robowest | [ WEEK SIX

Entry tags:

murder: trial

[ WEEK SIX – TRIAL ]

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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[ Today, he is carving a pair of teeth. ]

Quick note, folks. Hannibal was the Deputy. Shinnosuke was a Bounty. Natalie was the Doctor. That's it.

[ Wait, why is he announcing Natalie's role? Huh. ]

[ Inside the small room, Hannibal, Xion, and Shinnosuke's bodies all sit in individual chairs to be inspected. The door is wide open today. ]

[ Oh, and -- Will and Natalie are nowhere to be found. ]

[well, they're down two people for mysterious reasons and they have three dead bodies here.]

...Where the hell do we even want to start today? [he's so tired and Done with things right now, why is everything like this?]

[And so, Jason and Percy come out from looking at the bodies and he settles in to relay the results, casting Jason a look. He's also setting several items on the table in front of him. Tarvek's watch, Felix's whistle, Shinnosuke's phone and rule book, Hannibal's letter, and a separate letter he didn't pull off of Xion but that he had on his person.]

So. Xion was shot point-blank. No signs of struggle, nothing. Pretty sure she was caught off-guard...or...[She accepted it. Yikes.] She wasn't dragged or defending herself. It just was. Shinnosuke, on the other hand, had bullet wounds in his left arm, right leg, his stomach, and his head. He definitely put up a fight though. He put up a fight and then someone dragged his body from the looks of it.

From what I remember hearing, there was a bag, rope, and a knife found in front of the hotel and a puddle of blood. Dr. Lecter was shot multiple times in the chest and the bear trap was on his leg. He had some rope burn on his wrists, too, and his back was dirty like he was dragged like Shinnosuke.

[He holds up the notes as well.]

Shinnosuke and Dr. Lecter had these on them, but Xion...wanted me to read this first. [A pause.] All of these notes suck, so I'm just reading them.

From Xion. "If you somehow find this letter before my trial, please tell everyone... I'm sorry I couldn't make it till the end, and I'll miss them, but you guys have to do your best. I believe in each and every one of you (even you, Ash.), and I know you guys can do it. I'll be cheering for you all the way, no matter what. I guess I'm just sad that I can't be there with you all. But it's okay. We'll all see each other soon."

From Shinnosuke. "If you're reading this, then that means I'm dead and/or you looted my stuff. This is a long shot, but to anyone who would listen, I have a request. For those who survive to the end of this damn game, and if you can find a way to traverse through the worlds we come from (though that probably won't happen), then I'd ask that someone please go to mine. To Kichijōji, Japan. I have a little sister, Saki Arisu. It's a long story, but she's been in a bad situation for several years and I'm all she has left in the world — a world that'll only use her as a tool if I don't save her. That's the sole wish I've ever held onto, as her big brother. I know I'm a shitty person and that I don't have the right to ask for favors from anyone, let alone suicidal ones. But my sister is just a little girl who's done nothing wrong, so I beg of you, to anyone who'll listen: please help her. All I want is for her to finally live the life that she's been denied all this time."

Shinnosuke also knew there was a role who puts people in the stocks as of our third week here.

And...from Dr. Lecter. "Thank you for being thorough. If you are reading this, I was killed, though that is no surprise. I knew someone would be coming to kill me this week. So I will give you at least this : It was a woman that killed me. Good luck. Maybe this time, you might catch a killer without a confession."

So...that's what we've got. Two people who had wishes and ideals, and someone who's probably making fun of us. What do you guys think?

[A beat.] Pretty interesting that all of their fatal wounds were caused by a gun, actually.

Edited (oops my b there's one more thing) 2017-02-25 20:21 (UTC)

[ you can tell papika just spoke to the sheriff cause she looks like she wants to hit something ]

Hi... I have an explanation for what the roles do. Since Hannibal was the Deputy, he put people in jail or in the stocks depending on if he wanted them to be more or less likely to die. He also did other stuff like setting up the bonfire, and helping the Sheriff with other stuff. And he had a master key. If he found the Deputy Leader, he could have ended the game.

Natalie is the one who was leaving us the items. She could have also brought someone back from the dead, but... [ obviously she did not use that ability. ]

There were five Bounties, but there's only three left now. The Bounty Leader had to figure out who the Deputy was and kill them, and then the Bounty Leader could have ended the game. The other Bounties were supposed to help them do that. They didn't know each other's identities at the start and had to figure them out.

Since the Deputy got killed, that means the only way we can beat the game now is by, um... killing each other until there's only one person left? Whoever's still alive can decide what happens to everyone after that.

[ a pause. ] Also the Sheriff is stupid.

[ What the hell is happening this trial....... Why won't any of you talk about murder?? The Sheriff just looks pretty annoyed for a moment before sighing and slamming down his wood and standing up. ]

Alright. Do y'all want to go to the Saloon or stay here to eat? You can eat, get back to work when you have your energy again.

[ Like, what the hell. ]

And -- [ Pointed look at Percy and Jason. ] If we go to the Saloon, no exploring. It's just for food.

[so shortly after the pizza lunch break is over and everyone presumably returns to the town hall, Milla speaks up. the food has seemed to revitalize her a bit]

Everyone! I know this is difficult, but please don't forget why we're here! Don't forget there are at least 29, perhaps 31, dead people counting on us. [god saying that number aloud is depressing] We owe it to them to give it our all. We owe it to them to do our best to bring an end to this game!

[and with that, she props a hand on her hip]

So far we've discerned that all three victims were shot. Shinnosuke and Dr. Lecter were shot multiple times, and Xion was only shot once. All wounds looked like they came from a pistol. Dr. Lecter also had a bear trap clamped onto his leg. Natalie was found lying next to Dr. Lecter's body, injured in the clinic.

Natalie was the Doctor, Shinnosuke was a Bounty, and Dr. Lecter was the Deputy. These roles were announced at the beginning of the trial.

Dr. Lecter wrote a note prior to his death stating that a woman was responsible for killing him. The only two people who could possibly know with certainty what happened to Dr. Lecter aren't here: Natalie and Will.

[and, speaking of--]

Their absence is noticeable, but we have yet to discuss it in depth. So far it seems as though everyone believes Natalie to be Dr. Lecter's killer, but. . .if Natalie was truly our culprit, then where is she? And where is Will?

[Well. He really fucking hates this, but he's listening to everything and calculating what he knows, so....]

Hal said that the Bounties had to kill the Bandits that didn't cooperate, didn't he? And we know that Shinnosuke was a Bounty. [There's a heavy pause.] I...hate to ask, but is it possible Xion was a Bandit and refused...?

[ So, while everyone else discusses the logistics of a blind boy shooting a teenage girl, the door to the hall opens quietly. It's Will and he looks inside, tired bloodshot eyes glancing around the room very quickly before he steps in, closing the door behind him. Then he'll move to the first bench closest to the door and quietly take a seat.

Winston, of course, notices this and will approach him happily, tail wagging as he sniffs Will's hand and rests his head on his knee.

This is all kind of fine, except. Well. He's absolutely covered in blood. Both dried and wet. Mostly around his mouth and hands but down the front of his shirt in large amounts. His pants, hands, and shirt also have quite a bit of dirt on them and in general he just looks kind of... messy.

Whoops. ]

[The truth has to be found. They have to know it all, even if it's gruesome and hard, difficult to accept and face... they can't turn away from it.

Barnham's arms are crossed, his brow furrowed, but eventually he tiredly speaks up:]

For those who did not hear--Mister Will Graham killed and ate Mi-- Natalie. [She asked him of it. He has to respect that. Especially...now.]

He stated that...she killed Doctor Lecter, and thus he needed to eat her.

[(everything's fucking crazy here.)]

We are... not to find her body. That is Natalie's last request.

[A slow breath.]

...That is all.

Edited 2017-02-26 00:30 (UTC)

[ And off he goes, checking the box again and emptying it for the next vote. He looks up to them and well, looks pretty amused really. What a good trial. ]

So, the resolution was a little tasteless -- [ FUCKS SAKE!!! ] -- but here we are. Put in your votes and y'all can leave.

As for Will, you know where you need to go.

... Hah, what a good day.

[ He looks pretty pleased, honestly. Just. So dang pleased. Off he goes, lighting up his pipe in the process. ]

[ Okay! Here is Will in his cell, Winston seems to have joined him -- slipping right through the bars to jump up on the cot and rest in his lap.

He also, uh, hasn't really been able to clean up the blood, so there's that.

You're welcome to talk to him, but you might not really want to. Instead, he'll mostly be sitting here till morning, staring at a letter he has clutched in his hands.

Fuck Hannibal, honestly. ]

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THE SHERIFF

THE BODY

???

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