End of June Wrap-Up/Mingle/Plot Overview/ADA Meeting

[bluemackerel]

Despite the beginning of June being active, the middle and end of it was perhaps even moreso. Dazai, knowing this, had once more gathered the Fallen Stars for a meeting - this time at the ADA Cafe 'Shayou'.🗈

[The closed sign on the door of Cafe Shayou didn't stop it from being an active bustling place - though, this time, it was only filled with Fallen Stars. The group had been gathered once more for a meeting held by Dazai and the Armed Detective Agency - this time in a more secure location. He'd still gotten Dimitri to help with a barrier just in case, but as for now...Dazai rose up from his own seat, tapping his glass with a spoon to get everyone's attention.]

Hello and welcome, one and all, to Cafe Shayou! This will be our new Fallen Stars meeting spot from this point on, as far as official meetings are concerned. So. Let's start with a brief introduction for those of you who may be new in town. I - [he gestured to himself] - am Osamu Dazai. I'm a Fallen Star like the rest of you, a professional detective, and I run a little organization here known as the Armed Detective Agency along with my subordinates. [He gestures to the three nearby him.]

Their names are Atsushi Nakajima, Fauna, and Ryunosuke Akuwagata. [He didn't fuckin' stutter.] They're also quite reliable - please refer to them for any questions or concerns if I'm not available. We'll be at the center of any incidents here trying to solve them.

That having been said, welcome to Starsand. Let's go over what we've experienced recently, shall we?

Starting from the top, we had a small rumor incident with a couple of ghosts. However! That incident has since been resolved quite cleanly. Congratulations, all! Give yourselves pats on the back. It's always nice to see a happy ending.

So. There's our good news. Onto the bad news! 15 of our number were recently held in confines in a certain facility. Luckily! One of them was me! [A beat.] Akutagawa was also there. [now he's saying it correctly?!] Aaaaaaaaanyway. I'm not certain what happened to Akutagawa after we were split apart, but I was placed inside a room with Ryoma - Ryoma, please raise your hand - and Miss Inaba. Inaba, if you would-- thank you. [He gestures to them both.]

We were given an assignment. A test. One to prove our potential as a Kami. Unfortunately, the requirement to become a Kami in their eyes was murdering! And that's nooooo good! So obviously we refrained. Our test, however, led us to be in contact with a girl known as Theta. She introduced herself as the Kami of Willpower, and she seemed to favor me for the test - and Ryoma as well after a bit of minor convincing. Naturally, I was flattered, but she disappeared after a bit and left Ryoma and I to escape. Long story short, we did!

The rest of you who partook in the tests are encouraged to share your stories as well after this, by the by. But let's go over some minor objectives first.

First off. We don't know where the three Kamis have disappeared to. Theta, the Kami of Willpower. Mu, the Kami of Emotion. And Zeta, the Kami of Knowledge. All three have gone missing. It is our responsibility to track down - and furthermore, rescue these Kami. They may be hostile upon approach, but they have been misled. Their status as 'enemies' of us is not of their own desire, but someone else's. That's another priority to be looked at.

We've heard a name be tossed around - that being Therel - who is stronger than a Kami and seems to act as an overseer to the girls. However, I have reason to believe that even he isn't at the apex of this organization. It goes deeper. It is our responsibility to find how far down this rabbit hole goes, find the creature dwelling within, and show them justice, whoever they may be.

Secondly, the organization simply disappeared. It didn't seem to be destroyed in its entirety. It simply disappeared. This is not enough. It may appear somewhere else, and we must be ready. Please keep this in mind.

Thirdly. We've come upon a concept that I'm not too fond of. Theta mentioned this, and it is almost certainly something to worry about. According to their organization...no two Kamis can exist of the same concept. They are disposing of any others. Of children. And they do this regularly. So none of my suggestions come with anything but a heavy heart - apart from this last one.

Fourth of all...I'd encourage recovery. You need a healthy work-life balance, all of you, and that includes from incidents and rumors! Maybe we'll all do something fun next month. But as for the rest of this month, I do believe Miss Hanyuu's Watanagashi festival is soon, so I'd personally encourage giving that at least a bit of your time stopping by, since it's for one of our own.

Now, all of you are encouraged to share any extra information you may have on your tests, the overview of the facility - whatever you may know. Thank you for attending. Please feel free to give your patronage by buying drinks or food while you're here, and we'll be happy to serve you! Let's hope July is a little more relaxing, yeah~?

[Perhaps he was hoping for too much, but...]

Comments

[tigerpoet]

[Clears his throat, sometime after everyone with Relevant Information has shared their stuff.]

This, erm, has nothing to do with anything, but has anyone told you you have a very famous name?

[bluemackerel]

Not really, but I have been told I have movie star level charisma and looks frequently and without abandon.

[dazai please]

[nightwild]

I do?

[listen, you should have specified.]

[fallmushrooms]

[Velda raises her hand. And if it goes unnoticed long enough, makes her table's napkin dispenser levitate just to make sure.]

Our group ended up someplace similar, but with the knowledge one, Zeta. They had these files on people they were tracking down -- people we know, like Tau. And Zeta said we were "here to learn what the kami are too scared to tell." I mean, before she started telling us to kill each other.

[curuiosity]

[Rui chimes in with his own input after her.]

One of the files claimed Theta was deceased. Initially, when Ryoma mentioned her, I thought they might be two different people, named the same, but he confirmed the girl looked similar to the photo on file. Just older.

All the files we saw had a section on "shrines conquered" too.

during that intro

[undermoonlight]

[Atsushi gives Akutagawa a confused and almost apologetic look. Has... Has he been saying his name wrong this whole time?? While Atsushi never says his name fondly, it's impolite to wish death upon the wrong person.]

[nightwild]

[Fauna, meanwhile, looks like she would like the earth to swallow her up now.

She's so sorry, Akutagawa.]

[unquestioned_loyalty]

[ This is the exact face he returns to Atsushi. That's not his name. Dazai was just being rude. ]

[bluemackerel]

[He loves his job.]

later

[tigerpoet]

Erm... Atsushi? ...Atsushi-kun? How do you even address someone who has your exact name...

[nightwild]

[Fauna is standing around while Dazai introduces them, looking... well. She's a former evil general. She's good at standing around and looking intimidating. Standing around and looking helpful? Not so much. She appears to have reached a healthy compromise of 'standing around looking vaguely confused and extremely nervous'.

That said, it's time to share information, so once it's her turn, she's organizing her information to share handily.]

I fought Theta. The 'Kami of Willpower'. If you fight her, she can sap your willpower, and use it to fuel herself. I couldn't figure out how to beat her, but... Well, she didn't seem to have a counter for throwing up a bunch of walls between you and her. Still, she's dangerous. She can turn people against each other, twist your will, it's hard.

If you see her, don't try to fight unless you have a way that doesn't involve willpower.

... As for the rest. For those who don't know me, my name is Fauna, also known as Night Wild. I'm a Fallen Star, too, and one of Dazai's subordinates. If you're under attack or think you might be in danger, you can come to me. I'm strong.

[marshmallowpurgatory]

... So that's two out of three capable of mental manipulations. Not great, unless we can figure out a way to counter or resist it.

[juuryokushi]

[ Chuuya doesn't really know half of what's going on in this place, and that galls him. He doesn't like being kept in the dark. And what he likes even less is Dazai knowing more than him. Yeah, yeah, that's just an everyday occurrence, but in a new world it shouldn't have to be. Fucking Dazai.

So naturally, he storms into the cafe partway through whatever long-winded bullshit Dazai is spouting. He hears some stuff about kami, blah, blah, but technically he's already one of those, so he's not all that interested.

That's not to say he doesn't listen to the rest of what Dazai says; it grates him to have to, but despite Dazai's stupid attitude, he clearly knows what he's talking about. Chuuya isn't really the info gathering type, but he's not an idiot, and he's not a slouch. He's not as high up in the mafia ranks as he is because he hits hard. There's always been more to him than that, even if it takes some doing to find it.

Somehow he lasts until the end before he can't take it anymore. ]

Oi, mummy face.

[ A regular greeting would be far too much to ask. ]

I come in here to get a drink and all I get is your stupid ass lecturing. Is this place hell?

[nightwild]

[Fauna looks at this guy. Her hackles are raised immediately at how he's talking so rudely to... Dazai, she assumes, since he was doing the lecturing.

But. One thing needs to be made clear:]

Are you stupid? He doesn't look anything like a mummy.

[blastiaobsessieanonymous]

[A certain brown-haired individual with goggles... Was actually new here. She'd found herself in this strange city just two hours ago, and she'd quickly been pointed to here first, rather than one of the usual shrines.

She'd barely had time to piece her situation together by the time she'd slipped in - taking the number of people inside as a sign to ignore the 'Closed' sign, what would they do, kick her out?

Aaaaand then she'd gotten quite the fact dump. Dazai had gotten talking, she'd slipped to an empty booth, and then...]

Well. Great. What the hell have I gotten myself into? As if blinking and suddenly I'm elsewhere wasn't bad enough.

[That sounds like someone new here, for sure.]

[unquestioned_loyalty]

[ He really just got disrespected and disregarded in the same breath, huh?

He purses his lips, but explains his own experience after being split up from Dazai. ]

My name is Akutagawa. I was in a group with Tau and Leo. The objective in our room was for Tau to kill us for strength and to move on, however we convinced her that we could find a way out, and after a brief scuffle Leo managed to blast a hole in the ceiling. Going through the hole led to darkness where we wandered until we found an exit sign. An obvious trap, but behind it was...

[ He pauses ]

A fake copy of someone named Yuuto. Tau's brother, evidently. It grabbed her, attempted to push us both away. We defeated him and were faced with Mu, who had decided to copy our loved ones as bodyguards. They didn't prove a challenge, Tau bound up the girl and we met up with Inaba and Yuuto from there.

[ With the summary over he pressed on into the more important parts ]

We learned that she creates copies of people by siphoning emotion from those around her, mostly. And that the girls are considered experiments, though that may or may not be a very important detail.

[nightwild]

[If it helps, Fauna looks properly shamed and nervous about the name thing.]

... Sorry...

[applehearted]

[ Mafuyu is here and while she's definitely a fresh face for a majority of people here, she seems to look rather confident as she hems and haws, listening through all of this before speaking up.

Those who are extremely emotionally empathetic or extremely perceptive may notice that while Mafuyu's tone is cordial, kind and there's even a glitter of curiosity in her eyes, there's... something off that can't immediately be explained.

Like there's something scary underneath the surface. ]

Hi there, everyone. My name is Asahina Mafuyu and I'm actually quite new here. And I apologize in advance if any of the questions I end up asking being repetitive...

I'll go one by one so that it'll be easy to answer.

Let's see...

[ She rests a hand under her chin, humming slightly. ]

First of all is the mention of ghosts. Could I ask for more details on how exactly it was resolved? It'd do me no benefits to just simply accept things that might have multiple occurrences without knowing what was done to solve them in the first place.

[ But there's also one other thing she should mention after listening to this: ]

And... I don't know if this means anything, but - Therel almost sounds awfully close to the word threal, doesn't it? But it could just be one big coincidence.

[...]

One more thing. "The requirement to become a kami in their eyes"-- The term 'their eyes'. That means that there could be another way to become a kami without murder, right...? One they haven't thought of.

[ Not that she has any plans on becoming one. Besides, if she can't understand herself as a human, how could she understand herself as a kami? ]

[bluemackerel]

Pleasure to meet you, Miss Mafuyu. Let's see...

As for your first question, there were three incidents. Bloody Mary, The Footsteps Ghost, and the Pool Ghost. The Pool Ghost turned out to not be a rumor at all and something else entirely - something with a friendly presence, or so I've heard. Bloody Mary and Footsteps were resolved with rewrites to their stories. If you inherently change a rumor, it can become less or more of a threat - so we'll obviously always aim for less.

That second one is a good point, but I take it as a standard to not judge people on their names. Otherwise, everyone sharing a name with anyone I don't like could be terrible in my eyes. [He shrugs lightly.]

And that third one....yes. That's a possibility. We've no idea how, but it's a very valid possibility. Kami creation appears to be about belief. I suppose that could be gained in multiple ways - as a legend or a threat - but there might be other prerequisites we don't know of. I'll be looking into it. [And they'll obviously know if he gets results.]

[dereban]

[ Inaba's here, and she raises her hand when called on. ]

Inaba here.

[ All there is in her tone is a seriousness that doesn't break; she's put on an obvious cold front. ]

I was recording the first good half of what happened on my phone, so if anybody wants to listen to it over, feel free. There's one piece of pertinent information I should add at least. The voice that everyone heard over the intercoms that the fifteen of us heard --

That was Ariel, no doubt about it. I didn't say anything while we were inside because I didn't want our enemy to figure out that we knew her in some way, but there's no doubt about it, in any case.

[ Her memory when it comes to voices and faces is impeccable. If her memories aren't fucked with, it's almost eidetic. ]

In any case, I guess I should admit to a few things. the whole thing with me being there with the windchimes was a bit of an experiment. Yuuto and I made a pact and wrote each others' names on purpose, and I have a few theories as to how we got there in the first place.

First of all: I'm immune to magical and supernatural abilities most of the time. Meaning that the way we arrived at the facility was similar to how I was knocked out at the love kami's shrine -- through tampering of the soul.

And if I had to guess even further, and I hate to say this: they might have utilized Ariel's ability in order do exactly that. It might explain why the space itself was weird, and why the space itself was spoken to me like it was just... 'a memory'. Of course, I could be wrong. These are just my theories on the matter right now.

Everything else is basically as the others said.

[ She's leaving several things out, but that's because those are much, much more personal. ]

[nightwild]

... Tampering of the soul again.

[She folds her arms.]

I've got... a thought here that I really, really don't like. Does your nullification power work on kami abilities too?

guess who

[ai_nnihilate]

[While the meeting is primarily of Fallen Stars, there are a few native residents. One of which is the Kami of Love herself, holding her head high and maintaining her composure. Initially, she delivers a report in a more serious tone than some might be accustomed to hearing from her:]

I'm sorry that you all had to go through that. The building you entered is a research Facility that was illegally in operation five years ago. I'll answer your questions- But leave my children out of it, please.

While you were on your rescue mission, someone attempted to drain my shrine of its magic using those windchimes. They seemed to be under the impression that they could weaken me by drawing my power into hundreds of sources at once. But I've destroyed them and regained control of my shrine. Thank you... for making sure that I didn't leave it unguarded. [She nods towards Ink especially.]

[Later, after the attention has drifted away from her, Satou can be found at a booth with some of her children. By this point, at least Chron and Dimitri are sleeping against either shoulder. She's drinking tea and flipping through the pages of notes that she made during the meeting... and she looks very tired.]

LATER

[bluemackerel]

[It's by that point that Dazai is starting to get a bit worn as well. Still. He stops beside her booth, giving her an apologetic yet sympathetic look. His voice is lowered, since the kids are sleeping.]

Sorry for all that.

I...tried to handle it as best I could. Should've never escalated like it did.

healing services

[goldenmage]

[Before the meeting gets too far, Shugo raises his hand and stands. Once he feels like he's got a suitable amount of attention, he jabs his thumb at himself:]

I can heal. If you're injured, then get over here and I'll take care of it. Doesn't matter if it's a broken leg or a bruise.

[...] And I'd like to hear more about the Kami of Knowledge. I am the Kami of Curiosity, so it comes with the territory.

[tigerpoet]

Ah - thank you for letting me stay in your shrine. ...For three months while I lost track of time and just read books.

[forced_error]

I. (General)

[ His name is mentioned and he's asked to raise his hand. Not that it helps much given his height, but he does play along and allow himself to be pointed out. He's open for questions if anyone has them. He's just off towards the edge of the café nursing some coffee.

Should someone approach him, he'll tilt his head at them. ]

What's up? Have a question for me?

II. (For Dazai)

[ After the wave of people asking questions has passed, Ryoma makes his way over to Dazai. He dorsn't seem terribly annoyed, just tired. ]

... What all happened once we were split up?

[ Naturally he's a bit awkward asking about it given what their last, interrupted, conversation had been about, but he felt it was only right to check. After all they were meant to stick together back there regardless of that awkward topic. ]

[bluemackerel]

[Dazai's been answering questions, so he's more than a little tired. But--oh hey, there's Ryoma.]

Well. Lessie. You seem like someone who has discretion, so I'm going to let you in on everything. Just use your better judgement with who you share this with.

[He leans against a wall.]

You were whisked away by magic, so my ability cancelled it out. My ability makes me immune to such things.

And Dimitri was apparently immune as well, since he woke up. He was in a bit of a state, considering he'd been stabbed, but the SpaceTime kami is definitely what you'd call a 'trooper'. We found a medical station and he asked me what all had gone on while he patched himself up a little. I explained.

I also explained that we had intent to save Theta. I'm fairly certain he didn't expect that, since...that was when the floodgates opened. [He sighs softly.] Theta is part of his family. Just like Satou. Just like his father. Just like Therel.

So I ended up in a hallway with this poor kid who was crying because he didn't want to lose his family and trying his damndest to remain strong.

...I could only promise him that everyone would do their best to try to help. To save them. There wasn't much else I could do, and I couldn't just ignore a poor kid crying like that.

That's why we can't consider Therel a full threat, either. Ideally, we'll be able to save everyone. Ideally. I don't know how it'll go, realistically speaking, but ideally, we'll be protecting and saving everyone we can.

We being ADA, of course. Feel free to include yourself if you so wish it. I wouldn't offer that to just anyone, but you seem to be capable enough.

Aaaaaanyway. After we got over that hurdle, we found a machine. I put my hand on it to disable its ability, and it stopped working. Then Dimitri destroyed it. The facility started going to pieces not long after.

re: tau

[goldspecktacles]

[While Leo was in a privileged position to learn about Tau's situation, he decides to keep that information to himself. Plenty of people are already talking about it and he's sure that she has heard it enough tonight. It's only Elliot that Leo gently pulls aside and tells about Tau being an experiment, who was being forced by someone named 'Terrel' to kill people. He's also keeping Tau's reality-warppng abilities between Elliot and himself for now, as well as all that he learned about 'Yuuto' (he can teleport? big brother?)

But he does eventually address the group. Leo's otherwise been quiet tonight and fretting over Elliot from a distance, but this seems important enough to mention:]

I believe that we should, if she'd allow, welcome Ms Tau into our ranks as an honorary Fallen Star. I'd like to suggest that we do our part to make her feel safe and welcome in our company. After all that's happened, it would be unreasonable to exclude her.

[Leo has some tact and won't say it directly in front of Tau, but he means that they should all be actively protecting her. 'Safe and welcome' meaning to help her not feel like she has to watch her back and fear another kidnapping. 'All that's happened' being a polite way to remind everyone that Tau suffered repeated trauma today. He's not normally one for babying people, but Tau went through hell.]

[dereban]

--if she allows it, we're getting a cake.

[ It's said blandly, but she is completely serious about that cake. ]

[veileddreamer]

[Tau was mostly just going to keep quiet and draw in her sketch book, with her worn out griffin plush in her lap. She was exhausted from the day and just wanted to hide in her room, but she was also too scared to leave without her parents, and they were still doing things here. She would grumble about Dazai though.]

If he knows his subordinates' names... then he should just say them properly from the start...

[unquestioned_loyalty]

[ He's... He's going to pretend he didn't hear that. He's embarrassed enough about it. ]

Tau. How are you doing?

[ He's coming over with some decaffeinated tea for her. He's not particularly the most comforting person. Likely particularly in her case after what she'd seen of him, but he felt it necessary to check in on her. ]

[violetlies]

[After that mess, Kokichi has been...quiet. He's been half-asleep. He had to go home and get a shirt to put on, which he did. But he's still wearing Kaito's bloody coat over it, which isn't exactly befitting the look of anyone doing remotely okay.

He listens to Dazai's speech, clutching a coffee in one hand. In truth, he wanted a soda more, but he'd wait until he got home for that. He took a sip and sank into his seat. What a shitty day. He's not really looking at anyone in particular - just the table in front of him, weighing how long he should wait until he goes to get Ryoma to go home.

Maybe Shuichi would reach out to him soon.

Maybe that'd be asking too much.]

[ai_nnihilate]

[Satou had been doing her part to check in on everyone. She's no stranger to that awful facility and she knows how it creeps into the corners of one's brain. Kokichi was already on a list of people to visit, but he rockets to the top when she catches a glimpse of him.

That coat is covered in blood. She doesn't need for that to be Kokichi's blood in order to worry. People don't wear blood covered clothing for no reason... In her experience, they're usually attached to the person who bled.]

Hey there. Has anyone gotten you some food yet? [She pauses by his side, reaching out to tap his shoulder. Mindful that if he flinches or rejects the touch, she'll give up.]

[ubermonster]

[ Polly here had shown up, despite having not contributed anything of worth over the past month. The whole thing sounded way too interesting to pass up, and being considered a "Fallen Star" herself, it was only natural for her to take in this information.

It seems like there's a common enemy at least, but there is one thing that she's curious about. ]

Yes yes, a question.

Obviously, as you said, murdering is no good. So I take it that the ideal result isn't to wipe our enemies off of the face of the... well, this world. So then, I'm very curious. What exactly is the "justice" we intend to show them?

[nightwild]

Save them and bring them back. Even if they don't want it.

[Fauna's answer is immediate.]

[mothornly]

[ While being rescued is all fine and dandy, Yor is here in a panic, looking rather flustered. ]

--excuse me! Has anyone seen my daughter? Short with bright pink hair and hair accessories that look like triangles?

[ Because she is now very concerned after hearing everything that she found.

After that little escapade, later, she'll properly speak up with what she found: ]



My name is Yor Forger. [ Introducing herself for those new and old alike. ] I was one of those who were taken to the facility and -- I found this really weird contract, but it's written in some strange language for the most part...

If anybody here can read it, I think that it might help.

[ She takes out the folded note from her pocket to reveal it. ]

There were some other papers we found that talk about the awful human experiments they ran on children... and a video that showed them fighting each other, crushing spirits...

Um.

I didn't bring the video back, though, I'm sorry!

[ Because she fucking broke it. ]

[nightwild]

[Listening to Yor talk, but she's unhappy about the human experiments topic.]

I don't think anyone will blame you for not bringing it back. I'd have smashed it if I saw it.

[melancholie]

[Dimitri is exhausted. He's been betrayed and stabbed today, cried to a stranger, and now he's sitting at the cafe. At least his cloak is back and he pulls it around his shoulders, gripping the pink ribbon that closes it for comfort. His eyes are still red from crying, but he sees his family standing up to give reports so... Probably best to speak up as well.]

I believe that the building we visited was a fragment of the past. The bloodstains were- [Inhale,] They were exactly as I remember them being before. I believe that Dazai- [he considers an honorific

then lets the moment pass rudely-] Dazai and I successfully destroyed one of the generators. And it sounds like someone else got the other one.

[He hesitates. Considering his sisters' and brother, but knowing someone needs to talk about it... Before his parents realize what he's up to and can stop him, Dimitri quietly volunteers himself:]

... I can answer questions about what it's like being there.

[He doesn't mention being one of the Spacetime Kami. But every time they come up in conversation, Dimitri tucks a bit more uncomfortably into his corner of the cafe.

By the end of the night, he's been scolded by Satou for volunteering himself and is sleeping next to her.]

[nightwild]

[sup dimitri. Fauna has been kind of watching him worriedly- She knew Dazai would never hurt him, of course, but she still worried when Theta had his cloak. It's good to see it back where it belongs.

Unfortunately, he's saying complicated things.]

What do you mean, 'fragment of the past'?