March - April Test Drive Meme

[indigo_events]

➞ Post with a character you wish to test drive in this game's setting.
➞ Tag other people's starters and thread out shenanigans!
➞ Invite your friends! Try out new characters! Come play with us!
➞ Have fun!

NOT SURE WHERE TO BEGIN YOUR TEST-DRIVE JOURNEY?
CHECK OUT ALL THE LOCATIONS WE HAVE AVAILABLE IN:

JOHTO | KANTO | SEVII ISLANDS

Feel free to make various prompts in multiple locations!

✭ ✭ ✭


OTHER USEFUL LINKS:
NAVIGATION | RESERVES | APPLICATIONS

Comments

[fingersandteeth]

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.]

[ferraio]

[ 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?

[fingersandteeth]

[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.]

[ferraio]

[ 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. ]

[fingersandteeth]

[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.]

[ferraio]

[ 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?

[fingersandteeth]

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.

[ferraio]

[ 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.

[fingersandteeth]

[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?

[ferraio]

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

Perhaps I'll find you then.

And... Scene!

[fingersandteeth]

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.]