guiltrip | WEEK 2; TRIAL

WEEK 2; TRIAL

TRIAL

Whether you investigated or decided to take it easy, before you know it the speakers crackle to life instructing you to head to the beach. This is a demand not a request, and anyone who doesn't comply will find themselves forcibly moved there by the kitty bots—even if it takes a whole swarm of them.

Once you get there, you'll see that this isn't quite a beach party, instead a gigantic sandbar dotted with some type of constructs has risen out of the sea and tides. The path to the sandbar is solid enough even if it is relatively narrow, and once you arrive you'll find that you're far out in the ocean, way farther than it's comfortable to swim.

And once everyone is gathered, the pathway recedes back into the sea leaving you trapped here, all twenty-eight of you. At least there's ample seating, a kind of amphitheater made of sand with space in the middle for grandstanding or dramatic revelations. Though the area is mostly open, there are lone pieces of sand wall around the edges, maybe to dissuade you from tossing someone into the ocean without stopping you entirely. Thankfully, a lone outhouse rests again one of the walls just in case you need to use the bathroom, though it's not much in the way of actual privacy.

Settle in, get comfortable or just complain about all the sand you'll be tracking back, if you make it back that is. There's still another sacrifice to be chosen after all according to your administrators and—

Maybe you've noticed there's no palm trees or speakers here? It's just you, and the sand. For now.

(( OOC: Welcome to your first trial! You'll have 7 hours (8PM EST/5PM PST) to find the killer and send them off their death, if you believe in justice at least. Since this is scapegoat style, finding the correct killer is not mandatory!

Please remember to vote before then unless you've spoken to a mod, as votes are our stand-in for AC. ))

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[ Comment here with your evidence from investigation! This is to keep things more easily digestible for those who come in late.

Discussing the evidence available is OK -- however, please try to show evidence on the first post of a comment thread instead of posting it as a reply on someone else's thread, to make it easier to find.

Take a look at a full evidence toplevel! ]

[Once everyone's arrived and settled in, including sundry kittybots -- presumably for convenience's sake, since at least one of them is carrying snacks and beverages like you're at a baseball game or something -- there's a hissing sound from the top of the amphitheater, where the sand wall is... dissolving?

Both dramatically and somehow unceremoniously, the top of the amphitheater parts to admit two strangers.

One of them is a man in a dark shirt and simple slacks, looking like some kind of dressed-down businessman with the tie to match. He could look almost unassuming were it not for the intensity of his gaze and the bizarre and gaudy beak of the plague mask that covers most of his face. Red and gold: both Ho-oh colors and, apparently, masking colors in this day and age.

He lifts a hand, does something that flashes under the light of the sun, and suddenly there's what looks like a sunshade where they emerged, tinted glass reflecting both the wind and heat.]

All right. Since we're doing this the old-fashioned way, I think it's about time we introduced ourselves properly, too.

Call me Overhaul. You've known me as Ho-oh until now.

[His unaltered voice is low, almost a growl but smooth, rolling out over the sand despite -- apparently -- the lack of amplifying equipment. Either the acoustics are good here or somebody has practiced projecting, who knows.

He doesn't wait for his companion before continuing.]

You've done your investigation, you've got your evidence, you've got your dead. Now it's time to choose the second sacrifice -- you can go for whoever killed the battery acid kid, or you can take out somebody you don't like. Choice is yours.

You've got 7 hours.

Edited 2023-05-27 17:08 (UTC)

[ He's going to take front and center like he belongs there. Holding up his hand to get everyone's attention. ]

What we can discern is that the culprit has put quite a bit of skill into this. They tampered with both the go-kart and the bubbling fountain at the golf course to create sugar glass. They lured the victim, Chai, over to the go-karts and it appears he was either hit here or else where.

The Kart and Chai were brought over to the Golf Course where he was placed into the kart and gumdrop buttons from the course were used to weigh the gas down. This was probably to cover up the actual cause of death, which is the jagged cut to the heart. His candy worms were put in the wound to help hide the weapon, which we believe is the sugar glass.

Have I missed anything? [ There's probably so much missed ]

Edited 2023-05-27 19:48 (UTC)

If I may address the flock for a moment...

[Does he have everyone's attention? Yes? Good.]

The idea that the culprit may have been involved in the crash has been floated, and I would like to follow up on it. If I may see your arms and legs, please. I may ask to see the torso as well, should the need present itself.

[He'll probably reserve the more invasive stuff for actual suspects.]

[ After all of the showing leggie to Temenos is done with, it's Lacus's turn to get off the bleachers and go towards the center of the trial island. ]

We appear to be moving in circles... None of us appear injured, and the person we are looking for has only been defined by vague characteristics such as 'knows chemistry' and 'is adept with machinery'.

Maybe it will be helpful for us to figure out where everyone spent the night?

The caveat Chai evidently left the forcefield that apparently is meant to keep us all in check - so it stands to reason the killer would have been able to do the same. However, there are some positions it is harder to escape from, so this may still give us some insights.

Forgive me for the interruption, but I would like to take a look at everyone's attire, from top to bottom. I am checking for traces of sugar or any other residue from the crime scene.

[ Let's go let's go! ]

I don't seem to recall anything that says we can't vote for one of our hosts.

[ Did he miss something some where ]

[While the beach bitchfight is going down, the administrators have stayed silent, perhaps occasionally even checking their own devices -- because there's always that. It might look kind of hilarious to see them bent over the whimsical little U-PINIONS, but the spectacle is as short-lived as Sonya's defiance.

Eventually, Overhaul stands, and with the motion the glass booth around him shatters neatly back down into sand. Amplifying the sound is the clap of his hands, demanding attention in the midst of chaos.

In the meantime, the kittybots swarm around Sonya and start dragging him up the amphitheater, separating him from his fellow islanders -- though perhaps the fellowship isn't so much fellowship anymore.]

Time's up, voting's done. If you want to rough up the prisoner, save it for tomorrow -- we'll do that execution style rather than mob vengeance. We're keeping him on the Sungem island tonight, if you want to get some last words in.

You don't need me to tell you that Sonya's been voted out. Correctly, I'll add. Some of you decided to have a little fun and vote for Kanon, Nona, Lobelia, Billy, and Vergilius too, but this isn't the government. They're not getting any honors.

We'll see you tomorrow and finish up what we need to do this week.

[And with that, administrators, kittybots, corpse and soon-to-be-corpse are paraded out through the sand wall again, vanishing into the gold of sand and blue of the sea. The bridge they used to arrive here reappears, allowing them to finally leave this somewhat bloodied sandbar.]

[OOC: Execution sign-ups are open! As for Sonya, he will be imprisoned in the seacaves by the beach on Sungem's Peak, so feel free to PC him there. :)]

Edited 2023-05-28 00:46 (UTC)

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