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[fingersandteeth]

Right. I have a few questions about all of this:

1. From what I can tell, we seem to be the Pokemon Mafia. At the very least, we're organized criminals. That said, why on earth are we calling ourselves *Team Rocket* of all things? It's not exactly a name engineered to strike fear in the hearts of many.

2. I realize that it's not likely a criminal organization would have vision or dental coverage, however: would it be possible to request prescription contacts for use when wearing my uniform?

3. Who should I talk to in order to maximize my chances of gaining employment in the radio tower after training is over? I understand that there's no way to check my references, but I can provide a resume, once I get a chance to retype it.

Comments

[conniemaheswaran]

Hey! Welcome to Team Rocket. Hope you enjoy your stay here at least marginally better than me.

1. I don't know the origin of the name, but I do know that it actually fits our organization's nature as glorified Saturday morning cartoon villains. It's almost funny how incompetent most of the rank and file members of the team are. Including some of the management.

2. Carly has the answer for this one, I think. HEY, CARLY!

3. Handsome Jack, probably. He was pretty sympathetic to my plight, at least, he's setting me up with a data entry job once I'm done touring the regions a little bit.

[fingersandteeth]

What, you *don't* enjoy being press-ganged into a life of crime?

1. Great. Amazing.

3. Handsome Jack, got it. Data Entry... wouldn't be horrible, I suppose, but I'd rather work in something closer to my field if possible.

[conniemaheswaran]

Yeah, it's really not ideal. Trust me, I'd much rather be studying for college than be under the thumb of a nebulous criminal organization.

But all things considered, it isn't a very big thumb. There are a few ways to game the system, and as long as you're a good little peon and send them in a relatively rare Pokémon every few weeks or stay dedicated to one of their full time jobs, you have a lot of freedom once you leave basic training.

[fingersandteeth]

And I'd much rather be on the right side of the law, but you do what you have to in order to get by, I suppose. And really, for all I know, the local government might be just as bad. I haven't had a chance to really research it yet. It's been 48 hours, if that, since I woke up here.

[conniemaheswaran]

From what I've seen, the police force and all of the medical institutions on the continent are run by two different families of nearly-identical women with the same name. I've chosen not to think about it.

Make of that what you will.

[fingersandteeth]

... that's disturbing.

[Welp. That's one more point to the Back In Acadia column. Pokeworld, you were doing so well before this.]

[conniemaheswaran]

Yep! I'd hate this entire place if my best friend and my mentors weren't here with me.

(The opportunities for adventure are also pretty choice, I'll admit.)

They... aren't part of Team Rocket, though. So that's awkward.

[fingersandteeth]

I mean, I've been in worse places. Much worse.

[Have you ever lived largely without light for five years? Steven has.]

You don't think that anytime anyone decides to go into nursing or the police force, they start to become one of these women?

[Because that's definitely how it would work in Arcadia and now he can't stop thinking of it like that.]

[conniemaheswaran]

Somebody should write a horror novel about that.

...somebody already has, probably.

[fingersandteeth]

Sadly, I'm not much of a novelist. I leave that to my little sister.

1/2

[conniemaheswaran]

Oooh, do you have any of her work? I'm always on the lookout for new literature.

2/2

[conniemaheswaran]

...shit. I'm sorry.

Re: 2/2

[fingersandteeth]

[For a moment, Steven's confused. How do they know that... and then he realizes that the apology isn't because his baby sister is missing back home, but because he's been yanked away to another world. They don't know that this isn't the first time it's happened to him.]

Don't be. It's easy enough to forget for the moment that we're stranded in another world and cut off from the people we care about.

Anyway, when I last spoke to her, Charley hadn't finished anything original longer than a short-story and I don't know if you'd share any of her fandoms when it comes to her longer works--and all of that's on AO3 in my world, which makes it kind of a moot point.

[conniemaheswaran]

One of my favorite pasttimes is to read fic of stuff I haven't seen yet to try and reverse-engineer what the canon was like, so you might be surprised.

Who knows, it sounds like we could be from similar worlds, so I might be able to do the same with your little sister's once we get out of this nightmare.

[fingersandteeth]

If we are from the same or similar worlds, I'd like that.

I'm Steven, by the way.

[conniemaheswaran]

Connie. I know another Steven who also came here from my world; do you have a last name so I can differentiate the two of you in my head? ^^;

[fingersandteeth]

Yes.

[Which, he realizes, means he ought to give it to her. Never mind that he doesn't know which one he plans to go by here.]

I suppose, in a way, I have two. The one I was born with and the one I'd adopted recently when I couldn't use the one I was born with.

[conniemaheswaran]

Which one do you feel more comfortable with, then?

[fingersandteeth]

I

Don't know.

I suppose if I'm human again, it might as well be my original one.

Durante. I'm Steven Durante.

wrap?

[conniemaheswaran]

It's a pleasure to meet you, Steven Durante.

wrap

[fingersandteeth]

You too, Connie.