Take Responsibility.

[trustbound]

And once everyone has done what they need to do and gathered at that bottom of that stairwell in the dormitory, the door before them once again seems to unlatch and swing outward, lightly and of its own volition. It's the fourth time in the span of about a month; perhaps there's some strange, dark sense of familiarity in it. Perhaps, too, that stairwell leading further down is beginning to feel familiar, dark and unwelcoming though it is; the courtroom is still illuminated at the bottom of it, sending a slight amount of light up the stairs and guiding everyone down to that stark room made of concrete and steel. The podium circle stands still and silent in the center, waiting for everyone to take their place around the darkened pit below; once again, there's been a change in the circle itself in the form of three more podiums joining the ranks of the deceased. Fern, Tabby, and Sigrun all have their places in the circle marked with black cloth and a photograph in greyscale, keeping watch over all of you in a manner both unseeing and vaguely judgmental. As always, the thirty-sixth podium stands blank and unoccupied among you. Once everyone has found their place in the circle, Jericho can be heard over the public-address system; he seems to have collected himself at some point during the investigation, it shows in his voice, as little as anyone really wants it to. "For better or worse, Boundless is no longer among you. I'm sure you guys all know what that means by now, what you're here to do. And before you ask, because I know it's going to come up eventually and now's as good a time as any - yeah, we'd have you down here if someone tries to be a big damn hero for the group, because someone's still dead because somebody fucked up. It just means the dead person and the guilty person are the same person. So you know what, the game's the same, no matter what happened here - innocent against the guilty, fourth time, let's go! And as always, do your best!" Twenty-six Participants remain. However many leave this place is up to you.

Comments

[heritrix]

Honestly, I was ready to call it a suicide and be done with it, but I didn't want to set that tone.

[She was really angry when she came in, but hearing what everyone else has found has gotten her on the right track again, so she's more than happy to present properly now.]

There were no other wounds on Sigrun's body that I found, aside from the one on the inside of her left arm. [The one that's been bothering her this whole time.] It was a long and deep cut; I'd say one that was completed in a single stroke, without hesitation.

Everything about it; how she lay, the dagger in her hand. There was nothing unnatural to indicate anyone but her could have possibly done this, but the wound itself did seem strange to me. It looked like the cut started from the forearm, then down to the wrist, rather than the wrist to the forearm.

[matchbreaker]

Well she did lock her room behind her, at least.

[ . . . Does that do anything one way or the other for suicide? Who knows? But that's sure a thing. She had to run and get the key from you. ]

Anything else of interest on her?

[heritrix]

Not on her, but...

[Well, Rin's still right by your podium, Elda, so you're going to have the first look at this as Rin removes it from her pocket, and unfolds it.]

There was a suicide note, a bit away from everything. There wasn't even blood on it.

[matchbreaker]

... You had a note the whole time? Doesn't that mean this is all a lot easier?

[ she'll be taking the note to glance over it. It's... a little sloppy? But it sure has the woman's name on it. ]

MODS

[introspects]

A note...

Marker-san, does the handwriting match what you saw in Sigrun-san's room?

MODS (?)

[matchbreaker]

I mean there's a difference between a note and something carved into a wall, but I guess I can try'n compare based on memory?

[ She knows "VERN" was written very poorly, and this is a bit messy, but is there any worthwhile comparison to be made? ]

[evilfrenzy]

Mind reading aloud for the class, Elda?

[Because a note sure sounds convenient.]

cw: suicide note

[matchbreaker]

[ Okay, time to read with the class, then! ]

Ahem - "I'm pouring one last one out, and then doing this to reset the timer. This note is so you don't tear each other apart at the trial, if they make you have one. I'm taking responsibility for my actions now."

[ . . . Eeesh, she shakes her head and carries on, ]

"Keep trying to get out of here. You'll make it, just don't give up."

Then she signs it off as Captain ... well, her name.

[ She waves it around, willing to pass it off if anyone wants. ]

[notaccurate]

A suicide note doesn't sound like something she would do, though. Admittedly I did not know Sigrun well, but she seemed to be...well, someone who wouldn't give up.

[sleepytimegal]

I agree. We can't jump to conclusions.

[ninehundredlives]

She really didn't.

[firstaid]

That's what I think. She would have looked for a solution given we had eight hours and not give up. That's not her personality, I think.

[matchbreaker]

[ to be fair the framing of the letter isn't quite "give up." ]

[heritrix]

Too easy, don't you think? In the mage world, suicides that look like murders and murders that look like suicides are commonplace. I was ready to give up when I walked in here; if I lead with the note, who knows what would have happened?

[A couple of other people seemed equally convinced this was open and shut too. But that said she's here for Orihime's suggestion, that's what she's most interested in.]

[matchbreaker]

... Probably less confusion earlier on.

[ I mean, she's with the chucklefucks over here a little, even if she gets where Rin was coming from. ]

[chessturner]

...

[That is odd. It takes Kyrie a moment to realize it may not be as simple as it seemed at first]

Are you completely sure it started from the forearm? That'd contradict a suicide.

[heritrix]

I'm positive.

[hesperos]

Yeah, if she had been aiming to do the job herself, it'd have been wrist to forearm, because that's easier.

[ ... ]

So that's all you found with her?

[heritrix]

No. Besides the room key I passed off to Elda, there was one more thing.

[perpend]

[This is bothering him.]

Does anyone happen to remember what Sigrun's dominant hand was?

[heritrix]

I don't, but... [Rin brings her fist to her mouth.] Does anyone remember what hand she held her knife in last week, when confronting Fern?

[Or rather the bacteria that lived inside Fern, yeah that's still a thing.]

[explosivecombat]

[...Hold on.]

I understand what you're getting at, but Captain Eide had problems with her left arm, didn't she?

[ninehundredlives]

She had a wound that'd gotten infected. It was bothering her the very first week...but it had been getting better.

[explosivecombat]

Well, it's good to note in future that we shouldn't allow you to check anything by yourself, lest you not like the narrative the evidence is presenting. Setting a tone is one thing, but allowing us to form and become attached to theories that in the end may not even matter is just as much a potential problem.

[evilfrenzy]

Honestly, I do believe getting the information on the victim out there right away is important, even if at a glance it seems obvious what may have happened. Chitoge's situation should have served as a good example of that.

[Since that too seemed like it was one thing and ended up being another.]