silph_co | Pewter Heist Discussion

Pewter Heist Discussion - video (2/24)

[Connie had scheduled a video conference with the rest of the heist team a few hours ago, to "go over details" and "double-check something." As vague as all of that was. She's the last to come online just a minute after everybody else has arrived, and-]

[When the video feed clicks on, Connie's unconscious, bloody, and bruised body is slumped against her chair, while some thing casually reclines on it inspecting her painted black nails. She has cyan skin and some kind of custom Rocket uniform with golden highlights, long, billowy sleeves, and bell-bottom pants. Her hair is straight and white with a golden skunk streak, hanging down almost to her waist while the bangs completely obscure her eyes. Two thick gold lines arranged in a geometrical lightning bolt shape run up from her chin to where her eyes would be, and her smirk is downright devilish.]

Oh, hello dears♡ Sorry if you were expecting little Con-Con down there, I'm afraid that she's a tad... late.

[The stranger's voice is deep and velvety with a hint of an inhuman growl in the bass, and- wait, is Connie's chest not moving? It's definitely not moving. She laughs at her own pun, raising the back of her hand to her cheek and releasing a perfect]

OHOHOHOHOHOHO!

[Her bangs fly back, revealing eyes with pure black sclera and irises the color as her skin.]

[Abruptly, the dignity laugh fades and transitions into a genuine and familiar giggle, full of snorts and wheezes. "Connie's" body on the floor gets up, joining in with inhuman yips as the real Connie's posture makes the almost-imperceptible switch from "arrogant, almost hubristic" to "regular confident."]

Oh my stars, you should've seen the look on you guys's faces! They were priceless.

[Connie clears her throat as the illusion fades, revealing that her "unconscious body" was in fact a Zorua projecting an illusion.]

So, two things. One: I got my disguise on lock. As you can already tell. Thanks for the tips, Carly! Two: meet the first member of my Rocket Infiltration Team, Arsène. [Connie raises her hand, and the Zorua slaps it with his tail.] His illusions still need work, [DO THEY?!] but with a little practice Arsène should be a huge help in missions.

I just wanted to give you guys a demonstration before we moved on with the heist planning so you wouldn't be surprised.

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[This is probably the first time any of you, aside from Jack, have had the chance to see Steven Durante's face. It's actually a fairly handsome one, bespectacled and neatly groomed, even if his tan brown skin's a little sallow from prolonged lack of sun.

It's also staring at screen in shock and horror because wait, what, who is this stranger and how did they tap into their secret heist meeting????]

What the--?

[Then the illusion fades and Steven's expression melts into something a lot closer to frustration than anything else.]

You're a kid.

[Connie, still disguised, cocks her head to the side. Only the two Steves hadn't seen her face so far, and judging by the fact that this one didn't strike her as a high school bully with poor grammar-]

Is that you, Durante? Yeah, it's me. Connie. You know... wait, did you think I wasn't a kid when we talked over text?

Edited 2020-02-20 21:29 (UTC)

I thought you were in college.

What part of me remotely suggested that I'm in college?!

[maybe your entire demeanor, connie,]

Everything about you suggested you were in college! And it was over text! I wasn't going to interrogate everyone over their ages!

[Maybe he should have.]

I have to admit, I'm kinda flattered, but nah. The closest I've gotten to college is studying for entrance exams back home. I was actually gearing up to take a few before I came here.

[She... cannot be older than sixteen.]

Right.

[He pinches the bridge of his nose. Babies. He's surrounded by babies.]

...okay, I admit that prank was a little immature, but I can handle myself!

[... she's a kid. But all the others trust her to get things done and it's not a if this world isn't remarkably permissive in what it lets kids do. But still.]

I really hope you can. They'll be easier on you if you get caught than some of the rest of us, but...

[Ugh. He really doesn't want to see her in jail.]

Even though my Pokémon... aren't quite up to snuff yet, I'm pretty confident in my ability to defend myself.

Not to brag,

[Absolutely to brag]

But I hunted monsters back home, starting when I was twelve. Actual, real, big monsters. Not alone, mind you! Just know that I've been trained by the very best in self defense. I can take care of myself.

All right. Just-- be careful, okay? I'd hate to see you get hurt.

[PROTECTIVE BIG BROTHER INSTINCTS, ENGAGED.]

I will. I'm not stupid, I know how dangerous all of this is.

[For a brief moment, Connie's confident mask breaks, revealing genuine worry underneath the layers of body paint and makeup. Fear, even. But it's quickly gone.]

Like I said: I can handle myself. Don't worry about me, worry about keeping... worry about yourself, actually. Dirk will be fine; I've fought him before and he take care of himself.

I mean, I broke out of what basically amounts to Fairyland. [With about eleven other people, half of who didn't make it out with him. Most of whom contributed a lot more to the escape than he did.] I'm not a complete neophyte either.

Now that sounds like a story...

[Connie's eyes shine with excitement before she realizes something and coughs, looking away.]

That you're probably not too eager to share. Sorry.

Not during heist planning, no. It's-- kind of something that's easier to talk about one-on-one.

[He's quiet for a moment, looking off to the side and then back at his screen.]

But hey, maybe I'll tell you after this is all over.

What the--?!

[Steve looks pallid behind the black marks smeared on his face. Does he think this is like a football game? Who knows. Either way, he looks traumatised. The Swampert hulking behind him, meanwhile, is rolling his eyes.]

Why would you do that? We're robbing a museum. Not... not whatever you think we'd need a body for.

I'm not actually planning on using Arsène's ability to plant illusory bodies. [Connie rolls her eyes.] It was just a convenient demonstration.

Why is that convenient? You could have done anything!

He could be a bigger, scarier Pokémon. Or a weapon.

[Or, you know, alive Connie, but he's fixated on scary things for now.]

Because it was funny. At least to me, anyways.

[somebody please get this child away from dirk strider,]

Was it? Seems pretty messed up if you ask me.

[As if Steve hasn't done worse for a laugh. Or isn't part of a crime organization. There's absolutely no self-awareness with this one, folks.]

[For a whole two terrible seconds, Carly knows AdultFear

And then-]

OH!! You've got the laugh~ I'm so proud~! You're doing great with your voice too...

Thanks! Your coaching tips really helped, but I still can't quite get the same level of range as you.

Honestly, I'm surprised how much of disguise is just... cosplay. All of those times I caught con crud because some idiot sneezed all over their unsealed body paint and charged straight into me are finally worth it.

It's a bit tricky, not gonna lie...

Anyway, it's pretty much the big advantage of how things go here! I mean...you still have to wear uniform, obviously...but after that it's just a matter of going wild with the make-up case before putting a mask on~

I mean... points for reaching the defensive subterfuge level of a possum, I guess?

I'd advise against playing dead, though, since we can't actually die and that's pretty common knowledge.

Nice initiative, though.

Why is everyone fixating on the dead body?

[because that's the natural thing to fixate on, connie,]

Look, it was just a small demonstration to accompany the dramatic unveiling of my new disguise. Which I admit may be a bit over the top, but I'm under so many layers of body paint and makeup and wig that there's no way anyone will recognize me if I'm picked up on camera. Which is kind of the point.

Anyways Arsène can imitate alive me, too. [The Zorua transforms into Connie by way of demonstration.] He can't actually touch anything like this for now, but once he evolves into a Zoroark in a little while he'll be able to lockpick with the best of them while impersonating me. The biggest roadblock right now is voice; I'm working on throwing my voice, but ideally he'll be able to talk at some point like some of the other, more intelligent 'mons.

Hey, it's like I said, nice initiative. Disguise is important, you took that to heart.

But there's always room to improve! Like with the voice thing...until you figure out that bullshit, why not just get one of those little button recorders and record a couple of phrases? Bam, sounds like he's talking.

[Is... Is Connie taking notes? Like, actual notes, with a pencil and paper and everything?]

[Yes. She is. She even has her tongue sticking out a little bit as she does. D'awww.]

Any other tips?

That's the big one for now, sport! If you weren't in another friggin region, I'd take ya out for ice cream!

Or something that's not frozen since this winter's cold as a bullymong's balls, but ya get what I mean.

Metaphorical star sticker and points for creativity.

[If this was any other teenager, Jack would've earned a sarcastic comment for that.]

[But after being raised to value academic success above all else (and to covet precious Pearl Points), Connie looks like Jack just gave her an affectionate headpat.]

Because for five terrifying seconds we thought you were dead, Connie. And you're our teammate. We care what happens to you.

[Which is. Probably not what you'd expect from the bad guys.

... hey. Wait. That's funny. The background behind Steven's face in the video chat doesn't really look anything like the Rocket Dorms in Goldenrod--but it does look a whole hell of a lot like it could be a different room in the same house Jack is in.]

[Connie raises a single, solitary eyebrow when she sees where Steven is, and by god if Steven had ever seen Dirk's face before he'd find the expression eerily similar. But she doesn't comment.]

Thanks. That concern is... actually sweet. Really, no sarcasm. It means a lot, Steven.

[But of course that genuineness is completely incongruous with Dirk.]

[Well. Depending on how much attention she was paying to Jack's own message to everyone about Tim the morning of the race, she might have heard something about 'night time fun buddies' in his conversation with Dirk and that would explain everything.]

Well. Yeah. We might have all been forced into this, but that doesn't mean we can't be a real team, you know? Which means we take care of each other.

...you know what, I've never thought of it that way.

That helps, actually. With what we have to do.

[There's a hint of melancholy on Connie's makeup-laded face now.]

Yeah. It definitely helps me.

[If this were later in the week, Steven might tell her some of the things that Jack's told him. About underlying human nature. Things like that.

But it's not. Steven Durante hasn't gotten those tools yet to deal with these things. So instead he just says,]

The way I figure, we might have to do all kinds of illegal and morally dubious things, but at least we can do them together. Maybe we're the bad guys, but that doesn't mean we have to be bad guys.

Those other Rockets, the ones from this world? Screw 'em. But you and me and Jack and Dirk and Carly and the other Steve? That's our real team. That's who we're doing this for.

[Connie's smile is growing ever more genuine as Steven makes his case, and she eventually breaks out into a full-on grin.]

~~[Add another entry into Connie's growing collection of justifications for why she isn't trying to burn the organization to the ground right now.]~~

You're right. Even though the world may have it out for us, we have each other.

...

I'd offer you a handshake, but we're talking over a video connection.

[And the thing is? Steven means every damn word of that little speech there. There is nothing but the utmost sincerity in his tone.

~~Anyway, Team Rocket will be much better after Jack and Steven take it over. Not that they know they've got the same goal there yet.~~]

We'll see each other in Pewter, right? You can shake my hand then.

...

You'll be coming to Goldenrod after the heist to turn in the fossils with the rest of us, right? If you don't head out right away the next day, I'll probably have the afternoon free. Hell, Jack can even join us at some point, so he can give you that ice cream.

See you there.

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Pewter Heist Discussion - video (2/24)

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i'm just saying that if she says yes, we can do it in his log and he'll tell her about changelings

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