[ 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

un: sanctuary

[peacewithouttyranny]

[Speaking of hell...]

From what I've explored so far, this hell resembles a lot of what I've seen on the human world. Aside from the locals, I would have believed that I was somewhere else on planet Earth.

It is admittedly strange, though, as someone who is not at all human and homeplanet far away from Earth, that I am curently in a supposedly human hell.

[Was it because he was last on Earth? He never really stopped to think about it until now.]

[tonguecutter]

[ Looks up at the text replies under the username "sanctuary". Looks at "Decepticon." Looks at her own propensity for disliking lies.

...It's fine. She'll just tuck that away for later and reserve her judgment for now, like any good arbiter worth her salt. ]

Exactly. The Hell I grew up in had long fallen behind the times, but the one here seems to have caught up to what I've heard of modern Japan in the human world. "Strange" doesn't even begin to cover it.

Have you been having any difficulties adjusting to the culture here? It must be very strange for you especially.

[ A living mechanical race...not entirely unprecedented given the sorts of Servants in Chaldea, but still out there. Literally, in his case. ]

[peacewithouttyranny]

[That's honestly a very fair assumption to make. It's not their actual purpose, but it's a fair assumption based on the name alone.]

You grew up in Hell? I assume that it's nothing as peaceful and influenced by the human world.

No difficulties so far, thankfully. Aside from being attacked by ghost sharks. I assume something like that is normal here? Otherwise it's similar enough to Earth, and I've been on that planet and around humans long enough that nothing here is truly shocking to see.

The only adjustment to make is the lack of any other mechanical lifeform around.

[Lonely? Yeah, but he's not going to admit it.]

[tonguecutter]

That's right. If there's one thing I could call it...it was orderly. Souls crossing the Sanzu river would receive their punishments from the courts, carry them out, and then be reincarnated properly. None of this 'Lost Souls' business or gangs of yokai running about.

[ Back in her day, etc etc. Ghost sharks? Oh, great. ]

It sounds like you ran into some rowdy isonade of some sort. I hope you didn't get too hurt.

[ Then again, as a mechanical lifeform, perhaps they didn't rough him up that much. ]

I see. I can't say I know very much about mechanical matters, but does that mean you need maintenance here too?

[peacewithouttyranny]

With the exception of crossing the river and having a court, it isn't too dissimilar from the Inferno-- where deceased Cybertronians are punished for their deeds in the physical realm. At least from what I've read of religious text from my world.

[He sort of doubts the Inferno's existence, despite being in hell right now. But he does believe that the Afterspark, a.k.a robot-heaven, exist since that was where he was supposed to be.

Isonade, huh. So that's what they were callex.]

I am uninjured. Their jaws weren't powerful enough to penetrate my armour.

[Weirdly enough, they did kinda sting when he got bitten.]

I do require maintenance, but I can take care of that on my own.

[tonguecutter]

'Inferno' sounds like it would be the name of a Western-style afterlife. What else do your religious texts say about that place?

[ Tell her more... it might be a bit of a morbid topic to anyone else, but not to her. ]

Well, I think it would be a good idea to look for someone else who could help with your maintenance anyway. It never hurts to have a backup plan.

[peacewithouttyranny]

I will try to recount what I can. And I will try to at least find someone who could help with maintenance.

[Granted, that requires him to trust someone to poke at his insides. Soundwave has no issue whatsoever with morbid topic at least, but he can't say he remember much about the Inferno. Also, mostly headcanon here because tranformers doesn't talk about their version of hell enough]

It also has an alternative name called the Pit. A place meant to teach corrupted spark the folly of their choices, either by reliving their mistakes through the eyes of their victims, or by means of torture. Bodies being burned or painfully re-built. The punishment could last for years, but once the spark is reformed, they will then be guided to the Afterspark.

That said, the existence of the Inferno/Pit is unconfirmed.

Unlike its counterpart, the Afterspark, is a real realm and where Cybertronians are returned to when they expire. Eventually becoming with one with Primus, our God.

[It was an odd feeling for him typing all of this. He was pretty skeptical about this for most of his life, but... it was difficult to deny that the realm existed when he had seen it for himself.]

[tonguecutter]

I see, I see. There are a few similarities to Buddhist hell, with punishment and cleansing, before the soul moves on.

[ And some differences, of course. As a denizen of the Buddhist afterlife, it always interests her to hear about other cultures' perceptions of the afterlife, and those who shape it.

Hold up. ]

If your people aren't sure about the existence of the Inferno, then how do they know that the Afterspark is real?

[ Maybe one of them wandered in and came back out, living to tell the tale in the physical realm? ]

[peacewithouttyranny]

Interesting. I wonder if there are any more similarities... In our afterlife, there is little individuality, the deceased lose all sense of self and become one with all the others in the Afterspark. "Til all are one," a common phrase in our mythology and legend.

[Now he's sort of curious what other similarities are shared between Cybertronian religion and human religion. It just reinforces the belief that the two species aren't too different, after all.

funny you ask that, beni-sensei.]

I am uncertain if I can answer that, it depends on the individual if they believed in it or not. There are those who are similarly skeptical about the Afterspark's existence or any other afterlife, as well.

I know for certain, however.

Before my arrival in this realm, I have seen and was being guided into the Afterspark myself. I saw no signs of the Inferno.

[tonguecutter]

[ (ooc: apologies for the lateness; feel free to drop this if you'd like!)

Humans themselves, after reaching the Age of Man, were more likely than not to carry on with their lives, with spirits and gods in the background losing their Mystery and Authority as belief in them waned. She thought that perhaps Soundwave's people would have similar mindsets, if not even more intense due to being a mechanical race, but she has been proven wrong. As there are people, there is still faith out there, belief in an afterlife that the vast majority of them can't see for themselves in modern times. ]

Do you mean to say that you died?

[ Or just, y'know, a casual trip to the afterlife to pick something up or meet someone, as some are wont to do. ]

[peacewithouttyranny]

(ooc: it's cool! i don't mind backtags!)

Yes.

[Though he also did manage to breach the barrier between the living and the dead before that by going over the limits of his telepathic powers. Which was the cause of hid death.]

I am not bothered by the fact. Laying down my life to save the galaxy and ensure that others may live tomorrow would not be the worst way to go.

[tonguecutter]

[ Well, it's good for him that he doesn't seem to mind. Of course, text being text, it's hard to tell for sure, but she'll take him at his words. If he says he isn't bothered, that he's laid down his life for what he holds dear, then she'll believe him and respect him for it. ]

It certainly isn't. You sound like a respectable soul to do such a thing.

How did you feel?

[ It may be a bit of an insensitive question to ask, to those who aren't used to dealing with such subject matter day in day out, but knowing how souls pass onto the afterlife used to be part of her job. Even to this day, it's still something she takes into consideration. ]

[peacewithouttyranny]

At peace. It felt as if a burden was removed when I saw Primus, along with other dead souls I know, guide me into the Afterspark.

[More accurately, he felt.... absolved. Though that might go into a long personal history he isn't willing to share yet.]

That feeling quickly passed when I found myself here instead.