- - Over - Oblivion - -

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It seems that I am the leader for team 8. S, Gluttony, and Pilot, I would like you to know that though I am designated as group leader, I do not view myself as being in any way superior to you. We will operate as a singular, complete unit to maximize our collective efficiency, and with any luck the case will be solved in a matter of days.

I am a man who believes in practical application of logic and reason with little to no room for anything else, but it seems to me somewhat fitting that we were assigned the number 8, and that I was assigned to lead us. We are trained as investigators to recognize patterns in the world around us, and it seems to me that entry oo8oo, made by myself [Over Oblivion; OO] in reference to the planning and workings of team 8... is an interesting manifestation of pattern. I have observed that patterns such as this can be interpreted as a 'sign,' which some individuals have further described as being 'lucky'... and while I do not carry such a sentiment within myself, I am more than willing to oblige a certain spirit of luck should it aide in our team's motivation and focus.

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( PRIVATE to DIRECTORS // HACKABLE only by TEAM 8Collapse )

Ranking evaluations have come and the usual number of expulsions and transfers have occurred. Not the least of which was Q, my room mate of 43 days. The act of making the move to Q's room and then the subsequent move back into my old living arrangements upon Q's transfer out of Wammy's House have been... inconvenient. However, I suppose that it is only natural to have expected that after evaluations were completed, many of the orphanage's students would be expelled for psychological or academic performance reasons... I had not, however, expected that Q would be among them.

It is a lesson, of course. Every act that takes place in this house can be assumed to be a lesson, and I suppose that even in the most minor and simple-seeming situations one must always be prepared to expect that which is not expected.

The house smells very strange these days, with the introduction of several new odours and the loss of some old and familiar ones. It will be very strange, no longer smelling that pleasant mix of chemicals or the veneer of old and precious wood. I do not, however, find myself wanting for the scent of that especially sweaty child, nor the alcoholic tinge of another classmate... but these are digressions.

Please, take care to keep yourselves clean and to eat well. It would be no good to see another rash of the flu spreading through this house, especially now that we are starting in on the next evaluation period and, as always, the stakes have been raised once again.

As a side note, the case in Eastleigh is now completed and my report has been filed with Roger. I have received requests to publish my case report in my journal, but I am afraid that the publication of this case report has been disallowed by law enforcement in Eastleigh, upon requests made by the families of both the victim and the perpetrator. I am not allowed to disclose any personal information about the case at this point, and much as that seems... unnecessary and strange to me, I am obliged to concede to these requests.

( PRIVATE to ORPHANS // UNHACKABLE by CARETAKERSCollapse )

( PRIVATE to SELF // UNHACKABLECollapse )

I apologize in advance for the short length of this post. The investigation is still underway and is now taking-up almost 80% of my waking hours spent outside of class. I had not anticipated that this particular case would become quite so intriguingly convoluted, nor did I expect the lack of trust and level of disagreement that the homicide investigation force in Eastleigh would confront me with. Lilac continues to serve as a valuable assistant to my dissections, but the task force assigned to this case has been very disagreeable about the presence of a young girl on the investigation team.

I make this entry primarily to inform any and all who may be concerned that I am no longer going to be found at the site of my old room on the top floor. Roger has changed my rooming assignment, and from now on I will be located on the first floor towards the left if you are descending the stairs, in Q's room.

( PRIVATE to ORPHANS// UNHACKABLE by CARETAKERSCollapse )

( PRIVATE to Y// UNHACKABLECollapse )

( PRIVATE to Mi// UNHACKABLECollapse )

It seems that a severed human leg was discovered in Eastleigh, near Fleming Park. I have been looking for a case to investigate before the holidays come to an end, as it would be good to complete at least one more assignment towards my quota for this grading period, and this particular case seems as if it will be one of interest to me. I have been studying the use of stable hydrogen isotope analysis in forensics during the past weeks, and I believe that this case presents an interesting opportunity to implement this new technique of study. I do not anticipate having to miss any of my classes as yet... I have an important subject to attend to here, for one, and I have found that it is not a terribly troublesome matter to travel into Eastleigh after classes for the day and conduct my testing in the evening, with a late evening or night time return to Wammy's House.

( PRIVATE to LILAC // UNHACKABLECollapse )

It would be good, as well, that you all remain focused on your studies. My biology classes have seen a much better attendance these days, especially since L's entry regarding the recent... 'popularity' of interests outside of academics. As a means of clarification, I would like to state here that what I said in my previous post about being unconcerned with the hierarchy system here is, in fact, truthful. I am not top-ranked here. However, I also do not believe myself to be functioning at all inadequately given my level of skill and intellect. I simply do not see any point in subjecting myself to... 'strife,' in the name of achieving the title of 'L.' As they say, jogging can often win the race while sprinting can lose it. I see no great, crushing need to advance any more quickly than I am because precision is my goal: not speed.

And, if not L, I have every intention of becoming a forensic scientist. This proclamation also does not deviate from the function of achieving the Objective, at least not so far as I understand it. Everyone must have at least one back-up plan. It eliminates the inconvenience of having to make a snap decision without the opportunity for any former consideration.

I believe that this clears-up any illusions that could possibly have been held as to my intentions here.

( PRIVATE to SELF // UNHACKABLECollapse )

I have been distracted much lately from my usual work... There have been many wounds to tend to, and while I appreciate the amount of living skin I have been given the opportunity to work with, Roger's recent post has made it clear that I must remain mindful of my duties. I do not feel particularly passionately about the succession system, nor the competition engendered by said system, but I also do not desire to do poorly on my evaluations. It is my goal to be a forensic scientist, and a good ranking in all of my test results from the Wammy House would be very useful to my eventual resumé.

( PRIVATE to ORPHANS// UNHACKABLE by CARETAKERSCollapse )

In any event, I have composed a riddle. It is not in my usual character, but I was inspired by some of the more challenging riddles I have seen from the lot of you and felt that writing one of my own would be... interesting. I invite you to give this one a try.

By nature I am no more than sound
But when given form, I am perfect and round as an untainted ovum
I never stand alone, except when you cry-out
And no tongue nor teeth need ever move to feel me
But when I am run-through the gut and the arrow does not leave me
I do not die, but I am no longer what I once was
My form changes, but not my function
I can no longer stand alone, not even when crying
Yet I am still no more than sound

What have I become?

The root cause of the frog mortalities in the trench was septic leakage from our neighboring property. I slipped into a hole in the earth brought about by said leakage during my investigation of the neighbor's yard, and there is no doubt that this stench is exactly the same as that in the trench. Chemical tests verified this, and now the neighbor has been informed and you may see their property being dug-up in coming days. They are far enough away that the stench should not be overwhelming to anybody but myself, and once the problem is cleansed away then the ground will... 'heal,' as it were, and soon enough everything will be back to normal.

( PRIVATE to Y // UNHACKABLECollapse )

( PRIVATE to SELF // UNHACKABLECollapse )

( PRIVATE to ORPHANS // UNHACKABLE by ROGER + POSSIBLY HACKABLE by LCollapse )

At first there is a small cut on the subject's hand which is not washed out and disinfected immediately. Bacteria is allowed to get into this small cut, and bacterial infection ensues. The undesired pathogen is still not cleansed away and the bacteria begins to multiply, replicating ceaselessly and creating more problems. Tissue is injured and the body's immune system reacts, producing a build-up of pus. And, as they say, ubi pus, ibi evacua- "where there is pus, there evacuate it."

In order to cleanse this deep infection which may, if left untreated, result in the disfigurement or death of the host, it is advised that the infection site be cut open and exposed-- it will be painful for the host, but there is always anesthesia. And, once the infection has been cleansed away and the wound is closed-up properly, the healing process can start to begin. If the infection is left untreated, the infection will only continue to worsen until, eventually, the host succumbs, and if the infection is simply not treated with the adequate procedure and instead with something less direct and invasive, then the chance of the host's eventual death and/or the necessity of repeated treatments is extremely high.

( PRIVATE to ORPHANS // UNHACKABLE by ROGER/LCollapse )

Everyone in this house is up to something these days, it seems. Pleasantries aren't very hard to muster, but I don't care to spend as much time in the common areas as the rest of these people. The smell of the main common room in particular is a sour one: someone has been exercising in there and their sweat is too heavy on the air. I suspect one of the younger kids, someone who enjoys a diet which includes vinegar chips. What a vulgar scent, vinegar... Chemical, smoothe as such, but pungent and unforgiving. The strawberry scent in the kitchen proves that far too many confections have been in the works since L's return... I don't much like the smell of strawberry, either... I prefer the sugar sweet scent of garbage to the fructose obnoxiousness of strawberries any day. It's a more beautiful sweet, sticky and oily and very nice against the palate, when you can find things that carry the same flavour.

That's too much waxing poetic, I have work to get down to. It's been a while since I last bothered to dissect a frog- when I can manage more rare and interesting finds I certainly appreciate it, but frogs have been turning up dead in part of the yard lately, near a dip that leads down towards an apparent water retention trench. I'm curious to see what turns up.

( PRIVATE to ORPHANS ONLY // UNHACKABLE by ROGER + POSSIBLY HACKABLE by LCollapse )