It's time for another FAMILY MEETING!!

[carpevinum]

[There's a sign posted on 3-C on the 27th the future is now indicating that it's that time of month! That's right, it's time for the family meeting!

Lucifer is in charge this time and he is holding a whip, so please behave yourselves or you might get a warning crack near your head. Or don't behave yourselves. He's not your dad. He will, however, try his hardest to keep you all on track.

As Lucifer is also one of the Team Moms Dads, he's also made everybody lunch as he is wont to do. The rather fancy-looking food is set up on a couple of desks at the front of the classroom to peruse at your leisure. There are cookies and muffins as well, but please try to eat a real lunch instead of subsisting off of sweets entirely.

On the whiteboard, Lucifer has written the following topics & talking points that he'd like to discuss with everybody, and has requested that you all raise your hands so that this can be done in an orderly fashion... Good luck, Luci.

• Who is missing? Who is confirmed deceased?
• The gladiatorial battle — is it possible that those who died previously may come back to inflict further harm? Any guesses?
• What the Hell was going on last weekend?
• The void in the auditorium is infinite
• Results of last month's investigations that we agreed on doing
• The imps plaguing the school have been removed (thank you to Clamor for his assistance)
• Have we discovered anything new?

Last but not least, the final bullet is one hundred percent something that Lucifer clearly wants to do, and it reads simply:

• Instating a chore chart

So that's... fun.]

Let's try to keep this more orderly than the last one, shall we?

[And yes, the cardboard baby jail is set up in the back of the classroom! Naughty children go to cardboard baby jail. Naughtier children get a whip cracked at them. Have fun, everyone!]



[[OOC: The usual rules of the family meeting posts apply, which means threadjacking/general mingling is allowed and encouraged! Please remember to only share information your character discovered ICly to avoid metagaming. Also no Lucifer will not actually cause physical harm to anyone's characters with the whip unless player permission is granted, I'm not as psychotic as he is, don't worry about it.]]

Comments

lets imagine this was before the choo-choo train to voidville

[kingofscience]

...So then why did you keep this information hidden for a month?

[ Senku speaks up. He listened to the full story, top to bottom, scanned the write up; it was well written, he could tell that Shuichi had enough time to fully explain the events to the best of his ability.

But it was still was bugging him. Naturally it wasn't about the points, as Shuichi said; so what was the reason? ]

It just isn't logical. Naturally someone would want to call attention to this sooner. Not to mention, he could've told the staff about it sooner than this if the points were that much of a concern.

[crystallomancy]

( get his ass, senku-san )

[unsurely]

[ if senku gets his ass, isn't natsume's argument gonna be even weaker later-- ]

[crystallomancy]

( fuck ur right but i cant stop this gravy train, komaedas just gonna have to drive it into the wall himself )

[commences]

( he'll drive it into the ground soon, just give him time. )

[commences]

Why does he have to tell you anything? You know enough to piece together what's important.

( if komaeda had it his way, there's no need to think this much into it, and besides, he's satisfied with the amount of hope that came from saihara's efforts, along with everyone else who participated. they read the write-up, the same one komaeda had before (though, these are a little different... he wonders if he slobbered on the last ones), and so they don't need to know all the fine details behind the mystery. )

Besides, you can only blame yourself for your incompetence.

[kingofscience]

Ha, and you can only blame yourself for how selfish you're being right now.

[ If Komaeda had his way, it truly would be as the saying goes: "ignorance is bliss." However, that's not how Senku worked. He works on logic, facts, science. And what is science, but the slow, patient effort in trying to find the truth about things? Sure, it may have taken longer than it should have, but he can't be everywhere at once. ]

People deserve to know the truth about this; and if you have any remorse left for the people you've affected with this incident, you'll explain yourself.

[unsurely]

Komaeda-kun... that's enough.

[ He'll step in... before this gets even worse than it already is. It's not cutting -- they're soft, quiet words, but they're resolute nonetheless. As he says them, Shuichi moves over past Senku, to kind of grab Komaeda's sleeve and drag him out of the confrontation. ]

You might be trying to lighten my load like this... but you're only making it worse. The truth is I did wait a month. Everyone has the right to ask.

[ also yeah komaeda probably did slobber on the original papers ]

[commences]

( selfish, is that what people see it as? komaeda has exposed himself, he has told others that he dealt a hand in this, and whose fault was it for not hearing him out? he already spoke the "truth," so it sounds like an excuse to him that senku is clinging onto. besides, he played his part, used his hope, and the moment komaeda parts his mouth to comment on senku's words because he doesn't want his actions to reflect poorly on shuichi, he feels someone grab his sleeve. there's a reflex where flinches, wanting to pull his sleeve away from the contact, but his eyes quickly glance over to see who it is before he does so.

he purses his lips into a straight line, eyes glancing off to the side... there's no need to argue with an ultimate so he plays submissive. )

...Sigh.

( yeah, he'll say that aloud, now he's not going to complain against shuichi's gesture to get out of the line of fire, so he'll dismiss himself if he lets him go. :) )

[contrarily]

( GET HIS ASS WHY DID HE COVER FOR KOMAEDAS STANKY SWAMPY LICE COVERED ASS I KNOW THEYRE BOYFRIENDS BUT A WHOLE MONTH??? )

[unsurely]

[ THEY'RE WHAT? THEY'RE WHAT!?!?!? they aren't even yet leave him alone thank god we aren't saying this out loud ]

[contrarily]

( if theyre not why did u cover for him hmmmmmmm?? HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM?????? )

[commences]

( alright u gunna bully that man's anxiety, damn i thought u learned from ur canon rika STOP! )

[unsurely]

[ can't believe senku's asking shuichi to out himself as gay for komaeda to the entire room-- ok jk

Everyone's reacting to this, so there's a while of doing that, and of frantic turns from one to the other to calm stuff down. But whenever that's over and Shuichi's finally able to turn to Senku, he'll still explain: ]

No... the points weren't Komaeda-kun's concern. They were mine. It's just like I wrote in my message.

[ Whatever the rest of the reasons were, the main one is honest: he hesitated. He's guilty of that, and though his instinct is to avert his gaze... it only lasts for a second before he resists it instead, facing Senku and whoever else might be listening in with the most resolve he can muster. ]

But there isn't a single reason I took this long. For the first week or two... I think I still wanted to be wrong. After all, even if I knew the culprit because of what Ouma-kun said, that alone didn't make the loose ends we still had in the process add up.

[ In other words, there was a chance Komaeda still wasn't it. ]

I spent that time investigating what I still could of the case. A lot of the information I've written down only came together during that stage, looking back on our previously wrong assumptions. Once I had, it, however... a few other things also happened instead. Ishimaru-kun's election into the council, the imp attacks getting worse...

[ And Komaeda stabbing himself in the arm because Shuichi wasn't talking to him and almost getting Shuichi eaten by the gardener with his luck, but anyway there was also an interruption phase. ]

...and more deaths. Killings nobody offered points anymore for us to solve. Doesn't that make it seem odd? Why was Okane-san's murder the only one that the school asked to find the culprit of? I already didn't want it before... but thinking about it like that, I had to make sure no one could go behind our backs and claim the reward.

[ Even if that means withholding information. ]

Confronting Komaeda-kun on my own so I could have him turn himself in... was my answer to that. It wasn't one I had planned from the start.

[ It just took him a while to think of, that's all. To set up things so he'd actually be able to share what he knows, without risk or concerns. And if part of it was also hesitation and stalling because he worried for Komaeda... well, we're not gonna talk about that. But tl;dr -- what Shuichi wrote on the PDA was genuinely how he felt. ]

[contrarily]

( so u didnt tell anyone cuz u wanted to be wrong abt ur boyfriend... wish rika could call him out for real damn... )

[unsurely]

[ .........wish i could say that this wasn't part of it but it was ]

[contrarily]

( so if natsume put on the moves on shuichi he could've avoided this? much to think about... )

[kingofscience]

[ LISTEN,,, he's aroace he doesn't have time for this!!!! FJLDNFSKLS An Actual Quote from him that I'm kind of paraphrasing: "There's nothing as messy or annoying as romantic entanglement."

The scientist rolls his eyes at Komaeda's dismissal of everything. How entitled do you have to be to shrug off someone's life like it's nothing? But he didn't have time to linger on that long when Shuichi starts talking.

Senku listens. He listens and understands where the detective is coming from. Of course you want to be wrong about your friend being the culprit in a murder case. No one under regular circumstances wants to come to terms with the fact that someone they know has purposefully killed someone. It's the reason why law enforcement shouldn't be in charge of cases involving their family and friends; they want to remain unbiased. And then it all falls into place.

Most of them are just kids. They're just kids thrust into a cruel situation where life and death is treated like a game. No one deserved this, and it only showed on everyone's faces the longer they remained here.

And then there's the problem of Aiko's investigation. It really was curious why her case was the only one a genuine search was called for. Perhaps it had to do with her position among the Student Council? It would make sense that there would be unrest if a leader of the student body suddenly died. But why value her life above others just because of some title?

This school truly was cruel. ]

...Alright. I appreciate your honesty. [ It's all he says for a moment, arms crossed against his chest. ] I understand most of the pushbacks. But you can't let your personal biases affect the outcome of things like this, no matter how much it hurts.

[ It's a cold way of thinking about it, but Senku can be cold. ]

[moderating]

... Saihara-san seemed to make it apparent their want to believe in their friend was the only issue. It would be the same for many of us [ Us, because they are still in this together (song starts playing). ]here, there's no need to point it out. [ Less on defense, and more in justification. The need to sound as if it is rephrimend for trying to get your thoughts in order, especially over someone you may have trust. Seemed unneedeed. Creating issue out of nothing. ]

.. What likely happened was there need to investigate what occurred more thoroughly before making accusations - none of us were ready or are... for hearing that one of us could have been apart of a murder. [ Less of working statement agaisnt anything, and more promotive. ] ... When he learned of Natsume, it's obvious now it is becoming a Theme that no one can ignore.

It also seems there was other parties like the school involved... That is a lot of information to take in.

[unsurely]

[ It takes Shuichi a second, but... ]

...No. It wasn't my bias. By the time I suspected who the culprit was, Komaeda-kun had already continued to live with the rest of us for a month.

[ Because the meeting it happened at, with Nao there to reveal things, was their second one that took place a few weeks from the first. There'd been plenty of time during which all of them simply... didn't know. It's frustrating to admit, but that's just the truth -- they were blind. And the information that settled it was something he only got after the meeting too, while he and Ouma were alone. ]

And because of the armband in my locker... I knew his motive, too. At the very least for as long as we-- as I didn't figure Okane-san's murder out... he wasn't likely to go for more. You can say what you want...

[ But in all honesty, more than Senku knows... Shuichi himself is cold. Or he feels so at least, because no matter what his feelings were, he still treated this as a case. One he still, without fail, continued to solve. ]

But I wasn't wrong to want to gather the evidence first. A detective can't go around and accuse people without proof.

cw gay slur

[necrophily]

[ Hi, local classmate speaking up.

Dito's not really invested in this shit at all, but he does notice when Shuichi says all of this publicly and like it's such a big deal. Dito scoffs, audibly, then practically spits in response: ]

What?! You're saying my classmate didn't give a shit about being open because he's a goddamn faggot?

[ He spits on the ground after saying so, tilting his head at the other. He truly doesn't care about anything that's going on here, but he doesn't particularly like Shuichi (he thinks he's a pussy) and causing more problems that might result in more murder is awesome in his book.

The corner of his mouth turns up in a half-smirk. ]

Doesn't that make you an accomplice or something? Huuuh, Shuichi...?

u MAKE ME SICKKKK

[commences]

...

( it's a very familiar position, called out for certain things that may or may not be true, but whose business is that to expose another person. then again, he likes to leave it open to the asker's confusion, give no satisfaction so they'll have to think about it on their own, or drop it. dito's a little rough, annoying, but rough, and so komaeda makes his way up behind him to stand perfectly behind his 3'2" ass height body, and look down at him. )

Trash like me could never help him in such a manner... we'd fail because of my ineptitude.

( he acts like he's going to pat dito's shoulder, but instead he hits him against the back of his head with the prosthetic arm without a care. actions have consequences listen... it's not enough to knock him out, but enough to notice he did that on purpose before setting a hand down on his shoulder. )

Besides... I did have an accomplice, but it's obvious who it was. I'm surprised you're unable to figure it out...

( now that he thinks about it, maybe short people can only hold in a certain amount of information... there's limited space. )

[necrophily]

[ Well, he doesn't even get a shot to respond to the too familiar voice talking behind him, because he's keeling forward slightly with a sharp hiss and a quiet "fuck" at the sudden impact against the back of his head -- he ends up having to take a step forward to steady himself, too. It feels like his brain just got rattled, so give him a second while he rubs the back of his head and feels a spurt of anger well up in him.

Yeah, he can tell that was on purpose. He tries slapping Komaeda's cold ass hand off his shoulder, turning on heel to glare at the other. ]

Don't touch me!

[ He snaps, rubbing at his head again with a quiet groan.

In all honesty, he doesn't truly care about the investigation or anything about it. It's merely his inherent sadism that makes him want to cause problems, poking at anything he thinks might get a rise out of someone. Especially if he already can't stand them. ]

Yeah, yeah, I don't give a shit who you're screwing around with if the result's this boring...

[ There's not even any graphic descriptions or executing. :/ ]

Get a higher body count next time if you're kowtowing around so much.

looks up

[unsurely]

[ hi local classmate, i think i speak for the class: shut up ]

Wh-What...!? You weren't even here at the--

[ How would Dito even know what the situation was!? It makes Shuichi bristle and get defensive at first, flashing him what... would pass as a glare if, to be honest, Shuichi were capable of one but it's more of a panicked, strained look. Leave him alone!!! But... well, he might be going thru it but that doesn't stop him from bringing logic into this. It's what he does, and after a moment his brain kicks in. ]

How does that make me an accomplice? It's not as if I got rid of the proof... it might have taken a while, but I still solved the case. I revealed the culprit on my own terms.

[ ...you know what, get wrecked. ]

And in the first place, the reason I couldn't trust the group before I resolved the points was because of people like you.

[ Which is honestly... more just one reason on a list of many, but this ain't about the rest of them right now. This is about the fact that Dito's being an asshole so he deserved this. ]

[crystallomancy]

( feeling real vindicated about not telling anyone about izumi and co rn. )