Yang Xiao Long (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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genessia2017-11-28 02:50 pm
solar_flare) wrote in genessia2017-11-28 02:50 pm
Entry tags:
But For Me, It Was Only Tuesday
WHO: Yang Xiao Long, OPEN
WHAT: Just your average Tuesday for a bounty hunter with a lot of time on her hands. Stopping shoplifters, practicing motorcycle stunts, working a temp assignment in Fayren...she keeps busy.
WHEN: November 28th, 2017
WHERE: Varies (Genessia City/Nova City/Fayren)
NOTES: Didn't write the full outcome of the shoplifting and Nightguard Market muggings so other people can join in if they see fit! But you can assume she cleaned house if you want to do a thread that takes place afterward.
Genessia City - Morning/Noon
Yang was an early riser, any of her roommates could attest to that. She was also a night owl. Basically, there was just too much she wanted to do and enjoy, and though she wasn't the sort to burn herself out, sleep was definitely low on the priority list. She could have slept in if she wanted to, sure, but she had a busy day ahead of her and wanted to get a good head start.
She scrambled some eggs and wolfed them down with two pieces of buttered toast and a cold glass of milk, making sure to leave plenty of coffee in the pot for the others (definitely Mikaela) before she zipped up her jacket, pocketed her wallet, and set out the door. There wasn't much need for her bike today; she'd get a lot more exercise on foot, and she could spare the time for it. Besides, with all the snow coming down lately, she wasn't sure the bike she purchased could handle the ice in the roads.
Her foot suddenly jerked to the side, and Yang's hand shot out to catch herself on the mailbox. Ha! She wasn't sure she could handle the ice in the roads either!
The door to the music shop jingled merrily at Yang ducked inside, shaking some of the snow out of her thick mane of blonde hair. The shop was pretty empty; just one other customer, and the clerk who was drowsily flipping pages of a band magazine. Yang took her time, browsing through the discount bin for anything interesting...like, apparently, this CD where a guy riding a motorcycle was flying through the air, launching fire from his hands at a massive winged demon that had a lady angel tied to the spire of a skyscraper. Kinda badass! She had no idea what the music would be like, but if the cover was this intense, maybe the music would be too. And if not? White Elephant gift.
She made her way casually toward the section where the techno/dance selections took up a narrow bin, sandwiched between hard rock and soundtracks. She passed up the soundtracks, but some decent rock might be good.
The solitary customer shot her a nervous look, eyes flicking up and down. Yang waved. He hunched his shoulders and ignored her. Huh. Some people just weren't that into people, she supposed! Or maybe it was just too early to be social.
It didn't look like there was anything new in techno, so she decided to ease past the guy to check out the rock. "'Scuse me," she said, putting her hands on his shoulders so he didn't back up into her as she slid behind him. He jumped, and two CDs dropped from the inside of his jacket. Yang looked down and blinked. 'Zany Zydeco Zensations'? 'Kids Bawp Volume 84'?
He shoved her and bolted for the door, clutching at his coat. Now the clerk was paying attention. "Hey...HEY!"
Yang stumbled half a step, but she was sturdier than the shoplifter expected. She leaped, planting a hand on top of the bin divider and hoisting her legs close to her chest, vaulting clean over to the other side. Just in time to clothesline the would-be thief with her metal arm. He hit the ground with a loud grunt. Kids Bawp CDs scatterd like rain. He grabbed one and threw it at Yang's face, forcing her to raise her arm instinctively, as he scrambled to his feet and burst out the door.
"...You want me to go after him?" Yang offered, rolling her head back to look at the clerk. He nodded frantically, gripping the counter. Well what the heck, why not? She wasn't on the clock, but she was always up for some morning exercise.
* * * * *
Nova City - Afternoon
After a light lunch at the Rocket Cafe, Yang's next stop was the Holoplaza. It seemed smart to get a feel for stuntwork on her motorcycle in a safe environment before she tried out the real thing, and as long as the weather made for poor driving conditions, she was all for a simulation.
It wasn't the first time she'd visited this place to do a little discreet training. She didn't want to rely solely on Emerald's semblance to go up against Adam, and truth be told, she didn't want to give her the satisfaction of seeing Yang fall apart the first time those illusions came into play.
She swiped her ID card before the doors to her rented suite hissed open, allowing Yang to step inside.
"Welcome back. Yang Xiao Long. Select the program you wish to run." An array of scenarios flickered across the space in front of her, half of them bearing Adam's face. Yang swiped her hand across the air to dismiss them.
"New program. I need a simulation for a motorcycle stunt track."
"Understood. I suggest the Exciteback module." A watery version of a dirt track with ramps, hazards, and concrete columns flickered to life.
"That'll work."
"Select difficulty level, from 1 to 10."
Yang considered it for a moment. "Let's go for 2 to start things off. Can you access the motorcycle models from Sycamore?"
"Affirmative." Sure enough, another table of square images hovered in the air before Yang's face. She found the one that looked like her bike, but unpainted, and she tapped it with her finger. "Uploading." The bike shimmered into view to Yang's side, at the height and shape she remembered, and Yang smiled. This place was awfully good at making things feel real.
She adjusted her fingerless glove and reached for the bike handles, but as soon as she touched the bars, a flash of light jerked her attention back to a display screen that suddenly materialized.
"Attention! Yang Xiao Long. You have been randomly selected as a potential member for a promotional display. In exchange for a 20% discount, are you willing to grant public access to your Holodeck usage?"
Yang considered for a moment, then folded her arms. "Public how?"
"Footage of your activities will be broadcast live to the display screens in the Holoplaza Lobby, as well as the various e-boards throughout the city."
"So anyone can see what I'd be doing?"
"Correct."
"Am I the only one picked for this?"
"No. Seven others have confirmed their participation."
Yang tapped her chin. "Sure, why not?" It wasn't as if she were doing anything scandalous, and she couldn't get seriously hurt if she flubbed it. She slung her leg over the seat, impressed that she could actually feel the pressure of a machine beneath her, and smell the dust, oil, and hay of the arena once the watery outline solidified. "Cue up my playlist. Anything with a strong beat."
"Song selected. Enjoy your simulation. Yang Xiao Long."
She jammed her foot on the starter, putting on the familiar yellow helmet. It wasn't really there, but it would keep her hair from flying into her face at least, and she wanted to make sure she could perform the stunts with the right equipment in place.
'I'M TOO SEXY FOR MY LOVE. TOO SEXY FOR MY LOVE, LOVE'S GOING TO LEEEEAVE MEEEE.'
Yang's head lifted, her expression baffled. "...Don't remember putting that on the playlist..." She urged the motorcycle forward, letting it pick up speed as she coasted down the hill and onto the course. It was fairly simple at first. Guide the bike around the oil slicks, which Yang did with ease. Make the turns. Ride up the ramps and come down another ramp. At first she thought she was supposed to plow through a mud puddle, and felt the cold sensation of set clay spatter her legs before it flecked off in a series of pixels, but a loud buzzer and a flash of red sounded, indicating that it was an error.
"All right, no puddles, then," she said, and increased the bike speed. Little by little, she added more hazards. Dirt hills instead of paved ramps, small jumps, sharper turns. Dust kicked up in glorious plumes as she swung the tail of the bike into a hairpin turn. So far, so good. She weaved between the columns with relative ease, increased the distance of the jumps.
She crashed into a column that exploded into digital blocks. The error buzzer sounded loudly again as Yang lay in a heap on the ground. Ugh... She dusted off her knees as she rose to her feet, unhurt, and the bike coalesced at her side once more. Good thing she was doing this with a simulation first, that could have been ugly, even with her Aura activated. It wasn't long before she was zooming through the course once more, gaining greater speed and confidence.
An hour later, she was crouching on the seat, using little flicks of the handlebars to guide her. The bike was more agile than she thought it would be. Tightening her abdominal muscles, Yang rode the bike up the ramp, and let her fly. Her legs jackknifed into the sky as she gripped the handlebars, performing a fancy little handstand, and dropping back onto the seat just as the bike hit the other side and jarred her to the teeth.
Okay, she'd have to practice that, make it a little more graceful.
* * * * *
Fayren - Evening
After a change of clothes to let Yang blend in more easily with the village folk of Fayren, she strolled casually through the night markets. She'd visited before in a more official capacity, wearing clothes that clearly marked her as a non-native with her opal necklace on open display, but no one was bold enough to make a move as far as the rash of recent muggings went. At first she thought this was a good thing, if her presence alone was enough to discourage criminal activity.
But then she discovered that the muggers were just biding their time instead, waiting until Yang left before cheerfully beating people and stealing their coin purses. It wasn't enough just to be there, Yang realized. People were going to get hurt the moment her back was turned, and she couldn't patrol the market forever.
At least, in a place like this, someone with her hair wasn't exactly distinct. She did her best to change the style at least, bundling it into a ponytail and braiding it with a leather tie, and setting a jaunty feathered cap on her head to hide the trademark flip of hair atop her head that refused to be tamed even after all these years.
"Hey, these are nice!" She stopped at the silversmith, drawn to the intricately crafted pendants. One of them cradled a number of small moonstones in a knot of delicate silver curves. It would have made for a nice engagement present for Weiss, but Yang was pretty sure the necklace she got from Sun would be the one adorning her neck for weeks to come. And she definitely didn't need more rings.
There was a pin with a stylized leaf gilded in rose gold and tipped with a single white crystal that Yang liked. That would work! And people said she didn't have class.
"I'll take this one," she tapped it, and hefted out her coin purse to make sure it jingled noticeably when she set it on the velvet cloth to pay for her purchase.
Most of the coins were coppers to make it look bigger and more appealing, but she dealt out fifteen gold pieces from the top and fastened the pin to the folds of her warm, green cloak. For one thing, it was sure to catch a mugger's eye. For another, she didn't want it to fall out of her pocket, since it was a present.
She curtsied (albeit somewhat awkwardly, but that seemed to be the way things were done around this area), and wandered around the market a little longer. No one was brazen enough to mug a shopper right in the thick of things, though she did have to swat at a would-be cutpurse's hand with a stern, red-eyed stare at the young teen. It was enough to rattle the girl, and she hastily darted away. Yang smiled, and with one blink her eyes were back to the usual cheerful lavender color.
Her last purchase was a meat pie that she ate slowly as she walked away from the market. Instead of going for the witless fool, Yang hunched a little, holding her cloak tighter around her shoulders as she glanced furtively back and forth at the shadows. She kept a small knife that would intimidate no one clasped in her left hand. If she looked like a victim, she was sure she'd catch a mugger's intention a lot more than she would if she just strolled along with unnatural confidence.
A twig snapped to her right and she swung toward it, holding the knife ineptly in both of her hands, letting her fingers shake a little.
'Come get me,' she urged silently. 'Come on you cowards...'
A strong, black-gloved hand suddenly clapped over her mouth as someone grappled at her wrist to make her drop the knife. Yang let out a frightened little bleat, doing her best to keep her struggles weak so as not to let on to her real strength. Once the knife fell to the dust, a man's boot kicked it away as his arm went to her shoulders.
Shadows melted out of the foliage as three more muggers -- two men, one woman -- moved toward her.
Count down to three, just in case there were any more waiting to step out and join in.
Three.
Two.
One...
WHAT: Just your average Tuesday for a bounty hunter with a lot of time on her hands. Stopping shoplifters, practicing motorcycle stunts, working a temp assignment in Fayren...she keeps busy.
WHEN: November 28th, 2017
WHERE: Varies (Genessia City/Nova City/Fayren)
NOTES: Didn't write the full outcome of the shoplifting and Nightguard Market muggings so other people can join in if they see fit! But you can assume she cleaned house if you want to do a thread that takes place afterward.
Genessia City - Morning/Noon
Yang was an early riser, any of her roommates could attest to that. She was also a night owl. Basically, there was just too much she wanted to do and enjoy, and though she wasn't the sort to burn herself out, sleep was definitely low on the priority list. She could have slept in if she wanted to, sure, but she had a busy day ahead of her and wanted to get a good head start.
She scrambled some eggs and wolfed them down with two pieces of buttered toast and a cold glass of milk, making sure to leave plenty of coffee in the pot for the others (definitely Mikaela) before she zipped up her jacket, pocketed her wallet, and set out the door. There wasn't much need for her bike today; she'd get a lot more exercise on foot, and she could spare the time for it. Besides, with all the snow coming down lately, she wasn't sure the bike she purchased could handle the ice in the roads.
Her foot suddenly jerked to the side, and Yang's hand shot out to catch herself on the mailbox. Ha! She wasn't sure she could handle the ice in the roads either!
The door to the music shop jingled merrily at Yang ducked inside, shaking some of the snow out of her thick mane of blonde hair. The shop was pretty empty; just one other customer, and the clerk who was drowsily flipping pages of a band magazine. Yang took her time, browsing through the discount bin for anything interesting...like, apparently, this CD where a guy riding a motorcycle was flying through the air, launching fire from his hands at a massive winged demon that had a lady angel tied to the spire of a skyscraper. Kinda badass! She had no idea what the music would be like, but if the cover was this intense, maybe the music would be too. And if not? White Elephant gift.
She made her way casually toward the section where the techno/dance selections took up a narrow bin, sandwiched between hard rock and soundtracks. She passed up the soundtracks, but some decent rock might be good.
The solitary customer shot her a nervous look, eyes flicking up and down. Yang waved. He hunched his shoulders and ignored her. Huh. Some people just weren't that into people, she supposed! Or maybe it was just too early to be social.
It didn't look like there was anything new in techno, so she decided to ease past the guy to check out the rock. "'Scuse me," she said, putting her hands on his shoulders so he didn't back up into her as she slid behind him. He jumped, and two CDs dropped from the inside of his jacket. Yang looked down and blinked. 'Zany Zydeco Zensations'? 'Kids Bawp Volume 84'?
He shoved her and bolted for the door, clutching at his coat. Now the clerk was paying attention. "Hey...HEY!"
Yang stumbled half a step, but she was sturdier than the shoplifter expected. She leaped, planting a hand on top of the bin divider and hoisting her legs close to her chest, vaulting clean over to the other side. Just in time to clothesline the would-be thief with her metal arm. He hit the ground with a loud grunt. Kids Bawp CDs scatterd like rain. He grabbed one and threw it at Yang's face, forcing her to raise her arm instinctively, as he scrambled to his feet and burst out the door.
"...You want me to go after him?" Yang offered, rolling her head back to look at the clerk. He nodded frantically, gripping the counter. Well what the heck, why not? She wasn't on the clock, but she was always up for some morning exercise.
* * * * *
Nova City - Afternoon
After a light lunch at the Rocket Cafe, Yang's next stop was the Holoplaza. It seemed smart to get a feel for stuntwork on her motorcycle in a safe environment before she tried out the real thing, and as long as the weather made for poor driving conditions, she was all for a simulation.
It wasn't the first time she'd visited this place to do a little discreet training. She didn't want to rely solely on Emerald's semblance to go up against Adam, and truth be told, she didn't want to give her the satisfaction of seeing Yang fall apart the first time those illusions came into play.
She swiped her ID card before the doors to her rented suite hissed open, allowing Yang to step inside.
"Welcome back. Yang Xiao Long. Select the program you wish to run." An array of scenarios flickered across the space in front of her, half of them bearing Adam's face. Yang swiped her hand across the air to dismiss them.
"New program. I need a simulation for a motorcycle stunt track."
"Understood. I suggest the Exciteback module." A watery version of a dirt track with ramps, hazards, and concrete columns flickered to life.
"That'll work."
"Select difficulty level, from 1 to 10."
Yang considered it for a moment. "Let's go for 2 to start things off. Can you access the motorcycle models from Sycamore?"
"Affirmative." Sure enough, another table of square images hovered in the air before Yang's face. She found the one that looked like her bike, but unpainted, and she tapped it with her finger. "Uploading." The bike shimmered into view to Yang's side, at the height and shape she remembered, and Yang smiled. This place was awfully good at making things feel real.
She adjusted her fingerless glove and reached for the bike handles, but as soon as she touched the bars, a flash of light jerked her attention back to a display screen that suddenly materialized.
"Attention! Yang Xiao Long. You have been randomly selected as a potential member for a promotional display. In exchange for a 20% discount, are you willing to grant public access to your Holodeck usage?"
Yang considered for a moment, then folded her arms. "Public how?"
"Footage of your activities will be broadcast live to the display screens in the Holoplaza Lobby, as well as the various e-boards throughout the city."
"So anyone can see what I'd be doing?"
"Correct."
"Am I the only one picked for this?"
"No. Seven others have confirmed their participation."
Yang tapped her chin. "Sure, why not?" It wasn't as if she were doing anything scandalous, and she couldn't get seriously hurt if she flubbed it. She slung her leg over the seat, impressed that she could actually feel the pressure of a machine beneath her, and smell the dust, oil, and hay of the arena once the watery outline solidified. "Cue up my playlist. Anything with a strong beat."
"Song selected. Enjoy your simulation. Yang Xiao Long."
She jammed her foot on the starter, putting on the familiar yellow helmet. It wasn't really there, but it would keep her hair from flying into her face at least, and she wanted to make sure she could perform the stunts with the right equipment in place.
'I'M TOO SEXY FOR MY LOVE. TOO SEXY FOR MY LOVE, LOVE'S GOING TO LEEEEAVE MEEEE.'
Yang's head lifted, her expression baffled. "...Don't remember putting that on the playlist..." She urged the motorcycle forward, letting it pick up speed as she coasted down the hill and onto the course. It was fairly simple at first. Guide the bike around the oil slicks, which Yang did with ease. Make the turns. Ride up the ramps and come down another ramp. At first she thought she was supposed to plow through a mud puddle, and felt the cold sensation of set clay spatter her legs before it flecked off in a series of pixels, but a loud buzzer and a flash of red sounded, indicating that it was an error.
"All right, no puddles, then," she said, and increased the bike speed. Little by little, she added more hazards. Dirt hills instead of paved ramps, small jumps, sharper turns. Dust kicked up in glorious plumes as she swung the tail of the bike into a hairpin turn. So far, so good. She weaved between the columns with relative ease, increased the distance of the jumps.
She crashed into a column that exploded into digital blocks. The error buzzer sounded loudly again as Yang lay in a heap on the ground. Ugh... She dusted off her knees as she rose to her feet, unhurt, and the bike coalesced at her side once more. Good thing she was doing this with a simulation first, that could have been ugly, even with her Aura activated. It wasn't long before she was zooming through the course once more, gaining greater speed and confidence.
An hour later, she was crouching on the seat, using little flicks of the handlebars to guide her. The bike was more agile than she thought it would be. Tightening her abdominal muscles, Yang rode the bike up the ramp, and let her fly. Her legs jackknifed into the sky as she gripped the handlebars, performing a fancy little handstand, and dropping back onto the seat just as the bike hit the other side and jarred her to the teeth.
Okay, she'd have to practice that, make it a little more graceful.
* * * * *
Fayren - Evening
After a change of clothes to let Yang blend in more easily with the village folk of Fayren, she strolled casually through the night markets. She'd visited before in a more official capacity, wearing clothes that clearly marked her as a non-native with her opal necklace on open display, but no one was bold enough to make a move as far as the rash of recent muggings went. At first she thought this was a good thing, if her presence alone was enough to discourage criminal activity.
But then she discovered that the muggers were just biding their time instead, waiting until Yang left before cheerfully beating people and stealing their coin purses. It wasn't enough just to be there, Yang realized. People were going to get hurt the moment her back was turned, and she couldn't patrol the market forever.
At least, in a place like this, someone with her hair wasn't exactly distinct. She did her best to change the style at least, bundling it into a ponytail and braiding it with a leather tie, and setting a jaunty feathered cap on her head to hide the trademark flip of hair atop her head that refused to be tamed even after all these years.
"Hey, these are nice!" She stopped at the silversmith, drawn to the intricately crafted pendants. One of them cradled a number of small moonstones in a knot of delicate silver curves. It would have made for a nice engagement present for Weiss, but Yang was pretty sure the necklace she got from Sun would be the one adorning her neck for weeks to come. And she definitely didn't need more rings.
There was a pin with a stylized leaf gilded in rose gold and tipped with a single white crystal that Yang liked. That would work! And people said she didn't have class.
"I'll take this one," she tapped it, and hefted out her coin purse to make sure it jingled noticeably when she set it on the velvet cloth to pay for her purchase.
Most of the coins were coppers to make it look bigger and more appealing, but she dealt out fifteen gold pieces from the top and fastened the pin to the folds of her warm, green cloak. For one thing, it was sure to catch a mugger's eye. For another, she didn't want it to fall out of her pocket, since it was a present.
She curtsied (albeit somewhat awkwardly, but that seemed to be the way things were done around this area), and wandered around the market a little longer. No one was brazen enough to mug a shopper right in the thick of things, though she did have to swat at a would-be cutpurse's hand with a stern, red-eyed stare at the young teen. It was enough to rattle the girl, and she hastily darted away. Yang smiled, and with one blink her eyes were back to the usual cheerful lavender color.
Her last purchase was a meat pie that she ate slowly as she walked away from the market. Instead of going for the witless fool, Yang hunched a little, holding her cloak tighter around her shoulders as she glanced furtively back and forth at the shadows. She kept a small knife that would intimidate no one clasped in her left hand. If she looked like a victim, she was sure she'd catch a mugger's intention a lot more than she would if she just strolled along with unnatural confidence.
A twig snapped to her right and she swung toward it, holding the knife ineptly in both of her hands, letting her fingers shake a little.
'Come get me,' she urged silently. 'Come on you cowards...'
A strong, black-gloved hand suddenly clapped over her mouth as someone grappled at her wrist to make her drop the knife. Yang let out a frightened little bleat, doing her best to keep her struggles weak so as not to let on to her real strength. Once the knife fell to the dust, a man's boot kicked it away as his arm went to her shoulders.
Shadows melted out of the foliage as three more muggers -- two men, one woman -- moved toward her.
Count down to three, just in case there were any more waiting to step out and join in.
Three.
Two.
One...
genessia city
Or at least, she did that so she could put her foot in his path and hopefully trip the n'er-do-well.
"Oops. Watch your step there."
no subject
"Nice try, pal," she shook her head, unhitching the handcuffs she kept tucked away on one of her belt loops.
She looked back over her shoulder at Rouge and winked. She saw what you did there, nice assist!
"F...for my kids," he stammered. "Just wanted presents for my kids..."
"Oh yeah?" She dug into his jacket until she slipped out his phone. Realizing what she was doing, he began to wriggle in greater earnest. Yang bounced just enough to drop her weight back down into his back again to silence him with another 'oof.' "Let's see what your camera has to say about that."
She thumbed through the photos with her left hand. Picture after picture of the culprit, with pictures of him and his buddies screaming at the horse races, drinking at the poker table, and drawing on each other's passed out faces filled the folders, but there sure weren't any children.
"For a guy who claims to be a family man, you're kind of missing the whole family part," she noted. "Hey, would you mind calling the police to come pick this guy up?" she called back to Rouge. "Kinda got a busy schedule here, and I'm sure this guy would prefer to keep his dignity by not having me cart him to the station flung over my shoulder."
no subject
"Call the police, hm?" she asked. "I'm not sure, is that possible with the charming device people have given to us?"
Fayren - Evening
no subject
"The hell was that?" His grip on her mouth and shoulders tightened. An elbow thrust into his solar plexus before the heel of her boot crushed against his instep. The moment his hold loosened, Yang pivoted to catch him by the collar of his tunic and hurl him bodily into one of the other rogues.
The jig was up, she might as well mop up these goons. She just hoped the early attack hadn't scared off any other hidden thugs who would report back to their ringleader, since she kind of liked her strategy and was hoping to use it again.
no subject
"That would be me... If I were you, I would suggest groveling now." She looks like a ten year old girl... who is holding a crimson spear of energy and floating in mid-air.
no subject
Dammit, she had this. Now she'll have to devise a new strategy to lure them out, this wasn't going to work a second time. How was she supposed to know someone else would just happen to be lurking in the forest nearby?
"I don't think he's going to take you up on that right now. Maybe give him a few days," Yang suggested, brushing some of the dust off of her sleeve. "What are you doing out here in the middle of the woods at night?"
no subject
Nova City, after Yang's performance/training - text
YOU ARE AMAZING!!!
Can't believe my roomie is gonna be a celebrity <3
[Audio]
Did you like the part where I landed face first in a digital oil slick~?
[She grins from ear to ear, the humor obvious in her voice. Hopefully Mikaela just saw the good stuff since she did manage to pull off at least a few successful stunts.]
Where are you at?