WEEK 5

[bathymetric]

That's three murders now - and this last trial got more than slightly out of hand. It looks like you might be in for another tough week... or at least, maybe that's just the refusal of this place to change too much. You lose Saturday again, but maybe six-day weeks are starting to feel normal by now. Who knows? The cycle of day and night continues apace, changing so little.

Speaking of change, though, there's a new area to look through, the biggest and most complex yet. And the end of one wing of the facility, from the looks of it - though you can probably guess where more areas might start to open up.

And speaking of opening up (segues!), this week if you're out particularly late, you might sometimes see Angel out and about! So hey, maybe change is on the horizon.

Just gotta hope it's a change for the better, don't you?



SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY

[ ooc: Welcome to Week 5! Remember to turn in AC here, threads for regain coins here, and if you feel so inclined you can visit Angel's office hours over here! Or, if you want Angel to come to you, that's now an option! Simply put a prompt after lights-out into your toplevel and indicate you want Angel in the subject line, same as investigations! ]

Comments

MOTIVE

[bathymetric]

[ In the morning, another Tuesday means another announcement. ]

As usual, please gather in the meeting room.

[ Welcome to the meeting room, everybody! Judging from how Angel is standing off to the side, it’s not an envelope week this week! The screen turns on, minus a couple dead pixels where someone went and scratched it. ]

Good morning, test subjects. I've been thinking, and perhaps the motivation you lack is a willingness to return to the worlds you left behind. You already know I am capable of moving up and down your personal timelines with the machine that brought you here. So my offer is simple.

Surely you all have something you regret doing or… not doing, as the case may be, at some point in your lives. Perhaps something as grand as a life you failed to save, or as simple as… a ride you’d rather not have caught. I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you what choice you most regret in your life, what you might have done differently with the added benefit of hindsight.

Well… I could help you change that choice. Take the road less traveled, send your life in an entirely different direction. Think on it.

[ And the screen cuts out! ]

[nothingcanstop]

[ Della...is very still. She's...angry? Maybe? But she's usually a lot more open with her anger, so that's strange. After a long few moments, she mutters: ]

So, that's how it's gonna be this week, huh?

[ And then, for the first time, Della abruptly stands and leaves the meeting room. ]

[drladysounds]

[Shelley is silent for a moment, staring at her hands, until she mutters:]

...I mean...I don't even know how that choice supposedly was like...

[She still remembers that red envelope from the first motive. Did the Professor mention that in preparation for this motive, she wonders? Was it a two-step plan to tempt her into murder?

Still, she leaves, conflicted]

[bolderfell]

[Is Angel taking this in any particular way, off to the side over there?]

[didntgetdadslooks]

[ Not too much better or worse than other motives - certainly not happy, but not actively super distressed. She seems a little... distracted, maybe? ]

[lovelikeyou]

[......huh.

There's no outburst here. Rose just looks very thoughtful, and a little sad.]

[emberserker]

...ridiculous.

[fivestagegod]

[There's no outburst this time; he's just quiet, and he's clearly thinking about something, and it takes him a while to react.]

Taking a stab at laser-targeting again. Cute.

[So, in summation, fuck that? Fuck that.]

[snackooed]

[ All of a sudden, it feels like there's been a "Kick Me" sign on her back this whole time, just out of reach. ]

How generous...

[ Always with the stick disguised as a carrot, huh? ]

[valentinus]

[ ...Oof. This was RUDE.

He'll take a glance at Angel, though, and then walk off. ]

[hardnosed]

[ Well, it's probably a good thing that this isn't an envelope week! See, an envelope would probably hinder Jasper from concealing the weight she took from the gym until the Professor seems to be finishing up, at which point she lobs it right at the screen with all the might that's still left to her.

Or maybe it wouldn't have. Her hands are kind of huge. ]

[bathymetric]

[ well hot DANG, jasper

the screen, already a little weakened by the drill, gets a big ol' spiderweb crack across it. well done! ]

[hardnosed]

[ YEAH SHE SHOWED THAT WEAKLING SCREEN ]

[bogwife]

[Haha, yeah. She's not opening that envelope.]

Jokes on you, Professor, very few of my regrets are choice-based.

[thieviusraccoonus]

[...Well, there's only really one thing it could be.

He doesn't even open the envelope. Just pockets it.]

Heh. I don't think even a time machine could change my choices.

[archboxer]

The choice that led me down my path was not mine. Time is a sacred thing and you, sir, have no right to it.

[philoxenia]

[ oooh no she does not like this at all

Even if there's the possibility that the Professor couldn't make good on this--it feels like a gutpunch, knocks the wind out of her. Mira stiffens, her hands ball into fists, and she leaves without a word. ]