fifth trial

[stagemanagers]

[When the investigation finishes, the lights begin to flicker on and off as that low, gentle rumble echoes through the opera house.

Your intermission is ending. Please return to your trial room.

The court room looks just as it always has for you: the grand chandelier glittering above your heads, the dusty red velvet seats. In the orchestra pit your circle of wooden podiums are waiting. Jeremy and Steven's podiums are draped in black crepe with their grey scale funerary portraits, just like your friends before them. The ghost light glows softly behind the podiums.

The curtain is closed, waiting to open when a decision has been reached and the execution can commence.

When everyone is in their places, the Phantom's voice echoes loud and clear through the theatre from his place in box 5. His tone is even, with none of the distraction or terse notes in the weeks before. He almost sounds curious for how this all will play out.]

You must now determine who was responsible for the death of Steven Universe. Submit your vote on the podiums when you are certain of your choice.

[Gather your evidence and let's begin.]

Comments

[likemypicture]

[She gives both Stephen and Mephisto a serious look-- but she trusts them both. Don't disappoint your wine sister, dads.

Anne has no shame, so she doesn't wait for Christine's cloak to untie the tie around her waist, or to unbutton the top of her dress. She wears a slip under her dresses, so there's not much to see here-- she does show that there aren't any marks about her shoulders or upper arms, though. Her legs are also in the clear, and as she pulls her skirt up to her thighs, that's clear too. She will however, step behind the cloak before she tosses the entire ordeal over her head.

She's in the clear there, and she's not gonna traumatize the kids by undoing the corset or taking off her underwear. It's not like she's drugging kids in the full nude. She's wound free. She puts her dress back on before stepping back out, too. This is a murder trial, she can have some class.]

[musacal]

I'd like to think he wouldn't but... [ she knows now he's the one that actually did those nice things for her and she meant everything she said to the Phantom yesterday but still. He started all this in the first place and if Steven was as open to communicating with him as she was... ]

Unless the Phantom would like to confirm for us?

[likemypicture]

[Also, shameless Tad Cooper is already nakey. He's fine too.]

[likemypicture]

The Wizard!

[heathencall]

[Time to go hardcore conspiracy theory here.]

To save the Phantom? Perhaps the Poison was Steven's idea. He stayed in the kitchen to speak with the Phantom, maybe even try to reason with him before killing him? When it became clear what was happening, the Wizard stepped in?

When I spoke to the Phantom, he said that punishment for breaking rules is typically death. What if that's all this is? Steven attempted to end the game directly, and paid the price.

[musacal]

The "Wizard". It's the person the phantom is working with that started all this.

[garbageface]

Ugh, these people really need to get better names, they make this whole battle royale sound like a stupid renaissance festival.

[inside_yourmind]

Steven Universe would not attempt to deliberately kill another being. Not even I. [...] Not as things are now.

[..........]

I did not know him personally as well as you did, but I know him well enough for that.

[inside_yourmind]

I am bound not to interfere in murders or trials.

cw suicide mention

[heathencall]

So did you attempt to kill him? Or your patron? So far, we haven't found any reason for the blood beneath his nails.

[Well.... hold on....]

Would you still hold a trial if someone ended their own life?

cw suicide mention

[37773972]

The SQUIP- before. There was no trial. [Before the whole...last week thing.] It was ruled a suicide.

[musacal]

And is your patron bound the same way?

[musacal]

...Yes, I agree. Steven would never.

[inside_yourmind]

In fairness, Angus was the one who gave him the name. There was a song involved.

[was the wizard named such entirely because the mods were delighted by this song? it's within the realm of possibility]

[heathencall]

That's. True.

But that was very cut and dry, wasn't it? We all witnessed what happened. That wasn't the case here.

[37773972]

Are you saying he hasn't earned it?

[musacal]

Wasn't that also because you were all there to see though?

[ she wasn't there but she recalls the Phantom's announcement ]

[likemypicture]

And the squid was never like-- an actual cast member, Ja? It wasn't in our programs.

[heathencall]

It was enough of a cast member that it would have counted as murder if anyone else forced the drink down Jeremy's throat.

cw: suicide mentions

[inside_yourmind]

A suicide would still merit a trial - if Richard had succeeded in his efforts, for example.

[completely ignoring discussion of the SQUIP incident, or SQUIncident]

To commit a murder myself would be to interfere. Besides which, I have no desire to harm Steven Universe.

[37773972]

No, but I had written him asking about that. He said it still counted.

[madgiganticfeelings]

Does anyone know if it has a taste, though? M-Maybe... Maybe Steven tried it, but could taste it, and they had to knock him out to finish the job?

[madgiganticfeelings]

You keep giving us motives, though. You keep making this stupid thing happen. I told you there was another solution!

[37773972]

[...]

Between all of us here, if anyone does taste it, it should be Mephisto or I. It'd probably affect us the least.

[inside_yourmind]

Earned it? "Wizard" is a very vague term.

[are you asking if he went to wizard school and got his wizard degree?]