(open) break yourself inside out

[decrypter]

who: Whoever wants to show up.
what: Nine body pileup, who wants to compile info.
when: 10/7, at least
where: Dorms study hall
warnings: Attempted murder over children's games

[in the afternoon, a message shows up on the forums. is she copying Natsume? utterly, since his organization is why she's thinking about this.]

h.adams

Please try to set aside an hour or so of your time this evening at around 7:30 pm to return to the study hall. I'd like to speak with as many people as possible regarding the recent incident in the school.
-H.A.

[and she won't be replying to anything posted below it.

by the time the hour rolls around, Helena's set herself up in the study hall with the rolling whiteboard she took from the school set up. the markers are a toss up between colors, but the important part is there. she's seated herself by it, and when 7:30 hits, an alarm on her PDA goes off. silencing it, she stands up.]

Thank you for coming. I realize it's another demand on people's time, but given the vast scope of the murders, there's more to be said than unsaid. With it, we had no choice but to split up and find what we could, to do our best at the least to remember and categorize what we saw. Generally speaking, I'd like if we could pool our resources to see if we might draw any parallels between what was where, and if there are any peculiarities to distinguish this or that event.

With that said - [she points behind her at the whiteboard, where Rantarou has been kind enough to write out a list] - if we could try to speak individually, we could write down anything critical shared, so we could look at it from a larger perspective. As well, if something comes up in other days, we could reconvene and add in new information.

As I am unable to do it for you, please allow my dependable transcriber to do so. And a final note before we begin - if anyone becomes overly agitated, I request that you kindly step outside until you can keep your voice to a moderate level. Sound echoes well enough without yelling added to the mix.

Let's begin.

Comments

hangman + clues

[commences]

( he'll clap his hands... well, the severed arm he found on top of the locker that subaru spoke about — the deceased's limp claps into his metal one as he holds it with his organic. he doesn't care too much for whatever blood might flick off too. it's to get whoever's attention that will listen to him, but who would just ignore some psychopath with an arm in their grasp? )

I am nothing but interesting in how hopeful these deaths must be for each and every one of you... ( he pauses, sighing a bit as if trying to catch his breath ) a majority snuffed out the brilliance of one Ultimate... and now you pay the price, I'm glad to see you all working together.

( or is he? who knows, he seems to be blaming them for saihara's unfortunate doom, and yet here he is the proper stepping stone to see who can take up the mantle. everyone has something interesting to say, however, as for komaeda? add spoke his part, and what he learned about both saihara and rika has been covered by amami. instead, he'll write on the second whiteboard with the name of the deceased as he wheels it in front of the other board — he's doodling hope, drawing a few circles around the word hope... just making sure people understand how important this is.

and then he'll draw a few lines on the board as he draws an arrow pointing at all the corpses for them to choose from. )

We can play hangman as a tribute for our fallen peers...

( he smacks the hand against the whiteboard, a soft thump of palm, and the noose that he's drawn smears slightly, but it's still a playable game. )

I'll make it easy since you're all so frantic, confused, lost... We'll start with the beloved Ultimate Detective, and his blade: Kawaii Rika-san.

------
| ⠀⠀ |
|
|
|
|
|
|

_ _ _ _ _

[sisters]

( ? rika was beloved too, stupid ass. if looks could kill...

anyway, amami can't kill him, so instead he just sighs with the deepest exhaustion. )

The sooner you finish the game, the sooner we can wipe it off the board, right?

( yes, he sure is no fun allowed. we all know you start with vowels first though, so let's go. )

A.

[commences]

( he sees the look that amami is giving him, and he blinks slow... what's that look for? maybe he doesn't want this specific hangman.

komaeda wipes it away with his severed hand, and he draws a whole new set for the other. )

Hm... Perhaps, but would you want your clues wiped away?

------
| ⠀⠀ |
| ⠀ ⠀O
|
|
|
|
|

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

( a. )

Sorry.

[sisters]

Changing it just so you can say it's the wrong letter... That's kinda unfair, don't you think?

( please @ god he is so damn tired... you know when animes are angry and their brows are furrowed and one's twitching or whatever? like that. free him. )

E.

[starrypoint]

Maddy... I didn't leave it there for you to take, you know.

[he left it there BECAUSE HE RESPECTS THE DEAD.]

Lemme try... R!

[for ur rancid vibes]

[commences]

------
| ⠀⠀ |
| ⠀ ⠀O
|
|
|
|
|

_ _ _ _ _

( r.

komaeda frowns at subaru, almost like he's disappointed. )

...Akehoshi-kun.

[starrypoint]

[?!??!?!]

What? It's a guessing game, I'm allowed to guess.

[dereban]

[She'll let the others play hangman, but she's here to be the Fun Police™️, too.]

Is now really the time to be playing games that feel like an insult to injury on the deaths of nine people?

[Like seriously... why this...]

[commences]

( NOOOOOO komaeda deserves a fun police™️. )

They're the ones who are dead, not me... if I allow you all to indulge in sorrow, it'll do no good figuring out the mystery.

( he blinks a bit... bringing the severed hands palm to his heart. )

If you're feeling pain, maybe give the game a whirl...

[dereban]

That still doesn't change the facts. You're playing hangman for crying out loud--a game that deals with potentially killing a stick figure when we should be focusing instead.

[There's a stern, but cool anger in both her voice and her eyes with every syllable that she speaks.]

Besides that. Some people should be allowed to grieve. Maybe wallowing in sorrow forever isn't good, sure, but holding in your emotions is no good, either. I am of the personal thought that those who can't handle it shouldn't be forced to. The lives of those who still exist are still as important as those who passed.

[Although she's not sure if 'passed' is really the right word, in this place. Although she does grimace at the gesture he seems to indicate.]

And if you're implying that I'm in any sort of pain because of all of this, then I'm sorry, but you're wrong about that. I wasn't close to any of the victims comparatively--send any of your potential worries to those who were hit the hardest by the deaths, not me.

[decrypter]

Will you tell me should I get a guess wrong?

[if this is how Komaeda is dispensing his knowledge, she'll play along - what can one do?]

[commences]

I'll tell you everything you need to know to become victorious.

( something comes to mind, but he's unsure, so before he picks up the marker to write on the board. )

Are you familiar with the lettering system outside of braille, Adams-san? If not, I can vocally do this.

[decrypter]

I am, but I'm not accustomed to writing it. I know the rules for this game, though - you tell me how many letters, and I guess them, with a limited number of guesses.

[she'll give it her best shot!!]

[necrophily]

[ why does komaeda constantly have a fucking arm whenever dito runs into him lately. dito almost sighs at the display, but he still can't help the sparkle that's in his eyes at seeing the limb from one of the bodies, presumably.

it's not familiar to him, so he's guessing it's one of the unidentifiable corpses. not that he cares about any of that, and he's a little annoyed he didn't get a chance to mutilate anything.

honestly, he's just here to see how things are going. the arm keeps him interested though, even as he's crossing his arms and throwing his feet up on the table all of a sudden because he's rude like that. ]

I don't give a shit about the clue. Can I have that if I play along?

[ he nods at the arm in komaeda's hand. he can't help smiling a bit, thinking about how gross and decaying it's going to get. ]

[commences]

Dito-kun! A fine time for you to show up. That's just like you, not wanting to understand the conclusion of a murder, but rather the... parts of it.

( he holds the arm to his chest, cradling it as he watches the male lean back, relaxing into his chair as he "participates", and komaeda stares at the whiteboard for a moment.

sadly, dito can read, so he can't reject him from playing, especially when he doesn't even want to play with the murder choices. )

Since you don't care for the subject, how about...

------
| ⠀⠀ |
| ⠀ ⠀
| ⠀⠀
|
|
|
|

_ _ _ _ _

Simple and easy.

[dokkans]

[ Honestly, since Bonnie here's pretty much been trying to figure out her own mystery at this point (or mostly, recovering from everything), she doesn't have much to contribute... so, she goes right ahead to what she can figure out right now! ]

S!

[commences]

You're going to play with me! Alright, let's do it like this...

( alright let him look up at the board... )

------
| ⠀⠀ |
|
|
|
|
|
|

_ _ _ _ S

You're on the right track!

[samuraiwomen]

You people know you're supposed to start with "e" its the most common letter.

[ It hurts her...to see such lackadaisical playing of hangman during a murder discussion. At least play to win. ]

[commences]

Nope! Next letter.

------
| ⠀⠀ |
| ⠀ ⠀O
|
|
|
|
|

_ _ _ _ _

( playing to win, but using the most common letter was the wrong choice! ahaha! he smiles, a little excited for this since it's sara who's giving it a whirl. )

[crystallomancy]

( remember saiharakun wanted to avoid incurring more deaths remember saiharakun wanted to avoid incurring more deaths remember saiharakun wanted to avoid incurring more d

unfortunately, natsume is used(?) to komaeda's... stupid and frankly timewasting ways of dishing out clues, but it isn't like he's any better, he just wouldn't make people play hangman for them. but if it's them... )

The little viper had admirers TOO. ( not looking at amami......... anyway. ) Give me something useFUL. Baru-kun's been fussing over me like a mother HEN, so I haven't been able to do my usual digging aROUND, and I'd like to contribute something to THIS.

( ...he already gave some ideas about a different set of bodies but we're not gonna talk about those right now, subaru can talk about those ideas since he got them from natsume. )

[commences]

( if he doesn't look at amami, komaeda looks at natsume like he's learned something. )

You and Amami-kun's beloved Kawaii-san! Oh... how the web weaves even more...

( komaeda hums thoughtfully, smacking the fingers of the severed arm against his chin, and then he gasps. he has the best one. )

------
| ⠀⠀ |
|
|
|
|
|
|

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

Seven letters, a really good one that's been on my mind for awhile now...

Re: hangman + clues

[mermaidcursed]

( face in hands. yeah, fine, okay. )

I'll go. How many?

[commences]

------
| ⠀⠀ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
_ _ _ _ _ _

( komaeda counts and he says the number aloud with a smile: )

Six! Can you do it?

[devouringdeep]

[He's grabbing for a chair, spinning it around to sit on it backwards and fold his arms across the backrest, resting his chin atop his forearms. He's not really playing to win a clue, he's mostly just getting bored and wants something to pass the time with.]

E.

[commences]

( childe looks like he wants to play to play, and not to help these poor other suckers. so komaeda, as a cheater he is, will wipe the board clean, and choose a different amount of letters. )

------
| ⠀⠀ |
|
|
|
|
|
|

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Heh... Do you still want to try E?