ohmyarceus | March - April Test Drive Meme

[ It's been such a brief time since Risotto had to play this game — acting nice in front of an ambiguously-powered superior — but it's rare he's done it literally, face to face. In the mafia he'd worked in prior, most things had been assigned to himself and his team via secretive mail drop or encrypted email. Not while staring at each other over stale pancakes and comparatively-nice coffee.

But all of this information is useful, and Risotto is hungry for more about this universe, the little details that haven't been covered in training yet. The awareness that this man probably knows that and is counting on it doesn't make it any less important to be getting it.

He needs to be careful, he assumes, even though Risotto can't say he understands enough about this afterlife-or-maybe-alternate-dimension to truly believe he can guess anyone's endgame plans yet.

For his part, he doesn't smile, not even while actively committed to playing it safe and friendly. He just listens and watches and then, as it's clear the other man is done talking, considers it all before responding. His expression isn't inscrutable, but it's mostly only lingered between surprise and a pointed attention. ]

It must be frustrating, losing recruits to...fate. [ What the hell does relocated home mean? ] I'm surprised you haven't burnt out. [ He means: he's seeing that this must be a stubborn, self-motivated man who's in it to climb ranks, not strictly nurture recruits. Alright. Risotto's met men like that before. They can be reliable, even if only because weak teammates hurt their own chances.

After a few more moments of consideration, Risotto actually reaches out of his own accord this time — literally, offering his hand to shake. They're slow to emerge, but evidently he's got manners hiding in there somewhere, and he's decided this is a good time to use them. ] Thank you again, Steven.

...If there's so few of us, I'm sure I'll see you again. Until one or both of us disappears, as you said.

It's no trouble at all, really.

[Steven's handshake is just the right amount of firm. Trustworthy, even. He must have practiced it.]

But it is frustrating sometimes. There's a lot of good, reliable people who just aren't here anymore.

[Friends of his that are gone. Lydia, Tyler, Connie, Spinel... the list goes on and on. It's a little heartbreaking to realize that everyone who came aboard between him and Emet-Selch is now gone.]

I do have some side projects. That helps. My main line of work for the Team is done freelance--have they told you about the job listing? If you ask, the Team will place you on special missions or arrange a cover job for you. The second's useful if you intend to leave the dormitories eventually. The first... well, you get recompensed for anything that's a mission expense at least.

Right now I'm in the Propaganda department, but I used to work in one of the cover businesses the Team owns. There's quite a number of them. With the full time positions they don't enforce the quota, although honestly, it's not that hard to keep up with it. Even if you've had a bad two weeks for theft, they don't actually check if your pokemon was stolen or caught, so you can just catch one instead. I know quite a few people that do that.

[ 'Good, reliable people'. 'Frustrating' to lose them. Either this man is - wisely - deciding not to showcase that he was attached to any of them, or he simply wasn't attached in the first place, and both options point to the same rank-climbing cleverness Risotto was initially assuming he was dealing with.

Competence is good, at least. Risotto's not one for looking on the bright side of things, but realism doesn't mean being a pessimist. This man may end up being a reliable colleague so long as it's about work, and that's important to know. Risotto won't trust yet, but--

The seed for it's planted, right alongside one of paranoia. ]

Do you tell everyone how to skirt around your own organization's rules? [ Risotto's voice is more curt than amused. It smells like a test, to him, and he dismisses the idea immediately. ] A structured way to support slackers makes it sound like most of the people here don't really care about their job.

Sounds dangerous for you. [ He should probably have said 'us', been more clever about it, but Risotto is still coming to terms with...all of this, and he's never been one for sweet talking. The fact that he's engaging at all is a positive sign for him, not that it makes him sound any more friendly. ]

No, just the people who were press-ganged like you and I, [Steven says, his tone still pleasant and even. If he's angered by Risotto's curtness, he's not letting it show.] Most people aren't, by the way. The natives of this world seem to have mostly joined voluntarily.

[He shrugs.]

There's other people in this world who were taken from other worlds, by the way. People outside the organization, that is. They show up in New Bark Town at the home of a madwoman who thinks she's their mother, then are given a bag and chivied out the door on a 'Pokemon journey.'

[In other words: here's your cover story for dealing with non-Rockets. Please work with it.]

[ Most of his colleagues are here willingly - Risotto had assumed this by their attitudes, if he's honest, but the stark difference painted between those chosen upon entry for this versus natives is a new thing to consider.

So is the nature of how it's chosen for otherworlders to be given this role. Do they know what Risotto did, back home, do they know why he died and was sent here to begin with? If it's an afterlife, it seems reasonable to assume yes. And if it's not...

He sighs, the sound more tired than aggressive. ] You're good at giving out delicate pointers, [ he says, amiably enough, even if he's puncturing the unspoken implications-only conversation a bit again. ]

I hope all of our colleagues are good at picking them up. [ How clever is the average Rocket grunt, how much should Risotto watch his back? (He will regardless; it almost doesn't matter how dangerous they all really are or aren't. But this man is quickly climbing the ranks of Risotto's mind as 'useful' and 'dangerous'. Funny how often those two coincide, and how spoiled he became back home where he was able to trust his team so implicitly.)

He considers the conversation so far and then simply asks obliquely. ] Did you do something similar to this back home?

[Steven smiles at the compliment.] Most are. Sometimes you have to be a bit more blunt with people.

[He picks up the coffee again, takes another sip.] If you're asking if I worked for any particular organization like Team Rocket... then, no. I didn't. But I suppose you could say that I did, speaking very broadly, though I wasn't a thief.

[He shakes his head.] Sadly, or perhaps not, they have little need for my extralegal skills here. [For some odd reason, Team Rocket doesn't put out hits on people very often.] It's my more conventional ones the team uses me for--as I said, I'm in the Propaganda department now, specifically Disinformation.

And you? [If you're going to ask him, he's going to return the question.]

[ Not a thief, 'suppose you could say' he worked for a gang (which is what Risotto is comparing Team Rocket to internally, albeit a poor form of one), doesn't get to use his extralegal skills often.

That's adding up to be a variety of things and Risotto expects he'll have narrowed down his guesses, albeit not by much, the more he learns about how Team Rocket functions.

Listening to it has clearly gotten his attention though, not that it was lacking much before. Risotto doesn't look away from the man's face until a few moments after the question's turned on himself. He sighs and glances to the side, thoughtful. ] I hope the disinformation is just for non-members to be exposed to.

...My answer is similar to yours. [ It feels like a stretch to even give that much away, but Risotto can sense that an outright refusal to respond will not give the best impression. He'll be exactly as cagey as the other, in that case, because Risotto is actually a terrible conversational partner. ] And I suppose only time will tell if they ever need me for what I did more often back home. [ He's...going to be very surprised when he finds out that not only is assassination not needed, it's not possible here, not in a permanent way. ]

[By 'suppose you could say,' Steven meant that he'd done regular extralegal work back home, not that he was part of a gang. But had he the notion that Risotto had interpreted that as him being part of a gang, he certainly wouldn't correct him. It would perhaps be more accurate to say, however, that he'd been on retainer, to a certain individual who wielded a large amount of power over a subsection of his local community.]

It's for the non-members, yes. Mainly, I divert public attention away from the organization and towards others suspicious parties. [In other words, he pins Rocket crimes on other people.

Steven takes a sip of coffee.]

Hm. Well, I can say that as far as criminal enterprises go, Team Rocket tends more to fraud, Pokemon smuggling, and general larceny. Sometimes protection rackets. Some facets of the black market. Generalized mayhem and terror.

What they aren't is active in the drug trade, mostly because recreational drugs in Kanto and Johto have yet to be outlawed and thus the sale of them is not especially lucrative. As far as I know, they aren't involved in weapons smuggling either, which is more surprising as most non-practice weaponry is quite illegal in the two regions.

[Another sip of coffee.]

And I've yet to see them put out a hit on anyone in my time here.

[Is there a very subtle hint of regret in his voice at that sentence? Maybe.]

[ Oh, alright then. Risotto actually relaxes — a relative term, with someone as perpetually watchful and tense as he is, but still significant — at the list. This is, after all, his language that he's hearing right now. Actual crime, none of this pickpocketing child's play, like someone had heard once of bad people and decided to pretend to be them in this fantasy world.

Risotto's stare goes at once sharper but his shoulders slant more calmly towards the other. No longer waiting for a catch or a threat, Risotto is reacting to sensing an actual peer. ]

They'd surely make more money if they dealt in more dangerous merchandise and services. [ He says, evenly enough, mildly enough. He shrugs. ] But it's up to them how they run things, I guess.

[ By body language alone, it's probably safe to bet that Risotto is only comforted to hear someone talk about hits so publicly, even if it sounds like he isn't going to be asked to do that anytime soon.

—Except. ] And I suppose acting outside the lines they've drawn for us is frowned upon?

Well, [Steven says mildly,] I certainly wouldn't get caught.

[He takes a sip of his cappuccino.]

You're right. They would make more money if they dealt in those things--but unfortunately, the people of Kanto and Johto have been socialized not to enact violence directly on each other, merely through their pokemon proxies, and it seems to extend even to the native Rockets. It does give those of us from other worlds certain advantages, though, if only because they never do see direct attacks coming.

[ Risotto is not an easy man to make laugh, but at that first comment, he finally cracks a brief smile. ] I never have been, [ he answers, never quite as mild as Steven, words heavier but steady. It's not bragging if it's facts.

(It's definitely still bragging.)

Risotto mulls the rest of that over, expression going from surprised to thoughtful. ] This place is so...bizarre.

Taking advantage of their social expectations may be our most useful tactic, then. [ Risotto knows better than to trust easily, especially a superior — he hasn't not been his own boss with very little oversight in years — but this man? He's certainly caught his eye. ]

Thank you. For the nuanced insight.

[Steven smiles back, the skin by his eyes crinkling in amusement.] I try my best.

Do you have any other questions about things work around here?

[ Well, it can't hurt to be fully honest. ] ...Not now. But I'm sure I will later.

Perhaps I'll find you then.

Perhaps.

[He smiles, but gets back to his notebook... and from what Risotto will be able to see from where he's sitting, he seems to be drafting an article about local thugs (with possible ties to Team Plasma?) stealing from a reputable Eevee breeder. Ah, disinformation.]

March - April Test Drive Meme

your guy is fascinating and I already am loving this cr 👀

ahhhh thank! and same!

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And... Scene!