...oh... also, if you could keep an eye out for something tomorrow... [...] Shu told me that when he woke up, his psych pin was missing. It feels important that we figure out what happened to it.
[she does look worried, though not quite worried enough.]
Well, can I ask you something serious? Are you asking because you think he did a murder, or because you think he's being framed? Either way is okay, but it kind of affects whether I'm obvious about looking for it.
I think he's being framed. We had plans for what to do if either of us ended up acting, and this doesn't fit with those plans at all. He's also not unwise enough to use his own Psych when our team is the only one known to be able to use it... and we did have other options. We have a lot of other options. So, I really believe he wouldn't have needed to.
We have a lot of things from the store that would be equally, if not more, useful for doing something like this and getting away with it. There isn't any reason for him to have used Umbrakinesis so obviously.
Oh. I mean...I don't want to say too much about last week or anything, but. It is reallyreally easy to fake psychs, and it works scarily well. I don't think anyone of us thought everyone would spend the whole trial like "oh it has to be these two psychs."
I just think we have to push on that. Because I don't want Shu to get in trouble. At this point, with everyone who was caught getting caught because of their psych, it would be crazy not to try to deflect attention from your own team.
If you're sure it's being framed, that's one thing. But also, like - I could just not bring up the dark room we found, and I could check him at pocket check and not notice the pin. I know we said we didn't need to help cover, but that's mostly because I think it would make you guys sad. I'd help cover if you needed it.
I think you'll have to bring it up - it would make you look suspicious if you didn't. Kazuki was there with you after all, right? And while I don't think he's out to get my team, I also don't know who else he's mentioned it to.
...Shu is planning to mention the pin himself, I think. He's acting like he has nothing to hide, so I'll do the same. But... I do have a plan for if it seems like people are doubting him.
...Okay. I'll follow your lead. Do you wanna tell me your plan, or is it better not to?
[...]
Also, I think it's pretty unlikely, but are you sure Kaveh didn't do it? [kaveh seems like he'd be bad at murdering so maybe he'd use a psych that points to their team and only their team.] I was thinking when we saw that handprint in Libby's case that matched Wenzhou that it would be kind of smart to really blatantly frame your own teammate because then if you could prove they didn't do it it would take the attention off.
That really doesn't sound like Kaveh to me, but just checking.
[on the one hand, maybe. setting it up so he's the one to take the fall is something kaveh-like. on the other...]
First of all... knowingly causing harm to others is something he really, really struggles with. For another, he might be emotional, but he's too smart to go and dilute the points that way without a plan to get away with it. He already knows that more points are earned if the culprit isn't caught.
...and, this is just my read on it - but I think he wants your team to win. Because... if someone else does, then what did Shenhe die for?
Yeah. I mean. The part where we framed Simon is the part that made me feel the most horrible. At least you can explain what you're doing to the person you hurt directly, and why. And they can decide how to feel about it. But making Shu and you worried like this...that would be too hard. And I don't get why he wouldn't just tell you, because it's allowed by the rules.
[what she says about shenhe makes her feel sad, though.]
I guess I just bring it up because never in a million years did I think Gerard was going to kill somebody. He just isn't the type. Me and Haru both were talking like maybe it's something that needed to happen, but Gerard was always like "no, let's just try to survive." He doesn't think that highly about himself, he talks about himself like he's selfish and not brave, but I've never seen him like that. He's gentle, he's always being gentle with people. He's always doing nice things and thinking about people's feelings.
It just turns out, I guess, that being a nice person here I think actually means doing some bad things. I guess he sort of did it for me or something.
[she nods, because... well, it makes sense to her that they'd feel bad about framing simon. she hasn't once thought that ylfa did any of it specifically to be cruel - she'd always assumed there would be regret for that.]
Right. Unless the idea is to do it and keep us in the dark so that we would honestly be able to tell people we had no idea, but... he's stressed so often that he wants us all to be honest with each other. I can't imagine him keeping that from us...
[nahida sighs at that.]
...decisions like this are impossible to be purely good or purely bad. I can understand Gerard wanting to do it so that you didn't have to... although, I do wish that he hadn't felt like he had to, and that he seemed to value himself a little more. [...] If it was Kaveh, I think he would want us to find the truth, so I'll look into it. But if it wasn't, then I need to know the truth, because I need to know why Shu's pin went missing. It would be one thing if the darkness was there, but his pin was still safely with him. But it wasn't. Until we know why that is, I... have to assume that it was deliberate in some way.
[she frowns, then pulls out her phone and shows ylfa a text.]
There's also this. I received it after we finished investigating...
[it reads:]
from user saintgeorge: I am so sorry.
[...]
It's much more coherent than the messages we got at the start of the week. And... with Shu's pin missing, the timing of it worries me.
...Oh, Haru got a couple messages, too. But they were kind of nice, mainly. They were worried he got hurt.
Also, me and Haru both got text messages, but they're kind of complicated. I think we should meet up again on Sunday and talk about them; it's not anything I think it'll help to know right away.
I think I know the message you received. Kyoko showed hers to me, and she also told me about ciphers. Kazuki showed me his, too.
But putting a pin in this until Sunday seems like a good idea to me. ...we can move it up to tomorrow night if something goes wrong at the trial, though, and plan out a strategy accordingly. [softly - ] ...if people still seem suspicious of Shu after he tells them about his pin, I'm going to tell them that if my team receives the majority vote and is innocent, I'll be volunteering to be erased, and that if Shu or Kaveh argues with me about it, it's an argument I'm going to win. Ideally, it will keep people focused on finding the true culprit if they don't want to see me dead.
[her ears droop a little at that.]
...it doesn't really feel good to play on people's emotions that way, but I'm willing to do that if Shu and Kaveh stay safe. But... it isn't necessarily just a bluff, either. If that's what happens, I do plan to pursue it. ...so, depending on the circumstances...
[she shrugs.
judging from the message she saw - maybe there will be something she could do at that point.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
...it's hard to know how to act with all of these things happening. Are you sure you're okay? ...not just... cursed or not cursed, but in general.
no subject
I'm okay.
no subject
...if you're sure. [...] What did Haru do that was annoying to you?
no subject
no subject
...thank you for letting me do that.
no subject
no subject
...oh... also, if you could keep an eye out for something tomorrow... [...] Shu told me that when he woke up, his psych pin was missing. It feels important that we figure out what happened to it.
no subject
[she does look worried, though not quite worried enough.]
Well, can I ask you something serious? Are you asking because you think he did a murder, or because you think he's being framed? Either way is okay, but it kind of affects whether I'm obvious about looking for it.
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
[she just does not seem sure about how much they can actually say about that.]
I would have expected people to be a little more open to other possibilities, but...
no subject
no subject
...it just makes me a little angry that it's my team they decided to deflect it to. [she sighs.] But that's a personal feeling.
no subject
no subject
no subject
If you're sure it's being framed, that's one thing. But also, like - I could just not bring up the dark room we found, and I could check him at pocket check and not notice the pin. I know we said we didn't need to help cover, but that's mostly because I think it would make you guys sad. I'd help cover if you needed it.
no subject
...Shu is planning to mention the pin himself, I think. He's acting like he has nothing to hide, so I'll do the same. But... I do have a plan for if it seems like people are doubting him.
no subject
[...]
Also, I think it's pretty unlikely, but are you sure Kaveh didn't do it? [kaveh seems like he'd be bad at murdering so maybe he'd use a psych that points to their team and only their team.] I was thinking when we saw that handprint in Libby's case that matched Wenzhou that it would be kind of smart to really blatantly frame your own teammate because then if you could prove they didn't do it it would take the attention off.
That really doesn't sound like Kaveh to me, but just checking.
no subject
[on the one hand, maybe. setting it up so he's the one to take the fall is something kaveh-like. on the other...]
First of all... knowingly causing harm to others is something he really, really struggles with. For another, he might be emotional, but he's too smart to go and dilute the points that way without a plan to get away with it. He already knows that more points are earned if the culprit isn't caught.
...and, this is just my read on it - but I think he wants your team to win. Because... if someone else does, then what did Shenhe die for?
no subject
[what she says about shenhe makes her feel sad, though.]
I guess I just bring it up because never in a million years did I think Gerard was going to kill somebody. He just isn't the type. Me and Haru both were talking like maybe it's something that needed to happen, but Gerard was always like "no, let's just try to survive." He doesn't think that highly about himself, he talks about himself like he's selfish and not brave, but I've never seen him like that. He's gentle, he's always being gentle with people. He's always doing nice things and thinking about people's feelings.
It just turns out, I guess, that being a nice person here I think actually means doing some bad things. I guess he sort of did it for me or something.
no subject
Right. Unless the idea is to do it and keep us in the dark so that we would honestly be able to tell people we had no idea, but... he's stressed so often that he wants us all to be honest with each other. I can't imagine him keeping that from us...
[nahida sighs at that.]
...decisions like this are impossible to be purely good or purely bad. I can understand Gerard wanting to do it so that you didn't have to... although, I do wish that he hadn't felt like he had to, and that he seemed to value himself a little more. [...] If it was Kaveh, I think he would want us to find the truth, so I'll look into it. But if it wasn't, then I need to know the truth, because I need to know why Shu's pin went missing. It would be one thing if the darkness was there, but his pin was still safely with him. But it wasn't. Until we know why that is, I... have to assume that it was deliberate in some way.
[she frowns, then pulls out her phone and shows ylfa a text.]
There's also this. I received it after we finished investigating...
[it reads:]
from user saintgeorge:
I am so sorry.
[...]
It's much more coherent than the messages we got at the start of the week. And... with Shu's pin missing, the timing of it worries me.
no subject
Also, me and Haru both got text messages, but they're kind of complicated. I think we should meet up again on Sunday and talk about them; it's not anything I think it'll help to know right away.
no subject
I think I know the message you received. Kyoko showed hers to me, and she also told me about ciphers. Kazuki showed me his, too.
But putting a pin in this until Sunday seems like a good idea to me. ...we can move it up to tomorrow night if something goes wrong at the trial, though, and plan out a strategy accordingly. [softly - ] ...if people still seem suspicious of Shu after he tells them about his pin, I'm going to tell them that if my team receives the majority vote and is innocent, I'll be volunteering to be erased, and that if Shu or Kaveh argues with me about it, it's an argument I'm going to win. Ideally, it will keep people focused on finding the true culprit if they don't want to see me dead.
[her ears droop a little at that.]
...it doesn't really feel good to play on people's emotions that way, but I'm willing to do that if Shu and Kaveh stay safe. But... it isn't necessarily just a bluff, either. If that's what happens, I do plan to pursue it. ...so, depending on the circumstances...
[she shrugs.
judging from the message she saw - maybe there will be something she could do at that point.]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)