Scene #8629: Reporting In

Owner	Pose
Aya Shameimaru	SOME TIME AGO The lavish pagoda of the Daitengu, at the top of one of Youkai Mountain's most prestigious urban centres for information. Red maple leaves drift along the winds of Gensokyo's autumn; the sun is setting. The Crow Tengu are settling in from a long workday, and underneath, the raucous cheer from those gathering at the street vendors fills the air. "Well?" questions the Daitengu in blue, leaning against the railing of the eave, her lips curled into a faint smirk as she looks back into the room. "I know it was you," Aya remarks quietly from her kneeling position of feigned obedience, dressed in formal Tengu robes. "And..." the Daitengu continues. "Certainly, I won't find a subordinate foolish enough to spread this out amongst the masses, would I? That would just be pure folly. Look below at your colleagues, Shameimaru..." "Is that a threat, Daitengu-sama?" Aya quietly asks. "Just an observation," the Daitengu remarks with a wider smile. "How long have you /been/ here on the mountain? And you don't even hold an office..." ~~ A LESSER AMOUNT OF TIME AGO The remains of a stack of newspapers smoulders on a pile of leaves, on the bonfire outside of her living room. The header reads 'Bunbunmaru Newspaper'. Rather frustratedly, Aya rubs at her face as she paces around in circles, shaking her head, shoving what little she still finds of her notes further into the fire. A White Wolf Tengu peeks worriedly over the fence, apparently on fire alarm duty. "Um-- Shameimaru-dono, is everything okay--" "It's fine. I won't start a fire," Aya snappishly replies, staring as a few Crow Tengu peers hover over the poor White Wolf Tengu. "Oh, a big scoop! A scoop! Aya Shameimaru, gone off the deep end and setting FIRE to her newspaper--" "Flock off, you featherbrains!" Aya scowls to the mad, jovial cackles of her peers. ~~ JUST BEFORE NOW Aya Shameimaru stares listlessly and sighs at the enormous, bizarre object in front of her. She looks to some of the Kappa that're busy tinkering with some of the observation devices they've set up around the Warpgate. She's heard of it, of course, and you'd think that Aya Shameimaru, intrepid reporter, would be the first one through... Maybe she's been putting it off because she hopes home would still have a meaning. That there's something there, still. Who's she kidding? She takes a deep breath, thinking about what Nitori excitedly said about 'escape velocity' and how 'you have to go fast enough to escape the gravitational pull' or some nonsense-- fine, go fast, Aya can do that. She zips forward through the Gate, becoming speed itself-- ~*~ NOW --and a black and white blur zooms out of the Warpgate and makes a deeply unsatisfying THUD against the nearest wall and comes to a stop on the floor, reeling in pain and muttering unpleasant curses. It's a black-haired woman in white and black robes, with a long black skirt and a white haori with loosely-attached sleeves, and a red tokin hat with pom poms streaming out of it. Where'd she come from?
Petra Soroka	Petra had promised Angela a haunted house, so a haunted house is what she would get. Petra is far from the most experienced, qualified, or even materially-capable person to host a Halloween party, but such things had never stopped her before. Despite that, however, Petra can't afford to skimp on any of the decor. Not only for Angela, but the possibility of Lilian attending too-- and Lilian attending a party that Petra hosted means that she has to make it flawless. So she hunted around for an authentic, affordable party supply store, both in aboveboard and more dubious circles, and found one within her budget, as long as she allocated all of her food money for the month towards this. And maybe... she'll need to ask Woz to cater, or something. Spirits Halloween! A party supply store that possesses the husks of abandoned buildings during the spooky seasons, founded and purportedly staffed by ghosts, but when Petra and the other agents arrived to do shopping, all the employees were human-- all the visible ones, at least. The entire shopping trip, Petra was on edge, swearing that she could feel something watching her, and shivering despite her jacket. Which is good! Lilian likes ghosts, so if Petra accidentally picked up any haunted objects, that's a plus, as far as she's concerned, even with consequences up to but just barely not including being beheaded in a freak spectral accident. Right before Aya's arrival, Petra is looking at the directory-- a physical, actual directory-- in the Warpgate hub, trying to figure out which gate takes them back to Lobotomy Corporation the fastest. Shajo and Nonon are forced to carry all of the bags of party supplies, with the black-orange logo on the outside. "I think we want... 14A? Ugh, it's all the way on the other side of the hub, what a p--" Petra is just turning to walk away, stepping to the side while still looking at the directory, when Aya crashes through the gate and slams into the wall right in front of Petra. Mid-step, Petra isn't able to stop her motion from carrying forwards and-- planting her boot directly on Aya's hand. "Oh, fuck, shit, sorry. Are-- uh." Petra stammers, fumbling around for a second before remembering to unplant her boot from directly on Aya's hand. "Shit. Sorry. Are-- you, alright?"
Angela	Nonon and Shajo, two Agents of Lobotomy Corp, are making their way back to Lobotomy Corp by traversing through Central Warp Station (not to be confused with Main Warp Station). Nonon is a six foot ten woman with pale blue hair and the build of a bodybuilder and is stacked like a crate. She is holding up her significantly shorter partner Shajo with one arm who is sitting there with a contemplative expression on his face, periodically adjusting his glasses. They're both armed, Nonon with large golden gloves and Shajo with a ... bloody rusted axe but the latter is strapped to Shajo's back. On his left arm is an video pad that presently is showing Angela though she seems distracted, looking off to the side. Along Nonon's other arm are several large black-orange bags with the words SPIRITS HALLOWEEN emblazoned with the visage of the Grim Reaper hovering over the sign (Shajo also has one). "You know," Shajo says. "I don't really get why we're celebrating Halloween at L-Corp, it's already plenty spooky." "Is it really? I mean, it's dangerous, but I don't know if I'd say it's spooky." Nonon says, still holding Shajo up like he's a falcon. "Fun spooky is totally different than dangerous spooky. In fact, dangerous spooky is usually fast and awful rather than like something that builds up dread..." "I dunno, I feel like you can scare people just by jumping in out of nowhere and making a loud noise--" And as if summoned, a black and white blur flies through a nearby Warpgate and crashes into a wall. Shajo yelps in terror and falls off of Nonon's arm, falling flat on onto his back, his glasses being knocked askew from impact and a large glowing green (and plastic) skull tumbles out of the bag, spinning around a full 360 degrees before going, "OOOOHAHAHAHAHAHA!!..." in recorded echoey dialogue. Rather than have sympathy for her fallen comrade, Nonon guffaws and grins brightly and says, "You okay, buddy? Am I gonna have to sling you over a shoulder?" Shajo groans. "The fuck just happened?" Gradually the two of look on over to the black haired woman that crashed into the wall like a comet. "Shit, is she dead?" Angela is drawn away from what she is doing, turning to look through the vidscreen. "...Help her." Angela says to Nonon and Shajo with the tone of 'Help her you idiots' but with the 'you idiots' being silent. Shajo, who is now carrying nothing, makes his way on over to Aya and offers a hand. "You okay? ... You got a concussion?"
Futaba Nuki	After a hair-raising adventure in an unfamiliar part of the Multiverse, Futaba's finally on her way back home! She's opted to take a detour instead of going straight back to put in her reports, though, and her little detour has just so happened to get her lost. Getting lost, naturally, means taking some time to find new food places, and finding new food places means getting even more lost! Also, conveniently showing up right around when an unfamiliar figure in black and white has decided to ram herself into a wall. Futaba blinks slowly while trying to process what she's just seen, adjusts her scarf to make sure it's billowing around her back properly regardless of wind direction, and then she hurries over to offer a hand to the muttering lady. "Uh. Hey there! You alright?" She asks with some audible concern in her tone, but somehow also sounds like she's trying not to make a big deal of it. "Friends put you up to some kinda contest or something? Should try using the shoulder next time!" Futaba explains as she pats her shoulder with the non-helping hand and sniffs once while her big fat raccoon tail swings once from one side to the other. It's pretty easy to see that the girl's some kind of tanuki between said giant tail, the markings around her eyes that look like a mask, and the big leaf seemingly attached to her forehead. Aside from that, it's a little less clear what kind of look she's going for. Her clothes look like she's some kind of student somewhere between the running shorts, the bright red sneakers, and the light jacket that's definitely on the sportier side than the fancy side. Between the pouch worn around her waist and the few kunai strapped to her belt, though, she might give off the idea that she's also trying to look like some kind of thoroughly unstealthy ninja, especially with the billowing red scarf. Spotting some familiar faces nearby, meanwhile, has Futaba looking up and over at Petra, Nonon, and Shajo. "Eh? Oh! Fancy meeting all you here. Nah, nah, she's not dead. See?" A beat, and then she looks over at Aya to see if she's got anything stuck to her forehead. "You're... Not dead, right?"
Raziel	Raziel had come back from an excursion into Nosgoth. Raziel really was in between where he wanted to be right now. Away from the stresses that were increasingly assaulting him at home, but at the same time wanting to solve the big mystery he is wrapped up in. Taking a breath, he stands up, he should probably at least thank Angela for her aid... Then there was a crash. 'Immediately, I was shaken out of my thoughts. Something had come through the Warp Gate at speeds I had trouble following. I hadn't even had time to react, never mind hit the ground before I realized it wasn't some explosive or weapon fired through... but a person winged and seemingly on the ground. As the others walked towards her, I wondered what caused that commotion. I decided to investigate.' Raziel stands somewhat near the back of the people who came to see what the fuss was about, he pushes forward a little to see what exactly was going on. "Perhaps you should give her some room..." he says, leaning down. "Do you need medical assistance?" he asks, carefully. Not that he could himself, but... "Are you in danger? Is someone chasing after you?" he continues to ask, calmly and firmly. Trying to see if the person who just used the speed force to zip through a portal was alright.
Timespace Riders	A brightly smiling Demon King of Time steps through the warpgate with armfuls of desserts balanced precariously atop one another. His retainer appears beside him, pushing a tray packed on all three tiers with food. The misfortune of their arrival is that it happens just as Aya's does. Sougo makes a buffoonish 'UWOH' of surprise, wheeling out of the way in time to avoid impact with the black and white blur. The desserts are upended and threaten to clatter to the floor for one stomach-lurching, wince-inducing moment. Woz flings his grey wool scarf outwards, sending it impossibly extending into the air and snatching up each packaged delight. The serpentine fabric neatly, gently twists, organizing each dessert into their previous configuration. "My Demon King," says Woz, sighing with put-upon relief, "It would have been no trouble at all to make two trips. Are you well?" Sougo beams, a little embarrassment shining through his sunny smile as he rubs the back of his head. "Yeah! I'm fine. But... I'm more worried about her," he says, nodding towards Aya and hurrying over. Woz gently sets the packages down, his scarf brushing them out of the way for the moment. "You were really gunning it, there. It's safe...ish, here, if you need to catch your breath and shake that... um, 'landing' off."
Petra Soroka	Seeing Futaba here... it always has to happen like this, doesn't it? It is, objectively, not a small Sector at all, but coincidentally seeing familiar faces while out on business happens far too often for Petra's liking. Petra sighs. At least Futaba's only minorly annoying, compared to all the other people she could run into. And there's Woz and Sougo too-- two people that she feels like she should be more annoyed by appearing than she is. "Huh. We've got a whole party here, all of a sudden." It's like the Elites of the multiverse are constantly drawn towards Petra-- a thought that only makes sense from Petra's perspective, given that the gravitational pull of destiny could just as easily be tugging her towards them, instead. "Obviously she's not dead. If she was dead there would be, like, blood, or something." "Do you need medical assistance?" Petra lights up, making a wordless volunteering-noise. She fumbles in the pockets of her overalls, clumsy in her eagerness, to pull out the first aid kit that she carries around and has never had any reason to use. Her preparedness would be more impressive if not for the emergency first aid kit fastened to the wall right above Aya's head. "I can help. If you-- if you need medical, help."
Aya Shameimaru	CRUNCH Petra's boot comes down on her hand and Aya's forced to tuck her lips inward as she rolls the other way the moment the woman's boot unplants onto her, right into Shajo's offering hand, which she accepts and somehow kips up a moment later. Two seconds pass, which undoubtedly race forever in Aya's brain as she tries to recollect herself from an unexpected faux pas in this-- this-- this is a strange land made of strange materials and that lady, Nonon, is Yuugi-huge and why is there a bloody axe strapped to that person's back...? Futaba can see a red blotch on her forehead that she might want to compress at some point, but Aya doesn't seem (outwardly) concerned about it right now as she tries to (almost literally) save face. "I'm, I'm perfectly all right, see? Not dead. I'm not due the Sanzu River just yet." She's seeing double and her ears are ringing, but she keeps that on the down low. A shinobi? Aya thinks to herself, and a tanuki... she isn't one of Mamizou's, is it...? Can't be too careful... Raziel asks if she's in danger, and she's quick to reassure, "Oh, no, nothing of the sort. It's my first time using one of those and a colleague mistakenly told me that I had to go fast," she notes putting Nitori in a headlock later, even if she didn't fully understand everything she was saying. There's mention of a 'Demon King', and Raziel's appearance doesn't seem far off. Thinking of the Scarlet sisters for a moment, she nods to Woz and Sougo to say, "I'm glad to hear that." 'Safe' was definitely not high on her expectations after throwing herself head-first into the unknown. She clears her throat and tries to pull herself up to perfect primness. "Well, in any case, my name is Aya. I'm a..." Is she still a journalist? Existential questions. "Journalist." Yep, still on the beat. "It's nice to meet all of you. I'll be okay, miss, thank you," she adds to Petra holding the first aid kit.
Dysnomia	Dysnomia had been outfitting one of the Watch's safehouses with a basic fabricator she'd salvaged off a wreck past the oort cloud. After spending several hours tinkering with it, she'd managed to get it to make something other than tasteless, alien gruel. And, so what if she'd happened to use it to fab some snacks. She stood in the middle of the warpgate station, with her usual frown, an assortment of chip bags and dip hovering in a mist behind her as she scanned the crowd. She spotted the agents and strode forward, opened her mouth and-- --A blur of speed crashed through her, passing right through her body, scattering it into a cloud. It took a moment before she recongealed, mostly due to surprise expression twisted into a pained grimace, no worse for wear. A woman of average height, with glowing blue-silver hair, and pupiless eyes. "Watch where you're going, why don't you?" The snacks and party favors floated over to Nonon. "First time, huh." She crossed her arms. "Welcome to the multiverse, I guess."
Angela	Shajo helps Aya up. He probably would've yelped or hissed if someone stepped on his hand, he thinks. Tougher than she looks, he figures. Nonon is about as tough as she looks and honestly she does have a similar kind of easygoing personality, though they both read as humans. Despite the bloody axe on his back, Shajo doesn't seem to think twice about it. Shajo glances over to Futaba, distracted by her arrival--but recognizes her readily enough. "Oh hey." Shajo says, almost as casually as Nonon. "We're coming back from a shopping trip. If she's dead we had nothing to do with it--" That last bit comes with the tone of one accustomed to being blamed for unusual deaths. And he even says it AFTER pulling Aya up. It's not like being dead stopped any of his colleagues from walking around like they owned the place half the time. Nonon has a free hand for snacks and partyfavors. She takes them and smiles at the ether wyrm. "Hey hey, met a ... new traveler? You know, this might be the first time we get to introduce ourselves to somebody new to the multiverse rather than being the newbies ourselves." "OOOOHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!..." "What about Stelle?" Shajo points out. "I don't know if I can really count her she seemed like she knew what she was doing from the jump." Nonon quips back before looking to Aya. "Hey there! I'm Nonon! My fuckbuddy is Shajo. Petra's the gal who knows first aid and Angela's on the screen there." "Oh my god don't call me fuckbuddy in front of someone we just met just because it's accurate." Shajo frowns sevely, his face bright red. Angela focuses on Aya rather than participating in the antics. "...A journalist. I see. Have you come here searching for a story?" Her eyes slant over to Petra. "Have you considered journalism before?" Shajo consders the fact that there's a Demon King AND a ghost vampire taking the multiversal subway. "...You think this will actually be scary?" He asks of Petra uncertainly. "OOOOHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!..." The skull chatters.
Timespace Riders	>We've got a whole party here, all of a sudden. "We came to seek Angela's expertise on an unrelated matter in the near future, foretold of in this book," says Woz, with the usual sort of insufferably smug smile Petra has likely come to expect from him. The book is tucked neatly under his right arm. "Foretold of as well was a potential future with a celebration--one wherein you asked my assistance in catering." His free hand rises and is pressed to his chest, his chin turned up pridefully. Naturally, he thought to make that potential future a reality. "Hi, Angela," says Sougo, smiling brightly and waving. >I'm a ... journalist. "Oh! Cool!" Sougo grins wide. "I'm Sougo. I'm going to be king one day." In a canary yellow button-up shirt, rolled blue jeans, and a pair of Timbs, he hardly looks like a Demon King. Especially not with his sunny disposition. "This is my retainer, Woz." Woz looks the part--though his double-breasted olive greatcoat and grey scarf give him a decidedly apocalyptic presence. "Um, if you don't mind me asking--Raziel brought up a good question a minute ago. Were you being chased by someone? Or was that just... stretching your legs?" Woz offers a little bow at the waist to Dysnomia, before returning to his catering cart and pushing it out of the way, parking it near the desserts. "Indeed, he is correct," Woz counsels Nonon. "People will know by the way you antagonize him, and those that do not are hardly worth the effort to educate."
Futaba Nuki	'Are you in danger? Is someone chasing after you?' 'You were really gunning it, there. It's safe...ish, here, if you need to catch your breath and shake that... um, 'landing' off.' That gets Futaba to back off a bit from Aya, glancing around a few times to see if there is, in fact, anyone chasing after her. Spotting nobody particularly suspicious, she turns her attention back to... 'If she was dead there would be, like, blood, or something.' 'We're coming back from a shopping trip. If she's dead we had nothing to do with it--' ... Petra and Shajo! "... Oh yeah. I mean, her head doesn't look like it got hit with one of your things, so you're clear. But... Wait. What if she's got some of that internal bleeding? Like this one time, I fought this guy with a big hammer, right? And he knocked me around a bunch with this big oar, but there wasn't any bleeding because he only hit my gut and arms and stuff, but it totally felt like I was dying for a while because it was before I got all powered up. Still kicked his butt, but it really sucked!" After Aya confirms that she is, in fact, not dead, Futaba's attention comes right back to Aya properly, and she backs off a bit to give her some space. "Great! Wait, Sanzu...?" The old-fashioned clothes. The funky sleeves. The tokin. It doesn't take much more than that and the greeting to get Futaba's eyes to light up. "Oh, hey! Never thought I'd see someone from home around here. Name's Futaba. I'm a ninja!" She boasts with a proud puff of her chest, chuckling briefly before tapping a finger to her chin quizzically. "Which paper do you write for? I know dad's got a whole stack in his collection, but maybe we've got some of your stuff back home." She pauses one more moment, then levels yet another question that's still clearly based off that incorrect assumption from earlier. "My brother didn't send you out here, did he?"
Raziel	'While her entry into the multiverse seemed like she was running from something... or someone, it appears that it was mistaken. Considering how people are in this multiverse... this almost reminds me of how confidently wrong a certain Vampire Princess often was... though at least her incorrect assumptions lead to an afternoon of fun.' Raziel remembered the Scarlet Devil Escape Room, where the stakes were not being sent to hell if they failed to get out. "Raziel," he says with eloquent tone and measure, "A pleasure to meet you Aya. If you are sure you are quite alright... I do hear journalism can be dangerous sometimes," he comments. Not everyone likes the truth to be reported of them, or rather... Not everyone can face it. He looks towards Petra with the first aid kit and motions towards her forehead with a single claw. "That'd probably be helpful for her before that spreads," he comments to the lady. Have they met before..? No matter... He looks towards Angela next, "Lady Angela, well met. A coincidence that we all happened to be in the same place," he comments, before staring at the skull. "How accurate..." he says, bitterly.
Petra Soroka	"I'll be okay," Petra slides the first-aid kit back into her pocket, deflating slightly. "Alright. Well. If you're okay. Sorry again, about stepping on you. So I'll...." Petra is inching away, still embarrassed and wanting to disappear from the interaction. She has no reason to continue talking with Aya, after all-- it's not as though "journalist" is an occupation unique to Elites, and there's a million people in the sector who look as weird as that. Ironically, this would be one time where Petra's assumptions about the fate and narrative-driven forces of the universe, vis-a-vis Elites, would be correct. She's stopped by Nonon, Shajo, and most importantly Angela, engaging the new girl in conversation. She's also stopped dead in her tracks by 'fuckbuddy'. "You can't say that! You can't introduce yourself to someone like that! Don't say it's accurate! Stop being weird!" Petra stomps her foot indignantly, and flinches when her boot lands on a pile of streamers that fell out of one of the Spirits Halloween bags, instinctually reacting like she'd stomped on a hand again. It'd be her third time, actually. "You don't get to associate yourself with me while you're being embarrassing. Hi. Yes. I'm Petra. I work with those two. But not very closely." Petra hangs her head and engages back with the little circle of Elites, after scooping the streamers and the cackling skull up off the ground. Angela's question makes Petra pause, thoughtfully averting her eyes for a little bit. "I mean... I think I've mentioned that before, right? It's something I've thought about. Grier even... suggested it to me, too. Being a journalist. But it's kind of not really something I can do anymore, I've got other stuff going on." Petra crosses her arms and rolls her eyes at Woz. "Yeah, well. Maybe your stupid book should've told you to call me instead of hunting me down in the middle of a shopping trip. Whatever, though. I was going to ask you anyways." The floating snacks catch her eye, and she finally notices Dysnomia. Due to almost entirely seeing her in person as a blue wormlike Pokemon, Petra doesn't recognize her at all, tilting her head in confusion. "You?" The baffled fragment of a greeting just slips out of her mouth. "Snack delivery person?"
Dysnomia	"Dysnomia." The girl corrected, nodding to the snacks. "Doing Angela a favor."
Aya Shameimaru	Aya looks to the pupiless-eyed woman with the blue-silver hair for a moment to say, "Oh, I'm terribly sorry about that. I'm quite glad I didn't actually ram into anyone," with a professional courtesy, like she's used to apologising politely in public. Shajo and Nonon start speaking of how for once, they're not the newbies to the 'multiverse'. Multiverse... yes, she's heard the Kappa who've gone through talk about it. One of them came back with a mysterious black rectangle that occupied all her time and ruined her financially through devious traps passing as games and pelasantry. "Mister Shajo, Miss Nonon." It's unclear what 'fuckbuddy' autotranslates to, through the multiversal laws, but it doesn't seem to phase her. "Miss Petra, Miss Angela," she repeats, in a tone of 'how do you do', nodding towards the woman on her screen. Did she come here searching for a story? Angela asks. Aya has to think that for a moment. "I'm keeping my options open at the moment, getting accustomed to everything," Aya smiles back to Angela. There's definitely an enormous culture shock at everything going on that she's regulating within herself. The Tengu does emanate the aura of customer service, in a way: someone who's endured the nine hells of Retail, one Karen at a time. It seems like these people know each other; they're planning some kind of... hall...o...ween? Was there a celebration like that back in Gensokyo? She can't recall. Woz explains of how they came to gather expertise, and a celebration... Sougo introduces himself as a future king, which has Aya blinking twice. "My, so you are the future Demon King, Mister Sougo?" she chuckles. "I wasn't sure which amongst you held the title." There /are/ multiple contenders here, just from appearance, after all! Was she being chased? "Oh, no, I came of my own volition, trust me. I've never entered a Warpgate, however, so I wasn't certain if I would be trapped. Consider it a rookie's mistake." Futaba seems to put two and two together and concludes that she's someone from home, which has Aya's mind webbing out once more. Is she from Gensokyo, or... no, from circumstantial evidence, Aya assumes feudal Japan. That said, it isn't as if Gensokyo is isolated any longer, so... "I write a little publication known as the Bunbunmaru Newspaper," Aya responds to Futaba. Her brother? "That's most certainly not the case. I know of only one other tanuki, and she's a woman." Raziel comments on how journalism can be dangerous. "Undoubtedly, Mister Raziel," she answers in turn. "But, in a sense, the most dangerous truths are the ones most worth pursuing." Aya doesn't have to be a psychic to see Petra's embarrassment, and she shakes her head again to say, "It's perfectly fine. I nearly crashed into Miss Dysnomia there, after all. I'm simply glad no one was hurt." ... she's not counting herself in that arrangement, is she? "By the way, it seems like you're all planning for some kind of festival. Is it some kind of harvest festival, perhaps?"
Angela	"Eh?? We can't?? It's weird???" Nonon says, eyes wide. "Ah, sorry... Sometimes I get pulled into these talks with Nonon I kind of forget about the rest of the world." Shajo adds, mercilessly throwing Nonon under the bus (Nonon doesn't deny this). "OOOOHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!..." The skull chatters, heedless of Raziel's feelings on the matter. Angela says, "Ah," to Petra, having nothing to say about the matter of 'fuckbuddies'. "Yes. It occured to me that you all might get hungry and we were already communicating in a sideband." Angela cannot eat but thanks to Lilian she knows how good eating CAN be and as such, even if it is a little annoying for her to experience, she would prefer to keep her team and Petra from getting... ''hangry''. "She happened to be in the area so I transfered some Ahn so she could buy snacks for everyone." Shajo crouches down to start putting Halloween junk back in the bag. "OOOOHAHAH--!!..." The skull manages before Petra snags it and turns it back off while shoving it into the bag. Angela makes a small note with a pen on something unseen before looking to Raziel, "....Is it really accurate? ... Well, I imagine people are drawn to crashing girls out of nowhere otherwise we might not have given each other's presence a second thought." Lady Angela, she thinks. Only other person who really calls her that is Tiphereth A. Angela is about to ask what Sougo and Woz are talking about when Woz smugly indicates he was asking about catering. Angela thinks about the last time Woz helped produce a party at Lobotomy Corp. It was perhaps the most dreadful experience Angela had ever had despite involving far fewer murders than the rest of her memories. Still, that is likely just coincidence, right? It's not like he planned for Hibiki Tachibana or Petra to be ordered into a cage and for everyone to stand around like slackjawed... Angela takes a breath and calms herself. "It is Petra's event but I have no objection." Woz's presence makes her think this is not actually a coincidence at all and that the Demon King's attendant lightly manipulted events so eveerybody would be here when a journalist crashed in from the sky. ''It's kind of not really something I can do anymore'' "I see." Angela thinks aloud, wondering if she'd enjoy the work. Visiting places and writing down about her experiences there seems like it could be enjoyable. And there is a journalist right here. The more she thinks about it the more she wants to ask this woman about her work. Later, she decides. She's got enough on her plate right now. "Oh, ah, yes.--Miss Petra is putting on an event back at my ... home. There will be costumes and a haunted house though, to be clear, the house will not be actually haunted and it will not be in of itself dangerous."
Raziel	'...the most dangerous truths are the ones most worth pursuing.' Raziel pauses at this because in his heart he knows she is correct. However, there are truths he isn't sure if he's fully capable of facing. He takes a moment to process this before he speaks again. A little harder on his edge than he was before, but three people here would know why specifically. "I suppose you are correct, Aya. Regardless of what kind of truth it is... personal or otherwise. I'm glad there are those out there who see things that way." The topic comes and goes around food, to which Raziel looks somehow saddened by, but also unphased by the specifics. Anything would be delicious to him, if only he COULD, eat. He's glad for a chance to change it. "Potential demon kings..? I am not a demon, nor a king. I am at best a retainer..." he decides to leave out the betrayed part, but Sougo, Woz, and Angela could almost hear him say it. "If you are thinking based on appearance, but I am sorry to disappoint you, I am a Ghost, specifically, the ghost of a vampire." To Sougo and Woz he smiles, glad to see the future King and his retainer. "Good to see the two of you.." To Angela he speaks up, "Well to be fair, when something goes that fast through a portal it tends to attract attention.." he says with a helpless shrug. "I am glad she is not being chased, and it was a misunderstanding through bad information from someone in her world." Touhou's are known for this.
Timespace Riders	"That's right, I'm the Demon King," Sougo says happily, bouncing slightly on his heels. "I'm glad to hear you weren't, like, chased or forced out of any place. The Multiverse has a lot of really interesting things and places to see--especially for a journalist, I bet." "Maybe now that you've taken your first steps, you can start covering some of it in your newspaper!" His brown eyes twinkle with excitement. Her question about Halloween does nothing to dim his excitement. If anything, the passionate student of history is emboldened by the question. "Kind of," he says. "There are a lot of theories about where Halloween came from. Some historians say it was influenced by harvest festivals from one culture and gradually adapted and changed by another. The Celtic fastival Samhain--" he pronounces it SAH-when--"might be the original inspiration." "Or maybe it was All Hallow's Day, or maybe a little of both! It's got a lot of, um, different elements and traditions--costumes, pumpkin lanterns, make-believe haunted houses and spooky decorations are the most common ones. Oh! And trick-or-treating, but that's for kids." Woz bows at the waist to Raziel. "The pleasure is mine, my esteemed colleague." It wouldn't be out of character for him to have orchestrated this, if that's what Angela thinks. For a moment, he faces her and smiles--warmly, believe it or not.
Futaba Nuki	"Bunbunmaru... Sounds familiar, but I don't think I've seen it around. So why...?" Futaba looks troubled as she wracks her brain to try and figure out that little conundrum, but Aya helps explain that away shortly afterwards when she mentions knowing only one other tanuki. "Must be a family friend or something. Well, I'll keep an eye out for your work!" Nobody has to know that Futaba doesn't normally read newspapers. Besides, she said she'll do it, so she'll do it! Eventually. The talk of dangerous truths between Aya and Raziel, meanwhile, has the ninja breaking into a light grin and eventually even nodding emphatically with the former. "That's right! The more dangerous and evil something is to everyone else, the more important it is to make sure everyone knows you're stopping it. You can't protect everyone if they don't even know what they're being protected from or who they're being protected by, right? That's what it means to be a real ninja!" A beat, and then she strokes her chin again. "I mean, unless it's boring or private or something. Don't want to ruin someone's dramatic reveal or let out their personal stuff unless they're ready to do it, you know?" The talk of a festival, along with noticing those decorations and things, has Futaba peering at all those bags between Nonon, Shajo, and Petra again before finally digging out her phone to check the date. "... Oh! Yeah, it is almost time for all those Halloween parties and stuff. You all preppin' for that over at the same place as the last one?"
Dysnomia	"...I nearly crashed into Miss Dysnomia there, after all..." "Nearly." Dysnomia repeated, corners of her mouth tilting upward in a humorless little smile. She didn't elaborate. "Not really interested in being a 'Demon King.' Still not entirely sure what it even means. But Sougo's the only one here chasing that title." Her talks with the would be Demon King of Time had made it a little clearer, but still not completely. "Sougo probably has it right? I don't know much about old terran holidays. Somehow about candy and razor blades for children and costumes?" She gave an unknowing little shrug.
Petra Soroka	"Dysnomia." "Oh, right, you're the one from the radio, the one that knew the Code." On their fourth, possibily fifth, time introducing themselves to each other, of course that's what Petra remembers about their previous interactions. Doing Angela a favor? "That's good." "I'm keeping my options open at the moment, getting accustomed to everything," "Oh, you're really newly unified, huh?" Petra nods, looking over Aya again. How often does she get to be someone's first contact with the Multiverse? Even with Lobotomy Corporation, she was in jail for the first month they were unified. The closest she's gotten recently was... Nika, right? And a journalist, too... no matter what Petra says, the idea does appeal to her, echoing in her head in a way that feels unreasonable and childish. "Sometimes I get pulled into these talks with Nonon I kind of forget about the rest of the world." Petra doesn't dignify Shajo with a response, still huffily looking away from both of them, but she does mutter under her breath, 'Bottom...' "She happened to be in the area so I transfered some Ahn so she could buy snacks for everyone." Petra had hoped that a snack-related favor for Angela was something that allowed her to eat them, so she looks a little disappointed. It's still a sweet gesture, though, so Petra doesn't want her expression to be misinterpreted. "Oh, really? I could've--" Petra could not have bought snacks, not after that shopping trip. "Thanks, Angela." And then on the topic of the Halloween party, Petra draws herself upright to emphasize that she's the one hosting it, rather than it being a collective decision. Angela saying as much makes Petra preen briefly, but she flinches in confusion at 'Miss Petra', turning to stare at the tablet screen. "Yeah, uh, I'm organizing a Halloween party. The house is kind of actually haunted and dangerous, but only in the normal way it always is-- it'd probably be a bad idea to try to conscript any of the Abnormalities as party decor. Although, maybe...." Petra assumes Dysnomia is joking, and responds lackadaisically despite the risk of Angela and the rest misunderstanding too. "The razor blades are only for adults. Kids get the boring stuff.-- That reminds me, though. Meika might be there, so nothing too weird, costume-wise."
Aya Shameimaru	The laughing skull doesn't seem to phase Aya. Perhaps she's seen more disturbing things than this? Or more kitschy things than this. "Oh, I don't think there's anything too strange with how you choose to label your relationship," Aya reassures the L-Corp two. Aya does have to wonder if girls crashing out of nowhere is commonplace, but these people certainly have seem quite a lot. Everything is new again, and she can't take anything for granted. "I see. I'm not unfamiliar with costumed festivals for children and adults alike," Aya recollects. "A haunted house... surely, you'll have a lot of frightening things to show people." Aya doesn't admit it to Raziel, but she certainly has a complicated relationship with truth. What truth is, what truth means, is often different than facts. She notices the way he shifts a little on the topic. But that's forgotten when Raziel explains that he's a vampire /ghost/. Aya's eyes widen a little. "My oh my," you could just hear the ara-ara through that, "I'm familiar with /some/ kinds of vampires and ghosts, but it sounds like your circumstance is quite unique, Mister Raziel." Futaba can't recall if she's seen it around, but that it sounds familiar. Well, the name isn't an unusual one for that era of Japan, she thinks. "Oh, thank you," she nods. "Please look forward to it." Though it might be a while, given she was just burning her papers before throwing herself wholesale into the multiverse. But Futaba has opinions of how a ninja should behave, and-- ... Well, honestly, Aya's not familiar with actual, covert shinobi, so why not? "That sounds like good disaster management to me," she remarks to Futaba. 'Terran' holidays, Dysnomia says. It's not something that's universal to the Multiverse. "Razor blades for children? I suppose if their species grows beards early..." The Code? What is that? Aya's restless mind keeps picking up new nouns without explanations, and quietly files them away; but something in the way the word Petra uses makes her a little uneasy. Unified. She doesn't voice it. "That's right," Aya answers Petra. "I'm keeping it together, but there's definitely a thousand and one new little experiences and sensations that I'll have to catch up to. Even little things like the material the walls are made of, and the look of this station, is new to me." Abnormalities... that word always has a different meaning for a different culture, but it sounds like something that has some level of danger. "So the intent is to frighten, but in a safe, controlled environment? I suppose that isn't unlike people telling ghost stories, but more theatrical."
Raziel	Raziel gives Futaba a glance, before speaking up. "No offense, but it's far more complicated than that... and my personal inflection was more about personal truths, than... that," he says, after a moment. "The truths about yourself, or the world reflected in yourself that you might find it hard to face... or believe." Aya understands, though, the way he shifts. There have been a great many truths lately. More than his fair share he's had to face... and likely more to follow. However, the topic changes to his nature, "Ah... right yes, that is in fact a story in and of itself. I could go over it, but I think now is not the time." If she is interested, though, she'll have an invite to talk later. He returns Woz's smile, and bows with one of his own, glad to see the young retainer safe, especially given his duties lately in his own world. He's happy to skip things along to this Halloween. "Superstitious holiday to me, but I suppose some people find fun in peering into the darkness."
Angela	"Ha! Knew it!" Nonon grins at Aya. ''Bottom...'' "Hey don't knock it." Shajo agrees. "It's nice bein' looked after." Angela wrinkles her nose in disgust at the idea of feeding razor blades to actual children. "Is that the sort of thing that happens on the Outside?" She sounds skeptical but the truth is she can't really be sure now can she? She's never been on the Outside. Frankly, someone sneaking razor blades into food for people to eat--adults, children or otherwise--sounds like something that an Abnormality would do. Angela cools her expression carefully so her apprehension about trapped food doesn't linger. "You are doing me a favor, Petra, the least I can try to do is limit how uncomfortable it is." She gives a glare at Nonon at that--largely because she cannot glare at Shajo who is carrying her in the first place. Petra gives her a look. "Ah, she seemed to prefer a degree of formality." is her explanation. ''Abnormalities as party decore.'' "I am not sure that is a good idea," Angela says in a mild manner that is actually pretty firm. "Any management can be done in shifts away from floors prone to Meltdowns." She opens up her eyes as she mentions Meika. "Ah... Would she be...troubled by 'weird' costumes?" Petra knows she wanted to go as a pirate or at least something pirate adjacent since that's the costume she asked to have picked out. Angela's really stuck on this high sea adventure kick ever since Rita told her about the ocean. "If you would like to participate in the festivities, Miss Aya, I do not mind but I'll have to inform you of the safety protocols. I'd very much prefer a lack of fatalities or serious injuries or madness at this event." Lilian MIGHT be there after all and Angela is sympathetic to her exhaustion of horror and mayhem. Angela sometimes forgets that can be boring for other people too. Actually, she thinks, it might be a little dangerous to have a journalist go. But if they don't let anything out. If she doesn't tell her WHAT she is--then it shouldn't be an issue.
Futaba Nuki	"I will! I mean, dad's more of the newspaper reader, but if there's cool stuff in there, I might be able to see if I can't push some extra subscriptions your way." Futaba declares to Aya with a somewhat boastful tone without really explaining how or why. "And yeah! Ninjas are all about disaster management. Sometimes. Or..." She pauses, looking confused for a moment. "Or is that just a me thing nowadays...? Eh, not like there's a lot of other ninjas arund." She admits with a light sigh, then shrugs afterwards. Flashing Aya another grin of affirmation, Futaba stretches her arms out over her head before squatting in place and looking over at Raziel with a raised eyebrow. "Is it? I mean... Just don't reveal stuff that'll hurt someone if you do, and reveal stuff that'll hurt people if you don't. It doesn't sound too complicated." She comments with a long stroke of her chin, eventually peering at him longer like she's starting to realize something. "... Ohhhh. I get it. Don't worry, your secret's safe with me." She says like she's trying to reassure him of something, more likely than not getting the completely wrong idea between what he's said nad what he looks like. It's harder for her to act like there's any kind of secret between Nonon and Shajo, though, especially with all the chatter about that moments ago. She does stare at the two for quite a while, though, and eventually gives them both a solemn nod without even a hint of mockery in her expression. "It is. He knows." Turning to Dysnomia, Futaba's eyes go wide at the mention of razor blades and she shakes her head quickly. "Oh, heck, no way! Candy only! And... Maybe a little pranking, but nothing sharp or dangerous!" She pauses again, then pantomimes throwing something. "You know. Like toilet paper! Just the cheap stuff."
Petra Soroka	"I'm keeping it together, but there's definitely a thousand and one new little experiences and sensations that I'll have to catch up to." "Mmm. I think there should be pamphelets for introducing people to the multiverse around here somewhere, right...?" Petra looks around for an information booth, or generic news stall, or something along those lines, that might have resources to answer basic questions. "I don't think that kind of stuff is super reliable, but it's kind of valuable to know what people think is the most necessary information to explain, and what biases and stuff they try to slip into that, right? Part actual information, part social psychology stuff." Petra purses her lips; she's still caught uon Angela's question about journalism. She feels herself buzzing a little bit, internally, with the idea of being able to talk to someone who actually made a living out of it, to be able to introduce them to the multiverse as a whole. "Eh, uh. If you don't mind...? I could give you my phone number, and you could radio me with, uh, whatever questions, you have. I'm not a journalist, or anything, but I kind of, deal with information like that. Recording stuff. And I've been in the multiverse my whole life, so there's that, too." "It's nice bein' looked after." Silently, Petra disagrees. The actual purpose of the role is to be desperate, subservient, and acted upon without regard for your personhood or needs, not looked after. Petra won't have this argument in public, or ever, but Shajo is simply wrong. "Is that the sort of thing that happens on the Outside?" "Uhhh, sometimes, I think?" Petra isn't actually certain about the razor blades in candy thing. She knows her mom talked about it like it was real, but her mom always thought everyone was out to get her, so she doesn't fully trust that. "I've heard of it. But I've never really seen it happen." Petra shakes her head at Angela's explanation of why she used 'Miss Petra'. She doesn't want to argue with Angela, or even vocally push back against her, but the title makes her recoil a bit. "I'd very much prefer a lack of fatalities or serious injuries or madness at this event." "... Yeah. We'll have a, normal, good, party, for once."
Dysnomia	"It isn't? It's in old documentaries all the time." Terra had been a very dangerous place, before the UTA took over. But maybe not in this way, in particular. She turned to study Aya, her frown fading somewhat as she remembered what being newly integrated was like. "There's a lot to see. Take it a little at a time. You might want to consider looking into the factions, or finding a way to hook up to the multiversal radio..." Mia's suit hummed, and she reached into a distortion in the air, pulling out a small circular device that sat in the palm of her hand, and a headset. "This should work well enough, until you find your own to hook into it. Should be simple enough to operate." She fiddled with it for a moment, cleaning out the connections to the Watch channels, before holding it out to Aya. "Good luck."
Aya Shameimaru	Raziel's somewhat evasive words are words that Aya can understand. Truth isn't quite the immutable thing that people want it to be; even without someone trying to twist it, how one person takes a given inviolable fact -- their 'truth' -- will inevitably be different than another. "It's better to play with one's fear of the darkness, than to avoid it, I'd say," is her comment on the holiday. Though, in strict Gensokyo terms, that's blasphemy, as she (and other youkai) could very well die out if humans weren't afraid of them anymore. Aya quietly observes the nouns Angela uses. There's a formal structure, an organization; there's management, and there's risk and incident management. 'Meltdowns'. The mention of an 'Outside'. Is where she's from just as isolated as Gensokyo? "I'd certainly be happy to attend, and yes, please tell me of anything I shouldn't do," she quietly nods. The scent of danger is definitely in the air, if Shajo can carry an axe and not think twice of it. Futaba tells her she'll see if she can't push some subscriptions her way, and there's a faint and sad smile for the first time in a while. "I'd appreciate that. And... perhaps it should be that simple," is what she reflects on when Futaba gives her view on how things should be. Petra mentions pamphlets -- this has clearly happened enough that there's information to be disseminated over and over again to everyone coming through for the first time, like her. "I'll have a hunt around," she nods quietly. But then she offers to give her her phone number, or radio... "I'm... afraid I'll have to also catch up on what you mean by 'phone' and 'radio'," she smiles wanly. "I think I might have heard tell of that from the Kappa, once or twice, but I'm not a technologist like them. But, I'm not averse to it." At least, until Dysnomia manifests a device and a headset, and Aya blinks once as she accepts it. "Ah, I see. Thank you, Miss Dysnomia. I'll have to try it later." She definitely doesn't look familiar with technological devices, squinting at it for a moment. She'll have to bother Nitori again... or, no, she doesn't want to go home that soon. She'll figure it out.