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Post by Sly on Apr 19, 2019 14:36:17 GMT -5
Business for The Ravagers was on a decline. He didn't notice it at first, but eventually he realized his income was dwindling and dwindling more every week. This lead to a massive problem not only for himself, but the whole crew of Ravagers. As a leader of the crew, the members expected him to solve the problem. Unfortunately, this was not in his wheel house in the slightest. If they wanted him to steal an artifact, or beat someone to a pulp for money then Sly would be their guy. But improving the brand of a Criminal Syndicate organization and creating a media presence. These were all foreign concepts to the furry raccoon. He only knew the terms as of late, due to his search engine results on a tablet he just purchased. The furry raccoon fumbled with the tablet as he continually tried searching for common terms to help. All of his searches was yielding nothing fruitful, until he stumbled upon a young saiyan. She seemed to have tons of people who would watch her every move. The furry raccoon perused her space book account, it was full with material. Full of people commenting on her and cheering her on, even supporting her. He needed to know how to have this type of influence when it came to The Ravagers and their business. Sly tried to send a message, but it informed him he must make an account. "Son of a bitc*" It took him hours upon hours to figure it out, but eventually he managed to create a spacebook account. All it had was the name Sly, no photo, no bio, no other information. He couldn't figure out any of this stuff and he was becoming extremely frustrated. Thankfully, he was finally able to send a video message to the young saiyan female. "ahhhh uhhhh...... Hi, names Sly and bounty hunting in the game. I lead a group called The Ravagers and my goal is to become the most famous bounty hunter in the universe. I also want The Ravagers to be the most famous errr uhhh.. business around. The Ravagers and umm me have gotten a lot of negative press of late. I was searching how to improve our brand and my social media presence and managed to stumble upon you..... I need your help.... I'll be willing to pay you." Sly stopped speaking and stood in front of the video message, blinking in awkward silence. Eventually he realized the message was still playing and he couldn't figure out how to turn it off and send it. A couple of awkward screen pokes and curse words later and the raccoon managed to send it. "Son of a bit^h. Just fuc%ing send. Stupid tablet piece of garbage." Message SentWC: 464 TWC: 464 Pepa |
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Post by Pepa on Apr 19, 2019 15:30:22 GMT -5
BzwipThe noise of incoming teleportation was a relatively easy one to miss, but the sudden presence of Super Saiyan Pepa – to any trained fighter of note – would be rather more difficult to ignore. She never made any effort to hide her power level – all part of the brand, right? Hiding who she was would be like stitching her own mouth shut. It just wasn’t what she was out there in the world to do. Then there was the appreciative whistle, just in case she’d been too subtle with all of that. “Daaaamn. You’re not kidding about being a badass, huh?”
The Saiyan’s admiring drawl was completely genuine. Whilst she didn’t put much stock in appearances at the best of times, she could feel the immense amount of power that Sly had access to. She wasn’t normally the sort to count herself out before a fight had even started, but she knew a gulf in power when she felt one, and that was an immense difference. Still. He’d come to her for help, not to try and kill her. And if he did try it, she had a few tricks up her sleeve to make it more difficult. She raised an eyebrow, folding her arms across her chest and cocking her hip to the side as she regarded the racoon curiously.
“Y’know, I haven’t been living under a rock. I saw the message you put out a little while ago for the whole dang galaxy. I figured you’d be taking in all sorts now that the Queen’s dead. Lots of Saiyans out there desperate to find some big boss to throw their weight behind, and you…”Geez. It felt weird. For the first time in… months, she’d actually shut off her own scouter. She didn’t want a recording of this conversation, and she didn’t want her followers hearing her talking this way about anyone else. She could count on one hand the number of power levels she’d sensed come anywhere close to this, though, and this was the first time she’d been within striking distance of one herself. If this guy wanted to carve a path through the Galaxy, what exactly was stopping him? Except the fact that he didn’t actually know what he wanted, or how to do that. Geez. She might be making a really horrible mistake here. What the hell had she gotten herself into? “Anyway.” She said, clumsily trying to get her head in gear. “Name’s Pepa. Nice to meet you. I guess I know this social media stuff pretty well. I mean, I’ve still got a lot of the galaxy to get on side, but I don’t know of any other warriors who are bothering with it. You guys are a mercenary crew, right? Not really my scene, but… I guess I can give you some general tips?”(Wordcount: 493) Sly
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Post by Sly on Apr 19, 2019 15:51:09 GMT -5
He heard a noise and felt the presence of a powerful warrior zip right into his favorite spot in all of The Badlands. It was a hole in the wall bar, several patron could be seen falling over in their bar stools as Pepa made her appearance. However, once they realized her business was with Sly all attention diverted from her and went back to their drinks and usual drunken banter. Sly had been here enough that he was recognized, I mean he did own the planet. The citizens of The Badlands knew it was best to ignore Sly as he spoke business, one would hate for him to think they were eavesdropping on the conversation. Sly gave a slight chuckle as Pepa commented on him being a badass, "I guess you could say that." He motioned his paw to a chair at this table, with his other paw he grabbed a large mug of a dark brown liquor. He raised it to his snout and downed the entire glass. Without hesitation, a bar tender could be seen running to him and instantly refilling his glass. "Yeah, that whole thing gave us a pretty big spike, but it's already fizzing out. It doesn't help that Bastion is breathing down my neck and wants me jailed. That's why I need you, I was hoping you could help us get our name out there, but in a positive light. We do much more than mercenary work, and I want that to be known. As of late people only recognize us as murderers, and that's probably what we the least of. Granted we only do good stuff if we are properly compensated, but still. Maybe if you could teach me how to get that out there, but maybe hide the whole doing it for money bit?" He downed another glass and slammed the mug on the table. Instantly it was refilled, two of his paws rubbed his eyes. If he wasn't able to destroy a planet, some may consider it cute. Once finished, he looked to Pepa and gave of a smirk, "I understand if you don't want to help us. I would pay you very well though, and I think it you took the time to understand The Ravagers and I, maybe you see us in a different light. Hopefully, you could help everyone see us in a different light? Ahh. I forgot to ask, do you want a drink?" PepaWC: 409 TWC: 874 |
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Post by Pepa on Apr 19, 2019 16:28:50 GMT -5
Pepa sat herself down on the stool next to Sly, and that eyebrow of hers stayed firmly raised as the racoon gave his explanation of exactly what he wanted from her and why. The offer of money actually had her smiling, and she gave a vague shrug of her shoulders. “Honestly, I find money boring.” She said, words which probably denoted the real core difference between herself and Sly. Leave aside the fact that they were different genders and species; Pepa had absolutely zero interest in cash, whereas it was so core to Sly’s worldview… well, could he even conceive of someone who didn’t have any interest in it? “But that doesn’t mean I’m not gonna help out.” She continued, “It just means I want something else. I’ll give you some pointers, and if your social media blows up, we’ll collaborate on something. Maybe I’ll ride along on a Ravagers mission, or you guys’ll do some training for one of my advanced tech tutorials or something. Your audience and mine’ll be real different, so some cross-collaboration will only help us both in the long run.”And that, really, was what it was all about for her. Every chance, every opportunity, always be looking to grow that audience. She might not know a whole hell of a lot about politics and the state of the Galaxy, but she knew her core demographics, and she knew how to build a brand. She took the offered drink, too; the same dark brown liquor that the racoon was necking as though it were going out of style. She slammed it down with the same vigour. You didn’t spend your career as a low-class Saiyan warrior on a backwater world without learning to hammer some pretty foul-tasting alcohol when the occasion called for it. It almost made her nostalgic. A faint smile spread across her lips as she turned her gaze back to him. “Aight. Realtalk then. First thing? Don’t try and hide anything. People can tell, and if they can’t? Some nosy reporter will sniff it out. So, you get paid. So what? People can understand that. Everyone needs to eat and keep a roof over their head. You’re good at something, so you charge for it. What you do is slick it up a bit. Right now, the vibe I’m getting is that y’all are barely holding on. You want to make it look like you’re the best of the best. And I’m not saying you aren’t, I’m just saying right now, that’s not what people think.”
Her smile grew as she considered the possibilities here. Sly didn’t look like your average warrior. That could be a disadvantage, but it could also work to his benefit. Nobody was going to look at Sly and think ‘hard-bitten bastard’. That was a big plus if he wanted to be liked. “You got any examples of good things you’ve done? I’ll give you a demo of what I’m talking about. Even better if you’ve got any fooage.”
(Wordcount: 1019) Sly |
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Post by Sly on Apr 20, 2019 3:28:30 GMT -5
I find money boing....Sly felt woozy and had to grab to the table to prevent himself from toppling off his chair and it wasn't from the booze. Her comment struck him in the deepest depths of his soul, so much so that one of his paws instinctively placed his hand over his heart. Money being boring, he couldn't even fathom it. It was very clear these two had some vastly different world views. The only thing that brought him back and allowed him to continue the conversation was the fact the saiyan could hold her liquor. Sly was a believer that if you could handle your liquor you were most likely a decent enough fellow. Well decent in his eyes was vastly different than the majority also. "Well, I am glad you are still willing to help. I am not gonna lie, I am having a difficult time wrapping my head around the fact you don't feel the need for money. How do you assess worth. In my world the best criminals are the ones who amassed the most wealth, same goes for bounty hunters like myself. It's just hard for me to understand, but to each their own I guess." His mind wondered for a bit more, as he tried to put the pieces of this saiyans view into perspective. He eventually snapped out of it and just chalked it up to the fact she was different than him. "If things go well, I will be more than happy to collaborate with you. I am sure there is a market that would like to watch my crew and I cause some havoc by completing a bounty. Perhaps it could get you some more.... what do you call them? watchers?" He shrugged his shoulders and continued speaking, "Anyhow, I in fact do have some footage of me and a random warrior I met. It was a job where I was paid to run a group of gang members out of a small town. I am not gonna like the video is a little violent, but it was what was needed to be done to get them to leave for good. Obviously, I was paid for this, but the town it at peace now and I am sure they consider the investment well worth it." Sly slid his new tablet over to Pepa. If she were to play it she would see the small furry raccoon and a likely unknown earthling warrior to her that went by the name of Elrick. The duo was fighting off a horde of hundred of gang members who had been terrorizing a small town. It all ended with a massive brawl involving Sly, Elrick, and the head gang member. Obviously, Sly and his ally came out victorious and the remaining members of the gang fled for safety. "Could you show me what I could do with something of this nature? I have a ton of videos, I have my war cruiser above most missions and if possible it films my actions, mostly for training purposes or just cause my job is awesome." WC: 518 TWC: 1,392 Pepa
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Post by Pepa on Apr 20, 2019 7:58:33 GMT -5
There was an easy shrug from Pepa at the question. “Subscribers.” She said, simply. “When I’m dead, the only thing I’ll leave behind is the content I put out there. I want people to remember my name. Nobody remembers who the first Super Saiyan was. That dude was probably a thousand times stronger than me, but ten thousand years from now? When people think Super Saiyan I want them to think Pepa.”
And that was truly what it was all about, for her. She’d spent her whole life being a nobody, too small, too weak, too unimportant to matter to anyone. Social media had started as a way for her to reach out and be heard in an uncaring universe. Now? It was an obsession, and her voice was loud enough to echo across the galaxy. Before she was done, she wanted to be loud enough to be heard down the ages.
She was quick to turn her attention to the footage Sly provided, though, and she gave a short burst of laughter.
“Hah! I actually know this guy. Small universe.”
Pepa smirked as she watched the footage. The Earthling had gotten a lot better since it was shot, of course; heck, he’d been through a personal sparring session with Pepa! It was interesting to watch the pair fight side by side, though. She wouldn’t have thought he had a chance of keeping up with Sly, but he didn’t seem to do too badly at all. Those Earthlings were always full of surprises.
“Okay.”
She tapped her finger twice against the bartop, and closed her eyes, sending a few telepathic commands to her modified scouter. Doing the whole social media thing became so much easier when she could just project everything she wanted to see into the device and do the editing on the fly.
“So, ideally, you’d get a few testimonials too. Stuff from the grateful locals saying that they’re glad you did your job, yadda yadda. You don’t have to hide that you got paid, you just need to spin it around.”
She tapped a button on the side of her scouter, and a hologram played itself out onto the bartop, footage of the fight cut with some heavy rock music, electric guitars wailing over lyrics about how the subjects – apparently Sly and Elrick in this case – would rise up as soldiers and stand as resistance.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta-PqA5u7ic)
A pretty realistic-looking fake civilian was interspersed with all the fighting. An old woman who sat at the window of her modest little house, looking out at the clear blue sky and speaking when there was only electric guitars and not pounding lyrics to drown out.
“The Ravagers were there when we needed them the most.” She said in voiceover, “They’re a rough sort, but when those nasty gangsters wanted to burn our whole town to the ground, it was The Ravagers that stopped them, not anyone else. They might not be perfect, they might not be cheap, but they were there, and because they were, now I can be there for my grandkids.”
Cue the fight and music fading out to show the little old lady hugging her kids and smiling brightly to the camera, with a snazzy Ravager’s logo emblazoned proudly beneath it, along with a contact number and a winking picture of Sly.
“Now.” Pepa clarified, quickly. “You don’t want to use that. First thing any journalist worth their salt is gonna do is try and track down the woman giving the evidence, and she doesn’t exist, because she’s just in my head. But you find a genuine civilian whose life you’ve saved who can give you something like that? It’ll only strengthen the case. The journos will pick it up, and now you’ve got someone giving interviews to back up your vid. You’ll want music you own the rights to, as well. But you get the idea.”
She flashed an easy smile as she leant onto the top of the bar. This was stuff she really enjoyed doing; and it’d only help her in the long run, too. She'd be curious to see if Sly could see the benefit right away.
(Wordcount: 717/1736)
@sly
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Post by Sly on Apr 21, 2019 0:19:30 GMT -5
A large smirked crossed his face as he watched the video play. "Yes... Yes.. this is exactly the type of thing that we need here." His eyes focused in on the video, his smirk growing larger and larger as he thought of all the possibilities. If he could master this, he would be able to control his company and his image. The stuff they did that wasn't likable they just wouldn't talk about. However, whenever they did something people would consider heroic or brave, he would make some type of video and push it out to the masses. Sly and his crew of criminals would look like hero's. This would have to drive up business. Sly wasn't worried about his business associated that requested him to do the less favorable and less hero like jobs. They would be able to tell it was a front. "Thank you so much. You are really opening my mind to a whole new world. We could control what the galaxy thinks about us if we play this right. Of course we would have to let some people know we would still do any type of job, even if it doesn't play well on the screen. We can just use underground channels for that type of stuff. Our fluff jobs we will promote the heck out of though." As he was speaking a beeping could be heard, which force the furry raccoon to look down at a wrist watch. He tapped the screen on the watch and it turned into a much larger screen in the middle of the air. A button click or two and the screen disappeared and the watch ceased beeping. "Well, it look's like I just got a job. Some family wants me to bring their son's murderer to justice. Town is a political mess and the suspect has too many connections so the local law enforcement refuses to do anything about it. Guess they want me to capture him and take em to a larger jurisdiction of enforcement so they can take over the investigation. Would you be interested in joining me? You can film all you want." WC:359 TWC:1,751 Pepa |
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