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POSTED ON May 3, 2023 15:29:27 GMT

'GAVIN MERLINO': This is the name that Selena is fond of calling her new boss, a certain Cillian Quinn who she has encounted in the past. "Tell me you're at least surprised to see me here, Monsieur Quinn."

But the thing with Selena, perhaps among those who have known her, is not too surprising. One would argue she is a ticking time bomb waiting to happen. Her animosity with the League is even almost at par with the tenured Rocket associates. Her penchant for what is true and just is something that has endangered her social standing, and now she is fraternizing among some of the most outcasted, feared, and shunned members of society.

The Kalosian invites herself inside his office, leaning against the wall of the entrance as she scans the office of one Cillian Quinn.

"It turns out a man with so many names would actually turn out to be a Rocket." The last time they have been in-touch is when the man gets his MYSTERY BADGE from the ex-gym leader; he was known as Patrick Cavalli by then. Even before that, she met him in a game as the manofsteal who she has killed. But when his public identity was exposed, there is no need for pretend any more.

"Now is that your real name or non?" She refers to the GAVIN MERLINO in faded acrylic by the office entrance, but regardless of whether he answers or not, she already knows.

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POSTED ON May 4, 2023 2:29:25 GMT

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"Miss Desmarais."[break][break]

Cillian's office is cold. It is the sort of place they send Rockets when they're in trouble, every detail meant to inspire fear and uncertainty. Metal walls, sparse furniture, a drain in the floor. A chill so deep that you'd almost expect to see your breath.[break][break]

And, of course, there was the PRESSURE borne of Lugia's presence in the bay just behind the submarine. It's harder to breathe. Harder to think.[break][break]

But Selena Desmarais isn't in trouble; though the PRESSURE remains, the air is a touch warmer than usual. There's a tea set on the desk that fills the space with the aroma of peppermint and lemons, and a subtle floral scent coming from a bouquet of oleander.[break][break]

Cillian's Sylveon rests in his lap, luminous eyes tracing her every movement. Its fur glows softly; an ILLUMINA POKEMON, no doubt.[break][break]

"It is always a surprise to see a journalist turn to such extremes."[break][break]

He doesn't trust her, naturally. Who was to say she wasn't planning some deep exposé? He, at least, hides nothing any longer.[break][break]

"Gavin? Non." His Kalosian accent is passable. "Only a last mask to shed. Cillian Quinn is the name my parents gave me." His accent, not present as Cavalli nor Merlino, is rich with the colours of Galar. "I have been far too busy to worry about a name upon a door."

[break][break]

[attr="class","tag"]Selena Desmarais

[attr="class","pkmn"][break] 💠 (G) PUCA (M) ILLUMINATE - CURSE / DRAINING KISS / COPYCAT / TELEKINESIS / CALM MIND / WISH / SPOTLIGHT

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POSTED ON May 4, 2023 15:40:01 GMT

BARNABY FINCH likes this

"Alas, monsieur, there's nothing here that interests me anymore," she speaks in jest, a sly smile on her face. She continues scanning the room, her fingers crawling across the the top if the cold cabinets before as they reach the top of Cillian's desk. She leans on it and speaks directly in-front of him. "And besides, I'm a journalist no more."

The opportunity to be Rocket's Public Relations Strategist is an opportunity Selena has to thank BARNABY FINCH for. Eventually, she realized she is no longer writing for the truth anymore. What is true is not always correct and what's correct can sometimes be found in between the lines of fabricated lines and made-up stories.

Selena does not want an honest society anymore but a society that is not impervious to change.

"Meet your newest fixer in the house." She then extends her hand, as if meeting him for the first time.

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thorn

the Harbinger

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POSTED ON May 5, 2023 11:33:31 GMT

BARNABY FINCH likes this

[nospaces]

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Her jest does not go unnoticed.[break][break]

"Yes, I'm afraid we're rather drab in comparison to the annual apocalypse."[break][break]

He's joking, too, but there's truth behind the words as well. Hoenn, as the 'Origin Point', was a veritable hive of strange activity. Never a dull moment. A criminal empire might, in fact, seem bland.[break][break]

Though his trust is slow to earn, that she comes under the recommendation of BARNABY FINCH lends well. Cillian liked the admin.[break][break]

Selena extends her hand, and Cillian takes it.[break][break]

She might notice, as fabric shifts, the bandages around his right arm.[break][break]

"And what do I call you, then?"[break][break]

Would she be using a new name, or wearing the old with pride?

[break][break]

[attr="class","tag"]Selena Desmarais

[attr="class","pkmn"][break] 💠 (G) PUCA (M) ILLUMINATE - CURSE / DRAINING KISS / COPYCAT / TELEKINESIS / CALM MIND / WISH / SPOTLIGHT

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Eye of Staraptor

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POSTED ON May 6, 2023 10:07:00 GMT

Playing a character had always been Selena's bread-and-butter as a journalist. A Selena Desmarais always has to wear so many hats: a beloved daughter, a hardworking professional, a righteous hero, a cunning antihero. Today, she has trashed all these to wear a new one: a straw hat laced with blood-tainted ribbon.

"Why, of course it's Selena. Selena Desmarais." The smile she gives is inviting, a reaffirmation of loyalties changing. Selena has embraced Team Rocket for all that there is to it.

The bandages in Cillian's arm does not go unnoticed but she decides not to pry just yet. She has already learned the hard way that traumas, may it be physical or mental, do not make great conversation starters when your goal is to build trust and make connections. After the handshake, Selena finally sits down at the chair in-front of Cillian Quinn. She leans on the backrest and puts her fingertips together.

"So I read a lot about very successful Rocket operations for the past two years." The neophyte has left the region a few days after Rocket goes public. Her only source of information is on the newspapers. "Is it to say you're mastermind of them all?"

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the Harbinger

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POSTED ON May 6, 2023 12:28:20 GMT

[nospaces]

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Following her introduction, Cillian considers her in a different, softer light. If she was willing to speak for Rocket under the name Hoenn had known her for as a journalist and gym leader, her voice would hold much more sway. And she'd invite far more criticism, as well, from those who'd once been allies.[break][break]

Trust would be slow to build, but this was a good start.[break][break]

Though he doesn't return the smile, his countenance is not one of hostility. And he laughs, soft, when she asks after Rocket's recent exploits.[break][break]

"Goodness, no. I am but an extension of declan walsh's will." This is the expected answer, though a hint of pride colours his tone as he adds, "I had a hand in Sootopolis, though."[break][break]

It had not gone according to his plans (when did anything, in Hoenn?) but they'd still taken the city in the end, and that was what mattered most.[break][break]

"You'll have heard of our recent victory, I take it." His smile pulls at the stitching of a new scar upon his cheek. A trophy gained from that brief, brutal war within the Rift. "Rocket is at its best when we work together."

[break][break]

[attr="class","tag"]Selena Desmarais

[attr="class","pkmn"][break] 💠 (G) PUCA (M) ILLUMINATE - CURSE / DRAINING KISS / COPYCAT / TELEKINESIS / CALM MIND / WISH / SPOTLIGHT

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Eye of Staraptor

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POSTED ON May 6, 2023 14:59:43 GMT

Stroking a man's ego is no difficult task: it is what Selena does best. It is an integral part of relationship building, of breaking down one's walls, to build it together anew.

"I once thought Sootopolis is an unbreachable fortress." The crater had been the city's strongest line of defense. It turns out even Hoenn itself succumbs to the might and power of Team Rocket. "Good job on that."

The mention of their recent victory puts a humble smile on Selena's face. It feels good to have a win in her first few weeks after her allegiance change.

"Team Rocket has always been 'organized'. The same cannot be said to the League, though." Her smirk turns into a smug one. "And that's probably why we will always win."

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the Harbinger

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POSTED ON May 7, 2023 11:30:34 GMT

[nospaces]

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Cillian's ego is no small thing, though diminished by his personal losses on the field of battle. Selena's praise stokes its fires anew, and though some part of him was conscious of flattery, he appreciated it all the same.[break][break]

"It is much easier to topple a fortress from within."[break][break]

Should she have looked into the details, she'd be aware that it was an uprising of Sootopolis' citizens that had brought down the crater city. An uprising that Rocket had helped build.[break][break]

Not always, he thinks of Rocket, but doesn't say it. He doesn't like to remember the chaos after Blackwell's fall.[break][break]

"Mm. You are certainly right about the League. Imagine what they might accomplish if they'd work together."[break][break]

It was fortunate for Rocket that they often failed to do so.[break][break]

"So, tell me." He leans forward. "Why did you come back?"[break][break]

Why willingly subject herself to Hoenn's chaos?

[break][break]

[attr="class","tag"]Selena Desmarais

[attr="class","pkmn"][break] 💠 (G) PUCA (M) ILLUMINATE - CURSE / DRAINING KISS / COPYCAT / TELEKINESIS / CALM MIND / WISH / SPOTLIGHT

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Eye of Staraptor

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POSTED ON May 8, 2023 16:22:53 GMT

Selena always believed in the power of the masses. The masses make history. And this time, they made it for Rocket.

Cillian Quinn's question puts a smile on her face. And then a giggle. And then a guffaw. If she came back and sided with the League, perhaps she would not know the answer to this question. She has tried going back a couple of times but only find herself being pulled away again. But embracing her inner turmoil has already gave her a sense of clarity.

When she recovers, she sits uptight and then leans forward. Facing Cillian Quinn face-to-face, she answers with confidence. "Chaos is now my religion, monsieur. For things to be rewritten and recreated, there's a need to destroy. And I just wouldn't miss my frontrow ticket for this show."

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the Harbinger

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POSTED ON May 9, 2023 14:56:48 GMT

[nospaces]

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She's insane, Cillian thinks, as she succumbs to laughter.[break][break]

That was workable, at least. Plenty in Rocket were unhinged; an argument could be made that Cillian was among them.[break][break]

"We do try to avoid destruction where we can," he cautions, and sighs. "Though Hoenn has proven a stubborn beast, and we'll resort to whatever methods we need to bring it down."[break][break]

It was as he'd told bryan delarosa and THEO BECKETT — there was more than way to wage a war.[break][break]

Sometimes, like in Dewford, that way was through brutality.[break][break]

"Rocket's resources are open to you." The underboss sips his tea. "Where do you intend to start?"

[break][break]

[attr="class","tag"]Selena Desmarais

[attr="class","pkmn"][break] 💠 (G) PUCA (M) ILLUMINATE - CURSE / DRAINING KISS / COPYCAT / TELEKINESIS / CALM MIND / WISH / SPOTLIGHT

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Eye of Staraptor

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POSTED ON May 10, 2023 14:40:48 GMT

“I don’t know; you tell me.” Hoenn’s fate has always been married to destruction. The moment everyone begins to accept that, the moment it is easier to navigate through its madness. “But are we seriously building on top of what the League has been trying to fix all these years? No wonder we will always look like a villain.”

This is her primary concern because this is what she came here for. This is what made her come back to Hoenn in the first place. Rocket will be heroes.

Cillian Quinn then makes an offer about the organization’s resources—a huge deed for an underboss to make. She smiles, leans back and tries to play it down. "Then I start with you."

As a nobility-born, nouveau riche heir from Kalos, there is nothing more that the Team Rocket can offer her but one thing: "Give those people a good word about me and I’ll forever be in your service."

Selena is willing to take the fast route if it will set her plans in motion quickly.

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the Harbinger

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POSTED ON May 11, 2023 21:09:45 GMT

[nospaces]

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"We are villains."[break][break]

Cillian has never believed in the angle of Rocket as heroes. They were liars, thieves, murderers; they would never be good.[break][break]

Only better than they'd been in Kanto. That wasn't hard.[break][break]

Still, it's Selena's role to try and put a positive spin on their misdeeds, and he's certainly not going to make her job harder than it already is by impressing all his doubts upon her. He inclines his head when she asks him to put in a good word.[break][break]

"Easily done."[break][break]

It would hurt him to do so only if she turned against them, and even then it was a risk he was willing to take. For the glory of Team Rocket.[break][break]

"I can't promise all of them will listen."[break][break]

But his word is powerful, as an underboss.

[break][break]

[attr="class","tag"]Selena Desmarais

[attr="class","pkmn"][break] 💠 (G) PUCA (M) ILLUMINATE - CURSE / DRAINING KISS / COPYCAT / TELEKINESIS / CALM MIND / WISH / SPOTLIGHT

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Eye of Staraptor

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POSTED ON May 14, 2023 16:23:01 GMT

Selena chuckles when she hears Cillian Quinn's denial. "Don't tell me you believe in all the League PR crap, monsieur?"

Contrary to Cillian, she doesn't believe that Team Rocket is a villain the same way that it is a hero. She doesn't believe in protagonists and antagonists, in good and evil, in right or wrong—there is only League and Rocket, and a side that will be left behind by history and those that will be pushing it forward.

Selena winks at Cillian Quinn. "I get it. It's my job to convince you as well, oui?"

Her jest turns into a genuine smile when she hears of his support. After all, it is his job to look after the welfare of the organization. It is his responsibility to do his job well. "Don't worry about them not listening; I just need them to work well around me."

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thorn

the Harbinger

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POSTED ON May 15, 2023 14:28:52 GMT

[nospaces]

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"I don't bother with the League," he scoffs, dismissive. He couldn't care less what they said about Rocket, about him. "I'm speaking from experience of what I have done, and what I've ordered."[break][break]

Yet there is no guilt behind the words. Not any more. He'd struggled for years with his own morality, and has long since come to accept that morality is a worthless concept. There is only Rocket, and what is best for Rocket.[break][break]

"The things we do are not good. But I believe they are justified. Is that what you wish to hear?"[break][break]

He dips his head to show he understands her meaning behind the last words spoken. He would order them to give her a fair chance.

[break][break]

[attr="class","tag"]Selena Desmarais

[attr="class","pkmn"][break] 💠 (G) PUCA (M) ILLUMINATE - CURSE / DRAINING KISS / COPYCAT / TELEKINESIS / CALM MIND / WISH / SPOTLIGHT

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Eye of Staraptor

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