[CALL | Video | un: monokuma ]

[disjunct]

[ A stuffed animal sits center of the screen.

The room he's in harbors just a chair, and looks isolated enough to be an interrogation room, if not for the dusty slats above him pouring in some light. It's a basement somewhere remote, but nonetheless, he seems to wave at the camera. However, his motor functions seem limited. ]

Hello! Good evening! Good morning! Whichever one you're feeling right now.

[ A slight, curious cock of the head. Once again, the mechanics seem off... and the voice doesn't seem to be coming from the stuffed animal. Someone is speaking for him behind the camera. ]

I think the best way to get to know everybody is to toss out a fun little icebreaker! Lesser-known facts! No one likes being the shut-in at a party. So...

[ "He" clears his throat. ]

Do you know what they did in Paris in the 19th century?
Oh, they definitely painted a lot of paintings and baked a lot of bread. But I mean... for fun?
Back in those days, 'fun' would count a lot on how much money you had. But resourceful Parisians could find it in other ways. For free. There was a once-of-a-lifetime opportunity that anyone in the city could get a ticket punched into! To be the star, or the audience. That's right! I'm talking about...

[ A brief pause. ]


... The morgue!

You see, life was so boring back then that people would line up to walk through the morgue just to see who croaked last night! The more grisly the victim, the more people came to visit!
People were excited to try and recognize the victims! Of course, this was originally just so people had access to claim the deceased, but it was a theater attraction of its own!
Upupupu...! Can you imagine if you didn't have the things you had today, what you'd resort to for fun?
The gawking joy that it brought people... but still, we slow down for car crashes today, don't we?

Hmm...


Do you think humans are really different from back then? From the public executions, to the public display of bodies, to the now?

I wonder about it a lot. I can't say I know for sure, because I am a bear. Would anyone like to try and guess?

Comments

[malignans]

I have a long memory spanning well over a century, but whether I care to remember you or not is entirely up to you.

[disjunct]

[ Sometimes it's better to be forgotten. Indeed-- if this stranger pretends Junko doesn't exist, that affords her more freedom to start scraping up those of weak hearts and minds to do her bidding. However, it doesn't take being an Ultimate Analyst to know that the moment she starts causing trouble, he'll know who to point the finger to, even if he hasn't seen her face.

Dio said she needs a real friend. What's more fun? Wrapping some mindless bozos around your finger, or making conversation with someone a little more your speed?

Both is good. Junko's pretty greedy. ]

What do you expect me to do? Brag about how unforgettable I am, or prove it?

[malignans]

What makes you think I'm the sort of person who would be satisfied with just words?

[disjunct]

Nothing! You needed this picture instead of words, after all.

[ She picks up the photo of the defaced monuments and pockets it somewhere offscreen. ]

But... but but but but. Isn't that kind of... easy? You say 'jump' and I say 'how high?' just to kill my boredom? Sure, that's endearingly pathetic, but you know-- being pathetic loses its flavor faster than chewing gum. And I think you're probably not interested in pathetic people, are you?

[malignans]

Allow me to be explicit.

Someone who stops to ask "how high?" is useless to me. They're unambitious and unmotivated. If they're satisfied with a life like that, I've few reservations about that person believing there is some great reward for their bare minimum. What little I invest in them will result in some gains for my plans, but it will be no significant loss when they've been worn out.

What I look for are special people. People who jump as high as they can when I tell them to jump. It's unrealistic to anticipate or believe that they will last to the very end, but they are the ones who enjoy my encouragement and support in their growth. Their goals become my goals.

[It is after brief and careful consideration that Dio changes format and begins to broadcast video. The lighting is, of course, poor enough that most of his defining features (save the size of his silhouette) and most of the elements of the room he's currently occupying remaining largely obscured. Though if Junko looks close enough, she might notice the room speaks of considerable wealth, particularly old money with its furnishings. And she might even be able to see a few things that would suggest something a little more than human about Dio as well beneath the layers of shadow he's hidden himself within.]

Which will you satisfy yourself with? Remaining a blunt instrument with limited use or will you seek mutual beneficence?

1/2

[disjunct]

I see.

I see. I see. I see. I see. I see. I see.

[ Her mantra is rapid, then slows at the end. In her native language, it'd be 'sou ka', over and over... Dio is not asking for her to chase a laser pointer, he is prodding at her capability. He's seen the photograph and the implication that she's behind it, but he either doesn't believe it or doesn't believe anything until he sees it in its full capacity. ]

I'll tear through the ceiling at that rate, but it's been a while since someone said 'surprise me'.

[ For a moment, brief as ever, there's a dull flicker of inspiration in her heart, the heat it leaves behind warming her up like a dying flame that she must fan-- and soon. ]

[disjunct]

Upupupu... upupu!

Don't regret it, okay...? It will get really boring if you regret it. The Ultimate Analyst's Ultra Deluxe Fireworks Show is a once-in-a-lifetime treat. Don't you hate it when someone follows the same script, over and over? An arc dedicated to the same thing a character went through before, learning the same lesson over and over?

I think that's so miserable, you know? And not even the good miserable, the miserable-misery that comes with being the gum on the bottom of my shoe.

[ A brief pause, and Junko-- in contrast to him, switches to text. ]

I think your challenge doesn't merit us meeting up.
Because, like, if you can't see it from outside your window... it's too small.
Too small for a big lug like you. ☆ ～('▽^人)
And if I take too long preparing it, it'll be like I'm dragging my feet. sooooo boringgggggggg (´• ω •`)
Then atttt... 2:13 AM tonight, take a nice walk outside!
Don't worry, it's not like I know where you live or anything.
But you won't be able to see it or hear it or follow it unless you're outside, okay?
Deal (´ω｀)ノﾞNo takebacks! No repeat performances!

[malignans]

You'll only have this one chance to impress me.

[Which is an agreement, but just as she says it's the only opportunity to see what she's planning, it's likewise the only opportunity she'll have to prove herself to him and earn a position within his good graces.]

[disjunct]

I've never failed to impress anyone.

Not my followers, or my enemies.

[ With that click of the radio, Junko finally turns off the voice function for good. ]