silph_co | Yay me? [Video]

Yay me? [Video]

[The camera lens starts out filled to the edges with a close-up of a girl who's trying to figure out how to work the camera on her pokégear.She's slightly disgruntled by the image on her screen, but when she pulls the camera away and points it down at herself from a slightly higher angle, London's face lights up into a grin. Appearance is everything, and her appearance is now so much better!]

Hi everyone, it's me, London Tipton! So, apparently the last time I made one of these, my daddy didn't see it, and he didn't send the private jet. Or the private helicopter. Or the private yacht. Heck, I'd even settle for the S.S. Tipton.

So I guess this is my new home now.

[She looks around at the boring walls of the dormitory within Rocket HQ. It isn't that much unlike how it was in her cabin on the S.S. Tipton. Of course, this place doesn't have a port with an ocean view. And just like her cabin, the closet is way too small.]

But I survived high school on a cruise ship, I can probably survive this! Besides, I have Stiletto and Brooch to keep me company!

[London turns her camera toward her two Pokémon, Stiletto, her Ekans, and her Staryu, Brooch. Stiletto is coiled peacefully near London's feet, while Brooch stands atop the chest at the foot of her bed, looking aloof.]

Anyway, I know we have to wear these hideous uniforms, but can someone tell me where I can get something else? Variety is the spice of life, after all! [Suffice it to say, back home, London had enough clothing that it was feasible for her to avoid wearing the same combination of clothing for at least two years.]

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[Oh hey, it's that man who you failed to steal from the other day. It looks like he's... on some roof somewhere? There's the base of a large antenna behind him. Probably the lower roof of the radio tower.

Anyway, he's giving her a pleasant smile.]

Hello again, London. I'm on my break now, but I was actually hoping to bring you something after my shift. I talked with Jack about you coming over for supper either tonight or tomorrow so you could meet him and he's fine with that, but you'll need something a little bit better to wear and--

Well. I hope you don't mind that I asked the quartermaster for your sizes?

[He'll tilt the camera so she can see the bag with the department store logo on it.]

Ooh! Hi, Steven!

[She spots the logo on the bag, and although the department store in question is unfamiliar, she knows quality when she sees it.]

For me?! Oh! Yay! Daddy says to always make a good first impression, and I don't think I could do that wearing what everyone has to wear!

No, you couldn't.

[There's a measure of clear amusement in his voice as he tilts the camera back to his face.] I do understand why we have to wear them sometimes while on the clock, but outside those occasions, it's just asking for trouble.

And yes, it is. Consider it your welcome present for Team Rocket.

[Garak's getting something too.]

I love welcome presents! Team Rocket is awesome! It's like a five-star resort with identical gifts! Except it's a two-star resort with personalized gifts.

[That gets a laugh from him.] Two stars is maybe pushing it. [Seriously, even a two-star resort would give you private rooms.]

[London nods.] Eh, you're right. This is more like at Seven Seas High where I had to share a cabin with Bailey.

[Although now London considers Bailey one of her closest friends, she still never stopped wanting her own room.]

And now you get to share it with five others. But when you make private, they only give you one or two roommates. And betas have their own rooms.

Ooh! How do I become a beta? Is that like a sorority? Ooh, what's my initiation like?

[He chuckles.] No, no, it's a rank within Team Rocket. And you get it by-- well, by working your butt off for the Team and doing something really cool for them. You should ask Jack and Dirk about it. They're the ones that have actually managed to rank that high.

[London frowns into the camera feed. She's nothing if not transparent about her disappointment, but having her own room is something she's always prized, and on the cruise ship, she couldn't get rid of Bailey no matter what she did.

She now has even more of a motivation to step out of her comfort zone and pull her weight.]

Fine.

Edited 2020-06-23 05:06 (UTC)

Hey, [Steven says gently, encouragingly.] If you can find another job as a cover, you can afford to move into your own tiny apartment outside the base. It won't be free, but it'll be yours.

[London had gotten a taste of the compact life on the S.S. Tipton, and she supposes that as long as she doesn't have to share her tiny space, it'll be tolerable.]

Ooh! I can do that! Need something covered, I'm there.

I'll see if I can help you find work. Do you think you could write a resume? This world doesn't always require them, but.

[If he looks at hers, maybe he can help her figure out what she'd be suited for.]

Sure, I can do that!

[She grins into the camera, eager to get one to him.]

[He grins back.]

Great! We'll find you a cover job in no time.

[London seems ecstatic at the news.]

Ooh! Yay!

Wait, can I do that instead of cleaning things, or do I have to do both?

Depending what job we find for you, you should only have to turn in your Pokemon Quota for the team--one every other week, level fifteen or higher--and do your cover job. Cleaning not necessarily required.

Edited 2020-06-28 06:24 (UTC)

[She gives a sigh of relief.]

Oh thank goodness! I heard I'd have to work my way up from cleaning toilets and making beds, and I'm just not cut out for that kind of thing.

[She'd always had maids and housekeeping do it for her. She even paid a member of the S.S. Tipton cleaning crew a little extra under the table to come to her cabin when paying Bailey didn't work. The students were supposed to clean their own rooms to teach them responsibility.]

No, no. It's not that dire. I mean, janitorial is one of the easy starter jobs people can be assigned to for the Team, but it's certainly not the only one.

[He frowns a little. It's clear he's reviewing positions in his head and trying to match London to them.]

Do you think you'd be able to work at a receptions desk? You'd have to be kind and friendly to your coworkers, able to handle boredom on slow mornings, and you'd also have to do your best to make sure only the people who're supposed to visit the Tower visit, but in a way that doesn't make the people who you turn away get suspicious.

It's a harder job than it looks. But it's also very important. The receptions desk is as much a part of the Tower's defense as security is, just... more subtle.

Ooh! You mean like answering phones and looking professional? That's one of my specialties!

[She adopts a more serious face as Steven continues. At a given job, London can be either really bad or really good, and how she does is a direct correlation to how important she finds the work she's doing. As an heiress who frequently had large sums of cash stowed away or on her person at any given time, she understands the importance of security. This might be an even more perfect job than anticipated.]

I can do subtle.

Good! I know they need someone new to help cover mornings now that I'm finally using my degree in the newsroom, so let me see if I can talk to my old supervisor about you.

If they have you doing my old shift, it'll be eight to noon, Monday through Friday, and then the rest of your time will be your own.

[The background is absolutely seeming a stage, red curtains and all. There's also two poles just barely in the side of the screen. Though there's the woman to worry about who's dressed up and just grinning at the screen.

Ignore the alakazam just sitting cross-legged levitating in the back. It's weird, okay.]

Isn't that cute.

I suppose that will be your new home until you get enough income going to afford your own place, but for now that's where you're stuck. As for clothing, you're in Goldenrod and it has a hell of a shopping scene. They should have given you an allowance and I see Steven is already on top of getting you some basic things.

Don't wear that hideous thing out in public, fair tip.

[London grins a grin of false modesty wrapped in egotism. She is, in fact, adorable. ~~Yes, she did just take that as a compliment.~~]

I've never made an income before. I'm an heiress!

[She gives the somewhat alluring stranger a knowing nod.] Oh, trust me, I've learned my lesson. Some farm girl threatened to beat me up when she saw the uniform! Does that happen a lot here?

[Hopefully she'll figure out that Lydia is a sarcastic asshole and rarely means for anything to be taken as a compliment. Oh well.

Though she certainly can't help but roll her eyes immediately as she hears the term heiress. Of course this is some sort of weird... noble... thing... that has absolutely no idea how the real world works. Lovely.

Another liability, honestly.]

They usually teach you that immediately. A criminal organization is a criminal organization, darling. Also, whether you've made an income or not here, you're going to have to figure it out. The allowances they give here aren't going to cover literally everything.

Might as well get used to it now before reality comes to bite you in the ass, hm?~

[London is already aware that she doesn't have daddy to fall back on, but she is still grappling with what exactly to do about that. Sure, she knows people who have occupations, but it's not like she paid all that much attention to what they did.]

I mean, $3000 is pocket change compared to what I would get from Daddy, but it's a start!

[Pls help her, she hasn't realized it's not in USD.]

[Well, she could just fall back on the Rocket allowance, but she sure as hell wasn't about to do that. Except to expense literally everything she could to them while running her own business and pocketing the earnings from there.

Loyalties are for fools, after all.]

G o d, how old are you that you're still calling your parent "daddy"? Honestly, if you're over the human age of, oh, twelve, maybe you should cut the shit. Otherwise someone is going to think it an entirely different relationship.

Which, I suppose, works for some people. But ugh. Also your currency conversions might be a little odd. They use pokedollars here which I assume is different from whatever currency you use as it was different from the gold exchange I'm used to.

[London tilts her head.] I've been calling him "daddy" since I was three. Why would I change it now? [The dirty connotation is lost on her, and that's probably for the best.]

Ooh! Are pokédollars more than regular dollars?

[Oh boy, another new recruit. And a very young-looking one, too.

The large young man is dressed in a short-sleeved shirt in a pleasant brown pattern, with a small green bird sitting on his shoulder that stares directly into the camera. His background seems like an upscale, if modest, apartment.

And instead of speaking, he's using sign language, with subtitles showing up on his feed.]

A pleasure, London. I'm Tyler Huang, and I suppose I should say welcome to your new life of crime. Try not to get caught, and if you're going to talk about it make sure you only use this network - there are two, but only Rockets can use this one.

[London is almost too entranced by the fancy hand movements and pretty environment to notice the subtitles, but she miraculously manages to catch them before they fade away.]

Thank you, Tee-ler! [No one ever said she was great at reading.] Got it: a regular network and a Rocket network!

[After a beat, she tilts her head.] So, what were all those cool moves you were doing with your hands?

[At this point he's not surprised whatsoever by people not knowing sign language - but the apparent mispronunciation of his name gives him significant pause - no one else he knows has ever said it like that before.

So he looks a little confused when he keeps signing.]

I'm deaf, this is sign language. It's a way of talking where I don't need to use my voice. My Natu, Isis - [And he pauses to gesture to her, which prompts her to sit up haughtily.] - is a Psychic Pokemon. She listens to people for me, and sends the words directly into my brain.

[London nods broadly with understanding. She's also fascinated by the odd round bird on his shoulder. She's still quite new to the world, so psychic pokémon are a concept she has yet to wrap her brain around.]

Your pokemon's a psychic?

What if people can't speak hands? Does she translate for you when there's no words on the screen?

Correct. She translates my sign language and puts the words into other people's brains, when I'm talking face-to-face with someone. I've been told it feels really weird to be on the receiving end for the first time.

[London is clearly impressed.]

Whoa. That is so much easier than texting!

[She pauses for a bit, thinking about the benefits of having such a pokémon.]

Since my video message never reached daddy and Moseby, do you think a psychic pokémon could?

Only because I've spent the last two months or so training her. You just get to see the functioning end result.

[...you know what, actually, that's a very legitimate question.]

I don't think any messages here are going to reach your family. We're in a different universe. [He pauses briefly - he's getting a very distinct impression off of the young lady - and adds:] It only works on people who aren't in the same country as us.

[London gives a small frown. Texting is a lot easier than training a pokémon. However, this world seems pretty big on training, so perhaps she'll become good at it.

Although his further explanation does give her some hope.]

Is that all? I just need to be in the same country as them? Oh! That's easy! I could just hop on a plane! How much vacation time do we get here?

[He was probably better off sticking with the whole universe thing.]

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Yay me? [Video]

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And now you can sign London up for the mission on the rocket mission page if you want!

[Video]

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Video with subtitles

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