Video; Won't you send a letter?

[schachmeister]

[Armin had hoped to be able to make this post a little sooner, but then Angel had come back and some things needed taking care of and well, now it was now. Not that it was exactly time-sensitive; he just thought it was a really great thing and had hoped to be able to share it with more people sooner.]

Hello.

[Armin had mostly gotten over his nerves about making entries on the network, but this time, he feels them knot his stomach a bit again. He just hopes he's able to accurately impart the importance of this on other people. Not that it will stop him from doing what he will be doing, but it will be great to have more voices.]

Uhm, as most of you probably already know, this world is much bigger than just Kanto, Johto and the Sevii Islands. There is a lot more out there, but unfortunately, we --by which I mean, the people who have come from different worlds-- are not allowed to travel there. [A small frown.] I'm not sure exactly how they prevent us, but as far as I know, nobody has ever been able to get anywhere beyond the regions we know.

Last month when I was in Kanto, I asked Lance about why they won't let us travel to these other regions, and he said that the people in charge of these regions don't trust us. That we all come from such strange and different worlds that they aren't sure if we won't make any trouble.

I understand that they, most likely, only want to protect the people living there, but-- maybe this is selfish of me, but I want to see this world. Travelling here has already been amazing, but if there is more out there to see, then I want to see and experience it.

So, I was thinking -- If they won't let us travel there because they are afraid of what we might do to them, then we have to take that fear away. If we can show them who we are, then I'm sure we will be able to find some common ground. And it is much harder to fear people you have common ground with. We've already been able to do it here. The people of Kanto and Johto and the islands all accept us. They aren't afraid of us anymore. So there is no reason why we shouldn't be able to prove our intentions to the rest of this world.

[The longer he goes on, the more his nerves peter out and are replaced by passion in his voice. He just... really cares so much about travelling, ok you guys.]

Of course, it is difficult showing them who we are when they won't even let us visit, but there are other means of communication. Ones that can be carried out over long distance. I talked it over with Lance, and he talked to the other Elite Four members in the other regions, and he found one region that was willing to let us send letters there. I know it might not sound like much, but it is a start. If we can start showing them who we are and find common ground, even if it is just via a letter, who knows what might be possible in the future.

I'm going to do it, of course. But if anyone else wanted to help out, they can. Lance said he would take care of forwarding our letters to the other region --it's name is Sinnoh, by the way-- so all anyone would have to do is send their letters to him and it will be taken care of. You can send as many or as few letters as you want, though obviously, I feel whoever takes part should be committed to answering any letters they might receive in return, else we can't make a good impression.

Of course, there is no guarantee of privacy. Even if I trust Lance not to read our letters, I cannot be sure about whoever will take care of spreading the letters in Sinnoh. But. [And he looks firm here.] I think that can even be a good thing. Let them read our letters if they want. All that means is that more people will be reading them and seeing we are just regular people.

I know it might not lead to anything. We can only do so much via a letter, but... if we don't try, we'll never succeed, right? And even if it means writing a lot of possibly meaningless letters, I want to try.

[ooc: see this ooc post for more information.]

Comments

VIDEO

[standless]

A letter to open the travel routes?

[Jonathan has scarcely seen Kanto thus far, but it's already been an impressive adventure. And certainly a far better one than the last 'road trip' he took in life, yikes.

The idea of travelling to a whole other country right now though is far from his radar- far from his, but...] While I may still have much more to see here, I would love to help with this endeavor! For such opportunities to be held back from those who had no choice to arrive here already is hardly a matter to ignore. I have already heard that numerous here have lived here for years- but to do so and in fact be forced to remain within a single country regardless of one's desire to travel?

You shall have my pen, for however long it takes to prove that our intentions are good- and dare I even say it, beyond that time as well!

[as usual Jonathan has Many Words for what could have been 'Sure'.]

VIDEO

[schachmeister]

[A very wordy man, but in this case, Armin is eager to listen to all these words.]

Well, that would be the ideal, yes. There is no guarantee we will be able to do that, but I feel like we should try. I've been here long enough to remember when we first got to visit the Sevii Islands. Those didn't used to be open to us either, but the people there changed their minds on letting us come and see their region. If they were able to learn and trust us, I see no reason why the people of these other regions couldn't.

[standless]

Indeed- and for that matter, even if it should fail it is an impressive opportunity to come to meet others from this world- those beyond our own reach!

It is an enviable chance I should think, to speak with those you have never met, simply with the goal of coming to meet another and share knowledge of one's own cultures.

video

[lioness_rampant]

I, for one, would be happy to assist you in this endeavor. In my time here, I have come to truly love this world and the people and creatures who live here--it's my home now, and the thought of being able to explore it more thoroughly... it would be wonderful.

Video

[schachmeister]

I feel the same way. I'm already really glad with what I've gotten to see of this world, but if there is a chance, even just a tiny one, that this might lead to being able to see more of it, I want to try. I know we can all find some common ground. We just have to try.

Video

[lioness_rampant]

Common ground isn’t difficult to find. I have traveled to many planets all across the universe, and met many beings from diverse species and cultures. In spite of how unique each of them were, we also had many fundamental commonalities: we require nourishment for our bodies, and the bonds of kinship and love to sustain our hearts. We hope for the health and safety of our loved ones. We crave freedom, and the right to determine our own destinies.

I think the people of this world will find we are not so different from them at all.

voice;

[shiro2hero]

You did this all on your own, Armin?

[Okay, no, he knows Lance -- the Elite 4 lance, not the one on his team -- is involved here. But still.]

[Look at his friend. All grown up. Saving Lapras. Uniting the world.]

I'm in.

voice;

[schachmeister]

It wasn't just me. I just went to talk to Lance, but I didn't exactly have this in mind when I did. I just wanted to know why, and well, one thing led to another.

[Lance had been very supportive. Possibly he'd still been trying to look for ways to repay the Aurora league members after what they did at the end of last year, and Armin was one of those.]

But I'm glad you want to help. I think you'd be good at convincing people.

voice;

[shiro2hero]

Hey, you still kicked it off. Take a little credit here, Armin.

[Okay, yes, he'll concede Elite 4 Lance was a big help, and "one thing led to another", but still. Let him be proud of you, Armin.]

I'll do my best. Maybe they'll like to hear about space.

Video

[goldeneyeball]

_{[James hates this place and has since day one, but now that he's learned there are places he is not allowed, he wants nothing more than to be there. Just to spite those people.]}

What the hell, it's not our fault we ended up here! It's not like we're invading!

Video

[schachmeister]

I know. Though I can also understand why they would've been scared of us at first.

[But you'd think after pretty much ten years of this and them defeating an eldergod to save the world, you'd think they'd get a little more credit.]

I don't think there is any sense in being angry about it though. If we keep hanging onto these sort of slights, we'll never move forward.

voice

[conniemaheswaran]

[Connie may be feeling ever-so-slightly guilty about planning to rob this poor guy's Lapras pod. The least she can do is help him with this project—and hey, it sounds worthwhile anyways.]

This is a brilliant idea! I'd love to help out.

[There's the light tapping of fingers on the screen, then the slapping of a palm to a forehead.]

...

Pretend that I'm somehow verbalizing a smile emoji instead of trying to type one into a voice call like an idiot.

voice

[schachmeister]

A-all right.

[Sorry, Connie. As an old grandpa of the forever long agos, Armin doesn't pretend to understand emojis even for a moment. Or a teen's dependency on them.]

Well, it's great to have you helping out. The more people the better.

I'm sorry, I don't think I recognise your voice. Are you new here?

[conniemaheswaran]

I came here towards the end of January, actually. I just haven't been very active on the network, haha.

I'm Connie Maheswaran! What's your name?

[oh so she's new new]

Video

[notyourgoddess]

Yeah, I can understand them not wanting us to go everywhere.

[Again, she's still honestly surprised they didn't just get chucked in a place to experiment on when they showed up here.]

Sounds like it might be interesting though. I'm in.

Video

[schachmeister]

I can understand that being their initial response to us showing up here. Though I would've hoped that after almost a decade of it, they would've changed their mind.

Still, we won't make any progress holding it against them. If you'd be willing to help out, I'd be very grateful.

Video

[notyourgoddess]

And I suppose trying to force our way into other regions would just prove their fears right.

[She's a vault hunter, it's a miracle she hasn't tried yet.]

I wonder what sort of people will be writing back.

voice

[fingersandteeth]

I'd like to help out if I may, Armin. God knows I need something constructive to do when we're slow at the reception desk at the Radio Tower.

[Maybe if he's writing letters to Sinnoh, he won't create well-meaning Rocket memos that go completely to hell.

And you know. Pay him back for the crimes they're going to do to him. Thinking about it that way, Steven owes him a lot of letters.]

voice

[schachmeister]

That'd be great. Maybe you'd be able to find someone with radio aspirations in Sinnoh to talk to.

Re: voice

[fingersandteeth]

Or some other ghost fans, yeah. I've found a few others around, but it's always good to meet more. Or hell, someone who shares my taste in books and things. We could trade recommendations.

[Oh look, he likes you. He said 'hell' to you.]

[forsaintcecilia]

That's a really nice idea! Could I try too? I'm not really great at writing letters 'cause my handwriting's kinda terrible, but I'm pretty interested in how other regions live!

[schachmeister]

I'm sure your handwriting can't be any worse than Connie's, so it would be great if you could join in.

[And if it is, Armin will personally rewrite every letter for Kazuki, he cares a lot about this, ok.]

There might be musicians willing to write back to you.

[angewiesen]

Other regions don't want us around? I didn't know about that.

[schachmeister]

Most people don't seem to talk about it much. Maybe because how welcoming the people are here, they don't mind that they cannot go outside these regions. Or maybe they don't realise that there is more out there. It's not like there is a border with armed guards to remind them.

[angewiesen]

As long as things stay the way they are now, and there's no conflict, that's fine. But it only takes one false step to provoke other nations.

...Not that I think that'll ever happen. Not here, anyways. Nobody in these parts seems inclined to war.