MARCH UPDATE

POSTED ON Apr 28, 2024 4:52:25 GMT

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opposed to his meeting with BARNABY FINCH , marcus requests Zev Harcourt to meet him at his office in lilycove. he has done some research on the beast ahead of time, mostly through whatever channels THEO BECKETT makes available to him. blue-light references stare at him through his computer screen, but a blank note pad sits in front of him. [break][break]caden maher lets zev into his office. the man strikes him as unremarkable — nothing like the impression he thought he'd get from the avatar who is high and above the rest. [break][break]he stands up from his desk, offering his hand. [break][break]"beast harcourt," he greets. "my name's dr. marcus kotov. thank you for coming."[break][break]he gestures toward a chair — "please have a seat." — then returns to his own. [break][break]"i'd like to ask you a few questions, if that's alright with you?"

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TAG WITH @zev

POSTED ON Apr 28, 2024 16:00:56 GMT

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The invitation to meet Team Rocket's resident psychiatrist did not sit well with Zev. Memories of the extensive psychological testing he'd endured as a teenager, as well as the resulting diagnosis, dredged up lifelong bitterness. The last thing he wanted was to listen to yet another doctor to insult him about his "'illness." [break][break]

Yet he showed up at marcus kotov's office anyway, dressed in casual, unassuming clothing. In the event the man wrote up a report for the upper brass, Zev wanted to make sure it portrayed him in a favorable light. [break][break]

It wouldn't help him at all if Marcus confirmed Zev as the underboss' worst fears. [break][break]

"Dr. Kotov," was all the Beast said in greeting as he shook the other's hand. [break][break]

He lowered himself into the proffered chair, resting one ankle on the opposite knee and draping his arms on the chair's arms in a relaxed manner. The slightest of smiles curled his lips at Marcus' professional politeness, aware that the doctor was already assessing him. [break][break]

It was a smile that did not reach Zev's eyes. [break][break]

"Of course."

TAGS – marcus kotov[break]
NOTES – social

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POSTED ON Apr 30, 2024 23:00:57 GMT

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a fake smile is insignificant in a setting such as this. no one wants to be viewed beneath a microscope. marcus imagines that Zev Harcourt , especially, must have distaste for him and the command to come here that had been disguised as an invitation. [break][break]"great."[break][break]he picks up his pen and rests it against the notepad, ink bleeding a small dot onto the page. his gaze remains on the beast.[break][break]"i'll start with something simple — how are you feeling? eating and sleeping normally?"

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TAG WITH @zev

POSTED ON May 1, 2024 13:41:21 GMT

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Zev did not remember well the other interrogations he'd endured, but he imagined they started off exactly like this one: with innocuous questions meant to put him at ease. [break][break]

"Yes, both are normal. I'm feeling fine," he answered, not feeling the need to elaborate. [break][break]

Marcus probably already knew about Zev's nocturnal habits, a common trait among members of Team Rocket. Many of their organization's operations tended to occur in the dead of night. Moverover, when you were known among the League to associate with the crime syndicate, moving around was easier when cloaked in darkness. [break][break]

What the doctor did not have to know, however, was how both sleeping and eating did not come naturally to Zev, not anymore. They were functions he forced himself to undergo, to support the human body he still inhabited. But part of his consciousness no longer existed on such a narrow plane, and it had taken some time to readjust.

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POSTED ON May 7, 2024 4:31:35 GMT

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"very good." [break][break]
his pen scratches against the notepad, putting answers to ink with nothing more than a glance at the paper. if Zev Harcourt scrutinized it long enough, he'd see the stereotypical, illegible scrawl of a doctor is just some shorthand form of his words. [break][break]"and how is your relationship with the rest of the beasts?"[break][break]there is space made between one question and the next, bridged by answers and penstrokes. where silence lapses, another question emerges to fill the void. [break][break]"any trouble with authority?"[break][break]he looks up from his notepad, mouth quirked in a conspiratorial smile. [break][break]"it's understandable if you have — i've dealt with my fair share of difficult bosses throughout my time in team rocket. i think it may just be in our nature."[break][break]he shakes his head like it can't be helped.

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POSTED ON May 8, 2024 2:08:50 GMT

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"I have no trouble with the other Beasts," Zev said blithely. Which was true, even though bryan delarosa had been avoiding him ever since the incident at Oldale General Hospital. That was probably for the best. [break][break]

Marcus' question about authority, on the other hand, stirred the suspicion within Zev. His eyes narrowed perceptibly at the doctor from across his desk. Noting Marcus' behavior, Zev mirrored it, shrugging almost helplessly. [break][break]

"If anything, some of my bosses have a problem with me, even when I've assured them there's no reason for it." [break][break]

Which was not technically a lie, either.

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POSTED ON May 19, 2024 17:41:00 GMT

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marcus regards the narrowing of Zev Harcourt's eyes, but his expression remains unhelpfully neutral until it finally shifts into a smile. it doesn't serve him to rile the beast up, especially not on foundational questions. eventually, the wariness seemingly subsides, displaced by the rise and fall of his shoulders. [break][break]"and why do you think that is?"[break][break]he lowers his eyes as he asks, scribbling something looping and vague.

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TAG WITH @zev

POSTED ON May 20, 2024 1:56:36 GMT

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The corners of Zev's mouth turned up in another smile. Not a genuine one, of course, but that of a man reaching the limit of his willingness to humor the game. Marcus' foundational questions had failed to maintain Zev's interest; their entertainment value was decreasing rapidly. [break][break]

"You tell me, Kotov. Why do you think some underbosses and admin might have a problem with me?" Zev asked, folding his hands in his lap. [break][break]

The answer, he thought, was plain: fear. Fear of the unknown, of his capabilities, of his distinct lack of humanity. But he was more curious to learn what a stranger knew. [break][break]

What Marcus might have gleaned in analyzing Zev's personal record, and what he might have heard from others.

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POSTED ON May 25, 2024 20:26:46 GMT

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Zev Harcourt demands perspective and marcus humors him. though he would much rather hear the beast's answer than supplant with his own, he thinks their opinions overlap here. [break][break]"they're afraid of you."[break][break]he lifts his chin to look at him squarely, dropping pen and pretense. [break][break]"no one comes close to rivaling harcourt, and he knows it."[break][break]THEO BECKETT's observation comes to the forefront of his mind. he imagines the sentiment isn't completely absent in the other underbosses, if the reports of his avatarship are accurate. [break][break]"but i'd like to hear your side of things. why do you suppose they're afraid of you? and what steps have you made in reassuring them?" [break][break]he returns the conversation to its natural order — or attempts to — with another series of questions. there's a glint of finality in his gaze, unwilling to entertain the role reversal anymore.

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TAG WITH @zev

POSTED ON May 26, 2024 1:24:44 GMT

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"Why does the Deerling fear the Lycanroc?" Zev asked, instead of answering. [break][break]

A rhetorical question, of course. To the wolf, the deer was nothing more than meat. A corpse not yet cut down to size. To Zev, much of humanity was the same. When they weren't prey or tools for his use, they were simply objects. Meaningless. [break][break]

Becoming Necrozma's Avatar had not changed that view. [break][break]

"But I'm not interested in eating my colleagues. Figuratively or literally, of course," said the Devourer. [break][break]

"You can ask my superiors. I've told them I have no interest in us being enemies. And every single report submitted under my name has supported Team Rocket's agenda, not undermined it." [break][break]

That much was true. Zev did not speak like a man defending himself, but one simply stating fact.

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POSTED ON Jun 1, 2024 21:44:43 GMT

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practiced neutrality gives way to the slight raising of his eyebrows at Zev Harcourt's choice of words. though it presents itself in a passing, rhetorical remark, it carries perspective with it. [break][break]"so you view yourself as the lycanroc, then?"[break][break]and the underbosses the deerling. atypical, but fitting for a man such as himself. [break][break]"i've heard no complaints regarding your work ethic, rest assured. though, i am curious — is your relationship to team rocket entirely transactional? do you have any emotional attachment to the organization? loyalty? love? friendship?"

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POSTED ON Jun 2, 2024 0:21:05 GMT

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Marcus' question was just as rhetorical. Zev saw no reason to answer it with words. His smile remained, taking on a patronizing note that conveyed exactly as much as he wished. [break][break]

Love? Friendship? It took all of Zev's willpower not to utter a derisive snort. "Emotional attachment is a waste of time, Doctor. A transaction is all you need. It's the basis of human interactions, after all." [break][break]

The assassin gestured between Marcus and himself, separated only by the broad plain of dead wood. [break][break]

"I do something for you, and you do something for me. And if I don't do something for you, but you don't do something for me as expected—well, then we have a problem. I guess you can consider that loyalty, but I call it professionalism." [break][break]

By then, Zev's smile had faded. Betrayal was no laughing matter.

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POSTED ON Jun 11, 2024 21:43:41 GMT

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"hm." [break][break]disappointment hides behind the acknowledging sound that rouses in the back of his throat. he had hoped Zev Harcourt could be brought to a heel with his attachments — and had told THEO BECKETT as much — but he says, matter-of-factly, that they're a waste of time. [break][break]team rocket deals in transactional relationships, but the organization operates with a power imbalance between the whole and the individual. zev is an unprecedented variable in the calculus of control. [break][break]"that's quite sensible."[break][break]and if it were anyone else, the give-and-take explanation would be satisfactory because they would be exploitable in other ways.[break][break]"but no, i wouldn't consider that loyalty, per se. there may come a time where your wants exceed the resources team rocket can provide — or another body offers to strike you a better deal. what will your relationship with team rocket look like then?"[break][break]he leans back against his chair, mirroring zev's unsmiling face. the laxing of his body language signals the approaching conclusion to their session.

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POSTED ON Jun 12, 2024 23:58:04 GMT

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There it was: the most important question left unspoken by Team Rocket's leadership. [break][break]

Zev knew the answer, of course. He'd known it since the beginning of his career with the crime syndicate, all those years ago in Kanto. A good enough reason to split ways with them simply had never manifested. [break][break]

And now, when he could wipe whole cities off the map? [break][break]

"We'll have to see, won't we," the Devourer said, spreading his hands in the universal gesture of not knowing. "The extent of my mercy."

TAGS – marcus kotov[break]
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