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Why were certain people, people more culpable for the incident, not abducted? The real goal of the game wasn't to facilitate Brian's revenge, but rather to ensure certain people died to cover up the truth. Why were Dragon and I abducted? Dragon witnessed (or could have witnessed) something a the bar that would have absolved Aaron Morris; very likely, she saw or could've seen that he didn't, or at least wasn't the only one with the opportunity to, take the master keycard. Mouse was kidnapped because she has a tangential tie to the case, and is someone Monkey believed she could manipulate as a proxy in the game. Why were there two phones that could control the game? Because there were two people other than Brian who were in on the game. Why did Brian decide to do this in the first place? He was manipulated by Monkey. Why did Brian seem to know about the connection between Dog and Oliver Bowen? He recognized the knife. Why did the Jade Emperor react strangely to Dog's questioning? As Dog said, the person who kidnapped him wasn't the person who was acting as Jade Emperor at that moment. Why did the Jade Emperor attempt to incite a fight between Dragon and Snake? And if they planned to use that fight as a cover to execute the two, why didn't they? The entire goal of the game was to kill these two because they had information that could lead to the real culprit of Amadeus Bowen's murder being discovered, and to do so in a way that made it looked like they died as a result of the game as a targeted killing would draw too much suspicion. Why was I lured out to the building Brian was inside that was rigged with an explosion? And why did Brian decide to die in said explosion? It was a way to kill Mouse without suspicion and ensure nothing else pointed to Monkey; Brian didn't "decide" to die, he'd been dead for most of the game, killed to cover up the fact that he was used to fulfill someone else's agenda. Where is Amadeus Bowen's golden knife? And if somebody has it, why is there no evidence of the blackmail material in it ever being used? Monkey currently has it--it's how she escaped her ropes in her route. She's had the knife on her the entire time, and used it to kill Pig and tried to plant Dog's knife as the weapon instead. What to do with the blackmail material? To keep it around is to commit the same sin as the Bowen brothers. Handing it over to the authorities isn't an option because said authorities are themselves part of the corrupt blackmail scheme. Therefore, the only remaining option is to destroy it.
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May 22, 2023 15:42
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"Dragon drunkenly stole the knife and doesn't realise it" is the funniest option and therefore the one I support. Otherwise, my brain's too fried lately to put together a proper post, so I'll just salute my fellow posters as we go into the endgame. Onwards!
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May 22, 2023 21:22
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 This deduction is, understandably, the final one in the game, and as always there's no room for error here; if you get any part of it wrong, Mouse's entire breakdown of events falls apart and the group stops listening to her, ultimately leaving her alone and, in turn, giving the mastermind enough time to activate the explosive strapped to her chest – game over. (You also won't be told which part of the deduction you got wrong, either – it has you go through the whole sequence before you fail.) But Mouse already has figured everything out, right? There's no reason to waste time now, even if the truth is hard to accept.  [BGM: Silence]   Right now, I'm going to make all the mysteries surrounding the past few weeks clear, one by one. Starting with the identity of the person who killed both Pig and Rooster. That person isn't some mysterious third party, nor is it a resurrected Dog. It's somebody in this very room. It's... Monkey. That's– Let me finish.The room stayed silent. I still had control. Do you want to know the reason why she killed those two? It's simple. It's because she's the mastermind. That's right, she's the person behind this very game, the Zodiac Bid. She's 'The Cat'. And you know what else? She was also the true culprit behind the Zodiac Race! ...I realize that's a weighty claim. But to understand everything, you also need to understand where this all started. You need to understand the truth of Amadeus Bowen's murder. There's something we've been missing about it. Somebody we've been missing. Aaron Morris didn't kill Amadeus Bowen. No, the culprit is a... Mr. X. I suppose the question then is 'Who is Mr. X?' Well, I'll tell you. It was somebody not with us at the moment, but someone we all know quite well. Now... I'll explain how that all fits together.[BGM: Hear No Evil]  H-hold on, Mouse. Are you thinking clearly? You just leveled a lot of accusations, and most of them don't make a lot of sense. Are you feeling okay? I'm feeling just fine, Monkey. The question is, are you feeling okay? It must be unnerving, the truth being so close to exposed at this point. Mouse, please, I beg you to calm down. Do your breathing exercises. Enough with the god drat breathing exercises! How can you talk so calmly to me, you murderer?! Murderer?Monkey began nervously tapping her fingers. Mouse, please, I'm begging you, listen to me. What would your father say? Do you really think he'd think you were correct? I'm just trying to save you from the shame of being wrong. That's... I'm right! I am, I have evidence! Do you really? Or do you have theories? Your father had evidence. He was correct. But emulating him and being wrong? That'll just bring you shame. I'm not going to... I'm right, drat it. I am!I said this, but for some reason, my energy was being sapped. Monkey said this all with such conviction that I started to waver. Were my theories really any good? Mouse. You're not your father. You're not correct. You're going to feel shame if you continue. I...My faith had begun to dwindle. With everyone's eyes on me, was I about to be a fool? Was I wrong? [BGM: That Pesky Rodent]   Monkey, would you please at least allow Mouse to make her accusations first? Ox? Mouse, I can't say I know you too well. However, in the short time I've known you, you've shown yourself to be quite bright. If you're convinced that Monkey is the culprit, then make your reasoning known. Frankly, nothing Monkey has said should have swayed that conviction. It was barely a coherent point. ...Yeah. Yeah, you're right, Ox. So can it, Monkey. If you're innocent, you should let me speak! …  So this is how it shall be. Interesting. Very well then, I'll listen to what you have to say.  But Mouse, you're accusing me of something quite heinous. To be so cruel, to a friend... Surely your logic is airtight, right? If it isn't, I'll be sure to point it out. M-Monkey? I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm still interrupting you. Please, be heard. ...Okay. I will. Good, it's good to be heard. So then, I'll listen to what you have to say. Like you already suggested, let's start at the top. You claim that somebody other than Aaron Morris murdered Amadeus Bowen. Somebody not in this room. So tell us, who is this mysterious murderer? Okay then, let's begin. Amadeus Bowen's murderer, and your co-conspirator... is none other than Rooster. Rooster? Mouse, are you sure about this? Hold on, let's not be absurd about all this. Rooster? Mouse, I'm serious, are you okay? Quit it with the gaslighting shtick, I'm not falling for it! I'm not gaslighting you at all, just concerned that you're making such questionable theories. You sound like how Brian did. But I said I'd hear you out, so I will. Though I have to wonder how you'll go about proving that an absolute buffoon like Rooster somehow managed to commit the crime of the decade while avoiding detection. So go on. It's actually not too complicated when you think about it. First off, let's give Rooster credit. He's a lot smarter than he comes across. He's a hell of an actor. He had been stalking Bowen for a while, vaguely aware of what he had been doing. And on the day he got an appointment with the man, he figured it was the perfect opportunity. The night before, he swiped Bowen's master card in the bar's restroom. What's this? How do you intend to make such a claim? Surely Rooster couldn't pull off something like that. Monkey's right, Mouse. How could he take the wallet, pull out the master card, and put it back in Bowen's pocket in the restroom? He never had to do all of that. He simply swapped Bowen's wallet with one of his own. A wallet of his own?! Like I said, a lot of preparation went into this. This wallet of Rooster's will become relevant later, but for now, let's just leave it as this being how Rooster got his hands on the master card. The following day, he used the master card to enter the security room and mess things up. Then he went upstairs, and was directed to the right waiting room. There, another appointment for Bowen was waiting. However, he needed to get away. So, he feigned illness to get to the restroom right before Sheep would go down to the first floor to get breakfast as usual. In the bathroom, Rooster finally put the first of his many devious tricks into play. The wallet he swapped with Bowen had a speaker installed in it. Through that speaker, he intimidated Bowen, talking about how he had proof of Bowen's blackmailing scheme. This was... likely a bluff. Rooster probably only had generic suspicions about Bowen's actions, brought on by how Bowen was blackmailing his parents. However, Rooster was a good enough actor to convince Amadeus Bowen that he was in trouble. Rooster ordered Bowen to do something in his office first, then open his office window and make his way to the storage room by climbing on the windows. Now hold on just a moment, Mouse. Surely you're aware of how absurd this all sounds. How could you possibly know this much? I don't. A lot of this is guesswork. The details of various places could be completely wrong. I'm just weaving a narrative, I'm not vouching for it to be 100% authentic. Even still, you're not making sense. Amadeus Bowen wasn't a man who would climb across windowsills just because a random voice told him to. There's creativity, and then there's absurdity. That's...  Now now, Monkey, what do you have against creativity? How boring would theories be if they weren't creative? Snake? Ah, apologies for stealing your spotlight, Mouse. Just thought I'd chime in. To Monkey's point, I imagine Bowen wasn't in the habit of such things, hopping across windowsills. However, if he felt like his entire livelihood was being threatened, some minor physical exercise is fairly meaningless. More importantly, it wasn't like it was a 300 foot drop, it was a two story building. Bowen was a man still in shape, something like this would've been nothing. Right. Snake's exactly right. So then, Rooster went to meet Bowen in the storage closet. Snake, you're still signing off on this? You were on watch, right? Surely you would have seen Rooster through the window. Not at all. The thing is – door windows have a fatal flaw. If you straddle the wall the door is attached to, then duck under the window, you can evade their line of sight rather easily. Oh? Thinking about it... yes, yes Mouse is correct. If Rooster moved like that, he quite easily could've gotten around my sight. Seriously? Fine, fine, fine. So then, what next? Rooster confronted Bowen in that dark closet. There, he intimidated Bowen into doing two key things. Afterwards, Rooster had no use for him. It was time for Rooster to move on with the 'murder' part of his murder plot. He took out a metal wire he had brought, wrapped it around Bowen's throat, and began to strangle him. However, this is when something happened that Rooster couldn't expect. Bowen took out the golden knife he always kept on him, and tried to fight back. I...can't imagine this was particularly effective, but Bowen was probably able to nick Rooster, getting blood on the knife. But then Bowen finally passed out, having been choked out well enough. And it was time for Rooster to begin the coverup. He locked the storage room window. He confiscated the knife with the damning bit of DNA evidence on it. He swapped his own phony wallet back with Bowen's original wallet. And, most importantly, he dragged Bowen's body and stuffed it under Snake's large, hollow statue. You're not suggesting– Indeed I am. After putting the body there. Rooster put cardboard under the body and placed it on the dolly. He had done a lot of research before coming to this appointment. This statue being here was entirely within his calculations. Finally, Rooster slipped out of the storage room and 'exited' the restroom, returning to the guest room.  In the guest room, Rooster used Bowen's phone right in front of Tiger's eyes to bring Morris to Bowen's office. Ah, I know what's coming up. How will you attempt to rationalize this, I wonder? I'll be honest, I also don't quite know how Rooster managed to pull it off. However, when Morris walked in, he heard a pre-recorded message that Rooster had made Bowen give in the storage room into his phone's microphone. A pre-recorded message, huh? Good theory Mouse, still unique as always. But how was this message played to Mr. Morris? Remember, no calls were made, the speakers were only connected to the computer, no files were deleted. That's, um... well... there's gotta be some answer, right? Some answer? I thought you were going to supply that answer, Mouse.[BGM: Steadfast Gallop]   Um... I have an idea, actually. Go for it, Sheep! Well, I know this s-sounds kind of dumb, but... if Rooster was really prepared, he could have done something like... Programming his own innocuous-looking website? So then, before Bowen left through the window, Rooster told him to open that w-website but minimize the screen. At a glance, the website could look normal. It wouldn't raise any alarms if the police searched the web history. However, since it was programmed by Rooster, it could secretly be used to play out live messages at a whim? Or, something like that... A pre-programmed website?! You people are getting absurd! You're right, it's absurd... b-but... isn't that the point? The more ludicrous the plan, the harder it would be to i-imagine someone doing something so crazy. Sheep's exactly right! Besides, this isn't the only solution. There are other outside-of-the-box ways of giving Morris the 'you're fired' message without a trace. She's just raising one possibility. Ah, I see. Very helpful Sheep, thank you. Now then, what's next? I'm sure you're aware that after this, Morris drove away. And yet, a stack of cash with Bowen's fingerprints was found in his car. When do you propose that got in there? Rooster could have done that before he arrived at the building. If I recall, Morris's car was cheap. It was the kind I might have. It wouldn't be hard to break in and plant the cash then. My oh my, even Horse is jumping in to correct me? How sad. Well, Horse, Rooster had not yet gained any opportunity to access Bowen's safe. How do you explain that? … He didn't need to. He probably just took a couple of the bills in Bowen's wallet and put it on the top and bottom of the stack, and voila, trick complete. Anyways, the delayed text then prompts Snake to bring the statue into Bowen's office. Like Snake mentioned, it was heavier than expected... because there was a full corpse inside!! Snake left, and after the right amount of time passed, Rooster barged into Bowen's office. Immediately, he locked the door behind him. He couldn't afford to let Sheep in until he was ready. He next unloaded Bowen's corpse from the statue and dragged him into the center of the office. He put Morris' phone back where it belonged – in Morris' pocket. Then, Rooster bludgeoned Bowen with a statue on his desk, creating the crime scene. Rooster continued to drag the body over to Bowen's safe, which he unlocked using the code. That was the second demand Rooster made in the storage room – the code to Bowen's safe. Who knows how he got that out of Bowen, but he clearly did. When Rooster opened the safe, he knew he couldn't hide the amount of money that would need to be missing on his person. So he just took out a plastic bag and lighter he had been keeping in his pocket, piled a whole load of money into it, opened the window, then burned it. No money was ever actually stolen – that was never what this was about. Rooster then picked up the statue murder weapon and placed it in the bag. Then, he chucked it out the window into a nearby bush or something, to later be picked up. He closed the window, locked it, then unlocked the door to the office and simply acted casual, waiting for Sheep to 'catch' him. And just like that, the perfect crime is committed – perfectly pinned on Morris. What a spectacular work of fiction, Mouse. In all of our sessions, I never realized you had such a talent in fiction writing. However, I'm sad to say... that little work of fiction you just spun is by no means definitive proof of anything. For instance... Let us say that your explanation of how the crime went down was largely accurate, however, the true culprit was Sheep. Wh-what?!? Does she not possess every opportunity that Rooster had? Well, uh, yes... So then, why are you not accusing her of the devious murder? Is it a lack of motive? But of course Sheep would have motive, after working under such a despicable man for so long. In my opinion, Sheep is more likely to be knowledgeable enough to pull off such a crime.  That's the issue, Monkey. If Sheep was the killer, there would have been many other chances for her to get away with murder. Fact of the matter is, she never would've needed such an elaborate plan. Actually, the fact we were able to rule Sheep out like we did was a stroke of amazing luck. Sure, Rooster intended on Morris being the prime suspect. But he couldn't have counted on Snake never taking his eyes off the hallway. He couldn't even be sure Snake would be looking down the hallway. Had any one of a number of factors gone differently, we would've been torn between Sheep and Morris as the potential killers. That's right. To go to such lengths to hide your involvement, only to be a slightly lesser suspect – it seems implausible, no? Right, right. That was the expected result. All your arguments so far have been fairly standard. Good, good. So then, what of it? Hmm? Congratulations, Mouse, you have solved an old cold case where dozens of cops could not. Very well done. Rooster actually killed Amadeus Bowen. What does that have to do with me at all?
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May 22, 2023 23:41
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Monkey really is loving this poo poo! Also my murder theories never considered Bowen would be the one to cross the windows as well. And I guess in the end it really was Monkey and Rooster all along, Rooster would absolutely also want revenge on Amadeus. ...I am now thinking if Rooster goading Mouse to kill and his route were all just part of the plans Monkey discussed with him, even if in the end we went to the true route. Edit: Oh yeah, also realized, Monkey you dummy, you just confessed you knew Rooster was the killer, of course you'd have to be involved 
GiantRockFromSpace fucked around with this message at 00:06 on May 23, 2023 |
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May 23, 2023 00:02
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 "And one more thing, Mouse... you are incompetent!"
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May 23, 2023 00:24
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Wow, monkey, you are just so talented at manipulating people. I bet you could have manipulated everyone into killing each other. Look at how masterfully you immediately turned heel when confronted and openly bullied a woman to the point that literally everyone else in the room teamed up with her against you.
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May 23, 2023 01:40
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GiantRockFromSpace posted:Edit: Oh yeah, also realized, Monkey you dummy, you just confessed you knew Rooster was the killer, of course you'd have to be involved I mean she could still be talking of a hypothetical/being sarcastic. 'Yes yes, Rooster was the killer. Well done, gold star. But what does that have to do with me?' Also, the whole set-up sounds really shoddy. The coroner wouldn't have picked up that the true cause of death was strangulation? Nobody saw a bag being thrown from the window? A pre-recorded website? I mean, not to side with a murderer but I would be as skeptical as Monkey. It's a lot of theory.
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May 23, 2023 01:41
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This wouldn't even fly in Ace Attorney, honestly.
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May 23, 2023 01:57
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Is the person in the "cackling unrepentant villain" role for this entire segment determined by who you choose to accuse with the first option? Or is it always Monkey, and how would that work?
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May 23, 2023 02:15
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Not sure about dominoes falling into place. Still, with a few major assumptions, that was a valid sequence of events to explain what happened. If they hadn't rushed the investigation, trial, and execution, they might have even validated some of it.
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May 23, 2023 02:22
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So why did criminal mastermind Monkey decide to show up to her own deathgames in her jammies not once, but twice? Do they contribute to the chaos and darkness of the reveal?
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May 23, 2023 03:20
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 mouse how long have you been seeing Joey Wheeler for therapy
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May 23, 2023 04:06
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Tallgeese posted:This wouldn't even fly in Ace Attorney, honestly.
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May 23, 2023 04:12
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Foxfire_ posted:But Monkey's already halfway into her breakdown sprites Sheesh, yeah, homegirl isn’t even trying to hide it. FoolyCharged posted:Wow, monkey, you are just so talented at manipulating people. I bet you could have manipulated everyone into killing each other. Look at how masterfully you immediately turned heel when confronted and openly bullied a woman to the point that literally everyone else in the room teamed up with her against you. Also, this  I really wanna see where this goes.
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May 23, 2023 06:16
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Monkey you absolute piece of poo poo. I knew this was coming but it still pisses me off. 
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May 23, 2023 06:41
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ApplesandOranges posted:I'm withholding my victory lap until probably the next update but I'm going to bask in having figured out the (very likely) Monkey-Rooster team up way back in the thread. Admittedly I didn't expect Brian to actually be involved in the game, but it is nice when you 'crack' a game's mysteries way before it's time to solve them. Also, yes, I'm totally gloating now. After years of being sidelined by murder mystery game twists, I've become wise to your tricks, you genre!
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May 23, 2023 06:58
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On the one hand the particulars of Bowen’s murder seem to be mired in moon logic. We’re told that only someone as athletic as Tiger or Horse could make the window ledge jump. But Bowen made the jump in reverse (I suppose it might be easier that direction). Then got intimidated into recording a bunch of messages that would be used to cover up his own murder. Then got killed, without people in the nearby rooms hearing it. Then got stuffed inside a conveniently-placed conveniently-sized conveniently-hollow statue. In less than the time it takes for someone to eat breakfast. On the other hand. quote:If you straddle the wall the door is attached to, then duck under the window, you can evade their line of sight rather easily. Elite posted:So if the windows were only on the upper part of the door then Rooster could sneak below the window of the left waiting room to avoid being seen by Snake and enter the storage closet Not sure what that accomplishes but it's something he could've done. 
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May 23, 2023 07:17
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wologar posted:So why did criminal mastermind Monkey decide to show up to her own deathgames in her jammies not once, but twice? Do they contribute to the chaos and darkness of the reveal? She doesn't even have the excuse of being kidnapped from home this time, girl straight up marched into Dog's bar in pajamas Elite posted:On the one hand the particulars of Bowen’s murder seem to be mired in moon logic. We’re told that only someone as athletic as Tiger or Horse could make the window ledge jump. But Bowen made the jump in reverse (I suppose it might be easier that direction). Then got intimidated into recording a bunch of messages that would be used to cover up his own murder. Then got killed, without people in the nearby rooms hearing it. Then got stuffed inside a conveniently-placed conveniently-sized conveniently-hollow statue. In less than the time it takes for someone to eat breakfast. At least Rooster didn't use hot wheels this time
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May 23, 2023 09:25
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Kind of agree that the murder plan is just a bit too out there. If I was one of the others in the room I might be on Monkey's side thinking that Mouse was losing it.
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May 23, 2023 09:42
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CremePudding posted:She doesn't even have the excuse of being kidnapped from home this time, girl straight up marched into Dog's bar in pajamas Apparently everyone showed up in the same clothes from the previous round for their reunion. I also sincerely hope that those who were kidnapped by Dog had a chance to bathe and was their clothes, if only for their sake. Definitely would give them a hell of an alibi in the second half though since everyone could smell them from several rooms away.
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May 23, 2023 10:21
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That's the true cause of death - Mouse, Snake and Dragon's stank was so strong that it drove Pig and then Rooster to suicide!
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May 23, 2023 11:02
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ApplesandOranges posted:That's the true cause of death - Mouse, Snake and Dragon's stank was so strong that it drove Pig and then Rooster to suicide! "Uh, Mouse, I appreciate that you've got some good theories and such to point out, but could you point them out from the other room? And maybe avoid breathing in our direction?"
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May 23, 2023 11:40
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I think the important thing to remember is that it isn't really about solving Amadeus Bowen's murder; Aaron Morris was convicted on the basis that he was the only one who could have done it. Mouse is putting together theories, using unexplained details of the case and the games, and poking holes in this. Rooster's plan being wildly implausible is, as stated, sort of the point, you'd basically never convict him on this, but Mouse isn't trying him and trying to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. As for Monkey losing her grip, this is already a slapdash game put together in a short time on a much shorter budget. The first game failed because Dog completely one-upped her, and she's scrambling to save things. And notably, she isn't as great as she thinks she is, as shown by the differences between the imagined ideal end in Aces and what really happened. (For instance, she imagined Mouse would not go after Brian until seeing that Dragon and Snake had been killed, when in fact Mouse was so incensed at being dragged into this that she needed no additional prompting to go try and punch him in the face.) Her own route is a very arrogant assertion that she could control the whole game while being tied up, and even then she admits that she has a dark fascination with seeing if she can push people into doing extreme things basically just to see if she can. I don't think it's a stretch that when Mouse gathers everyone and says in no uncertain terms that she's behind it all, as she's clearly struggling to keep ahead of their planning and still get the outcomes she wants, she starts to lose her poo poo and go "OH REALLY, YOU THINK YOU HAVE IT ALL FIGURED OUT HUH". I'm curious what the connection here is going to be, because the one part I have basically no guess on is why she's doing all this to begin with. Is she on Oliver Bowen's payroll? Seems like a roundabout way to go about things if you have the backing of the chief of police. Was she truly fascinated by Brian's theories? Well, if that's the case, why'd she kill him? Also I'm guessing Rooster's whole story about thinking Dragon killed his parents is BS and just a cover for wanting to kill her since she could've known that he also was at the bar the night Amadeus Bowen's master key was stolen.
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May 23, 2023 17:14
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I'm gonna have to take a deep breath and count to 10 if it's revealed that Monkey was Rooster's therapist too and the whole idea of Bowen's murder was something she goaded Rooster into doing.
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May 23, 2023 17:35
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ApplesandOranges posted:I'm gonna have to take a deep breath and count to 10 if it's revealed that Monkey was Rooster's therapist too and the whole idea of Bowen's murder was something she goaded Rooster into doing. Not going far enough. Monkey is also the Bowen brothers' therapist and the blackmail plan was her idea. For her motives are very complex.
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May 23, 2023 17:39
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I’m sure the real reason that monkey is still in her PJs in the second game is just that it wasn’t worth creating a new sprite set, but an in universe reason could be that she has had the second golden knife on her all along for both games, and by wearing loose fitting pajamas/sweats she could better hide it on her person.
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May 23, 2023 18:22
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As others have said, Mouse's version of events seems like an incredible stretch and honestly just very silly. For one thing, Mouse claims that Rooster hosed with the security on his way to the meeting but in Sheeps route we hear that she found a security guard knocked out which would mean they would be out for ages, and that Aaron Morris, Snake and Sheep all missed them when moving around the building. And like Elite said, the idea of Rooster pulling all of this off during a single bathroom break and Sheep eating breakfast is absurd. I can't imagine that it would be easy for Rooster to first intimidate Bowen (based on nothing) and talk him through doing all of this in the first place. It becomes incredibly unlikely for him to have not be heard by Snake in the next room and then subsequently not be heard by either Snake or Tiger while killing someone and moving a huge statue around and then finally not be heard by Sheep when dragging the body out, bludgeoning it and stuffing it in the safe. And I just can't believe that the writer would put such an obvious hole as someone who's illiterate claiming to be reading a magazine at the time of the murder without it being relevant. And finally... I haven't mentioned this yet but well, Tiger was labeled as The Killer in the first game. That's what really made me suspect her tbh. I'll eat some major crow if I'm wrong on this but I suspect we have a twist incoming where Mouse is wrong about the murder but Monkey can't explain why she's wrong without revealing herself or Tigers involvement. Having said all of that, the statue must be involved in some way now since Sheep hasn't admitted to moving it herself. So Rooster must have done something with it. ZCKaiser posted:Also I'm guessing Rooster's whole story about thinking Dragon killed his parents is BS and just a cover for wanting to kill her since she could've known that he also was at the bar the night Amadeus Bowen's master key was stolen. If this is the case, Dragon must have actually seen him doing something. Dog and Aaron Morris were also at the bar and they never mentioned seeing him when talking to the police and weren't targetted to be silenced. Also, why wait years to go after her? Nephthys fucked around with this message at 20:20 on May 23, 2023 |
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May 23, 2023 20:08
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 [BGM: Constriction]  It has to do with you because he was your partner in crime in setting up the Zodiac Race. Perhaps he was the original impetus for it all. Oh? It wasn't Brian's idea? Not initially. And why did Rooster set up such a laborious incident? I can think of a number of reasons. For one, Rooster's career had been flagging, hadn't it? He was on the cusp edge of irrelevance. Something was needed to revitalize his career. Some major incident that would thrust him into the limelight as a hero. I think the Zodiac Race certainly qualifies. There were also some people Rooster would certainly appreciate being dead. However, as already seen, Rooster is a paranoid perfectionist. Just to kill one man, he came up with a thoroughly elaborate plan to divert all suspicion, and even that wasn't enough. After all, there were three people who threatened to ruin everything for him, weren't there? First up, there was the local gang leader who directly saw him the night he stole Bowen's master card. Maybe in an attempt to not have eyewitnesses identify him, Rooster left the restroom through the window or something. And in doing so, Dragon got a very good look at Rooster. And he knew that. But... he didn't know that Dragon was entirely wasted at the time, and wouldn't remember the incident in the slightest. Wait, something like that happened? There was also the issue of Amadeus' son, who had proved to be incredibly unstable. He was investigating the case on his own, convinced of his Dad's innocence. Worse, perhaps Rooster's stalking revealed that he was bouncing theories off of Snake, the other person who could ruin it all. After all, Snake was the one who could attest to the weight of the statue. Could attest to the out of place cardboard under it. He must've been so confused why Snake never brought something like that up beforehand. He didn't know that Snake was so out of it at the time he barely noticed these details. But at this point, Snake was the only one who knew such details. So long as he was alive, he posed a threat. You're saying this was done to kill three people? That seems incredibly elaborate. Why would Rooster go to such lengths? Well, first off, it's worth noting that Rooster planned on being a super famous star. If that were ever to be the case, a case like Bowen's hanging in his past would be a glaring weakness. If a sliver of proof remained, his stardom could attract reporters who would dig into matters, and might find witnesses like Dragon, like Snake, like Brian. But you're right – were that it, this whole thing would be incredibly unreasonable. I'm not going to claim to know all the answers, Monkey. But I would guess he was influenced, just like Brian was influenced into starting this killing game, by you. I thought you said Rooster came up with the killing game. Rooster came up with the need for one, but like I said, the reason this whole thing would work would be because you'd lure someone else to do all the dirty work for you. You were Brian's therapist, right? It was no mistake that he wound up the way he did... was it? You led him there. You didn't discourage fantasies like the Zodiac Race; in fact, you were his accomplice in setting all that up, weren't you? And once he had gone so far as to prepare things like the collars, the coding for it all, you knew it was time to strike. The reason why a bunch of more deserving people weren't thrown in the death game was because you needed to leave room for five people. Yourself, Rooster, Snake, Dragon, and me. And you? And me. For whatever reason, you had decided I was also someone that needed to be involved in all of this. For whatever reason, you also decided I would be another person you'd have to clean up after. You know your logic is strong when you have to start it with 'for whatever reason'. And surely Brian would have objected to this, no? He would have.[BGM: Stampede of Truth]  Which was why, before you could hold your own personal voir dire, you actually killed Brian long before the actual Zodiac Race could start. Through poison, perhaps? Ah, yes, with poison. You caught me! But in all seriousness, you expect anyone to believe this? In case you forgot, Rooster and I were participants. How could we be hosting a game like that? In case you forgot, the majority of the game was automated, with many messages pre-recorded. Perhaps the trickiest part was during the big speech at the beginning, with everyone crowded together. It was critical you established early that this thing was being puppeteered by someone else, someone who was alive. So you showed a live feed of Brian's corpse, with his face covered in the mask, and with his butterfly tattoo meaningfully exposed. But in setting it up, you asked for us to do one key thing, one thing that was awfully unnecessary, and that never really came back up again. We were all supposed to sit down, face the screen, and put back on our animal masks. It is my belief, then, that you had custom rigged it so that once you put on your animal mask, Monkey, a small microphone inside the mask – or perhaps in your collar – would put on a voice filter and play on the speakers. That's why you set things up the way you did. But if that was the case, you surely would've heard me speaking. We might not have. No, you definitely would have. Um, I don't think so... I wasn't sitting that far from the group. Then you were whispering, weren't you? You whispered, but the program raised your volume. I had always thought the Jade Emperor's intonation was off. Hmm. I wouldn't suppose you have any proof of this claim, Mouse? Oh, of course I do. Isn't it odd that you were the only one not to speak a word during the Jade Emperor's speech? Mouse, that isn't proof of anything. Apologies, but I wasn't feeling particularly chatty at the time. Fine, it doesn't prove anything other than the possibility that I'm right. Still, that's enough. Anyways, from there, you made sure that between you and Rooster, at least one of you was usually away from the group. You managed the game through the custom app, each of you having a phone. More to the point, a lot of the game was run automatically. However, when you tried to set it up where you'd kill both Dragon and Snake, making it seem like they had operated each other's tablets, you were unable to make a move. That's because Dog had Bunny gather everybody, and put you both in constant surveillance. I do find it funny that my co-conspirator, the one you think was equally behind of this, is now dead. Does that not act as some point in my favor? Not really? After all, he wasn't behind this game. Nor was Brian, or some other third party. You were. Oh? I can't claim to know why you did it, Monkey. If I had to guess... you had simply gotten a taste of hosting something like this, and you did it for some sick sort of enjoyment. Whatever the case may be, you didn't inform Rooster of what you were doing beforehand, which is why he reacted so poorly. And you established that this was being run by a third party early on using the opposite trick than what you used last time. In fact, this time, you were the only person to interact with The Cat. Because The Cat warmed up the device strapped around your chest, and threatened everyone else to be silent. Of course she made everyone else be silent. You couldn't reveal that there was nobody on the other end of the microphone. That little interaction you had with The Cat? Pure theater, recorded and rehearsed. And what next? Are you going to claim that I used my position as mastermind to rig the game? You didn't explicitly break the rules. But, like Snake said, you definitely played a rigged game. You grabbed the Tiger of Clubs. And Rooster took the Tiger of Spades. He didn't know that he had actually gotten it at the time, though. But some point in Round 2, you secretly told him to give his card to Dog. Scared of being revealed, he complied. Meanwhile, you discarded your Tiger of Clubs back onto the communal table. That's the only way the actions of the game could be explained. The deception of a pair of traitors. After all, the rest of us clearly all did what we said, or else Tiger wouldn't have had 6 points at the end of Round 2.[BGM: That Pesky Rodent]  Mouse, I thought we agreed that the traitor killed Pig. But Bunny can attest for my whereabouts when Pig was killed – can't you, Bunny? I can, but... So you see? You're mistaken, Mouse! You might be accounted for when we heard a scream. But that wasn't Pig's scream. It was just some recording on a timer, right? Pig's body was in front of a computer. Being the mastermind, it should've been possible to exit the program, access the internet, get a random 'scream' sound effect, and set it to play in a number of minutes. I think Pig's death was a tragic accident. She could've saved us all, but while she was hacking the computer you happened to notice what she was doing. I 'noticed what she was doing'? Wouldn't she have locked the door before getting to work?  She might've just not known the door had a thumblock. I mean, I would've missed that! Exactly. Pig was surprisingly smart, but... she was also kinda dumb in some ways, too. I think she just started hacking without thinking to lock the door – perhaps without even thinking to close it. When you discovered what she was doing, you knew she needed to be stopped. So you silently approached her from behind, rolled up your sleeves, and slit her throat. You covered her mouth, to stop her from making a noise. Of course, you could've just stopped there. But as I've shown, you're really not the type to just leave good enough alone. Why have a clean murder, when you can create a mystery? First, you made the murder weapon look like the golden knife from Dog's boot, perhaps to disguise the murder weapon. Was it possible that the actual thing that killed her was not Dog's golden knife, but Amadeus'? I don't know. What I do know is that you then set up the scene we were to discover. You started by taping down the windows and shutting off the light. Then you emptied the bookshelf and moved it. And then, most importantly, you leaned it against a yardstick you stuck through the crack between the door and its hinges. A yardstick? Yeah, a yardstick. Tons of classes have them. You couldn't hold it there yourself while moving from inside the room to outside, so you glued it there. That's what the residue was about. Normally, the bookshelf would've been too heavy. Normally, the angle wouldn't have allowed you to lean it on that yardstick. But with the books removed, and the bookshelf moved, it was possible. Once you exited the classroom, you removed the yardstick from its glued position, and the bookshelf fell into place. Then you went to the first floor, washed the blood off your hands, and returned to the library to wait. Bunny happening upon you was a lucky coincidence. What you were really counting on was Ox's presence in the nearby room. When the scream occurred you ran out, and a small group formed around the door. Being the last to enter into the room, you were able to apply glue to it as you entered. And in that darkness, you were able to shove me to the side and frame it on 'somebody already inside'. I do have an observation, Mouse. This is a very good method of murder you've invented. However, could Bunny not have used it in my stead? He has the same opportunity as me. Nah. Dude may be a douche, but he's not the killer. I was listening when Snake was talking earlier. Something 'bout the room being locked? I'm guessing that was your doing, huh? You didn't want anyone stumbling across the scene while you were still setting it up. Only thing that makes any sense, at least. Now here's where it gets good: Snake says that after he came across the locked door, he went down to see Rooster and Bunny. That's when Bunny leaves and has this 'window of opportunity' you're going off about. Don't ya get it? He ain't even free until after the killer must've been in the room! Oh my, Dragon. Believing in Bunny and listening to Snake? How far you've come. Hey gently caress you! Dragon explained it well. You're the one who could take advantage of this trick, Monkey. And that brings us to Rooster's murder. He was probably sick of your poo poo, to be quite honest. He pulled you to the library to ask what the hell you had been thinking with this whole other death game– and now, killing Pig. You decided at this point he was more of a liability than anything else, so you struck at him with a nearby heavy book. Rooster collapsed and fell down by the desk. Meanwhile, you were looking for an appropriate weapon. You landed on the pen. Gripping the pen, you leaned down and stabbed Rooster in the neck, twice. Then, before someone could find you, you left the library and went downstairs. However, the incident had gotten blood on your right arm, so you made your way to the restroom and washed it off. Ah, so that's your theory. It's a little sloppier than I would have liked, with some potential holes, but I suppose it works. Well, you've given a lot of reasons as to why I'm some big bad villain. Anything else you want to tack on? Oh, right.  Just now, I figured out what Dog's dying message was. His dying message? What he did with his hands. When he covered his mouth, he was referencing 'hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil'. He was trying to signal 'Monkey' to me. Ah, I see. And the other hand, the one that was showing three fingers? That wasn't three fingers, that was an M. M for Monkey. Very clever. Alright then.[BGM: Silence]  Your work was a little sloppy, relying entirely too much on guesswork and simply being wrong on a number of matters. However, you also managed to reach a conclusion about two rounds sooner than I thought you would have. So I guess I'd give this a passing grade, if I were to evaluate it. It was fun enough to watch someone break my work down like that. Then this means... Oh, have you all not gathered it by now? Mouse was largely accurate in her hypotheses.
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May 24, 2023 00:10
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May 24, 2023 01:36
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C'mon Monkey, everyone knows you can't just immediately fall back on the puppet-master defense when you get
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May 24, 2023 02:13
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I assume Monkey's play here is "I still control the bombs and you'll do what I say if you don't want to die." For all that the sequence of events is wild, I do like that there is enough pointing to Monkey and Rooster being in on the first game and Monkey being the overall mastermind that you can string together a theory like Mouse does here, where even if it's contrived and maybe not quite right it fills enough of the gaps to make sense.
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May 24, 2023 03:05
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Also, keep in mind, Mouse's father is a defense attorney. They're not trying to find the truth, just holes in other's versions of the truth.
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May 24, 2023 05:27
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Pretty sure even Pig would've tried to lock the door, knowing there was a traitor out there. Oh well. Anyway, Monkey can kaboom everyone, right now. It's been fun, but the group are gonna need a miracle to make it out of this one. Maybe it would have been more prudent to reveal the truth without Monkey... Now who's "dumb in some ways", Mouse?
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May 24, 2023 06:09
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Marluxia posted:Also, keep in mind, Mouse's father is a defense attorney. They're not trying to find the truth, just holes in other's versions of the truth. I mean she’s not here to prove that Aaron Morris was innocent. She needs to convince people that Rooster and Monkey are guilty. It’s just that it isn’t being held to any legal standards, it only matters what the other participants think. ZCKaiser posted:I assume Monkey's play here is "I still control the bombs and you'll do what I say if you don't want to die." Yeah she could kill everyone in the room but the one drawback to that plan is that she is also in the room. Bombs aren’t exactly the optimal close range weapon.
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May 24, 2023 11:11
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Yeah, a closer comparison than a defense is prosecuting a civil trial. She doesn't have to prove "beyond a reasonable doubt" she just has to show a "preponderance of evidence" enough to convince everyone that they're in the wrong even if there's a little room for doubt.
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May 24, 2023 11:18
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In other words, Mouse is arguing like Phoenix Wright but on the prosecutor's bench.
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May 24, 2023 11:55
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Elite posted:I mean she’s not here to prove that Aaron Morris was innocent. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhEH6MvNWIw
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May 24, 2023 15:00
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 [BGM: Weak Pig]  A wave of unease washed over the crowd. It was a strange blend of indignation, surprise, and fear. But for me, there was an added element. It's a shame, though. Now that the chaos was starting to sink in, I planned on having some more fun with you all. Preying on your weaknesses, getting you to turn on each other... But I suppose that's no longer possible. ...Why? Why, Monkey? I trusted you. You were always a good therapist to me. And that means I'm innocent? No, of course not! I guess I never knew you well enough. But still, at this point, don't you at least owe us an explanation? I thought you just gave us an awfully long-winded explanation. Are you sure you want to hear from me? I want to know what would drive you to something like this. Okay then. I suppose it could be a nice exercise to run through things a little more cleanly. Now, where to begin... I suppose I should start with my childhood. This will seem irrelevant, but trust me, the full story is somewhat warranted in understanding my perspective. So then... When I was a young child, I learned that my brain had a defect. I didn't experience emotions in the same way as other people did. ...That is to say, I had difficulties experiencing emotion in the first place. I learned pretty quickly that my reactions weren't like the others. That I was viewed differently than the others. To remedy that, I got better at leaving my emotions 'on' all the time. For a time, that was perfectly suitable. I was able to 'blend in', more or less. However, that was just one aspect of my life. The problem came with my parents. My... incredibly overbearing parents. My parents, who controlled every aspect of my life. You could be generous and say they worried about my life, since my brain worked so differently. But I know that, no matter what, they would've acted the way they did. That's just who they were. I know now that that's simply how things were – they were like that through forces beyond their control. The end product of all this was that I lived an extremely controlled life. Devoid of much freedom or autonomy at all. Luckily for them and me, I turned out to be something of a prodigy. I chalked it up to a side effect of my unique brain chemistry. When I finally went off to college, it felt like I could finally breathe fresh air. Unfortunately, that didn't last for too long. Very soon after getting there, I found myself in a relationship with a rather despicable man. Certainly, from the outside, he seemed a suitable partner. However, he was by most metrics what one would consider an abusive boyfriend. Incredibly controlling. Our relationship was anything but healthy. ...However, at that time I wasn't able to see things clearly. I wasn't mature enough. And I had gotten rather good at keeping my emotions 'on' all the time, which also colored things. We went out for a time... but he eventually broke up with me. I was 'too emotional'. Ha. Having rather thoroughly opened myself up, this blow came like a dagger. That was the first time in my life I learned what it was like to really, truly feel upset. Needless to say... I was not in a good state. And then, at that time, I had a rather fateful encounter.  Hey, are you alright? ...Because you kinda look like poo poo.Right at my lowest point, I met Rooster. He wasn't exactly the most reassuring person in the world, but it's clear he tried. …  Seriously? That guy seems like a total rear end in a top hat! The type that needs to take a little walk down a long pier. That's not how the saying goes. Sayings are like species – they evolve over time. Anyways, look at it like this: you're finally free! Free? Yeah, you've no constraints anymore. You can do whatever you want to. Follow your passions unfettered! I... suppose that's a way of looking at things. It's the only way of looking at things. Take me for instance. I'm going to be a famous actor one day. That's just a fact. But if I was stuck answering to boring people all the time who didn't know what they were talking about? I wouldn't reach my goal until I was, like, an old man or something! Don't get me wrong, there can be some kick-rear end roles for old men, true. But that's a lot more of a niche market, they're more often mentor figures or some poo poo. Am I making myself clear here? ...In a way, yes.Talking with him actually helped me out quite a bit. It... recalibrated me, as it were. From there, I got my priorities in check. Firstly, I had learned from this whole experience that it was far preferable to keep my emotions squarely turned 'off'. I also decided that Rooster was right – I needed to find a direction in life. Something I actually aspired towards. I settled on studying psychology. After all, the way the brain worked had always fascinated me... since mine didn't quite work the same way as everyone else's. It didn't take long for me to get a handle on things. Once you read through all the literature on the subject, you get the gist of things pretty quickly. Humans are a lot simpler than people like to admit. You hear so often about people doing 'illogical things when they're emotional'. That you couldn't count on people to act in the way you expected when feelings were involved. But... that's a reductionist's point of view. Human behavior is actually incredibly methodical and predictable. It's just that the logic it operates on isn't as straightforward or universal as most types of logic. Each brain's logic is its own world. But most of these logics resembled each other, and you could learn the patterns without too much work. Eventually, I became a therapist. It wasn't hard. I lived a serviceable life. But it felt... as though I were missing something. There was an emptiness to it all, like just going through the motions. Until, years later... I re-met Rooster. He was doing worse than when I had met him last, but perhaps that's to be expected. Before, he was a youth with dreams. After, he had gone through a few flagging years. But he was far from giving up. Not even close. He felt the need to reconnect, so I accommodated him. As I got to know more about him, I realized that, despite initial appearances, he was worthwhile. He was a lot more clever than he first appeared to be. He carried a certain type of charisma. He was the son of a rather rich family. Most importantly, watching his acting, it was clear he actually had real talent. He might not have yet made it big, but it was just a matter of time before his career picked up. Especially for someone as passionate as him. And so, I thought he would be worthwhile to keep around in the long-term. Dealing with someone as simplistic as him, it was remarkably easy to make him loyal. Once he truly fell in love, though, and once I had convinced him he could trust me, he had a rather major confession to make to me. I had had the feeling something was up with him, but I didn't know what it was until that night. [BGM: Mourning Crow]   So, I don't know how to really say this... I've lived a pretty privileged life. I get that. My parents were filthy rich, and they supported my passions fully. However, I ended up having to cut ties with them. It turns out they were doing some really shady poo poo. They were using their influence to prop up legislation being passed in our city that I just couldn't get behind. It was entirely against my morals. We got in a big fight and, well, it ended pretty poorly. In an instant, I was cut off from them. It was... pretty rough. I had spent my entire life able to pretty much do what I wanted, when I wanted. And all of a sudden, I was completely cut off from that control. Obviously, I got through it. ...Somewhat, that is. Work's still tough. It's still uncomfortable living at such a lower standard of living. And eventually, in another argument with them, I learned something. It wasn't actually my parents' fault. They didn't want to do what they were doing. No, it was all Amadeus Bowen's fault. Amadeus Bowen? You mean, that man that... ...So you see where this is going. I looked more into it, I hired a private investigator, and it turns out that dude is a total sleazebag. I'm spotty on the details, but I think he's got a massive blackmail ring going on. I was already angry at him for being a dick to me when I was trying to get work from him, but to learn that not only was he a huge villain, but he was responsible for my fall from heaven? I couldn't forgive him. And I knew what I needed to do. So, uh, to cut a long story short, I murdered him and pinned it on somebody else entirely. You have to believe me though, I didn't intend for Aaron Morris to get executed!! Yeah, I put a lot of evidence on him, but how was I supposed to know that the body would be found so quickly? That there'd be such an air tight witness at the scene. I certainly didn't think they'd give the guy the death penalty for a single murder. That doesn't even seem like something you should be allowed to do as a judge, much less something you'd tend to do! I don't regret killing Amadeus Bowen. He was scum that needed to be vanquished. But... Aaron Morris... his soul weighs on mine. He clutches my heart, he lingers behind me... He knows what I did, and he reminds me that I can never be redeemed.I was already well aware of this case. Namely because I had just received a client: one Brian Morris. Surely this must be fate. It didn't take much to calm Rooster down, to reassure him he did nothing wrong. When he regained a more stable composure, he talked about things in more detail. He mentioned how he'd got a cut from Amadeus with this weird knife that he had smuggled out. About how he still keeps that knife buried to this day. He talked about how, after stealing the master card from Amadeus at some bar, some gang member went up to him and straight up complimented him for the theft. He had been caught red handed. He talked about how Aaron's son was convinced that the killer was still out there. That he was doing a dangerous amount of digging. He talked about how the artist who moved the body must have noticed things that were odd. Somehow, they didn't come out in the police report, but there was no way the artist wouldn't have noticed the oddities. He talked about sleepless nights, knowing that if he were to ever become a star, these people would be loose ends he could never take his mind off. Loose ends that could reveal his sin. It was then that I had the idea. Why not make use of my client connection? Surely it would be a trifling task to convince someone as unstable as Brian into handling the loose ends himself. Luring someone so unstable into doing such drastic actions would force the police to publicly double down on Aaron's guilt, regardless of the truth. And, hey, while we're at it, we could even use this as an opportunity to boost Rooster's popularity, make him the star he always wanted to be. An event like this would certainly draw a lot of media attention. It was the perfect starting place. A plan that truly killed many birds with a single stone. It took some time, but soon he went for the idea. After all, it was just getting rid of a lunatic, an old man, and some criminal scum. For my part, I just viewed the situation more as a challenge for myself than any thing else. …  So, how's it going? Certainly, Brian is both unstable enough and ambitious enough to be used. Empowering his trauma and feeding into his delusions was really procedural. The specific implementation of the plan, on the other hand, I have fears about. What do you mean? The brat's really an odd duck. Instead of a typical hostage situation, he's coming up with these ideas about a “trial”, making it like a game, a test of people's character. I've been trying to sway him in the right direction, but there's only so much I can do on that front. Ultimately, it has to be his idea. That's the whole point of the operation, that's the only way it'll be airtight. So, the plan's not working? No no, the plan can certainly work. It's just going to be a bit more... delicate, to get the outcome we want to occur cleanly.More time passed. …  How's progress going? Well, things are definitely going forwards, one way or the other. I'm worried, though. Even if we take control of things, even with the two of us both in the building, will we be able to guide the group enough so that things work out the way we want it? Even if we do, wouldn't it be a little obvious if we were the ones who made all the important decisions? Uh, well... What are you suggesting? Why not take advantage of another client connection I've found? Turns out, the daughter of Aaron Morris' defense attorney has also been seeing me. Really? Small world. Indeed. At any rate, I think we can use her. I've been curious for a while about hypnotherapy, and after enough pestering, I got her to agree to it. And as a matter of fact, it works quite nicely. With a set rhythm and key phrases, I've got her becoming quite suggestible. I'll continue to drill this in with all our future meetings. By the time of the death game, I'm sure she'll be a perfectly trained guinea pig. We'll be able to just guide her down a path that suits us... Makes our moves a lot less explicit, less suspicious. Don't you think it's... a little much, though? Like, is it all that necessary? I would like to try it out.Ever since I'd had the idea, I couldn't stop thinking about the experiment. Just the idea of being able to control another human being directly... it filled me with an emotion I hadn't felt before. Self-reflecting, I would wager that something about my upbringing and own trauma combined with my unique brain chemistry had combined to give me a disposition where being in control of others gave me a... fetishistic pleasure. That's speculation, though. I'd need to analyze my own psychoses a lot more before I could say anything definitively, and that seems like a waste of time. I mean, if you think it's a good idea. This is kinda your enterprise and all. Brilliant. Of course, such an experiment would leave another loose end, so it'd probably be for the best to also settle that matter... Huh? Pay it no mind.From there, things went smoothly. Eventually, I got a full scope of what the game would actually be. I shuffled through dozens of scenarios, until I found one that would be the most reliable. Then, we went forwards with the plan. I won't bore you with the details. Mouse could probably theorize the bulk of them, anyways. The point is, we put the plan in action. And words can't describe how exhilirating it felt, having control of so many lives at the push of a button. Watching every body push themselves to the limit, playing out exactly how I planned it. ...Well, I guess not everything went according to plan. Dog was sure a pebble in my shoe. But even that, in its own way, was a type of fun I had never experienced before. I'm fully aware that this isn't a rational response to this sort of thing. Needless to say, I'd say I have developed multiple mental disorders which have morphed my motivations quite entirely away from those a reasonable human would have. But just because I value different things doesn't make me value them any less. If anything, I learned of a unique pleasure that most could never experience. ...It's sad Rooster couldn't see it that way. … [BGM: Mousetrap]  What the hell, Jae! I've been looking for a good opportunity to get a word in with you. Have you been intentionally avoiding me, save whispering the odd order to me? Perhaps. What is all this? It's exactly what it looks like. A game I set up. Why? What possible purpose could there be in this? And why'd you have to kill Pig? How was that needed in any way?! Rooster, you were the one who encouraged me so long ago to pursue my passions, were you not? This is simply that. Huh? Look, let me start from the beginning. Ethan, you remember what Dog showed us the other day, no? Huh? He showed how that golden knife had a hidey-hole. Seeing that, I figured you likely never knew about that. So I took it upon myself to find that damning knife you hid, and checked the hidey-hole. And you know what I found? What? A flashdrive. A flashdrive, filled to the brim with incredibly powerful blackmail material on the most influential people in this city, including the Chief of Police. Seriously?! That's right. A gold mine of incalculable value, sitting under your nose this whole time. The fact that you never discovered this, after all this time... Well, perhaps that's to be expected. I've always had a habit of overrating your competence. At any rate, whoever has this can basically run Hightower. With this, I can do whatever I want. Oliver, the police force, those with influence... they'll all dance to my song now. Do you know what this means? It means... freedom. Right. What... are you going to do with that? Whatever I want, I suppose. To start with, it'll be standard things. Money, for a bigger house, for a better life, for the finer things. Living a life of luxury. It sounds nice, right? I've always wanted to try it out. And with complete financial freedom, I'll have time to try any number of passions. If none of them work out, well, there's a lot more this little flashdrive will do. How far will a famous actor go to protect his secret? How dumb of a law could I get passed with my influence? With the police under my control, I could try solving some cases myself, or creating them! The world's my oyster. I'll have to be careful, of course. There are quite a few opportunities for all of this to turn on its head. But I'm a clever girl. And anticipating those Bad Ends seems like fun in and of itself. Y-you're really going to do all of that...? Maybe. If I get bored. But who knows, maybe being wealthy really is all that it's made out to be, and that'll satisfy me. We'll have to see. At any rate, I'm certain this flashdrive will bring me true happiness. There's only one thing that could get in the way of that. And it's the people gathered here. Snake, Dragon, Mouse... who knows what nonsense Dog filled their heads with? Ox is a prosecutor with a surprisingly rigid sense of justice and a high work ethic. He definitely needs to go. Initially, I'd thought Bunny was easily compromiseable. However, I've recently learned that he's been making moves against Oliver. He certainly has to go. Oliver's the biggest card in my deck. Pig was a desperate journalist, eager to get any scoop of news. She came close to uncovering things before, she could've easily done it again. Tiger's too dumb to be predictable. Who knows what she'll do, and she has the fame and riches to be a force to contend with. Horse is a complete unknown. If he gets a whiff of the truth, he could very well come and kill me himself! And Sheep... Well, to be honest, Sheep could probably be left alone. But you know, it'd be odd to just leave her out at this point. All of them have first-hand experience with the first death game, with Dog, with the initial trial, with a lot of things. And none of them at this point are easily controllable. You told me to deal with the loose end Dog provided. Simply put, if we're dealing with loose ends, that's what I'd call the whole lot of them. But, to kill all of them... and, okay, putting aside all of that, sure, let's say you have to kill them all. Why do it like this? What's with the whole 'death game' set up? How do you expect to get away with this? Honestly, the idea that someone inspired by Brian would hold another death game in his honor is a far more believable story than everybody being individually killed at roughly the same time. I'm sure Olly can find a suitable patsy to pin it all on. But why actually run the death game?! Last time, we had to do it so that it matched with Brian's description and so the other survivors would be witnesses on our side. But if the plan's to clean up all the witnesses, you should just blow them all up now and be done with it! Where's the fun in that? Fun?  There's no fun in murder! Why not? No, seriously, think about it. 'The survivors of the past death game are back, faced with a new mysterious foe, and new challenges to face. With chaotic cards and a traitor lurking, will they band together – or crumble under the pressure?' Doesn't that sound like a cool movie? This isn't a movie! The fact that you think there's such a difference saddens me. Besides, worse comes to worse, I just explode them all and be done with it. Really, the matter is already settled. Does it really matter if I play with my food a bit? Of course it matters! It matters because it's wrong! Wrong? Ethan, Ethan, Ethan. You continue to disappoint me in so many different ways. I must say, our time together was impactful. However, I far overestimated how much we were alike. I believe you've long outlived your shelf life. And if I'm going to be gaining true freedom, I suppose that includes doing away with you as well, right? Hold on a minute... what are you doing with that book?… [BGM: Silence]  Th-that's... That's what happened. I believe that should answer the majority of your questions with the incident. However, if you have more to say to me, please, do make yourself heard.This.. this couldn't be right. I was, hell, basically brainwashed? There's.. no way, there's just no way. ...Right?
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May 25, 2023 01:19
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ApplesandOranges posted:I'm gonna have to take a deep breath and count to 10 if it's revealed that Monkey was Rooster's therapist too and the whole idea of Bowen's murder was something she goaded Rooster into doing. Well.... I was half right, so I'm just gonna count to 5 instead. *inhale* Also, sure, 'I have a unique brain defect that makes me emotionally bankrupt and also I'm a prodigy and I read all of literature on psychology, it was easy', sure Jae. I mean, it's a good breakdown story though, don't get me wrong. I actually kind of funny that half the reason for setting up the Zodiac Trail was to get rid of two witnesses and they were either too drunk or too zoned out to even notice anything.
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May 25, 2023 01:57
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| # ? Jun 9, 2024 00:29 |
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After killing Dog, Monkey could have easily killed Mouse, Dragon, and Snake and been done. Instead, she sets up another death game, creating many additional loose ends to clean up for funsies. Brilliant!
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May 25, 2023 03:18
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