Bright lights and music... the constant pop and whiz of fireworks... the sound of an unseen band playing somewhere in the distance... All of these hectic sights and sounds make up the homepage of Zazz, operated by Samuel Cheeseboro, a freelance magician. Zazz is a fairly high-ranking navi of the Netmafia's Creel Family, whose responsibility is primarily the handling of mafia propaganda and recruitment. Zazz loves her job and is currently preparing for it, standing in the center of her homepage on her grand stage, practicing her performance.
Ever the optimist, Zazz has high hopes for the outcome of her next recruitment drive. She is about to be visited by another Creel Family high-ranker, one who is perhaps more successful but at the same time becoming less and less confident in her own goals in life.
"A tremendous success! The best performance of my life! Ooooh, dammit, I wasted the best performance of my life on an invisible audience. It's a disaster! A tragedy for all of history, except only I will remember it! That just makes it a bigger tragedy!"[color=990000][/color] the navi in the center of the grandiose stage rambled, stomping her feet in frustration. "So be it, so be it,"[color=990000][/color] she convinced herself, clenching one fist and putting on a bold grin. "If I have to do it again, I will, but this time, bigger! Bigger with more double the BOOM and triple the SHAZAM!"[color=990000][/color]
Zazz was a navi a very pronounced personality but not such a terribly outstanding appearance. Her armor, fairly unassuming and red, included gloves, boots, a belt, and a very shiny helmet that she chose not to wear. Her vibrant orange hair shown brightly even amongst the pyrotechnics illuminating the stage and her wild brown eyes shimmered almost yellow in the light. Her black undersuit, fading into yellow at the waist, showed off the shape of her painfully average body. Standing with her devil-may-care grin, however, she reflected fully the bombshell personality that she was well known for. "Alright, I'm going again from the top!"[color=990000][/color] she cried out to nobody in particular.
"One two three-!"[color=990000][/color]
Before Zazz could start back into her routine, she was interrupted by the intrusion of another navi, a short female in green. Ordinarily, she'd continue on, assuming that of course the visitor would want to see her performance anyways, but she recognized this navi as Holly, Rank 1 of the Creel Family. Holly had never been to Zazz's homepage and wouldn't have come unless something needed to be talked to, so she conceded to put the act on hold.
"Holly, what a pleasant surprise! Have you come to see me practice, huh? I don't normally give out backstage passes, but for you I can make an exception of course!"[color=990000][/color]
Holly wasn't at all the model Mafia navi and certainly not one that anybody would expect to see have a high ranking position. Her bob-cut brown hair, short stature, and kind face all gave her a very girl-next-door look. Combined with her festive green outfit, decked out in jingling bells, pointy elf hat and shoes, and holly ornaments, she looked far more like a herald of Christmas than a mafia member (and was in some ways was). Ordinarily, she'd appear cheerful, but a heavy weight was on her that she'd grown too tired to bear the burden herself. "Hello Zazz. Sorry to barge in on you like this, but I really need somebody within the Creel Family that I feel like I can talk to comfortably."[color=green][/color]
"And you picked me?! I'm flattergasted! Er, flattered! Flabbergasted! That is, I'm honored! Come, sit here at my stage and we'll talk about whatever you like, chum,"[color=990000][/color] Zazz babbled, hurriedly drawing Holly over to the stage to take a seat next to her. As silly as her words sounded, Zazz was not lying or pandering; she really was amazed that somehow she'd been chosen as the confident of Holly, a navi known for her constant smile, but also for oddly having developed no close ties with anyone in the mafia.
Holly nodded and smiled, resting herself slowly upon the stage's edge. Rubbing her hands together, the navi tried to think of where to begin. "I don't know if you know a lot about what I've been trying to do here at the mafia, but my goal has always been to turn the mafia into an organization that will help the unfortunate, unoperated navis of the net. Did you know that?"[color=green][/color] Holly asked uncomfortably, her legs sliding together as she talked.
A lump rose in Zazz's throat as, even though Holly made this point fairly obvious, she'd failed to notice it until just now. "O-Oh sure! Sure it is. Everyone knows that! Forgive me for saying, though, but that's not the goal of the Creel Family, is it? That's not really the goal of any of the rest of the mafia, is it? Do you know about a secret new faction, huh?"[color=990000][/color] Zazz questioned, placing both hands in her lap and listening as intently as she could manage while somebody besides herself was talking.
"Ha ha, no, silly, nothing of that sort!"[color=green][/color] Holly defended with an easy smile. "No, that's just my personal motivation, but sadly it seems that it's doomed to stay my personal motivation. I don't think a single other person in the mafia is willing to consider such a radical idea as this,"[color=green][/color] she replied with a sigh, the smile leaving her face as quickly as it had come. "If only I had time to work on them, time to impress upon the hearts of the mafioso that this was a worthwhile cause... But while I'm bumbling around, we're killing people, Zazz!"[color=green][/color] she cried, holding one gloved hand to her face. "I-I just wanted to talk to somebody who I thought might share that opinion. You don't like killing either, do you Zazz?"[color=green][/color] Holly asked, the tears beginning to stain her light gloves a darker color.
Holly's tears seemed sudden, but in fact, she'd been holding them in for a long time. For almost a year now, she'd been rising through the mafia ranks and observing their horrible methods while striving to keep her own goals in sight. This had required basically turning a blind eye to the travesties while keeping a public face of eternal cheerfulness. Her feelings were welling over talking to Zazz, causing her to cry openly as she had done only in private a few times before.
Zazz again had a hard time answering. It would be silly to say as a mafioso that she thought the killing had to just stop, but at the same time, she didn't want to tell Holly "the Mafia will always be about killing." Who could? "Oh, that's right, those of us doing the killing,"[color=990000][/color] she reminded herself with a frown. Adopting another big grin, she gave the best answer she could. "Now I don't know about killing, that's Bloodhound stuff, but I love a good fight! Living on the wild side, that's what I'm all about. It's just that some people have to make a living off of it here, you know? That's all they know. A lot of them have their own circumstances that we can't know anything about, weird things that have shaped who they are today. You aren't going to change their minds easy."[color=990000][/color]
"Then what can I do?"[color=green][/color] she asked through her tears, her lips still quivering a bit as she tried to pull her emotions back in.
"I didn't say it was impossible! What these guys need to see is BIG things. People pay more attention when things are BIG!"[color=990000][/color] she laughed, trying not to stare at Holly's breasts as she gave that part of her speech. "They want results they can see! You're good at giving them their membership, right? Give them so many members that the members work for you, right? Then SHAZAM! You have the most pull in the Mafia! She who is BIGGEST wins BIGGEST, you know?"[color=990000][/color] Zass laughed, making little sense but continuing on all the same.
Even though Zazz barely understood what she was saying herself, Holly seemed to garner a little bit of new conviction from her words. She could not help but laugh at the infectious cheer of her Creel Family comrade. "Fine then! I'll just continue to work hard, if that's what you suggest. Boy, you're always cheerful aren't you? I just put on a face, but you're the real deal,"[color=green][/color] she giggled, placing one hand upon Zazz's in a friendly gesture.
Zazz's grin melted into a stupid, mildly perverted smile as she placed her other hand upon Holly's. " You flabber me, er, you flatter me too much, Holly! But I guess I am pretty great!"[color=990000][/color] she laughed again. "Did you know though? I have woes as well. It's true!"[color=990000][/color] she brought up suddenly, looking seriously into Holly's eyes.
Holly looked back, mildly troubled. Had she been wrong about Zazz, whom she'd suddenly pegged as a carefree spirit free of the trappings of worrisome thought?
"See, I was virus busting just recently and I opened this mystery data right? There was a bubbler inside! I never get mystery data and when I finally do it's a bubbler! Isn't that a tragedy? It's a tragedy I'll remember forever! You and I are the only two who know. That makes it even more of a tragedy!"[color=990000][/color] she cried, her wild eyes widening with fever as her hands clenched more tightly onto Holly's.
"I-I see... W-Well thanks again Zazz, but I'd better get off to establishing myself as BIGGER and whatever, right?"[color=green][/color] Holly laughed, freeing her hands with a bit of effort.
"You're leaving already? But I was just about to perform! I've got a big show planned, and this is just the practice, so you'll get to see my big show TWICE! And you're the only one! Except for me, I get to see it three times, but twice is still good! A-And if you need more support or anything, I'm always here for a hug!"[color=990000][/color] she rambled on, clutching tightly onto her sparkler custom weapon with both hands.
"Thanks, I'll remember that, but I'd really better get going now. Good luck with your practice!"[color=green][/color] Holly replied cheerfully, teleporting off the net with a festive green and red striped beam.
Zazz was left alone, which, in her opinion, was the worst possible condition that she could be in. In her optimistic thinking, however, she came up with a new conclusion: "If I've got to be alone, I'm the best person to be alone with, right?!"[color=990000][/color] she guffawed, stepping back up onto her stage.