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

[blazeit]

Hibiki, what the fuck.

[ ... Now that he's gotten that out of the way. ]

So I guess the other thing I'm wondering about is how related all the messages are. "You lose" and Hibiki's messages... kind of match up?

[perpend]

...Foooorgive me for sounding like an old man, but is "you lose" something that's said in video games?

[blazeit]

I'm not really a gaming expert, but yeah, I've seen it in some video games before. Kinda reminds me of the stuff that pops up at the end of a round in a PVP fighting games.

[ ... ]

That's player vs. player.

[perpend]

So we have a D-Pad and "you lose", both of which have to do with video games.

What exactly was the state of the gaming room, again?

[sunsong]

The only thing out of the ordinary was the defaced Go table.

[ THERE WAS ONE CLUE, AND BY GOD SHE FOUND IT ]

[perpend]

Hmm.

I wonder how it connects?

[sunsong]

My first thought was "someone needs serious help, and also religion".

[ which means she doesn't know yet. ]

I assume it was meant to taunt all of us...unless it was done before the murders.

[zomgboom]

Haven't you, like, ever played one? That basically comes up every time you, like, lose.

[perpend]

[Tabby, he's 41.]

Can't say I have, really.

[zomgboom]

[She comes from a world where a sentient Tamagotchi exists. Forgive her for assuming you're normal.]

We need to, like, get you to a Pac-Man machine or something. Seriously.

[perpend]

....Maybe we can petition the Conductor for one.

[That's probably a joke, though.]

[sunsong]

Our petitions from that one week never came to anythin', did they?

[perpend]

They didn't, no.

....Come to think of it, the only one that actually worked was the chickens, wasn't it?

[sunsong]

As far as I know. But then, rule 11 only says they'll be considered, not that they'll be granted.