MrSkimobile

Neon Noir - Cyberpunk Crime Thriller (CLOSED)

To any and all who still dwell here: I unfortunately have decided to pull the plug on the game.

DELTΔ HYPER (Anti-Gravity Racing, Cyberpunk/Solarpunk RP)

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Kais Zenix @ASZenix:
"I'm excited about the season and looking forward to work with Layla and show our fans and opponents what The Falcons can do.
#AlSaqrRacing #DeltaHyper #FormulaAG #LetsGO"

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Hello Kais, welcome to Delta Hyper! how are you feeling about the season, and what's your thoughts on working with Layla?

Kais squinted his eyes when the spotlight shifted over to him. The lights were always too bright. You’d almost think they did it on purpose just to make him look even more annoyed than he already was with this whole circus. Every time… “Hello…” he quickly glanced over at the holographic title-card next to his interviewer. “... Aurora.” He wondered if she even was a real person or if they just cranked up the happy-go-lucky AI settings since last time.

“The season is shaping up to be a damn interesting one. I’m happy to see some of my favorites back in the lineup. Wadi Rum, Istanbul, Dubai Sky, Mare Austral on Luna. Veeerrry challenging tracks, just as I like them. And with Luna, we have the home-field advantage. I swear, if I hear Layla brag one more time about how many times she’s already looped that thing I’m gonna…" Kais stopped his train of thought just in time. That was close. Come to think of it, what was he supposed to say again? Whatever…

"Layla and I, we're two different kinds of beasts. She’s a strong racer, I don't think anyone can deny that. Impossible not to be when you’ve got mods all the way up your [CENSORED - To view, turn off PG13 settings]. But the heart and soul of racing isn’t about how much of your body shines gold when you stand in the spotlight."

Kais paused to wait at Aurora's nodding animation to stop, a tiny hint of a smirk curling his lips. "Tech means nothing when you cap your energy management at just 100%, and let me tell you, I will fight at least twice as hard as that for every single millisecond. That’s how I'm going to win." He said as he glanced off-camera slightly. "And sure, some are gonna feel stepped on their toes about that, so be it. Reaction time in antigrav’s too short to take each others’ feelings into account. It's a battlefield, after all." He shrugged. It was as cut and clear as that.

Then he leant forward with a glint in his eye. His gaze locked tight with the camera. "Layla brings the shine. I bring the fire. And together, we're gonna make something very special happen. It’s gonna be one hell of a ride."

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“Did you have to go so hard again, Kais? Omar's not gonna be too happy about it.” Layla said as the two met up off-stage. Somehow she managed to look elegant even with her feet propped up on the table, her striking gold bionic eyes following Kais as he walked by. “Oh, when is he ever?” Kais answered. “You reckon he’s gonna last longer than the last one? I don’t think I’ve ever seen him smile even once.” Layla laughed. “I know, right? Is that why the two of you get along so well?” “Very funny, Layla. Why don’t you tell me about the moon again?”

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Group chat: Al-Saqr PR

Omar (Team Principal):
“Damnit Kais.”
“Is this how you treat all our interns? Making them clean up the messaging after your mess?”

Kais:
“The audience loves a good show. Who am I to keep it from them?"
"Besides, gotta give Nadia something to do, how else is she gonna learn things?”

Omar (Team Principal):
“She’s studying *electrical engineering*, Kais.”

Kais:
“Yeah, and my job’s driving in circles. Welcome to the real world, Nadia.”

Nadia (Intern):
“The vacancy didn’t say anything about this lol.”
“But will do my best.” (Kais 👍'ed this)

Omar (Manager):
“Thanks, Nadia. Let’s try to keep our messaging at least semi-professional.”
“Gotta admit though, Fire and Shine has a nice ring to it…”

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DELTΔ HYPER

Episode One: Finding their Feet

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Team Radio: Al-Saqr Racing

“Kais, look out on the bay. Layla reported wind and water turbulence.”

“Then we better get through that part fast.”

“Wouldn’t advise it.”

“Tell her I’ll wait for her at the finish.”

(some time later)

“This thing steers like a drunk cow.”

“Told you to be careful.”

“What pos we in tomorrow?”

“You’re on P11. Layla's on 5.”

“*tsk* Damn. Ah well. Nice run. Rematch tomorrow.”

“Rematch tomorrow.”

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Around The World In 80 Days - Aetherpunk AU Roadtrip (CLOSED)

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"You're stark barking mad, sir!" "Oh please, miss, I know you read The Aetherial just as well as I do. With the latest innovations in travel, it's entirely feasible. Airships, steam trains, the occasional skimobile, submarine and aether jumper. Why, it's practically a stroll through the park. If I didn't know any better I'd say you were trying to discourage me so you could take all the credit for yourself."

"And if I didn't know any better, I would say you were challenging me. And what, pray tell, would be the purpose of such a journey? Beyond the sheer thrill of it, of course." "To prove it can be done! To push the boundaries of human ingenuity and showcase the marvels of modern science. Imagine the headlines! Intrepid Duo Travels Around The World In 80 Days!"

"It is an absolutely ludicrous proposal, sir, and if I didn't know any better, I'd say you knew me too well." "Then we have an accord?"
"Indeed we have. Cheers, Mister Wellington. To 80 days of adventure, wonder, and discovery!" "To making history!"

"To trains that run on time!" "To meeting all manner of fascinating characters!"
"To impeccable fashion, even in the jungle!" "To never running out of tea!"
"To not encountering rogue automatons!" "To always remembering where we parked our airship!"

"To keeping our wits about us during whirlwind romances!" "Let's not get too ahead of ourselves, Miss Hawthorne..."
"Oh alright, then; to always finding our way home, no matter how far we go!"

^{Image source: Tesla City, by Eddie Mendoza on DeviantArt | Header source: Coventry Garden Regular, on 1001Fonts}

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Welcome to Around the World in 80 Days. This RPG is inspired by the video game 80 Days (which, in turn is inspired by the classic Jules Verne adventure novel from which I stole the title, cough), but with a twist, namely that it is set in an pseudo-Victorian-era Aetherpunk fantasy world, and that it will feature 2 teams competing to travel the globe... within 80 days, of course

This will be a very loosely GM-ed RPG. It will rely on the players' imagination to get themselves into interesting situations and make up just as much of the worldbuilding and story, especially as this will be very much a slice of life and character- and interactions-driven RPG. GMing will mostly be done through setting up a region travel guide-style (defining feel, culture, landmarks, interesting events, and transportation methods), and by loosely keeping track of each team's progress with a semi-random system that I won't bore you with (distance travelled, money, challenges, etc.). There will be a discord group in which to discuss about what fun and interesting things could happen. And yes, there will be a world map that will be updated as the journey progresses.

The code of conduct:

• Standard board rules apply.
• Don’t be a d*ck (but don't be too easily slighted either).
• We will post at least once every 2 weeks.
• Though roleplay may involve mature themes, there will be no explicit 18+ roleplay.
• Anything else can be discussed and determined by the group in OOC.
• The GM decides on matters that can’t be resolved by the group, and can always be consulted.
• Keep real-life politics, religion, and drama 'off the table'.
• Most importantly: Have fun!

If you are interested, let me know! See below for the Character Sheet template. Feel free to format and prettify it. I imagine the game to be more of a jump aboard kind of deal, in which characters can weave in and out of the story and be as short lived as you'd like, but do please post in OOC/PM for approval first. If you wish to play as Miss Hawthorne or Mister Wellington (the 'team leads', if you will), please contact me.

And, as always, feel free to give suggestions and ideas. :)

Character Sheet - COPYABLE TEMPLATE

[b]Name[/b]:
[b]Gender[/b]:
[b]Age[/b]:
[b]Team[/b]: Miss Hawthorne or Mister Wellington

[b]Appearance[/b]:
[b]Personality[/b]:
[b]Background[/b]:

[b]Personal Qualities[/b]: list 5 personal qualities, from best to worst. Can be skills, but also generic things such as ‘curious’
[b]Special[/b]: list up to 3 things that make you special in some way (could be skills, qualities, items)
[b]Goal[/b]: what is the personal reason for going on this trip? Is there something you’d like to see, gain or achieve, that you are running from?

[b]Misc[/b]: list any other things that are nice to know, but not necessarily essential. Like speech color, theme song, face claim, etc.

The Pirates of Miss Fortune

On a ship not too far away, there stood a grayish-blue Dragonborn on watch with his looking glass, billowing a puff of smoke from the pipe leisurely hanging from his mouth. Around Phazmun was the usual bustle of their ship’s operation - deck being cleaned and tarred after their loading at port, some were eating some of the fresh apples, can’t let those go to waste, and then there were those few brave but unlucky new souls turning their stomachs inside out at the edge of the ship in between curses and pleas to whatever deity they fancied most at the moment.

The morning had a favorable breeze in store for them, and they had set off well on schedule to the next port of trade. And a good trade it would be - cacao and tobacco, mahogany and pelts, salted pork, and peas and plums in excess, even some silver. And of course the rum, can't forget the rum. Yes, they’d get more than enough profits from it that he’d be able to send some back to his family. That'd be a good day.

And there, in the distance, coming out of the morning dew, he saw a flag. It was one he knew well from all his time at sea. The black flag never bode anything but misfortune, and this one would bode even less judging by the ship's mangled figurehead. He bared his teeth as a grimace came over his face. "Captain! Two points off the starboard bow, in the fogbank, pirates!"

The Pirates of Miss Fortune

Phazmun - Azure Dragonborn

^{Header source: Midnightman, by omaikraf on 1001Fonts | Image source: Sketch CM - Nuwisha by Fjorgael on DeviantArt}

Name: Phazmun

Race: Azure Dragonborn

Physical Description: Phazmun stands well over 8 feet tall, maw to tail. His sturdy build is accustomed to life on the sea, and is beset by scales that the centuries may have dulled, but swirling throughout one can still see the deep blue patterns of his people. His white slitted eyes may seem intimidating considering his tendency to barely blink, but usually he is just thinking about food, the stars, or the latest tune - it takes a lot to get under someone's skin when they've looked an angry seagod in the eye, after all.

General Backstory: Phazmun is a skilled but gruff navigator. His most valued possessions ever since he was a little hatchling were maps and journals and compasses, a result of a lifetime of travel. First with his merchant parents, then in various sailing crews, and now, captured by pirates. Throughout it all, his heart was aimed stoically at the greatest prize of his people: the Azure Heart. The Azure Dragonborn are a people from the sunken island of Drokkaris. Once a magical volcano-island that freely travelled the seven seas, Drokkaris was powered by a collossal magical flame known as the Azure Heart. It gifted its people long and healthy lives, and the power to forge magical artifacts that were renowned the world over. But it was also a beacon, attracting terrible forces from the abyss. One fateful night a massive leviathan creature attacked, a vengeful seagod that doomed Drokkaris to the deep dark locker, and the Azure Heart was extinguished. What few Dragonborn survived have built up a new life in the centuries since, roaming the oceans and isles and harbors as artisans, guards, merchants, labor hands, and, occasionally, as pirates. A scattered and wistful people, but never aimless. For the whispers of their Azure Heart can yet be heard...

Special Abilities: Heightened strength, amphibious, navigation, sparkly mist breath attack, knowledge of recent history.

Personal Goal: Phazmun wants to uncover the truth behind the Sinking of Drokkaris and the Azure Heart. He eagerly awaits the coming Remembrance Festival, held each century at the last remembered location of Drokkaris at sea.

Speech color: 7FFFD4

Theme song: Echoes (Sunken Treasures DLC) | Anno 1800 (OST) | Steffen Brinkmann, Orchestra: HSSO (Ubisoft Music, YouTube)

DELTΔ HYPER (Anti-Gravity Racing, Cyberpunk/Solarpunk RP)

Kais "The Meteor" Zenix - Al Saqr's Supersoldier-turned-AGRacer

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^{Image source/face claim: Mohamed Hamaki - Header font source: Creattion, on 1001Fonts}

Height: 5' 9" / 176cm - Weight: 180lbs / 82kg - Hair Colour: Dark Brown - Eye Colour: Brown

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Name: Kais Zenix
Alias: Al-Shihab (The Meteor), @ASZenix (media handle), ZNX-5-01 (wartime serial code)
Team: Al-Saqr Racing - Arabic Union
Gender: Male
Age: 36

Personality: Kais is one of the most grating personalities in the AG racing sphere. His supersoldier genetics and paramilitary past has left him with a more than healthy sprinkling of assertiveness, an unhealthy sprinkling of wartime baggage, and a lack of tolerance for bullshit, specifically yours. Though he has a stoic exterior, he is quick to push back against people whom he feels behave with conceit and hostility, and dislikes a soft touch, preferring to attack problems directly and decisively. It is an open secret that his social media handle is handled by an assistant for damage control, as his guest appearances and fan interactions can sometimes end in interesting exchanges. That said, when you find yourself on his good side (which, disclaimer: isn't the easiest thing to do), he'll go through literal hellfire and back for you.

He himself is plagued by his past and attitude as much as others are, even though he’ll never admit it even to himself. Kais is a man lost in this world at peace, a world of excess, of profilicity and emblazoned vulnerability. It is likely he turned to racing for exactly this reason: to reconnect with those primal parts of him that drive for competence and strength, to find an outlet for those things he buries and hides behind an emotional shield-wall, and to dance with death once more, and this time, to win.

Backstory: Kais Zenix (original serial name classified and unknown to the public) is one of the artificially fast-grown genetically augmented soldiers (colloquially: 'supersoldier') by a mysterious paramilitary group for use by the Masdar al-Nuba, a rebel cell operating in Egypt against the Arabic Union in its formative years. Framed as a conflict over water rights and influence in the region, not much is publicly known about them or their deeper motives to this day, and there wasn’t much post-war interest either, as their fate was the same of most fractured rebel factions in the region at the time: they were defeated and relegated to the ash heap of history, the region unified into the Union, end of story. Until a short time ago, that is, when one of their former supersoldiers entered the Union’s AG racing team of Al-Saqr.

After his time in the rebellion and their defeat, he has been through a thorough incarceration, examination, and rehabilitation regimen, which continues to this day through personal debriefings and psych evals. These included experimental neural stimulation techniques similar to those used in AG simulation training. That said, his training doesn't always take hold as much as his managers would like. Indeed, his nickname 'The Meteor' comes from one of his first races, in which he pushed his ship so far it burst into flames. But is burning out in a short blaze of glory all that is to him?

Racing DNA

Overview: Kais is a ruthless racer owing to his genomod aug-soldier heritage, and you’d easily assume he was bred with a borderline death wish (which may or may not actually be true). He pushes his ship to the absolute brink to compensate for Al-Saqr's comparatively subpar antigrav arrays, and seems to have made it his mission to find every way to skirt the rules. This might yield him a few milliseconds of an advantage, but has also more than once resulted in significant damage to both himself and his ship, alongside an angry pit crew, angry fellow racers, angry team members, angry fans, and angry management. He doesn't care. All's fair in love and war, after all.

Skills: Kais is a fighter, in more ways than one. Sure, he is proficient in piloting, firearms, hand-to-hand, mindset control, but he also enjoys chess and arguing. He has some technical know-how, having repaired gear and mechs during the Middle Eastern Water Wars and during his rehabilitation in their aftermath's rebuild efforts. He enjoys reading and learning things about the countries he visits, and has developed a soft spot for animals after volunteering at an animal shelter - though it was originally a publicity stunt to show his 'soft side', he enjoyed it more than he admits.

Special Trait: being bred as a supersoldier, he has above average complex reflex loops to get him out of a pinch, but that sometimes result in questionable aggressive racing behavior without much conscious input. He was born with about 1.5x of most critical organs and circulatory systems to serve as backup, allowing him to absorb more force and damage without much issue or thought, but at the cost of having a borderline overconfidence, and a slow but sure accumulation of cellular damage.

Controversy: His mysterious and warlike past often raise questions, both from outside of the team and within, about his morality and the lengths to which he might go to attain victory, as well as the reason for the board to have accepted him in the team to begin with, some of which speculations include blackmail, infiltration and conspiracy. Whatever might be the case, it is undeniable his appearances draw viewers and social media engagement for the team, though not always in the most positive light.

MISC
Speech Color: orange, f7941d
Theme Song: Bayek of Siwa, Assassin's Creed Origins OST - Sarah Schachner
Likes: trivia about the countries he visits, animals, worthy opponents, getting apologies, arguing.
Dislikes: inauthenticity, monotonicity, arrogance.
Other Information: he likes collecting old-world items, usually somewhat obscure or otherwise unremarkable to anyone but him, and he owns a modest collection of experimental and upcycled motorcycles. His signature move in Al-Saqr's junior league has become known as the 'meteor strike'. He still has his old serial name marked on the nape of his neck, a constant reminder of his origin and purpose, even to people who might not otherwise recognize him.

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Named Secondary Characters

Al Saqr Racing Team:

• Layla "Yalla" Al-Nadir: Main racer of Al Saqr. Optimistic and energetic. Transhuman activist, very highly augmented (eyes, limbs, metabolism, neural overclocking). Has worked on the Moon, and is low-key (read: very high-key) in love with it for its (trans)human technical challenge and what it symbolizes. (see also the original post by FourtyTwo in OOC: The Teams > Al-Saqr Racing)
• Nadia Yassine: Electric Engineering Intern. Somewhat timid. Studies at the Paris University, France (with friends Sophie and Alyx). Works with the neural engineering dept for improving Kais' neural interface. Lives with her parents at Abu Dhabi. Father has leg prosthetics from the war.
• Omar Hayawi: Team Principal. To the point, rarely smiles. Shaven head, glasses, rather large beard. Started off as a financial controller at Al-Saqr.
• Hamid Atlassi: Moroccan junior AG racer and loyal Arabic Union test pilot for Al-Saqr.
• Juan Diaz: Head mechanic of electrical engineering, specialized in the AG racers' Energy Systems.
• Remi Tewe: Lead neural engineer.
• Yasif Al-Maadi: Head simulation engineer. Has little to no verbal filter. Likes computationally modeling (and theorizing about) other racers for their simulations. Organizes mezze-and-fun nights with the rest of the sim engineers.
• Dalia Mansour: Head of the propulsion unit developers at Al-Saqr.
• Farouk Al-Najjar: Mechanic and pit crew assigned to Kais' racer. Is learning to play chess. (Not so) Secretly a Bea fan.
• Zeina Salim: Kais' race engineer, providing support and information over the comms during a race.
• Marko Livakovic: Layla's race engineer.
• Salma Nasri: Chief Medical Officer. Very concerned with safety.

Masdar al-Nuba rebels:

• Rami: young rebel (in flashbacks), fiercely disillusioned with the Arabic Union.
• Khaled: older, more experienced rebel (in flashbacks), gruff but cautious.
• Inan (ION-2-02): ex-supersoldier and old teammate of Kais.

Misc.:

• Amina and Mohammad Al-Nadir: Layla's adoptive parents.
• Jackals & Co.: very on-the-nose edgy clothing brand (sponsors Kais).
• Nomad Nutrition: company with the mission to end world hunger, produces long-shelflife foodstuffs like nutri-pastes (sponsors Kais).
• Durrat Glider Celestial: ultra-luxury hover-yacht and cruise company (sponsors Al Saqr in general).
• Silver Line Cybernetics: personalized cybernetics brand with designs that are jewellery as much as functional (sponsors Layla).
• Cryo-Digital: company doing R&D on the digitization of memories, and the creation of 'neuro-vids' (sponsors Layla).
• Lunaspace Engineering Company: lunar mining and extra-planetary colonization corporation (Layla's previous employer).

Recaps

Recap, The Super-Quick Edition

Kais Zenix is a genetically modified ex-soldier born and bred for a war he lost. Now, decades later, he races for the Arabic League -his former enemy- in the team of Al-Saqr, together with trans-humanist cyborg Layla Al-Nadir, where they are pushed to their mental and technological limits. Kais is motivated by a desire to try and 'make something else of himself', but is still haunted by and struggles with his past, both in terms of trauma and lingering aggressive instincts, and because there seems to be more going on behind the scenes in the Delta Hyper racing tournament - something which seems to connect many of the racers in some strange way.


Episode 1: Finding Their Feet
Race: Auckland, New Zealand
Qualified: 11th
Finished: 9th (2 points)
Summary: Kais Zenix appears as an abrasive personality during his introduction into the Delta Hyper Anti-Gravity Racing Championship. Off-track, a rival racer, Ava Villarosa, approaches him due to their similar military background (her having been a military pilot, and Kais being a lab-bred ex-supersoldier of a defeated rebel faction who fought against the Arabic Union, whom he now, ironically, races for in the Al Saqr Racing Team) and cautions him to 'stay in the light' as there are those who may be interested in 'making a better weapon out of him'. Kais is initially dismissive, and bites back telling her 'they better make him better', because he wants to be 'the light everybody stands in'. After the race, back at Al Saqr's HQ in Abu Dhabi, Kais and Nadia (the electrical engineering intern assigned to him and his craft) push for an unsanctioned upgrade to the 'neural dampeners' to allow for more input/output possibilities on the pilot-ship neural interface, despite the fact that this could trigger unwanted psychological states like seizures due to over-stimulation. Nadia is cautioned by her war-traumatized father about Kais and his past.
Posts: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5]

Episode 2: Chasing Apex
Race: Cape Town, South Africa
Qualified: 4th
Finished: 7th (6 points)
Summary: Kais prepares for the race, and remembers a military operation against the Arabic Union during the Middle Eastern Water Wars. During the race, Kais is involved in an entanglement between Silver Apex' Jamie Hart (going for a bad overtake, causing a crash), Carrera Condor's Beatrix Ward (whose craft is wrecked during the crash), and himself (whose craft is only slightly damaged). He manages to claw back some positions, but lost his opportunity to push into the top 3 on a track that otherwise favored his craft. In the post-race press conference Kais manages to push Al Saqr's message of disapproval towards Jamie's bad overtake and their view that racing as a sport should not be too regulated but be a venue for humans to push themselves. He is skeptical towards Han Hyeon-Ae's motivations in her offer to throw a party post-Tokyo race, and gets blind-sided by a question on the racers' past backgrounds, refusing to answer. After the race, back in Al Saqr's HQ in Abu Dhabi, Kais and Layla Al-Nadir (Kais' teammate and Al Saqr's primary racer) simulator-practice the upcoming Tokyo track, and during a teambuilding potluck, Kais flashes back to one of the decisive defeats during his past military career. He opens up to Layla about his motivation: he has gone into racing to try to escape his past and his reputation as an ex-rebel supersoldier, to make something else of himself, and seems resigned and willing to being experimented on by Al Saqr to attain that. Layla opens up to him on her own motivations and her optimistic and hopeful views about the future of (trans-)humanity, and their role in it.
Posts: [1], [2], [3], [collab], [4]

Episode 3: The Neon Bath
Race: Tokyo, Japan
Qualified: 2nd
Finished: 1st (25 points)
Summary: During a sponsorship event, Kais approaches Villarosa again to ask for her thoughts on the Jamie affair during the previous race, and to continue their previous conversation in light of it. Ava thinks Jamie feels immense pressure from racing in the same team as the reigning champion Amy Stirling, and made a bad move because of it. She further says she noticed a link between a lot of racers, being from rough, augmented and defence backgrounds, and speculates there are as-of-yet unknown but very interested parties window-shopping how they develop throughout their careers for motives known only to themselves. In Kais' case specifically, to potentially 'make a better version of him, a better weapon'. She then offers him a data card containing captured data on his creation and birth, which Kais looks into and is angered and saddened by. Kais qualifies 2nd for the race, and eventually wins! He is the first to bump Amy off of 1st place this season. And yet he has mixed feelings about it. He is certainly happy, and feels it could mark a new beginning for him, but he also knows the fight has only just begun, that he will now be a target in more ways than one, and what about those migraines from the neural interface upgrade... the upgrade that Amy seems to know about? Then, at Hyeon-Ae's post-race party, he bonds with Valkyrie's Paul Mulder and MMR's Max Wedgewood, but cuts it off before it gets too deep as he feels it 'never ends well', and leaves.
Posts: [1], [2], [3], [collab]

Episode 4: Azzuro Alpina
Race: Marmolada, Italy
Qualified: 2nd
Finished: 3rd (15 points)
Summary: As Layla and the team prepare the simulator and ships for training-and-testing for the upcoming Luna race, Layla reflects on her time at the moon and her motivation for going trans-human, while Kais visits Khaled, an old rebel comrade in Egypt. Kais tells him he has found important information about the war, and asks who of their old supersoldiers have come to visit him (as he had marked Khaled as trustworthy). After the Luna training sessions, during the Italian AGP race, the problems with the neural dampener's dynamic modulator becomes evident as Kais experiences a past memory bleeding into the present. He finishes 3rd, behind Harrison and Nora Kelly, and before the podium ceremony, he emphasizes they finally bumped reigning champion Amy Sterling off the podium, content, yet wary of what it might hold for them.
Posts: [1], [2]

Episode 5: Trading Paint
Race: Portimão, Portugal
Qualified: 8th
Finished: 8th (4 points)
Summary: Hamid, junior AG league racer and test pilot of Al-Saqr tests their in-development drive setup with success. Kais and Layla keep practicing with the neural modulator but start to feel the squeeze: Layla frequently overheats, and Kais keeps getting memory bleeds. During Al-Saqr's review meeting, Omar is determined to push the limits, now that they're only 9 points behind Silver Apex, but Salma Nasri MD states the current developments are dangerous to the pilots, especially Layla. Layla is determined to keep going, however, as they are very close to breakthrough. Kais secretly rebels against Al-Saqr's plan and sets some guardrails on Layla's setup with Nadia. Layla finds out during practice, however, and the two fight: Layla stating she doesn't want her goals of working towards a trans-human future to be held back by other peoples' fears, and Kais stating he doesn't want to see another squadmate go down, but that he will stand down if she chooses to go through with it. After a disappointing qualification, Layla reverts her setup back to her original, with all the dangers it entails. During the race, Amy's ship stalls during takeoff, Ava's ship burns-out, and Kais is stuck behind Han as he tries to gain way, but is constantly thwarted by her. After the race Layla seems out-of-it, having been plagued by massive headaches, and retreats to rest. Kais and Nadia go over telemetry to figure out what happened. They find out Layla had indeed disabled their guardrails, which allowed a massive spike in Layla's subconscious mind to influence her ship's A.I. systems in such a way where it reached out through the race's digital network, and caused Amy's ship to stall.
Posts: [collab], [1], [2]

Episode 6: The Dark Side of the Moon
Race: Mare Australe, Luna
Qualified: 3rd
Finished: 5th (10 points)
Summary: Layla has had a breakthrough. The team has updated her ship's digital neural networks so they explore their own optimal connection to Layla's mind, and what's more: Layla's brain has changed in response - her brain and the ship's A.I. seem to be so in-sync, they are merging into one. Because of this, Kais and Nadia confront Layla with her subconsciously seemingly having caused Amy's glitch last race, since she might now be in control of that, and thus dangerous. Layla recognizes the potential of their new developments to fields like medicine and space colonization, though, and goes into secretive talks with external stakeholders to further fund their research, but gets told she needs to show more results, adding pressure for the upcoming Luna race. Kais trains at Hamad International Spaceport to prepare for the Luna trip's micro-gravity environments, where the heavy spacesuit reminds him of his wartime power-armor, and he decides to set up a meeting with another ex-supersoldier at a memorial site. There he shares the data he received from Ava, asking him to dig into it and keep it safe, in the event something happened to him. Layla and Kais then attend a pre-launch event, and take-off to Luna. There, they qualify 2nd and 3rd, and before the race, Layla and Kais do some sponsorship endorsements involving lunar basketball. During the race, Nora Kelly and Ava Villarosa are injured in a massive crash, and in the aftermath Layla and Kais struggle to cope, with Kais keeping himself extremely detached, while Layla fears it was her fault again (though inspections later don't seem to have found them culpable, or even found their modification to begin with). Kais goes to visit Nora in the medical center, then tells Layla that he thinks Nora will be alright, and shares his view on humanity's resilience.
Posts: [1], [2], [3]

Episode 7: The Roll of the Dice
Race: Circuit de Monaco, Monaco
Qualified: 10th
Finished: 14th (0 points)
Summary: Nadia gets a permanent function at Al Saqr, and is pressured by Omar to push Layla and Kais in the Monaco race to test the pilot-AI-bond to compensate for their subpar ship for the track. Kais and Ava talk at the Casino de Monaco about her crash on Luna. Ava reveals that the data of Kais' origins was discovered in a leftover data cache in the upgrade they got from Apex. Ava speculates that it might have been bait containing a piece of Amy's setup, laced with a cyber-weapon, which they triggered somehow. Kais states that that might have been them accidentally, through their developments in the AI-pilot bond. The two then speculate what might have been the reason for it, and who might have benefitted from this: sabotage from Apex, an intrusive action from Zygon (Amy's previous team), a ship AI malfunction, or perhaps even FIAR to intervene in unsanctioned developments in the neural link. During Amy's yacht party after Qualification, he starts a fight and is joined by Alexander Knight, whom he talks to briefly, warning him about the strange things happening on track out of concern for Paul. During the race, Astrid and Kais crash into each other, and Kais has a bout of anger on camera. He contacts Cassie to talk about Zygon. Layla goes to see her contacts from Lunaspace to create sub-AI copies of some of her neural patterns - the start of her creating a copy of her mind into the machine directly. Kais goes to see Kofi in South Africa to see a Lion's de-extinction programme, asking if he would want to become a contributor.
Posts: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5]

Episode 8: The Chain
Race: Silverstone, GB
Qualified: 3rd
Finished: 1st (25 points)
Summary: Cassie and Kais sit down to talk about Zygon's earlier experiences with Amy, and Cassie reveals that Kais' own genetic heritage actually comes from a purposeful leak (or trade) from Korean genebank to the Middle Eastern Water War for pressure testing purposes, genetic heritage that now can -likely- be also found also in augmentations of Amy and Han. Kais is shocked by this, and when asked what he actually wants, doesn't answer. On the live stage at Silverstone, Kais breaks Al Saqr's script to emphasize that Al Saqr pushes the limits because that's how they can gain an advantage over those teams that have more funding and corporate polish. And though during Qualification Kais' ship 'kicked like a mule', Kais manages to win the Silverstone race, ending up on the same podium as Amy and Han. There, Amy taunts him through a direct line to his neural link, implying she knows about his past, their present modifications, and what that might mean for the future too, and says he must become 'more than just a fighter' for what's to come. Paul contacts Kais to ask if he wants to attend the Mulder Foundation's fundraiser to help children in need with art supplies, resources and exposure. Kais offers up one of his custom 'Frankenstein' motorcycles for auction which is to be painted by children helped by the foundation.
Posts: [1], [2], [collab], [collab]

Episode 9: The Wall of Champions
Race: Montreal, Canada
Qualified: 8th
Finished: DNF (0 points)
Summary: Kais cooks during the poutine challenge. Kais and Layla decide to go all-in on trying to be an obstacle to Amy during the race. Amy crashes during the race, then later Kais crashes due to a bad overtake by Jamie. Kais scolds Jamie aggressively, accusing him of being Amy's lapdog and to tell Amy she should finish the job herself next time, which earns him penalty points. After the race, Layla's neural link doesn't stabilize and causes a data overload between the link and her brain. This renders her braindead. Al Saqr decides to keep it a secret for now, only issuing PR on health related retirement while they go about troubleshooting.
Posts: [1]

Episode 10: Changing Conditions
Race: Stavelot, Belgium
Qualified: 10th
Finished: 8th (4 points)
Summary: Kais is beset by guilt after Layla's, and thinks back on his defeat during the rebellion at Operation Last Storm. Omar refuses to delete all of Layla's configuration due to Layla's last will. Hamid races his first race but DNF due to an unfortunate crash with Kofi. During the race, Hamid notices strange activity in his (Layla's) racer and Nadia and Kais seem to recognize there might be something going on there. Omar reveals Layla's last testament and will, and based on what's in it, Al Saqr and CryoDigital continue working on Layla's neurals to see if they can salvage anything. Kais says he might know someone from his past that he trusts could help. Kais goes to Paul's charity gala where he sells a motorcycle he spraypainted with some of Mulder Foundation's sponsored children artists.
Posts: [1]

Episode 11: The Green Hell
Race: Nürburg, Germany
Qualified: 10th
Finished: 6th (8 points)
Summary: Kais drives Florence Mason (of the new NOVA team) around the track during the Delta Hyper interview segment. For this race, Nadia pushed for better data gathering, officially to fine-tune their ship to their new speed configuration upgrade for Hawaii, but secretly to see if they can find something about the strange happenings in Layla's old ship. During the actual race, Kais climbed past Hornfleur and eventually past Paul Mulder into P6, a maneuver during which he indeed got a strange, nagging feeling in his mind. Kais goes to ask Doctor Jyoti Parahi for help, the aging professor who led the reprogramming effort of the rebel genomod soldiers of which Kais was a result. They start probing Layla's ship and now-defunct brain to find where in her ship's artificial neural network system the continuity of her mind may be hidden, but the puzzle proves difficult. Hamid and Kais clash over their loyalty to the Arabic Union and Al Saqr's need to create results for the Union. Hamid flies a test-flight that punches into 695 km/h, a new record.
Posts: [1], [2]

Episode 12: Hot Like Lava
Race: Moa Tempesta Facility, Kanaloa Island, Republic of Hawaii
Qualified: 10th
Finished: 6th (8 points)
Summary: In Hawaii, Kais explores the rainforest. Kais realizes that, with him in the lead, the team will be pushed further and further, and wonders if this will be good for Hamid. Aurora and the Delta Hyper crew are shown the Al Saqr island. A confrontation with Layla's parents and the team happens. Kais emphasizes that he will not give up on Layla.
Posts: [1]

Episode 13: Under Spotlights
Race: Marina Bay, Singapore
Qualified: 5th
Finished: 5th (10 points)
Summary: In Singapore, Kais did not answer Amy's question about the neural link acting up, and asks the team to add monitoring function for malicious code fragments.
Posts: [1]

Episode 14: The Tango Swing
Race: Autodromo de Buenos Aires, Argentinaa
Qualified: 12th
Finished: 8th (4 points)
Summary: In Argentina, Kais hypothesizes that he is cold towards Hamid and even pushes him away, to keep him away from Al Saqr's experimental pipeline. Once more he feels like his ship is aiding him.
Posts: [1]

DELTΔ HYPER (Anti-Gravity Racing, Cyberpunk/Solarpunk RP)

Revised draft of my character ready for approval.

Kaïs "The Meteor" Zenix - Al Saqr's Supersoldier-turned-AGRacer

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^{Image source/face claim: Mohamed Hamaki - Header font source: Creattion, on 1001Fonts}

Height: 5' 9" / 176cm - Weight: 180lbs / 82kg - Hair Colour: Dark Brown - Eye Colour: Brown

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Name: Kaïs Zenix
Alias: Al-Shihab (The Meteor), @ASZenix (media handle)
Team: Al-Saqr Racing - Arabic League
Gender: Male
Age: 36

Personality: Kaïs is one of the most grating personalities in the AG racing sphere. His supersoldier genetics and paramilitary past has left him with a more than healthy sprinkling of assertiveness, an unhealthy sprinkling of wartime baggage, and a lack of tolerance for bullshit, specifically yours. Though he has a stoic exterior, he is quick to push back against people whom he feels behave with undeserved conceit and hostility, and dislikes a soft touch, preferring to attack problems directly and decisively. It is an open secret that his social media handle is handled by an assistant for damage control, as his guest appearances and fan interactions can sometimes end in interesting exchanges. That said, when you find yourself on his good side (which, disclaimer: isn't the easiest thing to do), he'll go through literal hellfire and back for you.

He himself is plagued by his past and attitude as much as others are, even though he’ll never admit it even to himself. Kaïs is a man lost in this world at peace, a world of excess, of profilicity and emblazoned vulnerability. It is likely he turned to racing for exactly this reason: to reconnect with those primal parts of him that drive for competence and strength, to find an outlet for those things he buries and hides behind an emotional shield-wall, and to dance with death once more, and this time, to win.

Backstory: Kaïs Zenix (original serial name classified and unknown to the public) is one of the genetic test-tube supersoldiers bred by the Masdar al-Nuba, or the ‘Nubian Source’, a paramilitary group operating in Egypt against the Arabic League and its allies in its formative years. Framed as a conflict over water rights and influence in the region, not much is publicly known about them or their true motives to this day, and there wasn’t much post-war interest either, as their fate was the same of most fractured rebel factions in the world at the time: they were defeated and relegated to the ash heap of history. Until a short time ago, that is, when one of their former supersoldiers entered the League’s AG racing team of Al-Saqr.

After his time in the paramilitary group and their defeat, he has been through a thorough rehabilitation and therapy regimen, which continues to this day through personal debriefings and psych evals. These included some of the experimental neural stimulation techniques that led to none other than the very ones AG pilots now use to train. These racing-themed stress-response simulations were actually his first forays into the world of AG racing, one he has since entered for real. That said, his training doesn't always take hold as much as his managers would like. Indeed, his nickname 'The Meteor' comes from one of his first races, in which he pushed his ship so far it burst into flames. But is burning out in a short blaze of glory all that is to him?

Racing DNA

Overview: Kaïs is a ruthless racer owing to his supersoldier heritage, and you’d easily assume he was bred with a borderline death wish (which may or may not actually be true). He pushes his ship to the absolute brink to compensate for Al-Saqr's comparatively subpar antigrav arrays, and seems to have made it his mission to find every way to skirt the rules. This might yield him a few milliseconds of an advantage, but has also more than once resulted in significant damage to both himself and his ship, alongside an angry pit crew, angry fellow racers, angry team members, angry fans, and angry management. He doesn't care. All's fair in love and war, after all.

Skills: Kaïs is a fighter, in more ways than one. Sure, he is proficient in piloting, firearms, hand-to-hand, mindset control, but he also likes debating, and reads a lot to form an understanding of this strange new world he finds himself in. He enjoys learning new languages, especially of those countries he visits, and he volunteers at a cat shelter - originally a publicity stunt to show his 'soft side', he has started to enjoy it more than he admits.

Special Trait: being bred as a supersoldier, he has above average complex reflex loops to get him out of a pinch, but that sometimes result in questionable aggressive racing behavior without much conscious input. He was born with about 1.5x of most critical organs and circulatory systems to serve as backup, allowing him to absorb more force and damage (and alcohol) without much issue or thought, but at the cost of having a borderline overconfidence, and a slow but sure accumulation of cellular damage.

Controversy: His mysterious and warlike past often spark questions, both from outside of the team and within, about his morality and the lengths to which he might go to attain victory, as well as the reason for management to have included him in the team to begin with, some of which include blackmail, infiltration and conspiracy. Whatever might be the case, it is undeniable his appearances draw viewers and social media engagement for the team, though not always in the most positive light.

MISC
Speech Color: f7941d
Theme Song: Bayek of Siwa, Assassin's Creed Origins OST - Sarah Schachner
Likes: learning languages, cats, cool new gadgets, worthy opponents, getting apologies.
Dislikes: corpo-speak, monotonicity, arrogance from those he thinks are undeserving.
Other Information: he collects obscure old-world memorabilia including paintings, books and cassette tapes. His signature move has become known as the 'meteor strike'. He has tattooed his body's collection of scars with otherwise invisible UV-ink, including the dates, causes and significance of each, chronicling his supersoldier-to-racer journey.

Neon Noir - Cyberpunk Crime Thriller (CLOSED)

@Izurich @Eviledd1984 @AwesomeZero5 @KazAlkemi @Expendable OK, so this seems like a good point to end the session and start a new one. Everyone has either gone through some action, or are in the middle of a bit of a cliffhanger. So imagine the dramatic music swelling, all your scenes cut to black, credits roll with a ‘next time on Neon Noir’, and all that jazz.

With each new session, your fate points (the points you use to invoke aspects to influence rolls, or to use your stunts/abilities) are refreshed to at least your character sheet’s refresh rate. If you have more, you keep them all.

Furthermore, I think that we’ve hit a minor milestone here - everyone has had a significant enough event or choice in their story to develop in some way -, so for the next session you may CHOOSE from the following as a reward:

• RENAME a character aspect
• SWITCH the bonuses of 2 approaches
• REPLACE an existing Stunt
• GAIN a new Stunt

@KazAlkemi I changed Varis Hark's name because I liked the 'Harm' typo (?), makes him more ominous.

Neon Noir - Cyberpunk Crime Thriller (CLOSED)

[EndOfSession]

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Session 01: SYN-SENT

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@Izurich Lenneth, ART-ficer Workshop, Lower City

A lazy cat lazed outside the workshop as cats tend to do. The workshop was the usual modular box, barely bigger than a garage, and there were no signs outside hinting at what lay inside. The best artisans don’t need much, and rarely draw attention to themselves, and that's exactly why the Master chose the ART-ficer for his personal ripperdoc: his clinic wasn't much, and he didn't draw attention to himself. Save for his strange doorbell, that is. When it spotted Lenneth, the cat stretched its legs, then waddled inside, its neon-lit fur undulating in all the colors of the rainbow, 'nyaaa NYAAAA'-ing loudly as it went. "No, you stupid old cat, tell them to go away, business hours are from… What the--?" Derek Burris stopped in his tracks as he saw Lenneth’s battle-damage.

Frantic moments later she was laid out on his table, and his arms had opened up in an octopoidal arsenal of tools, whirring at the base of her skull and chassis like the fingers of a concert pianist. "I swear, that master of yours is going to be the end of you. My masterpiece.” The ripperdoc's face had softened from his usual gruff concentration as he looked onto Lenneth's doll-like face. Derek scanned the diagnostic readouts holographically projected above her. Stable vitals, and her system had performed a solid feat of auto-first-aid -exactly as he programmed it- but the stress on the systems were evident. "Even the finest creation has its limits, Lenneth, even those of my making," he said, as he plugged Lenneth into a recharge station with a face that was halfway between a preacher and your regular know-it-all at the pub. The cat purred as it jumped onto Lenneth’s lap. "And it’s not just the body that takes its toll, eh… I worry your master forgets that sometimes. No more playing the hero for at least a few days, doctor's orders.”

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@EvilEdd1984 Benjamin Markus Zebrowski, Black Sun Neurostim Den

"Blood is everything to us." Gretchen said. "So much can be told from just a drop of it: where you've been, what you're like, who your relatives are. And whether you’re born with a chrome stick up your arse, or from the tank, when it gets down to it, we all bleed the same. So this..." she gestured towards the sample taken from Ben's flesh. "You could call this our insurance policy, our oath, our essence."

Ben saw tiny lines of text scroll up at the back of Gretchen's iris, undoubtedly cross-referencing what he said with whatever data was available to them. She nodded. "At least you're not lying: quite the spotless record, your worst crime I'd say is getting drunk off of that cheap synthetic stuff. Interesting..." She then grew serious. "P.I. business, huh?" she said, one of her eyebrows lifting the slightest bit. She shifted her eyes to the guard behind him. Ben heard him stir for a moment, but then the door shut behind him, before opening again a short while later. The lanky man came back in, placed two glasses in front of them and a shared bottle - whisky, without the 'e' and all, and with a name on its label you couldn't pronounce even on your most slurring-drunk days, the real deal, in other words. Then he left again with a bow, leaving the two alone. Gretchen poured both of the glasses, then bounced one of them towards Ben, and taking the other one, leaned back into her chair.

"We share a lot here, in the Blutwölfe. Shared blood, shared... history." Ben swore he heard something akin to pain in her voice, even if it was supposedly bred out of her. "If you hurt one of us you hurt all of us. A victory for one of us is the victory for all of us. And a transgression of one of us..." She looked at Ben with a piercing gaze. "I'll come straight to the point. We have reasons to believe there is a rogue element in our midst. Jäger-model, someone from my very own gene-seed. But with his... own agenda. We believe he has been involved in unauthorized activities, disruptions, including the disappearance of valuable assets. His actions threaten the secrecy and stability of our organisation, and make a mockery of who we are. I want you to find out who this is." She swirled her glass and raised it in cheers, never once having taken her eyes off of Ben. "Have you ever killed someone, Mr. Zebrowski?"

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@AwesomeZero5 Kit Cochrin, In Virginia’s Car

A little while later, Kit and Virginia were cruising in her car up to her office at a pace almost too leisurely for the chase Kit had just a short while ago. Rizzo had taken the previous car for the usual decommissioning protocol: fly it to one of their bought-off fabricator furnaces in the city, and watch the evidence be thoroughly reduced into its constituent components for creating other vehicles or foodstuffs. But not before grumbling things about disguises, cover stories and all the other details that they would have to think about, of course.

Finally, Virginia spoke up, still more business-like than anything. "You have no idea of the crew that’s coming. It’s the whole deal. Something big’s coming up. SatoCorp and Parker industries seem to be especially interested in going, then some small fries, Pleasure King Subach’s coming, all their lackeys will be there. As will ours, of course. Some NYSF infiltrants, no doubt, and then some shadowy figures we still haven’t identified yet. Do you have any in mind we should be wary about, having had an ear close to the ground the last few years?”

She smiled, fully realizing the awkward excuse of a question she asked, and for a second, Kit could see through the lawyer-boss facade when that usual mask of hers dropped for just that brief second. "I miss our talks, Kit. It pays well, up in the chrome towers, but you lose touch with… it, you know.” She said, staring out into the vast neon landscape that stretched out in front of them.

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@KazAlkemi Zain Anders, Sprocket’s Scraphouse

V4ris Harm’s visor lit up in an angry red as Zain's knuckledusters sent sparks flying from its frame. V4ris stumbled, servos whirring, then they leapt behind cover and drew a sleek blaster, set to stun, which started to whine in an increasing pitch as it charged up to undoubtedly very painful power levels. "You’re making a big mistake, Anders!" Harm growled through their modulator. "You think Ratface is just gonna let this go? You’re an accomplice now, and we’re going to enjoy hunting you!" And Zain knew they meant it - their bounty hunter’s name wasn’t ‘Harm’ for nothing - they may have been a robotic creature more than a man, but their thrill of the stalking, the trapping, and the pain, was still just as great as any of the all-too-human psychopaths Zain knew. What’s worse, all 4 of its shard-mind bodies were.

"Zain, cover me!" Sprocket shouted as she dove behind the counter and frantically clicked and clacked at her terminal. The security shutdown activated, doors slammed shut, lights in the shop shut down, and the spider-bots leapt into action with a vengeance Zain didn’t think they had in them. They wouldn’t be much good against V4ris -cameras aren’t the best weapons- but they could keep him busy and distracted. Zain could hear Sprocket open a safe and grab the holo-cloak Anders indicated through her prompt, and with a final tap on her screen, the emergency exit opened to a narrow escape tunnel. "This way!" she shouted, as V4ris' blaster discharged its charged bolt.

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@Expendable Niner, Lower City Alley

The drone rattled and froze briefly in its flight pattern, as if it only noticed a bug had landed in it. Niner stumbled when the full countermeisures of its internal security systems hit her. Rho caught her just in time as she stumbled. The digital punch didn’t feel right, as if an entire networked security system mobilized against her instantly, not just the drone’s, but much, much more. She felt the digital tendrils run through her, feel at her, scan her, distract her, claw at her.

"Talk to me, Niner” Rho transmitted through their mental comm-link as she took a defensive position, her silenced rifle at the ready. "My heat-vision spots three guards coming this way, but they’re moving haphazardly, not tactically. We’re not being flanked. Can you divert them, or do I engage?” In the distance was Dex’ voice, only reduced to a noise of static now. Were they being jammed?

There was more going on here than simple implant manufacturing.

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GM’s prompts and Actions:

• [@All] FP Refresh to at least your REFRESH rate, if you have more, you keep them all. Minor Milestone reached, CHOOSE from the following as a reward: RENAME a character aspect, OR SWITCH the bonuses of 2 approaches, OR REPLACE an existing Stunt, OR GAIN a new Stunt
• @Expendable: roll to hack/‘attack’ the drone/network (0 to merely stop the drone/countermeisures, 2 to take full control of the drone and scan the network), roll to divert/attack the oncoming troops (2 is success).
• @KazAlkemi: V4ris Defends Forcefully against Zain’s punch (1, gets 4 stress, incurred via Mild Consequence and 2 Stress). GM compels Zain’s Relationship aspect that Ratface finds out (accept to gain 1 FP, or refuse and try to talk your way out of it at a cost of 1 FP). Whatever you do (try to escape or keep attacking V4rus), roll 1 Defend roll against V4ris’ Forceful Attack (difficulty: 3).
• @AwesomeZero5: please describe a misadventure or a faction you had ‘Trouble’ with in the past.

Formula: Anti-Gravity (An F1 Drive to Survive inspired, Slice of Life, Cyberpunkish/Solarpunkish RP)

Consider me interested. I love wipeout and the sol, interviews, controversy and randomized races sound very cool. Currently away, I'll try to make a character sheet soon.