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

[capyper]

Uh... This might sound kinda dumb, but was the towel damp? Because it was mentioned there was a handprint in the water earlier, right...?

[isafraid]

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

[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.

[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]

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

[amygdalae]

I'm not sure. But if we want to account for the towel, we have to see every possibility.

[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?]

[amygdalae]

Perhaps. We need to have a clearer picture of exactly what transpired.

[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.

[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.

[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. ]

[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?

[penduli]

Well, if the water was there before, whoever it was could've slipped on it, couldn't they?

[prismbloom]

It was mentioned that Pearl was likely knocked off her feet. Maybe it is her hand print.

[lackinginfaith]

Too strange how? They fell, got wet, left a print, and got up. Then whatever else happened happened.

[capyper]

I mean, it's weird at all that the person felt like they needed to wipe up water — and I think given that it was damp but not shiny with gem dust, it was probably used to wipe up water, yeah? Like I said, water shouldn't be damning evidence, it's not like blood or anything.

[amygdalae]

[.......hmmmmm.]

Pearl's 'body', as it is, is supposedly just a hologram projection of a sort, yes? In that case, how would substances like water and such react to her?

[wokeupdead]

It wasn't like she couldn't touch things, right? She was solid.

[god they are going to get stuck on alien biology again.]

[prismbloom]

As solid as any of us, it's true.

[amygdalae]

She was from what I had seen, but...

[Hell, he doesn't have a clue either. It's just a thought that occurred to him.]