[True to his word, Rei got to work for Hijikata tracking down the ~mysterious dark web anon~ who had captured his beloved ghosts. But color him surprised when the thread he was pointed to was... public on the network... and from someone whose magic signature was still coupled to their account, no less! This person definitely pissed Hijikata off big time, but they seem more prankster than powerhouse, and Rei can respect a good scam.
So Rei just technomances his way to private messaging the anon's device, no identifying information for either of them. He hasn't bothered digging any further yet-- it might be more fun to just talk! ]
Pretty funny prank you pulled on the network earlier. 👻
[Well this is unexpected, and a little alarming. Did someone figure out who she was? She was very careful not to give away any hints, she even scrubbed all the background out of the pictures she sent--and the video was out in the street where no one could tell where it was... The idea that someone has traced her electronically doesn't even cross her mind.]
[That little ghost emoji would almost make her think it's one of her friends, except he'd never hide behind an anonymous account. If he's going to tease her, he'd do it to her face.]
What prank? The only prank I see is some weirdo messaging me out of nowhere. I think you have the wrong number, try again somewhere else.
Good. I hope they die mad about it. I'll collect their ghost, too.
[So much for denying everything... It's satisfying to hear that the anonymous person is still mad, though not comforting for her safety. Is this a friend of theirs? An acquaintance? She's not sure.]
I'm not selling the ghosts, so don't even ask. It's not any of your business.
[Well that's terrifying in a very real sense. She would just shut her phone off and go find a friend to stay with, but she's a little paralyzed, her thoughts darting fast over her options.]
[Is he handing that info over right now? Does she have time to stop him?]
how much about you? enough to identify who the anon was. your network handle to start, more if they don't get what they want out of it.
But listen i liked your attitude. maybe we can cut a deal.
[Okay, enough yanking this poor person around. their magic signature showed something interesting, so...]
you can take your chances with ghostguy. you can pay me off and i'll say i didn't turn much up. or.... you can do me a favor. you've got alchemy, dont you?
[Well, she's convinced that they definitely know who she is now, if she wasn't before. Buying them out was going to be her plan of attack, but if there's another way out of this, she's willing to hear it.]
[That... doesn't sound too bad. She's a bit of a liar--she didn't need to know the details, but she did want to know the nature of what she's being asked to do. This is just... what, making people more anonymous? In a magic way? She doesn't understand technomancy well enough, but she's pretty sure this isn't a big ask. And certainly nothing too dangerous. No one is going to get hurt from anonymous text messaging.]
I can do that, so long as I have a technomancer that can make that effect. I don't have technomancy of my own, so someone else has to hold the enchantment while I pin it down, basically.
But if I do this for you, I also want to know who hired you.
i can handle that part. Got some devices that do it already, but getting the enchantment constantly refreshed is a pain.
As for my client... i wouldn't be a very good dealer if I revealed that, now would I? Imagine paying to pull up someone's info and getting doxxed instead w
[That's not really what she wants... She wants to figure out who this is so that she can stay far away from them. She doesn't have any idea what getting "doxxed" is, but it reads like getting snitched on.]
Imagine paying for info and not getting that info and also your dealer is using it as networking. You're not interested in being a good dealer in the first place.
[Being able to haggle a little has also made her a little more bold.]
[There is a longer pause as Rei discovers Klaudia's and Hijikata's( familiar's) conversation on the network back in April and cracks up for a while. What the fuck.]
Lmfao ok i got it. the hint is: you already know them
[That +3 Charisma modifier is doing some work. That said, she's both alarmed and confused at the hint that he comes back with. She doesn't like at all that her chance of running into his client is higher than she originally thought; and she doesn't like that he apparently knows that at all? How can he even tell? What tech sorcery is this?]
Wait, what do you mean I already know them?? I know a lot of people, but I don't know anyone that would buy ghosts.
[Literally nothing you have said here makes you trustworthy, Rei.... but it's true that between their conversation here and the dark web quest description, there's probably enough information for Klaudia to stitch it together.]
[She is smart, but that's not as useful of a hint as she wants it to be. She knows a lot of people, but only a middling amount for most of them. Who does she know that would buy a ghost? Clearly they had to be a death mage, if they could see the ghosts in the video she posted. But not Wei Wuxian because he responded to them... He's a prankster, but he wouldn't take a prank this far. That does limit the options quite a lot, now that she thinks about it... Maybe this is a good enough hint. She can work with it--with a little trial and error.]
Okay, fine. I have a lot of free time, so whenever is fine by me. Are we going to meet somewhere? Delivery makes it sound like you're going to mail it to me. ➡️❌✨
[There's a pause-- Rei honestly hasn't done this spell much himself-- and then the screen of Klaudia's phone goes white. The end of another phone emerges from it, waiting for her to grab it and pull it out the rest of the way.
Technomancy sure is convenient for staying anonymous, isn't it!]
[Klaudia all but yelps on her side of the screen when something comes out of it. It takes her a moment to realize it's another phone. A phone coming out of her phone... She gingerly picks at the end of it, like she's touching a live bomb, and pulls it through. What the hell... It definitely takes some time for a response to come back because she's checking the phone over. Is it real? Does it work? Is her screen okay? Everything seems functional... There's just one problem.]
Okay, this is really cool, but I don't think you understand. I've never made an enchantment permanent without the mage present to actively create the effect. This is like trying to dig a fire pit around a campfire after you've already lit it. Or forge a sword after the metal has already cooled. Alchemy is delicate and precise. I can't just slap some magical tape on this and call it secured.
[Rei admittedly has little experience with alchemy. His teammate had it for a few months, but he really only used it once? Sounds like a real finicky magic type, maybe even more than dark! He doesn't envy her.]
OK, got it. Tell me more about the process. You gotta put it in a magic circle or something? maybe we can have the phone halfway thru the screen, partly on my side and partly on yours lol
[If the perma-spell alchemy messed up and just turned Klaudia's phone into a permanent portal, that would be more hilarious than disastrous. So it's fine, right?????]
The part that I'm enchanting has to be fully inside the alchemy circle. Otherwise the circle will pull it in, and that's probably not good for the phone or its insides. It would also help if I knew where exactly the enchantment... lives? If that makes sense? If it's on the whole phone, or just a small part inside of it. The enchantment also has to be cast while I'm focusing my magic into the alchemy circle--so at the same time. Like I said, like a sword coming out of a forge. I can't mold it if it's not red-hot.
I don't always get it right on the first try, either. I haven't tried with technomancy before, so I'll need some practice getting the sigils right. I'll need the right symbols and in the right order for the magic to work--like a blueprint, really.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
text; anonymous
Date: 2021-12-22 04:11 am (UTC)From:So Rei just technomances his way to private messaging the anon's device, no identifying information for either of them. He hasn't bothered digging any further yet-- it might be more fun to just talk! ]
Pretty funny prank you pulled on the network earlier. 👻
no subject
Date: 2021-12-22 05:39 am (UTC)From:[That little ghost emoji would almost make her think it's one of her friends, except he'd never hide behind an anonymous account. If he's going to tease her, he'd do it to her face.]
What prank? The only prank I see is some weirdo messaging me out of nowhere. I think you have the wrong number, try again somewhere else.
no subject
Date: 2021-12-22 02:26 pm (UTC)From:[Aw, they're defensive... That makes sense. (And he IS a weirdo, he'll take that one on the chin. Lol)]
Anyway, you really got to the other guy. they're on the warpath bc they're like friends with those ghosts or something
[Rei. Pay more attention to Hijikata wtf. they're SUBORDINATES]
Better fence em if you havent already.
no subject
Date: 2021-12-22 03:08 pm (UTC)From:[So much for denying everything... It's satisfying to hear that the anonymous person is still mad, though not comforting for her safety. Is this a friend of theirs? An acquaintance? She's not sure.]
I'm not selling the ghosts, so don't even ask. It's not any of your business.
no subject
Date: 2021-12-22 03:29 pm (UTC)From:Well, the whole thing is my business in the most literal sense. got paid to turn over your info to them.
[Which SOUNDS very scary, but really it's just Hijikata wanting to throw hands and Rei eating chips while he texts her.]
no subject
Date: 2021-12-22 03:36 pm (UTC)From:[Is he handing that info over right now? Does she have time to stop him?]
How much?
no subject
Date: 2021-12-22 04:35 pm (UTC)From:But listen
i liked your attitude. maybe we can cut a deal.
[Okay, enough yanking this poor person around. their magic signature showed something interesting, so...]
you can take your chances with ghostguy. you can pay me off and i'll say i didn't turn much up.
or.... you can do me a favor. you've got alchemy, dont you?
no subject
Date: 2021-12-22 04:48 pm (UTC)From:Yeah. You want something made?
no subject
Date: 2021-12-23 01:39 am (UTC)From:[Alchemists are fairly rare, and alchemists who won't ask too many questions even rarer. It would be nice to have a hook up....]
no subject
Date: 2021-12-23 01:48 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2021-12-23 02:03 am (UTC)From:if it sticks, i can sell you one so you don't have a repeat of ghostguy on your next troll attempt. ww
no subject
Date: 2021-12-23 02:43 am (UTC)From:I can do that, so long as I have a technomancer that can make that effect. I don't have technomancy of my own, so someone else has to hold the enchantment while I pin it down, basically.
But if I do this for you, I also want to know who hired you.
no subject
Date: 2021-12-23 02:52 am (UTC)From:As for my client... i wouldn't be a very good dealer if I revealed that, now would I? Imagine paying to pull up someone's info and getting doxxed instead w
But i can give you a hint. yeah?
no subject
Date: 2021-12-23 06:13 am (UTC)From:Imagine paying for info and not getting that info and also your dealer is using it as networking. You're not interested in being a good dealer in the first place.
[Being able to haggle a little has also made her a little more bold.]
What sort of hint?
no subject
Date: 2021-12-23 04:27 pm (UTC)From:[Klaudia has him completely pegged.]
let's see. How about
[pause.]
wait
[There is a longer pause as Rei discovers Klaudia's and Hijikata's( familiar's) conversation on the network back in April and cracks up for a while. What the fuck.]
Lmfao ok i got it.
the hint is: you already know them
no subject
Date: 2021-12-23 05:39 pm (UTC)From:[That +3 Charisma modifier is doing some work. That said, she's both alarmed and confused at the hint that he comes back with. She doesn't like at all that her chance of running into his client is higher than she originally thought; and she doesn't like that he apparently knows that at all? How can he even tell? What tech sorcery is this?]
Wait, what do you mean I already know them?? I know a lot of people, but I don't know anyone that would buy ghosts.
no subject
Date: 2021-12-24 03:59 am (UTC)From:[Literally nothing you have said here makes you trustworthy, Rei.... but it's true that between their conversation here and the dark web quest description, there's probably enough information for Klaudia to stitch it together.]
lmk when you're ready for the alchemy delivery ✨
no subject
Date: 2022-01-01 11:03 pm (UTC)From:Okay, fine. I have a lot of free time, so whenever is fine by me. Are we going to meet somewhere? Delivery makes it sound like you're going to mail it to me. ➡️❌✨
no subject
Date: 2022-01-03 06:28 pm (UTC)From:[There's a pause-- Rei honestly hasn't done this spell much himself-- and then the screen of Klaudia's phone goes white. The end of another phone emerges from it, waiting for her to grab it and pull it out the rest of the way.
Technomancy sure is convenient for staying anonymous, isn't it!]
no subject
Date: 2022-01-03 09:26 pm (UTC)From:Okay, this is really cool, but I don't think you understand. I've never made an enchantment permanent without the mage present to actively create the effect. This is like trying to dig a fire pit around a campfire after you've already lit it. Or forge a sword after the metal has already cooled. Alchemy is delicate and precise. I can't just slap some magical tape on this and call it secured.
no subject
Date: 2022-01-09 05:21 pm (UTC)From:[Rei admittedly has little experience with alchemy. His teammate had it for a few months, but he really only used it once? Sounds like a real finicky magic type, maybe even more than dark! He doesn't envy her.]
OK, got it. Tell me more about the process. You gotta put it in a magic circle or something? maybe we can have the phone halfway thru the screen, partly on my side and partly on yours lol
[If the perma-spell alchemy messed up and just turned Klaudia's phone into a permanent portal, that would be more hilarious than disastrous. So it's fine, right?????]
no subject
Date: 2022-01-13 11:18 pm (UTC)From:I don't always get it right on the first try, either. I haven't tried with technomancy before, so I'll need some practice getting the sigils right. I'll need the right symbols and in the right order for the magic to work--like a blueprint, really.