Take Responsibility.

[antitrust]

And when the door at the bottom of those stairs unlocks and it swings open gently of its own accord, allowing everyone back down into the courtroom, there are decidedly fewer of them than there were just a few days ago. The change in the podium circle is massive this time; Dio, Logan, Marty, Yuuri, Hibiki and Mordecai have all joined the ranks of the deceased, their podiums adorned with black cloth and greyscale photographs. Furthermore, the mass of shadows in the pit at the center seems agitated again, shifting and breaching upward toward the glass if one looks at it long enough. It's been something of a bad week, to put it gently. Not that it's evident from the Conductor's behavior; as usual, the proceedings are being watched from behind that panel of translucent glass behind podium 30, and he'll speak as soon as everyone has found their place in the circle. His words are a bit more rapid than usual; he seems interested in this one. "Temporal, Lucent, Vivacious and Universal...all four of them have been taken from you. Does whomever is responsible for this really deserve your compassion? There can be no hesitation; you should offer no mercy. It's you against the guilty. Take control of your fate, and hold them responsible." Thirteen Participants remain. You've lost five people this week, and eight since the last investigation; we'll see how many more you lose today.

Comments

[clearasmud]

Hey... Everyone. I have something really important to say. So please listen, okay?

[ Despite having added Logan's school shirt as some horribly ill-conceived haori to her Logan's clothing ensemble, Youko herself looks... okay.

Better than okay, actually. It's different from the eery, nigh-impenetrable calm she'd spent most of last week stuck in. This Youko seems... grounded. There's a light in her eyes that's been missing this whole time.

It's good kind of light.

For once, Youko looks completely human. ]

The person who did this, did so out of spite. Four murders, no added incentive... unless they cut a secret deal with the Conductor, I think we can regard "spite" as a fact. Why else would they go after Mordecai, the man who swore he could bring everyone back? Even if he was a witness, they could have knocked him out.

So. Spite.

[ Youko pauses, mulling over her next words. She'd put some thought into... this, whatever this was beforehand, but some things she hadn't found the way to express. ]

...They wanted to hurt us, in the worst way they could.

And that's why I think we shouldn't let them.

I'm sorry, that probably sounds completely awful, right? Not mourn the lost? Push a button and stop ourselves from feeling things? But that's not what I'm suggesting. I'm saying, if we want to honour our friends - we've got to push on. We can't let this kill us inside the way they want it to. We can't, because then the dead will stay dead! If we give up before our last, dying breath - how are we going to beat this?! And we are going to beat this!!! Because that's the only way we can get them back!!! And I don't know about you, but I WANT THEM BACK!

[ SLAMMING HER HANDS DOWN ON THE PODIUM, WE ARE NOW ACE ATTORNEY ]

So this is it! The way forward! Winning! This is how we'll see them again! So if you want to see them again, don't give up! This is our only choice!

[ ... ]

................Oh yeah, and I thought of how we could do that. [ YOUKO ] I'll tell you all at the after-gathering, alright?

So let's do this.

[rickdiculous]

[he's not saying anything but that was super-gay tbh]

[clearasmud]

[ hey

that sounds good to her ]

[blazeit]

[ god damn mom you're so embarrassing

BUT... ]

... Yeah, I'm with you. Let's do this.

[clearasmud]

[ you know you love her, steakson ]

[blazeit]

[ ugh mom don't walk so close to me when we go out in public just gimme my allowance and go buy some mom stuff elsewhere ]

[icysemblance]

[...Weiss honestly thought everyone else was bitter or broken down. That speech helps, though, and she nods.]

For everyone.

[clearasmud]

For everyone.

[ she broke so hard she was reborn anew

and if she has her way, she'll show you all how too. ]

[perpend]

[A touch over the top, maybe, but...]

We'll do it. For everyone.

[clearasmud]

That's right!

...And I have something for you after the trial? I'm sorry for not thinking of giving it to you earlier.

[ stay determined. ]

[perpend]

It's nooo problem at all, Youko. We'll get through this.

[withabigsmile]

[Good pep talk, Youko. She's not sure how much she buys into it at the moment, but it's still a good one nonetheless.]

[clearasmud]

[ she believes her own words, but... well. she still understands.

so thanks, blue. ]

[openterrain]

[ Jean had, admittedly, looked pretty worn out upon first entering the courtroom. After Youko's speech, however, he can't help but feel... a little refreshed, honestly. ]

We got all the others, right? We can do it again.

[clearasmud]

[ AND AS FOR YOU-

you get to be the first recipient of the hope recipe she wants to try out, after this. ]

Yeah.

[ninehundredlives]

[..........

that sure was a speech that happened]

[clearasmud]

[ you'd better believe it




good god what has the world come to ]

[oftheland]

...well, I'm game. Let's get this mess over with and see what happens next, then.

[clearasmud]

[ CONFIDENT NOD. ]

[sunsong]

...Yeah. I said it to some of the guys who aren't here any longer, but - there has to be a way to save them, if he's given us incentives like that. So, instead of taking him up on that offer...I want to figure it out by ourselves, without anyone killing anyone else.

[ ...EXCEPT WHOEVER KILLED THESE FOUR, SHE GUESSES. ]