2865/Tubthumping

Tubthumping
Date of Scene:	07 December 2025
Location:	Cafe BAKE Neko
Synopsis:	There's a little information dump session for Chiyo, Koji, and Sugata, from Mamoru, at the cat cafe, about the Fade and the museum curator Maryam Siddig.
Cast of Characters:	Mamoru Chiba, Koji Silvia, Sugata Shindo, Chiyo Sakai
Tinyplot:	Kill the Fade

---

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"So I didn't get caught breaking in to the museum, so much as we walked into the curator's office and she was still in it, RIP," says Mamoru, face still red from the cold outside, hands wrapped around a to-go cup of hot cocoa, "and then instead of calling the cops it was like she was a founder of SETI meeting aliens. She's like... mom-aged, ish, but she believes. And she can see stuff if you point it out to her, like Charas..."

Koji Silvia has posed:
As usual, Koji has a liberal ration of skepticism when it comes to this, and after Mamoru's explanation, he takes a deep breath and transitions the cup of oolong in his hand from left to right, and leans his head to rest on his fist, "Have you had anyone scan her or anyone with spiritual senses to check her to make sure she's not like... a demon, or an alien, or a youma in human disguise... or a weapon or holy item that has gained sentience..." And then he even tosses in, "Or that she's a robot?" Looking back at Mamoru, "Sorry... i know that all sounds stupid and crazy, but our entire... THIS... is kinda predicated on it's either stupid, or crazy, or both."

He finally sips, and then exhales, "Also... a little miffed you didn't invite me to break into a museum. Those are the kinds of jobs I'm actually... and kinda worryingly good at."

Sugata Shindo has posed:
"Chiba-san, that sounds very much like being caught," Sugata says dryly. He's got an iced coffee in winter, like a jerk, but he actually does like iced coffee. "Still, most people who get caught breaking in don't manage to find a sympathetic ear, so you're ahead of the ball."

He considers Koji's questions for a moment, because it's fair enough to wonder, but - "It could simply be that she believes. That's how it is on Southern Cross Island."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai nurses her cup of hot chocolate between both hands to allow the warmth of it to seep into her fingers. Sure she had gloves but they weren't the super perfectly warm sort. It was nice having something that actually was hot to help chase away further chill.

As she listens to the tale she just looks bemused a bit, and clucks her tongue lightly. "I mean, how old is she? You say mom age but..." But it actually causes her to frown in thought as she has to wonder what the right age for that would be in the first place. "Maybe she was magical herself and the Fade hasn't set in totally with her yet?" She reasons before tipping her head toward Sugata's own remark.

"Or that. I mean, I was there too, I got a glimpse of it."

After another pause she murmers toward Koji, "Given who he went with I think it was more of a.. night out thing, Koji-kun."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"I would have done it myself but I wanted a date," Mamoru says, sticking his tongue out at Koji. "I am a dashing gentleman thief, you know. Breaking in just to get my grubby mitts on priceless artifacts-- which, when I showed her how I did it, she wasn't as mad as she could have been because we were both very, very careful."

He raises his cup to sip and flinches because it's still too hot, and he has a momentary moue of disappointment that Kazuo isn't there to make it just the right temperature. Jadeite needed practice not just turning things into ice...

"Mom-age like... I dunno, she looks like my-- Endymion's mom. Late thirties, early forties? She just believes," he nods to Sugata, "except she was also one of the families that held a piece of the Crystal Heart, which is what generates the Dark Energy dampening field around the school. They could all remember things, when they had it. But they gave it up for our safety, and they know what kind of knowledge they've lost..."

Then Mamoru tips his head back and looks at Koji through his glasses, which have slid down his nose. "Anyway, she's been checked, and also I asked the Headmistress about her. I left her a note and she answered it."

Koji Silvia has posed:
Flicking his eyes back at Mamoru once the others speak, Koji shifts his position and brings his tea up for a long sip as he continues to think about things.

    "I still don't completely trust the Headmistress... and you don't need to scold me over it, I helped get some of those protective objects here to the school safely. I just feel like she owes us a better explanation of why and how the whole school even exists."

But with that, he blows on some of the steam and sips again, "She sounds the same age as my mother."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai ducks her head in a quick nod at the explanation. "Ah, okay. I wasn't sure what.. how old a mother would be. I guess." A moment of awkwardness but only due to realizing she just didn't know such a detail. When Koji speaks up as well she nods toward him at mention of his own mother.

"It'd be interesting to talk to her I guess. I've gotten magic twice now, and from different sources. I don't know if there's any history to the Culinary Guardians past what I already know of course."

"Still. If people have managed to record things over the years, maybe there's a way to figure out how to not forget as we get older." A hopeful glance is cast toward Sugata at that. Southern Cross Island was one such exception to the rule after all. Though perhaps it was due to it's isolation.

Sugata Shindo has posed:
"So she has answers, then, if her family held a piece of the Crystal Heart," Sugata considers this, "I've never met the Headmistress, however, given the efforts that have been made to provide us with resources and defenses, we can consider her endorsement to mean something."

There's a moment, as he drinks his coffee, where he glances askance at Chiyo and then thinks - actually, fair.

"A reasonable question, actually. So we have a woman in her late thirties to early forties, hereto referred to as 'mom age', who has information she's willing to share with us, that the Headmistress hasn't so far. As avoiding the Fade is of interest to all of us, this is helpful, Chiba-san."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"I don't think they were prepared for such an influx of mahoujin," Mamoru says with a shrug. "So I'm willing to bet that because the older you get the weirder you look at time, they're still trying to make institutional change to support our community while forgetting to support the individuals that are here right now. The grades below us will have better support. And in the meantime, the Headmistress has okayed our association with the Curator, and as Shindo-san" (he glances uncertainly at Sugata over the honorific) "said, it's information the Headmistress hasn't shared on her own. I don't understand why she doesn't write things down and hand out pamphlets if talking to us makes her forget things... pamphlets and a welcome booklet with stuff like 'the school nurse and one of the guidance counselors can hook you up with other magical people' and a basket full of essentials."

He sips his cocoa. "A linker core, a henshin item, maybe a mascot if you're lucky..."

Sugata Shindo has posed:
Chiyo is given a glance at her mom-related awkwardness, but Sugata remembers that conversation over text, and decidedly does not inquire further. Instead, he focuses on the main points:

"Chiba-san is likely right," and Mamoru is given a faint smile at the uncertain glance - he really doesn't mind if Mamoru prefers Sugata-kun or anything like that, he's just being appropriately polite - "If doesn't seem that previous generations were as large as our own, likely for many reasons. This organization didn't consider that the Crystal Heart should be here from the start - it sounds like they've been playing catch up this whole time. Or they thought it was funny to watch the rest of you stumble in the dark."

Always an option!

Koji Silvia has posed:
Koji answers after a moment of consideration, "I mean..."

Finishing his tea, he takes the cup over and drops it in the recycling, "If this is going to make them forget, then assume that it might make them forget they created material regarding the... different. So... imagine their minds make them just shuffle it off to some store-room or someplace else, and anyone else who finds them thinks they're just for some kind of event or advertising got shelved. Our brains can do a LOT of heavy lifting on making us believe what we want."

He comes back and settles down again where he was sitting, adjusting his glasses once more, "Have any of you ever read American comic books? My dad has a bunch of them and he let me into his collection as a kid. There's the Batman. Everyone knows Batman... anyways... the way it starts in the comics and the movies is he's just one person dressing up and fighting crime... but then criminals dress up to DO crime, and eventually in response more costumed heroes start showing up. It's almost like an escalation. Maybe what you're talking about is magic..."

    Wriggling his fingers in the air...

    "Magic is trying to rebalance from an escalation on the other side. More good guys because they suddenly made more bad guys. Almost like the body having an immune response when we're sick."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai lifts her cocoa to sip at while all the possibilities are mentioned. Though she does crack a faint smile at the talk of 'letting them stumble' and playing catch up. "To be fair, they just saw a huge influx of mahou. Maybe they thought with as many of us as there were, we wouldn't *need* extra help? Until they realized that the dangers we face ramped up too."

Koji's own explanation garners a nod of agreement. "That too. If they remember their own lives when in our positions maybe they thought we had it taken care of at first. I mean... Did they have help?" Here she has to pause and consider. "They probably thought just excusing our constant absences at school was already helping out a lot. I mean," she has to admit with a sheepish shrug. "It does help some."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Any time you get organized belief in the unseen with records and documentation, you have a religion," is what Mamoru has to say about adults forgetting. "She forgets the information, from what I understand, once she imparts it. Which is awkward, but when you're not working alone you can count on support from other believers, you know? They were raised in this church. They never had magic themselves.""

He shifts a little in his seat, then laughs, lacing his fingers around his cup. "I don't know for sure that there was an escalation on the other side. All I know is I watched the number of people opposing my evil schemes absolutely balloon over the two and a half years I was in Obsidian." Sip again, longer. It's approaching a reasonable temperature.

He almost spit-takes at Sugata's last comment though, and covers his mouth just in case, laaaaughing. "I mean! They could have. It probably was funny." Then he snaps his fingers and points briefly at Sugata though. "What do you mean 'the rest of you' though?"

Koji Silvia has posed:
Looking over at Chiyo, Koji grins just a little, "Truth be told, when we were roommates, around the time we met, I think we... Mamo and me, had actually fought a few times... but back then when we were masks up, we didn't really know who each other were. I wasn't as good as I am now, and I think he beat me two out of three times."

The grin remains and he flicks his eyes towards Sugata, and then back, "But it does sound like an amount of belief can buffer you or even fully block this... Fade... since Shindo-san's..."

5rYes, he is also throwing the respect the way of the other young man...

    "Said that the people from his home remember. That's pretty significant. Anyways... the more I hear, the more I think that maybe whatever it is that causes this loss is here."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai clears her throat a little bit at the way that Koji mentions the fighting back when he and Mamoru were roommates. An eyebrow raises a little as she draws her cup up to sip, and from around it she murmers, "2 out of 3? He must have been showing off for Sailor Moon."

She tries to hide her little quirk of a smile but fails to do so entirely. Another big gulp of her drink is taken before she tips her head toward Sugata.

"It's.. Different where he's from. They *know* still. I kind of figured it's because it's an isolated island and people rarely leave, but... It does make me kind of wonder. If there are places where the Fade doesn't effect, then it must originate from somewhere, right? And they just missed Southern Cross island?"

Sugata Shindo has posed:
"You certainly do," says local Galactic King, raised with a specific and defined at birth role in society in part due to the religious beliefs formed around his magic origin. "For them to not have magic, but to have fostered belief, seems to have resulted in a conviction that can see it through - but let's be clear... are we talking about the Veil, which hides magic from people, or the Fade, which is set to erase our memories? My understanding is these are two quite different things."

And it seems to him important that they achieve clarity between the two - because frankly, if believing in oneself and magic saw one through the Fade, he doubts it would be as much of a problem as it's been for so many.

"Silvia-san's right, as is Chiyo-san - on Southern Cross Island, knowledge of Star Drivers isn't uncommon; it's one reason Wako, Takuto, and I don't worry about the identity nonsense. I wouldn't say that everyone and their mother knows the full details of Cybodies, but - Wako was targeted because everyone on the island knew she was a Maiden. Technically, we're both religious figures."

There's the clear impression that if he was more of an ass, this is where he'd say something like, 'you can bow now'.

"Particularly me; there has been a Sugata Shindo on Southern Cross Island for... as long as our language has existed in it's current form, and likely far beyond."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Mamoru looks over his glasses at Chiyo, and it's the Look, because the Teasing is happening. Then he looks to Koji.

"You did not beat *me* solo ever, but you definitely took part in beating me with a group 3/3 times, and you definitely solo'd that one tamagotchi youma," Mamoru says serenely, then finishes off his cocoa. But he nods to Koji, agreeing. "It does make sense for the Fade to originate here, where all the ley lines point and all the magic is gathered. But it's equally likely your island is protected by a shield of some kind. Given Wako-san's Zero Time and how it's different from Time-Space Barriers, I wouldn't be surprised."

The prince starts turning his cup around and around in his hands, looking sort of absently in its direction without processing what his eyes are sensing. He smiles distractedly, then looks up and focuses on Sugata. "Whereas I'm only married to a goddess," he says, smile focusing as well. "In some of the stories Endymion was a demigod, in some a king, in some a shepherd. In the cultural stories that are related thematically, the boy is always from the ground, and the girl from the heavens."

Koji Silvia has posed:
Koji motions grabbing somethign to throw at Mamoru, and then lets his hand settle once more, "Only married, he says... after we all go to the future so you can keep your not-daughter-now-daughter, end up getting you married ON THE MOON... only Married... you seriously set the bar way too high for anyone else to go for you know."

The grousing comes with that same faint smile, "You're so married you'd power up and one-shot one of those pan-dimensional witch-types busting through reality because she woke up the baby. I bet before you're twenty-five you'll have a '#1 Dad' t-shirt."

With the mildly teasing rant over, he sits back and looks around, before shrugging, "All of this is moot unless we can figure out who create the Fade, why they created, and if there's more to come."

Sugata Shindo has posed:
"Well, what else is he to do?" Sugata sounds amused by the rant, though the amusement is saved for Mamoru's antics as a married man more than anything. "He's a happily married man. How many can say they married the woman of their dreams and she's immortalized as a myth?"

Personally, he prefers Wako and Takuto, but to each their own.

"You've a point, though. Southern Cross Island is may well be defended by the fact that our Cybodies are present on the island, and Zero Time spreads from their to cloak the world centering on Southern Cross Island. It's one reason we'll return their, if we've no other choice." This, is said calmly, flat. "I don't know if the island will protect the rest of you, but given that we'd rather not retreat, if we can find what caused this problem and kill it, I'll be satisfied."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai tips her head back to stare at the ceiling with a hand lifting to press a single finger to her lips. There's a flicker of light behind her eyes, briefly, but it is only met with a little sigh from her. "No lies there," she utters in regards to something they were all ram bling about. Probably all of the talk of Mamoru and Usagi's marriage.

"That is a good point about the Cybodies though. Reshbal can't confirm or deny it, but it's a valid theory."

Her cup raises for another sip, one finger pointing toward Koji as she adds, "It is a high bar, but I'll just settle for my boyfriends being *human* from now on."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"You definitely need more than one," Mamoru tells Chiyo, and he draws himself up to look huffily exaggerated for a moment at Koji, like a disgruntled Miyazaki fluff. But he's suppressing a smirk and then he spreads his hands, empty cup and all. "I'm a wife guy, what can I say?" Hands drop, and then Mamoru slides out of his chair with his cup. "I've gotta get the upstairs fancy drink order and then go, we're doing college applications this evening. Pray for me."

Sugata Shindo has posed:
"You're going to college?" Sugata doesn't sound astonished - that might be rude - but he certainly sounds a little surprised. Not that Mamoru is capable of going, but that he's bothering. Well, it seems not all rich people are content to live a life of limitless freedom. "Very well, Chiba-san, I'll raise a glass to your sanity. But on that note... I'll fill Wako and Takuto in on this. While the Museum's curator doesn't interest me, the Fade does."

He stands as well, and pauses, looking at Koji.

"Given your skills, you may as well see if you lead a more successful break in than Chiba-san."

And then he walks away, challenge casually tossed.

Koji Silvia has posed:
Puffing out a breath, Koji stands up, "And I should probably get back and have tomorrow's classwork finished before I go out."

But as he moves over, he reaches down and hugs around Chiyo's shoulders before saying to her, "You'll find the right guy eventually. I know you will. Someone who Ojii-san will give that grin he has when he's happy about a fresh batch of candy. I'm always gonna be sorry I was your let-down." After that, he heads for the door, and says as he holds it open for the other young man, "Shindo-san, Takuto wanted me to join sparring practice sometime. I hope that's alright."

Mamoru gets a more casual, "Later... and I'm sure the esteemed Kazuo will clean it up after you're done. You're ALWAYS in good hands."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
"More than one? Yes I should have more than one rung I guess..." Chiyo trails off as her nose scrunches and she looks confused. "Wait or did you mean--Oh, yes. Good luck with college applications!" At least she's easily distracted at times. There were more important things after all.

At Koji's sidelong hug she flashes him an amused grin. "It just didn't work out when trying for real. You were a very good pretend boyfriend, Koji," she assures with a chuckle.

"Speaking of Ojiisan, I should get back, too. Tell Usa-chan I said hi, Mamo!"