[ WEEK THREE – TRIAL ]

[sheriffexe]

TRIAL

In the morning, the town comes back to life. Birds crow overhead, a snake nearby hisses, a lingering coyote dips behind a shop before disappearing into the wild. It's a frightening contrast to the stillness of yesterday but it doesn't mean it's over yet. After all, today is the trial. The Sheriff stands on the porch of the Town Hall and brings his hand up to his mouth to let out a whistle. He'll thumb back to the Hall behind him and very clearly state -- "Trial time, folks. Get in here and figure out who did it." And then he'll turn to leave before pausing and adding on, "Bring a snack or somethin' too. The Town Hall is set up more like a court house, a Judge's bench at the front but instead of at center, it's off to the side as if more for observation than participation. There's a table at the front of the room already holding a small box and a pad of papers and pen, for voting apparently. A side room containing only a metal gurney is next and today it's obvious why there's a gurney there at all with the corpse, resting right on top of it. Aside from that, there are rows for everyone to take a seat and it's only after everyone is inside and settled, that the doors close and the Sheriff speaks. "Well, have at it. You've got till nine." And then, he points to a clock on the wall that reads 12:00. Good luck. Welcome to the trial post! Characters are free to discuss everything related to the trial here. They won't be let out of the room until 9PM when voting ends. Every character must vote and the voting post can be found here. If there are any questions, please shoot a message to this journal or to robowest.

QUICK NAV PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS | STATUSES | PROFILES | LOCATIONS | GRAVEYARD | MAIN NAVIGATION

Comments

[feminitis]

...if she was alive, Miss Harime would have been on my list of suspects. Her behavior...

[Well.

...yeah.]

But she was killed, so... was I wrong about her...?

[hydrokinetics]

[That's fine, meta text often dictates his life, too.]

...okay. I'll take a look tomorrow. There's something too weird about that train. Thanks, Papika.

[robitussin]

Maybe we could wait until we actually knew who did it to talk about this?

[screams internally]

[moraled]

I fear we must begin with one thing.

[Even if he's not all too eager to throw this out there, it's...necessary.]

We must state clearly and plainly who we suspect of this act.

[...]

Without suspects, we shall go nowhere. However, if there is a name to be offered, it must be stated plainly, and for what reason. The evidence we have is spotty and inconclusive, and thus... We shall not progress without reasonable suspects.

[It is a trial, after all.]

[sating]

I was going to suggest Nui myself. Her enthusiasm was... well known.

[ That's a polite way to put it. ]

Perhaps she did kill. I can imagine her responding with this brutality. But perhaps she was also interrupted by another

[impulsiveness]

Could have been.

[Piping up with more murder fun facts, ig.]

Nui's skull looked like she was shot from a distance, though, not at point blank. Whether it was with the pistol or rifle depends on how good a shot our killer is.

[thatsthespirit]

[Nisha she 100% appreciates you not getting offended about this, it makes things so much easier]

And I hope you also realize that I would expect the killer to say "I didn't kill her," too.

[she smiles a bit]

But we still have several hours to go. Let's see where the rest of the trial takes us.

[cherrypuncher]

[fuck's sake you two]

An execution like that would be exactly what this game was made for. By doing something like that, you'd be playing along with the game, too.

[Yuna's hands clench into fists at her sides, then loosen, but her voice stays steady.]

This was horrible and wrong, but we don't know everything yet. Talking like this isn't getting us any closer to answers, either.

[she's revengeshaming]

[ceded]

[ tbh her gay dads are cuter than she expected. ]

[elemancy]

Hate to say it... but you're right. We don't have time to waste beating around the bush. If we have ideas, we gotta say them now so we have time to get the truth out.

[that was a fatal flaw of previous trials, even if it didn't completely backfire.]

Don't really like pointing fingers, but if we've got ideas, we're gonna have to. [he sighs, quietly.] And everyone should try to keep their cool, too.

[which is kind of funny when noctis is tense as all hell over the situation; so much carnage, so many people hurting from it—but getting angry and exploding in either direction is just going to slow them down.]

[impulsiveness]

I thought people would stop murdering after the first week, but here we are.

[Sighs.]

Might be evidence that comes in handy later, at least.

[feminitis]

[and to nobody's surprise at all: ]

Mister Ash.

[What might come as a surprise, though, is that she actually hesitates a little before naming him. He and Nui were near the top of her "pretty fuckin' shady" list, but with Nui having turned up dead, her faith in her own opinions is a little fractured.

Had she jumped to conclusions too soon?

...but, she doesn't really have anything else to offer.]

As my knuckles will attest from when I hit him before, he's not made of flesh and blood like the rest of us. He could have gotten close enough to the chemical pit not to get messed up like the bodies were.

[impulsiveness]

Maybe. Or maybe not. If our only culprits are bandits, then they're seriously fucked up in the head. You don't whack out three people like this just because you're being threatened. A normal person would look for something less... painful.

[Ugh.]

[impulsiveness]

Sure. If we get our perp, we'll discuss it later.

[sorry, natalie.]

[a_sin_for_him]

Clean in the sense of a killing, not literally. A clean kill is one accomplished with a single fatal blow.

It may be worth noting that a bullet through the center of the brain is likely one of the quickest and most painless of deaths, and can be accomplished at a distance. A possible indication of a more merciful murderer who kept themselves removed from the killing to the best of their ability.

[robitussin]

Natalie's fine.

[if her own experience is anything to go by, she figures sei is probably to be tired of all the questions she'll be getting sooner rather than later, but...]

You want some company after this?

[impulsiveness]

... Seriously? That's not ominous at all.

[yikes.]

[leadastray]

I was asleep in my room, but no longer have a roommate to confirm this.

[thatsthespirit]

[she's still taking down people's alibis, but!]

Chane, Jason, Nisha, Russell, and Okabe don't have anyone who can confirm their whereabouts the night of the murders. Xion and Tarvek were apparently put to sleep artificially while someone stole their camera, and Xion states that she did not wake up until the next morning. However, since the theft of the camera seemed to occur in an entirely locked room, I can't rule out the possibility that Tarvek didn't pretend to sleep so he could leave the room that night to commit the murders and lock the camera in the Sheriff's station.

I have yet to hear alibis from everyone, though, so that list may get larger.

[and the second part of her statement--]

And I believe Nui could have been the one to kill Annabeth.

[sidearmofthelaw]

Sure. I'll help out where I can.

[hydrokinetics]

I know they're probably randomized and don't mean a whole lot, but considering Higekiri was one them and he was one of our bandits last week, is it worth looking at the people on the Most Wanted posters?

[Yeah so like. Guess. What. He. Forgot....]

[cherrypuncher]

[guess who fully intends to spend as much time as possible fussing]

Xion? [She doesn't want to throw her off-balance, so she doesn't touch her, but she does come very close.] Can I help you back to your seat?

[The offer is a small, careful gesture; Yuna gauging what she can do to help Xion and where her boundaries are—but also #let Yuna princess carry Xion 2k17]

[feminitis]

...I can't say it would surprise me, if that were the case.

[Hmm.]

A lot of this... sort of seems like her style. Except for the part where she ended up dead, too.

[thatsthespirit]

Indeed.

[cuties]

I apologize for getting us off track, by the way.

[robitussin]

You think the Sheriff would tell us how those are picked out if we asked him?

[a small shrug]

It can't hurt.