Sixth Trial

[bathymetric]

[ After a time, as always, your investigation is interrupted by the Mayor's now-familiar voice, calling out to you over the loudspeakers. ]

And that's gonna be time. Pack it in, everyone, bring what you're gonna bring because it's trial time.

[ There are so many bathyspheres missing, you cannot help but notice, as you all pile into the station for your standard trip down to the trial room. Your number has dipped to about a third of its original size - a fact that becomes even more evident when you reach the circle of podiums at the bottom of New Rapture's ocean trench. ]

You all know why you're here. Someone killed Pillage Idiot, and it's your job to figure out who. This is your sixth one, I sure hope you have the procedure down by now.

[ Welcome to your sixth trial. ]

Comments

INJURY CHECK

[honeyedtea]

Let's get this over with, then. We'll do the usual and split ourselves between the men and the women. Do be thorough in your search and be sure to question any irregularities.

[ IT'S NOT A MURDERGAME UNTIL STRIP CHECK I GUESS ]

[honeyedtea]

[ Mielle is clean and injury free, incidentally! ]

[sastruga]

That means keeping an eye out for oddities that aren't injuries, too. And please question everything.

[Mafuyu will let herself get checked as well, of course, with no fuss. But there's no injuries or other oddities here. Ya girl's clean.]

[specialyellthing]

[this is the saddest strip she’s ever done in her life. but she’s injury free.


girl IS still holding onto that gore splattered mace, though. pretty gross.]

[inaclearing]

[Brett has several cuts on both sides of his right hand, but they don't look fresh. He's uncomfortable to have them looked at, not meeting the gaze of whoever's examining him, but he volunteers:]

...Zinda helped me with that last week.

[That aside, he's clean.]

[onemillion]

[Though he'd prefer to avoid the strip search... well, looks like we don't have much of a choice. Rossiu's clean, no cuts or anything noteworthy here.]

[visiblepattern]

Ah... This is going to be a bit of a production if we have to strip all the way down...?

[Who is checking him, is it Brett, it's usually Brett. Could also be Rossiu or Gaius right now I suppose!

...Do you want the whole production.]

does this count as cw: internalized misogyny??? LET'S BE SAFE

[honeyedtea]

[ flatly: ] I don't care.

If I can submit myself to the embarrassment of stripping myself down like a common harlot to clear my name then you can certainly do the same.

[inaclearing]

Yeah, better go ahead.

[don't fuckin do this to me]

[visiblepattern]

[He's not fucking doing anything! He's just. He's got the usual dress, and then the usual...corsetry under the dress??? Because Cipher felt the need to verify that this boy is a lady in all ways that count, I guess.]

You might have to help me unlace it if we don't want to be here all day.

[You gonna do that, Brett?]

[inaclearing]

Uh...okay.

[YOU KNOW WHO I MEAN and also yes, Brett will attempt to help with this. It's sort of awkward? He's getting a brand new appreciation of what Forrest must go through getting dressed like, every single day.]

[visiblepattern]

[He's managed to get it pretty tight down the left side, too, so have fun undoing that.

It looks a little uneven, though? Like it's really tight down the left, as stated, but the right seems to be tightened down less wholeheartedly.

That's probably nothing. Hardly noticeable!]

[inaclearing]

[Uh.....well, he's gonna be undoing both sides regardless, so?]

[visiblepattern]

[Yeah, the right side is going to be coming undone a lot easier the further you go. Like he just didn't do it very well?]

[inaclearing]

[The thing about Brett: he has a habit of believing what he wants to believe about people. Of not seeing, or not speaking. There's a world of other peoples' confidences he's never shared with anyone else. He will keep secrets.

Then again, he gave a friend the benefit of the doubt last week. Look how that ended.

...he doesn't have a lot of friends left.

What he says, ultimately, could be seen as more of a light-hearted question, though the tone doesn't quite carry.]

Do you have trouble doing all this up every day?

[visiblepattern]

Oh, ah... Not really? It's one of those things that you get used to as time goes on.

Why, does it seem weird to you?

[inaclearing]

It's just a lot.

[........fuck, no, he can't -]

And this one side's kinda uneven.

[specialyellthing]

Will you two hurry it up?

[visiblepattern]

Oh...

[He blinks a little at that? Turns a bit to look at Brett.]

Um... O-Okay. What are you saying?

[inaclearing]

...I don't know.

[He doesn't, really? It's a thing, but is he actually going to make some kind of accusation based on nothing more than an unevenly laced corset? He just...he has a bad feeling. He told himself, after last week, not to just let little things go like that anymore - for the group's sake if nothing else, he let Jobu play him like a fiddle and no one else should have to suffer for his own stupidity -

Let's just get this off. If it's for some kind of reason, surely that'd be more clear with an actual injury check?]

[visiblepattern]

[Well, if it's a matter of taking it off, it's the sort that comes up over-the-shoulder, lacing down the back; once it's loose enough to do it he can undo the clips at the front and slide it off toward the back, and while he doesn't wince the motion of his right shoulder rolling back is incredibly tense. Like it's been overworked recently.

There are also a few small red marks where the eyelets of the corset lacing used to be on the right side. Like they were pressed hard into his back at some point.]]

[inaclearing]

...that thing was tight, you've got some marks here. Are you...okay...?

[The way he's phrasing it is still...somewhat at odds with his tone.]

[howveryglib]

[...aw fuck he doesn't like where this is going. he's just. going to grip his podium anxiously...]

[capreelcious]

[ Floyd is clean and injury free! ]

[howveryglib]

[Yeah, hang on, he knows it's best to wear something loose and less difficult to take off on Fridays...

He's clean.]