Take Responsibility.

[trustbound]

This particular investigation was likely a difficult one, for various reasons; whether through frustration or sheer disgust at the level of depravity involved, it's been a long day already. It doesn't seem like it will get any easier by the time the door to the courtroom unlocks, gently swinging open to allow everyone downstairs. As always, the stairwell is dark, but the courtroom is already lit up down below, a thin amount of light bouncing up the corridor to guide everyone downstairs; the podium circle stands stark and silent in the center, marking spots for both the living and the dead; by now, the latter far outnumber the former. Kirei, Milla, Angel, and Susan have all had their spots altered, their podiums draped in black cloth and their portraits set atop them; they'll be joining those watching all of you in greyscale as you work today. Do you think you'll do them justice? Either way and as always, the thirty-sixth podium remains empty and unadorned. Once everyone has found their place in the circle, Jericho can be heard over the public-address system; he doesn't seem to have settled any from the investigation. "Peerless, Edifying, and Adroit have all been taken from you - and hey, it looks like you found all of them, we appreciate that. But even if you hadn't, you'd still be down here, and I'm sure I don't need to tell you what you have to do as a result of everything that's happened. This is another one of those things that's either gonna be great or it's going to be terrible, though maybe I'll add in a third option of 'interesting' this time, just due to the setup. As always, you know what's going on here - the innocent versus the guilty. Seventh time lucky, maybe. As always, do your best!" Thirteen Participants remain. We'll see how many leave here at the end of the day.

Comments

[matchbreaker]

There might be some others too, not everyone made public notes for invitations. But we're conspicuous by our absence given my own were recent and Aligula's are numerous.

[bloodbiter]

That seems... A simple mistake to avoid. Do you think someone was trying to point our suspicions in your direction?

[matchbreaker]

If they wanted to implicate me, they chose the third victim poorly.

[ she says this darkly, and then kicks Fern's podium again for good measure. ]

None of these would have been my first choice.

[bloodbiter]

Perhaps not, but the idea here is that were anyone to succeed, the rest of us other than the person they chose to leave with would die regardless.

[matchbreaker]

You're missing my point. Even that being the case, ... Susan in that regard isn't bad, but I'd've killed someone whose been more helpful in solving these cases than Angel or Milla.

[bloodbiter]

Well, that also depends on who happened to be out, or who could be persuaded to come out.

[She shakes her head.]

I don't think it was you. Leaving out your own notes seems like more of a large mistake than you would make.

[matchbreaker]

[ The person she had in mind...

Well, no, that's about the end of it. If she even could do it isn't on trial, especially if Adelina doesn't question it. ]

[bloodbiter]

[A tilt of her head.]

Was there something more you wanted to say?

[matchbreaker]

Nothing pertinent to this case.

[ After all, we deal in realities, not could have beens. ]

[bloodbiter]

[She just gives a nod to that.]