Red Banner Year

[RinKou]

Fans of Remy Scarlette's work have no problem pinpointing the moment she made the leap to stardom (Phantcum of the Opera III, at 24:17). That was the moment she lept from the background and took control of show. Anybody who was watching Phantcum of the Opera III with their dick out who tells you they didn't cum at 24:17 is a fucking liar.

Remy knows how to control a room, and with one look, she can make just about anyone do just about anything. So when she has a lapdog tap her wine glass, it only has to happen once before everyone shuts up and listens.

Ding.

Just once. Over the din of violins and mandolins, through the haze of weed and lots of gin, all she has to do is lean forward and tilt her head for everyone to drop what they're doing.

"I hope you're all enjoying yourselves," she starts. "Bannermen and Kkangpae enjoying a meal together, and none of you raising a fuss. I've put a lot of work into making sure everybody has a good time tonight, so if there's anything – anything, you need, please, feel free to let me know."

Raising her glass, she adds, "Don't fuck this up for me, alright? Garçon!"

-

Persons of interest:

Scarlettes and Co.
Remy Scarlette (30), for obvious reasons. Your hostess for the night, and point of contact should you have any questions, comments or complaints.
Flavie Scarlette (22), Remy's sister. Currently hanging off the arm of one of the Kkangpae bosses, Takashi Lee.

Kkangpae
Kim Hyun-shin (71), the Southland Kkangpae big boss, generally amicable figure, from what you've heard. He's got his grandson (8) with him, though this probably isn't exactly the sort of party you bring a kid to.
Kim Jin-ho (47), senior Kkangpae boss. You could call him a high roller, but that implies that he wins sometimes.
Takashi Lee (29), an up and coming Kkangpae boss. Word on the street is he's got something to prove, and isn't above taking a few fingers to prove it.

Yakuza
Yamamura Norio (63), Yakuza liaison and former Kwantung officer. Straightlaced fellow.
Sakaguchi Tadao (22), the son of a Yokohama branch Yakuza boss, in the states to learn the ropes of running his own crew.

-

Actions
Talk: to any of the persons of interest, or any NPCs that would logically be in the area (waitstaff, security, etc).
Observe: any of the persons of interest or the room itself for additional information and potential clues.
Use skill/background: With a smuggled weapon or Chan Clan kung fu training, you can threaten people if you sneak up on them/take a moment to scan the room for a weapon. Hedonists can break out some of their secret stash to keep themselves going, and might attract good/bad attention, etc.

[Snacks]

Rachel Huang withdrew the small baggy that had remained hanging under the nose of one of the Kwantung kiddos for the duration of Scarlette's toast, holding it between her fingers as she turned back to the yakuza in question. "Hm, yeah, it's nice isn't it? Gonna be a real shame when we're all back on the streets and have to start shooting at each other again."

She smiled at the yak, reaching up and slipping the baggy into his chest pocket, "And since this is a one night deal, why don't we keep things lively. Maybe you introduce me one of your friends and that hit is on the house..." she scanned the room, before nodding towards Sakaguchi Tadao, "...like him. He seems interesting."

[RinKou]

Tadao must be an aspiring comedian, because every time he whispers into this waitress' ear, she's giggling like a schoolgirl. That and he's dressed like a fucking delinquent at his age and status. Pompadour and all. You could see him squatting behind the bleachers with a long burnt out cigarette butt in the corner of his mouth. Dude's like the 8Xs equivalent of a fuckboy.

He glances up for a second as Rachel and her new friend make their approach, shooting you a face that reads somewhere between "Who the fuck is this", "can't you see I'm busy here?", and "So hey, you come here often?"

"Sakaguchi-san," the yak breaks in. "This is, uh..."

...

Well, I guess Rachel could take a minute to introduce herself, because this loser certainly isn't doing a great job of it.

[Snacks]

"-The girl who knows how to usher in your New Years with a bang, pal, but for you? I'm willing to keep it on a first name basis. Rachel." She gave the yak next to her a slap on the back before inserting herself in the space between them, "Your boy here was looking for a concierge and, well, I may not be paid to laugh at your jokes, but he has an eye for people who know heir way around a bottle of aspirin. You, though? Diagnosis says serious need for some 'allergy relief'."

"Of course, maybe you have some resolutions you want to get started on before the new year eve gets here, or something."

[OYID]

These fucking people, man, so goddamn unprofessional it could make a grown man cry. This ain't...isn't... your whore mother's front lawn at one AM on a Tuesday, you unrefined shits. Fuckin' keep it together, have some fucking class.

Ok, let's take it easy now, Black Bear, you've seen worse than this and your professional discipline has always shone through. Yes, that's it, you're not some thug who gets angry. No, you're the motherfucking role model of the bunch, or at least you should be, if these people had any sense in them besides blind lust and greed.

As for you, Harry my man, you'll go ahead and Observe this Takashi Lee fella. There's hardly anything more dangerous than a reckless boy in a position of power.

[Smyg]

Tommy glanced at Li Fen. He should never have brought her. Dammit. She had pleaded to go with him, apparently just because it was the proper thing for a respectable man to be accompanied by his spouse. This wasn't the type of place he wanted her exposed to. Fuck how much violence she had seen, and how high-ranking her old man had been back in the homeland, it just didn't fit her. Things could get complicated with her here, too... At least she wouldn't get high and throw up on the hostess, like Rachel could, or kneecap some random dude in the bathrooms, like... someone else.

"Darling", he said, deciding to disregard the situation for now. "Don't go anywhere." He had to forget his women. Dreamer had his mind on his money, and his money on his mind.

Not too far away, Ms. Remy Scarlett had just taken a gulp of the wine. Unlike most others in this place, the "tobacco salesman's" perception of her wasn't biased by her achievements. Well, sure, he had technically seen the whole thing, but the quaaludes had kicked in at around 23:38, so... He moved towards the hostess, to pay his respects, and to find out where the mines laid on this battlefield.

[Gesar]

"Enjoying ourselves," Ashanti echoed, murmuring into her fancy-ass drink as her gaze drifted across the room -from their hostess, to the wait staff and their sorry excuses for uniforms, to that Stepford wife on the opposite side of the table- and back to her half-finished (somebody had to stay sharp) drink with a look of vague distaste. Scarlett had jokes. "Yeah, okay. Whatever you say."

Taking one last sip, she set her glass down and tugged absently at the hem of her far-too-expensive pantsuit before cocking her head in the direction of the older Kim. Who the fuck brought a kid in a room full of drunk Yaks and sell-out starlets? I'll take ways to get yourself in the emergency room for four hundred.

Still, it's kinda cute. She set off in his direction, trying her damnedest to replace her scowl with a warm enough smile to greet the old man and the kid. "Cards, huh?" Friendly and sympathetic, just like I'm back on the clock. "What're you two playing?"

[RinKou]

Re: Rach

"Oh, you're selling, huh?" Tadao takes a second to mull over this idea and the toothpick he's been oral fixating on. "I can dig that. Rumi and I," he stops to make eyes at the waitress across the room, "were thinking of blowing this popsicle stand in a bit anyway. Maybe you can join us and we can do some blow before..." he pauses for a second, and ruminates on his toothpick more a bit. "Dammit, I had a good one too."

("Hit the slopes before I make her choke? No... Grab some coke before she gets poked? No, that's no good either...")

=

Re: Harry

Takashi is an intense dude. The kind of guy who can stare his way through a vault door five feet thick. The kind of guy who can get you to second guess your own mother's name if he raises an eyebrow when you mention it. Fortunately for you, you're about the same sort of guy, and that shit doesn't work on you. Fortunately for the rest of the room, he seems much more interested in staring at his watch tonight.

The kid may be a bit of a hothead, but he's hardly touched his drink, hasn't eaten more than necessary, isn't even paying attention to the sister of the biggest JAV starlet on this side of the Pacific, and the girl's practically sucking his dick the way she's fondling his arms and trying to get his attention. That's a look you know really fucking well. That's the look a professional gets when they've got a job on their mind.

=

Re: Tommy

You got 99 problems to deal with tonight, but better to have an idea of what they are than to walk in blind. Better to get moving and ignore whatever look Li Fen was making behind your back.

Remy shoots you a smile, and maybe it's because you're high as a kite in low-earth orbit, but you can't read any malice in it. It's a completely sincere smile. The sort of smile that says, "Hey, it's nice to meet you. I'm glad you took the time to say hi, because I get that sometimes I can come off a little intimidating, but it honestly gets a little annoying when everybody treats you like you'll take their head off if they say the wrong thing and then can still go home and jack it to the sight of you stuffed with three dicks, you know?"

It's a good thing her smile said that much, because all she actually says is, "Ah, Mr. Dreamer. Hello. I see you've brought your wife."

=

Re: Ashanti

"Gangsters and Gats!" the kid pipes in, showing you his hand, a collection of "vaguely" racist caricatures of black gangsters, each with their own special abilities. He's even got a Panther in play, beret and shades and all. Special ability: Free Huey - with 3 charges, bring any Panther card back into play from the Slammer. "It's a game about gangsters and taking turf and making money and stuff."

"Steven's been teaching me how to play," The elder Kim smiles at you as he tries to figure out a good move, before settling on flipping over a Police Protective Order, holding off attack for another turn, but not making any real move to actually defeat the kid. "In exchange, I taught him how to play blackjack."

"Do you want to learn too?" Steven Kim breaks in again, breaking out more little boxes of cards. "I built a couple decks for gramps to see what style he likes best, so you can pick one you like too. This one's Yakuza. They're really strong, but um, they're kind of hard to play, so I don't recommend them? Oh, this deck is supposed to be a Colombian cartel, but I don't have enough Mendelin cards, so half of it is actually Tijuana Cartel, so it doesn't work so well together, and, gramps' got the Crooked Cops deck right now. They're really fun to play, but they're kind of advanced too, so..."

[Snacks]

"Hey, it's a reason to find some place the old man won't be breathing down your neck, am I right? Trust me, I've been there. As for selling- " she covertly gives 'Rumi' the side-eye, "-I'm in the business of getting people the things they want, so it's something I do yes. That said, I didn't come out to one of Remy Scarlette's parties to spend my New Years eve working, any more than you did. I came to party."

She brought up a hand and re-positioned the male gaze from the waitress to herself, "So maybe you show me a good time, and I help you catch some fresh powder. Unless the bunny slope is... more your speed?" She grinned the sort of grin that doesn't so much call you a loser and leave you hanging in the lurch as strokes you until you're hard, past the point of no return, and gently lets you know you can carry your own weight the rest of the way or deal with the blue balls .

[RinKou]

Tadao eyes you over, half checking you out, half because you've physically moved his head to look at you. He glances back over at Rumi again, doing some quick mental calculations, probably about whether it's worth trying to convince the both of you to go for a threesome, or if a bird in the hand is really worth two in the bush.

"Cool," he settles, nodding to the yak who brought you to make like a tree. "Let's bounce."

[Rachel Huang and Sakaguchi Tadao exit the scene.]

=

((When a player leaves the party, they continue the game in PMs until they rejoin the party. Since cell phones aren't yet widespread, I'd prefer if you guys didn't communicate with each other while apart, but I can't enforce that.

Everyone's Special Clues PMs will also be updated once Act 1 starts in earnest, including an inventory.))

[Smyg]

It's a good thing her smile said that much, because all she actually says is, "Ah, Mr. Dreamer. Hello. I see you've brought your wife."

"Ms. Scarlet, we all have to make choices in life." He couldn't help it. "Some aren't as good as others." Tommy extended his hand to shake hers, hoping he'd aim correctly into the air, and not elsewhere.

"Quite the party you got going on, lady. Exactly my kind of..." He looked for the word. "... shindig, heh. Getting all the high rollers in one place can't have been easy. Myself, the Kims, our dear Takashi, ol' Yamamura... even Sakaguchi. I presume the two of you have met? Always liked that guy. Quick thinker, and all that." He smiled, in an attempt at seeming genuine.

[OYID]

Kid sure looks professional, huh, shame he's not enough of a team player to play along and have a good time instead of being publicly in job mode during a supposed holiday. Will have to keep an eye on him for sure.

Luckily he seems too focused on plotting how he's gonna spoil everyone's fun to notice you, so move right along somewhere else. Yeah, that's it, discreet as shit, and standing non-distinctly in some different corner where you're meddling in nobody's business. If need be he seems the type that would welcome a bit of intense shop talk, you know, professional to professional, but right now there's other things to tend to.

Now that the likeliest party pooper's been spotted, take a moment to observe the room itself. You're the serious one, remember? Look to asses the fuckin'... what's that whore-ass word...correlation of forces, as it were. How many men seem at the ready and were they're located, how it looks like it's gonna go down, where they'll take cover, who looks like they've got a gun, all that shit. Do some fucking recon, alright? After that we'll take a look at this Norio fellow and see what dumb shit he's up to.

Fuck, it's good they brought you along to collect all this info. Black Bear Zhao. Fucking yes.

[RinKou]

"Ms. Scarlet, we all have to make choices in life." He couldn't help it. "Some aren't as good as others." Tommy extended his hand to shake hers, hoping he'd aim correctly into the air, and not elsewhere.

"Well," Remy's not entirely sure how to respond, but eventually settles on. "I'm sure she's a lovely woman."

"But yes, it's not easy to convince people to get together and get to know each other a little better. Sakaguchi's a good kid, if still a kid. He's got potential, he just needs to grow up a little and see that. But, you know," she glances off at the door again. "The children are our future."

"Why so curious?"

Fuck, it's good they brought you along to collect all this info. Black Bear Zhao. Fucking yes.

The Kwantungs are rolling light today. A manservant for each of the liaisons and nothing else. Despite this being ostensibly neutral territory, you can make out the outline of a shoulder holster on at least one of them, and it's not like that's something security missed. The literal Kwantung seems harmless enough. He's the kind of Suit who doesn't carry. The kind who expects underlings to do all the heavy lifting so he won't get his shoes dirty. Look at him, dabbing at the corner of his mouth with his napkin like some sort of pansyboy. Look at that look of disappointment on his face as he registers Tadao leave with his hand on Rachel's ass.

On second glance, he seems to be eyeing Takashi (and rolling his eyes at Flavie ) and...the boss. He's eyeing Johnny too, before he looks over at you, looks you right in the eye, and gives you a nod.

As for Koreans, only another handful as far as muscle goes, and they don't look armed from the looks of it. The real goons here in force are casino security, and they're lining the doors and walls of this room, and crawling just about every square inch of the rest of it. The ones in this room don't seem to be armed, You don't blame Mme. Scarlette for the precaution, given her guestlist. That being said, though, this isn't where any, ahem, special festivities would be taking place anyhow. If someone was planning a move during this party, they'd want to isolate and terminate their targets somewhere secluded, where there wouldn't be any mention of it on the news the next day. Last thing anyone wants right now is L'Chateau going under.

[Huojin]

Johnny's eyes rolled as hostess's toast concluded, a smirk tugging corner of his mouth. The elder Scarlette was magnetic as ever, and blunter than an anvil when she wanted to be. The Honghuzi head had missed much of the golden era of Remy Scarlette, to his chagrin; being the same age as the famed starlet and quickly co-opted into the family business had left little time for "personal matters". Still, now he was further up that particular food chain, he had plenty of time to entertain himself.

A glance around at his assorted associates let him know they were all busy occupying themselves - even the big boss was schmoozing with Ms Scarlette herself, to his mild disappointment and slight amusement. The only person he knew not enjoying themselves was Harry Zhao, who seemed intent on spending his evening boring holes in the Koreans with his eyes.

With a clap on the back, Johnny smiled at the tense man. "Enjoying yourself, Harry? You, uh, keep an eye on the bangzi all you like, but I think I'd like a softer sparring partner for tonight." A glance over towards where Flavie Scarlette was sat alongside her current partner, followed by a wink back at Harry made Johnny's plans clear. Striding off towards their table, he called back to Harry, "If there's any trouble, you know where to find me."

Flashing a smile at the assembled girls and gangster, he addressed them all with a casual "Mind if I join you?", sliding in on a seat next to Flavie before an answer could be made, shaking hands and kissing cheeks while introducing himself. "So! What are you ladies drinking... and why isn't it baijiu?" The look he shot at Flavie might be described as eye-fucking, in much the same way a coupla lines of cocaine might be described as a gentle pick-me-up.

[RinKou]

Flashing a smile at the assembled girls and gangster, he addressed them all with a casual "Mind if I join you?", sliding in on a seat next to Flavie before an answer could be made, shaking hands and kissing cheeks while introducing himself. "So! What are you ladies drinking... and why isn't it baijiu?" The look he shot at Flavie might be described as eye-fucking, in much the same way a coupla lines of cocaine might be described as a gentle pick-me-up.

"Because baiju tastes like cum," Flavie says, mouth half open so you can barely catch her teeth, barely catch the flick of her tongue over the edge of her lips. "And I'm probably getting enough of that tonight."

The girl next to her laughs. Takashi doesn't. One of his guys makes the "You want we should have this guy make like a bee and mysteriously disappear?" move, but Takashi waves him off.

"Johnny Guo," he says. "How's your father?"