WEEK ONE, SATURDAY

[killerwaves]

INVESTIGATION(?)

Exciting night, no? Were you able to get to sleep, or did you stay up into the wee hours, seeing that far-off shimmer near the gazebos and listening to the rising rumble of whatever-that-is and wondering when it would come for you?

At least, when dawn finally comes and the shimmer is overcome by the rising light of the sun, it seems that last night wasn't the end. For you.

Instead, once it's morning proper, there's a shift -- like the breeze and the smell after a bout of sudden summer thunderstorm without the storm: the pressure and the oppressive atmosphere of yesterday is gone, just like that. But also: accompanying it a few seconds later is a clean whipcrack of sound, like giant hands clapping together. And a moment after that, you'll feel something pass overhead -- you won't be able to see anything, but anyone outside at the time will find themselves staggered by what seems to be a small shockwave spreading throughout the island.

That's not the only change that awaits you this morning, however.

You might want to get out of bed, if you haven't already, and take a proper look around.

(( OOC: Welcome to our peace week Saturday event, islanders! Please note that this will be run similarly to a normal investigation, but will not be a full investigation. As such, everyone is welcome to explore for the first part of the event, and then we will take a limited amount of people for the second half, investigation-style. ))

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PSA (PALMTREE SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT) (2)

[ho_ohs]

First things first: not a bad showing for a murder investigation. I'll give it a B, considering the lack of law enforcement.

Next, let's talk about sacrifices.

It seems like many of you were still reluctant to do more than wait and watch until the island itself gave you a sign -- and I'm here to tell you that what you saw yesterday, and last night, is only the tip of the iceberg. So we decided to take matters into our own hands, this time. Think of it as a tutorial.

Oh, and things have changed, now that we've had time to observe all of you, and how the island reacts to you. We're going to need more than one a week.

But I know how so many of you are still reluctant to kill, huh?

[There's what sounds like a put-upon sigh; the speaker is evidently in a bit of a mood today.]

Let's do it this way, then. The second sacrifice is going to be the murderer -- if you can find them. One of the things that keeps a society from collapsing is having a little justice now and then. Killers, though? Just make sure you get away with it, and we'll have you back home by the end of this, with a few bonuses for your hard work.

[PING. Your U-PINION lets you know that the rules have been updated.]

[gluttoning]

[Well.

Anyone near the garden will just get to watch Beelzebub morph, for a brief moment, with a pulse of demonic energy. Horns twist out of his head, and insect wings sprout from his back in time with the black stripes that dot his skin, his entire outfit seemingly changing.

He does this simply to fly up, grab the nearest palm tree speaker with one hand, rip it cleanly from the tree, and throw it straight to the ground with enough force to shatter it.]

You ruined my breakfast.

[conchy]

[Oh dear... Someone's horny......]

Incroyable! You're just full of surprises, Beelzebub.

[But Daddy already gave him a scolding for teasing poor Beel, so he'll spare him any jests or condescension.]

I understand your vexation, but try to take your anger out in a more productive fashion. Destroying the speakers will only eliminate our sources of information.

[gluttoning]

[unamused dot jpg

He drops to the ground, plucking up a handful of blossoms, leaves and twigs from one of the nearby bushes and shoving it directly into his mouth.]

No.

They wasted my time. There's plenty of other speakers.

1/2

[conchy]

[..............................]

[immortalpoet]

[Oh boy.]

...Here.

[He's...pulling out..............the equivalent of what they have for wrapped shitty Pop Tarts from his pocket?]

[gluttoning]

[He drops to the ground and snatches it up immediately, the wrapper crushing under his fingers as the whole thing goes directly into his mouth. Like entering a vacuum.

His wings buzz behind him, but at least that keeps his hands occupied.]

Not enough.

[finalmix]

[ slow claps for that show of violence, joshua looks mildly impressed. ]

[gluttoning]

[Hooray for applause!

Beelzebub drops from his hover and immediately grabs a handful of nearby foliage to shove into his mouth.]

Don't clap for them. Wasted all of our time.

[divector]

Well, I guess first thing is to get some food besides coffee.

[ Ah, that explains a lot. He's gonna need way more snacks to deal with this, so off he goes for breakfast. Lunch? Brunch? Yeah, Mermaid's dead, but gotta start somewhere! ]

POST-INVEST MEETING

[dupiety]

[Once everyone has had some time to regroup and attempt to retain some semblance of their morning routine, Temenos shoots a message to network, requesting another meeting in the same spot as the last one.

This is very much impromptu and as such, he hasn't done as much setup as he had the previous time. He also cuts right to the chase.]

While it's clear that our dear captors took matters into their own hands in this instance, I would still like to hear what the investigation team found at the scene of the murder.

In addition...I believe we ought to discuss the recent update to the rules. The implications are dire, to say the least.

[immortalpoet]

[His eyes are glowing as he approaches...]

It's just nonsense they threw in to make it better for them. Does anyone really think to take it seriously? "Perks for getting away with it"? Give me a break.

[passetemps]

Regardless of whether the rewards are real, or even whether anyone acts on the assumption that they are, it seems that lives are also put at risk if we all simply look the other way.

If someone did not kill for the sake of a reward, they may do it for the sake of the majority of the people on this island, if they are of the mind that the lives of many outweigh the lives of two.

[passetemps]

It is helpful to have seen the manifestation of the island's instability firsthand, and to have confirmation that these sacrifices do indeed seem to reverse it... but accepting that as reality puts us in a difficult position.

[divector]

I suppose you could say it's trying to shift the focus away from those two. Yes, the island is unstable, but that's only a problem if we're still here at its end.

[dakicover]

I think they realized that simply telling us to keep the island stable via blood sacrifices ain't gonna cut it, so they're trying to sweeten the pot.

[ he chuckles. ]

Sounds like a honey trap to me.

[conceivesfrenzy]

Seems like it'd be a lot easier for them to just kill the two people they need themselves and not worry about the stupid handwringing, right?

[ She pushes her hair and stupid hat ribbon thing over her shoulder. ]

I mean, this is probably the better way to do it in the long run, but it kind of seems like a lot for something they could do themselves in the long run.

Investigation results?????????

[gluttoning]

[He has so many turkey legs with him right now, but that's not important because he also has investigation results.]

He was covered in wounds all over his back. Round ones. The sizes looked like they were all over the place.

Under him were a bunch of ring shapes, outlined in blood. They were definitely bigger than his wounds. All over the place around him and even partially into the crater. [He'll hold up a smartphone.] We checked the size off of Billy's crowbar. I have pictures.

All he had on him was his key, and a rose, and his network device. Billy found a message from Merlin to the administrators asking for a meetup last night. That was the most recent thing on there. No other damage to him.

There was a body-sized crater in the ground immediately next to where he was sitting. Whatever caused it might have started at the entrance. There was a fissure in the ground leading from there straight to the crater. It damaged a lot of the statues, but it doesn't look like that's where he died.

...

Oh. Alice got jumped by some sort of white animal while we were exploring. I don't think she caught it, though. So I'm not sure what it was.

[conceivesfrenzy]

[ Alice is about to get offended about Beel's wording, but she realizes this is probably the most generous description of what happened, so she leaves it be. ]

No, I didn't get it. It disappeared in a flash of light before I could get my hands on its grubby paws.

[passetemps]

Then you were unable to identify the type of weapon that was used?

[dupiety]

Bravo, Beelzebub.

[THAT...should not be his initial reaction, but it is. He is very proud.]

You said you have...pictures? Could you show me what you mean?

[chosenwang]

Ah, so he decided to try something after all. [ He sighs as he shakes his head ] I suppose I'm equally at fault for not discouraging it.

[ It feels bad to be honest, but he's trying not to show that ]

Invest results + General theorizing

[butcherspice]

[Billy has been here for a moment listening to everyone discuss the latest developments and decides to chime in now.]

Beel got the gist of it—-the stiff didn’t have any wounds on the front of him, so we can guess whatever shish-kebabed ol’ Merlin weren’t long enough to run him through. No sign of a weapon aside from the rings, so guessin’ Hoho or Raptor have some kinda power that lets ‘em do that.

From the mess and the shockwaves, hunch is tellin’ me that Merlin was setting out to try and kill ‘em. Guess they answered the telegram to feed the island and set an example: “fuck with us and you’ll end up in a box.”

[microtransactions]

The shockwaves weren't that long ago ... Are you saying we might have only just missed all this going down?

[ was the blood fresh. ]

Hey, was there a timestamp on the message to the admins?

[immortalpoet]

[JUST. THE MOST EXHAUSTED GROAN IN THE WORLD]

Of course. Of course. Why would it ever be so simple.