the thing with the people

[00:10] <Rosa> The next day, at around eleven o'clock, Hysenko receives a comm from Rosa [To: Hysenko - Hey. Do you want to meet me in the lobby and go somewhere for lunch?]
[00:12] <Hysenko> [to: Rosa - Somewhere for lunch.  I'm supposed to get de-brainwashed around 2, though, so I can't talk long.]  She's actually posing in front of a mirror as she says it, trying different outfits and considering them on her new body.
[00:17] <Rosa> Rosa, for her part, is leaving Cally's, dressed in a modest black dress... and the same heels from last night. [To: Hysenko - Right. What are you hungry for?]
[00:19] <Hysenko> [To: Rosa - Chinese?  Feels appropriate.]  As she decides on a black dress with gold trim.
[00:22] <Rosa> [To: Hysenko - Can we settle for Japanese? I'm feeling sushi.] As she reaches the elevator.
[00:22] <Hysenko> [Heh.  APpropriate.  Pick a spot, I'll meet you there.]  As she heads for the door herself.]
[00:23] <Hang> Somewhere, Hang huffs about 'Japanese' being close to 'Chinese' in some people's minds.
06[00:28] * Rosa sends an address as she gets in, heading for the lobby. [I'll be in the lobby. Did I tell you my mom and I got a car?]
[00:29] <Hysenko> [No!  Congrats.  Do you know how to drive iet yet?]  As she hits the elevator, heading down ehrself.
[00:29] <Hysenko> *herself
06[00:31] * Rosa waits on a nearby couch. [No... It has a pilot program. It was a really, really good deal. A Rover 2068... It had a hundred thousand miles on it, so we got it cheap.]
06[00:33] * Hysenko gets out a moment or two later, stepping out happily.  She brushes herself off, but nods to Rosa.  "That makes sense.  Two cars, then, or one?"
06[00:35] * Rosa doubletakes. "...Hysenko?"
06[00:36] * Hysenko smiles softly at Rosa, her hands behind her back.  Her long, black hair is done up in a professional looking bun and her dress accents the soft, gentle beauty of her asian form, the smile innocent and pure.  "Yes?"
[00:38] <Rosa> "...You look... great. You look great," she says, smiling. "Let's just take my car. Unless you really want to go separately."
06[00:38] * Hysenko shakes her head.  "Let's see how you drive, girl.  You're still my student, after all."  The grin on her lips is the same old hysenko.
06[00:40] * Rosa laughs. "I always will be, won't I?" Rosa leads the way out. "And you're just on time. Car just got here." A large black SUV pulls up to the curbside.
[00:41] <Hysenko> "Something like that,  yeah.  As long as you've got something to learn, after all."  She gets into the passenger's side, stretching out. "Aaaah, no super-AC, no threading my tail through a tailhole, it's great."
06[00:45] * Rosa hops in the driver's side, sending the address to the pilot. The car heads out. "It's nice, isn't it?" she says. "...planning on making more deals with it?"
[00:46] <Hysenko> "God no.  I've got what I want."
[00:47] <Hysenko> "Heh.  Ironic swearing."
[00:48] <Rosa> "Good," Rosa says, nodding. "...So, I've been thinking about how to teach technomancy without painting a giant target on all my students."
[00:49] <Hysenko> "Mmmmh, and?"
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[00:54] <Hysenko> "Mmmmh, and?"
[00:54] <Rosa> "What do you think, trid show?"
[00:57] <Hysenko> "Traceable!  But feasible.  You can grab a lot of metadata just from wherever's hosting the show, and that helps narrow it down.  Unless you have your own way of hosting?"
[01:02] <Rosa> "...Yeah. I'm pretty much dooming myself any way I do it, so it's more about the people I'd be teaching. I figure normal people watching the show would help keep people safe."
[01:02] <Hysenko> "Oh, you mean something like that one film you watched you got mad at?"
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[01:04] <Rosa> "Two parts high school drama, one part 'runner flick, one part 'everything you wanted to know about technomancy.' It's meant to be informative, so... not at all like Viviance Vance."
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[01:05] <Hysenko> "That one, yeah.  Also, you're dodging what we came out here to talk about."
[01:06] <Rosa> "If you want to skip to that."
[01:07] <Rosa> "...I was just talking while we drove."
[01:07] <Hysenko> "Oh.  Well, I was thinking, big van like this, no listening devices..."  Shrug.  "Choice is yours, I mean.  I sorta owe you for skipping out last night."
[01:10] <Rosa> "...Nah. Skipping out last night helped me pay attention to my date, you don't owe me anything."
[01:10] <Hysenko> "Alright.  I'm just going to run through some facts and let you ruminate, then you can talk about whatever strikes your fancy, alright?"
[01:11] <Hysenko> "Heh.  Apparently saying Alright is a thing I do now."
[01:12] <Rosa> "Sure."
[01:13] <Hysenko> "Okay.  Thing the first.  Anyone who gets too close to Arada goes missing, unless EVO higher-ups approve of it.  Arada knows this.  It's why she's had such weird runner groups - She gets pulled out of other ones by Zamiel."
[01:13] <Hysenko> "Consider how heartbreaking it was to you, who was getting awfully close to her, that she did what she did."
[01:14] <Hysenko> "Fact the second:  If she tries to leave EVO and strike ou ton her own, her body will shut down within a week.  Has to do with the same gene-mods that make her as powerful as she is."
[01:14] <Hysenko> "Consider how out of nowhere and hush-hush she was about the body-changing potions until they happened."
[01:14] <Rosa> "...keep talking."
[01:15] <Hysenko> "Thing the third: She can't tell anyone this, or EVO will crack down on whoever she told AND punish her.  I've been in her apartment, and it's got more cameras and mikes than any other I'd been in."
[01:16] <Hysenko> "I haven't confirmed that she has an implanted microphone that wires everything back, but I'd not be surprised."
[01:18] <Rosa> "...Glad to know /everything/ we did was for somebody's viewing pleasure."
[01:19] <Hysenko> "Thing the fourth:  Zamiel's title as 'handler' is more apt than I'd thought.  Arada relies on two things: Gene-ware and magic.  The gene-ware would break down if EVO wasn't maintaining it, and Zamiel is extremely skilled in taking down things that run on magic."
[01:19] <Hysenko> "There.  I'm done.  The rest of it is up to you."  SHe leans back and sighs.
[01:22] <Rosa> "...And?" Rosa says, sighing and rubbing her forehead.
[01:22] <Hysenko> "That's up to you.  I'm washing my hands of all of it, as of 2 this afternoon."
[01:25] <Rosa> "...And what am I supposed to do? ...I never hated her..."
[01:25] <Hysenko> "You avoided her.  The question is if that was a good idea or not."
[01:28] <Rosa> Rosa looks out the side window, away from Hysenko. "...And now you're telling me... that she ruined our relationship on purpose. That she... That she hurt me... that she destroyed my trust... Because of her handlers? I /wanted/ to hate her. I did. I really did. I wanted to hate her and think she was evil... and I couldn't. And now you're telling me..."
[01:30] <Hysenko> "The truth.  We're hackers, we run on logic, remember?"  She reaches out a hand across the centre and rests it on Rosa's on the steering wheel.  "You deserved to know."
06[01:37] * Rosa gives a small sob.
[01:37] <Rosa> ...which then turns into full blown bawling.
06[01:38] * Hysenko squeezes Rosa's hand and lets GridLInk work its magic.  "Rosa...Rosa, get to a parking lot.  You need hugs."
[01:43] <Rosa> "Why?" Rosa says between labored, crying breaths, turning around and hugging Hysenko over the console, burying her face into the hacker's shoulder. "...Why... why can they... why did they?"
[01:44] <Hysenko> "Sssh."  She strokes Rosa's hair softly, letting the car do what it will as she does.  "Sssh, hey.  I could answer that.  Or we could go eat."  A little smile.
[01:44] <Rosa> "I LOVED HER, HYSENKO!" she cries. "...I loved her... more than anything... I d...didn't... I... why? why did they?"
[01:45] <Rosa> "...why... why did she let me love her?"
[01:45] <Rosa> "...Why?"
[01:46] <Hysenko> "Because she loves you very much, Rosa.  And they can't have that.  Because they're giant untouchable assholes."
[01:46] <Rosa> "...They're not untouchable," Rosa says.
[01:46] <Hysenko> "She let you love her...because she wants to be loved.  She wants to have you in her life.  She still loves you.  But she can't."  She smiles a little.  "You have an idea?"
[01:49] <Rosa> "...I," Rosa says, sobbing into Hysenko's shoulder, "...what can I do? ...I'm... I... I moved on, Hysenko. I..."
[01:50] <Rosa> "...I... I'll always love her. That's why it hurt when... But... I..."
[01:51] <Hysenko> "Look at you.  You're strong, you're badass, and you know exactly what you're doing.  You're a technomancer.  You're an artist.  But what's more, you're more of a natural Shadowrunner than I've ever met."
[01:53] <Rosa> "...I'm with Trance. ...and I like her. Maybe I'll love her, too... But I can't hurt her by just... running off." At least the crying has stopped.
[01:54] <Hysenko> "Arada was okay with open relationships before, neh?"  A beat.  "...Oh dammit THAT'S why."
[01:55] <Rosa> "...why?"
[01:55] <Rosa> "...and just because Arada is doesn't mean Trance is."
[01:56] <Rosa> [To: Meiko - ...Meiko?]
[01:57] <Hysenko> "Logic.  She's known all that stuff well before I did.  She wanted you to drift away.  Trouble was, she's too likeable."
[01:57] <Rosa> "...And I'm a slut, so... having two girlfriends was a plus to me."
[01:58] <Hang> [From: Meiko - Rosa? Been a while.]
[01:58] <Hysenko> "You're the most awesome slut."  A pat on the back.
06[02:02] * Rosa releases her hold on Hysenko. "...Do you care if I invite Meiko?"
[02:02] <Hysenko> "You can invite half of hong-kong for all I care, as long as I get back in time."  She is, as an aside, running SINless at the moment
[02:04] <Rosa> [To: Meiko - ...Yeah. It's been since... ...We need to talk. ...Face to face. ...Are you still with her? I mean, dating...]
[02:06] <Rosa> "...I invited her. ...She deserves to know. What with... being her other girlfriend."
[02:07] <Hysenko> "And do you think she'll do better than you?"
[02:07] <Hang> [From: Meiko - What, Arada? Yeah, why? What's wrong?]
[02:08] <Rosa> "No. I don't. ...but she deserves to know."
[02:10] <Rosa> [To: Meiko - ...I... didn't tell you why I broke up with her.]
[02:10] <Hysenko> "And now you know why I told you."  She hesitates for a moment before kissing Rosa's cheek and elaning back.
[02:10] <Hysenko> *leaning
[02:12] <Rosa> The seats of the car are incredibly comfortable--real leather, if a little worn.
[02:12] <Hang> [From: Meiko - It didn't seem like my buisness, so I didn't bother you about it]
[02:14] <Rosa> [To: Meiko - ...Just. It's important. You deserve to know what I just learned... Because... I want you to have a better chance than me. ...You make her happy. ...she deserves to be.]
[02:16] <Rosa> [To: Meiko - ...and so do you. Clean your commlink, now. And then come to this address.]
[02:18] <Rosa> "...I can't... I can't go back to Arada. ...But... I guess I have another Ayano to save."
[02:18] <Rosa> [To: The Black Hat - Ideas?]
[02:18] <Hysenko> "Yep.  Food?"
[02:20] <Rosa> "...Yeah."
[02:22] <Hysenko> "Drive on."
[02:23] <Rosa> The car has been parked in the lot of Hirohito's Sweet Wasabi Lounge for about five minutes. "...I'm going to smoke. So... Outside the car. My mom... really doesn't like me smoking."
[02:24] <Hysenko> "That shit cuts your lifespan in half, you know.  Not a problem for Runners, but for anyone else..."  She unbuckles, though, and gets out and stretches.
[02:34] <Rosa> "...Cigarettes are nasty. I didn't keep that up." The package she draws is as green as a lawn. "...And I pretty much never finish these." The stench is quite pungent, even with the packaging sealed, as she hops out of the car and walks to the bumper step, taking a seat. She draws out a joint that's been /maybe/ smoked a quarter of the way and lights it. "...I still... She... Thank you.
[02:34] <Rosa> For telling me."
06[02:37] * Hysenko looks over at Rosa and laughs quietly, shaking her head.  "Aaah, stereotypes.  And you're welcome.  I'd want you to share something like this if you found it, you know?  I'm just mad that I never figured it out while we Ran."
[02:39] <Rosa> "...How am I a stereotype? ...And I'd tell you. I've told you... pretty much everything. I guess it was my whole thing about hating the idea of her being a runner or a troubleshooter that..."
[02:40] <Rosa> "...made them disapprove."
[02:40] <Hysenko> "Oh come on.  The down on her luck artist with the beaten up old van smoking joints?  You're a beret away from a political comic."
[02:41] <Rosa> "...Hey, it's not beaten up at /all/. You're the one with the beaten up old van."
[02:41] <Hysenko> "Yours is the one with a million miles on it.  Mine just has character."
[02:42] <Rosa> "Mine is also the one that's a super luxury vehicle... and may have been owned by shadowrunners in the past, because it's armored to hell and back. It's a goddamn tank."
[02:43] <Hysenko> "Good girl.  We waiting for meiko?"
[02:47] <Rosa> "...Yeah, let's," she puffs away, then profers it to Hysenko, exhaling a plume of smoke. "...I'm going to see if the Hat will help. ...It's... probably too much to ask you, huh?"
[02:51] <Hysenko> "Right now, yeah.  Keep me posted, alright?"
[02:51] <Rosa> "...I will. ...Have you thought about where you're going to live?"
06[02:51] * Hysenko shoots Rosa a com number.  "Not yet, but that usually sorts itself out."
[02:53] <Rosa> "...Well, I've offered. I can talk with my mom, you can pay rent, you can... have a normal home. ...To be honest, we're... struggling a bit. With the bills. Mom's been really busy, working overtime /and/ going to school. ...I've been fired from... two jobs, now."
[02:54] <Rosa> "I quit at Stuffer Shack."
[02:54] <Hysenko> "Why'd you quit?"  She seems more amused than sad.
[02:56] <Rosa> Seeing that Hysenko does not accept the smoke, Rosa simply snuffs it, now down to about half of its length, then returns it to her pack. "Someone tried to rob me. I gave them the cash, obviously, and then I smashed the doors on them a few... dozen times."
[02:57] <Rosa> "Yeah, I, a badass runner, one of the best hackers in the city, got /robbed/. Not how I see my life working."
[02:57] <Rosa> "...Well, ex-runner."
[02:57] <Hysenko> "See, now here I thought you were going to say the tedium.  That, though...Yeah.  There's some people just born to Run, no matter what else goes on in their life.  They settle into the job like they were born there, and even when they take on normal jobs?  They definitely still take the unconventional, Shadowrunner approach."
06[02:58] * Hysenko pushes off of the wall she was leaning on.  "You yourself had trouble remembering you'd stopped."
[03:01] <Rosa> "...I know. I know. But... I'm not doing that to my mom again," Rosa says. "...And I hated it, anyways. I mean... the violence. ...I suppose if we were just running stick and shock all the time that's one thing, but... Our team..."
[03:01] <Hysenko> "Is dissolved."
[03:01] <Rosa> "...Yeah."
[03:03] <Hysenko> "Just think about it, alright?"
[03:07] <Rosa> "...there's a lot I don't know," Rosa says, quietly. "...but... I want to teach. More than anything, I want to be a teacher."
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[03:08] <Hysenko> "Then find people who need to learn.  But don't pretend to be something you aren't, neh?  That way lies sadness."
[03:09] <Rosa> "...That's something I'll have to talk with Trance about. ...I mean.... I've been debating coming out of the techno-closet."
[03:10] <Hysenko> "And get captured?"
[03:11] <Rosa> "...That's the kicker, isn't it? If I come out, I'll need bodyguards 24/7... and I can't afford that, so."
[03:13] <Rosa> "...I just.. I wish I didn't have to keep it a secret. I guess that's part of why I want to make it a trid show. So anyone can see it, and they can see we're... just normal people. We're not scary--there's monsters, yes, but we're not /all/ monsters."
[03:14] <Hysenko> "Yeah.  Unless you want to start throwing around deals with spirits, which I'm pretty sure you're not okay with, though...It's not about you being a monster.  It's about Them."
[03:19] <Rosa> "...yeah. I guess."
[03:19] <Rosa> "...Meiko needs to hurry up."
[03:21] <Hysenko> "She does.  But she wasn't exactly expecting this, you know?"
[03:21] <Rosa> "True. ...Is telling her everything the right thing to do?"
[03:22] <Hysenko> "I thought so."
[03:22] <Rosa> "...I mean, everything. About the breakup and... all of this? ...I... I want Arada to be with someone who makes her happy. And... I figure telling Meiko gives her a better chance at getting to stay with her."
[03:26] <Hysenko> "If Arada's with someone who makes her happy, and it isn't someone EVO approves of..."  A sigh.
[03:29] <Rosa> "...yeah."