|
ProfessorProf posted:The storehouse murder:
|
#
?
Oct 7, 2016 23:05
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 10, 2024 00:12 |
|
|
The smallest resolution seems good. They are similiar to the pictures we have already and on slower connections it will be faster to load these pages.
|
|
#
?
Oct 7, 2016 23:10
|
|
|
They're not so small as to be unreadable, and there's some great animations, so the smallest is fine.
|
|
#
?
Oct 7, 2016 23:15
|
|
|
We don't lose anything by having them small, everything is perfectly legible. I do have one formatting request, would it be possible to make the videos more obvious in the posts? They kind of get lost in there and I really don't want to miss any of them. Perhaps something as simple as a smilies next to it to draw the eye? If someone hadn't mentioned the video after your latest update I'd have missed it entirely. Or you know I could actually take my time to read everything.
|
|
#
?
Oct 7, 2016 23:29
|
|
|
Voting smallest resolution, don't want to miss subtle animation when it shows up.
|
|
#
?
Oct 7, 2016 23:31
|
|
|
JohnOfOrdo3 posted:We don't lose anything by having them small, everything is perfectly legible. How about sirens? I'm using that to mark particularly rad songs, I could stick it on videos, too.
|
|
#
?
Oct 7, 2016 23:32
|
|
|
Sirens around video links is what I see done in other threads, and I think they'd do a fine job. Seriously, wtf is up with Maria? Even a nine year old should know not to be celebrating the death of a nice cousin's parents.
|
|
#
?
Oct 7, 2016 23:54
|
|
|
All right, I've made the video links a bit more visible, and will be moving forward with small resolution, high animation.
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2016 00:02
|
|
|
EagerSleeper posted:Seriously, wtf is up with Maria? Even a nine year old should know not to be celebrating the death of a nice cousin's parents. quote:On the tenth twilight, the journey shall end, and you shall reach the village of gold.
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2016 04:01
|
|
|
Also it's worth noting - both for this and for later LPs - that the highest resolution aka PS3 Native is actually big enough that it breaks the tables on some people stuck living in 2010 like myself. 
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2016 04:23
|
|
|
KataraniSword posted:Also it's worth noting - both for this and for later LPs - that the highest resolution aka PS3 Native is actually big enough that it breaks the tables on some people stuck living in 2010 like myself. Is your browser also from 2010? I'm pretty sure table breaking isn't a thing anymore with the current forums CSS.
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2016 04:27
|
|
|
Double Punctuation posted:Is your browser also from 2010? I'm pretty sure table breaking isn't a thing anymore with the current forums CSS. Not actual "crash the website and look at the CSS/HTML" type table breaking, admittedly, more the "this post stretches out further than the others and now I have a scroll bar" type. Hence the , I know it's ultimately a minor thing.
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2016 04:33
|
|
|
KataraniSword posted:Not actual "crash the website and look at the CSS/HTML" type table breaking, admittedly, more the "this post stretches out further than the others and now I have a scroll bar" type. Hence the Images should resize automatically and not do that any more.
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2016 04:39
|
|
|
Double Punctuation posted:Images should resize automatically and not do that any more. ...huh. Probably because I'm using Pale Moon, which... might as well be Firefox from 2010, yeah.  I hate that I'm using this gimped piece of crap because actual Firefox lags the poo poo out of my system.
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2016 04:48
|
|
|
KataraniSword posted:...huh. Have you tried Waterfox? It might help.
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2016 05:08
|
|
|
I've got the solution. It fits perfectly, without any blind spots. How did the culprit escape Eva and Hideyoshi's closed room? How did Kinzo disappear? It's quite simple really. There's no need for a 19th person, or a witch. It's all explainable. Obviously, the culprit was a highly-trained group of chimpanzees. The chimps hid within Eva's and Hideyoshi's room, and after their heart-felt talk the chimps outnumbered them, easily hammering stakes into their heads. Then they left, except for the smallest chimpanzee of them all, who closed the chain and simply went through the small crack in the door. A person couldn't get through, but I have no doubt a sufficiently young chimp could. One chimp was also hiding in Kinzo's room under the bed while Natsuhi talked to him, then when she left and Kinzo's attention was elsewhere, the chimp opened the window. Numerous chimps then climbed in, strangled Kinzo and took his body out through the window. One chimp was then left behind to hide: in a closet, under the bed, under the table, whatever. The chimp then left like Battler described Kinzo would've, after Eva and Natsuhi came in to investigate. e: It occurs to me that they didn't necessarily strangle Kinzo, in the case that he was the one who trained the chimps! He just escaped with their help. Now, I'm not sure who trained the chimpanzees or why, but I'm sure it will become apparent as the story progressed. Or maybe the chimps killed the trainer too! What a clever alibi. Beatrice is chimps. Try and disprove me. Ottumon fucked around with this message at 13:10 on Oct 8, 2016 |
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2016 13:01
|
|
|
Thanks to this LP for reminding me that I'm 1/2 way through part 4 and need to actually sit down and finish it. Since I'm further ahead I obviously won't speculate but I will point out that it takes an enormous amount of force to stab through the forehead which pretty much rules out suicide. And trained chimps.
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2016 14:27
|
|
|
Hey, chimpanzees have opposable thumbs and have been observed to make and use tools. No reason they couldn't use a mallet to drive those stakes in.
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2016 14:31
|
|
|
 Normally, they probably would've started discussing the origin of that violent stench filling the boiler room. But after they saw Kanon, who was lying on the ground as if he were drowning in an ocean of his own blood, the stench wasn't important any more.  "Kanon! Answer me!! Genji, bring Doctor Nanjo here!!"Natsuhi realized that even though Kanon was on the verge of death, he was still conscious, so she sent Genji to get the doctor. Natsuhi, holding the rifle aloft, faced the darkness in the center of the boiler room and shouted!  Battler, thinking quickly, took a large flashlight from the tool shelf alongside the door and used its light to cut through the darkness Natsuhi was glaring into. But the light only shone on mechanical-looking piping and a door. The door had been left open a small crack, and it was obvious that someone had left through there in a hurry.  "...Aunt Natsuhi, where does that door go?!" "G, Genji...! Where does that door lead to?!" "...The, the courtyard...!" "L, like hell I'd let you get away, you drat bastaaaaaaaard!!!" There were some thin, rough stairs leading up. Battler ran up them, shouting!  "Wait, Battler-kun!! It's dangerous to be alone!!"Natsuhi was also rushing up the stairs, chasing after Battler.  Because it was surrounded on all sides, the air was calm and completely undisturbed, even though they could hear the sound of strong winds. There was only the gentle, sorrowful rain. As he ran through the cold and scattered raindrops, dashing up the stairs into the courtyard, Battler looked in every direction. Of course, the odds of him finding a suspicious silhouette just standing around nonchalantly were pretty much zero... Battler turned around, looking in all directions. He turned again and again. He kept spinning until he almost lost his sense of direction. He prayed that he would see the culprit somewhere in this scenery...! But there was no chance. All he saw as he spun was more and more of the mansion's heartless walls and windows...!  "...Battler-kun!! You mustn't run ahead by yourself!! Battler-kun...?"Battler put his head against the wall, and scratched at it with his fingernails as he cried...   "...Why did you kill them?! Why, why...?!!! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh...!!"...Battler was a boy who could understand the feelings of pain and regret in a person's heart. So he cried. With all his strength. Natsuhi, who had always thought of Battler as a frank person, was a little surprised to find that he had this delicate side, and at the same time, understood how easily hurt the heart of a young person could be, so she held him.  Battler, after sobbing into Natsuhi's chest for a while, wiped his tears with a bitter smile, as though he had been like that the whole time, and tried to appear as though he had cried more than enough already...  "Anyways, let's go back down for now. Protecting ourselves is a higher priority than finding the culprit. Tomorrow, the boat will arrive. After that happens, the police will come, and everything should be brought to light. There's no way the culprit can escape this island, no matter how much they struggle...!!" "...That's right. When the police come..." But, for some reason, Battler felt a slight sense of uneasiness...as if the seagulls would never cry again. That couldn't be true. When the typhoon passes, the lively seagulls should return to the harbor again...  Stains from Kanon-kun's blood remained on the floor. Judging by the large amount of blood lost and the ruthless shape of the weapon that had fallen carelessly to the ground, I figured that Doctor Nanjo's treatment would probably end in vain... That weapon was doubtlessly the same type that had been stuck in aunt Eva and uncle Hideyoshi's foreheads. ...But wait, isn't the demononic design on the handle a little different...? There seemed to be some small differences in that part. Still, as far as their overall shape was concerned, the weapons were all of the same type. In aunt Eva and uncle Hideyoshi's case, it had been a little brutal, but since we had wanted to preserve the crime scene, we had left the weapons sticking into them. Though it had seemed brutal, we'd left the weapons that had been stuck into aunt Eva and uncle Hideyoshi to preserve the crime scene. So this was the first time we were able to have a perfect view of the entire weapon.  Including the handle, it was 25 centimeters long. Half of that was the stake shaped part, which was stained with deep red blood. The length of the blood-stained part made it clear just how deeply it must have penetrated into Kanon-kun's chest... But aunt Natsuhi and the rest didn't even look at the weapon, and instead stood in front of the incinerator, where the horrible stench was emanating from.   "...Uu-...!"I'd thought that after everything that had happened, nothing could surprise me anymore, but... this was... gghh...! I stood there for a while, moaning, with a rising urge to vomit...  The clothes, the surface of the body, and the hair were all hideously burned. That grotesque corpse was in a state where not the face, nor the age, nor even the gender could be even guessed at... But when I thought about it calmly, I realized that a corpse appearing at this time could only be one person. It was Grandfather, who had disappeared that morning, and whose whereabouts had been unknown.   "...But, is there any proof that this corpse really is Grandfather...? It's burnt so black, you can't even tell what sex it is..." "Battler-kun, look at the feet."Aunt Natsuhi, with her handkerchief over her mouth and her eyes averted, pointed and told me to look at the burnt corpse's feet. ...?  Just as Genji-san had said, there were six toes on each foot. Each of the toes had been arranged so normally that I hadn't noticed...  "...Since the Master was born, both of his feet have had six toes. Consequently, the Master was entrusted with the revival of the Ushiromiya family." "I have heard that since long ago, cases of polydactyly were common in the Ushiromiya family. It's probably hereditary."Polydactyly literally means 'many fingers'. Because of a little mistake by god when the person is born, one of their toes or fingers splits into two, and the total number increases. But a big deal isn't usually made of polydactyly in the world at large. That's because it isn't a disease, just something people are born with. So while they are still babies, at about the time they turn one year old, they can be taken to the hospital and given surgery to make them normal. Even a child with polydactyly can be treated before they become aware, so they might not even remember it themselves. By the way, it seems that there is a possibility for this to occur in one out of every two thousand babies, so even though it's not usually seen, it isn't that rare at all. Speaking of which, I think uncle Hideyoshi mention something to me long ago. Something about how even Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the man who unified Japan at the end of the Sengoku period, had possessed six fingers on one hand... According to aunt Natsuhi, among the many Ushiromiya family heads, the ones praised most for their wisdom had all possessed polydactyly. Because of that, when Grandfather was born, his relatives were all excited at the thought that he might become another wise leader. And, when the leading relatives all died in the Great Kanto Earthquake, it was apparently argued Grandfather should be the one to restore the family because of the auspicious sign of his birth. If Grandfather hadn't disliked his position as the head overly much, this sixth toe must have been pretty lucky for him. Come to think of it, I think I've heard about some country where it's believed that people with polydactyly should be treated as gods and revered...  And... Grandfather's body was not simply burnt. Just like aunt Eva and uncle Hideyoshi, one of those things that had been stuck in Kanon's chest, one of those 'demon's icepicks', ...was stuck into his forehead...! "...The 'ring of the head' is not on his finger." "...So everything is as the letter last night said. Father... would probably be horribly disappointed..."Natsuhi-san let her head droop and closed her eyes tightly...  It isn't clear when Grandfather's corpse started burning in the incinerator. Since, according to Genji, the strength of the flames hadn't been that strong, the body must have started burning a long time ago, so that stench could slowly creep out of the furnace and fill the room bit by bit, eventually pouring out and climbing up the staircase. Putting aside whether he was rare or well-done, Grandfather had been brought out, killed, and burned... even though he had started out locked away in the closed room created by his auto-lock. There's probably no doubting this... However, according to Genji-san, the boiler room is usually locked. The possibility that someone outside our group had snuck in and committed the crime was overwhelmingly high, and there was also a good chance that this person was walking around with something like a master key. After all, the doors and windows throughout the mansion had been checked. But despite that, the culprit was able to strut around the mansion freely.  BGM: Mind ...By flipping the chessboard over once more, the very fact that this crime makes it perfectly obvious that a 19th person exists... means that the existence of the 19th person is even less possible. As long as that 19th person doesn't show themselves in front of us...! If the culprit could get Grandfather out through the door sealed by the receipt, if they could kill aunt Eva and uncle Hideyoshi from the other side of a door sealed by a chain, then is it possible for them to even create a fictional 19th person through strange tricks and devices...?!?! If we still want to believe that the culprit is among us, ...then the list of suspects is very short.  Wait, we can't be sure of that. Just a second ago, we started doubting whether the corpse here was actually Grandfather's, right? Maybe we can think of the other bodies in the same way. For example, the first six all had their faces horribly smashed. Some of the bodies had kept enough of their faces for us to confirm who they were, but that old bastard, for example...had lost his entire face, as though it had been peeled off. We had only figured out which body was which by their clothes and surroundings... Had the culprit prepared a fake body beforehand and disguised it to make it look like they'd died... when they'd actually hid somewhere after committing the crime...? It sounds ridiculous, but that doesn't mean it's an impossible trick. ...It's too early to give in to this 19th person... no, this witch...!   "...Uu-."Maria hadn't gone out with everyone else, but had remained in the boiler room. The thing she was staring fixedly at was probably not Grandfather's body, but the 'demon's icepick' that was sticking out of his forehead. She was probably barely able to contain her enthusiasm. I tapped her on the head.  BGM: Witch in Gold  "How can you laugh at something like that? Do you think you're the only one who's safe? Why don't you feel like you're in danger? Why aren't you scared?!" Beatrice promised me. She said that she's going to take me to the Golden Land. It's a wonderful place where you have no obligations, everyone's always together, and everyone is always nice to everyone else." "...I'm looking forward to it. That time will come, very soon now. Kihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihi..." To Maria, who obstinately believes in the witch, this series of unsolvable crimes is proof that the witch actually exists. Every time something occurs that would be difficult for a human, it becomes a little harder for the rest of us to not believe in Beatrice. It must be an intense pleasure for Maria to see her relatives, who once firmly denied the witch's existence, start acknowledging that witch's existence one by one... ...Is that why she's in high spirits...?  "...Maria, let me ask this one more time. You'll probably answer the same anyway, but I'll ask just once more." "Uu-...?" "...Yesterday, you were given a letter in the rose garden. Who gave it to you...?!" "Uu-. Like I said, Beatrice. You still don't believe. Uu-."Maria only repeated what she had already said.  All that's certain is that Maria has been with the rest of us constantly, has always had an alibi, and hasn't done anything that would put her under suspicion. She's simply overjoyed at being made Beatrice's messenger, and there certainly isn't a 19th person... Supposedly. That's right, I wonder what's written in the letter we picked up in aunt Eva and uncle Hideyoshi's room... aunt Natsuhi should still have it with her... Quinn2win fucked around with this message at 03:40 on Oct 31, 2016 |
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2016 14:34
|
|
|
The profiles page has been updated.
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2016 14:36
|
|
|
It could still be Kinzo. He's just been reanimated as a zombie. By the witch 
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2016 14:48
|
|
|
I never really thought about it before, whether when I played or when I read Shiny's LP, but the new art makes it more obvious - haven't they all been staying inside for a while now? With the way it's raining outside, whoever fled the boiler room would have difficulty avoiding getting at least a little wet, so gathering everyone and inspecting their clothes for moisture seems like a fine starting point. Obviously it wouldn't be any kind of sure thing - someone could have wet clothes for other reasons, and the killer could have dressed in raincoat and wellingtons then managed to dispose them somewhere in the mansion I suppose - but it'd still be a start in terms of figuring out who's primary suspect.
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2016 15:37
|
|
|
They keep asking Maria who gave her the letter and getting the answer "Beatrice", but no one is asking "what did the person look like?" Or "did you see her face or hear her voice". Granted Maria isn't the most useful of witnesses, but at least they could get something. Oh and I guess Kinzo (or some other person with polydactyly, which would be a stretch) is dead. Man, this epitaph is super inaccurate. Someone should file a complaint.
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2016 20:33
|
|
|
Ottumon posted:Hey, chimpanzees have opposable thumbs and have been observed to make and use tools. No reason they couldn't use a mallet to drive those stakes in. Chimps are also stronger than humans. Pound for pound, a chimp's about twice as strong as a man. Obviously, working as a group something like that would be child's play. Chimp theory is completely foolproof.
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2016 21:29
|
|
|
I submit the theory that it was a highly trained flea circus, under specific orders from Beatrice to kill everyone. Don't ask how they were able to kill some of these people, I won't bother explaining it. They are just that metal.
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2016 21:47
|
|
|
Poor Kanon, doesn't even properly get marked as dead despite more or less being impaled on a fancy toothpick.
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2016 22:32
|
|
|
Kanon hasn't been updated because he's still in the process of bleeding out. There's still a chance he'll make it.
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2016 22:37
|
|
|
Also the epitaph still seems to be correct. Kanon was sabbed in the chest which matches the 5th twilight and Kinzo has a stake in his head which matches the 4th. Kinzo also died before Kanon. (There can be no debate on this given that Kanon is still alive,)
|
|
#
?
Oct 9, 2016 02:52
|
|
|
MonsterEnvy posted:Also the epitaph still seems to be correct. Kanon was sabbed in the chest which matches the 5th twilight and Kinzo has a stake in his head which matches the 4th. Kinzo also died before Kanon. (There can be no debate on this given that Kanon is still alive,) I guess that's fair. It sure does take some liberal definitions of praising to get the third twilight between Eva and Kinzo's deaths, though.
|
|
#
?
Oct 9, 2016 03:07
|
|
|
Well, the typhoon is only slated to last a few days. Witch epitaph had to step its game up to get all those twilights done in time so that everyone can be dead before they can run away. 
|
|
#
?
Oct 9, 2016 03:55
|
|
|
 October 5th, 1986, 8:00 PM  Even though Doctor Nanjo and the rest did all they could to heal him... There was very little that could be done on an island like this without medicine or proper facilities... However, Kanon was the only human ever to confront the culprit. If only he could give us some kind of clue... However, at the time we carried Kanon here, it was already... too late.  Jessica was crouched in the corridor, crying in anguish. She had probably been taking care of Kanon until the moment of his death. George-aniki tried to approach her with words of comfort, but when Jessica pushed him away, he stopped trying to force her to talk and left her alone.  BGM: Fortitude  "How can you say it like that?! Kanon-kun spotted the culprit and bravely stood up to them!! If only Kumasawa-san had gone with him, the culprit might have hesitated and chosen to run away!!"Emotion-filled words that I never thought I'd hear coming from Jessica's mouth tumbled out. Kumasawa, looking truly sorry, could do nothing but hang her head... "Jessica..." "...You shouldn't have said that. It's the same for me, and probably Battler-kun as well, okay? We don't know what's going on, and it feels like our hearts are going to split open..."There were tears in George-aniki's eyes again. Seeing Jessica break down crying probably brought back the pain of losing his parents. I had already cried myself dry. So I didn't want to cry anymore. However, I understood how great the pain in their chests was.  "Beatrice will resurrect the dead, and even love that has been lost. So you'll definitely be able to meet him soon. Then, everyone will be able to live in peace." "Is this Beatrice of yours, the one who supposedly gave you that letter yesterday, the one who killed Kanon-kun?! Where is she?! Where is she hiding?! I'll find her and tear her apart!!! Say it! You know, don't you? You know who the culprit really is!! What do you know and what are you hiding?!! Tell me, drat iiiiiiiiit!!!" "M, Milady, please stop...!" "Uu-! Uu-! Beatrice exi-sts! 'Exi-sts'!! Uu-uu-uu-!!" "drat it, let go of me, Genji-san!! Maria knows who the culprit is!! And she's been hiding that she knows it! She must be telling them what we're doing, guiding them as they kill us!!" "Jessica, be silent!!"Jessica rushed at Maria and grabbed hold of her... Genji tried to stop her, but Jessica could not be calmed. The next thing I heard was the sound of aunt Natsuhi slapping Jessica's face. After that, Jessica's sorrowful sobbing voice resounded throughout the hall...  Although those words seemed kind, they clearly showed that George still had some doubts about Maria. He hadn't tackled Maria. However, he felt exactly the same way Jessica did. "...Aniki. I already asked her the same thing. The answer was the same, too." "I want to hear it from Maria's mouth. Who is Beatrice?" "...Even if I tell you, you won't... believe me anyway." "What do you mean by that?! Is it possible that the culprit is someone I know well, and that, for some reason, you're covering for them by remaining silent?! Who gave you that letter?!" "...I got it from Beatrice. I'll say it no matter how many times you ask. I got the letter from Beatrice. Kihihihihihihihihi. George onii-chan, do you refuse to believe in Beatrice because she's not an opponent you can hit?" "You want to turn your feelings of helplessness into violence and beat someone up. So you won't be satisfied unless your opponent is a human you can hit. So even if I tell you the truth, you won't accept it. So it's pointless for me to tell you. You won't believe." "In that world, Mama is nice, Papa is with us and is also nice. I want to go there right away. Everyone is afraid of Beatrice. But that is only natural. So calm yourselves. Beatrice said so herself. By the time the typhoon has passed, I will have ended everything." "...Ouch." "...Maria, I don't mind you being talkative, but let's leave it at that for now. I'll bet this is all a pretty happy situation for you, since you're always going on about how a witch exists, but keep that to yourself for the time being. Leave everyone else out of it." "Uu-." "Th, this brat, I had a bad feeling about her before, and there's something wrong, something's wrong with her!! Don't you think so too, Battler, Genji-san?! Kumasawa-san?! What about you, Mom!! Maria knows who the culprit is and she's hiding it! Maybe she hasn't directly done anything! But she's definitely the criminal's accomplice!! That's right, a spy! We can't let her stay with us any longer!!!" "...Kihihihi." Aunt Natsuhi glared at Maria with frightening eyes. Maria was used to aunt Rosa's loud style of scolding, but she apparently wasn't immune to this kind of silent telling off. She shrugged and kept her mouth shut. A desolate feeling filled the room... It felt as though things would just get more complicated if anyone spoke.  BGM: At Death's Door Six people in Dad's group. After that, both aunt Eva and uncle Hideyoshi, Kanon-kun, Grandfather... There were a whole 18 people on this island, and 10 of those people have been killed. More than half of us have been killed. And right now, there is absolutely no proof that the remaining eight people will be alright... "...Anyways, now is not the time for discord. Now that we are certain that the culprit can enter and leave the mansion at will and strike out of nowhere, we must give our undivided attention to surviving until tomorrow." "...I agree strongly with aunt Natsuhi. Tonight, we can put off searching for the culprit. Instead, it would be better to think of where we can barricade ourselves in."As I said this, I pointed out the clock to everyone. It was already 8:00 at night. We had been receiving shocks over and over again since the early morning, and both our bodies and our minds were completely tired out. There was still a long, long time until tomorrow. We needed to find some place to barricade ourselves in so we could rest our bodies and get even the smallest amount of relief...   "...Were Shannon, Kanon-kun and Gohda-san holding master keys?" "...Yes. They were supposed to have them on their person during work." "...We didn't want to disturb the scene, so we didn't investigate that closely. We can't eliminate the possibility that someone stole a key from them." "...We know there's a chance that the culprit visited the servants' room at some point in time so that they could unlock the shutter to the rose garden shed. It's conceivable they obtained a master key from there earlier on."There were many servants serving the Ushiromiya family. Because of that, there were several master keys. Furthermore, every time the shifts changed, the keys were passed between servants, and we had to acknowledge that this had probably gotten a bit sloppy at times in the past. "Even if they borrowed a bundle of keys from the pockets of one of the murdered servants, is there any safe place that even those keys couldn't open...?" "...Because of the conditions of our jobs, we have been entrusted with keys to all of the rooms... All of them in the mansion and in the guesthouse..." "So in other words, no matter where we hole up and lock ourselves in, it'd just be pointless. Sounds great, like you'll even need a key! If you're gonna come, come on, dammit! I'll beat you at your own game!!" "...The enemy won't approach us from the front. I don't know about the first six, but if we look at what happened to my parents and Kanon-kun, and even Grandfather, the enemy has only gone after isolated people. They don't have the power to assault all of us openly in a secure room." "That's right. It's just like Aniki says. Maybe aunt Natsuhi's rifle can serve to stave off the enemy." "...I hope that is so, but..." "..." "Maria, I know you want to say something, but keep it to yourself and stay quiet for a while." "...Uu-."Maria probably wanted to say that witches weren't afraid of things like guns, or something like that. But if she were to say it out loud, the atmosphere around here would start to get pretty edgy. I had noticed and decided to put a stop to it... "...Would you mind? I know of only one place that can't be entered even with the servants' keys." "Where is that?"  "I, I'm against this!! I don't even wanna think about going in Grandfather's creepy room!" "How many keys can gain access that room?" "...There are two. I always have one of them. The other was held by the Master himself, but just now, from the corpse in the boiler room..."Genji-san took a handkerchief out of his pocket and opened it, showing us the burnt and filthy key to the study. Then, he showed it alongside his own key, which he had once lent to Natsuhi. "...Normally, I should have left the Master's key for the police, but because he ordered me to protect the safety of the study, I borrowed it for the time being." "...I see... Which means that Kinzo's study is the only safe location right now..." "...It would appear that way. I don't even want to think about being shut up in that strange room all night, but it appears we must accept that his room is safer than anywhere else right now." "...After Grandfather locked himself up in that safe room, the culprit brought him out and killed him. We can't say for certain whether it's truly safe." "According to your theory, Grandfather skillfully let aunt Natsuhi and Mother walk right past him, which removed the receipt, and then left the room of his own free will. If you think about it that way, it still might have some worth as a place to barricade ourselves in..." "...You're too optimistic, Aniki." If we assume that the culprit used some technique to kidnap Grandfather from his study... they would have to show us the same trick again if they wanted to assault us in the study. That would also give us a chance to make the culprit show us some proof right before our eyes. If they're a real witch, we would be forcing her to use her little magic trick to open the door right in front of us... But such a thing is probably impossible. If you turn the chessboard over, you realize that the culprit is obviously trying to act like they're a witch. If that's true, all they have to do is appear in front of us and wow us with a colorful display of magic. Since they've avoided doing that, everything must be the work of a fake witch who wants us to think otherwise. Therefore, a culprit who used a technique other than magic to defeat the closed room couldn't open the door before our eyes.   "Whoa. That's incredible. But isn't that weird? You're saying he built another house inside his house? That's pretty cramped for that last house of someone like our Grandfather, who bought a whole island and realized all of his dreams." "...That's right. After some point in time, Father wouldn't trust any other place even inside the mansion." "...We always sneered about how he shut himself up in there, and this time, we're the ones who are gonna shut ourselves up. Ha!"Jessica spat the words out. "Jessica-chan, it feels like you would rather go search for the culprit than stay shut up somewhere." "...Of course, I don't think we'll be able to find them if we just start searching now. In the end, we can't do anything but wait. Then it doesn't matter where we wait, does it?! We can't run away or hide. Why don't we just take it easy in the parlor, watching TV or something and waiting for Beatrice-sama to appear?!" "...It's alright if she doesn't appear. There is no need for us to expose the culprit." "Well said... We shouldn't take too many risks before the police get here." "Thank you, Doctor Nanjo. I think we should move to Father's study. Considering the possibility that Father was taken out of there, there's no proof that it is completely safe. However, I can't deny the other possibility... Perhaps, as Battler-kun reasoned, Grandfather left the study of his own accord and was attacked outside." And Grandfather couldn't have used that trick unless he had known that the receipt was wedged in the door. Aunt Eva hadn't pointed out that last part, but it's clear how absurd the theory was. Then does that mean, as aunt Eva claimed, that the door was sealed and the room was closed? Is it a doubtless fact that aunt Natsuhi was the culprit, and that the room was a closed room...? If aunt Eva were here now, she would probably make that claim openly and blow my strange theory away. But anyways. I had to admit that a room with both a bed and a toilet, that all eight people could be shut up in, and with only two keys, both of which were gathered here, had to be the safest place in the mansion right now... At the very least, I figured this would be better than just staying shut up in the parlor and hoping nothing would go wrong.  ...Aah, it's useless, it's useless, it's all useless... My flimsy head is about to break out in a fever. If I keep turning the chessboard over, right and wrong will keep switching with each other over and over, and I won't be able to believe anything... When it seems like the culprit is one of the 18, I want to believe in Beatrice, and once I start believing in Beatrice, I start wanting to find the culprit amid the 18. If that keeps spinning around forever, in the end, my thoughts won't have taken one step from where they started... How far back in the past was it that Kyrie-san taught me this chessboard way of thinking? That concept of examining the situation by turning it over and thinking from the enemy's side... I get the feeling that I was so interested in this way of thinking at the time, that I let it guide the way I thought about everything. By the way, Kyrie-san was Dad's coworker back then. I hadn't dreamed that the day would come when she would be added to our family... ...Didn't Kyrie-san... tell me something? I get the feeling she once said that, while this chessboard thinking was one way to look at things, it clearly wasn't all powerful, and it wouldn't be good to rely on it too much...  BGM: Mind  "I really wanna try it! If I could study and perfect my chessboard thinking, it'd be fun to be able to read into any opponent's moves, wouldn't it?" "But you can't believe in it blindly. Game theory is a very deep and complicated subject. Chessboard thinking is just my interpretation that skims the surface of game theory. In order to thoroughly read your opponent's moves like you are imagining, you need to study your opponent. Additionally, while chessboard theory is convenient and practical, it isn't perfect. It has many weak points despite its convenience." "...Weak points?" "Yes. Chessboard thinking is founded upon game theory. When you thoroughly investigate game theory, it boils down to math. Do you know what the weak point of math is? It's noise." But, for example, unlike math, the Japanese language has noise mixed in. Kanji are a good example. Old kanji and new kanji are slightly different, which represents an introduction of noise created by the changes between time periods. Isn't history the same? There are dozens of policies that seem foolish in the modern era, but were meaningful at some point in the past. Because the rules of chess are fixed, when a pair of experts are discussing one particular layout, it's possible that they could reach the same conclusion whether they're from one hundred years in the past or one hundred years in the future. However, if the rules of chess had gone through massive changes over time, it is possible that a discussion about the same layout would have changed as well.  ...That's right. Kyrie-san definitely said that... Chess has always been a game were both sides play by the same rules and fight with the same conditions for victory. This is why it is possible for both sides to predict the other's moves. It's possible to read an opponent because you can always suppose that they will advance with the best moves they can find. But what if... the opponent is fickle or a little tired, and makes a move that can hardly be called 'the best'? Or maybe... what if the game actually has special rules, only the enemy knows them, and they can make use of something unknown to you? In fact, what if the opponent actually has some goal other than victory?  Many times, I've thought that by using chessboard thinking, I could perceive the plans of the person hiding behind this case. However, I don't know anything about the culprit. Am I just playing in a labyrinth of thought? If Kyrie-san were here at a time like this, she'd probably be able to notice something with her much, much sharper thinking ability...  Everyone was already trapped by paranoia. Kumasawa-san had prepared dinner at one point, but after the case involving George-aniki's parents, the kitchen and the parlor had become devoid of people. Someone had said that it might have been death by poison. Because of that, we were unable to even touch the food that Kumasawa-san had taken the trouble to make for us. The manner in which the first six had been killed was still unknown, but there was a possibility that it was poison. Of course, if this were the case, even a single person would be able to carry out the murder of six large adults. Furthermore, this idea made it seem like there was only a single culprit, who was afraid of aunt Natsuhi's rifle, and this was very good for our emotional stability. But the fatigue and hunger were even harsher than we had imagined. We all went along with Kumasawa-san's proposal to go together to the kitchen, and gathered some canned food, which would be hard to poison, to take in with us. All of Kumasawa-san's efforts to reward us with just a little dinner on this savage day regrettably came to nothing... The food piled up on the serving cart looked just a little sad.  Once we'd dragged ourselves up to the third floor, just as aunt Natsuhi had warned us of beforehand... there was a mixture of a chemical smell and a sickly-sweet aroma, a stench hanging in the air that felt like it was eating into our heads. "...I see, this kind of stench probably would give you a headache if you were shut in with it for a whole night. I know it's a little late, but I'm with Jessica. I vote against going into Grandfather's study."It felt like the stench was floating out from this magnificent door. It was the door to the forbidden study, which should defend against any who would enter... While Genji-san was unlocking the door, Maria was staring at the door and the doorknob with great interest. "...Uu-. Incredible door." "It looks old and strict and like it'd stop any jokes cold. Sure is a fitting door for Grandfather's study." "...It contains a really strong power to ward off any spiritual menace. Beatrice probably couldn't open this door." "Oh...? What does that mean?"Maria pointed at the doorknob. A scorpion crest... no, a design like a magic circle arranged around a scorpion, was inscribed there.  BGM: Witch of the Painting "...The fifth magic circle of Mars is a strong magic repellent. Additionally, this magic circle was very diligently constructed, and is full of power. To beings of magic like Beatrice, this magic circle is quite troublesome." "Isn't that comforting. Are you saying that we can even escape the grip of Beatrice's evil hand in this room? Our little witch here sure is reliable." "...Then how did Beatrice take Grandfather out...?" "Just as Battler reasoned. Beatrice can't go inside. But since she has magic, she can create a familiar. Using them, she might have been able to force Grandfather to leave the study." "Aa-, I read that in a manga. I've seen a bunch of scenes where vampires were frightened of crosses, so they couldn't get close, but their familiars were fine, so they made their familiars attack." "Those scorpion keyholder-like charms I gave to you yesterday also had the fifth magic circle of Mars on them. The power dwelling within them was weak, but they should be enough to protect you until we leave the island. Although it sounds like you've lost yours, right? Kihihihihihihihihihihihi..." "...Scorpion keyholder charms?" "Ah, aaah, that... The charm I gave you yesterday was something I got from Maria. I heard that it would repel magic if you put it on your doorknob, and at the time I thought maybe it would be better if you had it..." "...Is that so? I thought it was an odd thing for you to be carrying around." "...Aunt Natsuhi put that... on her doorknob?" "Yes. Last night, after hearing about it from Jessica, I hung it from the doorknob on the inside of my door." "Then aunt Natsuhi, you're really fortunate. If you did that, Beatrice probably couldn't even lay a finger on you yesterday. I think Beatrice must have been really annoyed. Kihihihihihihihihihihihi..."...Beatrice, annoyed...? Couldn't lay one finger...? Natsuhi thought back on that eerie scribble she had seen that morning, like someone had been tearing at the outside of her door with blood-soaked hands, and gasped in surprise.  "Quit it, don't talk about that... Witches don't exist. The culprit does. And that's a human just like us. And if you need proof, why don't we dice her up and see if her blood's red?" "drat it, drat it... How could you... to Kanon-kun..."
Quinn2win fucked around with this message at 03:41 on Oct 31, 2016 |
|
#
?
Oct 9, 2016 14:20
|
|
|
The profile page has been updated.
|
|
#
?
Oct 9, 2016 14:21
|
|
|
Ten people dead and it's still episode 1. At this rate it'd be very hard to keep the tension going for eight episodes after all this death in the first one. I'm predicting time loop shenanigans.
|
|
#
?
Oct 9, 2016 15:10
|
|
|
Insurrectionist posted:I never really thought about it before, whether when I played or when I read Shiny's LP, but the new art makes it more obvious - haven't they all been staying inside for a while now? With the way it's raining outside, whoever fled the boiler room would have difficulty avoiding getting at least a little wet, so gathering everyone and inspecting their clothes for moisture seems like a fine starting point. Obviously it wouldn't be any kind of sure thing - someone could have wet clothes for other reasons, and the killer could have dressed in raincoat and wellingtons then managed to dispose them somewhere in the mansion I suppose - but it'd still be a start in terms of figuring out who's primary suspect. As it happens, the writer gave an interview after Umineko completed where he pointed out that this was the one thing he just didn't want to bother worrying about. So you probably shouldn't dwell on that particular plot point either way.
|
|
#
?
Oct 9, 2016 17:27
|
|
|
So yeah it appears the reason Maria is so ok with this is because she believes in the witch and that everyone will be resurrected in the golden land. And in turn everyone will be better and nicer there.
|
|
#
?
Oct 9, 2016 19:51
|
|
|
MonsterEnvy posted:So yeah it appears the reason Maria is so ok with this is because she believes in the witch and that everyone will be resurrected in the golden land. And in turn everyone will be better and nicer there. There's naïve children, and then there's Maria. You think this is symptomatic of her mental issues? It really does reek of it.
|
|
#
?
Oct 9, 2016 20:14
|
|
|
MonsterEnvy posted:So yeah it appears the reason Maria is so ok with this is because she believes in the witch and that everyone will be resurrected in the golden land. And in turn everyone will be better and nicer there. And she's also just young enough (especially with the implied neuro-divergence issues) that she wouldn't have the sense of topic appropriateness, given there's a lot of poo poo kids are okay with that adults find nightmareish
|
|
#
?
Oct 9, 2016 20:20
|
|
|
All the characters seem to be getting more and more annoyed about Maria, since this is a sequel to Higurashi I'm expecting the episode titled: "The Gang throws a nine year old out of a third story window." Or something similar.
|
|
#
?
Oct 9, 2016 20:29
|
|
|
Jeabus Mahogany posted:Ten people dead and it's still episode 1. At this rate it'd be very hard to keep the tension going for eight episodes after all this death in the first one. I'm predicting time loop shenanigans. I think the Epitaph straight up tells you that by day 9 or 10 everyone will be dead That's not a lot of time, so it's not much of a surprise it all happens within the first episode!Look forward to the new cast in episode 2.
|
|
#
?
Oct 9, 2016 20:49
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 10, 2024 00:12 |
|
|
I can't wait for the new main character, Ushiromiya Fighter.
|
|
#
?
Oct 9, 2016 21:20
|
|