i'm getting a good grade in yogen lore, which is something normal people definitely try to get

[crystallomancy]

Who: Whoever's in the dormitories
When: Friday, October 1st
What: It's time for a little lecture. And a genuine information meeting. But mostly a lecture.
Warnings: N/A please don't make me change this.

( Early in the morning, a curious text gets posted. )

N.Sakasaki

DRM-STDYHLL
1800HRS

( ...In less coded news, the dormitory's study hall will have a note taped to it:

Yogen and You: A Quick Summary
Held by Natsume Sakasaki

For those who need a summary of events, whether because our meetings rarely get anything done in terms of information sharing or because you're freshly awakened. Come around dinner time for food, enlightenment, and the opportunity to share your troubles with those going through the same thing.

The room will be locked all day until about half an hour before six, at which point it will become unlocked... this is primarily for Natsume to set up a table of food, but people can come sit in early if they like. There's an overhead projector that's been wheeled into the study hall all the way from school, and the curtains are drawn over the windows. It isn't dark though, since he still has the lights turned on...

Several tables have been pushed together to make at least three groups, chairs around them like they've been readied for a dinner party, while a few more are pushed a little further back and have absolutely no chairs whatsoever; those are for the food. There's also a chair by the overhead projector.

Your food and drink for tonight: lemon and rosemary roasted shrimp, white rice, rosemary and thyme chicken, a make-your-own-salad area with all kinds of salad-making ingredients, three types of eggrolls (seafood, vegetable, and pork), and various drinks from the vending machine because some of us can afford to spend a bunch of merit points on things like that.

When a sufficient amount of people have come in, or the clock hits 6:05, Natsume shuts the door, turns off the lights, and moves to the overhead projector. To stand on the chair, so he's the tallest person in here, and claps his hands to get people's attention. )

Save all questions and outbursts until the END, ( he says, and then kneels down on the chair and flicks the projector on.

All of the slides are pre-written on some transparent sheets that project onto a wall without windows, which he reads one by one without rushing! But for ease of reading OOCly, you can find the entire thing here. There's also photocopied handouts for people on all of the tables, stapled of course, so people who aren't blind (sorry Helena) can follow along at home!

He lets the last sheet stay up, his face half-illuminated by the overhead projector, then sits down in the chair and leans forward the back of it like some kind of delinquent. )

Alright, you can speak NOW.


( ooc notes: go ahead and treat this like one of our meetings, aka mingle, jump around, actually get a chance to share information that hasn't been talked about yet, etc. thank you plenty to enh and peace too for reviewing and suggesting things for the presentation \o/ )

Comments

[commences]

How heartless, considering there are souls trapped within that tree.

( yet, komaeda has no qualms with the other's suggestions, instead he leans forward, using his fingers to push back the curtain to look for himself. the wisteria stands there tall, limping, but the petals fall quicker than they should, and that's not thanks to the breeze. he chuckles softly, leaning back so that he stands properly. )

It has many uses, the ability to put people to sleep, pit students against one another... give them shelter from the sun, but if we do that... if it's anything likened to a mermaid, it could live on land... and that'll be a different threat to those who are easily trusting.

( crossing his arms, he hums in thought, and with a smile like he's made his decision. )

I want to see it.

[devouringdeep]

I doubt they want to be trapped in there any more than some of us want to be trapped out here.

[It would be a mercy kill in his eyes, if anything. Maybe even one that might be necessary, although he's going to reserve that judgement for another time. He doesn't speak for the souls, maybe they want to stay.

He watches the tree alongside Komaeda as the other speaks, pushing back his own prior contemplations in favor for the conversation at hand. He gives a small nod, folding his arms.]

Me too. Something that big could be... Useful. In the right hands. There has to be a way to capture it somehow.

[commences]

...Spirits go to the petals after they die, but where will we go if there's nothing to pull us in. Ah, I won't be making a habit of dying so easily though.

( the petals, each one a soul, and the concerns that familiar people may be inside of it — clamor, aiko, any ultimates that have came and gone. though that's the petal aspect, but within the bark holds different spirits, or something of that matter. he hums in thought, thinking on childe's words, and playfully: )

To think feeding them to the monster beneath the pool would be a better fate, ah... then I'll see what comes from it, we'll have to make our move at night... talk to the gardener... maybe we can even make him to go rampant again.

( he's big, also something useful, and he wonders if childe can use that to his advantage as well. ) There has to be a means... because how else did it get there if not brought along...

( ... ) He may also know the answer to that.

swoops in...

[mermaidcursed]

Leave Kazuki-san alone, he's suffered enough- as have the people in the tree.

( touch the tree and she might go for the eyes to be hoenst. )

There's a way to save them, I know there is- but right now, damaging it is an unknown we have no way of surveying.

[devouringdeep]

[He had been about to respond, but here is Nene with the big angry eyes. There's a brief moment of hesitation before he's fixing her with a sheepish smile, like someone who had been caught with a hand in the cookie jar.]

Of course. Violence is never the best answer, after all. [Look at him lie through his teeth like a liar] Though it's an option we can fall back on if everything else fails. You got any ideas of your own, kiddo?

[mermaidcursed]

( THE NENE BEAMS STRIKE AGAIN )

The souls are tied to the tree, right? And it houses them while they recover from dying. And this place is like that- it houses us and is supposed to nurture and strengthen our souls until we're ready to be reborn. Maybe it's not about removing the souls- maybe it's about healing them instead.

( which is a matter of how, but hey. nene's tulpa loves her. they can chat. )

[commences]

So in the end, you wish to keep the tree alive, and help the souls inside of it grow until they can come back to the realm of the... "living".

( not childe lying his ass off, but komaeda can play the understanding partner in this conversation. he crosses his arms, looking towards his companion with a small sigh. )

How do we go about healing the wounds of the tree?

( so childe can do the opposite. )

[devouringdeep]

[skdjhfkjh LISTEN he's open to the suggestion of fixing the tree rather than turning it to lumber, but if things take too long and get worse it might be a good idea WHO KNOWS.

He's tilting his head back to look out the window again with a small, thoughtful hum]

Maybe something's wrong with the... Roots? [He doesn't know shit about trees] So we could... Dig down far enough to... Look at them?

[mermaidcursed]

... I plan on talking to Kazuki-san more. And if he can't help, I have my own ways of finding things out. Helping the dead is what I did before this, after all. I don't know what goes into nurturing a soul while it heals, but I want to try.

( yall can stay your asses put. gawd. )

[commences]

He has been tending to the tree for quite awhile, but if souls come back from it... I wonder if they're aware when trapped in that form.

( he hums in thought, rubbing his chin as he listens to them both. the roots could be a problem, but talking to the person who tends to the tree would be better. it's not like they've dealt with soul trees before. )

Have you asked him why the tree is dying... but I might speak to someone who use to be a petal, they may have been aware of their surroundings at the time when trapped.

( komaeda knows someone like that? yeah, don't mind him. ) Help us too, Yashiro-san! Me and Childe-kun can assist in our own ways!

[devouringdeep]

[There's a sort of side eye shot into Komaeda's direction, and then Childe is folding his arms with a confident smirk. Ah yes, "talking" to a past petal. Given his own special set of skills, he's interpreted that as an invitation to con someone into saying things they might not want to reveal. Either that, or roll up and play the part as some background muscle.

He's rather good at both.]

We could split up, cover more ground, then reconvene. We might be able to get to the bottom of this more quickly, and I'm sure Komaeda...chan [help he's so white] could handle the background questioning while you start at the source?

[mermaidcursed]

( she doesn't mean to laugh at the honorific- she really doesn't. but she does, startled and almost confused but it's the first time she's laughed since clamor, so... she can't say it's a bad thing entirely? )

A-Are you still getting used to honorifics? Chan is normally reserved for girls, especially kids- you'd use kun for a boy, or san? Others are situational.

( it's so, so hard not to giggle as she speaks. komaeda-chan is probably the funniest thing she's heard all week, honestly. )

Anyways! I'm... okay. I'll talk to Kazuki-san soon.

( if anyone hurts the tree or kazuki-san she's setting hanako on people though. )

[commences]

( liyue did something to this man's mind, but komaeda's looking at childe as if he's said something foreign. he's not against it, actually, but also... )

Ahaha... Oh, is he new to this? I thought he's been doing this all his life, well then... those calling me that would be for beginners, as for the intermediate... Kochan, and her, Yachan.

( they'll teach him advanced only when he's gotten used to these two names, considering he had a bit of hesitation in there. )

Don't worry about me and Chakkun! ( ngl my friend said tartchan, and i was crying. ) We're the best of friends, so we'll make sure to stay out of trouble!

had to go icon hunting bc i didnt have a proper "internally screaming" one

[devouringdeep]

[There's a good few solid seconds where it's incredibly clear mortification has gotten past his defenses and onto his expression. The smile doesn't quite leave his face, but there's self inflicted death in his eyes, gaze going unfocused for a few solid beats of silence as he stares past the both of them and momentarily contemplates his life choices.

It passes, of course, and he does his best to laugh it off in a self deprecating sort of way.]

I'll be sure to work on it, don't worry. I'm fairly capable when I set my mind to it, which is also why I'm sure the two of us can handle this. [He's not trying the honorifics again for a bit.] If you like, we can meet up again in... A week or two? And pool together anything our efforts have dug up.

[mermaidcursed]

( nene tugs at childe's arm, almost like she's hugging it. )

You're still learning, it's okay! ... But... yeah. That may be for the best.

...Also, I don't wanna be called Yachan. That's what my mom's work friends called her. I- ( nene pauses, looking away almost as if she's using childe as a shield for a moment. ) It's Momma. Not me.

[commences]

Perhaps the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree.

( when it comes to yachan, actually, but he'll laughs softly as he looks at childe, which means he can call komaeda "kochan". )

Great idea, Chakkun! What if we meet up at the pool, and explain our finds. I'm sure that's a top notch secret location, and someone died there so it'll be empty for a bit.

( he claps his hands together with a soft smile. ) Are we happy with our plans?