SECOND TRIAL

[bathymetric]

Time's up, boys and girls. Please gather up your evidence and make your way to the vault door.

[ The process of heading to the elevator and crowding in remains the same as last week - Angel leads you all to the elevator car, then stays behind as you make your slow descent to the dome below. You might not even notice if you aren't paying attention, but... the cart is already less crowded than it was last week. You certainly won't be able to avoid noticing it if your numbers dwindle too much further than this.

When the doors open on the trial room, it's just as bleak a place as last week. ]

Take your places, won't you? And this time, you all know what's at stake. No more... funny business.

[The number of podiums displaying that red light is higher now - Damien, Lif, and Piers are all represented by blank spots now, no tasteful covers or anything normal to mark their passing, just a red glow and a gap in your number.

Cheery!

The screens raise up to the ceiling to give you all room to see, and the Professor's final words before the trial begins ring out: ]

Find the killer, leave alive. And killer? Try a little harder to stop them from doing that than the last one in your shoes. Call out for me if you require anything.

[ Welcome to your second trial. ]

Comments

[ladygeryon]

Damnit! All because of a fucking-a fucking accident! At the exact wrong moment! [Nira bangs a fist against her podium, frustrated tears brimming in her eyes.]

[fivestagegod]

Not so willing to be cutthroat when it's someone you find sympathetic, are you.

[like, don't think he missed your little exchange with obstagoon earlier, completely negating all the insisting "pokémon would never hurt anyone."]

[blackmass]

[you know what never mind this is the best trial yet]

[ladygeryon]

[Hey, she said they'd never attack to kill.]

You shut the fuck up, Mr. Birkin.

[emberserker]

As much as I hate to defend the man, he's got a point. It's the innocent versus the guilty in this deathtrap, accident or not.

[lovelikeyou]

We all know what's going to happen. That doesn't mean Nira can't be upset.

[It's not as though she's going to risk the rest of their lives over it, so why does it matter if she cries?]

[fivestagegod]

Oh, I'm not saying she can't be upset. She can be upset all she likes. I'm saying she shouldn't be offering to let an animal rip into someone in revenge if she's going to just stand there and cry when she finds out it's someone she finds likeable.

[ladygeryon]

I'm not crying. [And it's true. She's pissed off and growling, but not actually crying right now.]

[fivestagegod]

[Not actually. Just tearing up. Close enough.]

So would you be this mad if it was someone you didn't like who'd done it? Or would you be pointing your stick and yelling like you always do when you don't get what you want out of something?

This little game isn't going to be fair, and it's not going to be nice. You can think what you want, but I have seen more than enough blood in my lifetime to know that. Get used to dealing with unpleasant things now.

[nothingcanstop]

[ From the other side, just quietly: ] I'm not saying you don't have a point, but can you guys do this some other time? Please?

[ladygeryon]

You think I haven't dealt with unpleasantness because I haven't deadened my emotions? I've seen the worst of gods and humanity, and handled them just fine. I haven't succumbed to hopelessness here, and I don't plan to, ever.

[fivestagegod]

That actually isn't what I said, and if you think my emotions are dead, you really do not understand anything.

[ladygeryon]

And I never claimed your emotions were dead. I'm simply not going to make myself small and quiet like they wanted me to be ever again.

[fivestagegod]

Oh my god, take your issues somewhere else, now isn't the damn time.

[lovelikeyou]

When did she do that?

[All she did was ask if Obstagoon wanted to come back out when the killer was found. Maybe she's just being naive, but Rose didn't get a super murder vibe off of that.]

[fivestagegod]

[Not super-murder. But you don't need to murder to fuck someone up.]

There are reasons you volunteer to let massive animals out the second they know who killed their master, Rose.

[drladysounds]

He's not wrong, that spells revenge so badly.

[Not that she doesn't understand where Nira is coming from, but still...as a pacifist, Shelley disapproves]

Besides, whether we want it or not, we'd have to vote for the culprit anyway. We don't have to make the poor badger tear anyone apart!

[hardnosed]

Ugh, stop arguing about something that didn't happen and call the vote. It's over.

[lovelikeyou]

Please.

[yeesh, two for two on agreeing with jasper this trial, but why does this have to happen right now?]

[lovelikeyou]

He's not an animal. If he wanted to see who killed his friend, I could have understood that. But he didn't even want to look at them...I can understand that, too.

[We all just watched Nira have a pretty intelligent conversation with Obstagoon, as far as Rose is concerned he's basically a person now.]

It's not worth arguing about. Alice's... [Her last moments] ...it shouldn't be like this.

[emberserker]

Ugh, fine.

[fivestagegod]

[Oh, yes, you were just going to let him punch her or something and not rip her to shreds. Bullshit, Nira.]

No need to be vulgar. What will the children think?

[ladygeryon]

[I mean yes? She had his Pokeball, she would have recalled him before he did lethal damage.]

I think anyone who's already seen so much blood can handle a little damn cussing.

[fivestagegod]

However much blood I have or haven't seen isn't the point. I didn't swear at you, after all. I'm terribly sorry that you can't handle your own hypocrisy, though, I'll try not to bring it up again.