yogen | may missions

[ At midnight on the 20th, the sound of turning cogs and the ticking of the clock grows louder, then comes to an abrupt stop. The hands continue to move with the time, but no sound will be heard. It will no longer chime on the hour.

There have been notes appearing in the clock tower for some time now, the boards pulled up by someone, messages that seem to appear without rhyme or reason. Requests for help, hints and suggestions, but anything of real value seems to be lost in translation, scratched out and burned off and leaving those who view them to find the hidden message. How many of them were written by those those recently lost, and how many were found?

It's impossible to say, but there's one message in particular that should have drawn attention. It's like a little riddle, or perhaps a number sequence:

"Twenty four, twelve, zero."

There's only one time at which the day can be said to be all of these things at once.

Time marches on. ]

Edited 2022-05-13 23:36 (UTC)

Twenty four, twelve, and zero! ♪

[ he repeats off the message on his pda, and then he's handing the slip over to ranger, he'll do better in keeping things safe compared to how animalistic dito can be (in only caring about his weapons), and bonnie portrays herself as the young and cute individual with a sunny personality, but a nasty bite beneath. there's no need to make her carry the message when she has a basket to hold onto, and midori is just a considerate guy so thoughtful of women, a feminist. ]

Anyone want to take a guess, you can only offer one answer.

[ why are they all at the clock tower, well, isn't it odd for it to stop so abruptly? his eyes do glance over the massive clock nearby, and then to dito who he's going to choose out of random because he just doesn't do well staying in once place. ]

Except you, I have a better job. [ with a smile, midori holds up the pda in front of dito's face so that he can see. ] Go inside the clock to see if there's anything clogging the wheels, it's always exciting to learn new things, Dito!

Edited (EXCITED TO BE THE BOSS WHO FORGETS WE CANT TALK AT 12) 2022-05-14 00:20 (UTC)

Midnight.

[ A single word with no explanation, though he takes the slip for safekeeping. It shouldn't be too difficult to figure out the connection from there.

It is odd that it stopped so abrupt, especially after making so much noise... But for it to be making such a commotion, there must be something of interest in there. That aside, it's better than waiting for someone else to fix the problem. If they don't, who will? Still, he seems content enough to let his coworker take the lead on this one.

The time of night makes communicating a hassle though. ]

[ as always, it's exceptionally annoying that they can't say jack shit as soon as the clock hits that time. yeah, sure, midnight. that doesn't tell dito anything except for the time of the clock's untimely interruption. he's standing there with his hands behind his head, not really taking this seriously as he sees midori typing a little too much on the pda. he's not doing that shit.

although it's not doing him any favors when midori's pda is in his face, and dito's narrowing his eyes at the message directed toward him before ultimately bringing a hand down to nudge the pda away. he opens his mouth, as if he's about to bitch about something— ...only to close it a second later as he remembers it's futile to even try. god.

he's not sure what the point of all this is. but if the hands are still moving, he can follow that it's definitely something obstructing the inside. given the size of the clock, it'd have to be something bigger too, yeah? dito's thinking about this, and considering the last time he found something in this clock was very, very fun, he supposes it won't hurt to check it out. even though he's not doing this out of any desire to fix it or anything. hell, isn't the entire mechanism of the thing behind rock-solid glass?

whatever. he'll toss a hand up in a dismissive wave as he makes head toward the inside of the clock to investigate. hopefully! it's something good! ]

[ She was more eager to let others deal with the riddle aspect. The idea was fun, but it wasn't interesting enough for her to really care much about it. Midnight, then. It does make sense, but it's still practically worthless unless they can figure out what the hell "midnight" has to do with anything.

Honestly. Just zap the damn thing already and let's get on with it. She wishes she could say that, but no sound comes out-- frustrating.

Perhaps feeling a bit antsy, she holds her hands behind her back, looking between Midori and Dito before deciding to hover a bit over the latter's shoulder. Curious, curious... ]

Edited 2022-05-14 03:59 (UTC)

[ It is behind rock solid glass. The clock face blocks all entry to the inner mechanisms, and it would be difficult to pull it open with the way it's set into the tower.

But it is possible to pull at the hands that tick along and the numbers along it, and closer inspection will reveal the numbers that are attached into the clock are thicker than the surrounding decorations. They press against the metal rings around them, but they don't seem to be attached, and a little twisting and pulling would reveal that it's possible to remove them. Moreover, the clock hands and the numbers are the only pieces of the clock face that can be moved or removed. ]

[ look at them working together, he's enthused enough as he stands right beside ranger as his eyes remain attached to both bonnie and dito. they're quite small, so maybe they feel a kindred spirit, or bonnie's just opting out on what's easiest to investigate.

the silence is annoying enough as he clicks on his pda, showing it to ranger. ]

If they don't find anything, we can simply change the clock's time!

[ manually, that is, but who should they leave that to? dito, obviously. he's already getting his hands dirty. anyway, it's just an idea due to everyone being at the clock tower, and the note reading 24:00, 12:00, and 0:00 all being the same number depending on how it's read. ]

Want to take a bet on who comes to that idea between Bonnie and Dito? I have 12000¥ on Bonnie, she's a dark horse!

[ Hiyori and Komaeda both have the same penchant for letting other people do the heavy lifting after they've already figured out the answer. Still, Ranger supposes it'll only cause more problems if there are four people trying at the same task - the only thing that will accomplish is somebody getting knocked off and cracking their skull open.

Tap, tap, tap... ]

They'll both get it.

[ The silence really is annoying, actually. It's going to be impossible to communicate. ]

The broken clocks in the student store are supposed to stop the silence for awhile. You think it's the same for this one?

[ He gestures vaguely to the clock tower. That is to say, maybe they can bypass the silence if they crawl in there. It's wishful thinking, but it'd sure make things easier. ]

Edited (clarification) 2022-05-14 07:45 (UTC)

[ oh, hell no.

what is he supposed to do with this? he tilts his head for a second with a scowl, eyes flicking for some kind of opening or break. but nope, it's the same damn obstruction as per usual. he's not supposed to move these, is he? he wrinkles his nose, not really keen on that idea. physical labor and all. he can do it, but he doesn't like it!

dito knocks on the glass with a light, soundless rap — almost as if he's testing the hardness, but it's kind of hard to gauge when there's virtually no sound. but it feels hard against his knuckles.

almost thoughtlessly, he reaches at hilt of the dagger he keeps sheathed on the opposite side of his waist from his spear. he's just going to pull that out, tossing it in his hand ever so slightly to bring it into a backhand grip just so he can put a heavier amount of force into thrusting it dead center into the glass in front of him. he doubts it will do more than scratch it, but it's better to be thorough about shit like this. because if he can force his way in, that's way easier... to him, anyway.

if that presumably accomplishes nothing, but he'll notice if any of the nearby embellished clock numbers even marginally shake with looseness from his admittedly not very thoughtful assault on the glass.

...ah.

don't mind him if he brings his dagger toward the nearest number and digs the flat end of his blade a bit beneath it, seeing if he can wedge it off. which seems doable almost immediately, although he's not sure what he's supposed to do with this. so he turns his head over his shoulder and considers really hard about pulling that pda out. but he doesn't want to, and he sees bonnie, so he'll just tap at the loosened number his dagger is presently wedged beneath. ]

[ Hmm. Looks like he's stumped. The glass seems too hard for him to shatter like that, so maybe if she hoists her basket on her shoulder-- no, it looks like he's found a different thing to do. It looks like they could change the time, but Dito's become enamored with the idea of grabbing one of the numbers off of the clock.

Bonnie nods, fishing out her own PDA, turning her back to Dito as she types out a message for Ranger and Midori. ]

He's learning his numbers.

[ Good boy, Dito! ]

They're loose, does anyone want to help him rip it off?

[ Not her of course. She's far, far too dainty for that! Also, she doesn't want it. ]

He might be the man, well, that's unless I am...

[ as the boss, he should take part and help with these endeavors, and if they stand here then they'll never get anywhere. all they have to do is fiddle with the hands and numbers since they're able to be wiggled off, and dito is just so fascinated with the numbers that he's willing to take those off. ]

Okay, I'll confess I am ✰

[ he perks up, smiling warmly as his fingers hit against his pda— he rocks from left to right, bouncing on the back of his heels. casually, his shoulders bump into ranger (possibly annoyingly since he's always having a grand time)m and he's more than pleased with the new developments that bonnie has brought up to them. ]

Buuuuuuuut he needs the exercise to let out all his frustration when he has nothing to bite! [ he turns the pda to ranger for him to see only, suggesting an idea! ] How about you help him a bit, Ranger? An extra two hands never seems to hurt ♡

[ that is NOT suggestive because he has (first) class. ]

[ Midori seems to be enjoying himself as always, which by default tends to make him the most obnoxious person in the room. Today is no exception, so it's the other two that hold his attention. He takes a step away after having his shoulder bumped, and he gives a look that suggests that he thinks Midori should do it himself, but he shrugs before nodding in agreement.

The school itself is sturdy enough, but even when compared to that the clock tower seems to hold up well. He supposes that the mechanisms used here must be where the school's budget has gone to. He follows Dito's lead in examining the numbers present. He places his hand on one and wiggles it. It takes some twisting and turning, but he does manage to pop the number nine out, lifting an eyebrow as he examines the front and back.

It doesn't seem to be anything of interest, and it's sturdy, so he tosses it to the ground without giving it much more thought. They only seem to need to leave a few numbers here, so it seems safe to assume that the rest can be discarded. As for putting them back, well - that'll be somebody else's problem. ]

[ thanks, bonnie...

dito rolls his eyes and supposes he'll start at it, using his other hand to hit at the blunt end of the hilt of his dagger, just to wedge it far enough underneath the number "3" and pop it off just like that. it falls down, because he's not bothering to catch it or anything. he moves a few fingers to press against where the number had been, wondering if there's some kind of hidden contraption to this.

god, he hates riddles.

his investment sans curiosity is low, but that's when he notices ranger popping off a number himself. dito stares as the other does so, wondering if they're going to do all of the numbers, or just most of them. he's not sure what the point of this is, but if ranger's also here pulling them off, maybe there's something to it. it's not like he cares about destroying the clock anyway, but it doesn't look like that's going to be easy.

dito lifts his dagger to bite it between his teeth and hold it like that — obviously to free his hands, since he's finally pulling out his pda. fucking annoying, man. he taps on it briefly before holding it up to ranger. ]

are we yanking all of them

[ he doesn't care how much they deface the clock, so. ]

[ hmm. really, that is a good question... ]

Is there a reason to take any of them? What'll we do with them?

[ he dodges what numbers are thrown in his direction as he makes his way over, analyzing what's already been pulled off. ]

Twenty four, twelve, zero.

That would be 12AM. You can try removing every number but 12, and changing the hands so that it hits exactly that on every clock.

[ they've been here for awhile, so they'll need to go back if they change the hands. ]

We should leave the 12 at the top. The rest can come off.

[ It's a simple enough riddle at least. There's only one time at which time can be said to hit all three at once. It's an annoying riddle, no doubt thought out by somebody in the school who thought they were clever, but it is a simple one. It's more like a kid's puzzle than anything difficult, really.

The only problem he has so far is that Hiyori is just standing there. The temptation to throw one of those numbers at him is growing. Either way, the one and zero in ten are both gone now. ]

Edited 2022-05-17 03:31 (UTC)

[ The numbers come out easily enough. There's nothing behind the first number to suggest a mechanism, but doors number two and four will prove to be more useful. The numbers are a little shorter than the rest of them, less wide, and pulling them out will reveal a pair of keys pressed into a lock behind them.

If he so chooses, he can twist the locks and remove them, and if he does so there will be an audible click with each one. Once he's done with them, he should throw them at Midori's head since he's not doing anything, he can make himself useful by hanging onto them in case they're needed later. ]

[ dito squints as he looks between what everyone's saying, only to figure that...the riddle really is that simple. supposedly.

dito sighs through his nose, moving to scratch at the side of his head for a second like he's irritated here. what a stupid riddle. although he guesses he would rather have something really dumb and easy as compared to, say, three's insane shit. puzzles and platforming...not his thing!

but okay. he doesn't see the point in responding right now because he's lazy (although he most certainly would bitch aloud), so he just tucks his pda back into his pocket and grabs his dagger again with a gratuitous eyeroll.

he digs the dagger into subsequent numbers, more or less just working his way down (or around) on his side from "1" on the clock., now. he at least stops when he knocks off the "2" and sees the keys, wondering if he should mess with it. he had already guessed there might be a way into the internal clock mechanism from here, but leaving the keys in their locks behind the numbers...?

whatever, he thinks as he turns it. he has no idea what this does, but he doesn't care. he pulls the keys out and holds them in his spare hand as he continues making his way down. when he gets to "4", he decidedly does the same thing. he stops as soon as he gets to "6", because ranger can get the rest. are there any other keys he should know about?? he doesn't know, but he's gone ahead and done whatever they do. unlock the clock face, hopefully.

so when dito's done, he looks at the set of keys in his hand — do they actually need these? he thinks he shouldn't toss random keys on the ground unlike the numbers, which he's sure are more or less useless at this point. but midori's the leader, right? and the one actually seemingly invested in this riddle, so dito's actually is going to throw the keys in midori's direction. whether they end up hitting him or at his feet, it doesn't matter. do something, bitch! ]

[ What she sees is them solving everything, getting some keys and then immediately tossing them. Maybe it'd make it to Midori, but what the hell, don't just throw the keys! Which is why she immediately reaches out to snatch the keys out of the air before they hit Midori, idly nudging him in the process.

The hell is this guy's problem??? ]

[ both dito and ranger are working hard as they share the one clock, and finally figuring the puzzle to obtaining keys. there's comfortable distance just in case the clock tower reacts badly or becomes life threatening, but the keys they're rewarded with is a little different — not unfamiliar for how asunaro played little games and image puzzles. he's actually tickled by the idea that someone left them there for them, but when dito's ass throws them like chopped liver (no, rather, he would keep chopped liver), but it's careless and troublesome that he would throw them off.

if only ranger had found it first...

unsure of where they'll fall, his eyes follows until he notices petite hands reaching up to catch the keys. eyes slowly lower to meet with bonnie's, and with a smile, he claps his hands despite there's no sound to expose how enthusiastic his clapping is. hands drop down to his side as he turns away from both dito and ranger, and patting his own pockets, and then reaching out to grab bonnie's hands that hold onto the keys— he clasps them gently, giving a squeeze to tell her to keep them in her possession, but he also passes along a small remote that has one button visible. with a wink, he makes it his mission to make sure no one sees what he's doing.

he takes out his pda, typing on the surface before showing it to bonnie. ]

Whenever you're unsure, just click it! Ah... It makes me feel better sometimes ♡ Make sure to return it to me after this, alright? For now, keep it hidden!

[ he offers no other explanation, so its up to bonnie to click it to see what it does. instead, he lifts a hand to pat her head gently before removing what's written to show something else. ]

Let's check the other clocks to see if there's anything left in them too. The left and right of the one Ranger and Dito already have their hands full on.

[ a quick check doesn't hurt. ]

[ There goes the remaining numbers, pushes up the hands of the clock to twelve as requested, and with that they have the world's simplest puzzle solved. It is better than something messy and complicated as far as he's concerned. It's probably just somebody's idea of quality entertainment. He supposes it would be amusing to see who decides to start trying to pull numbers off a clock tower first.

That said, the answer is a person who decides to carelessly toss the keys aside... But while he would also prefer not to lose them, he can't bring himself to be too upset. This is what happens when you make other people do your job.

Well, whatever. He taps a few more times and holds it up to Dito. ]

Hiyori can handle the rest.

[ He's made that decision for him. There's only two other clocks, so if the assumption is correct, they should be able to make quick work of getting this piece done, and then the real fun will no doubt start.

It's going to be along night. ]

[ this is so stupid, he thinks. annnnd...nothing happens. okay. he's still kind of wondering if there's actually going to be a point to this, but the keys and mechanisms behind a few of the numbers must undoubtedly mean something.

it's still all very annoying and tedious, and whoever came up with this has way too much time on their hands and should probably lose said hands.

dito cocks his head to the side when he reads ranger's message, but he'll go ahead and grab for his pda to tap out a quick and enthusiastic response. ]

he can have at it!!!!

[ dito tosses his shoulders in a shrug afterward, because who is he to complain about that. ]

[ Ooh, a present! An understatement to say that Bonnie loves free stuff, even if she has to give it back at the end. It was just a funny little remote anyway, so that wasn't such a big deal. She deftly pockets the device along with the keys, glancing back at Ranger and Dito who... seem to have figured that they've done a good enough job already.

Brave to think, especially after one of them nearly tossed the keys away ~~at someone who wouldn't pick them up~~.

Well, in that case, she'll have to stride over to one of the other clocks, looking at it with a tilted head. Oh, there may be something in here, hm?

As she considers this, curiosity gets the better of her, and while she brings a fist up to her chin to act as if she's thinking hard about it, she decides to fish the keys back out of her pocket-- in the process, pressing the button.

Time to look back and point at the clock with a thumb. Should she take care of this? ]

[ there would have been a punishment had he picked them up, dito owes his life to bonnie. literally! as she makes her way away from him, midori does the same to walk at a brisk pace to meet with the clock of the opposing side. from eyeing dito and ranger, he noticed they removed a "two" and a "four", which could allude to the twenty four on the note.

ah, midori happens to like the number zero, an endless concept that goes on forever and forever without stopping — eternity, infinity, and even sprinkles of evolution. it's a beautiful number that deserves more recognition than it's given, but there are greedy people who loves the higher number when zero encompasses all, and is the start of everything.

that's what brings him to lift one hand up, playing with the hands, but moving to the zero that he slips a finger against to try and wedge off first, and then he'll follow the rest of the numbers so that it'll wind up empty is his next thought. as he fiddles with the zero in particular, he's looking over to check on bonnie, eyes analyzing her muted question with a nod.

that will be the clock she'll tamper with, and he lifts up a finger that notes one, and then the pointer and middle that defines two. well, twelve. she'll understand because she's a smart and creative girl, and if there's nothing behind the two clocks then that's fine. he manages fo keep his focus on the mission at hand despite the red dot within the darkness that glows on dito's collar. that's one ranger should know well enough that it's been activated, and would probably be better off taking a few steps away from.

...

it's a warning notification to offer a heads up before it starts to heat up, ah, he didn't think a high surge of electricity would be ideal since it keeps him on his back longer than midori would want during investigations— but if bonnie clicks twice then she'll find that shocking opportunity. anyway dito will be baked alhamdulillah! ]

[ Ranger nods to Bonnie before something else catches his attention. He looks to Dito, then to Midori. He had missed the remote being given to Bonnie, but the look he gives likely would have been the same regardless - it's a displeased look that asks if this is really the time for him to be acting stupid.

Anyway, this is quicker than having two people try to figure everything out. There were only three numbers listed on the note, which seemed to allude to it, which would mean that the fourth one either doesn't need to be messed with, or it can't be utilized until the other three mysteries of the world have been settled. Either way, it's nothing they can't handle.

That said, he's restless enough that he'll experimentally tug on one of the numbers of the final face of the clock tower to see if he can confirm his suspicions. He'll follow Midori's lead in trying to take off the zero. Maybe he'll throw it at him if it comes off. ]

Edited 2022-05-18 02:21 (UTC)

clock tower - bonnie, dito, hiyori, ranger

EXCITED TO BE THE BOSS!!!!

NOT U THE BOSS i'm happy for him

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