[video]

[dejabrewed]

[ to recap recent events…

sandalphon is a very confused angel, but for the most part, has adapted to the new world. it helped that his milcery had a general dislike of her pokéball. constantly seeing her was a reminder that this was indeed a new experience. homesickness aside, there was a small part of him that was curious as to what this new place would bring. he’d been poking and prodding away at the pokégear, figuring out the map and pokédex features during his travel on route 29, but the pokégear connect feature was something he had not fully understood just yet.

that is, until milcery gleefully hit the ‘start video’ feature with a knowing smile on her face. ]

—briel, what did you do?

[ the milcery cooed once, as if saying ‘introduce yourself!’. sandalphon just stared at her as if she was insane. as he tried to hit end, milcery pushed his hand away, still cooing and expecting her partner to say at least something. the angel just sighed. there was no winning this fight, it seemed. ]

At the insistence of my Milcery, who I simply call Gabriel… [ she waves a blobby hand as if to say hello. ] I am Sandalphon… and I’m new. Quite frankly a lot of this is new, but thankfully I haven’t been too lost.

[ he wants to end it there, but gabriel stares at her partner. go on……. ]

If… any person has any advice as to where to go and what to do after the town I’ll be arriving in soon— it should be Cherrygrove— please, go ahead and tell me. Astrals knows I’d rather have something rather than nothing.

[ sandalphon then turns to gabriel. ] Can I please end it there?

[ gabriel nods, completely satisfied with herself, and the feed goes dark. ]

Comments

[vrdantwind]

[Listen, Sandalphon, Claude only knows two ways of sharing information: not at all, or way too much. Claude loves deer, but despite what his old house might suggest, his favorite color of deer is actually teal.]

Hey, I'm glad to hear it was helpful. All us otherworlders have been dropped here without warning once. It's hard not to jump right into 'what I wish someone had told me'. Or 'what people did tell me that was really helpful'.

But yeah, provided it's not against any laws or harming anybody, people more or less seem to have free reign to live whatever kind of life they want here. I won't deny it's nice. Between wars and obligations back home, this place has definitely been kind of a vacation for my friends and me.

[dejabrewed]

I suppose you have a point. Astrals knows I would’ve acted like a headless chicken had I not asked.

[ the milcery in the background was acting all smug. she had been right and sandalphon wasn’t acknowledging it! the angel just… didn’t care at the moment. right now, he had a growing interest in speaking to the stranger on the other side. ]

War? Obligations? I won’t pry, however I suppose things like that are near constants, no matter what world you’re in. And to an extent, I understand. It’s freeing.

[ freedom from being anything but himself. he fears it might be too intoxicating, but doesn’t want to speak it into the world. ]

[vrdantwind]

Astrals? Well, now you're just making me curious about your world in turn.

I don't mind a bit of prying, honestly - I'd be a hypocrite if I did, considering how nosy I am myself. But also I doubt that the political ramifications of some strange world you're not likely to ever see would really be that interesting to you. It's like you said - some unpleasant aspects of society are pretty universal. And being able to set them aside in a nice, peaceful world is a nice break. Knowing that we'll return to our own worlds with no time passed once our time here is up even liberates us further to just enjoy as much vacation as we're allotted.

[dejabrewed]

Astrals are a kind of being that have no right existing. It’s as simple as that.

You would be surprised— I know little to nothing as to how humanity governs itself, much less the society it harbors. I only know as much as I do due to books. Knowing such things would be interesting, especially if it were from another world. After all, where would I start to learn how people travel, if they’re bound to the ground?

[ he was spoiled by flying, okay, plus there’s no cars in the sky realm. ]

[vrdantwind]

That doesn't really sound simple at all. It sounds...kind of alarming, actually.

I admit I don't know how your world works at all, so maybe with context that doesn't sound quite as bad as it does without it, but...saying some beings don't even have the right to exist, without context, is - well, I'm just going to use the word alarming again.

You talk as though you're not human yourself, though. What would that make you?

As for being bound to the ground...well, that's variable here. People can fly around on pokémon as a form of travel here. Of course, you can also ride some land-bound pokémon, like horse pokémon. There's the occasional boat or train...but mostly the standard form of travel seems to be walking here.

[dejabrewed]

It’s not as alarming as it sounds, if I told you that Astrals are world destroying beings, now is it? So regardless of world, they are very capable of destruction if put on the wrong side of the morality spectrum.

I do speak as non-human, that much I am aware. Most humans simply call me an archangel, as my more specific classifications are unknown to most.

[ that response makes sandalphon groan. he’s very much used to heels, but the pain that came with them if worn for long… he’s going to work hard for a mount, that’s for sure. ]

That’s so inconvenient… I’m starting to miss the airships of my home world already…

[vrdantwind]

Ah, yeah. Like I suspected, context is important there. Although implying that they can be on the right side of the morality spectrum still makes me think that maybe it's only specific Astrals who are the problem...? But maybe I'm reading too much into it.

Archangel, huh? People talk about angels in my world, but not as real things that exist or can be communicated with. Or, well, if they do exist, there's definitely no hard evidence. So talking to one is pretty fascinating...even if an archangel from your world could be a whole different creature than what we picture in mine.

But you have to tell me more about airships. Are we talking about ships that sail through the air instead of the water? Because that sounds incredible!

[dejabrewed]

[ sandy shudders. no, none of them are good news, ever. ]

You are reading too much into it. They are too much for the world, simple as that.

I doubt it— most humans think of archangels as humans with the addition of wings and a ‘holy’ aura back home. However I’m not here to presume, so take that as you will.

Those are exactly the airships I speak of. They fly through the sky using the tetra-elements’ buoyancy, something that my fellow archangels controlled until they seceded those roles to nature. Actually, the buoyancy is the main thing keeping my world in order, given everything is in the sky…

[vrdantwind]

What can I say? I'll take your word for it, since I'm not familiar with them. But it does seem to follow that anything that can destroy a world is bad news.

Belief about angels varies by belief system back home. My country doesn't really subscribe to the idea at all, but I'm aware of the concept.

Wait, what do you mean that everything is in the sky in your world? Do you mean everything floats?

[dejabrewed]

Good to know that people here know common sense.

I see… back home most only know of us through what’s known as the creation myth, but that’s another book I don’t plan on cracking open any time soon.

Yes, everything floats. It’s known as the Sky Realm for a reason. I had the benefit of flying wherever I needed, however the lack of my wings has made that impossible. Regardless, I’m… adjusting.