[ 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.

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Comments

[elemancy]

I know how. Not really my strong suit, but I was taught how to shoot a bit.

[for whatever that's worth. he doesn't think he'd be able to make that kind of shot even if he wanted to.]

[impulsiveness]

I don't think her killer was bad with a gun, though. Her skull is fucked up in the back. That matches up with a shot taken from a distance.

[generously]

[ Whoa, Jason-bro knows his way around with a gun... Claire is impressed! ]

What's the furthest distance you can shoot with accuracy?

[insincerely]

I'll take your word for it. Like I said, firearms and the kinds of wounds they cause aren't my forte.

[uraniumnumnum]

Nobody suspects you. Don't bother.

[dmails]

I've never even held a gun. [Okabe says it sheepishly, as though it pains him to admit he's bad at anything.]

[moraled]

Firearms such as this are...unheard of where I am from. I am afraid I must admit I required Young Shinnosuke's assistance in explaining them, earlier.

[He hates not knowing anything about this!!]

[a_sin_for_him]

But you broached the idea. The theory is the murderer had something to hide, something identifiable in the killing wound, or is attempting to steer direction elsewhere. There's no direction to be steered to, we all have access to guns. And something that identifiable would be foolish for the murderer to have utilized in the first place.

On top of that, there's all indication that the chemical solution was left for the murderer to make use of, not the murderer's own concoction and idea. They would either have had to have known beforehand, that they would have that method to destroy the body, or it was purely a coincidence.

[insincerely]

Yeah, I can confirm he was a clueless idiot on the first day, at least.

[elemancy]

[oh... that's faintly amusing.]

Just putting it out there. Never know if it's gonna come up on the future anyway—may as well be honest now.

[impulsiveness]

A couple of yards? Three, maybe.

[Though he sounds unsure about that.]

It's been a while and I've only used one inside a firing range. Not that you have to believe me, anyway.

[sheriffexe]

[ He just sort of frowns here. ]

... I think I hate this theory. Annabeth, Riku, and Nui were not bandits. They had no roles. They were just participants. So, just drop that line of thinking there.

[moraled]

[ugh]

[insincerely]

... You know, for someone concerned with time, you're spending a lot of effort disproving something I brought up purely as a possibility and asserted repeatedly that it was just a possibility and not necessarily fact.

I get it, I get it. You don't think this was the case. We can move on now, you know.

[ceded]

... okay.

[ Xion glances at Percy, then looks back at the Sheriff. ]

Sorry for the mixup, Sheriff Hal.

[ She ... really doesn't know what went wrong here, but she can recognize that the mistake is their own. ]

[hydrokinetics]

[And now that that's done.]

All three of them were just victims. No roles, no special privileges, no Bandit status...nothing.

[flippity]

[ raises her hand.... ]

Uh... I can? [ a pause. ] Kind of.

[thatsthespirit]

[exhales in a bit of frustration]

We're back to where we began.

Give me a moment. I'll summarize what we've found so far. I may have another angle we can look at this murder with.

[insincerely]

... Great. Back to square one, huh?

[uraniumnumnum]

Everything we're arguing is crap. There's nothing in the way of concrete evidence. This entire trial is based on suspicions and worthless sentiment, and my contributions are hardly on a lesser level. It's a matter of fact, Noctis - historically, these types of men can be made to kill for any number of reasons, as long as they can be convinced it's "just."

[ he's studied a lot!! he sounds more heated about his roommate's interference than about the actual trial or his own suspicions, though. ]

It's almost a guarantee that he'd consider Nui someone that deserved killing, isn't it?

[thatsthespirit]

[and then--]

Ah.

You did well, Percy.

[sating]

[ Might as well throw in his two cents he guesses...?? ]

I'm not, to be honest. I've shot one before, but I personally dislike them, and I don't own one.

[ So yeah, the secret to defeating Hannibal Lecter is to only arm him with a gun because he can't shoot for shit ]

[impulsiveness]

... Time to switch tracks, then. I wonder if the Sheriff would be willing to tell Milla how many culprits we're looking for now? It's been a couple of hours.

[hydrokinetics]

[...]

"Kind of"?

[ceded]

[ ... shakes her head slowly. ]

The only weapon I ever fought with was a sword.

[ ... and, like, Magical JRPG Abilities, but those aren't relevant here. ]