robowest | [ WEEK FIVE

TRIAL

In the morning, the town comes back to life. Birds crow overhead, a snake nearby hisses, a lingering coyote dips behind a shop before disappearing into the wild. It's a frightening contrast to the stillness of yesterday but it doesn't mean it's over yet. After all, today is the trial.

The Sheriff stands on the porch of the Town Hall and brings his hand up to his mouth to let out a whistle. He'll thumb back to the Hall behind him and very clearly state --

"Trial time, folks. Get in here and figure out who did it."

And then he'll turn to leave before pausing and adding on,

"Bring a snack or somethin' too.

The Town Hall is set up more like a court house, a Judge's bench at the front but instead of at center, it's off to the side as if more for observation than participation. There's a table at the front of the room already holding a small box and a pad of papers and pen, for voting apparently. A side room containing only a metal gurney is next and today it's obvious why there's a gurney there at all with the corpse, resting right on top of it. Aside from that, there are rows for everyone to take a seat and it's only after everyone is inside and settled, that the doors close and the Sheriff speaks.

"Well, have at it. You've got till nine."

And then, he points to a clock on the wall that reads 12:00. Good luck.

Welcome to the trial post! Characters are free to discuss everything related to the trial here. They won't be let out of the room until 9PM when voting ends. Every character must vote and the voting post can be found here.

If there are any questions, please shoot a message to this journal or to

robowest.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[uuuuugh]

I had this feeling, when the Sheriff confirmed that there were independent kills these past few weeks.

Someone is murdering for merit, and they've gotten away with it so far.

I guess if nothing else... we know that much for sure. Not sure there's any way we can narrow that down, but it could give us a push later or something.

It doesn't help us narrow things down, because no one is likely to admit that they've killed multiple times outside of a role just for the reward.

. . . but it is something to keep in mind. The information may prove useful at a later date.

Yeah. I didn't think it would help us much right now, but we don't know if it'll matter in the future. Better to have the information out there than not.

Of course.

[she. heaves a sigh, then winces, because her wounds still hurt. but you know]

...Don't push yourself too hard.

[he sees that wince, okay!]

[gives him a small smile]

Of course.

I'll be okay, thank you.

[he'll give her a weak smile and a nod in turn. he's not sure she'll actually listen, but it's fine.]

[SHE WON'T]

[I MEAN]

[THIS IS THE WOMAN WHO FOUGHT COYOTES WITH BROKEN RIBS SO]

[ he'll talk to milla in a slightly less assholey fashion because he doesn't hate her as much as the others... ]

Perhaps you should look for something in common between the killings over these past weeks.

[MILLA FEELS. . . SO SPECIAL??? actually she kind of likes Ash so rip her]

The frequent dismemberment is one thing they all have in common, but the Sheriff confirmed that Riku's killer was not the same as Lust's killer.

He said that they weren't connected, just that the killers did it because they wanted to or whatever.

It'd be much easier if they were related and committed by the same killer, so we could focus on someone who dismembers their victims after killing them.

[but of course, that's too easy]

[ ♥ ]

That's not what I meant. Provided they're not an idiot, the killer would change their methods to cover their tracks. However, it would be more difficult to pick victims entirely at random... and the Sheriff has already stated that the motivation for one murder was vengeance.

[hm]

So our victims throughout the past few weeks were Manfred, Annabeth, Nui, Riku, Lust, Simon, Chane, Elizabeth, Ana and Russell.

We know Manfred was killed by Ezio, and we know that Russell was killed by someone seeking vengeance for Percy. Is there anything about the remaining list that stands out to you, Ash?

[ he's crunching some numbers in his head, but he wasn't built for this kind of problem-solving... ]

Ezio killed Manfred because he thought it was the right thing to do. Likewise, Russell was killed to get revenge over an unjust killing. And we can probably include Nui in this group, as well. I think it's safe to assume that at least one of the murderers is killing because they feel it's the right thing to do.

Of course. A way to justify their killing to ease their conscious. If they're being forced to take a life, it might as well be one tainted with sin.

And who do you know who would kill if they felt it was righteous? I can think of several people. Barnham, for one.

[mistake #6753543, but:]

No.

[ ugh noct leave him alone!!! ]

Why not? Because you like him? If you can't separate your pathetic emotions from reality, then you should keep your mouth shut.

[not when you're going to try to incriminate barnham for this particular crime????]

It's not about that. If it turns out he's lying, I'm not going to defend it, but... I saw how took Russell's death. That's not how someone who'd kill for justice in that situation reacts.

[he was broken up.] You seem to want to accuse him at every chance you get, anyway. This isn't the first time.

(no subject)

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[no not her post-trial drinking buddy???]

Barnham may kill if he were a Bandit-- [SORRY BARNHAMMERSTEIN. . .] -- but I doubt he's our repeat killer. The one who keeps taking lives, week after week.

[it's cool, it's cool]

And why is that?

[ ash clearly thinks he could do it...... ]

Because he wishes to end this game, not perpetuate the senseless slaughter.

Whoever is killing multiple times in a row outside of the Bandit role is doing it for merit. It must be someone who doesn't feel guilty for staining their hands with blood.

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