Castle W Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
whimsicalism) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
castle_whims2022-09-03 12:00 pm
whimsicalism) wrote in castle_whims2022-09-03 12:00 pm
SECOND TRIAL
SECOND TRIAL
THE CONTAINMENT CENTER
Once all of the relevant rooms have been searched, it's time to dry tears and gather up evidence. The sheep, whirring dully and many of them hanging their heads, gradually round the remaining children up and begin herding them to the elevator doors. Even with only two extra people missing, it's much roomier inside once the doors are closed. Once everyone is loaded, the car begins its shrieking descent, lights and sounds grating equally as the students are once more shuttled down to the containment area.
Some of the cells on the way down contain familiar charges, but other denizens seem to have been moved. Or perhaps the layout of the containment area changed recently? Today, a large cell is home not only to an elderly woman but her large rickety home. She sits on her porch with a certain grace, even if there's a glint in her eye that feels more malicious than kindly as she beckons at you with a gnarled finger. The sudden scrambling of her home's talons might startle the unprepared. Another cell contains nothing more than a constantly roaring fire, the blaze stretched wall to wall and pulsing rhythmically at its core every so often, as it if it had its own beating heart.
For anyone worried the clown wouldn't be returning: Have no fear! The gang's friend is here again, though there are two fewer intact balloons now gripped in his hand. He's even taken efforts to look beautiful for everyone observing through the cell doors, and the red makeup around his lips is bright and freshly applied. Beautiful! Until he draws the flat of his knife across his mouth, and the source becomes obvious, just as bright as it was a week ago.
In the courtroom--the depressing, angular nightmare that passes for one--the stone podiums stand waiting for their respective students once more. With a couple more empty than the last time the group was down here, they're looking more and more like gravestones.
The desk is still down here, albeit empty this time. But the projector screen is exactly the same, the ram's head looking out at the sick entertainment on offer. For someone who's turned all of this into his own person theater, one would think he'd sound delighted by the death and destruction. Instead, his strong voice is just as clipped and angry as it always is. He barks out a command.
"Time to actually use those minds of yours! I guess this witch hunt is about to begin. Find out what happened to Thomasin or it'll be your necks on the line!"
OOC NOTES
Welcome to your second trial for Round 2! As we know that trials and any afterparties can get busy, we'd like to quickly remind everyone to make sure their Week 1 AC is squared away by tomorrow's weekly post and to start collecting their Week 2 threads to submit. Make sure to get your regains in by tomorrow night as well!
As a clarification for what evidence can be brought in, a rule of thumb is that if you can carry it you probably can bring it. We mainly want to discourage corpse desecration, if we can, so while the body itself isn't allowed into the trial most things are. If your character has access to a piece of evidence and you don't know if you can bring it in, you can either ask the mods privately if that's possible or by pinging them in the post itself. If a piece of evidence is forgotten, you can either assume retroactively that someone did or that the sheep brought it in to make sure that everything is tidy.
As always, just put MODS in the header of your comment to get our attention for any clarification.
Good luck!
no subject
[ Whether it's Kuro's not-really-veiled threats, Fret's logic, or Edward's depressingly quiet exasperation that tips it over, peer pressure eventually does Valmont in. Making clear he's doing this under great duress, he digs in his bag and produces his somewhat rumpled parcel. Opening it reveals a photo of a man with terrible fashion sense, a clipping of red hair, and a gold-plated medallion. ]
Happy? No more intimations of violence towards my person?
no subject
So, who is he?
[ She is... completely bypassing his own question. Her tone of voice actually does sound more like curiosity than a demand, at least. ]
no subject
My employee. And no, I certainly wouldn't kill for him, or for any of the others. I can't imagine why the headmaster thought this would be effective motivation.
no subject
Maybe he didn't. When you cast a wide net, that doesn't mean you're trying to catch every fish.
[ Or maybe Valmont is more dependent on him than he realizes, whatever, Kuro doesn't know and that kind of thing isn't actually her business. ]
no subject
[ How dare you make him reveal an implication of positive feelings towards another person. ]
no subject
no subject
[He said something about time travel in the first trial... A few years are spinning in her head, like perhaps this is the future grown up version of the kid future employee akin to Yasu. Does he need to protect that future? However, she expects it to be explained freely and therefore easily dismissed. Let's sweeten the pot a little. ...hard to summon up her patience but she'll try.]
... impressive.
no subject
[ He gestures at the gentlemen visible in the background of a second photo. I totally didn't forget there were multiple photos in the package. THERE ARE NOW ]
Oh - well. One does need a somewhat prodigious talent to be running one's own company by one's thirties.
[ Incredibly, this is Valmont trying to be modest. ]
no subject
Your company, or one you inherited from your parents?
no subject
[ Don't cast aspersions, jerkwad. ]
no subject
no subject
How should I know? It hasn't happened yet.