week one: trial

[getawaymods]

WEEK ONE: TRIAL

Morning dawns bright and early the day after the announcement of the dead, and as the sun tracks its way across the sky, the voice's message is likely not far from anyone's mind. The fire in the ruins still burns, though as the minutes tick by into hours, the flames slowly begin to subside.

Finally, the sun reaches its highest point just as the flames in the ruins sputter out. A low, deep thrumming sound echoes throughout the entire island, which turns into ringing, a drawn-out signal that grows louder and louder until it seems as though all other sounds on the island fall to a hush.

It is then that the lighthouse beacon becomes illuminated, drawing them all to the southern beach. That same voice as before rings, audible throughout the entire island.

"There are those of you who hope to escape from this with clean hands... well, I suggest you discard those hopes. You are all participants in this game, and you will all be complicit in the sacrifices that take place here, or else you will not have earned your passage home.

You have until the sun vanishes beneath the horizon. Choose your next sacrifice, and choose who will dispatch them. Speak the names of your choices into the conch. Failure to cooperate will result in a fate worse than death.

...perhaps you should investigate the deaths. Would it ease your conscience to condemn someone to death whose hands are already stained with the blood of a sacrifice? The bodies are out there, and the evidence as well... but you will have to find it yourselves.

Tick-tock, tick-tock! Your time starts... now."

Once the entire group has gathered, the lighthouse's beacon flickers out.

It is time to choose the next sacrifice... and hopefully, to catch a killer.

Good luck.

OOC NOTES

Welcome to your first trial, everyone! This trial will take place from 9am PST/12pm EST/4am NZST, and will last until 6pm PST/9pm EST/1pm NZST.

There will be a one-hour trial break from 1pm PST/4pm EST/8am NZST to 2pm PST/5pm EST/9am NZST. We recommend that you use this time to get something to eat if you haven't yet already, play some Animal Crossing, or even just take a quick nap. During this time, no mod tags will go out; we also ask that players refrain from starting any intensive threads such as interrogations, strip searches, hair or injury comparisons, etc. While we're not going to say you're not allowed to tag during this time, we also don't want anyone to miss out on anything important during an official break.

Please remember to have your character cast a vote on the voting page! Voting is mandatory, as it functions as the activity check for the game. If you do not cast a vote by the time trial is over, your character will be killed off. Please contact the mods prior to the end of the trial if something comes up and you are prevented from voting (i.e. 504 errors, etc).

If you have any questions, please go ahead and ask! Your mods and fellow players are always here to help. And most of all... have fun!

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Comments

[lacking]

We found something disturbing in the lighthouse earlier this week... Maybe you're onto something, and he wanted to know if anything had changed? [... A beat, and she adds.] But it's possible he started off somewhere else, too.

[fabrefactions]

... The other possibility is that, if he were being targeted by someone, he was lured there somehow. But we are just speculating wildly at this point.

[lacking]

[She sighs.]

Right. We won't know until we take a closer look at the lighthouse...

[overruns]

I suppose he could have been chased there. [ ... ] But he was a detective—perhaps there was something about the place he was looking for.

[lacking]

[...]

Um... Dimitri-san, by any chance, did you speak frequently to him?

[overruns]

We only spoke a few times, but I was grateful to meet him. I... had hoped we could know each other better. [ anyway, ] He did not seem to remember much about himself, but he did tell me his name and profession, last we met.

[lacking]

I see. It's just... When we talked, he said he was okay with dying because it would help us all get off this island.

[Her expression twists, like she's bitten into something sour.]

I got really mad at him. But I wonder if he said the same thing to somebody else, and they took him seriously.

[overruns]

How could he say such a thing—? [ something twists in his chest, frustrated and grieved. he wishes anaido were alive, so he might scold him. ] But perhaps you're right. Though I don't see how anyone could try and make good on such a terrible offer.

[ahappyaccident]

What's wrong with it, exactly?

[ they're obviously having a Moment here, or rachel wouldn't hesitate, but. ]

If it's really true that only some of us can go home, then why shouldn't we let the ones who want to help the rest of you get back do it? I mean, if it comes down to it, I'd say the same. I'm supposed to be dead anyway, so it's not like there's anything for me to go back to.

[lacking]

[Ah.]

... Please, don't say that. Even if you think it's true! You're alive now, aren't you? I don't want to think of anyone here as disposable.

[ahappyaccident]

It's not that I think it's true, it is true. I died. There's no point in me trying to get back home to die for real when someone who could be alive in their own world gets stuck here.

It's not a matter of disposability. It's just realistic.

[lacking]

It's not realistic! Something like that... It's just too cruel. What if there's a way for you to return home, alive, and you squander it by offering yourself as a sacrifice? Don't give the island, the curse, or whatever this is, exactly what it wants.

[overruns]

[ while rachel has mentioned her death before, he still doesn't wholly understand it. there's weirder stuff going on though than a few corporeal dead people, he supposes... whatever it's fine, talking to the dead is totally normal. ]

Because we have no idea that playing along with this game will earn any of us freedom. I will not put my blind faith in some voice that promises liberation at the cost of others.

And besides—how could I live freely, knowing it was thanks to your death?

[ahappyaccident]

Because I died before we even got here, Dimitri. That's how.

[lacking]

It seemed... like he didn't value himself, and thought he could only contribute as a detective. I wish I had talked more to him, or convinced him to change his mind somehow. He—

[... Well, no use thinking about what ifs. She shakes her head.]

I wish I could say the same. But someone might have. Anaido-san was killed.

[overruns]

[ he closes his eyes briefly, regret plain in his face, before breathing out in a quiet sigh. ]

It is a possible motive for attacking him specifically, at least. Thank you for sharing, Neena.

[lacking]

[She nods, a similar look on regret on her face.]

I hope we can get to the bottom of this...

[machinetranslation]

Something disturbing??

[lacking]

[She nods, looking uneasy.]

There were scratch marks on the ground... I managed to climb high enough to take a look through one of the windows before I fell, too. There was blood smeared on the glass, and a pile of bloody clothing on the floor.

nope nope nope

[machinetranslation]

Oh dear, how ghastly! Although I am glad to see you were uninjured from the fall.

See, this is what I mean by the danger of getting involved where we don't need to be. Nothing good can come of it.

[lacking]

But, we need to get involved! Don't you see that? What if there's radio equipment inside the lighthouse, or something we can use to call for help somewhere else?

[machinetranslation]

[He looks towards the lighthouse. Now "call for help" he can definitely get behind.]

It is most likely that, if the announcements are being broadcast from somewhere, the equipment would be in an elevated location such as the lighthouse or the cliffs on the far side of the island.

[lacking]

Right? If we keep searching, then maybe we'll find something like that. Do you understand why we have to get involved now?

[machinetranslation]

As much as I'd prefer to avoid angering whomever is responsible for inflicting this ritual upon everyone, I do wish to help everyone get away from this dreadful place.

[lacking]

I don't care about angering them. They brought us here to suffer. Our feelings are more important than theirs!