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Murderers are not monsters, they're men. And that's the most frightening thing about them.

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TAG WITH @zev

POSTED ON May 11, 2023 22:13:53 GMT

bryan delarosa likes this

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[attr="class","zev2"]

[attr="class","text"]

Zev rolled his shoulders, trying to work the lingering ache out of them after an experience he had yet to fully understand. On the surface, he looked normal — like nothing had happened at all — underneath his skin, something inhuman lurked.[break][break]

It wasn't a discomfort, or even a physical sensation. Try as he might, he couldn't feel the countless crystal scales that had burrowed into his flesh. But knowing they lurked there made him more acutely aware of his insides.[break][break]

And his body was warm. Warmer than it had any right to be, though the heat wasn't unpleasant. He remembered the way the warmth hit him as soon as the lightbulb had gone out in the hold of the smuggler's ship. Instead of cooling, it had simply distributed itself throughout his body, evening out so it didn't feel like flame sitting in his chest.[break][break]

As Zev walked along the docks leading into Sootopolis proper, he felt eyes upon him. He turned to see Cillian a good distance away, watching. Zev had seen the underboss stiff with tension before, whether due to stress or a sense of danger, but they were the only two men on the pier. bryan delarosa had already left.[break][break]

"What?" Zev asked Cillian, one eyebrow raised.

[attr="class","ooc"]

[attr="class","tag"]Cillian Quinn

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Gavin Merlino

he/him

october 28th

circhester, galar

demisexual

the harbinger

underboss

6'3" height

creatures of habit, carrion flowers, growing from repeated crimes.

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TAG WITH @gavin

POSTED ON May 14, 2023 12:58:13 GMT

Chu-e Choi likes this

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Trust was a fragile thing.[break][break]

Unfortunately for Zev Harcourt, Cillian's trust in Necrozma and anything associated with it has been shattered long ago. That he'd built up a good rapport with the assassin over years mattered little — Chu-e Choi had been his best friend, before he'd tried to kill him.[break][break]

He keeps his distance on the return trip. Unfortunately, there is only one way off this particular dock. To compensate, Cillian drops back to allow Zev to pull ahead, stepping closer to the water where his patron awaits. Lugia's long neck extends from the water like some Galarian cryptid, her red eyes turning to fix upon Zev. They narrow, as if she too expects his ill intent.[break][break]

PRESSURE intensifies in the air around them.[break][break]

Whether it's this or the eyes on his back that make him turn, Zev seems to immediately hone in on Cillian's distress.[break][break]

The underboss purses his lips.[break][break]

"What did you mean?" Though his heart pounds, his voice is calm. "'With you'?"

[break][break]

[attr="class","tag"]Zev Harcourt

[attr="class","pkmn"][break] 🖤🌸👾 (E) SHADOW LUGIA (G) PRESSURE - RAIN DANCE / THUNDER / HURRICANE / SHADOW STORM / SPRINGTIDE STORM / WHIRLPOOL / RECOVER

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played by

gunsmile

The Devourer

he / him

January 8

Lavender Town, Kanto

heterosexual

hitman

rocket beast

6'3" / 190 cm height

Murderers are not monsters, they're men. And that's the most frightening thing about them.

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TAG WITH @zev

POSTED ON May 14, 2023 13:48:04 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","zev2"]

[attr="class","text"]

If there was one thing Zev appreciated about Cillian, it was the other man's preference for straightforward conversation. Therefore, Cillian's question came as no surprise.[break][break]

Whether Zev provided a straightforward answer was another matter entirely. The Beast preferred to lie; it was his default state. After all, he had no obligation to humor the various tools he used to achieve his goals. Team Rocket and its members were just that: tools, to be used as needed and discarded when no longer relevant.[break][break]

But in truth, Zev had no idea how to describe what exactly had happened. Perhaps Cillian's past experiences with Necrozma could help with Zev's understanding.[break][break]

After all, the hitman was not finished with Team Rocket yet.[break][break]

"Delarosa successfully removed the crystals from Choi," Zev explained, expecting that Chu-e confirmed as much with Cillian during their private conversation. "It was ejected from his body in fragments, and these clattered on the floor of the ship."[break][break]

The imagery and sounds were still fresh and vivid in Zev's memory.[break][break]

"They moved," he continued, speaking with all the seriousness Cillian would know him for. "Like they had a mind of their own. Singular. And they…"[break][break]

Zev paused and held up his hand. The skin was bare, unblemished. He stared down at his palm and curled his fingers into a fist before looking back up at Cillian.[break][break]

There was no other way to say it. "They're inside me now."

[attr="class","ooc"]

[attr="class","tag"]Cillian Quinn

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MADE BY GUNSMILE

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played by

thorn

Gavin Merlino

he/him

october 28th

circhester, galar

demisexual

the harbinger

underboss

6'3" height

creatures of habit, carrion flowers, growing from repeated crimes.

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POSTED ON May 15, 2023 14:17:01 GMT

Chu-e Choi likes this

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[attr="class","twtgm"]

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Cillian nods; he'd heard as much from Chu-e Choi. I'm free, Gav..[break][break]

"Fragments," he echoes.[break][break]

His thoughts are far away, somewhere with the DARK FRAGMENT that had initially infected his best friend. Your fault his thoughts whisper, insidious. You'll destroy everyone you care about.[break][break]

He blinks, once again present.[break][break]

"How do you feel?"[break][break]

Do you hunger, like he did?[break][break]

Was Cillian now little more than a meal to be feasted upon should he turn his back?

[break][break]

[attr="class","tag"]Zev Harcourt

[attr="class","pkmn"][break] 🖤🌸👾 (E) SHADOW LUGIA (G) PRESSURE - RAIN DANCE / THUNDER / HURRICANE / SHADOW STORM / SPRINGTIDE STORM / WHIRLPOOL / RECOVER

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played by

gunsmile

The Devourer

he / him

January 8

Lavender Town, Kanto

heterosexual

hitman

rocket beast

6'3" / 190 cm height

Murderers are not monsters, they're men. And that's the most frightening thing about them.

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TAG WITH @zev

POSTED ON May 15, 2023 17:31:25 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","zev2"]

[attr="class","text"]

Zev shrugged, not really knowing where Cillian's cryptic line of questioning was leading.[break][break]

"I feel fine. Like nothing happened."[break][break]

Which wasn't completely true, but the added warmth throughout the Beast's body meant nothing to him — and, likely, wouldn't mean anything to Cillian either. Zev could bring it up once he understood its implications.[break][break]

The black-haired man tilted his head at the blonde. "Why?"

[attr="class","ooc"]

[attr="class","tag"]Cillian Quinn

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played by

thorn

Gavin Merlino

he/him

october 28th

circhester, galar

demisexual

the harbinger

underboss

6'3" height

creatures of habit, carrion flowers, growing from repeated crimes.

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POSTED ON May 17, 2023 1:09:29 GMT

Chu-e Choi likes this

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DOUBT.[break][break]

That is what Cillian feels as he stares at a man he considered ally.[break][break]

To Zev, Cillian is a means to an end. He's intelligent enough to know that, to understand that truth is as much a weapon in the assassin's arsenal as everything else. If he was being honest, then why?[break][break]

"You aren't... starving?" Cillian probes.[break][break]

He remembers Chu-e Choi's frantic pleas of hunger as he'd tried to drain the last vestiges of life within him.[break][break]

Perhaps now, Zev would begin to understand the distance.

[break][break]

[attr="class","tag"]Zev Harcourt

[attr="class","pkmn"][break] 🖤🌸👾 (E) SHADOW LUGIA (G) PRESSURE - RAIN DANCE / THUNDER / HURRICANE / SHADOW STORM / SPRINGTIDE STORM / WHIRLPOOL / RECOVER

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played by

gunsmile

The Devourer

he / him

January 8

Lavender Town, Kanto

heterosexual

hitman

rocket beast

6'3" / 190 cm height

Murderers are not monsters, they're men. And that's the most frightening thing about them.

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TAG WITH @zev

POSTED ON May 17, 2023 13:16:04 GMT

bryan delarosa likes this

[nospaces]

[attr="class","zev2"]

[attr="class","text"]

Starving.[break][break]

Zev remembered the incredible hunger on the ship. The bloodlust clamoring for satiety. He remembered staring at bryan delarosa as if the other Beast were a spit-roasted Lechonk.[break][break]

But something happened after when the ship's light went out, something Zev couldn't explain yet. Since then, the hunger barely registered in his mind, an afterthought he could address with a cheeseburger.[break][break]

"Is that what Choi was like? Starving?" he asked instead, deflecting. Cillian's questions were puzzle pieces, helping Zev understand what to expect from his new state — and what might differ.[break][break]

But what had Chu-e been hungry for? Human flesh?[break][break]

No. Zev recalled the way he could almost see the infinity energy surging through Bryan's form, like he had developed a sense for it. But as the hunger abated, Zev's awareness had dulled. Bryan, and now Cillian, were mere men of flesh and blood, not vessels of energy.

[attr="class","ooc"]

[attr="class","tag"]Cillian Quinn

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[attr="class","credit"]

MADE BY GUNSMILE

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played by

thorn

Gavin Merlino

he/him

october 28th

circhester, galar

demisexual

the harbinger

underboss

6'3" height

creatures of habit, carrion flowers, growing from repeated crimes.

awards

7,877 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @gavin

POSTED ON Jun 2, 2023 10:45:18 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","twtgm"]

[attr="class","main"]

"Yes."[break][break]

For Chu-e, his link with Necrozma had seemed a POISONED CHALICE, staving off his sickness while slowly corrupting him.[break][break]

It's hard not to trust that it won't be the same for Zev Harcourt, especially not when the Beast is so indirect in his response.[break][break]

"You never answered my question."[break][break]

And why is that, exactly?[break][break]

They've always been allies, never enemies, but Cillian's shrewd gaze probes deeper, now, challenging a man who has likely never considered him friend. And if his best friend had been so willing to turn on him under Necrozma's sway, then...

[break][break]

[attr="class","tag"]Zev Harcourt

[attr="class","pkmn"][break] 🖤🌸👾 (E) SHADOW LUGIA (G) PRESSURE - RAIN DANCE / THUNDER / HURRICANE / SHADOW STORM / SPRINGTIDE STORM / WHIRLPOOL / RECOVER

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played by

gunsmile

The Devourer

he / him

January 8

Lavender Town, Kanto

heterosexual

hitman

rocket beast

6'3" / 190 cm height

Murderers are not monsters, they're men. And that's the most frightening thing about them.

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TAG WITH @zev

POSTED ON Jun 2, 2023 12:24:00 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","zev2"]

[attr="class","text"]

Cillian had given Zev a straightforward, honest answer, so the Beast was inclined to do the same. After all, Cillian was an underboss for a reason. He was far too clever and knew Zev far too well to let such a deflection slide.[break][break]

So Zev shook his head and shrugged. "No, I'm not starving. As I said, it's like nothing happened. I don't even feel them under my skin."[break][break]

He prodded his forearm with the opposite hand. All he felt beneath his thumb were muscle, tendon, and bone. No evidence of the dark, crystalline shards lurked in his body, making the earlier memory of them wriggling into his flesh almost dreamlike in nature.[break][break]

A nearby lamp illuminating the pier flickered, then went out. A new warmth unfurled within Zev, a muted pleasure. His gaze rose to consider the lamp, curiosity rising.[break][break]

But the tension radiating off Cillian was more important. Turning back to his associate, Zev asked with his characteristic seriousness, "Are you going to tell me why both you and Delarosa are so spooked? What exactly happened to Choi?"

[attr="class","ooc"]

[attr="class","tag"]Cillian Quinn

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MADE BY GUNSMILE

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played by

thorn

Gavin Merlino

he/him

october 28th

circhester, galar

demisexual

the harbinger

underboss

6'3" height

creatures of habit, carrion flowers, growing from repeated crimes.

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7,877 posts

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TAG WITH @gavin

POSTED ON Jun 3, 2023 9:58:54 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","twtgm"]

[attr="class","main"]

While Cillian struggled to believe Zev Harcourt, there was nothing but to take the Beast at his word. If he had taken on Necrozma, it was far more important to maintain him as an ally than risk isolating him with obvious distrust.[break][break]

So, shelving his doubts for private consideration, Cillian watches Zev prod at his arm and nods.[break][break]

A light goes out nearby, drawing the gaze of both men.[break][break]

The Light-Devourer.[break][break]

"Was that you?"[break][break]

Chu-e Choi had never possessed such a power... or perhaps he'd simply never discovered the potential within himself, as Necrozma puppeted him for its own purpose.[break][break]

So Bryan was scared. Did Chu-e attack him, too?[break][break]

"He tried to kill me," Cillian says bluntly, after a pause for consideration. "He was my best friend, so you can understand the concern."

[break][break]

[attr="class","tag"]Zev Harcourt

[attr="class","pkmn"][break] 🖤🌸👾 (E) SHADOW LUGIA (G) PRESSURE - RAIN DANCE / THUNDER / HURRICANE / SHADOW STORM / SPRINGTIDE STORM / WHIRLPOOL / RECOVER

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played by

gunsmile

The Devourer

he / him

January 8

Lavender Town, Kanto

heterosexual

hitman

rocket beast

6'3" / 190 cm height

Murderers are not monsters, they're men. And that's the most frightening thing about them.

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2,675 posts

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part of

TAG WITH @zev

POSTED ON Jun 3, 2023 16:10:13 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","zev2"]

[attr="class","text"]

If there was one thing Zev hated more than telling the truth, it was admitting he didn't know something. He could not say with any certainty that the light had gone off because of him.[break][break]

But taking into account the reports of the Slateport blackout and Zev's internal reaction to the light going out, he could make an educated guess.[break][break]

"It might be," he replied at length.[break][break]

The revelation about Chu-e surprised Zev, if only because the man he'd met earlier that night had not looked capable of killing anyone. There had been a brief glimpse of a different man — perhaps a different, past version of Chu-e — before Bryan laid hands on him.[break][break]

But had he been that man before his capture by League forces? Somehow, Zev doubted it, or else he would have heard of Chu-e sooner.[break][break]

"Well, if it's any consolation, I have no interest in killing you," the hitman said, though his tone lacked any note of reassurance. "It'd be a stupid move on my part. It'd destroy everything we've built together as allies"

[attr="class","ooc"]

[attr="class","tag"]Cillian Quinn

[attr="class","pkmn"]

[attr="class","credit"]

MADE BY GUNSMILE

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played by

thorn

Gavin Merlino

he/him

october 28th

circhester, galar

demisexual

the harbinger

underboss

6'3" height

creatures of habit, carrion flowers, growing from repeated crimes.

awards

7,877 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @gavin

POSTED ON Jun 5, 2023 0:03:02 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","twtgm"]

[attr="class","main"]

Zev Harcourt loathes his lack of certainty, but Cillian merely nods in immediate acceptance of his non-commital response. He wasn't sure if a relationship with Necrozma could truly be considered Avatarship, as it seemed more of a parasitic influence from his experience, but it had taken him long enough to understand Lugia's blessings that he didn't question Zev's uncertainty.[break][break]

"I don't think Choi intended it either."[break][break]

They'd been as close as brothers. His heart aches at the thought, both for his fractured relationship with Chu-e Choi and for the destroyed connection with Rowan Wrynn.
[break][break]
"But perhaps it wants something different now that it's... stronger."[break][break]

His lip curls involuntarily at the thought. Necrozma had taken much from him. His loyal companions from Kanto, his best friend, his sense of security.

[break][break]

[attr="class","tag"]Zev Harcourt

[attr="class","pkmn"][break] 🖤🌸👾 (E) SHADOW LUGIA (G) PRESSURE - RAIN DANCE / THUNDER / HURRICANE / SHADOW STORM / SPRINGTIDE STORM / WHIRLPOOL / RECOVER

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played by

gunsmile

The Devourer

he / him

January 8

Lavender Town, Kanto

heterosexual

hitman

rocket beast

6'3" / 190 cm height

Murderers are not monsters, they're men. And that's the most frightening thing about them.

awards

2,675 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @zev

POSTED ON Jun 5, 2023 14:33:23 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","zev2"]

[attr="class","text"]

"Whatever his intention, it's clear whatever happened to him is different than what's happened to me," Zev said, an edge of irritation in his voice. "Maybe Necrozma wants something else. Maybe Choi's will was not strong enough to handle it."[break][break]

The implication, of course, is that Zev's is.[break][break]

But the comment was not meant to be insulting, only a statement of possibility.[break][break]

"If I feel any different, you'll be the first to know," he said in an effort to reassure Cillian. "I'm not interested in being a liability or a hindrance to Team Rocket. In fact, if we can learn what Necrozma wants, we can figure out how to use it to our benefit."[break][break]

To Zev's benefit.

[attr="class","ooc"]

[attr="class","tag"]Cillian Quinn

[attr="class","pkmn"]

[attr="class","credit"]

MADE BY GUNSMILE

close tab

played by

thorn

Gavin Merlino

he/him

october 28th

circhester, galar

demisexual

the harbinger

underboss

6'3" height

creatures of habit, carrion flowers, growing from repeated crimes.

awards

7,877 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @gavin

POSTED ON Jun 8, 2023 3:01:04 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","twtgm"]

[attr="class","main"]

Cillian is quick to pick up on the edge to Zev's tone, his eyes narrowing in response. His jaw clenches at the insinuation that Chu-e Choi had been weak; it was true, though not for the reasons Zev might assume.[break][break]

"He was dying." There's a sharpness in Cillian's voice, too. "Necrozma's the only reason he lived as long as he did."[break][break]

The sickness that had ravaged his best friend had been put into some kind of remission by the presence of the Light Devourer within him, but at what cost?[break][break]

Still, Zev is right. Their situations are different.[break][break]

Cillian's stiff shoulders relax some.[break][break]

"I'd much have it on our side than against us," he agrees. "And you, as well. It's simply a sore subject."[break][break]

Given it had tried to kill him, and all.

[break][break]

[attr="class","tag"]Zev Harcourt

[attr="class","pkmn"][break] 🖤🌸👾 (E) SHADOW LUGIA (G) PRESSURE - RAIN DANCE / THUNDER / HURRICANE / SHADOW STORM / SPRINGTIDE STORM / WHIRLPOOL / RECOVER

close tab

played by

gunsmile

The Devourer

he / him

January 8

Lavender Town, Kanto

heterosexual

hitman

rocket beast

6'3" / 190 cm height

Murderers are not monsters, they're men. And that's the most frightening thing about them.

awards

2,675 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @zev