( TRIAL - WEEK 4 )

[abhoth]

At exactly 11:30 am, all residents who are still asleep will be jolted awake by a sharp, burning pain that spreads across their whole body. A simple look will reveal no visible injuries, oddly enough, and the pain will fade away as soon as they're properly awake. Those early birds who are already up and about will feel nothing — except maybe a strange, mysterious sense of relief as they go on about their business. Lucky them. Moments later, an announcement will come through the static-filled PA system: "This is Craftly speaking. My apologies for the rude awakening, but due to a certain someone who I shall not name [he's still pissed] — today's trial will take place by the pool. Please do try to be there before noon. My staff members have simply too many duties to tend to, to be escorting each and every one of you out of your quarters. Good day." And true to his words, anyone who doesn't make their way to the Outdoor Dining Area before noon will be dragged kicking and screaming regardless of where they've sequestered themselves. Sucks to be you, huh? Upon arriving there, however, residents will be given the menu, one copy of the rulebook, one pencil, one notepad, and a cheque folder. Due the Kitchen and Dining Hall getting wrecked, lunch and dinner will mostly consist of grilled and barbecued menu items. Hamburgers, hotdogs, salads, and items that require little preparation — all the residents have to do is ask in order to receive. Similarly, all beverages will be retrieved from a hundred quart cooler that has been placed by the side of the pool. Not as fancy as usual, but at least the pool is clean now. Some inflatable pool toys lazily swim in the water, along with pool noodles. Every now and then, the waters will vibrate to the sound of buzz saws and assorted power tools. Looks like the Disposal Room, Dining Hall and Kitchen are under reparations. A tent has been placed over the area to shield the residents from the sun, and to make up from the lack of transparencies everyone will receive a small booklet containing each resident's profile. They look a little bit like shitty PowerPoint presentation handouts, but maybe it's part of the charm. The profiles of the deceased are included, as always. A second tent has been set up in the parking lot, complete with an air conditioning on the inside. Its use will become rapidly apparent once the victims corpses have been wheeled in. Anyone who wishes to step into this area will be asked to wash their hands, and will be given a pair of latex-free gloves and a hairnet by a staff members who is stationed nearby. Residents are required to dispose of both items before returning to their table; a trash bin is available outside of the tent for this purpose. Evidence found during the investigation, on the other hand, will be displayed in a table by the pool shed. Any items found by the residents on Friday will be displayed here for further examination. Finally — one of the grandfather clocks has been kidnapped from its respective floor to show the current hour. Please do remember you have until 9:00 PM to figure out whodunit and cast your vote. And if anyone tries to leave the area before the trial is over? They'll discover an invisible wall blocking their path. ( victims ) Characters will be given nine (9) hours to discuss everything related to the investigation to hopefully solve the mystery behind this week's murder. No one will be allowed to leave the Pool/Outdoor Dining Area (the pool shed will also be locked), and all characters must cast their vote before 9PM EST. You may do so on this week's voting page. If you have any questions or doubts, shoot us a PM or a PP over at yuggoth. ( quick navigation ) voting | profiles | menu | locations | ic rulebook

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BODIES

[abhoth]

[As the trial officially begins at 12:00 PM, the motel staff will wheel in all five corpses on separate gurneys — or, in a Aloy's care, a wheelbarrow with the remains of her corpse lumped together in one big pile. Craftly, wearing a Kiss the Cook apron while standing near the grill, cleans his throat and solemnly utters:]

A moment of silence, children.

[And then he begins to play the fucking kazoo.

This horrible musical experience will last as long as it takes for the staff members to wheel the corpses to the air conditioned tent. Once that's done, however, Craftly will retreat to his own table and residents will be free to inspect the bodies as much as they want.

Please use this toplevel for reexamining the bodies.]

[rextenebrae]

[ Knoll will decide to look over L'arachel's body first. He will begin to check her hands and her arms for any other wounds/defense wounds. ]

EVIDENCE

[abhoth]

[As with all weeks, all physical evidence found during the investigation will be displayed in today's trial. Residents are encouraged to examine evidence or combine it in any way they wish. For today's trial, the evidence table contains the following items:

POOL/OUTDOOR DINING AREA: Cups, Room 105's key, strand of dark hair.
LOBBY: Bullet
SECOND FLOOR OUTDOOR HALLWAY: One, lonely leaf.
CITY HALL: Broken chair, x2 wooden stakes, strand of orange hair.
GROCERY STORE: Shredded butcher's paper
BOTANICAL GARDEN: Meat cleaver

Please use this top level for reexamining evidence.]

[wristbands]

[out of all the things on the table, chie chooses to look at the leaf. she's spent a lot of time getting acquainted with the trees around yuggoth—would it be possible to tell just from looking at it where it could've come from? any distinct features, or signs of having been stepped on?]

CRAFTLY

[abhoth]

[Craftly will be overseeing the trial from his own table.]

[thawedheart]

...Craftly-san... what are the roles of the people who died?

[disinterested]

Well then, we aren't very talkative today, are we?

[come on guys just because five people died this week??]

How about I start us off: how many killers do we think were involved?

[thawedheart]

[dully:]

A lot, probably.

[she's. she's tired, okay.]

[18x0]

There were strands of hair left at two of the crime scenes. Since they don't match the victims they were close to, it should be safe to assume they're from the killers.

[She holds up one finger.]

First, the dark hair found near Ryou. Based on the length, possible suspects are myself, Hajime, Violet, Quer, Velvet, and Jay. That's quite a few, but we should keep that list in mind.

[Second finger.]

Second, the orange hair found at City Hall. Of those left alive, it could belong to Percival, Girge, or Suzaku. It's also possible it might have been Aloy's.

[lohengrins]

That hair isn't even half as vibrant or red as my own.

[ PEOPLE ARE DYING BUT IT'S TRUE. ]

SET THE SCENE??

[splinten]

[Dirk, FROM THE POOL WHERE HE IS JUST TREADING WATER BECAUSE I WANT HIM TO HAVE A CRAZY STRAW, is drinking out of a crazy straw without the enthusiasm that such a thing deserves. He stops.]

Description of the different scenes would probably not be a stupid idea. I'll start:

The leaf in the hallway was on the ground.

[God just kill him.]

[disinterested]

Fascinating. I sketched out the general layout of Apollo and L'Arachel's murders, if anyone wants to see.

[Holding up his notepad!]

role talk

[g101]

[ hajime is here! and she is not looking fantastic. there's a few telltale signs - puffiness and redness, mainly, but whatever. she's here and smiling and at least attempting to look at as ready as possible for this. ]

Have we talked about roles yet? I was thinking that maybe, well... One could be used here?

[ just a thought! ]

[thawedheart]

[Ah, Hajime really doesn't look well... The sight of the puffiness and redness makes Yukina look at her with concern, but... she's trying really hard. She won't do her the disservice of calling her out on the crying.]

I guess it's... possible. We'd probably be looking at weapon roles, right...?

discussion of l'arachel's wounds and a bit more

[rextenebrae]

In looking over Princess L'arachel's dead body, there were a few things of interest so far.

I noticed that in addition to her being speared through that she had evidence of being hit in the back of her head, in the form of a bump. I imagine it was to disorient her.

She wasn't just impaled either--she had a deep slash wound that I believe someone may have tried to obscure.

[ Or he supposed it could've just...happened that way when the person speared her. But, whatever, he's just going to add a few more things. Things he wouldn't have known without Girge's notes...which he's thankful for. ]

In general, it is not quite so easy to spear someone against a wall like that. I imagine it takes an considerable effort and it is not doable by most. Judging by the blood splatter, it is also evident some kind of fight occurred, though...and since Apollo was located in the relative area, it's reasonable to assume that both Princess L'arachel and Apollo were facing off against a formidable foe.

...As for that bloody message written beside her, it seems she may have been the one to do so herself, judging by the blood on her finger. Though, I would also like to hear everyone else's thoughts.

[thawedheart]

...she wrote... "Justice," right? Upside-down...

[Then she hesitates as she thinks over what she heard when people were discussing the crime scene.]

Though I guess... for her it wouldn't have been upside-down. [Her brows furrows.] Then does that mean... Justice-san? Or was it a reference to the "justice and vengeance" Mira-san was talking about last week, or... something else?

ryou gets his own top level

[gamerscore]

[ Guess who is lounging lazily onto one of the leaned back patio recliners. A bathing suit is resting next to her — maybe she'll change to it eventually. Right now she's in a night gown because she's still pretty tired from everything? God. Y'all, naps are getting harder. ]

Hey. I think we should talk about each individual crime scene. First, I want to talk about Ryou. His death is the outlier here. Everyone else... the deaths were so brutal and violent. Ryou had some friends here, but it's not uncommon knowledge. He was a good person and he helped me make my Druid more powerful. I'll get to that in a second:

[ WHAT? ]

Percival found some stuff, but where do we think it came from?

gun wound discussion

[potentite]

[Okay he's finally done and sitting at the edge of the pool to be near Dirk. Also because it really is hot and crowded, jesus.]

Righto, so. I finished thoroughly investigating the bullet wounds. To start with, Kaiba... [He rubs his eyes as he checks his notes. He's tired but there's a confidence there that most people probably haven't seen.] Kaiba's tricky. Four bullets total counting the one in the wall, a handgun for certain, so the Gangster is the only suited owner here. No odd angles on the shots, they're all straight on. There was a pool of blood under Kaiba's head but considering the head wounds... There's also that blood splatter in the parking lot. I didn't see it, personally, so I can't say for certain what that means. But there's also a trail but again it isn't conclusive it seems? The problem with the fact that there's no exit wounds is honestly a layered one. Being against a wall or floor doesn't actually prevent it by nature. You can still get one from that. Things like proximity and caliber carry heavier in such matters. Without further information, we can't really say, nor could I conclude if they were pre or post mortem.

Aloy, though, well. Most of it was lost in the fire. It was, however, at least the same gun and I can assure you a silencer would never have been enough to not wake any roommates. They really aren't for what movies say.

[ungodly]

What makes you so sure Aloy had the same gun used on her? She has two wounds through her head, so whatever it was that shot her had enough force to go all the way through.

TIMELINES?

[nowyouseeit]

[well okay now that that is done. . .]

We established that there are at least three killers, right? Based on the similarity of Aloy and Kaiba's injuries, Ryou's relatively non-violent death, and how far apart the bodies were spaced.

That's. . . a lot of activity for one night, yeah? I think if we can get a timeline on when each of these people died, that might help us figure out who our killers are.

It might give us a timeline with which we can properly check people's alibis against.

WHY DID PEOPLE DIE

[potentite]

[Jake has a stupid question:] But why did anyone leave their rooms? This may be a silly question, I realise, but Kaiba seemed, well, distrusting and intelligent. Ryou could have been betrayed given his kind death but...

[Look he's just. So confused as to how the murderers even got to these people. They all know what happens on Thursday?? Mira's last week made sense well enough but this week...]

[thawedheart]

...I was wondering that too. It would be safest if everyone stayed inside... right? So why were any of them out of their rooms...?

[ninjay]

It seems neat.

Injury check

[rextenebrae]

I have reason to believe that at least one of the culprits is injured.

... Apollo was clutching a bloody wooden stake when he was found dead. This may be because he had the chance to strike his killer with it before he died.

I first would like to check everyone's hands and arms for any new, fresh injuries that may have occurred Thursday night.

[ Of course, he'll show his own hands and arms, which are clean. He'll be also wordlessly looking at people's faces for any fresh injuries that may have been sustained there as well. He doesn't want to miss anything. ]

[ungodly]

[ heather's good, her only injury is the one on her foot she got the other day ]

[willremember]

Maybe someone was sleeping over in her room?

But then that person's real roommate would notice they had been missing.

WHAT IN THE WORLD KILLED APOLLO JUSTICE??

[nowyouseeit]

OI EVERYONE, LOOK OVER HERE!

[. . . Kaito's in the pool now, floating on Akira's skeleton arm to keep his injured shoulder above water. what the fuck, Kaito]

I examined Apollo's neck again just to be sure. We know he died from asphyxiation, not the stab wounds, and it looks like he was strangled with something long and thing. Like. . . a pole.

Or a microphone stand.

Does anyone know who the Entertainer is?

[ninjay]

No idea.

[ hmm. ]

By the way, your way of getting everyone's attention is much more preferable.

[willremember]

Why?

TOY MACHINE BONUS

[abhoth]

[At exactly 6:00 PM on the dot, Craftly will take out his kazoo for a second time and play a charming tune for all to hear. Two faceless men approach the trial area while pushing a servicing trolley; a two tiered cake is set on top of the trolley. Once they reach the pool area, the faceless men will stick four candles on the cake and light them up.

Should the residents inspect the cake, they'll notice a message has been written on it in bright red frosting. Yum.]

❤❤ HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR FOUR MURDERERS! ❤❤

[... The candles, upon closer inspection, are also pretty funny looking. From left to right, they're shaped like: an axe, an unmarked bottle of pills, a generic handgun, and a generic rifle.]

[thawedheart]

...four...?

[four?]

LISTEN UP LISTEN UP!

[nowyouseeit]

HEY EVERYONE!! PAY ATTENTION TO ME AGAIN!!

[when will Kaito's top levels stop]

Scratch what I said about the Entertainer! Thanks to that really delicious birthday cake-- the chocolate is the best part, by the way-- and some of Knoll's investigative skills. . . I think I know what role killed Apollo and L'Arachel.

It was the Woodsman.

[he jerks a thumb towards Knoll to back him]

L'Arachel's injuries are consistent with an axe. Apollo was strangled horizontally with something long and thick, like an axe handle. And in addition to that. . . orange hair was found at the scene.

[he turns his attention on Suzaku next, although his gaze also flickers to Nagasone]

Knoll also checked for injuries earlier 'cause he thought whoever killed those two got into a scuffle with them. Suzaku and Nagasone were the two with bruises. So--

[pointed look at BOTH those men]

If you want to exonerate yourselves, then tell us what your roles are.

[rextenebrae]

Nagasone said his role wasn't the Woodsman... so that would leave Suzaku.

a distraction

[pinesfortruth]

Okay, unrelated to all-- that, can I mention that Aloy was apparently dragged out of room 102 in her bed covers, which not only implies someone strong enough to do that in the first place, but also raises the question of how they got into the room in the first place? There's no sign of it being broken into. Violet and I are the only ones with the key, and neither of us is exactly a shining example of upper body strength.

[he is just saying]

[lohengrins]

That means they had to have had access to your room -- the only feasible theory, aside from Aloy leaving on her own terms, would be that the Copycat has the skeleton key.

USELESS ALIBI TOP LEVEL

[potentite]

Excuse me! [He clears his throat.] I know this may be useless but with so many wires being crossed it may help. Where was everyone this morning? Name your alibis and we'll see if any stories change, even if only a bit.

I'll start. Dirk and I were in the room Jay and I share. Jay didn't sleep there last night.

REGARDING KAIBA

[wristbands]

Guys, I—I just realized.

Kaiba was a really bad sleeper. Like, really bad. He went to sleep late and woke up early. Also, he never took this off—[here she holds up his locket with a bit of difficulty since her remaining hand is her off hand]—and only ever did the rare times he was asleep.

So... instead of the sleeping pills—if they really were sleeping pills—being used on Ryou, like we've been thinking this whole time, what if someone drugged Kaiba?

[potentite]

I was thinking that, too. But why kill them both in their sleep? And how? These weapons aren't special. We should have heard it. Their roommates should have heard it. I'm not accusing you I just don't understand.

HAND PRINT TOP LEVEL

[splinten]

This is stupid.

[Helpful. He holds up Kaito's approximate drawin' of the handprint on the wall.]

Can everyone please just put their damn hands on this for an approximate size reference? Also, I want to see everyone's hands for potential traces of irritation from lighter fluid. Don't make me sniff hands.

[Why can't he just be left to swim dammit]

[rextenebrae]

[ He'll put his hand on the paper--and show Dirk his hands to check for irritation.

They're clean. ]

trial clock.

[blacktailed]

When we're done looking at pieces of paper, I'd like to point out we have less than twenty minutes before we're forced to stop all this.

[so. go vote.]

[potentite]

I'm... not voting for Suzaku or Yukina. I don't think we have enough evidence to convict Suzaku and frankly speaking I think if he had murdered someone, he doesn't seem the type to hide once caught. Perhaps Yukina knows him better than that, though. And Yukina did nothing wrong.

[godly]

[He just looks more exasperated now.]

I assume you have questions. Let me tell you from the start that the handprint doesn't belong to me.