Entry tags:

bulletin board updates

✽ There are several new points of interest at the bulletin board this month, most prominently a wooden box with the slit on the top just large enough to drop a sheet of paper inside. Above is an explanation of Secret Santa and a form to fill out for those interested in participating to write down their name, homeroom, and locker number. Sign-ups close on 12/5, and following assignments, gifts may be given in person or through one of the student council members if anonymous gifting is preferred (contact the mod to hire a stuco elf).
✽ Right next to this box is a poster with a large orange giraffe painted on it. The contents of the poster has nothing to do with giraffes, but rather, is an advertisement for student store commissions featuring quality work with quick turnarounds and a special discount for the month of December if you buy five or more commissions, or bring the shopkeep a warm drink and maybe a snack while they're working.
✽ To the side of the class roster and current ranks is a digital countdown, and scrawled on the bulletin board itself is the message "You're almost there! You can do it! One more push!" but it's unclear whether this message refers to the countdown to the new year, or to the long glass tube situated along the edge of the bulletin board next to it. Maybe both. The tube looks similar to a graduated cylinder, holding a total volume of 5000 ml and currently containing 4850 ml of dark red (presumably) blood, hot to the touch. It can not be broken or removed. The mod will be in contact if any character action this month causes the volume to change.
✽ A neatly typed notice, half buried under all the other announcements, contains a reminder that tuition will be due soon for those students continuing to study at Yogen. If tuition is not paid in full by the end of February, "compensation" will be taken instead.
✽ And finally, there is a notice from the student council that proof of club activity is once again due for submission to the student council by 12/24, otherwise the club will be dissolved and resources taken back. Please submit activity proof to the toplevel below.

12/20 - 12/24 finals week

✽ The week before winter break is finals, with many students cramming as many math formulas and foreign country leaders into their heads as possible without it all spilling over, while other students have decided to chance the practicum instead. Those who have signed up for the practicum are asked to meet inside the auditorium after homeroom at the start of the day while test takers begin their written exams. Students are allowed to change their minds on which to take, up until the end of homeroom on Monday, after the bell rings and the doors close.
✽ For the test takers, finals last for five days, from 8AM until noon each day, after which students are allowed to go home, or have lunch and continue studying in their homerooms or in the library. At the end of finals on Friday, students are asked to remain in their homerooms over lunch break while their exams finish being graded, after which homeroom teachers will return and ask certain students to go with them to the faculty office. These are the failing students. Which the homeroom teachers themselves have the pleasure of executing for their failures. All other students are dismissed and wished a happy winter break.
✽ For those opting for the practicum, finals last for two days, from 8AM until noon on Monday and Tuesday. All students from all grades meet in the auditorium the first day and are told the very simple rules for this semester's practicum: in order to raise your failing grade, all you have to do is kill another student, upon which you take their points for yourself. At the start of both days, students first gather in the auditorium for a headcount and then are given a half hour no-killing grace period during which they are allowed to scatter and find the best sniping/ambushing/hiding spots. The hunt is limited to four hours each day and kills must be done on campus; any kills done outside of these parameters are just for fun and do not count towards their final grade. Points are given for kills involving students in the same grade level of different homerooms (e.g. third years only benefit from killing other third years) and points are revoked for kills involving other grade levels or test takers not participating in the practicum. They studied hard, leave them alone. Most students need only one or two kills to pass, but multiple kills stack and earn them extra credit that will carry over to the next semester. Students who end the second day with a still failing grade will be called to the faculty office. ... All remaining students are dismissed and wished a happy (early!) winter break.
✽ A winter storm starts to whip up around noon on the 24th, raging through the night before settling down come morning, blanketing the entire campus with several feet of snow.

OOC

✽ PC faculty still have finals: they will either take written exams excluding that of their own subject, or they can take the practicum. Players with faculty characters are asked to reply to the toplevel below to indicate the number of failed students per class, but characters do NOT have to ICly be responsible for killing failed students. Unless they're cool with that, and if so, please let me know.
✽ This is a reminder that for any character that murders (again, please let me know), they will experience the same pain the following night and lose powers/abilities for one week. Two weeks after the murder, +1 tally and +100 merit points will be awarded for each kill.
✽ The void in the auditorium continues to grow, and (pending character interaction) by the end of the month will encompass the entire right wing of all floors, including the locker area but not the rooftop. Please mind the void, murderers.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ah, don't look at me like that.

( what should he think about for himself, as in, his wellbeing? making sure that he's safe, and not sitting in his death bed as blood is drawn from him, he laughs at the thought, he never truly thinks of himself in that way because he's expendable like any other useless person. his body is to be broken down piece by piece, grinded, and then his ashes spread over the garden to promote the growth of others. this by itself is also growth, and why he's willing to give his blood for the cause, he thinks he'll start with one vial. )

You're pretty scary to Safalin-san, aren't you?

( scary, but kind, thoughtful, but intimidating where they tend to go back and forth between using each other for specific means. that must have been one that's easy, safalin doesn't lose much since she takes cares of knicks and bruises, and so he can understand why he'd use the term drain her. )

Such a shame she isn't here, a blood source like that constantly could come in handy.

( though, that doesn't mean anyone could take her blood, rio probably has a select amount of people who'd he probably even allow near her, or maybe it's different. komaeda doesn't make any complaints about being cut and stabbed with needles since it's already happened. he agrees though, )

The nurse is the safest option, I don't believe you'd do it, but having air pushed into my veins is pretty dangerous, so I'm more mindful now. Hm... Perhaps the nurse may know something about that cylinder of blood too... ( it's almost like killing two birds with one stone. )

[ Too late, he's already looking like that, and he's already wondering if he should call the plan a failure. He doesn't favor that flippant attitude, and he thinks he might settle for just stabbing somebody and collecting as much as he can to avoid the need. It would be fine as long as they didn't die, right? That seems more effective than deluding himself into thinking that his feelings might matter.

The comment about Safalin gives him a little pause. Maybe he was. He could be, because he wasn't frail like everyone here. He could trust her to be strong, and he could trust her to do what was needed. It seemed that the majority of people were too kind or too self-sacrificing and either one would be worthless for his purposes. He misses that part of her, and he misses that shared understanding that they had. Both of them, they'd do whatever was necessary. ]

Yep, because she can take it. It makes it nice and easy.

[ He misses having someone who knew the value of their own life. Humans truly were worthless.

Rio can't do anything but keep compensating for those deficiencies though. ]

You should ask. [ ... ] Hmm? How'd you wind up with air pushed into your veins?

[ Rio switches to the cat card now, keeping his voice light. ]

Sounds pretty dangerous!

( he asks every time a conversation that comes up if he should kill her once she appears, but it seems that every day he comes a little closer to something new. rio counted on her, she made things nice and easy, and he probably did the same vice versa in regards to their partnership. all he gives is an expression in understanding, and the thought that maybe those feelings of killing her wouldn't do anything for him, perhaps her death would send him into a fit of confusion, he wonders if there's more to this than what's said. he has so much faith in the fact that she can handle it without any issues, and that sort of faith or should he say respect is rare from rio considering how he judges everyone else.

with a hum, he closes his eyes.

if komaeda did kill her, he wonders how would he do it? there's so many ways to kill someone with creative traps, all sorts of drugs and poisons, a blunt object, and other means. strangulation, boiling, hanging, electrocution, buried alive, stoning, but the aftermath comes from how he'd feel now after being away from her, after saying something like that and what was said before too. if komaeda just — )

...Oh, huh? ...How did it go?

( he wasn't paying attention properly that he was caught off guard, easy for rio to tell he was thinking about something. he lifts their linked hands, looking at the other's own as komaeda lifts his organic, acting like there's a needle in it. )

I was told "give me your arm," and I obliged doing so. ( his thumb makes a squishing notion like he's injecting. ) In the air goes, and pulled the plunger back to take blood. ( his eyes open now, nodding because he agrees, that is a dangerous thing to do, but it's not something he can regret now. ) Blood clots form that way, that's how humans die from it.

( after, he drops their hands back down between each other as he leans rio towards the steps so they can go up then one by one. slow and steady, not trying to out pace rio because he knows he's not someone he can properly drag. )

It's nice that something like that can't phase you, Riokun. I trust you around needles.

[ ...?

Ranger cocks his head to one side. It's not an unusual sight. There were times when Komaeda would fixate on some idea or another and become lost in thought as a result, but he can't understand what might be on his mind now. He runs through the topics of conversation that had come up thus far. Safalin had no relevance to him. He has to remind himself to include her as a topic, as thinking of and casually dropping her name still comes as naturally as breathing to him. Nor does it seem to be the current topic of conversation, as he's fairly certain if he had some revelation it would have been shared.

Finding nothing, Rio opts for staring at Komaeda in an effort to discern his thoughts. The card switches back to the grin. His eyes flick up as his arm is raised, then to his demonstration. There's a hint of disapproval to the look that he gives as Komaeda offers his explanation. It was dangerous, and it was stupid, and any idiot would know better than to do so. Which meant that it had been a deliberate attempt to cause that. ]

Huuh? I can't stand people are irresponsible like that. Sorta makes me wanna start breaking fingers when I hear about people misusing stuff like that.

[ There's a faint coolness to those words... Kaneko, hm? He settles for stashing the name away for the moment, hanging just a little bit behind and slightly to one side as he follows along. ]

Ahaha, well, I know how to use 'em properly.

Ahaha, there's no need for that.

( he paid the debt back, he raised the needle to stab back into the aggressor, injecting his blood, and having wasted it all once the other pushed himself away. whatever he was looking for, he wasn't the ideal which was off, as if he was searching for someone specific, and even now komaeda isn't sure who kaneko was interested in. well, komaeda's aware that they have untold history, so that could have been his way of testing komaeda's luck, considering he's still alive, but he knows himself that it was stupid. as dangerous as that way, he could have died, but it's in the past.

komaeda understood what would happen from in particular because he was willing to see if anything special happened, or if he'd do anything specific. to make himself a personal guinea pig by his own means could have meant death. )

Isn't only irresponsible if it resulted in death? Before anyone reaches that point, it's just them satiating their curiosity.

( it's idle conversation, a little chit-chat between him and rio that holds no weight at all; well, one-sided, but he's not going to find that out because he feels like nothing bad will come from it. his free hand raises to cup his chin in thought, humming softly as they make their way up the next flight of steps. he listens to the way they creak underneath his footing, and his eyes glance down towards the floor as he pulls it back down on the previous step. )

Be careful of this step. ( he mentions as he skips one step going up, looking back as he holds out his other hand just in case rio need assistance skipping it too. ) Why don't you ask the nurse if you can work part-time?

It's like kids, you gotta make sure they know when they're doing something wrong, otherwise they'll just keep doing it.

[ It was about sending a clear, concise message about what was and was not acceptable. If a person though they were in a position to overpower you, then it was all the more important to crush them so thoroughly that the mere thought of attempting to such an act would never cross their mind again.

He notes the step indicated and nods. Rio reaches out to take his hand. There's a few second where his hand pauses and hovers in the air as he considers the suggestion, bro furrowing slightly, before it passes and he takes it and follows Komaeda's lead in skipping the step. ]

... Hm?

[ Ah, assisting her part time? He has a level of interest, and the practical knowledge he has would be overkill for the simple tasks that would be given. It's a smart, practical idea. He thinks he can see where Komaeda's going with it, even. There's no logical reason for him not to at least try. No reason for him to refuse, and yet no chance that he would accept. ]

Like I said, but that's more of Safalin's thing. I don't really like medics myself.

Safalin-san isn't here, now is she! Hm, or you could have brought along some of her knowledge...

( there's much to be gained assisting part-time, the thought of gaining medication, and secrets that the nurse would only know compared to others. she's seen a lot within this school, one of the man trios that's been here for quite awhile. komaeda doesn't have the experience to ask her for the job, and it's why he decided to help out in the library to further his knowledge there, as for rio who already has practice in that field, it'd go smoother for him. )

Liking the person, but not too fond of the profession?

( he pulls rio up and over, and the step crumbles as if to expose what they would have walked into if not for komaeda's own judgement. as much as he can look out for himself, he thinks if it was anyone else, he would have let them fall into it, or observe what they should have done. as for rio, he skips that step, and moves onto another when they have something else decent to speak on. )

Hm...

( maybe being around people in that field showed how human they could be, their worries, concerns, feelings, pain, happiness, all can be seen when a person is to be viewed by someone in a medical field. that could be too much for rio too, he thinks, he doesn't have high empathy, so it could be annoying when komaeda thinks about it, but there's so much loss in the idea if he doesn't try. can't push, but only nudge in a direction. ) I wonder if I could be a successful doctor...

Something like that... Ah, I more or less know as much as she does though.

[ The issue is really just an experience gap. He could handle basic tasks well enough, but his experience was comparatively limited. Aside from that, he doesn't have the desire to aide others. He resents humans too much, and he resents the concept of care that the medical field indulges in.

He glances as the step crumbles, hardly surprised to see it fall apart. Safalin is not here, which is exactly the problem, and it's one that leaves him as grateful as it does resentful. No matter how many days pass, it seems like the dust won't settle on that issue. He's already accepted that he was no longer part of ASUNARO. He had given away her seat as his partner. He won't give it back. But nor would he abandon her if she showed up. But she had skills that others didn't, that he could only depend on her for, and her medical practice was one of them.

If he let somebody start to infringe on that space, too... What was going to be left for her? ]

You're smart enough.

Could it be a trade secret?

( eyes widen briefly, finally realizing what it is, he doesn't want to do it despite having the knowledge, if he's been around her that much, and as a data harvester, he knows — komaeda knows he knows, or just enough to get started, more than what most here knows. it's one of the reasons why komaeda didn't call for anyone on his pda, no one knows enough medical practice to save him in such a hopeless situation, if anything... he wonders if he would have died. the thought settles at the back of his head, but he smiles all the same as he pulls the other along.

having someone with that knowledge that wouldn't want to see him dead would come in handy, but if rio is against the idea, then... )

Hm... nope, it's not my field. There's other people who are more talented in it, like... Tsukimi-san! Ah, you don't know her, but she's the Ultimate Nurse.

( he finally lets go of rio's second hand, dropping it down to his side as they finally reach the top, the third floor, and with another floor to go they'll reach the tippy top. he continues, ) She surveyed both the living and the deceased, and was a core component in helping Hinata-kun solve his first murder. ( being able to tell the state of their death better than anyone, she was useful in that, a nurse who was talented in taking care of the human body. )

If she was here, things would be easier... ( not because they're both people who are looked down upon, and he has an easier time speaking to her, but they do need more medics in this place. ) I wonder what happens if our nurse was to die, that would be scary for some people here...

[ Rio listens, but it's not until the last sentence that it seems to take him a few seconds to process what's being said, and there's a puzzled little sound as he tries to come to terms with that. He's not human, and there were enough people here who worked with technology that he felt at ease. But rather than not paying attention, he had simply never needed to pull upon his acknowledgment of how many people here had any level of medical talent.

Rather, in his world, there was never a time when he had to worry about that any more than he did a lack of technological prowess. It was something he could defer to Safalin, and that he would still choose to do so; if not her, then Hiyori had more than enough skill to handle any issues that could arise. The man wasn't one he cared to work with, but his skills were undeniable. ]

... Hm? You guys don't have any others running around here?

[ That seems as though it would be troublesome. He stares at Komaeda, wondering if he wouldn't be one of them. Humans were frail, and his partner was more frail than most. ]

We do... Ishigami-kun is useful, but that means we have two, one if the nurse isn't here.

( now that he thinks about it, he wonders if that one counts, he's more magic than a healer, but if komaeda didn't know any better; he's someone who can be relied on in a desperate pinch. make sure none of those pinches become that bad. )

There's Clamor-san, but then that drops us to 1.5 if she's not here.

( "you guys," is the same tone komaeda uses when talking about others when it doesn't apply to him, hm, they sure do have a lot of people who deal with data and machines running around, don't they? he laughs, looking to the side as he walks them down the hall while wondering what would happen then if those final few fell, then it would just be nerd's city. he uses his free hand to grab the curl of rio's hair, pulling at it just for a moment. )

It'll be fun for those who are here, I wonder if their hope can keep the numbers alive if we all fell sick at the same time...

( hm... hm? a moment where every human couldn't do anything, and that left a certain having to play damage control. doctors and machines, ugh, they'll be counting on you. )

[ Well, in truth he could only dismiss it so lightly because he had assumed there were already medics in place. That sickening feeling doesn't ease up, but Ranger is a product of logic through and through. He has all of the technical knowledge by default, and he had learned from Safalin over time (since he needed to be able to care for her as she did him,) but the gap in practical experience was wide. A shame there weren't any cadavers here that he could put to good use.

Maybe next time somebody was killed... It wasn't like they were using it anymore, right? That would be the fastest way to start sharpening his skills. He'd rather use a living person, but he'd already promised not to do so. Until such a time that he was no longer beholden to that and may test and poke and cut as he so pleases, Rio supposes the recently deceased will have to do.

He closes one eye as Komaeda pulls at the curl. ]

I only have to look out for certain people. Sucks for everyone else if they're in trouble.

[ Rio lets out a little sigh. ]

... Hmmm, so you're saying, "practice until you can help me with any inevitability," right? Say it clearly, or I won't get it, 'cause all I got is textbook answers, ahaha~

[ He flips to the cat card, though, and he doesn't seem displeased by this turn of events. This, he thinks, is how his partner should be. But if he wants a partner who can cure him even in the case of the worst inevitability, he needs to say so.

If he does that, then without a doubt, Rio will develop those skills for him. ]

Did I say that?

( does he want rio to sharpen his skills just in case something horrible happens and komaeda can't trust anyone else to heal him, should he allow him that right to have the knowledge to make calls over the human life? they're precious, and there are some people who can not be saved, would rio be able to accept that someone could die under his knife despite he did nothing wrong. rather, there's only certain people who he'd manage over, and individuals that probably wouldn't see the light of day unless requested of him. )

I don't recall! I gave you an option, so it's not bad to pursue, or pick up a few tips and tricks. Ah... you make it sound like I stay in enough trouble to warrant an actual command.

( or perhaps he does, had he let the nurse leave at that moment, he could have died without in a matter of moments. while they're here, he can feel the pain in his abdomen, and he has to breath in slow, and then exhale afterwards to keep himself going without thinking of the burning sensation located there. if only the worst of it was just closing his eyes and ignoring it the way rio does as komaeda plays with that strand of hair, but unfortunately, it doesn't work that way.

in response to that, he lets go of the piece as he smiles, not against the idea of rio looking into a small hobby. )

What sort of treatment will you learn first? Oooh, what about transplants? Or maybe checking to see what innards have been removed. With or without anesthesia?

( rapid fire questions, and all of them don't have to be answered, he's just giving substance. )

[ That is the problem with being a human, isn't it? No matter how conditioned one is to ignoring pain, the human body is designed to react in a certain matter to pain. There's mechanisms in place that make it obvious when one is in pain, and to help pin down the exact point. So it is that he offers Komaeda that questioning stare that he sometimes does - questioning, slightly offended, wondering what might be so important that it's being hidden from him.

It really is difficult having a doll as a partner, isn't it? Safalin had struggled with the same thing; Ranger could just glance at her and know her exact thoughts more often than not. So it is that the sudden comment, along with that slight shift - slow and careful breaths, focused on maintaining a sense of normalcy. He glances to see if his hand starts to twitch and move, or if he's conditioned his response to avoid that. Failing that, he'll look for any slight inclination - leaning forward, drawing in muscles, anything that might tell him if he was overthinking it or otherwise. ]

... What happened?

[ Flat and clinical. He's noticed something ever so slightly off, and now he's problem solving. His eyes flick up and down, scanning Komaaeda once more. ]

You don't just bring stuff like this up out of no where.

We were talking about Safalin-san, which prompted the idea.

( short and sweet as rio troubleshoots him, and komaeda knows all too well what's happening here. he does only mention things when they're perfectly convenient, but there's a few honest bits in his requests.

he won't immediately move back to avoid flinching, and he allows rio to look him over which feels like years, an entire decade as he does his best to not show any pain from his body. should have asked what the day on this thread is, i imagine a week or something, because anything closer to the 2nd would hurt like a mfkr. )

Easy, easy...! Is it wrong to take advantage of an opportune moment?

( he exhales tiredly, a little wheeze afterwards, but komaeda breathing is more like steady breaths. not wanting to do so much, mindful of each one he takes, but that could be from the dust before? )

Hmmm...

[ He's taking care to remain as steady as possible, which was the best indicator that a person was trying to hide their pain. Ranger doesn't like touching people, and he doesn't like to be touched, but he's not above poking and prodding his partner to discern the issue than he would be to take apart a computer in order to find and replace a defective part. Aside from that, he truly is a product of a company that specializes in medicine and technology, and so he sees no shame in the idea of a fuller inspection.

In many ways, his background does show. He needed to be able to care for participants to a point, but also Safalin herself in the event that something should occur. He had been taught some basics consequently, and he'd spent enough time watching her to have picked up on more than he might otherwise have. By the same token, he preferred to defer to her for a multitude of reasons, one of which was simply that she has a better sense for how delicate people are.

Which is why Rio, who so often lacks that and is solely concerned about problem solving and answering questions, is presently going to try and find the answer himself by lifting Komaeda's shirt up to scan. He doesn't seem to be avoiding the use of any limbs, so this seems like a safe place to start. ]

... If you need a partner who can support you as a medic, I can do that too. I have all the perquisite knowledge, so I'd just need more experience working directly with the human body.

[ It's his job to identify and pick up on things like that, but... While he could pick up on emotional needs just by watching closely, physical issues such as the need for medical care weren't something that would come to him intuitively. That was why he preferred to leave it to other humans. ]

I'm not human, and I don't really think about stuff like that, so you have to say it directly.

[ He also needs to be directly told not to do stupid things like exactly what he's doing here... But he doesn't seem to mean any harm at least. ]

Edited 2021-12-18 23:53 (UTC)

( his hand is quick to wrap around rio's wrist as he goes about lifting komaeda's shirt up, his grip is tighter than usual as he keeps his prosthetic in place. the small whirrs that it makes in the void that echoes left and right, and underneath his clothes happen to be a freshly bandaged area around his stomach that's been taken care of. his breathing is still the same, and there's a small chatter of his teeth from how cold he is. he'll allow rio a moment to inspect the area, the bandages should be more tahn enough, before he takes a step back to pull his shirt from the other's hold, and smooth it back down in place without touching that sensitive area. )

It wouldn't be for me, Riokun... it's just that you never know what's going to happen.

( he looks down at his stomach, before bringing the front of his normally open jacket together only to zip it up properly which is probably a first time for everything that he's done here. komaeda understands he can just undo what he's done, but he's seen, so there's no reason for him to continue doing so. was it something he was trying to hide and lie about? it just wasn't on his mind, but having someone in that field does strengthen their numbers, and cuts their losses.

with an exhale, he laughs softly, but there's this burning sensation that tingles in the area, slowly creeping up. )

It's not a bad idea, but it's dangerous considering it's always smart to remove the doctors in order sabotage everyone one by one.

( it's inconvenient, but that doesn't mean the area has to be the topic of conversation. )

[ It takes him a second to remember how difficult this place must be for Komaeda, who already ran cold. It's one of those things that it's easy to lose sight of, but the tight grip on his wrist tells him that he's gone too far. It's a message that he receives and disregards as he looks at the inspects the area before letting his hand drop back down to his side once released. He stares for several seconds, considering, before he seems to come to some conclusion.

Rio doesn't press the matter any further, although he certainly could and would feel no guilt in doing so. He looks behind Komaeda and gestures forward instead. It wouldn't do to stay in one place for too long, though he's happy enough to wait if needed. ]

Well, there's a reason I don't make a habit of talking about what I can and can't do.

[ There was quite a bit, and his skills were only growing by the day. That had the potential to be troublesome for several reasons once revealed, and so the less that he needed to say, the better. ]

I'll think about it.

( he doesn't take rio for a jack of all trades, but he's capable of things better than most can even say. komaeda understands that, and it's why he brought it up as an idea. if he doesn't go through with it, then there's no hard feelings, but he'll always be aware of how much he's able to do in the medical field, so that's to his advantage more than others. )

Hm... I trust you.

( forward is one way, but komaeda decides to go the opposite way, they finally made their way up the stairs, and he decides to walk back down them — hopping over the other step so that he doesn't get his foot caught in the trap. that's his own mind at work, deciding what would be helpful for him, but this isn't helpful at all, it's more so him trying to decide what to do next. luckily it's not because he's upset with rio either, it might come from his own need just to wander, stick his nose into things that doesn't need him pestering himself in.

once he's on the final step, he looks down towards the side of the hall where the void is, he gives it a few moments to contemplate his next move. komaeda's aware any steps towards that general direction will either cause the other to walk down the steps too in order to figure out what he's intending to do, and mostly likely decide if it's a stupid decision on his part or not. he could have done this on the floor that rio's on too, but komaeda goes with his gut (aha) feeling to walk towards the right side of the hall. )

[ As predicted, Rio follows him without so much as another word. In the meantime, he stays close to Komaeda as expected, just a couple steps behind, watching him closely. It is, in part, to ensure that he can keep him out of trouble. Rio trusts his partner well enough, but not so much that he doesn't remain cognizant of what they're doing. That's always how its been, and it's not a habit he has any intention of dropping. But there's another reason why he's watching, too. He's trying to discern if Komaeda isn't a little agitated and, if so, how to approach that problem.

He flips between cards as he moves, uncertain of what emotion he wants to present now. Happiness? Sadness? An intense stare? It seems as though more and more, he can't determine what face he's supposed to put on for this person. That, too, is quite the quandary. Between the two, he winds up following along in silence for the moment - that's nothing out of the ordinary for Rio, though, who so often needs time to collect his thoughts and never speaks without reason.

Though maybe he's supposed to here? He's never felt much pressure to to so before, and it was one of the things he liked, but he's suddenly uncertain. In the end, all that comes out is a small sound, ]

... Ummm...

[ Well, there was an attempt, anyway. ]

You're exactly right.

( he responds as if he's ready rio's mind on what he should be doing. komaeda stares at him to make sure he knows who the ultimate is speaking to, and with a slow blink there's a small smile that appears on his face until it drops. he's aware of his own drastic mood swings, they're nowhere near enoshima's, but he's able to go through a variety of feelings that get faker and faker as he shifts through and so what does he feel now? irritated? sadness? he doesn't really feel dejected, nor does he wronged? he's pretty calm at the moment from what rio can see since komaeda doesn't struggle to hide his feelings like he did his bandages. he's only a few steps away from the void, making sure to not go any further to ensure his survival, and with his right hand held out. )

I'm going to bleed into the void and see if that does anything, I've never done it before, and the shadows here crave dead bodies... do you think I count?

( he turns back properly to stare into the void, watching the darkness is never ending, and the way it draws him in, but solid colors normally have that effect.

there's a passing thought, is there distance between them, will rio be fine with that? komaeda had put them in a difficult spot with the way he walked away, turned a corner, and if now thinking about cutting his hand. if the other could bleed, then maybe he would ask the other to do so, but since he can't... )

You can sit with me while I do it! It's fine, really.

... Nagito.

[ Rio says his name to buy time to find something else to say. Komaeda shifts moods rapidly sometimes, but there's always a reason for it. It's not uncommon for him to get caught up in some idea or another and proceed to speak at him, rather than to him, and in those moments he thinks he's just caught up in his own enthusiasm. In those moments he tends to just respond when prompted. Sometimes Komaeda would listen to his input, and others he wouldn't, and sometimes he would just watch as he talked himself through and contradicted his way into an entirely new answer.

That, he thinks, is different from moments like this. Safalin was the same way, but he was easier for him to read after knowing her for so long. She concealed her emotions well. She faked tears and faked pity and faked love, but it was rare for her to let her true emotions show. He thinks it's the same here, and that's why that feeling of something being wrong remains. If he had to guess, he had become agitated and was responding to that in the only way he knew how.

He steps over, reaching his free hand over to try and place his palm on the back of Komaeda's hand and push it down. His partner is light enough that he could lift him up. He's frail enough that he could yank him back by a shoulder or his wrist. He could grab his hand tightly. But pulling and pushing will agitate the injury in his abdomenn, and grabbing that hand will mean agitating the cut on his palm. So he tries to push it down instead, fingertips pushing down on the gaps between his fingers. ]

I don't think you should do that.

[ The cards dip for a few seconds, leaving nothing but the ever blank expression of a doll who can't even decide which emotion to fake, before he lifts the ice cream cone back up. He doesn't want him to. But his feelings don't matter, and his thoughts sometimes do, and so he says this instead. ]

Edited (words) 2021-12-21 03:10 (UTC)

( digging into the area is painful, but it doesn't hurt as much as it should, his senses are numbed, and he's been through worse. what he's done to his hand is child's play, and that's why he's able to offer up his blood while there's no meaning behind it. if there's blood inside of that tube, then they could test it here, too, offer a bit of his blood to see how the void reacts to it. he knows that bodies can be disposed inside of it, but it's been awhile, and so it doesn't hurt in checking.

he looks up, empty eyes looking at rio as he tries to find what has brought upon this pause, and why his hand settles on top of his own. komaeda doesn't believe he's done anything wrong, but maybe it was his response, and he finds that talking to others is difficult, and he needs but a brief moment to get it together. pain is a reality, even though it hurts here, it'll just throb worse back on the proper side where they belong, and so what happens here doesn't matter.

turning forward properly, he stares off into the void. )

It started off in the auditorium, and not it encompasses so much, that's pretty interesting, isn't it?

( it's conversation, it's talking at him, and it's no different from buying time so that it'll pass. time is an unlimited concept here, they could stay here for years, ages, and only second will pass where their bodies are. he stop, dropping his hand down against the surface of the floor as he sits down properly (his legs crossed so they don't dangle in the void). that's saying rio won, or komaeda's biding his time to see how he'll answer. it's the silence first, and then the expression card lifting second, he has no idea what emotion to have at the moment.

komaeda mulls over it, and smiles himself. )

You can smile with me, too.

[ Rio sits next to him. He places his hand over Komaeda's once more, but the touch is too light and too careful to avoid applying pressure to suggest any effort to hold it in place. Rather, it's a quiet way of saying that he's still present. What more can he do now? He has none of those human features that might allow him to be of use here, no blood to spill, no sentiments to express, and even now these small touches appear to him a much bigger deal than they should. He can offer his memory, but that's not something that can be shared; a camera would be of more use than him, as video and photographs can at least serve as a reminder. He hates humans, and he was made to support humans, and he can do nothing with either.

He can't smile.

Why is he a doll? Why was he to be created this way? ]

Huh... It's like it's devouring the whole place.

[ He lifts up the card with the cheerful smile on it in response to the suggestion. It's fake, not reaching his eyes any more than one he forced into existence, but as long as a person doesn't look too closely this can at least create the illusion.

Like this? ]

There's a way to set it back, and I almost learned.

( there's a mistake and error when you're not compatible to someone who wants battle to test their strength, but not victories. fighting against luck is a complicated matter, hardly physical, and just extends komaeda's survival rate by 100%. if he wasn't weak, he wonders if he'd know a little more than what he does, but even then, it's not enough to help, he's just aware that it can be done. feeding it blood doesn't seem like it'd solve the equation, but perhaps it'd fill into the chamber of blood on the other side, and so he doesn't mind testing it just in case.

when rio is this close, it because tedious to make happen, but that must come with not wanting his partner harmed. )

Riokun, I'd advise that you shatter glass when we return. We'll cut it so that it matches the shape of... ( he reaches out, pressing his thumb and index finger against the facemask to pinch it gently, but not enough to leave an impression. ) ...after, we'll paint it black, and put a cute expression over it. We'd need a sturdy handle to hold it up, but you'll have an easy way to exit the void if you happen to be on the wrong side at the wrong time.

( he could just carry shards of glass on him, but this is more creative, and sounds like it'd be fun. it's for survival though, as long as rio has a chance at breaking the glass, he can save himself if he falls into the void with no one to jump down and save him.

with that said, he releases the face card, and drops his hand back down on the floor. )

bulletin board updates

12/20 - 12/24 finals week

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