robowest | [ WEEK FIVE

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[MILLA FEELS. . . SO SPECIAL??? actually she kind of likes Ash so rip her]

The frequent dismemberment is one thing they all have in common, but the Sheriff confirmed that Riku's killer was not the same as Lust's killer.

He said that they weren't connected, just that the killers did it because they wanted to or whatever.

It'd be much easier if they were related and committed by the same killer, so we could focus on someone who dismembers their victims after killing them.

[but of course, that's too easy]

[ ♥ ]

That's not what I meant. Provided they're not an idiot, the killer would change their methods to cover their tracks. However, it would be more difficult to pick victims entirely at random... and the Sheriff has already stated that the motivation for one murder was vengeance.

[hm]

So our victims throughout the past few weeks were Manfred, Annabeth, Nui, Riku, Lust, Simon, Chane, Elizabeth, Ana and Russell.

We know Manfred was killed by Ezio, and we know that Russell was killed by someone seeking vengeance for Percy. Is there anything about the remaining list that stands out to you, Ash?

[ he's crunching some numbers in his head, but he wasn't built for this kind of problem-solving... ]

Ezio killed Manfred because he thought it was the right thing to do. Likewise, Russell was killed to get revenge over an unjust killing. And we can probably include Nui in this group, as well. I think it's safe to assume that at least one of the murderers is killing because they feel it's the right thing to do.

Of course. A way to justify their killing to ease their conscious. If they're being forced to take a life, it might as well be one tainted with sin.

And who do you know who would kill if they felt it was righteous? I can think of several people. Barnham, for one.

[mistake #6753543, but:]

No.

[ ugh noct leave him alone!!! ]

Why not? Because you like him? If you can't separate your pathetic emotions from reality, then you should keep your mouth shut.

[not when you're going to try to incriminate barnham for this particular crime????]

It's not about that. If it turns out he's lying, I'm not going to defend it, but... I saw how took Russell's death. That's not how someone who'd kill for justice in that situation reacts.

[he was broken up.] You seem to want to accuse him at every chance you get, anyway. This isn't the first time.

Because he's the type of human that can easily be pushed to kill. Dogmatic. Self-righteous. Emotional. You can't see it, but I can. I've seen it time and time again.

[ his thin eyes narrow further. ]

And men can lie.

Considering how many times you've pegged me wrong, I'm not about to just blindly take your word on this one, either.

[he's!!! so done right now!!! though if we wanted noct to be especially pissy with him, he's probably finally going to get what he wants.]

You make all your decisions based on what... how much you hate all different kinds of humans? Doubt you ever actually talked to him long enough to see past your own self-righteous opinions.

[ LET THE HATE FLOW THROUGH YOU NOCTIS!! ]

Oh, I've talked to him. He's righteous to a fault, running on his own set of morals that clearly don't apply here. [ a huff. ] You still don't understand me at all. I suggest you stop trying.

Oh, because acting like you know better than everyone because humans are below you is supposed to be a convincing case.

[basically, fuck you right now?] Like hell you know anything about him or his morals. You know what you decide and that's all you ever want to hear of it.

[no not her post-trial drinking buddy???]

Barnham may kill if he were a Bandit-- [SORRY BARNHAMMERSTEIN. . .] -- but I doubt he's our repeat killer. The one who keeps taking lives, week after week.

[it's cool, it's cool]

And why is that?

[ ash clearly thinks he could do it...... ]

Because he wishes to end this game, not perpetuate the senseless slaughter.

Whoever is killing multiple times in a row outside of the Bandit role is doing it for merit. It must be someone who doesn't feel guilty for staining their hands with blood.

That's a dangerous assumption. I can say with certainty that there's more than one way to end this game.

. . . you can?

[she looks a bit surprised]

How did you find that out? Better yet, what are those ways?

[ ugh he doesn't want to share his information ]

I've done some digging on my own. I'll leave it at that. [ a pause. Then he sighs. ] There are certain people in this town that can end this "game" if they're killed.

I can confirm that what Ash says is true.

[ He nods, then adds: ]

I've been attempting to use the merit I've been accruing through my surgeries and related work to try and find out more. The Bounties have a leader, and if they die or the Deputy dies, then it can stop the game, apparently.

[ he glances over at Hannibal. really, this isn't surprising, but he didn't know that Hannibal knew. ]

That's correct.

(no subject)

sating - 2017-02-18 20:30 (UTC) - Expand

uraniumnumnum - 2017-02-18 20:31 (UTC) - Expand

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thatsthespirit - 2017-02-18 20:47 (UTC) - Expand

[SLAMS IN HERE to raise an eyebrow, tbh.]

People. Plural. You mean certain roles?

uraniumnumnum - 2017-02-18 20:29 (UTC) - Expand