Trial 1-1: Turnabout Debut
Of all the people to walk in through those doors, I am not ashamed to admit I had never considered it to be one of our pilots.
Oh, sorry. Kidnappers.
"Teen-nappers, if you please." Ataru Inoue, the Super High School Level Co-Pilot, laughed, "I have much more sense than to refer to you all as kids."
"Oh, casse-toi," growled Jackie.
"While I agree with the sentiment, I think we should be trying our best not to upset our captors," said Matthew.
"Let's just get zis over and done with, please?" Lucille murmured.
"Fine by me." Johan grunted.
"Okay then," said Monokuma. "Ataru, explain the rules."
Ataru smiled. "Alright, then. An indisputable fact is that one of you killed JJ Jackson. That person will be referred to as the blackened. In this trial, you will need to find the blackened. If you do, they get punished, and if you don't, everyone else does. It's all in Rule #5."
"What kind of punishment, Mr. Inoue?" asked Faen.
"Sorry, but that's a secret."
Ava growled. "That's a convenient way to leave us in the dark."
"Well, deal with it. I am your senior here - I've had to endure a few of these myself." He smiled genially. "It feels so good to be on the proctor's side."
Hideki raised an eyebrow. "You graduated by means of this...farce?"
"Indeed I did. Let's just say nobody expected the co-pilot to be good at building bombs."
"...Well." Tien shivered, "You certainly proved that claim with the chandelier."
"Anywho, shall we begin?" Ataru's eyes gleamed.
COURT IS NOW IN SESSION!
Ataru removed an Electro-ID of his own from his aviator's jacket, before turning it on, and setting it down on Todd's stand. A whirring noise sounded out in the otherwise quiet courtroom, before it went quiet again.
He then looked at the rest of us.
Never breaking away from that cheerful friendly tone he possessed, he asked, "Do you need me to say 'Ataru says' for you juniors to follow my lead?"
Feeling embarrassed, I looked down onto my own stand. It looked innocuous and made of wood, but it had an indent that looked the perfect fit for the Electro-ID. So I did the obvious thing - I placed the handbook inside.
A chorus of whirrs sounded out, as the supposed gears inside the stand spun, and our ElectroIDs (or at least mine) started to resonate its signal.
As the sound quieted down, Ataru turned to look at all of us, as if to confirm that all of us had acquiesced to his actions. Smiling, he tapped a few things on his own ElectroID, before turning, once again, to the rest of us. "Alright, now, let's get you registered onto the Truth Bullet System. I'll be going around you all in a clockwise direction, starting from my left. When it's your turn, state your full name and title, if you please."
His eyes seemed to bore into Sasha. "And we'll know if you didn't. Disobedience will also be punished."
Sasha stared back at him. "I can live with that."
"So mote it be." He gestured a hand at me. "If you please."
"Ashley Jubilee Jung, Super High School Level K-Pop Idol," I squeaked out.
"Johan Otto. Super High School Level Babysitter." Johan crossed his arms.
"Maya Metl," scoffed Maya. "Failure."
Hideki glared at nothing in particular. "Hideki Kenta. Super High School Level Surgeon."
"Sasha Oryolov, P-"
"Nuh uh, Comrade." Ataru's smile remained as serene as ever, though his tone was another matter entirely. "Birth name, please."
"I thought you were the nice one," she growled, "But the joke's on you- I changed my legal name."
He bowed in return. "As you wish, Aleksandra."
"That's misgendering-"
"I don't care. Now speak up, or I shall be forced to mute you during the trial itself."
She sighed loudly. "Oy gevalt..." Ataru raised an eyebrow. "Aleksandra... Matveyevna Oryolova-Cavendish." She stared at the floor, as both Eric and Tien let out an audible, yet quiet gasp. "Political Activist."
"Splendid. We will have to skip the lawyer, since dead men don't speak, so, Miss DuCarde?"
Lucille still looked rather haggard, but she said clearly, "Lucille DuCarde...Formula-One Racer."
"Xiang Li. Super High School Level Soldier."
"I'm Nicolette Birza, and the Super High School Level Electronic Dance Musician!"
"Faen Skylark. The Super High School Level Butler, at your service." He bowed.
"Zis is Jacqueline Ressa, ze Lolita Model, although I would prefer Jackie."
"Matthew Tanner," he adjusted his glasses. "Mathematician's my talent."
"Ava Tremblay. Super High School Level Hockey Player."
Eric grimaced when it was his turn. "Do we need our middle names for this?"
"Not necessarily, no."
"Oh, good. Um, Eric Andrews, Super High School Level Stage Fighter."
"Phuong Tien Lam. The Super High School Level Scientist." Tien finished off.
One by one, our ElectroIDs beeped, before Ataru pressed a few buttons on his own, silencing them down, and causing the roulette table in the middle to spin again.
This time, an unearthly blue light started emanating from the different slots, before the roulette collapsed in and on itself. The bulk of the actual roulette folded inwards, allowing the blue light, which I assumed must have been from a projector, to billow out. A sphere of glowing blue light lifted itself up, before expanding in size, until it filled the entirety of the table's exterior, the surface coming to a halt at the edge of our stands.
==Nonstop Debate!==
Weak points are in italics, break points are in both bold and italics.
==Begin!==
Ammunition loaded: Ataru's Explanation (Personal Truth Bullet)
Nico: So...what now?
Nico: Hey, wow! I can see my words floating about onscreen!
Faen: Even our names are reflected on the interface...
Tien: So that was the purpose of the voice-recognition software.
Tien: Interesting. I wonder where I can perhaps acquire such advanced technology for my personal use.
Maya: So, our words are just floating on the holographic screen, huh?
Hideki: That appears so, yes.
Johan: That's good and all, but what do we do now?
Xiang: These truth bullets must have a use.
Eric: Nah, they're probably useless-
==Counter!==
Ataru: You've got that wrong! (Fired: Ataru's Explanation)
BREAK!
"Heh. Now I see why that Luckster was so insistent on using that particular catchphrase…" Ataru grinned, "I could get used to it."
Had his words not appeared on the holograph, I would have probably missed them, in shock of what the Co-Pilot had just done.
By pressing a series of commands on his ElectroID, Ataru had literally fired a red bullet, inscribed with the glowing words 'Ataru's Explanation', towards Eric's chain of words, shattering the half-finished line to pieces.
"Thank you again, captain obvious." Maya snarked, "Now, Atari, you'd better teach us how to do that, or-"
"Easy there. I will, in due time." His eyes narrowed, "I will ask that you not refer to me as that, though. May I warn you, there will be repercussions associating me with that... sellout of a company."
Turning back to the holograph, Ataru tapped a button, and the filtered light turned red, as the aforementioned pair of words unfolded to show a small how-to guide.
"During this mode, otherwise known as the Nonstop Debate, you and your classmates will participate in a frantic discussion. Select your truth bullet by scrolling through the selection - premade for your convenience - and locking in your selection with the appropriate option," he explained, "Then fire at the argument you wish to refute at the appropriate time by once again selecting the appropriate option. Simple as that."
We stared at each other with a quizzical look on our faces. Evidently, Ataru caught on, because he sighed heavily.
"You know, just, get on with discussing the murder. You'll learn as you go along." Tapping a few more buttons, he ejected his own ElectroID, before pocketing it, and turning around.
Whistling, he clicked his heels, and the plexiglass door swung back open, letting the Co-Pilot disappear into it for whereabouts unknown.
Seconds later, another familliar voice that had been dormant for some time sounded itself.
"Aaaaaaaah! Good to be back in this position so I can torment you peons again! Upupupupupupupupupu!"
Monokuma chuckled out loud as he pulled out a pot of 'hunny' out of nowhere. "I miss being back in my lil' robotic bear buddy!"
"...Ataru?" Nico ventured out a guess.
"Hm? Who's Ataru? Is he a super-handsome and charismatic Co-Pilot that joins the mile-high club every second flight?"
Poor guy.
"I heard that!"
"Well, then," I hurriedly changed the topic, "What shall we discuss?
==Nonstop Debate!==
Weak points are in italics, break points are in both bold and italics.
==Begin!==
Ammunition loaded: Hideki's Autopsy, Monokuma File #1, Knife
Sasha: Okay, we should start by determining the murder weapon.
Sasha: Based on the cause of death-
Eric: Which not everybody knows!
Hideki: I explicitly remember going over it for everyone in detail, Eric.
Eric: Oops. I'm sorry.
Eric: I guess I just forgot.
Ava: That's fine, because...
Ava: It's fairly obvious that stabbing was the cause of death-
Hold on…That's-
Quickly, I checked my set Truth Bullet. Seeing as it was the one I intended on using, I locked it in, before tapping the big red button on the right half. In an instant, the red-hot hologram of a bullet appeared from below my stand, and I found myself uttering out a disagreement.
==Counter!==
Ashley: Wait! That's not correct! (Fired: Hideki's Autopsy)
BREAK!
"Looks like someone's getting the hang of it! Upupupupupupupu!"
"...In any case, Ashley is correct." Hideki motioned for me to continue.
"Right." Tapping on the Truth Bullet again to show the transcript of Hideki's Autopsy, I explained, "While Hideki had not been able to determine the actual confirmed cause of death, it may not necessarily be stabbing."
He nodded in return. "Based on the freshness of the head wound in particular, I'm actually inclined to believe that it was that specific head wound that caused him to pass. You may be right, and that it could indeed be death by stabbing, but let's not jump to any conclusions just yet, Ava."
"I see." Ava folded her arms, "It appears I am in the wrong here."
Lucille was quick to console her. "Worry not, Ava, it was an honest mistake."
"So," Jackie complained, "We are back to ze square one, no?"
"If I may perhaps be of assistance?"
Tien adjusted her glasses. "I was planning on sharing this with you guys earlier, but I guess now's a good a time as any."
"Hey, where were you anyhow?" Eric scratched the back of his head, before continuing, "I mean, I only saw you once, and that was when you came into the kitchen to do...something?"
"Take something, actually," she explained, "I didn't think you needed it anymore, and it was certainly something of interest."
"That's all well and good, but what are you talking about?"
"Simple-"
==Select!==
1. Dishwasher
2. Food
3. Knife
4. Maya
Tien: Logically speaking, it was this.
"Why is my name up there, huh?" Maya scowled.
"I don't know, but that's not important right now," while her words said one thing, the grin on her face said another, "What is, is that I was actually spending most of the investigation time in my room, performing a series of experiments."
"Experiments on what?" Faen inquired.
"Well..."
==Nonstop Debate!==
Weak points are in italics, break points are in both bold and italics.
==Begin!==
Ammunition loaded: Blood in the Area, Red Paint, Bloody Wounds
Tien: I took a sample of the blood from three areas.
Tien: JJ's corpse, the Luxury Sitting Room, and the knife.
Lucille: You performed a scientific experiment on those, then?
Tien: Indeed, I did.
Jackie: What is zere to find out, though?
Jackie: I mean, it's just JJ's blood, no?
Tien: Well, that certainly was the case for the blood on the knife...
Maya: ...That sounds like the blood in the Luxury Sitting Room wasn't blood at all.
Tien: Astute observation. It had the same colour, but certainly not the same consistency.
Tien: It seemed more...viscous.
Matthew: Something like paint, then?
Tien: Yes. I don't suppose any of you have found something of the like, have you?
This one was a no-brainer. Matthew had even brought it up - all I had to do was select the appropriate Truth Bullet for my uses. I shot it out, adding on a comment to indicate my agreement.
==Assent!==
Ashley: Wow, fantastic! I think you're right! (Fired: Red Paint)
BREAK!
"Ah, that bucket of paint we found in the storeroom," Xiang nodded, "That certainly would be a possibility."
"Plus," Hideki tapped on my truth bullet, before magnifying it by spreading it with his fingers, "If we apply it to the whitewashed walls of the Luxury Sitting Room-"
"That would cause the paint to appear pink!" Eric concluded excitedly.
"That's not even to mention the pink smear on the side of the can, which looks a lot like blood," added Sasha.
"I've seen blood, and can confirm the resemblance," offered Xiang.
"Dude, we've all seen blood - JJ's corpse, remember?" pointed out Nico.
"In any case, here are my notes." Tien sent out a blast of numbers from her stand, which reformatted itself to look like what appeared to be a scientist's log - her own, most likely.
"I've successfully determined two things - first off, the blood on the knife."
Zooming in, she read directly from her own neat handwriting. "The sample of blood on the knife matches up to JJ's strain of blood perfectly - they carry the same DNA fragments. Also, due to the haemoglobin test I performed on it, I managed to determine the timeframe around when the blood dried."
Maya crossed her arms, unconvinced. "And when would that be?"
"Roughly a quarter past four in the morning." Her glasses gleamed as she adjusted about them. "However, as said, the blood on the Luxury Sitting Room walls wasn't blood at all, but now confirmed to be paint from the can of red paint."
==Truth Bullet Acquired!==
==Tien's Experiments==
Tien took samples of blood from the knife, JJ's wound, and the 'blood' in the Luxury Sitting Room, and determined that the blood on the knife matches JJ, and dried out at roughly 0415 hours, while the blood in the Sitting Room was not actually blood, but paint.
"..." Hideki put a hand to his chin, and appeared to be deep in thought.
While the others were still analyzing Tien's results, I turned to him and asked, "Something on your mind?"
"Yes, actually. I certainly do not deny Tien's results - they are very in-line with my father's own test results."
Hideki scrolled through his ElectroID, though for what, I couldn't see from here. "But because I believe them, I'm starting to doubt another point."
"Care to explain?" Maya, who had probably been listening in, added, "Anything would be useful in cracking this case wide open, especially to a failure like me."
"Allow me to take it to a Nonstop Debate. I still need some time to consider my point."
"Whatever you say, doc." Johan agreed.
==Nonstop Debate!==
Weak points are in italics, break points are in both bold and italics.
==Begin!==
Ammunition loaded: Monokuma File #1, Tien's Experiments, Storage Room's Rope
Ava: How sure are you of your results, Tien?
Tien: Very. I'm the Super High School Level Scientist, after all.
Ava: Well, then everything seems to be in place.
Ava: JJ was stabbed, end of story.
Eric: Hmm...I don't like agreeing, but there's nothing else I can do.
Lucille: Ze facts match up, zough.
Lucille: If he bled out from being stabbed, he wouldn't have died instantly.
Jackie: Zhat is a horrifying thought…
Ava: Let's move on.
Faen: Agreed...I can't entertain the thought of JJ dying in pain.
Hmm...Is there something wrong? I can't tell-
"There is."
No sooner had Hideki spoken those words, then a bullet was fired from his stand towards Ava's claim.
==Counter!==
Hideki: Allow me to point out your mistake! (Fired: Tien's Experiments)
BREAK!
We all looked at Hideki, who cleared his throat, before speaking, "Allow me to bring Tien's findings back to light."
Zooming in specifically on the blood sample taken from the knife, he highlighted a specific portion of it. "Calling to your attention the time the blood on the knife dried out. Assuming Tien's results are accurate-"
Tien raised a eyebrow. "Which they are."
"I don't deny it- I'm a surgeon, and your tests are a hundred percent conclusive." He shook his head. "Off-point. Again, since her tests have proven the blood dried out at 4:15 in the morning...I shall pose a question. How long does blood take to dry out?"
"...Certainly not instantly."
By her smirk, Maya had caught on. "Blood, especially of the volume on the knife, wouldn't dry at the same time it was removed. I'd give it...ten, fifteen minutes?"
"At this temperature, ten maximum." Hideki continued. "According to my autopsy notes, there was still a large amount of blood lost, both from the abdominal area, and the head. Since blood flow should have stopped after a body loses all life-"
"That means JJ was still alive, after being stabbed!" Eric shouted excitedly.
"Yes. In short, JJ's death was likely by the next-best wound: blunt force trauma, a.k.a the hard hit, to his head." Tien concluded.
"Huh. That reminds me," said Matthew, "Tien, did you perform a test on the pinkish substance on the side of the can too?"
She shrugged. "I wasn't aware of the can's existence until very recently. And even if I had known, I probably wouldn't have the time to finish the haemoglobin test to determine that."
"I guess that makes sense...Hey, wait."
Matthew slammed down on his stand. "This may be slightly out of line, but...what if the can of paint was used as the murder weapon?"
This question halted everyone from speaking for a few moments.
"W-Well, that could be possible." I looked around, "But I don't think anyone else is convinced."
"Let me attempt to rationalize it. For one, how on earth did pink get on the side of the can, anyways? Don't you think the stuff on the side of the paint could possibly be JJ's blood?"
A murmur of agreement spread throughout the room, and as I looked around, I could tell practically everyone was sold.
Hideki was looking directly at me, and he was shaking his head, as if to tell me that agreeing was a mistake.
"Um, I kinda disagree." I hurriedly added, "I really don't think the can was the murder weapon-"
Matthew: I'm gonna do a number on you!
All of a sudden, Matthew's words shot out of his stand. Only this time, instead of a bullet, his words manifested as a sword, which sliced my argument down the middle.
Even Matthew was shocked by the sudden transgression. "What just happened?!"
"Upupupupu! Seems like our dear mathematician Matthew has managed to trigger the first pair of Crossed Swords!"
"Crossed Swords?" Hideki echoed, intrigued. "Elaborate."
"Certainly!" Ataru- no, wait, Monokuma, cleared his throat, before continuing, "In Crossed Swords, two people will have a one-on-one debate with each other, and you'll have to counter the other person's claim by arguing against them. Each side's words will be recorded and played out on the holograph, but this time, you must cut down your opponent's words as they appear onscreen, to continue arguing for your point. There will come a point in time where you will be able to counter the other's claim with evidence of your own, and when that happens, you're gonna have to choose the right Truth Blade to break through it."
Everyone just stared blankly at nowhere in particular, giving the information ample time to sink in and register within our minds.
"Don't look at me. I didn't decide on the name 'Truth Blade'," he added as an afterthought.
"In any case, please, hear me out! I know the can of paint must have been the weapon used to hit JJ over the head!" Matthew resumed.
As much as I wanted to agree with him, I couldn't.
There's another, more likely weapon...And I have to make Matthew see that.
A ray of orange light shine out from the projector, before enveloping Matthew and I, such that, by the end, only the two of us could see each other clearly. He had a determined look on his face, which I hoped I had on too.
"Begin!"
==Cross Swords!==
Usable Swords: Frying Pan, Knife
Matthew: Here's what I think happened ==/== early this morning.
Matthew: The killer had caught ==/== JJ by surprise.
Matthew: And had attacked him ==/== with the can of paint!
I could feel the first beads of sweat roll down my face. Matthew may not have been the most aggressive of debaters, but his points did make a certain amount of sense...
No. I know there's another explanation for it.
I resumed swiping off his words with the ElectroID, before a point in time was reached where I got to speak a few words.
Progression!
Ashley: I know that there ==/== must be another option!
Ashley: Wait, you can cut ==/== down my- nevermind.
Ashley: The point is is that the can of paint ==/== can't be the murder weapon.
Matthew: But it fits ==/== all the specifications!
Matthew: It's round and heavy enough ==/== to kill anyone.
Matthew: And it even has JJ's ==/== blood on the side!
Matthew: Besides, where else would you ==/== find another bludgeoning tool?
There it is.
Quickly, I loaded the sword containing my point, and mimed a slashing motion on my ElectroID. To my immense relief, the sword connected, and shredded the onscreen words to bits.
Ashley: I'll make you face the music! (Chosen sword: Frying Pan)
Break!
"Is that...a frying pan?"
Eric giggled. "No, it's a drying pan."
Maya just nodded. "Well, in any case, Ashley is right. The frying pan can be a deadly weapon in the right hands."
"Especially since we've noted it to be clean." Johan dragged the blurb outwards, and zoomed in, "The pan's been recently washed, and it could have been done so to remove traces of blood."
"But who would bring a frying pan to the Luxury Sitting Room-?"
"I got this!" Eric slammed down on his stand with a grin. "I know what happened to JJ!"
==Logic Dive!==
How was JJ killed?
Poisoning | Exsanguination | Blunt Force Trauma
What was used to kill JJ?
Frying Pan | Knife | Can Of Red Paint
Why was JJ's body in the Luxury Sitting Room?
He was killed there | He was moved there | He fled there before bleeding out
Where was JJ's corpse moved from?
Atrium
Passenger Cabins
Dining Area - Ballroom
Dining Area - Kitchen
Storage Room
Medical Room
Janitor's Closet
Casino and Bar
Luxury Sitting Room
Mysterious Door
Selected Area: Dining Area - Kitchen
Eric: Touché! I've nailed it!
"JJ wasn't killed in the Luxury Sitting Room - rather, he was brained by the frying pan in the kitchen, and his body was dragged there!"
"And the paint was used to give the impression that JJ was killed in the Sitting Room..." Maya smirked, "Good deduction, Andrews."
He blushed. "Thanks!"
Suddenly, I heard a sound that sounded strangely out of place - clapping. I followed the noise, to see none other than...Sasha?
"Well done, Andrews, well done. Honestly, I didn't expect you of all people to figure out something so integral, but boy, am I happy that you did."
Eric looked confused. "I - why would that make you happy?"
She smiled. "Because it perfectly supports my theory."
"Your theory?" asked Hideki, "If you had a theory you should have brought it up earlier."
She sighed. "Wasn't enough established at that point. I had to wait for this moment, so I could segue into it."
"Well, then, go on, what's your theory?"
"Without a doubt, I believe JJ's killer is none other than..."
Sasha pointed at who I thought was me, but as I followed her line of sight, I realized she was pointing to the spot next to me.
Either way, I was pretty shocked.
"Todd Dunham," Sasha concluded, "The Super High School Level Acrobat!"
Trial 1-1 FIN
15? Students Remaining
A/N:
SD here. Well, that's that for the first quarter of the trial. Does Sasha have a point? Or is she just on another conspiracy theori- /shot
In all seriousness, you guys have had a varied bag of results - the polls indicate the likely culprits of this act are:
Lucille DuCarde - 4 votes
Todd Dunham - 2 votes
Ava Tremblay - 2 votes
Maya Metl - 1 vote
Phuong Tien Lam - 1 vote
Sasha Oryolov - 1 vote
Nicolette Birza - 1 vote
And, surprisingly: JJ Jackson - 1 vote
Suicide, an option? Interesting...Very interesting indeed. In any case, JJ's killer has been successfully voted for in said poll, although who it is and how many got it right will remain a mystery for now. That being said, gg to us, I guess. We're not making the murderer too obvious, yet, people can still guess it, so, yay.
On the other hand, I shall deign not to say anything regarding Todd. All shall be made clear(?) in the next few chapters.
New poll's up. Let's see if people decide to change their minds.
Alright, my turn for a QOTC, haven't done that in a while: in no particular order, who are your top ten favourite students from the games? This only applies to the thirty-two original DR and SDR2 students, so, to fans of Santa Shikiba (if they exist), we apologize. For reference, this is ours.
SD - Hajime, Chiaki, Ibuki, Mikan, Mahiru, Gundam, Makoto, Sonia, Nagito, Celes (in order, first to tenth)
Lime - Celes, Hajime, Mahiru, Gundam, Peko, Ibuki, Chiaki, Sonia, Naegi, Kyouko (not in order)
If you also want to tell us your top 10 (or 5) AFoFD characters, that would also be welcome.
So, yeah, I'm interested. Hit me up. Let's see how this turns out. Now to the review replies, this time, with both of us. Cheers.
Saiynt: My first response when SD copy/pasted your review into the chat was 'MAMA MIA THAT'S A SPICY MEATBALL'. Just thought you might find that interesting. (God, Mamma mia that's a spicy meatball sounds like a Sasha line.)
I'm the same - I usually don't have time to catch up on stories. When I do, they've gotta be either great or written by a friend.
I'm glad to hear that you like Sasha. It's weird - she was supposed to be initially annoying and unlikeable, but I guess she was just so over-the-top she became funny. Like, to the point of self-parody. And yeah, people are definitely right about her overshadowing some other characters. Really, the only reason she has is because being outspoken and loud and obnoxious is one of her main character traits, but I have been trying to turn it down several notches. And all things considered, Sasha might be the culprit. I'm not going to deny that there's an argument there. And we haven't even done any of the other cases yet. Who knows when she's gonna kick the bucket? - Lime
And here I take over, because I double up as both Todd's character advisor, and Nico's sole creator. Todd is personally a character archetype I love half to death - the wide-eyed tagalong kid with a heart of gold, and a tendency to die first to illustrate the severity of the situation. .-. But yeah, I certainly would like Todd as a relative - if anything, I'd actually start looking forward to my family reunions. I wonder just what we did with him...maybe you'll find out this trial, or maybe you won't.
Personally, I'm ecstatic you love Nico - as her creator, I'm genuinely surprised she got so much positive reception, considering she's actually a bit vanilla if I say so myself - sweet, but mildly forgetful. Her backstory is just the sweetest thing, though, yes, although if you want to know more about it, you, and everyone else know what to do - after all, that's not all there is to miss-happily-engaged. I can confirm that the invitation to the wedding still stands when everyone else gets off the plane, though - if, everyone gets of the plane, Nico included. We shall see how far her positivity takes her, hmm? Back to you, Lime. - SD
Maya and Lucille are two of my favorites, too - they're both great! Especially Maya. Honestly, Maya has even more opportunities for jokes than Sasha, Todd and Eric which makes me super duper happy. And Lucille is a hot F-1 Racer who may or may not be the prime suspect (by audience vote, at least) - what's not to love?
This trial is gonna be pretty great, to be honest. It's a lot more convoluted than even some of the later cases (one in particular is going to be really straight-forward despite being late-game) but also one of the coolest in my opinion. I loved JJ too, and I would have had him live longer, but it was just his time and it made sense. Not to mention, despite JJ being dead, I can confirm right now that his usefulness is going to outlive him. The trailers are great, and as I said earlier, all SD's idea. And the trial room itself was SD's idea, but the glass room was mine. I think it really takes advantage of the setting, don't you? (Don't listen to them, I like my trial room better. :3 - SD)
Damn straight we're amusing, and thanks for the kind words. - Lime
Hello (Guest): Maybe, maybe not. Also, the blood is pink here, remember?
Well, then, you'll find out eventually - good work on piecing the clues, though.
A Dingus With Sweet Shades: I was bored, sue me - besides, I didn't really expect anyone but Sky to get that reference, but hey. The SHSL Dimensional Goddess is infiltrating every SYOC, one story at a time. :3 - SD
Also, I agree with you. Homestuck is trash and it and everyone who likes it should be run off the Earth. (I'm being sarcastic, if no one could tell. I'm a huge Homestuck fan.) - Lime
Could've fooled me. I'm not privy to the inside jokes yet. - SD
Good. Keep it that way for your own good. - Lime
emosewa-13: Yep. They're our initials, GV. Hilarious.
Haha, the trailers are all SD. You can thank him. (Yes, thank me, oh puny mortals. No but seriously, I've enjoyed getting back into the hang of making trailers. - SD)
JJ was your fave? Well, I don't judge but...the way we portrayed left him in a less-than-ideal light.
Is she now your fave...or no longer your fave? - Lime
Sekrin- Lord of Monsterds: JJ was originally slated to murder Lucille - though at what point in time, I don't remember. - SD
SD is lying. JJ was going to murder Sasha and Ashley in a double-murder in the second case. Quit telling lies, SD. - Lime
Are we playing Liar-Liar-Hot-Potato now? - SD
Yes. - Lime
In any case, he wasn't going to survive; unless I'm mistaken, he wouldn't have made it past the third trial in any timeline. He just wasn't suited for the survivor role, I'm afraid. - SD
HeroinOfDarkness: Well, we try.
Uh...you'll see…
Well, here's the trial. Have you pieced anything together yet? - Lime
As for how we know, a little peek into the review box around the time the characters were introduced works wonders. People always address how their character was portrayed, and generally praise the writers for making them good too. Key word: generally. - SD
GinMerric: Hm. I guess I sorta see your point for almost everything, although we can probably justify it. Somewhat. Maybe. I'll leave it to SD to break it down. - Lime
SD here, heh. Sorry, but, y'know, script style may or may not be the 'in' thing right now. Or maybe it isn't. In any case, I believe I've already justified it somewhat in our PMs, but for the clarity of the others, we stick to script-style at these portions because for us, the alternative is rather time-consuming and repetitive: a hundred or more different variations of 'he said' or 'she said', combined with the necessity to ensure we don't over-repeat, plus the overkill on the double inverted-commas (Quotation marks, SD - Lime) (Shush, we call them that in Singapore. - SD) just doesn't cut it.
As for the tension aspect, well, I can't disagree there. We were a comedic story to begin with, so the transition to a more...macabre tone, I guess, may not be as completely perfect as I would've rathered. Then again, we did sort-of make JJ slightly unsympathetic as a victim, so, well, um, we'll try to improve. At the very least, the trial will definitely take a darker turn as it'll go on - and Act 2 will be significantly darker post-motive - they have a pool party before that though. Just saying.
(Just wait until you see Acts 2-5 - I'm actually kinda worried that the shift in tone in those two will be slightly jarring. They're gonna be super emotional and serious and it's gonna be great. - Lime)
I'd groan at your puns, but I make even worse ones half the time.
Heh. Even with the truth bullets, no one can seem to figure it out, if the poll results are any indication. Besides, as denoted by the last chapter...well, not all Truth Bullets carry the 'truth'...
Inb4 our Shout-Out page on TvTropes if it ever gets done will be completely bloated. And I guess you'll see just exactly what happened to Todd...Or maybe not. That's the secret of Act 1. Have fun. - SD
PowerPlayer: You may or may not be overthinking the alibis, but, I can't deny your reasoning. Time will tell if your theory pays off, but good going anyhow. You could try looking at it from this way, though - if Sasha, Johan and Nico weren't the three who triggered the Body Discovery Announcement, and one of them is the murderer...Then who was the other person who saw JJ's corpse? And more importantly, why aren't they saying anything?
'Hideky'? He is not amused. But in any case, I guess the students just proved the opposite, so there's that. Maybe the noose has to do with something else? Maybe? That last part may or may not be important, you'll see.
Again, very astute deduction - you have a very good chance of being right, but in any case, we'll clarify it in upcoming chapters. At least we've gotten the paint bucket out of the way.
Sasha's taking your argument and running with it - we'll see if you both are right. As for Nico, same BDA theory as GinMerric's reply up above. Hope you enjoyed the trial. - Lime
LongTimeReader19: Well, now you know where Tien went. As for how the syringe, Lucille, Sasha and Hideki are involved in the murder itself, well, all should be revealed in time.
Now, that is the true mystery of this Act, no? Normally, you wouldn't start a trial without all students present, dead or otherwise. However...that begs the question if Todd really is dead, after all. Seeing as how Ataru is now in charge of them all, he may have decided to throw a loophole, or, maybe there's something he and we know that you don't. We'll see. After all, Hideki does theorize that the masterminds in this case are amateurs...
Thank you for the praise. We sincerely hope to keep at this pace for as long as we possibly can, and will endeavour to bring you and everyone else chapters to our best effort. - Lime
Khronovision: I can't wait either. - Lime
dashunterman: Hehehe...ye. - Lim
See you guys later!