snippets
There are so many things I should be writing besides this. Random bits of Kaiba/Yugi that I could work into 30kisses fics. The femslash50 fics that I've only barely started. The continuation of my Ancient Evil/Otogi mess. And yet, I'm writing this. Something I feel kinda bad about writing, because it's Shadowrun!YGO, which was initially the brainchild of crabapplered (who is free to tell me to knock it the hell off and I'll get rid of this) but I can't help it because the images are so there and mostly inspired by my obsessive playing of the Genesis game. Initially I was only going to write one scene, but then I started skimming sourcebooks for reference and it just expanded and now it's three scenes that may or may not be connected.
[all YGO characters are Takahashi's, the Shadowrun universe was originally created by the now defunct FASA]
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Otogi is a fixer's son. Learning the family business, so to speak, and Yugi can't quite remember where or how or even when they met. A mental fuzziness that he supposes can be chalked up to a little too much time spent running around the Matrix and one too many tight brushes with black IC. Not that having a reason makes the vagueness less worrisome, but at least there's a reason.
And ultimately, Otogi always says the where, when, and how are unimportant. They know each other now, and Otogi (or more his father, via Otogi) pays top price for whatever data Yugi manages to snare copies of during his time spent ghosting through various datastores. Not to mention, gives him access to the best hardware and software available to the underground (for a nominal fee of course)
By the time Yugi turns seventeen, Otogi is asking him if he wants the name of a Johnson he (his father) knows who wouldn't mind having a skilled decker to hire on a regular basis to take care of this, that, and the other and Yugi just stares at him. Eyes wide, mouth hanging open in a small "o" and after a moment Otogi wonders if the guy's brain shorted out (when it comes to hardcore Matrix uses you just never know) Snapping his fingers in front of Yugi's face a few times until the boy flinches back with a frown. Otogi just laughing as he repeats the question.
"I heard you the first time," Yugi mutters. Eyes darting around the club nervously, just to make sure that no one is within listening distance before continuing. "But- but I'm not a runner. Why would--" The next words out of his mouth cut off by Otogi's sudden burst of laughter.
"Who the hell are you trying to kid, Mutou? You've been running around the Matrix illegally for as long as I've known you. And data theft for profit is hardly a cute little hacker prank. The only thing separating you from the runners proper out there is that nobody's actually hiring you. All I'm offering is a chance for you to actually work for someone as opposed to doing it for kicks all the time."
Yugi shrugs. Lips drawn into a thin line as fiddles with his drink. Quite obviously hesitant and Otogi shoots him that winning smile he knows is going to serve him well in the future. "If you like I can tell him Matrix meetings only. You wouldn't even have to leave the comfort of your own home-- or wherever the hell it is you perform your more questionable Matrix activities from."
"Can I think about it?"
"You could. Although I wouldn't think too long if I were you. He might find someone else, and he's willing to pay better than I ever could."
"You mean better than your father could," Yugi retorts with a smile and Otogi sneers at him.
"Stick it, Mutou. And quit worrying about the part that isn't important."
-----------
"What do you know about KaibaCorp?"
Yugi ponders the question for a moment. Wondering for a moment what the expected answer is before speaking, slowly and carefully. "They're a mid-level corporation dealing in software and the odd bit of hardware. Games and other entertainment mostly. Rumour has it they started in military tech. Some say they're the ones who designed the black hammer program. Others say not only did they create it, they also eventually leaked it to the underground. But that's all hearsay. After all, if they did that they'd be bigger than what they are. Right?"
"And Kaiba himself?"
"The CEO? Nobody knows anything about him. He makes sure of it."
"But you're not just anyone. That fixer told me you've ghosted into some of the biggest, most secure, nodes out there. That's why you're the Silent Magician. Isn't it? Someone of your skill must be capable of slipping into KaibaCorp's stores and coming up with a few things."
Yugi sighs (or at the very least performs a Matrix equivalent) all the while wishing that he hadn't let Otogi set up this meeting. Especially given his tendency to exaggerate. "I cracked into KaibaCorp once. They're locked down tight considering their size."
"Could you do it again?"
"I could. Is that the job?"
"It's part of the job. As you know it's a bit of a tech race to come up with a way for those who aren't human or metahuman to access the Matrix in the truest sense. It's been said that Kaiba Corporation is getting close. Those I represent want the project files and they want the original copies obliterated."
"That's a big job. There could be backups hidden anywhere."
"That's why there's big pay on the line. We're talking ten thousand nuyen for the project files alone. And a bonus of five thousand if you do a decent job of setting them back in their research."
-----------
Yugi has handled black IC before, mostly quick brushes that he immediately retreats from. Once he fought off one of those low-level, non-lethal, types and had a migraine for a good six hours after. Even the odd security decker he's dealt with, usually capable of outmanoeuvring them before they have a chance to bring out the big guns.
But this....
He's not certain for just how long he lies there on the floor. Glad (on some entirely distant and abstract level, because god knows he's currently in no shape to even be thinking let alone be glad about something) that Grandpa isn't home because he's almost positive that he's screaming, although it's hard to tell for sure. The only thing he's really aware of is the pain. Slamming right through the centre of his skull and burning along his nervous system.
When he's finally able to regulate his breathing once more, and capable of more complex thought than: ohgodohgodfuckithurtsithurts, he wonders if he's gone blind. Lost in a haze of darkness and pain, blood slowly dripping from his nose.
He tries to tell himself to stay calm. That it's just dump shock combined with being slammed upside the head with a black hammer program. That he's strong enough to pull through this. That he'll be fine. Bastard just got in a lucky hit while he jacked out. Quietly murmuring reassurances to himself over and over.
Until he realizes that he can't hear himself speaking either.
-----------
Yea, I know I'm using a lot of world specific jargon so I'll try to explain some of the big ones as simply as possible (filtered through the way I see things since I've been rereading bits and pieces of the sourcebooks, stuff about decking and the Matrix mostly, and jargon just piles on top of jargon there). So, the basics: Shadowrunners are like mercenaries and Johnsons (more properly known as "Mr. Johnson") are the people who do the hiring.
The Matrix is, yes, a giant computer network (and the first Shadowrun rulebook came out in 1989, I got into it around the mid nineties and have always sneered at those movies as being such a conceptual knockoff... At least on the giant VR type computer systems which happen to be called "the Matrix" front). Accessed most quickly via a sort of virtual reality system. The quickest and most common way involves a cybernetic implant called a datajack that allows a person to plug a fiberoptic cable into their brain. Deckers are people who are extremely adept at using the various systems within the Matrix (a term more than likely adapted from "cyberdeck" which is hardware used to store various programs, applications, and data used by deckers on the Matrix) A fixer is, as the name implies, someone who "fixes" things for others. Dealing in anything that anyone might want to buy. Weapons, faked documents, information. Whatever can be bought and sold.
IC (pronounced "ice") stands for intrusion countermeasures and are programs put in place by whoever owns a specific system to stop hackers. Black IC is the most dangerous because it goes after the decker physically, so to speak. And I'm fighting to not get really complicated here because I find the whole thing terribly intriguing with simsense and cold vs. hot ASIST but all of that is way more information that what is needed. In the simplest sense, black IC causes brain-frying feedback which at the lowest can simply cause unconsciousness, neurological damage (which can in turn trigger memory lapses, migraines, hallucinations, phantom pain, whathaveyou) and at worst can kill a person. The black hammer is a program that one decker can use to attack another which mimics the effects of black IC. Dump shock is what happens when a decker is suddenly crashed off or quickly jacks out of the Matrix due to the sudden transition between virtual and physical reality. Effects aren't really described in detail in the book, other than it equating to stun damage. I'm presuming it equates to massive disorientation, probably dizziness and nausea as well.
Um......I think that's it.
[all YGO characters are Takahashi's, the Shadowrun universe was originally created by the now defunct FASA]
-------------
Otogi is a fixer's son. Learning the family business, so to speak, and Yugi can't quite remember where or how or even when they met. A mental fuzziness that he supposes can be chalked up to a little too much time spent running around the Matrix and one too many tight brushes with black IC. Not that having a reason makes the vagueness less worrisome, but at least there's a reason.
And ultimately, Otogi always says the where, when, and how are unimportant. They know each other now, and Otogi (or more his father, via Otogi) pays top price for whatever data Yugi manages to snare copies of during his time spent ghosting through various datastores. Not to mention, gives him access to the best hardware and software available to the underground (for a nominal fee of course)
By the time Yugi turns seventeen, Otogi is asking him if he wants the name of a Johnson he (his father) knows who wouldn't mind having a skilled decker to hire on a regular basis to take care of this, that, and the other and Yugi just stares at him. Eyes wide, mouth hanging open in a small "o" and after a moment Otogi wonders if the guy's brain shorted out (when it comes to hardcore Matrix uses you just never know) Snapping his fingers in front of Yugi's face a few times until the boy flinches back with a frown. Otogi just laughing as he repeats the question.
"I heard you the first time," Yugi mutters. Eyes darting around the club nervously, just to make sure that no one is within listening distance before continuing. "But- but I'm not a runner. Why would--" The next words out of his mouth cut off by Otogi's sudden burst of laughter.
"Who the hell are you trying to kid, Mutou? You've been running around the Matrix illegally for as long as I've known you. And data theft for profit is hardly a cute little hacker prank. The only thing separating you from the runners proper out there is that nobody's actually hiring you. All I'm offering is a chance for you to actually work for someone as opposed to doing it for kicks all the time."
Yugi shrugs. Lips drawn into a thin line as fiddles with his drink. Quite obviously hesitant and Otogi shoots him that winning smile he knows is going to serve him well in the future. "If you like I can tell him Matrix meetings only. You wouldn't even have to leave the comfort of your own home-- or wherever the hell it is you perform your more questionable Matrix activities from."
"Can I think about it?"
"You could. Although I wouldn't think too long if I were you. He might find someone else, and he's willing to pay better than I ever could."
"You mean better than your father could," Yugi retorts with a smile and Otogi sneers at him.
"Stick it, Mutou. And quit worrying about the part that isn't important."
-----------
"What do you know about KaibaCorp?"
Yugi ponders the question for a moment. Wondering for a moment what the expected answer is before speaking, slowly and carefully. "They're a mid-level corporation dealing in software and the odd bit of hardware. Games and other entertainment mostly. Rumour has it they started in military tech. Some say they're the ones who designed the black hammer program. Others say not only did they create it, they also eventually leaked it to the underground. But that's all hearsay. After all, if they did that they'd be bigger than what they are. Right?"
"And Kaiba himself?"
"The CEO? Nobody knows anything about him. He makes sure of it."
"But you're not just anyone. That fixer told me you've ghosted into some of the biggest, most secure, nodes out there. That's why you're the Silent Magician. Isn't it? Someone of your skill must be capable of slipping into KaibaCorp's stores and coming up with a few things."
Yugi sighs (or at the very least performs a Matrix equivalent) all the while wishing that he hadn't let Otogi set up this meeting. Especially given his tendency to exaggerate. "I cracked into KaibaCorp once. They're locked down tight considering their size."
"Could you do it again?"
"I could. Is that the job?"
"It's part of the job. As you know it's a bit of a tech race to come up with a way for those who aren't human or metahuman to access the Matrix in the truest sense. It's been said that Kaiba Corporation is getting close. Those I represent want the project files and they want the original copies obliterated."
"That's a big job. There could be backups hidden anywhere."
"That's why there's big pay on the line. We're talking ten thousand nuyen for the project files alone. And a bonus of five thousand if you do a decent job of setting them back in their research."
-----------
Yugi has handled black IC before, mostly quick brushes that he immediately retreats from. Once he fought off one of those low-level, non-lethal, types and had a migraine for a good six hours after. Even the odd security decker he's dealt with, usually capable of outmanoeuvring them before they have a chance to bring out the big guns.
But this....
He's not certain for just how long he lies there on the floor. Glad (on some entirely distant and abstract level, because god knows he's currently in no shape to even be thinking let alone be glad about something) that Grandpa isn't home because he's almost positive that he's screaming, although it's hard to tell for sure. The only thing he's really aware of is the pain. Slamming right through the centre of his skull and burning along his nervous system.
When he's finally able to regulate his breathing once more, and capable of more complex thought than: ohgodohgodfuckithurtsithurts, he wonders if he's gone blind. Lost in a haze of darkness and pain, blood slowly dripping from his nose.
He tries to tell himself to stay calm. That it's just dump shock combined with being slammed upside the head with a black hammer program. That he's strong enough to pull through this. That he'll be fine. Bastard just got in a lucky hit while he jacked out. Quietly murmuring reassurances to himself over and over.
Until he realizes that he can't hear himself speaking either.
-----------
Yea, I know I'm using a lot of world specific jargon so I'll try to explain some of the big ones as simply as possible (filtered through the way I see things since I've been rereading bits and pieces of the sourcebooks, stuff about decking and the Matrix mostly, and jargon just piles on top of jargon there). So, the basics: Shadowrunners are like mercenaries and Johnsons (more properly known as "Mr. Johnson") are the people who do the hiring.
The Matrix is, yes, a giant computer network (and the first Shadowrun rulebook came out in 1989, I got into it around the mid nineties and have always sneered at those movies as being such a conceptual knockoff... At least on the giant VR type computer systems which happen to be called "the Matrix" front). Accessed most quickly via a sort of virtual reality system. The quickest and most common way involves a cybernetic implant called a datajack that allows a person to plug a fiberoptic cable into their brain. Deckers are people who are extremely adept at using the various systems within the Matrix (a term more than likely adapted from "cyberdeck" which is hardware used to store various programs, applications, and data used by deckers on the Matrix) A fixer is, as the name implies, someone who "fixes" things for others. Dealing in anything that anyone might want to buy. Weapons, faked documents, information. Whatever can be bought and sold.
IC (pronounced "ice") stands for intrusion countermeasures and are programs put in place by whoever owns a specific system to stop hackers. Black IC is the most dangerous because it goes after the decker physically, so to speak. And I'm fighting to not get really complicated here because I find the whole thing terribly intriguing with simsense and cold vs. hot ASIST but all of that is way more information that what is needed. In the simplest sense, black IC causes brain-frying feedback which at the lowest can simply cause unconsciousness, neurological damage (which can in turn trigger memory lapses, migraines, hallucinations, phantom pain, whathaveyou) and at worst can kill a person. The black hammer is a program that one decker can use to attack another which mimics the effects of black IC. Dump shock is what happens when a decker is suddenly crashed off or quickly jacks out of the Matrix due to the sudden transition between virtual and physical reality. Effects aren't really described in detail in the book, other than it equating to stun damage. I'm presuming it equates to massive disorientation, probably dizziness and nausea as well.
Um......I think that's it.