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

[sunsong]

We're waitin' on the handwriting checks, right?

[ SHE REFUSES TO STAND IN ABSOLUTE SILENCE WHILE WAITING ON THOSE... ]

...It's not like any of us have forgotten why we're here.

[icysemblance]

It certainly seems like some of us have. It's not my business what everyone else's love lives were like, and unless it's relevant, it needs to stop.

[sunsong]

We've always made small talk at these things. I can't - sometimes we need to have somethin' to keep sane, okay? I know it's not how you do it, but it fuckin' helps me.

[blazeit]

I know what you mean... [ Bakugou's usually fucking around with her during these trials, after all. ]

But it's just... [ and then he makes a mildly disturbed expression... ] really fucking weird... when it's people having emotions at other people... that you didn't need to know that much about!!

[clearasmud]

[ ...are you for real, child ]

[sunsong]

...Yeah, honestly, I'm fine not hearin' more about Logan and Youko, I was just kinda thrown for a loop.

[ But talking shit about Dio made her feel a little bit better, for example. AT LEAST IT'S SOMETHING TO FOCUS ON WHILE MORE EVIDENCE COMES FORWARD. ]

Totally behind you on buryin' that particular subject - just not on board to just...I need to keep talkin' sometimes to keep on track, even if I'm talkin' about something else. You know.

[clearasmud]

[ grumbled: ]

There's nothing to hear about.