twinsanity | Entries tagged with pride of the ashford family

So it's been made clear by some...friends of mine that I should probably sell the results of my breeding endeavors rather than attempting to keep them in hopes that they'll someday completely defy my expectations and actually be useful.

[I mean, he can't possibly imagine why. It's not like his fault that Operation: Ho-Ho-Holy Shit (or whatever it is that we're calling that thing that happened in Celadon earlier this month) involved an unholy mess of bees for no real reason.]

I've attached a list of what I have; get back to me if you're interested. I'd prefer trades over flat-out payment, though I certainly won't tell you no if you want to send me money instead. I don't particularly care what you do with them – give them to your friends, sell them at a profit, keep them and love them forever, whatever. I'd just prefer to not have them around for much longer than needs be.

[...NOT LEAST OF WHICH BECAUSE HE'LL JUST KIND OF HOARD THEM ALL, AND APPARENTLY THAT'S NOT GOING TO FLY...]

[OOC]

[Egg list is here - there are still a mess of them so feel free to claim what you like!]

[Alfred has been a bit...absent for the last week.

It's not unheard of for him to disappear for long periods at a time, vanishing behind the closed doors of that house he owns in Goldenrod; he's been known to have his reclusive spells, and for all intents and purposes this probably hasn't seemed much different. Granted, it's a longer period of time than he usually goes without being present in the Rocket labs – he's usually in there once every few days at least and he's been taking far more of an interest in chemistry than is really healthy lately – but altogether speaking it isn't abnormal, either.

The abnormal part kicks in when his video feed goes active today.

It's not terribly well set-up, though it doesn't seem like an accidental broadcast, either; the angle is just careless, aimed a bit too low to really give anyone a good idea of what they're looking at, but there's the usual red jacket and the shoulder guard and the medals, and once in a while one of his hands flicking across the screen where it comes in full view of the camera.

His breath is shaking a bit when he draws it in; it sounds almost like there's a laugh behind his words when he finally speaks, but it doesn't seem...right. The way he's speaking in general doesn't seem right, really - a bit too uncontrolled, a bit too high and pitchy and strange.]

So I'm going to assume that this particular week-long bout of sleep was just me...

[He laughs again, under his breath; it's closer to tittering than anything.]

That wasn't very nice of this place, now, was it? Why, it got my hopes up for nothing...I didn't even get to fight anything good, just –

[And he cuts himself off then; hesitates. Adjusts the angle of the camera so he's a bit more clearly seen. He's raking his hand back through his hair as he does so; it looks like he's been repeating that gesture a lot, given that he's far more disheveled than he ever allows himself to be on-camera.

His gaze is what's a bit worrying; it's oddly unfocused, a sense of distance there that isn't usually, not on days where anything's right in his head at all.

His words are still retaining that rushed, manic tone when he continues.]

Tell me, tell me – what's the last thing you remember before coming here? I'm sure you have some sort of story, just because no one here doesn't.

I didn't think I did, not really; apparently I was mistaken about that.

So does this place just hate autumn? Really, last year this place did some horrid things around this time as well; I'm starting to think it's just an annual occurrence.

[Alfred, no one asked you.

That said, he's currently sitting in one of those Nondescript Rooms^TM that seem to be all the rage around here; he's got the device set up on the desk in front of him, and he's got his chin propped in one of his hands, looking almost bored despite his words.]

That said, it's the second time in less than a week that the ground has felt the need to throw everything into disarray, it's incredibly irritating...

[He pauses before picking something up from the desk in front of him, too close to the 'Gear to be picked up by the camera; he turns it over in his fingers as though considering it for a moment before holding it up in view of the lens. It looks like a pink crystal of some sort, and while it's not doing anything particularly special (outside of being kind of pretty maybe), his tone is clipped when he speaks again.]

I don't know if it's related, but these things are acting strangely and it's been making Lady very upset. Tell me if you have one.

[...not that he's going to specify who Lady is before turning the device off, but okay.]

[TEXT]

So it seems that the running theme on the network this summer is "We're all terrible people and/or have no idea how to handle ourselves in groups." Good to know, I suppose.

Since I'm particularly bored but otherwise actually am having a very good day today (thank you very much), maybe all of you can regale me with some of that optimism you seem to like so much. Or you can be needlessly pessimistic, I don't really care. I just want to hear stories.

So why don't you talk about something you've accomplished since you've been here? I don't care how important it is in the scheme of things. Just something you've gotten done.

Since I'm sure somebody is going to ask for my reasoning in asking, I'm coming up on a year of being here, though I still have some time yet. I suppose this sort of thing is on my mind.

[ACTION]

( Egregious animal cruelty again, because of course. )

[TEXT]

Is there a way to make yourself stop thinking about someone that obviously isn't worth your time?

I feel like I've done everything I can to deal with the situation, so it's not like business is unfinished. And before you suggest forgiveness or something stupid like that, it isn't an option after what this person did, so don't bother. I just can't let this go for whatever reason and it's getting inconvenient and stupid and I'd rather not deal with it anymore, but deciding that you're not going to think about something is a waste of time for obvious reasons.

I don't care if I never stop hating them. I just want to stop thinking about it, and if I could cut out whatever part of my brain is responsible for that, I would.

[ACTION]

( In which there is really blatant animal cruelty in this Rocket base. )

[Anonymous Text]

[The text that hits the device tonight is the sort that obviously comes from some sort of hacked ID - it's poorly done, but at the same time well-done enough that you're just going to get a lot of static and glitching if you're going to try to work out who it is. More of an obviously anon setting than a device that's pretending to belong to someone else, basically.]

Tell me about recurring dreams you've had.

Not necessarily nightmares, though I suppose those are fine. Just those dreams you've had over and over again, the ones your mind keeps coming back to.

If you're expecting psychoanalysis you won't get it, since I'm not being paid nearly well enough to do that for the lot of you and I've no interest in it besides. I'm just interested in talking and hoping you'll say something interesting.

[...okay then.]

[Action - Goldenrod City]

[Well, abrasive texts or not, Alfred can actually be found outside today; it's warm today (even if his internal clock is still yelling at him that it shouldn't be, and he is never going to get used to the damn weather in this hemisphere) and he's taking the opportunity to spend time in the park, watching his Pokémon...play? Are they playing? It looks like they might be; it's either that or it's a level one slapfight that's more ineffectual than anything, between a Sewaddle and what looks to be a male Combee.

After a bit of watching it'll become clear that this is, in fact, a slapfight, and one that the poor Sewaddle is not going to be winning; it keeps getting a shot of Gust in the face and unfortunately Tackle isn't landing too well right now, due to the abovementioned...well, Gusting to the face, and after a few rounds of this the Sewaddle is basically ending up spending more time kind of lying on the ground in a universally understood gesture of "I have run out of fucks to give" rather than actually fighting.

Alfred, unfortunately, seems to be taking no pity whatsoever on the poor damn thing - he's sitting on one of the benches nearby, leaning idly over his legs where they're crossed at the knee, chin propped in his hand while he watches; he's also got at least one bug he's not particularly interested in deathmatching, if the ever-present Joltik on his shoulder is any indication. As it is, said Joltik apparently gives no fucks about what's going on and Alfred himself just sort of rolls his eyes when the Sewaddle flops over, reaching out for the bag he's got with him and spraying it in the face with a Potion.]

Oh, no, you don't. Get back in there.

[Alfred, that thing is going to hate you before it even reaches level 5, what are you doing.]

[Alfred actually seems pretty calm over the video feed today - and it is Alfred today, as opposed to Alexia; it's overcast but it's warm enough, and he's currently settled under one of the trees in Ilex Forest. He's not looking at the camera, but rather his gaze is downcast, focused on the...thing he's got draped over his lap. No, it's not one of the Bloobers, but admittedly a three-eyed pink slug the size of a fairly large dog with a naturally-occurring Viking helmet isn't much better, because what in the good hell is having normal pets.

At least he's smiling, kinda. For once.]

So...

[And from that one word alone, we are clearly in for a bit of a story. Why? Because why not, that's why. Just let him pet his giant sea slug and talk for a while, okay, don't crush his dreams.]

Once upon a time in a faraway country - as so many of these stories tend to begin - there was a King who was noted for his benevolence and charity to all his subjects. He was loved by all who knew him, which was fortunate for him, really, as he was also naive and, while well-meaning, easily taken advantage of.

A short time into his rule, he took a bride; the Queen he chose - for reasons that were surely only known by him - was one who was notoriously cold and had a reputation for being nasty in personality, and was just generally difficult to get along with. The respect she commanded was gained through fear, not love; it seemed no one loved her but the King, in fact.

[He pauses for a moment, tipping his head a bit before going back to petting the slug.]

To his credit, he loved her completely.

[That's better, apparently.]

Now, the King had a tendency to take walks through the garden every morning at a precise time, such that he could have an hour or so to himself every day before seeing to his duties as the ruler of the country. Which is well and good...until one morning, when he didn't return.

He was found a short while later, lying dead in that garden he loved so much, a single arrow piercing his heart.

[...okay, judging by this pause here, either he's collecting himself or the damn thing literally ends there; let's have a moment and pray that he's seriously not - ]

...You know, I've never known it to have an ending outside of that; that's always how I've known the story to go.

I suppose that's why I've always liked it so much, really; the ending can be taken any number of ways, depending on how you feel that day.

[Goddamn it, Alfred.]

It's one of those weird stories where I don't know where it came from, though...I mean, I suppose my father had to have told me at some point, since I can't imagine the scientists telling me anything of the sort - but I've no idea where he got it, if that's the case. My sister and I both know a version of the same story put to music; I just don't remember hearing it.

[...]

Is that common, do you think? Having something that you've known for so long that you don't remember where it came from, and it's strange for you to try to imagine there being a time where you didn't know it...?

[You know, this is really the sort of thing that most would want to leave anonymous...but since Alfred has surveyed the available fucks he has to give and found them numbering entirely too many, he seems to have thrown them out in the window in favor of just being an abrasive idiot because he is the pride of the Ashford family like that.]

Well, since you all like text, I thought I would join you all because I was starting to feel a little left out. And we certainly can't have that, now, can we?

So we've had people trying to get the resident Hero Squad moving, people trying to poke the resident Villain Squad into doing...something and somesuch, I really have no idea what's going on there...

Do any of you people actually do things, or do you just kind of poke at each other? Some explosions here, shameless grandstanding there, assaulting a theatre and tying up women over there (though that last one isn't so much a crime as it is too much information about you people, I think)...

Are you going to actually get some sort of full-scale battling going on, or are you content to just tap at each other a bit? Really, at this rate I propose the formation of the Disinterested But Somewhat Amused Third Party in the name of messing with you both.

[...ALFRED...]

[AUDIO]

[As with the last post to the network from this particular frequency, the voice that comes over the feed is soft but firm; it seems that she's not exactly in the mood to waste too many words today.]

I'm looking for information on Pokémon that are geared more towards protection, particularly of their trainer. It seems my brother has been more accident-prone than usual, and I would like to avoid finding out about any more...mishaps that he's caused.

[PRIVATE AUDIO - ROCKET FREQUENCY / POSSIBLE ACTION - GOLDENROD BASE, LABS]

[A while after that goes out, there's a second message locked down to the Rockets; judging from the sigh that precludes it, it's looking to be a winner, let me tell you.]

You know, this place is awfully vague about who we're supposed to be testing on.

[...Seriously, Alexia is just a veritable ray of sunshine today; she sounds rather bored, and those in the labs can see her making the damn post at the table she's sitting at, chin propped in gloved hand.

Her other hand has been lying idle in her lap far more than usual, and she's been seeming rather averse to using it, but that's clearly neither here nor there right now.]

I mean, outside of the data my brother has so kindly provided me with, I've no idea who to turn to when it comes to actually wanting to test certain hypotheses - am I to assume some of you will just volunteer yourselves, no matter how questionable the test, or is there some other alternative?

After all, we're a villainous organization, aren't we? Is there anyone I can hire to...I don't know, kidnap a child or something?

[There's an anonymous text hitting the network sometime after the clock rolls over to the fourteenth of the month; it's one of those hours that's either extremely early or extremely late, depending on one's point of view. The ID is an unknown one, of the sort that's obviously hacked-together but poorly-done; at the same time, its owner isn't exactly caring about quality right now.]

If anyone is still alive, send me something. A message, a story, some stupid file you have lying around, I don't care. Some sort of contact. Who I am doesn't matter. I don't care if we've never spoken before.

Just send me something. Anything.

Please.

( [PRE-POST WHATNOT] )

[VOICE]

[There's a new signal broadcasting tonight; no video, but a decidedly feminine voice coming over the feed, soft but firm and to-the-point in tone.]

While I've realized that there's likely no chance of going home - not anytime soon - the opportunities this place has offered are completely subpar.

Are there any opportunities for advancement or employment in this world that don't involve hideous amounts of travel or retail work? I'm horribly overqualified for the latter, and the former...

Let's say I'd prefer to avoid it; it's been such a long time since I've done anything of the sort.

[...Charming.]

[ACTION]

[It's been a little while since we've had a newcomer to the Rocket science labs; there's certainly a new one in there today - a woman in the standard-issued Rocket uniform, being followed around by a massive and rather...unstealthy metal ant. Most of her long blonde hair is tied back simply to keep it out of her face, though she's got bangs brushing low over her forehead and light makeup dusted over her features; she seems to be annoyed by that incredibly short and mildly kicky skirt when she moves, one of her hands sweeping down as though to ensure the skirt is staying down, but other than that she seems pretty comfortable in her surroundings. She's not questioning what she's been told to do for now, even if data entry is still more than a little below her; after all, access to the database is definitely a good thing.

As such, there's not much entering of data getting done today; she's a bit enthralled by the reports of what happened in July of 2012. There's nothing too extensive in there, but it's just extensive enough...

Of course, she can be found elsewhere in the base as well, as the day wears on; she's a bit hard to miss, what with the metal ant rather loudly gashunking along next to her. She seems generally in control, though it's evident from the way that she pauses once in a while, bringing a gloved hand up in front of her mouth as though contemplating something and looking down the hallways before seeming to think better of exploring them, that she's...more than a little lost, um.

New people, pretty much.]

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Organism assembly line

Everything's gonna be fine, just play pretend

012. [Video]

011. [Video]

010. [Video]

009. [Text/Action for Goldenrod Rocket Base]

008. [Text / Action for Goldenrod Rocket Base]

007. [Anonymous Text / Action for Goldenrod City]

006. [Video]

005. [Text]

004. [Audio / Private Audio - Rocket Frequency / Possible Action - Goldenrod Base]

002. [Anonymous Text - Nightmare Plot, forward-dated by a few hours]

001. [Voice / Action for Goldenrod Rocket Base]

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September 2020

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