[locked to sutoku alliance] video, un: levirage

[fibrillate]

Hello, everyone!

[on the screen is a polite-looking person with messy green hair and purple eyes. they give a wave and smile with their whole face from behind their white-rimmed glasses.]

My name is Leviathan Astrape—Levi, if you'd all like—and let me be the first to welcome you to the Sutoku Alliance! What we do here is a little more up in the air than other factions, but I think that just gives us the freedom to be who we are. If you're not sure what to do next, just keep your ear to the ground and get to know as many people as possible! It really can't hurt in the long term, and it's always better to know more than to know less.

[they don't sound stiff as they're saying it, like they have some practice with public presentations like this, but anyone watching the tracking of their eyes could probably tell that they're reading off cue cards.]

And on that note, we have a few names to know. They'll spend some time introducing themselves, I'm sure, but please keep an eye out for Artemy, Kim, Xingqiu, Yuri, Ydris, Marie, and Cloud. [a pleasant smile as they get to the end of the list.] Please also look out for Emily Dyer, especially if you need any kind of medical assistance or you're interested in helping out there. And our lieutenants within the alliance are Matoba Seiji and, of course, the death-defying Sakamoto Ryouma.

[they gesture in front of them with an open palm towards the person behind the camera.]

You're coming in during exciting times, everyone. We just had a bit of a shake-up at the Tanabata festival. The daughter of an important financial magnate has been kidnapped by an enemy of Toraguma, and though we haven't heard any orders from the Daitengu quite yet, I think we all know how things like this play out.

[and bringing both their hands in front of them, at waist level, they smile and give a polite little bow.]

So please, take this time to get to know your fellow alliance members. [they look towards the camera, then glance at their lapel, where they have a pin with the kanji for sutoku. they laugh like they knew they were forgetting something, and look back up towards everyone else.] And don't forget to pick up your official faction pin from most places within our area if you're interested.

[they wave goodbye, then stand there for a couple seconds. without the feed cutting, they walk forward towards the camera and start talking much more casually.]

Was that okay? Getting those names right was harder than I expected, and I even cut out a lot of the last names. I don't know how you did it the first time.

Hehe, y' know, I wondered about that "death defyin'" part on paper, but hearin' ya say it like that makes it sound pretty heroic! And honestly, I'm pretty sure ya did way better with those names, now that I'm thinkin' about it...

[ anyone who isn't new here will recognise the voice that responds to them from behind the camera, especially with that accent. ryouma is pretty sure he botched a couple names last time, mostly for that same reason. he might be able to fake it and cover it when he's speaking his own language, but when it comes to foreign-sounding words all bets are off. ]

So that was perfect! I think ya gotta real knack for this sorta thing!

[ which... hmmm, take that with a grain of salt because this man long predated show business, but still!! judging by his tone, ryouma is very pleased since all his coaching and cheerleading and cue card holding paid off, in his opinion! sure the rest of the faction will agree... right? ]

((this is a mingle post! feel free to threadjack and get to know everyone within the faction. and thank you again to min for contributing ryouma here!))

Comments

[blackabyss]

Become a vampire??

[Oh dang, this is so cool for a goth kid like Fumikage.]

I have heard such stories in my own world; does it not involve being drained of your lifeblood, or drinking the blood of a vampire? Are the myths true?

[nightcalled]

Uhhh, that's what I thought at first honestly.

[ He scratches his chin. ]

Just getting bit doesn't do it. And getting all your blood drained will just kill you. In order to become a vampire... you have to fall in love with the vampire who bites you. And then you turn.

not here

[nightcalling]

[ STOP TELLING PEOPLE OH MY GOD??? THIS IS SO EMBARRASSING OH MY GOOOOOD ]

1/2

[blackabyss]

Fall in love..?

[Fumikage blinks in confusion, clearly not expecting that answer. It just... goes against pretty much all the stories about vampires he's ever heard. He just sort of stares for a moment, unsure what to say.]

2/2

[blackabyss]

[It's actually Dark Shadow who speaks up before Fumikage, letting out a pleased sound.]

How romantic!!

[The words make Fumikage clear his throat, and he nods once.]

...right. It is a very... romantic notion. I admit I've never heard of such a thing, but I cannot deny your words if they are true.

[rottencactus]

[This person doesn't even know what he looks like, and yet he is saying such kind things unprompted. He did not know what he expected from others here trapped in Hell but it definitely wasn't that.]

[He really isn't sure what to say, other than he does want to rebuke those words. That's an instinct he will never be able to rid himself out of, probably. However...]

That is nice of you to say. While I don't think it's true, your words are appreciated. Thank you.

[recluserose]

That's what I'm banking on.

[notice me Daitengu-senpai and all that ]

This Alliance doesn't seem to follow the other patterns of the other groups. The Daitengu doesn't seem to be as straight forward as the other leaders.

[rottencactus]

I already told you that you could call me anything you wanted. That hasn't changed. You could call me "Ugly" or "Disgusting Pig" and I would still answer, Rui-san.

[recluserose]

Sounds like you were tailormade for the Alliance then.

[She's silent on her end, thinking. And then speaking up once again, she has a curious question.]

Since you claim espionage to be in your repertoire, is it something you do for a fee?

[semilethal]

-I am interested, and I would like to circle back.

However. How can you say the nature of you origins doesn't matter here? How couldn't it? Did, did you just wake up knowing what you are, or is it something you convinced yourself of? [he likes to understand and know things, and it is BIZARRE to him that someone would think anything is not worth knowing]

[semilethal]

[well, using the proper words is important in order to be understood. looks like there's some nuances in terminology that donnie will need to keep in mind with this one.] I see. So where you're from, androids -I'm assuming of humanoid origin- are politically opposed to other machine lifeforms. [Maybe not so self-actualized after all...?]

[heartsnatcher]

I see... I would offer to help if I could, but I'm new here too. All I've heard is what other people have told me, so I want to seek it out for myself.

A lot of people in the Alliance seem really kind, though! I think we're surrounded by good people. Mostly, anyway.

[dressedtothe]

Yeah, we'd be better off without them. [A beat.] But I guess there's a few that helped us out.

[It's admitted with great reluctance.]

The resistance androids -- those are older generation androids who live on Earth -- regularly trade with a small village of peaceful machines. Those machines gave up on fighting and disconnected from the machine network, so we leave them be.

[And that makes them defenseless.]

[sacrilegiousact]

I was planning on it, just wanted to hear your take.

[And Sutoku's take in general.]

How long have you been here?

[aceslow]

I am, yes. And that sounds good to me -- frankly, it will be a nice change from everyone else wanting to meet at bars.

[ Kim does drink, though he generally limits himself to one a week, whether that's whiskey served in a bar or a glass of wine with supper. ]

I'd be happy to continue this discussion then. I'm assuming all of this is something you'd prefer to speak on in private.

[aceslow]

Being a bartender alone is a full-time job, let alone running your own business. I don't think anyone would bat an eye at that taking up most of your time.

[ ...not that Kim doesn't suspect that she got up to the exact sort of trouble that Cloud and Aerith do, but he's not going to damn her by association. She could just be a good friend. ]

I'm not sure what niches you'd be looking at. Something to set yourself apart. Like... a karaoke bar, maybe? Or one that serves some sort of food you can't find in the rest of the city? The best way for you to figure it out is to check out the competition. Which might be useful for getting you a job in the interim as well.

[sacrilegiousact]

[Niceness doesn't really put him at ease, if anything if she was just nice, he'd be a bit more suspicious, but she's very upfront about how shady she is and he finds that much more refreshing. He doesn't think any of it's an act at least.]

Akira Kurusu. Happy to be here, so far.

I knew an assassin who used magic. Made him pretty much impossible to catch. Interesting variety, though. What did you teach?

[sacrilegiousact]

[So, an actual private detective, and not like him or his friend or Akechi. Who were just cheating mostly, and had to do some digging when they couldn't cheat.]

That's impressive. I actually also had a mystery about missing cats. Turned out an old lady was kidnapping them and keeping them in her apartment because she missed her cat.

I'd like to hear about the last one though, if you don't mind.

1/2. this was inevitable. mayoi did this to himself.

[hyperfix]

[Rui stares at his phone for a moment, expression falling. Hm.]

[hyperfix]

And what if I call you incredible? 'Oh, Talented Idol-senpai!' 'Handsome, kind Ayase!' Or perhaps even...

'Treasured friend Ayase!'

1/2

[rottencactus]

[He has absolutely no one to blame but himself, it's true.]

[dressedtothe]

[A change to text? Weird. But 9S follows suit. Bah, he hates having to use his fingers to text; why can't he just connect to the system directly? Still, his typing is very fast.]

Prison? That's where humans are detained for socially unacceptable actions, right? How did that happen to you?

[rottencactus]

I would simply wither and melt into a little puddle on the ground and vanish between the cracks of this city, never to be seen again.

But ...I won't go back on my words ...so. If that is what you want...

[hyperfix]

Sorry, I know. I shouldn't tease you like this, should I? But I want you to know what I think of you, all the same.

I'll stick to Ayase. Thank you. :}

[aceslow]

Ah -- different language conventions. My apologies. G'raha it is.

[ He is curious about what sort of rank 'Tia' denotes, but that's for a different time, perhaps. ]

The place I'm from has no such thing as life energy, or at least not phrased in that way. But I've spoken to others from places with -- supranatural sources of power, I suppose I would call them. [ It sounds like what Aerith had mentioned, in fact. ] Is this energy something that could be harnessed in your world?