explosivecombat | 02X - Reintro. [Text/Locked Audio to the Rocket Frequency]

02X - Reintro. [Text/Locked Audio to the Rocket Frequency]

[TEXT]

[Well! Those of you on the network today will be greeted by a bit of audio late this morning, from a device ID that's been bouncing back all attempts at contact for the last several weeks.]

...Oh, that's cute.

[...well, if that wasn't the most triumphant return ever, I don't know what is.

At the very least, however, he seems to get over whatever he's almost audibly linefacing at long enough to realize that the device is recording something; he promptly switches the thing over to text - he's never really liked talking at the machine when he's addressing all of Johto.]

My, it seems this place does still have its sense of humor, doesn't it? And here I thought that perhaps I'd only lost three days at worst - it was a bit of a surprise to find out otherwise.

Ah, but that's neither here nor there, is it?

[Kimblee, hon.]

There's not much to report from home, unfortunately; however, it'll be a pleasure getting in contact with all of you again - hopefully you've all been at least reasonably well.

[Oh, well. At least he doesn't seem too off-put by the whole disappearing-for-a-month-and-a-half thing?]

[PRIVATE AUDIO - TEAM ROCKET FREQUENCY]

[...At least, not until the audio message that goes out over the private Rocket network a few minutes later; Kimblee's voice is cold and clipped, and the amiable "tone" from the text earlier is completely absent.

He has no idea if he still holds his rank or not; he suspects he doesn't. Like hell if he won't throw it around anyway. He's a bit displeased at his life basically being a .gif from Community, and he's going to figure out what in the good hell is going on if it kills him.]

This is Team Rocket Beta Solf J Kimblee, reporting back in for duty; to my superiors, I admit that I don't know what happened, but I assure you that it won't happen again.

To the rest of you - check in with me immediately, particularly if you're one of my subordinates. I'm receiving a lot of "ID Not Found" nonsense, and I need to know who's still present; given that and various things that I've had to hear about secondhand, I expect a full report regarding what happened here from someone, I'm not feeling particularly choosy right now.

New members to the organization - welcome to it, and you have my personal apologies for the disarray. For now, you're welcome to introduce yourselves; it'll serve you well to know that I'm good to those who are good to me. Again, prove yourself useful and you'll be rewarded.

None of this is a request. Allow me to make that much clear.

[...oh dear. Well. At least he's not in much position to actually do anything at the moment - this is Team Rocket we're talking about, and if somebody's on the network very vocally overstating their importance and/or competence, that means it's pretty much a day ending in Y.]

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

I'm not interested in judging you for that, if for no better reason than I'm fairly sure yours is the more understandable reaction. At least by human standards, which is all I really have to go by.

Leadership of what, exactly, if I may? We have a fair amount of those around here, it seems.

BY HUMAN STANDARDS, YEAH.
THOUGH I AM STARTING TO THINK THAT IT'S NOT JUST ME AMONGST MY TROLL FRIENDS THAT REGRET SHIT EITHER.
THAT'S NOT COMMON. NOT REALLY.

[Switching to private just in case things get a bit detailed.]

You may! I certainly don't mind. Back home, I controlled the entire student body. And I do mean controlled.

[Brain control, though she did it without such a thing easily enough.]

[Totally respecting and returning that lock; that tends to mean things are going to get interesting rather quickly, after all.]

The entire student body...unfortunately, I'm not terribly familiar with how most other worlds' education systems are laid out; my apologies in advance. I'm assuming either secondary school or a university of some sort?

And more to the point, I would like to hear more about this control of yours. Do go on.

Secondary school?

[She looks...confused. Give her a minute.

Dot. Dot. Dot. CLICK!]

There are some from my world that are the same way - they weren't human, though I wouldn't go so far as to call them another species, exactly (they were a bit of a unique case). Regret wasn't common among them, either; they were created for the sake of war and conflict. Their way of thinking was foreign to most people, I think; understandable, but not relatable.

At the same time, I could relate to them more closely than I could most humans; I suppose it's no surprise, knowing that, that I can relate more closely to what you've told me than I can to humanity.

But that's neither here nor there - more of an observation than anything - and really, I digress.

I suppose the question I have with regards to this entire regret business is whether it's a relief or alarming to know you aren't the only one, as I can see it going both ways.

Oh, you must mean a high school! You would be right, in that case.

[No one calls it that, so she was a bit lost. Easy enough to figure out, but it had her there for a few seconds.]

Anyway, the school itself is rather large, as it's the only high school in a rather large city. I was able to have my fellow classmates hailing me as a queen with little, if any difficulty at all. Although my "reign" ended abruptly...at first.

Are you familiar with ghosts, Mr. Kimblee?

[Well, it's hardly mandated in Amestris and he was homeschooled besides, and...oh, ugh. Why is it always ghosts...

His expression flickers a little at that, but it's back to the usual placidity before it slips too far.]

Ah...I suppose that depends on how we're defining "ghosts," Miss Barby. I'm familiar with this world's version, and I'm more than familiar with the souls of the dead in my world, but those were two very different experiences.

THAT SOUNDS FAMILIAR.
PRETTY SURE YOU MIGHT HAVE MENTIONED SOMETHING LIKE THIS IN THE PAST.

TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, SINCE I CAN'T REALLY ADD ANYTHING ELSE OF VALUE TO THIS CONVERSATION
IT'S A MIX OF BOTH, I THINK.
SOME OF THOSE GRUBFISTED MORONS *SHOULD* REGRET EVERYTHING THEY'VE DONE SO FAR AS TO EVEN REGRET THE THOUGHT PASSING THEIR SHRIVELED THINKPAN IN THE FIRST PLACE.
THEN IT'S JUST SURPRISING BECAUSE I THOUGHT I WAS THE MOST FUCKED UP ONE OUT OF THE BUNCH.

[Luckily she doesn't notice it, so she can't be bothered to ask.]

The souls of then dead, in this case. I died back home [Don't ask how.] and became one...although ghosts where I'm from are very different than most...I think.

[Who knows with all these weird worlds and whatnot.]

Becoming one, I was able to maintain my position in the school just the same as how I did alive, except I had a certain...edge over the more unruly students. I believe you could call it...pheromones?

Edited 2013-05-12 04:29 (UTC)

Well, some of the most regrettable actions are simultaneously the most emotionally powerful and the least coherently thought-out. At least, that's what I've tended to notice; given what you've told me, I'm not entirely surprised that there have been a lot of objectively hideous actions among you. Whether they're subjectively hideous or not is another matter and not my place to judge one way or another.

Though I find it interesting that you still seem to be thinking of the regret itself being the errant detail here, not those objectively hideous actions.

[...Barby, either you are going to have to hedge like the wind or I seriously hope you are prepared to explain this to a man that is damn near 40 because he is from backwards 1915 and what is this.]

...ah, unfortunately, I can't say I'm familiar with the term, no...some sort of mind control, I'm assuming?

[...she knew she should have paid more attention in her science classes. No seriously, this is going to suck-

Wait. She's got it.]

...are you at all familiar with the Vespiquen line?

[...Barby, seriously, you are proving to be a clusterfuck of everything he hates about Johto. Everything.]

Far more than I would like to be.

SEE, I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH OF THAT IS ACTUALLY TRUE.
I'M PRETTY SURE THE FISHDOUCHE DIDN'T INTEND TO START HELPING OUR FRIENDS SHAVE OFF A FEW POUNDS VIA BLOWING HOLES IN THEIR CHEST CAVITIES, BUT THE OTHERS?
YEAH, I KIND OF THINK THAT WAS ALREADY PREPLANNED.
SEE, I CAN'T RULE OUT THE POSSIBILITY THAT GAMZEE'S STUNTS COULD BE EITHER AN EMOTIONAL RESPONSE OR PREMEDITATED.
IT'S REALLY, *REALLY* HARD TO GAUGE THAT SORT OF THING WITH A CRAZED INDIGO BLOODED TROLL.
THAT'S REALLY WHAT'S EXPECTED OF US AS WE MATURE, THOUGH.
I KNOW I MENTIONED THAT ADULTS ARE FULLY EXPECTED TO GO OFF AND CULL OTHER SPECIES, CLAIMING THEIR PLANETS FOR THE GLORY OF THE EMPIRE AND ALL.
KILLING OR DEATH IS KIND OF A REGULAR THING. REVENGE CYCLES START AND SPIRAL OUT OF CONTROL.
SHITHEADS DO STUPID THINGS AND PAY THE ULTIMATE PRICE FOR IT.
AS WELL AS THEY SHOULD!
WE'RE NOT ORIGINALLY GEARED TO REGRET THAT SORT OF THING SO YEAH...
THAT WOULD BE THE "ERRANT DETAIL" INSTEAD OF THE ACTIONS THEMSELVES.
I COULD USE MY ABNORMALITY AS JUSTIFICATION AS TO WHY MY THINKPAN AND ITS PROCESSES ARE FLAWED, BUT THE HIGHBLOODS?
IT'S SURPRISING, OK?

[Damn it, that didn't go right, but no backing out now]

[Blake shakes dandelion fluff out of his hair]

She's a pain in the ass but she can kick the shit out of anything. No way am I giving that up.

[Anything she actually feels like attacking, that is. Which is never what Blake wants her to.]

It's probably for the best if I end this discussion here, then.

[Oh, now he's just amused.]

She can, yes. Have you worked out how to get her to, or is she still more entertained by the rest of the battlefield?

And at risk of sounding stupid, am I to understand that your species, by design, feels no reaction to killing as a whole? Or is there a difference when it comes to killing an individual vs this planet-culling practice you've mentioned?

[Look, when it comes to his battling partner, the good Colonel is a jerk and he's very fond of massive bees and -

...oh wait just a minute.]

That's how you kept control of your school.

[It's not...exactly a question, but at the same time, it is incredulous as hell, dear lord.]

THAT MIGHT DEPEND UPON THE TROLL.
DO WE FEEL A SENSE OF "WRONGNESS" ABOUT IT?
FUCK NO.
I'M PRETTY SURE SUBJUGGULATORS DO GET OFF ON KILLING, BUT THAT'S KIND OF THEIR THING.
KILLING OFF A QUADRANTMATE? THAT ALSO REQUIRES CONTEXT.
A MATESPRIT OR A MOIRAIL MIGHT ACTUALLY BE LAMENTABLE, DEPENDING UPON THE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT LEAD UP TO THE CULLING.
IN BLACKROM IT CAN BE COMMON ENOUGH, CONSIDERING THE DELICATE BALANCE BETWEEN ROMANTIC HATE AND PLATONIC HATE.
IF YOUR QUADRANTMATE DOES SOMETHING TO FUCK THAT UP AND TIP THE SCALES, THEN YEAH THAT'S TOO BAD, BUT THAT'S LIFE.
KILLING AND MAIMING AREN'T REALLY "TABOO" BY ANY MEANS.
THERE'S ALSO A QUADRANT THAT MAKES SURE IT DOESN'T GET OUT OF CONTROL THOUGH.

Basically, yes. That's the best example I can give.

Welcome back sir.

Rude reporting in.

That's my name.

[Mm. Either a code name or somebody had mean parents ~~so says the individual bearing the stupidest name in Amestris~~; at any rate, unless that name proves amazingly apt or some sort of necessity comes up, Rude is currently being delegated to that short list of people referred to almost solely as "you."

However, this one seems to be preferring text, and Kimblee honestly can't complain about that; spares him the general awkwardness of trying to talk to the machine.]

Indeed? It's a pleasure, then.

I take it you've only just arrived recently - I don't recall hearing of you before my absence, and I have a good memory for people. How long have you been here?

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02X - Reintro. [Text/Locked Audio to the Rocket Frequency]

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This is going south quickly

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It's kind of doing the polar opposite of properly escalating, yes

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She climbed so high only to fall so hard...it's pretty impressive, actually

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[same settings forever]