Debrujn's house of simple pleasures

The Well's trippiest place

CW: drugs, violence, slavery, sex work, disrespect of worker's rights, thievery

I used to be like all of them before. Violent, craving augments, killing by the dozens. And someday, I sat down and asked myself: "What do you want to do with this life, Bill?". The answer was drug, baby!

Bill Debrujn was a brutal killer in his time, one of the best they said. "They" being testimonies he wrote himself. Still, he managed to purchase enough second chances to make it through the Grinder five times and back. Eventually, he grew tired of the brutality and decided to retire in the outer ring. Or he went broke and got cold feet.

He took over an abandoned warehouse to set up his own storefront. But instead of merely selling the goods and hoping the customers are in a paying mood, he provides the entertainment on site. Not just any entertainment, mind you. The type you won't anywhere else in the Well and won't make you irrationally violent*.

* No guarantee at all, please direct your eventual fit of anger toward the nearest person that isn't Bill Debrujn.

Offered services

Drugs

The easiest commodity to access, no drug is illegal in the prison, and it is actually more abundant than food. That being said, most of the substances are usually packed with steroids, morphine and exciter compounds or augment boosters. As they are mostly used in preparation of lethal brawls, the sellers prefer not to be around for the consumption, making them a poor choice of a product for a drughouse.

Instead, Debrujn turned his gaze toward lighter psychotropics, the kind that dulls the mind and brings joy rather than hate. They happen to be harder to find than most, and regarded with defiance. With no lab willing to invest in what they saw as a lost cause, he had to build his own, which is still on the second floor of the establishment despite having grown in size.

Weed-based drugs are the most popular, because they're cheap. More complex compounds have some of the calming effects without the dumbing down effect of the weed, but their price is a no-go for most. Of course, smoking, sniffing or injecting numbing drugs usually makes people more vulnerable, so not everyone feels safe taking drugs at Debrujn's. He had to add a takeaway and delivery service from the early days of his business, if only to make it profitable.

Flesh

You'd be surprised by the number of wimps the Well harbors. Ever wondered who lives in the shoddy flats of the outer ring? That's who. They're just lying there, waiting for an entrepreneur to put them to use. And that entrepreneur's me, you're welcome.

— Bill Debrujn

Men, women, aliens, robots, inform mass and whatnot, Debrujn offers a variety of bodies even the Outer World can't match. His secret? He never asks, and just takes what he can. Drug addicts, poor souls lacking augments or people seeking refuge from a big shot they wronged in some way. Once they're in, there is no way out. From time to time, a strong augmented willingly offer their services. The owner pays well whoever's too strong for him to control.

There is pretty much no limit to what a customer can do in the love chambers of the house. However, given the global lawlessness of the Well, it is hard to find something that can't already be done out in the open. Besides, maybe, cuddling and sweet talk. This was a development neither Debrujn nor his associates anticipated, but welcomed nonetheless. Less mess to clean up afterward, usually. Tough guys don't always let peoples who know of their weak side alive.

Bill Debrujn

You get these octopus tentacles out of my face before I rip your gut out!

— Basically anyone having a conversation with Debrujn.

Bill Debrujn would be a small man, if he wasn't held up by seven organesque tentacles. He had eight once, but someone actually executed her threat when he wasn't fast enough to respond. He's a lot faster now. Three associates help him run the place, when they are not busy getting their throat sliced. He often has that conniving smile, as if he's sharing a juicy secret to you. Most of the time though, it's stuff like "table for two?"

While it is easy to dislike him and he has a reputation of a ruthless butcher, he hardly seems anything but harmless in his ridiculous apron. That being said, if you intend to cross him, ensure you're too big for him to chew on or that you're very fast on your feet. More than one thief painfully learned that seven tentacles can go a long way when it comes to speed and pipe climbing.

Food

Very few people take the time and effort to cook something in the space prison. Not for lack of ingredients, but rather the worthlessness of the act. When everyone is out to kill you in a way or another, preparing a good meal is quite low in the priority list. Plus, cannibalism and organesque consumption provide much more nutrients than anything else, despite the side effects.

Debrujn brought an alternative: good, well-cooked food. A luxury, here. The sense of taste is often the first to go, just before the sense of smell, but for those who are still able to appreciate a sweet baked cake or the simple taste of an antique pizza, he offers them an old-school restaurant. You know, the kind where you sit down, wait for the food and pay when leaving (or storm out and wait 2 weeks for everyone to forget your face)?

Key to success

Talent.

— Bill Debrujn

Many wonder how Debrujn's business succeeded where so many others utterly failed? Surely, his [strikethrough]cowardly[/strikethrough] opportunistic nature plays a big role in this, but it can't be all. In truth, he answers a demand that wasn't known to most, and his willingness to play by the same rules as everyone (that is, none) while avoiding making too many enemies allows for a flourishing business despite the numbers of bad payers. After all, he himself barely pay for anything.

Will it last? Only time will tell. It's only been a month.