[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

[peacewithouttyranny]

Welcome to the alliance, Yorha unit 9s. Or do you simply go by 9s?

[Android is a new one. He wouldn't think a construct can enter hell, unless he possessed a soul of some kind. It would be odd- not to mention, rude -to ask the new recruit, so he won't.]

There was, yes. [He won't provide any details about it. He places a hand on his chest, where there's a particular purple emblem.] I am still a Decepticon, however.

[dressedtothe]

9S is fine. It's less stiff and formal, isn't it?

[Unfortunately for Soundwave, 9S is exactly the sort of person to pry. And especially with that mechanical voice, he's not even going to try and be polite about it either.]

Sooo what was the conflict over? What were the other factions you were fighting?

[peacewithouttyranny]

[Wow.... Okay, he still won't go into any details, but he'll give him a little bit. Still being all vague.]

A mistake I made long ago resurfaced. [Though there's just a tiny tinge of guilt slipped through in his mechanical voice.] Before you ask, I won't tell you what it is.

[Anyway moving on to the next question as that is an easy question to answer.]

The Autobot. They were once the symbol of our oppressors. Though our was has ended years ago, and the individuals who seek to oppressed us are no more. Now we are allies working together to rebuild.

[dressedtothe]

[9S does look visibly put out when Soundwave immediately and directly walls the question he's about to ask, but doesn't complain.]

I see. So your enemies are now your allies.

[Briefly, he thinks about the machine lifeforms they're at war with. Such an alliance could never happen. And if he has his way with his contract, there won't be any machines to work together with. Except maybe Pascal's little village.]

Is all sapient life mechanical lifeforms like you? Or do sapient biological lifeforms exist where you're from, too?

[peacewithouttyranny]

[It was an uneasy alliance at the start, though. Four million years of grudge doesn't go away that easy, and Soundwave was essentially blackmailed into making the alliance. Of course, he won't bring those up, since he genuinely sees the Autobots as allies now.]

Four millions years, we were at war... At some point, we were all tired of fighting. Ultimately, we both had the same goal: peace.

[No sense in fighting anymore, lest their entire species would self-destruct.]

Yes, all sapient lifeforms on my homeplanet are mechanical by nature, including the flora and fauna.

[dressedtothe]

You were at war for millions of years?

[9S' surprise cuts clearly in his voice. Even for androids, that's an almost unfathomably long time. What is their thousands of years of war compared to millions? Pascal had stopped wanting to fight hundreds of years ago...]

I guess if all sides are willing to stop, peace is an option.

[Unfortunately, the machines aren't capable of such a thing.]

But wow, everything is mechanical? Was it always that way, or was there biological life before? We have machine fish that were introduced into the marine ecosystem but the biological ones existed first.