video;

[reginaprocacis]

[The feed clicks on, revealing the face of Regina; a woman with dark, impeccably styled hair, red lips and a deeply unimpressed expression. The voice she speaks with is deep, the kind of voice that fills throne rooms and city halls.]

Well, well, well, all you... heroes. [Her tongue is unkind to the word, clearly showing her scorn.] How does it feel to be told by the world where you belong? Are you happy? Do you feel confident? I do hear there are places in this world where they fawn over your kind.

[No, Regina does not consider herself among the group, even though she too has been branded a "registered hero". The label is an ill fit, redemption be damned; too long has she been wearing the mantle of the villain and acted the part. She's rebelling against a label forced on her and rejecting a title she doesn't feel she deserves at the same time.]

And in the line of duty, do you conveniently never find yourself in a situation where you might have to kill your opponent?

[A mirthless smirk.]

Fair warning, as your newly appointed family counselor: this might be a good time to tell your children to go play outside. Do have that conversation with them at some point, though. Else they might end up calling you a liar.

Enlist my help only if you must.

Comments

[inmyothertights]

Please change jobs.

[reginaprocacis]

[Here's her politician grin, maybe a little bit too wide.]

But why? I am very much a family woman.

video

[viced]

So -- You know, when you label everyone else as a hero, it kind of...gives the wrong impression, right?

Not exactly the kind of thing you'd want to sell, if you're a -- what, a counselor? [ Yikes ]

video

[reginaprocacis]

Oh, I did get the label. Everyone does, don't they? But you can call someone a hero, put a cape on them, and it doesn't mean they want or deserve any of it.

Video;

[crapbearer]

[ Do you conveniently never find yourself in a situation where you might have to kill your opponent? He'd been told flat-out that he needed to kill Skullmaster from day one of the hero business, and there was definitely blood on his hands, both directly and... indirectly.

Max sits down, looking into his phone curiously, before offering a small smile. ]

So I take it you're not exactly the sugar-coating type, huh?

Video;

[reginaprocacis]

[There's a short, bellowing laugh.]

No, not exactly.

[Except for that time she brainwashed the entire population of fairytale land and pretended to be nothing but a small-town mayor for 28 years.

But since that's over and done with, no, she doesn't like to sugar-coat things.]

video;

[fayzedandconfused]

You can kill someone and still be a hero.

[ She is 100% on that. ]

video;

[reginaprocacis]

[Okay, that is a strange and disturbing thing to come out of the mouth of someone who is ostensibly a child.]

Interesting. How do you come to this conclusion?

[ video ]

[hostage]

The "hero" thing just makes for good PR. We totally kill people. Some of us, anyway.

[ video ]

[reginaprocacis]

[That seems like a very blunt and honest response. Regina is intrigued.]

In what name do you kill, then? For your own interests or the... greater good?

video

[resipiscent]

[Who had put it in her head that they were all so full of nice illusions about this?]

Sometimes you can't get around killing someone. If I have to, then... that's how it has to be. Kind of try to avoid it when possible, though.

video

[reginaprocacis]

[Shhh she comes from a world where there are Heroes and Villains and while the heroes kill it's either not mentioned or super extra level dramatic. Her feelings about suddenly being given a "hero" stamp are complicated to say the least.]

Where's the line, then? What's a justifiable kill? And which one's just going to be swept under the rug and which one will cause an uproar?

audio: ID is wild tiger

[earnedmystripes]

[He's here to combo-break on the cynicism party itp.]

There's ways to keep people from hurting others without killing them.

audio

[reginaprocacis]

[It's always nice to get different perpectives!]

In any and every situation?

video;

[fuckinstoplights]

I already know where humans think I belong.

What you say doesn't apply to everyone here.

video;

[reginaprocacis]

I take it "where humans think you belong" is not the most glamorous of places.

Video:

[bindsthedead]

Unfortunately, that's sometimes necessary- though not nearly as often as some people think.

Of course, I don't consider myself a hero. I've found people who call themselves that tend to put on masks and run around in costumes.

Video:

[reginaprocacis]

Underwear over tights a fashion trend here?

[Well. At least there'll be something to laugh about.]

Video - omg regina, yay!!

[driftsintobuffetline]

Wow. This place has a really sick sense of humor regarding psychological and counseling professions. Seriously, who the hell is in charge of the jobs?

video; hello hello 8D

[reginaprocacis]

Don't ask me, I only just got here. Tell me if you find out, though. Or maybe don't -- I might become prone to some unheroic things.

[no she wants you to tell her she's so ready to crack her knuckles and fight]

[ video ]

[dualismum]

In the line of duty, I've found myself in that kind of situation plenty of times.

Calling everyone who arrives a "hero" doesn't make us all so. It's a title they like to shove upon us, but not a title we have to accept.

[ video ]

[reginaprocacis]

Yes, thank you, I have noticed.

[Sarcasm dripping. Just a little.]

It appears the title of hero does come with a set of government-issued privileges.

[mightthinkthat]

[ Hilarious ] And I'm Francis Urquhart. I'm afraid, in your… little statement, you neglected your name.

[reginaprocacis]

[Huh. He's the first to ask for her name. Coming from a fairytale world, Regina knows something about the power of names, so she takes note.

Not that it's exactly a big secret, but she'll withhold for now.]

Well, it wasn't exactly a formal introduction.

video.

[magnitudes]

Well, I mean, depends how you go defining terms, I reckon. Pretty sure I've destroyed some pizzas in the line of duty. Theirs was a noble sacrifice.

( So flat, so deadpan, and then she grins. Listen, okay, attractive and somewhat scary women are like a fiery death that her moth-self can't quite resist. And doesn't try to. At all. )

Family counselling actually something you're interested in, or did you score that one in job bingo?

( Not sure that's how bingo works, Sarissa, but okay. )

video.

[reginaprocacis]

[what are you even]

I was assigned this job upon my arrival, god knows why.

[She might've said "it could be worse" but -- no, it really couldn't. The couples are okay, though she's hardly interested in someone else's relationship drama. But every chubby-cheeked child she sees is like a painful stab in the chest reminding her that she'll never see her own child again.]

video;

[dejerate]

Being in the line of duty is kind of almost inevitable if you're in the military. So....yeah.

[Yes. He is in the military at sixteen and has technically been training for it for the past four years prior to officially getting in. And has killed. Okay, so he's killed vampires, but he's still taken out his lust for vengeance on them and not the particular vampire directly responsible for killing his family, but even so.

The word 'family' strikes a chord. A painful one. Because being here, Yuu is separated from his own. From Shinoa and the rest of the squad, separated from Guren, from Mika. His expression falters a little at that before he tries to come back.]

Counselling, huh? I guess that's about as suited to whatever you're used to back home as driving an ice cream truck.

[Which is to say, not at all.....probably.]

video;

[reginaprocacis]

... are you in the military?

[She's a bit taken aback -- he looks young, too young. Back in the Enchanted Forest, she hardly would've cared; in times of war, boys would have been drafted much younger. Now that she has her own young son, though? Things are a bit different.]

video;

[cleptes]

[Now this woman just oozes style and confidence.]

Not all of us are heroes.

video;

[reginaprocacis]

[That's how she likes it!]

Oh? What are you then?

video

[rathercommon]

[ Hm. On the one hand, this woman's manner isn't one Kitty likes very much, just because it's imperious and also rather rude. On the other hand, she's not saying anything that is't rather true. Well - best to try to take the measure of her, though.

And so, sitting on the screen is a tidy, pretty little gray cat, saying: ]

Hullo. Are you new? I don't know if I've seen you around before.

video

[reginaprocacis]

[A talking cat. Well, sure, why not? It's hardly the weirdest thing Regina's ever seen. Still, reciprocal conversations with animals are not part of her daily life.]

... yes. I arrived about two weeks ago.

Audio

[cantwalkwithoutit]

Starting off on the right foot, are we?

[ Perhaps still a little bitter at being stopped from killing her sister? Maybe. ]

Audio

[reginaprocacis]

[Well. She's seen Pan's post, she's noticed that Gold is here. Still, seeing him alive is... jarring. She has no idea what exactly this means yet -- if here is a place dead people end up, but she didn't die, did she?]

You.

[flynnnotjunior]

Um... are you ok?

[reginaprocacis]

Oh, I'm perfectly fine. I've just been kidnapped to another dimension and assigned a role that puts me in the service of a foreign government against my will. Why would that be something to worry about?

VIDEO.

[mantlepieces]

[ Reggie feels like he already likes this woman; good first impressions. You know, in a way, and not just because they share a name (you know, in a way). Though that never hurts. ]

They mean "hero" like they mean "soldier" here half the time, so you can probably assume the killing's implied in there. I don't get myself involved with all that, though; seems stupid to get all worked up over a lousy title when you can get all the same benefits by staying out of it.

VIDEO.

[reginaprocacis]

It does seem like a terribly disorganized version of a military. Though perhaps that kind of lack of organization is beneficial if you're dealing with superhuman powers.

[Yeah ngl the politician in her finds it kind of intriguing. In those short moments when she's not supremely pissed.]

[video]

[shifting]

Heroes've been killin' monsters for as long as people've had stories about 'em. That's nothin' new.

It's just the definition of "monster" that's changed.

[video]

[reginaprocacis]

Now there's an interesting concept. Is someone only a hero as long as their definition of "monster" lines up with everyone else's?

video;

[marriedmedium]

Why would I kill them when I could have a drink with them instead? It's the best way to bring people together, darling!

[One can only imagine the quantities of vodka that would be required for Sadie's diplomatic talks with Russia.]

video;

[reginaprocacis]

So you're going to offer someone a drink while they're choking you? Well, I can't say that isn't an interesting approach.

video;

[flowerette]

In modern day heroics, it seems fine to kill. It's become standard, even.

[ Says Raina with an indifferent shrug. ]