have rang.

”Detective Newport.” Said a smooth voice on the other end of the line. Aiden, evidently. ”Come see me in my office when you have some time, mm?”

Emily hung up the phone without another word, god damn Aiden and his Aiden investigations she thought. She packed up her things and made her way down to the basement, yes that’s where the rat catcher lived. The rumors about a torture chamber, perhaps true as well! No one would have to torture the poor white haired detective, she was far too appealing for that. Upon reaching the boiler room, she knocked a small name plate showing this is where Aiden worked.

”Enter~” Said a cheery, baritone voice from within.

As Emily would step in, she would be treated with the low lights of Aiden's front office. The room smelled of disinfectant and dampness. There were stacks of paper scattered in the darkness, and a door off to the side - who knew where it led to, though.

Aiden sat in the chair facing the door, and he waved her over to sit in the chair opposite of him. He had a cool smile on his face as he stared at her over his spectacles, his messy hair the only striking color in the room.

A little swivel in his chair, was he excited to see her? 

”Detective, very prompt. Please shut the door behind you and make yourself comfortable.”

As Emily would get comfy, his face would show a hint of steel, heavy, and carefully weighed words leaving his mouth.

”Before we get to business… Was there anything, anything at all, that you wished to share with me today, in complete confidence…?”

Emily went to close the door, would shut with a satisfying clunch much like a jail house door. She sat down and crossed her legs at the table looking over to the IA mastermind. “I’m tired over worked, look at me - saving the city one district at a time. That’s what I wanted to share dear.” She rubs a kink in her neck, no Mathias or Kairo to rub it out for the time being.

”Indeed, you've been the busy, overworked detective we love so much!” Aiden said, smiling.

”And I have just the note to showcase your dutiful work to the Commissioner and this city, if you'll have a listen with me…”

He pulled out his phone, swiping for a moment before he tapped the screen, cranked the volume, and placed the phone on the table for Emily to see. It was a simple voice recording which began to play. Emily would recognize it as her own voice.

"...Mmm... Impound this rust bucket, take them all to the station, and for their loot. You know what to do with it...”

Aiden was beaming at Emily as he pulled his phone back. ”Delightful, isn't it? Mind explaining the situation around this recording, Detective Newport? Remember, be honest with me.”

“Sounds like some kind of AI trick to me.” She smirked, deflecting the IA goons line of questioning. “Anyone can make anyone say whatever they want with the internet, I could have you saying or doing things too, but we don’t need a AI program for that Aiden~” Emily purred with a smirk.

Aiden's smile only grew. ”My, my, should I be worried for my own safety, Detective Newport?”

He picked out a card from the scraps on his desk and passed it to Emily. It was a loyalty card for a Noc Noc Burger branch.

”Go ahead, whisper a secret to that card there, quietly enough that I can't hear.” He said, still giving her that steady smile.

Emily whispers into the special noc noc card before tossing it back to the magician. “You might like what you hear.”

Aiden showed a little intrigued on his face. He didn't touch the card, instead leaning forward a little, hand pressed against his cheek and elbow on the table, like he was taking in a most captivating specimen. 

”Can't very well ask you to strip, can I?” He said, hinting at her secret. ”Blue blood taddies, mm?

“As you can see, a card, so innocent-looking, can be turned to a listening device for yours truly. I've set them up in your life, Detective Newport, for quite some time bow. And I've been privy to all kinds of things. The kinds of things that would turn our white and perfect Commissioner red with rage if she knew.”

He still had that watchful, pleasant smile on his face, as if he were merely talking about the weather, waiting for Emily's reaction.

“If stripping would fix this then I might, like your trick Aiden. So skip to what you want from me, the NPD is full of criminals. No one benefits from me in jail, except me. So.. skip to the point darling.” She purred.

Aiden nodded, gesturing happily, ”Now we come to the point. I’m not a villain, Detective. I can keep a secret. For a fee, of course. Say, $5000 (0.5 Wealth every GM post) off your paycheck?”

“And that’s it, what’s the catch bub?”

Aiden smiled sweetly. ”No catch, you really think so lowly of me?”

Emily frowns. “No, but everyone is a blood sucking leech around here. If we leave it at that then I’ll pay it, try to squeeze more or out me. Then your ass is joining me in JB Supermax.”

Aiden nodded generously, ”I promise, my fee is fixed. You've been such a good girl, detective. I'll expect your donation sometime today. You're welcome to resume your day. Pleasant chat, this.”

Emily gets up from where she planted her Noc Nocs, dusting herself off she smiles. “Mmmm.. I do try to keep your fingers out of my pies less it’s one you want Aiden. Good girls don’t like their pies plugged.” She giggles leaving shortly after as 5000$ of  Noc Noc stock comes his way into his trading account.

LanaStorm Member

Status

Recent Statuses

Bio

Most Recent Posts