Take Responsibility.

[kingmakereffect]

And after a given amount of time, those elevator doors at the end of the first-floor corridor open up; as it was last week, the ride down is smooth and quick-moving, even if there are less of you this week. (Technically, you're only down by one in the elevator; Bruce has ensured that Pearl is with you in some way, albeit unconventionally and by the grace of Ziploc.) However, when the doors open up to the podium circle standing in the middle of that black void of a courtroom, there's no mistaking the fact that there are fewer people present than there were last week – Kamui and Pearl have joined those with podiums draped in black, their framed profile portraits watching the proceedings in shades of grey. It's still impossible to tell exactly where the Kingmaker is watching the proceedings from, though it's obvious that he is; he'll wait until everyone is settled before he speaks, his voice coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once. "Devoted has been taken from you. All of you know what the stakes are now, but this happened anyway – looks like someone's determined. Whether they succeed or not is up to you." Twenty-four Survivors remain. We'll see how many are still standing by the end of the day.

Comments

[garudynamic]

[His lips are a little tight- but now isn't the time for that]

True. We just don't know enough about how she works... worked. Maybe the killer lured her there instead?

[isafraid]

It might be safer then anything to assume it was just being used to wipe up an unrelated mess.

[amygdalae]

[Sigrun.]

No, I don't think that'll be necessary, Captain Eide.

[captainobnoxious]

I'm made of tougher stuff, Black, don't worry so much! And if you're really concerned, a good sniff could do the same thing.

[isafraid]

[captain please]

[captainobnoxious]

[WHY ARE YOU ALL AGAINST THIS JUST LET IT HAPPEN]

I guess is this why you guys are the detectives and I'm not.

[captainobnoxious]

If you're sure. I'm always here to help.

[captainobnoxious]

[JUST LET IT HAPPEN!!!]

[prismbloom]

The towel was damp, yes, but there are no stains to speak of--so it's likely it was used to wipe up the water.

[amygdalae]

I'm sure all of us are aware of that by now.

[Even without the licking.]

[lackinginfaith]

She might've been washing something else. We were all using that laundry room.

[capyper]

The only way that could be the case is if somebody were doing their laundry earlier in the night, right...? I don't think we can just throw it out like that.

[isafraid]

[oh captain, my captain...]

[notjustawriter]

Something she got from the vending machine, maybe?

[amygdalae]

In that case, is there the possibility that Pearl herself was the one using it when the incident happened?

[There was the dust in the room after all. Not a lot, but some.]

[capyper]

... This is gonna sound even dumber, but maybe the handprint and the towel are related? I mean, like I said, isn't it really weird that you could see a noticeable water handprint? I'm not a water god, but like. Water doesn't do that naturally.

[garudynamic]

True... plus, the laundry room would kinda be the best place to use a weapon like a hammer. It'd be- [gulp] a mess. You should rinse everything off faster in there.

If they didn't expect Pearl to turn into a rock, they might have panicked and thought up the stair cover up on the fly and forgot the blood.

[penduli]

[ Food, clothing... drink. ]

I wonder why... Ah, is that stuff any good? [ Motioning to her drink! ] I got some too, but I haven't tried it yet. I think it's pretty neat there's a marble in the bottle though.

[capyper]

What would she have been using it for, laundry...?

[prismbloom]

Possibly, then, whoever handled the towel didn't wipe their hands dry after using it--and somehow, the water from their hand got onto the floor? It's... strange, but not impossible.

[ This is so frustrating. ]

[lackinginfaith]

It's nice. Got to be careful of course, but.

[isafraid]

That's what I've been starting to assume. If we start the night's events from there, then maybe everything else will fall into place behind it.

[Because why else would a towel be damp?]

[garudynamic]

Not that I saw.

[notjustawriter]

It's not addin' up.

There's gotta be something we're missing.

[captainobnoxious]

It's probably more likely they were getting up from the ground. That's a little too strange, don'tcha think?