She may have sent them letters, too. It's not as though I've asked around.
[so this is... homework for later? or not. looking over the amount of blotted out names with a frown.]
... You know, if we assume the first letter of each name is supposed to spell something out, there are just enough to spell out Claude. [slowly, not happy at all with the realization.] Claude was bald. Lailah is an angel. Adolphe is there with her. Uruha is a great swordsman. Daigo is also there. And I can see her calling Euphausia adorable.
[oh god. that feeling of nervousness she was tamping down wells up. there's a mix there of worry and also relief?
she wasn't going to say the conclusion she'd come to, but then mizu came to it at the same time.]
...I thought Elysia might be the adorable one. But otherwise, I agree with you. I think that's what she means.
[she's suddenly spilling all of these worries in a nervous frenzy.]
When I talked to him last weekend, he was so odd about it. He kept saying that someone who was afflicted might just lie no matter what anyone asked. And today, during trial, when we were talking about what we would do if we found the culprit, he was getting very upset about it.
I don't feel that I can always trust my judgment on these things. [so that's why there's relief - if mizu sees it too, then she isn't losing her mind. but it's not a happy thought at all.] But I don't want to abandon him to this, either. That would be cowardice.
There are six names blotted out. The fourth is guaranteed to begin with either an M, a U or an S. The first can only be an A or a C. There is only one name that matches those specifications, both here and there.
[it's an awful realization. with everyone's emotions in full display, mizu can't really hide that little touch of grief that started to creep in the moment the letters started falling into place. god. what a fucking mess.]
I've already made my position on the matter clear. The afflicted must be dealt with. If we are both correct in our interpretation of Charlie's letter, then I will not leave him like this either. I will kill him and send his soul away to recover.
[or shadowheart can, if she wants to take that upon herself. live your best afterlife, girliepop.
a pause, debating whether or not to say something. after a moment, mizu sighs.]
I have Neverah's watch. I've been holding onto to it to look into another matter. But we could use it to obtain a list of places Claude visited last Friday if we don't receive further confirmation from the dead in the coming days. Do you recall all the locations we linked to Zhongli's murder?
[mizu you're so cool right now but the fact that he's feeling grief as well is what really makes her feel grateful to him. she agrees, but it shouldn't be easy.]
I would trust you with that task, if that's how you feel. I would also do it, if I had certainty.
[she doesn't particularly want to, no. she doubts mizu wants to, either, and she thinks it's cold to leave something this ugly to someone else. but if mizu is volunteering himself, there's logic in that; there's no question he's more physically capable of it.]
...At the very least, I wouldn't leave this to be your responsibility and yours alone.
[as for locations - ]
That one was a mess. Zhongli was certainly at the fairgrounds, the diner, and the tea party, but there was also obfuscating evidence all over the place. The garden, the funhouse, the mystery shack...
[it's a terrible thing and it absolutely doesn't feel right to just foist it over to somebody else. not when it might lead to yet another trial, depending on the timing. but there's a touch of gratefulness there, when shadowheart says she wouldn't just leave it all up to mizu.]
... Thank you. It's ugly business, but I'm grateful to have you as an ally.
[for better or for worse. this sucks.]
Those six locations should come up if we use the watch on him. In retrospect, the pictures from the booth made it fairly obvious Zhongli wasn't the one running around and hitting those of us who were asleep with his spear. [...] And knowing Claude, I suppose it isn't odd that only the men woke up with bruises that day, Firefly aside.
[but firefly was a known murderer by that point, so.]
[good, relieved. she trusts mizu on this, but she knows well enough that just because you like everyone to think you're a ruthless killer doesn't mean these things aren't hard.
and on her part, after the week she's had, she's terrified of making the wrong choices. but if someone else is there, also making them, that's better.]
Yes, he would be troubled by the optics. [this is partially a joke. but she can partially see claude not so much objecting to hitting women as knowing how he'll look like an asshole when he's caught.] But maybe not so troubled that he wasn't willing to try and implicate Firefly.
If it is him, he will do whatever he can to stay alive and get away with it. [she says this with a touch of respect.] He won't ever admit to anything, even if he was confronted at a trial.
Yes. Even with his mind muddled, he knew people would react more strongly if he also tried to implicate the children. I recall it came up in our discussions that day, too.
[trying to be strategic about how much people will want to beat you up after murdering a man is funny, but it is a very claude move. trying to lie your way out of it is also a claude move, though. unfortunately.]
He can try to stay alive as much as he wants. If our suspicions are true, then we both know we can't allow it. [it's valid, but.] I don't plan to confront him with words, regardless. It would be best to simply deal with it when he least expects it, quickly and efficiently. Before he has a chance to strike again like Firefly did.
[neither of them know they're on a murdergame schedule...]
Agreed. I hardly plan to prepare handwritten invitations for his murder.
[there are people here who want to talk everything out first, come to a consensus as a group, but to her, the most important thing is - ]
I mean that we must not underestimate him. If he sees us coming, he's not going to wait idly. And he may be volatile enough to try to hurt others, bring someone else down with him. So surprising him would be best. Maybe I could even draw him out somewhere secluded.
I think his guard will be the most up on a Thursday, all things considered. [since that is when all the other murders have happened. no one with even an ounce of sense will follow even their best friend out somewhere secluded then.] If you ask him to come with you early in the week, while we are still getting our bearings on the new island, he might be more agreeable to the idea. You get along, don't you?
[... hm.]
Though, be warned, he does have an item from when we disappeared all those weeks ago. One that affects the mind. I don't know if he's used it yet.
We do. I should be able to manage it. If we're lucky, he won't even think to have the item on him - depending on what the new locations are, I might choose a place where he wouldn't think to bring much at all.
On the other hand, if he does use it, better he use it on me than on you. [since she's still partly incapacitated anyway, she couldn't do as much damage.] So perhaps I try to move to act against him first.
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[it might work honestly.]
But I'll ask tomorrow if anyone else has a letter from her.
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Not quite how I would say it. But that is close to what I was meaning to write.
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...]
It doesn't say "best" swordsman, though. When you think about it. It could still be Uruha or Saber.
[the amount of possibilities here has her feeling a little nervous]
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[so this is... homework for later? or not. looking over the amount of blotted out names with a frown.]
... You know, if we assume the first letter of each name is supposed to spell something out, there are just enough to spell out Claude. [slowly, not happy at all with the realization.] Claude was bald. Lailah is an angel. Adolphe is there with her. Uruha is a great swordsman. Daigo is also there. And I can see her calling Euphausia adorable.
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she wasn't going to say the conclusion she'd come to, but then mizu came to it at the same time.]
...I thought Elysia might be the adorable one. But otherwise, I agree with you. I think that's what she means.
[she's suddenly spilling all of these worries in a nervous frenzy.]
When I talked to him last weekend, he was so odd about it. He kept saying that someone who was afflicted might just lie no matter what anyone asked. And today, during trial, when we were talking about what we would do if we found the culprit, he was getting very upset about it.
I don't feel that I can always trust my judgment on these things. [so that's why there's relief - if mizu sees it too, then she isn't losing her mind. but it's not a happy thought at all.] But I don't want to abandon him to this, either. That would be cowardice.
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[it's an awful realization. with everyone's emotions in full display, mizu can't really hide that little touch of grief that started to creep in the moment the letters started falling into place. god. what a fucking mess.]
I've already made my position on the matter clear. The afflicted must be dealt with. If we are both correct in our interpretation of Charlie's letter, then I will not leave him like this either. I will kill him and send his soul away to recover.
[or shadowheart can, if she wants to take that upon herself. live your best afterlife, girliepop.
a pause, debating whether or not to say something. after a moment, mizu sighs.]
I have Neverah's watch. I've been holding onto to it to look into another matter. But we could use it to obtain a list of places Claude visited last Friday if we don't receive further confirmation from the dead in the coming days. Do you recall all the locations we linked to Zhongli's murder?
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I would trust you with that task, if that's how you feel. I would also do it, if I had certainty.
[she doesn't particularly want to, no. she doubts mizu wants to, either, and she thinks it's cold to leave something this ugly to someone else. but if mizu is volunteering himself, there's logic in that; there's no question he's more physically capable of it.]
...At the very least, I wouldn't leave this to be your responsibility and yours alone.
[as for locations - ]
That one was a mess. Zhongli was certainly at the fairgrounds, the diner, and the tea party, but there was also obfuscating evidence all over the place. The garden, the funhouse, the mystery shack...
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... Thank you. It's ugly business, but I'm grateful to have you as an ally.
[for better or for worse. this sucks.]
Those six locations should come up if we use the watch on him. In retrospect, the pictures from the booth made it fairly obvious Zhongli wasn't the one running around and hitting those of us who were asleep with his spear. [...] And knowing Claude, I suppose it isn't odd that only the men woke up with bruises that day, Firefly aside.
[but firefly was a known murderer by that point, so.]
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and on her part, after the week she's had, she's terrified of making the wrong choices. but if someone else is there, also making them, that's better.]
Yes, he would be troubled by the optics. [this is partially a joke. but she can partially see claude not so much objecting to hitting women as knowing how he'll look like an asshole when he's caught.] But maybe not so troubled that he wasn't willing to try and implicate Firefly.
If it is him, he will do whatever he can to stay alive and get away with it. [she says this with a touch of respect.] He won't ever admit to anything, even if he was confronted at a trial.
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[trying to be strategic about how much people will want to beat you up after murdering a man is funny, but it is a very claude move. trying to lie your way out of it is also a claude move, though. unfortunately.]
He can try to stay alive as much as he wants. If our suspicions are true, then we both know we can't allow it. [it's valid, but.] I don't plan to confront him with words, regardless. It would be best to simply deal with it when he least expects it, quickly and efficiently. Before he has a chance to strike again like Firefly did.
[neither of them know they're on a murdergame schedule...]
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[there are people here who want to talk everything out first, come to a consensus as a group, but to her, the most important thing is - ]
I mean that we must not underestimate him. If he sees us coming, he's not going to wait idly. And he may be volatile enough to try to hurt others, bring someone else down with him. So surprising him would be best. Maybe I could even draw him out somewhere secluded.
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I think his guard will be the most up on a Thursday, all things considered. [since that is when all the other murders have happened. no one with even an ounce of sense will follow even their best friend out somewhere secluded then.] If you ask him to come with you early in the week, while we are still getting our bearings on the new island, he might be more agreeable to the idea. You get along, don't you?
[... hm.]
Though, be warned, he does have an item from when we disappeared all those weeks ago. One that affects the mind. I don't know if he's used it yet.
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On the other hand, if he does use it, better he use it on me than on you. [since she's still partly incapacitated anyway, she couldn't do as much damage.] So perhaps I try to move to act against him first.