jigokucho | [locked to sutoku alliance] video, un: levirage

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!))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I see, I see. That answers my question quite succinctly. One would argue that humans have independently developed personalities, but...well, nature versus nurture is a hotly debated concept for a reason.

That being said, you can count on me not to compare you unfavorably to biological lifeforms. Thank you for indulging my curiosity.

It was no trouble.

[Unfavourable comparisons to biological lifeforms? Now why would she mention that...?]

Actually, I have some questions, too. You said you're an expert in magitechnology. Am I correct in assuming that's a blend of magic and technology? Is it technlogy powered by magic? Or magic created through technology?

[Mostly just being genre savvy.]

You're right that it's a blend. And in some ways, it is technology powered by magic. But that's too narrow an application. What if I told you that technology could be used to cast magic in the same way that one might use a wand?

[A what.]

Er. A wand?

[???]

What does a wooden rod have to do with magic?

It's not always wooden, but in my world, wands are used to cast magic. Combined with an incantation and proper wrist movements, a proper wand was once essential for casting magic appropriately.

I successfully streamlined that process by replacing incantations and proper form using executable codes.

I see! So anyone with the codes could cast magic without use of a wand.

What is magic used for in your world? Where I'm from, the magical element maso is deadly to humans, so while us YoRHA utilise some of it, we got rid of most of the maso a long time ago.

Well, you do need mana to cast it, but luckily my other apps can harness that sort of power remotely. Or at least, they did until such energies became able to be tapped into outside of what we call ley-lines.

But hm, that seems particularly nasty. In my world, magic became something of a rarity due to magical power diminishing worldwide. But with that all restored, it's becoming commonplace again. It's used for things like healing, transformations, reversing and slowing time...really, it covers a wide range.

[So if he's understanding it correctly, mana is some kind of external energy needed to power magic. Maybe even similar to maso, without whatever element that made it so deadly to humans. And there seems to be some kind of proximity requirement to the energy, which Croix's inventions overcame.]

Incredible. Magic can do all that?

[Hm.]

If magical power is restored, does that mean more people are making use of your technology? It makes magic easier for humans to use, right?

...Not quite.

You see, it reflects badly upon your work when you end up in prison.

[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?

It's quite simple. I did many dangerous and unlawful things that resulted in putting a great many people in harm's way. Though no one lost their lives, the scale was vast, and I paid the consequences.

[Oh.]

I see.

But if your work is good and practical, that shouldn't matter. It seems like a weird reason to hold up progress.

Maybe, but people need to be convinced. So far, only the school I taught at has really accepted my work, and once I've served my sentence, and if I ever return from this place, I have a lot of work ahead of me.

I can't change people's minds with a flip of a switch. People aren't that simple.

[locked to sutoku alliance] video, un: levirage

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