[ LOCKED TO SUTOKU ALLIANCE ] video; un: rider

[kaientai]

[ it takes ryouma a little bit to get around to this, but eventually(!!) he appears, filming a video from what appears to be... outside a fancy-looking starbucks? well, they're everywhere, after all! even in hell! maybe they're also paying him for the product placement? in any case, it's a nice day, and he's outside with his iced coffee and with sunglasses on you can't tell how tired he might be! coffee and a cigarette is the meal of champions when you have a lot of stress in your life. ]

Hello, everyone! I thought it'd be a good time to welcome in all our newest Alliance Lost Souls!

[ yes, he's waving! ]

I'm Sakamoto Ryouma — but just Ryouma is fine! — and a lot of people around here know I'm a Lieutenant and a main point of contact for any business with the Alliance. If you need anything, you can always come to me, and I'll at least try and help you find what you're looking for.

That being said, you've got plenty of good people around here you can look to also! The rest of you aren't off the hook~!

My newest co-Lieutenant is Matoba Seiji. [ so feel free to bother him now too, haha! ] Emily Dyer will be acting as my second, and if you don't already know where the clinic is, you should familiarise yourself and help out a little!

You can also find your other seniors — Kim Kitsuragi, Yuri Leclerc, Xingqiu, Artemy Burakh, Cloud Strife, and Ydris — if you need anything!

[ enjoy the new responsibility?? this is also live video and not text, so there is a strong possibility that ryouma has butchered several of these names in his accent. the good news is that he also holds up a list of the names written out because he knows himself.

now that that's out of the way, he can move along to some useful information before he wraps this thing up. his coffee's melting, and he's sitting when he probably has three other places he could be... ]

You represent the Sutoku Alliance now, so keep that in mind! We don't really have much of a dress code or anything, but you should still get one of these pins, so people know what crew you're with.

[ he taps the pin on his jacket with the kanji for sutoku. aren't you relieved that the naval uniform isn't standard-issue attire? now everyone knows why he's rated four stars for COOLER HAT on EMBER. ]

We have 'em at Konoha and at plenty of other places, too, so just ask!

We're gonna have a get-together officially soon enough, but this is a good opportunity to get to know each other ahead of time! My advice to all of you is to learn as much as possible about this place and the people who live here, your fellow Lost Souls in the other factions included! Find something that interests you and dig right in! Always be paying attention because it's all in what you know.

[ so go be nosy and get the good gossip!! ]

I'm excited to say there will be a lotta interesting things going on around here soon enough, so I'll be counting on you all to do your best! You have a week to settle in and get comfortable before we'll be putting you to work, so don't hesitate to reach out if you need something in the meantime, got it?

I think that should do it for now. Have fun!

[ ooc: this is an open post for sutoku so FEEL FREE TO THREADJACK TO YOUR HEART'S CONTENT! ]

Comments

[beariot]

W-well... [ She reaches to sort of worry at the brim of her hat. ]

The truth is, teaching is my whole career. I don't really have experience in anything else. [ A lie. ]

And, just being realistic... I don't see a lot of avenues for that skillset in this city. I certainly would be out of place, as a human, teaching anything magic related to youkai children...

[kaientai]

Hmm. If it's like that, you just need to look at things a little differently. I did just about everything I did in my life without a bit of experience! [ ryouma, as always, a big fan of improv. ] Can't learn anything if you don't start doing something, right?

All the separate things you're good at that come together and make you a good teacher are all useful out in the world outside a school! And if it turns out you really feel like teaching is your only calling after you've given everything else a shot, this onboarding stuff would probably benefit from somebody who knows how to organise things to get new people up to speed faster.

[beariot]

Well... I suppose it's a start.

At least I have my astrology knowledge to fall back on, too.

[kaientai]

We'll keep you busy around here, not to worry!

Does that mean the stars here are the same as where you come from?

[beariot]

Well, as a matter of fact...

[ It was like a switch. Her nerves mostly seemed to melt away the moment she actually got to talk about STARS. ]

When I first heard mention of the Tanabata festival, my first instinct was to look at the night sky, the first moment I got, and sure enough, I saw most of the familiar asterisms that would be over the skies of Japan, this time of year, in largely the same places.

Now I haven't done any formal observations or calculations to confirm this, but we will indeed be celebrating Orihime and Hikoboshi's reunion, as you know them, next month.

[kaientai]

Oho! Well, that answers that!

Now, I'm obviously no expert, but the whole point of studying the stars is so you know when it's the best time to do something, right?

[ he definitely never looked into this stuff, so this is his extremely uneducated guess. ]

[beariot]

Among many other uses! Auguring is one of the primary functions of astrology, of course, but cosmic energy can be channeled for a lot of ends. The possibilities are all rather fascinating!

[ She's such a nerd. ]