Day 02 Trial

[shimmershimmer]

[It is once more time to convene at the temple to pass judgment upon those who would destroy everything we know and love. Godspeed, my friends.]

((Vote here!

EDIT: Right now barely anyone has voted, and people seem to be tapering off. Trial may be extended depending on how it looks closer to closing time!

EDIT2: Okay, I'm extending the vote two hours to 6:30pm EST! We're still missing a lot of votes, so please get those in even if it's just to abstain!))

Comments

[weeabird]

We have two who would claim the title of False Seer. One of them must be fibbing, and is almost certainly a demon. That is the base premise with which we must work today.

[backdrafted]

... Let's hear what Kimblee has to say about it, first of all. Since he's the one we have to work with.

[thefaceofjustice]

[SERIOUS BUSINESS ADJUSTING OF SUNGLASSES]

I've already questioned Mr. Kimblee on his claim of being the note-writer and one of the seers, and I'm not convinced. He inaccurately suggested that a false seer's role was worthless... I think the real false seer would know the use of their role. And yesterday's note seemed to know that it's just as handy as the real seer.

I'd like to hear if anyone has anything to add before the end of this trial. But as it stands right now, my vote is for Mr. Kimblee.

[lasuaspada]

I personally find it interesting that a note should appear clearing you of all suspicion when you were the only one to be needlessly aggressive in Kimblee-san's direction yesterday, investigatore.

[fauxlosophical]

First of all, my obvious stance on this matter is that someone is trying very hard to get both of your Seers killed in one day, though I do appreciate your unwillingness to turn this into some sort of witch hunt immediately.

Secondly, if one looks at that note rationally, it had to have been written by a demon in order to mislead us. That's all there is to it.

[weeabird]

How certain you are. Would you care to testify as to your reasoning?

[heartofsnarkness]

I was wondering earlier--if you were the one who tried to convince us all to vote for Ling, why didn't you vote for him, in the end?

[stringmealong]

Are you saying you wrote the first note and they decided to copy you? That's pretty risky, isn't it?

[cafeolay]

Who did you dream about last night, amigo?

[stringmealong]

We're not really doing that great, huh?

[heartofsnarkness]

No, we're really not.

[vanillain]

Okay, but does somebody who doesn't have some kind of intense emotional stake in this want to weigh in?

[wildgun]

Pretty sure this is the moment where we're supposed to watch for a second.

[lifescratched]

There are too many questions that have not yet been answered. What became of the note Mr. Mustang tore down? Until the handwriting is compared between the first and the second notes, we cannot be certain of Kimblee's assertions.

The rest of the arguments have been made so far on the basis that Kimblee is telling the truth, when all we have is his word that he is the False Seer. What if the second note-writer is telling the truth, and Kimblee is misleading us all to distract the Templar? He has already said he sees this as a "game", and his actions so far have not matched his words.

[fauxlosophical]

Whether I see it as a game or not, I haven't been out for anyone's blood since the initial note was written - I haven't been asking for the heads of my accusers, nor have I been determined to send anyone to the pyre without being certain with the exception of Ling, the reason for which would be obvious, given that I saw the man as a demon.

This course of action has opened me up for scrutiny since the start; you could have chosen to listen to Fulbright and kill me yesterday, for all I know. Were I a demon, this would be a flat-out suicidal option and detrimental to my side - and say what you will about me, but I'm not the sort to act to my own detriment.

I don't stand to gain from this unless I'm the genuine article. Mr. Fulbright, on the other hand, has been after my blood so vehemently that I'm beginning to think there's no way he doesn't stand to gain from it.

[thefaceofjustice]

I would also like to see a handwriting comparison done.

With the inconsistency between Mr. Kimblee's statements and what the first note was telling us, it's easy to see that Mr. Kimblee has been lying. He even tried to say that Our Lady's inaction somehow proved his case, which was wrong.

[lasuaspada]

All right, listen up! As much as I agree that Kimblee-san can be neither liked nor trusted, it's as I said to Monsieur Godot earlier – I believe the contents of that note found speak for themselves. It's clear that whomever wrote it can't be said to be acting in our best interests and in fact only seems determined to benefit one person, that being the indagatore who's been calling for someone's blood from the start.

Had he chosen to abstain yesterday that might not look so suspect! But as it stands, he voted to cast someone to the pyre – to permanently destroy someone who very well may have been one of our own and vital to our cause at that! And today a note shows up absolving him of guilt? It's too convenient, and if we're going to be talking about masterful ploys and misdirections, that's...

[...]

...Well, actually, it's an incredibly inelegant one; at the same time, I can't say I expected too much more, either...

[Tsukiyama, for hell's sake.]

Either way! The point is that that note benefits only one of us, that being the dove. Furthermore, if the one who wrote that note really wanted to help us, they wouldn't be writing only once with this information that benefits no one and then refusing to assist us again – it would make more sense to continue to undermine Kimblee-san in the event that we were misled like this. No, I think the fact that they insisted no further notes will be found is more suspicious than not – it's possible that the writer intends to give us no further readings simply because they can't have any at all. Fulbright-san can only vouch for himself, no one else – and in the event that the real Seers were to look in his direction, there is a valid reason why he would come up clean, even if he were to be a demon. As a demon, he would know whether we're one of his brethren or not, and perhaps if he continued to make predictions he could occasionally indicate one of us - but that would run the risk of hitting the real False Seer, even if we assume that it's not Kimblee-san at all.

Fulbright-san has called for Kimblee-san's blood, and he's indicated that he intends to call for mine on the basis of suspecting him alone. Fulbright-san's integrity is just as suspect as Kimblee-san's and this entire situation is suspicious in his direction, and as such my vote is going to be aimed at him today.

I implore you to at least consider doing the same, and if not – again, I ask that you pray to the Lady that you aren't horrifically wrong.

[lifescratched]

As I have said to both Kimblee and Detective Fulbright, the accusations they make against each other lack sufficient evidence to make a decision. This discussion could easily be a waste of our time while the true demons remain silent, letting us turn against one another while they remain hidden.

Voting against each other without conclusive evidence only benefits the demons the most.

[culinarian]

I will consider it. I trust Kimblee about as far as I could throw a Wailmer but the argument against Fulbright is a valid one. His intent to call for your blood for suspecting him is ridiculous; the point of having this trial is so the faithfuls can smoke out the demons, and we cannot do so if we stay quiet and don't voice our suspicions.

[backdrafted]

... In light of this new admittance, what do you have to say?

[backdrafted]

[Sooo it's time to produce the first note.]

Apologies for having kept it down. If left up, it would be much more simple to copy it - if that's what's happened.

Let's compare the handwriting.

[cafeolay]

[COMING OVER HERE, HELLO]

Care to do the honors?

IMPORTANT

[thefaceofjustice]

[CLIMBS A TABLE because that's what we officially do for attention here, right? ...Also, he's dripping wet from being drenched in coffee, but never mind that.]

ATTENTION EVERYONE!

I was hoping it wouldn't come to this, but with the way this is going, I have to tell the truth now!

I am the False Seer. I wrote both of those notes.

I lied about having a vision about myself. The Incubus stopped me from having a vision last night, so I wanted the demons to think they inhibited the wrong person. I'm revealing this now because it doesn't look like they're falling for it at this point.

It's clear that what happened is they learned through Mr. Kimblee that Ms. Lynne was one of the seers, so they eliminated her and inhibited me, hoping they could get rid of me at the trial.

I've been pursing a case against Mr. Kimblee, because of course I know he's lying about writing my note!!!

Once this trial is over and you see the results, I urge all of the innocent villagers to think hard about who's been too-easily swayed into siding against me here!

We'd better hope that we eliminate the Incubus before the demons find out who the Templar is so that I can have visions again.

And I can demonstrate that my handwriting is the same as both notes right now. Here! [He gets out a pen and paper, and writes some gibberish. And yes, analyze it all you want, the handwriting is the same.]

[lifescratched]

...

This proves, then, that Kimblee has lied to us on multiple occasions. Anything he tells us from now on is not to be trusted

But this also means it was you who advocated we vote for Ling to prove his innocence or guilt. [Connor looks disappointed.] The role of the police is to protect the people, not destroy any standing in their way to the truth, Detective.

[fauxlosophical]

All right, then – I'll admit it openly, I'm a liar. I see no reason to deny that ever having been the case. But the point has been made repeatedly here, and I'll continue to stand by that point until I die – that fact does not make me a demon.

What I've done is still strategically prudent for the group, and that's simply because I don't have a role. Drawing the demons' focus away from the others who actually did have some important part to play in the grand scheme of things would have been in our own best interest; it's hardly my fault that Mr. Fulbright lacks the subtlety to understand that. It was my hope that I would draw the incubus' attention – that they would try to prevent me from seeing anything, or perhaps that they would aim toward me instead. Attracting the intention of the Templar was my intention, but it wasn't to leave the rest of the group defenseless – how could it have been, when I didn't know anyone's role any better than anyone else?

I was trying to get the demons to waste a shot on me.

Don't misunderstand me, I won't even try to claim my intentions were noble. It's as I've been saying from the start – this is a game to me, and it's nothing if I can't put my own soul on the line once in a while.

[cafeolay]

Ha....!

An eel is just as slippery out of water. [WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT EVEN MEAN, GODOT] You admit to lying, so why should we believe you now, amigo?