TRIAL IV

Trial

Another Saturday, but this Saturday is your last Saturday. If everything holds, if everything works out. After all you've been through, are you capable of being an optimist? The carnival calls regardless, furniture arranged around as they always are with banquet table and pit in the middle.

This week's new offerings are: a fluffy loaf of a certain type of rye bread, a hearty beef stew and an assortment of fresh pies with candied fruit and cream.

For the last time, find out who killed two of your own: G'raha Tia and Sariel.

(( OOC: Welcome to your first trial! You'll have 7 hours (until 8 PM EDT/5 PM PDT) to vote one (1) person guilty of murder. As this is scapegoat style, a correct vote is not necessary. Please remember to vote unless otherwise discussed with the mods, as that is our AC for this game ))

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[ for someone who's been sleeping for so long, norna stands in mere moments with grace. she looks at ish first, recognition in her eyes and a shadow of a smile. she tucks a strand of hair behind her ears as she looks at everyone else ]

Oooh, who are all of you? Are you friends of my little snake?

[ she doesn't wait for an answer despite asking the question, as she turns to ish, a golden glow in her hands. again he opens his mouth, but no sound escapes him. the moment thereafter there's a POP! and suddenly ish is a very unassuming black and purple snake, wrapped around her palm. ]

Actually, I think me and him need to catch up first! Do you mind waiting here? Or....oh, I know!

[ the carnival fades away, not to the ballroom but the grassy field of the execution grounds. ]

You can wait here for a little while. I'll be with you soon, okay?

[ she starts to fade away into nothingness, but then solidifies again. ]

...I see he's been very naughty, so allow me to grant you a kindness you were seeking. The culprit was...Junior? Yes, yes, it was Junior from what this world has told me.

I'll see you in a bit! Oh, and behave yourself, okay? I don't want to see anymore bloodshed or violence. [ her smile is sweet, but there's a note of hardness there.

and with that, she's gone. ]

[ Of course. Of fucking course.

Nobody had the guts to say it because they're in the utterly privileged position of thinking of childhood as something innocent. They're all so... So...

So much brighter than himself.

An unbearable sun exposing him for what he's been turned into so long ago. ]

[ And he hates them. He hates every single one of them.

Unlike that time in the photography room, he won't call for his Captain now. Full Frontal is gone, and Angelo is left in a world that will forever and always be worthy of punishment. But it won't burn. The igniter is gone.

There is only him, and he should learn to fly, like his mother did long before him.

Flying is what befits an angel, even one falling as low as himself.

But there is nothing to fly from. So he just fixes everyone around himself with a look of pure genuine hatred. ]

How's that for your truth? For your beautiful world that you'll protect with all your might?! You let this happen. All of it. All of it happened under your watch, and you were powerless to stop any of it!!

[ The child has killed people and Angelo isn't surprised, but surely others are. Surely someone will finally break!! ]

[ But no matter. It's none of Angelo's business what these people feel.

The pistol that has been on his person the whole time is finally back in his hand, raised now. ]

I'll shoot anyone who comes in too close.

[ It's not yelled, which makes it seem oddly calm for Angelo, but there's a crack in his voice that sounds utterly broken apart. ]

[Urianger doesn't say anything, nor does he move from his place. It's hard to say what he might be thinking or feeling about all of this as his eyes are obscured by his goggles.

Angelo is right, so what else is there to say? What consolation would it be to tell him he didn't vote for him? None, because he didn't vote for Junior either.

This was a failure, and Urianger can only pray that G'raha can forgive him.]

[Sousuke might not be good at picking up people's emotions even at the best of times, but he's seen plenty of people driven to desperation. The moment the gun comes out, his immediate instinct is to pull out his own pistol, but he stops himself halfway. There's no visible sign of tension in his body, with his face as composed as always.]

Lieutenant. What are you planning to do?

[He doesn't move towards Angelo, only speaking from where he's standing.]

[ Sousuke will be able to tell, quite easily, that Angelo's hand is shaking. The pistol is shaking with it, unfocused and not locked at any one target.

Though his mind is a haze, he can tell that Sousuke is assessing him as a threat to be subdued. And Sousuke attempting that is about the last thing he currently wants. ]

... nothing, if you stay away from me.

Edited 2025-04-06 01:07 (UTC)

Understood.

[He takes one step backwards, even.]

But I can't turn my back to you while you still have that in your hand. Could you please holster your pistol?

[ Angelo won't be able to shoot accurately like this, he knows. His hands are shaking so hard he might as well be dropping his weapon any moment now. But he needs to... He wants to... The steel in his hands makes him feel like he has a measure of control left, even if it is just an illusion. ]

......

[ So there's a long moment of standoff, and the shaking continues with no sign of improvement. At least there's one thing to be said for Angelo - his trigger discipline is decent, to not accidentally fire like this.

And then he does lower his weapon. ]

[Sousuke forces himself to remain calm during the whole standoff, although the part of him that he'd been listening to for years and years was telling him that this was a mistake, that he'd only get a bullet in his brain for the trouble, that he should've drawn his own gun. But Angelo, being the powder keg that he is, makes it necessary to shove that instinct down, even if it goes against what he's learned. He doesn't doubt that the other man would fire, even if his aim isn't as steady as it could be.

Negotiation through words and not threats has never been his strong suit, but he internally breathes out a sigh of relief as the gun is lowered. It's not ideal, but at least it's not actively threatening. He turns about 90 degrees so it's almost like he's about to leave.]

You voluntarily offered up important information, even though it singled you out. That isn't something everyone would do.

[They give him a meaningful look - one of weary recognition. This kind of despair is very familiar, being the scapegoat is very familiar.

They have no words to offer, no empty sentiments or idealistic preaching. This is all meaningless. And if they tell themselves that, perhaps they can feel it again. That singular purpose. DETERMINATION at all costs.

They feel too human. It's sickening.]

[ Chara is the only person the mouth of his pistol never points at. ]

[In a rare showing, Brad's teeth look a little too sharp and his grin a little too menacing.]

Yep, that's how it goes. The bad guy always goes down. Though sometimes you can look like a bad guy and get the bad rap for something you didn't do.

[He's not getting closer, but he does look pretty relaxed where he is.]

[ Angelo is also not targeting Bradley in particular, even after this statement. If anything, the sharp edge in that expression puts him the tiniest bit at ease. ]

Aren't you oh-so-fortunate that I am less palatable than you are?

[ Not that there's going to be an execution either way, but any other week there could have been. ]