TDM: ROUND 3

[strangerpeople]

15 STRANGERS ROUND 3 TEST DRIVE There are 15 strangers in this place. Someone knows why. And its clear the odds are stacked against you. 1. ARRIVAL Oh god, you're inside a Base. Why are you here? What happened to your powers? Your memories? Who else has been so unlucky as to be brought in with you? What are you wearing? What are these strange rules? And...why do you feel like the person who wrote them is going to like yelling at you? 2. POWER You have been, er, "blessed" with a power. Its not a power you want or care for, but its yours now. You might want to try an control it, lest you hurt someone else. That is...unless you want to. Or if you want to try and see if you can break out of your new domicile. Or, hey, go ahead and blow things up - there's no rule against property damage aside from the camerabots, after all... 3. HOME So now you live in a Base of some kind. Whee. Maybe living here forever won't be so bad, since there are things to do with your free time. Unless you're looking for a way out, but surely, you wouldn't do that, right? 4. MINIGAME The Commander has decided to do...erm, 'games'. Those who win the games will get prizes, the Commander has promised. This Test Drive Meme's minigame: a laundry folding contest! The most items folded in one hour wins! Work alone, or in teams - either way, you get the feeling there's an ulterior motive to the Commander making you do this while they watch and laugh... 5. MOTIVE The Commander has (somewhat too gleefully) announced the motive for the week. Clearly someone out there really wants to give you a reason to kill someone else. How will you react? Will you stand against such an insult and help others to fight the temptation? Or perhaps, you yourself are tempted...? 6. DEATH One of your own has died - no, been killed. The Inquisition has started. The body lies before you, and now you must discern the truth from the clues before you. But can you when you mourn? Or, perhaps you don't mourn the dead. Perhaps you're only playing along because you know more than you let on. 7. TRIAL Well, it looks like the Commander wasn't kidding when they said there would be a trial if someone was murdered. So now you're here, looking to condemn the responsible killer. If you do, they die. If you don't, well, you'll end up killing an innocent person, as the Commander has announced what would happen if the majority votes incorrectly. Whatever happens, you have to figure out what happened. Can you? 8. SCAPEGOAT Oh dear...the Commander has just announced that the person everyone just voted for...was actually completely innocent! Not only that, but they've revealed who the real culprit was! Maybe you're that innocent person, trying to say your goodbyes or beg for your life. Maybe you're one of the ones who voted for the innocent person, trying to cope with the horrible act you've just committed. Or maybe you're the true culprit, who now has to not only deal with an innocent dying for your actions, but also the fact that you can now be killed without repercussion!... 9. WILDCARD Anything not mentioned above. Go wild!

Comments

Naoya | Devil Survivor

[crouching_sin]

Power

So he'd woken up with a strange power and none of his skills. Fine. He can deal with this. He's pretty sure he can deal with this.

It just doesn't help that he keeps accidentally turning into a version of himself made out of shadow over breakfast.

Death

This... really doesn't bother him. He glances down at the corpse and toes it carefully with his shoe. "Right. Well, then. We should get going on trying to figure out who did this, shouldn't we?"

Not that he cares. All that he wants is to get this over with.

Scapegoat

Well. Shit. He'd planned things perfectly, but now that means everyone's eyes are on him. He'd had good reason to kill - more important than the lives of everyone here. And it's not as if he's a stranger to killing in the slightest.

But he'd thought he would be able to get out of here immediately, and now he's been told that he has to be here for a few more weeks. He's going to have to figure out a way to make sure no one can get to him...

scapegoat

[losergod]

[ That trial had felt strange. But everyone wanted to kill someone else, so he let them. What business was his, what the mob wanted? However... the clues didn't really add up, in his own mind. C is not a stupid man, by any sense of the word, and something about it felt off.

And Naoya had always pegged him as a bit odd. He can't put his finger on what, but it's odd. ... If he wasn't responsible, then he might have a good idea of who the actual culprit was; Naoya always had something insightful to say. He was intelligent.

That was actually C's concern. ]

... It's a pity that they did not take my suggestion into account to simply remove me from the picture.

[ A beat. ]

Something about all of that really does feel a bit strange, doesn't it? We arrived at the end of this story, but the conclusion was wholly unsatisfying based upon what the author had laid out before us previously.

[crouching_sin]

[C is... odd. He's never been quite sure how he feels about C - there's just something about him that doesn't sit right. He's not the type to ask about backstories without reason - he really doesn't care.]

[Still... at least C listens. Sometimes.]

If you had wanted to die, I'm sure there will be other chances. Still... the conclusion was the one we reached. This game has no save points we can simply go back to and retry. The conclusion we've reached is the one we will have to live with.

... Unless you have reason to think there's another ending we can reach right now, with what we have?

[losergod]

I really hope the only game we're playing isn't E.T. for the Atari, because if that's the case, I refuse outright to speedrun it.

[ Said rather flatly, he hates those AoN rolls. ]

It felt a bit like inciting a mob, to me. I think everyone was too emotional to disagree, and didn't fully account for the evidence we did and did not have. In fact, it felt like certain key things were... incorrect, almost. As though it were a little too obvious.

[ Now he doesn't SUSPECT Naoya, but maybe Naoya can shed some light on why he feels this way. ]

[crouching_sin]

Well, this is a game, isn't it? But that game isn't all that hard.

[Git gud, scrub.]

Why would someone make it too obvious? If they were smart enough to get away with it, I would think they would make things subtle enough that no one would notice.

[losergod]

In my unprofessional opinion... that's probably what they wanted. The evidence was simply just too tidy. If it were me--if I were going to kill, given my... penchant for neatness, I would want it to look helter-skelter first. But having it backwards like that, how does it make any sense?

[ Honestly, he's not sure he's even got anything. But the evidence bothers him. Greatly. ]

Wouldn't you do the thing that comes to your first instinct? Even if it were premeditated, I feel like it's a lot of effort to go through. A lot of things could go wrong. It's easier to do the opposite than to gamble on being exactly like you. You know, then, at that point, that people might pin the crime on you. Yes, it was very unsubtle, but perhaps that was on purpose.

[crouching_sin]

It depends on how well they planned. There are a number of quite intelligent people here. And the way you're speaking... how do I know that it wasn't you, C? That you're not just trying to cover things up?

[losergod]

I have to return to my heavenly host. I've been rather blatant about this; I've no reason to kill someone else. If anything, someone else killing me would simply get me there faster.

[ He says this without much concern, like you would discuss the weather. ]

Besides, if I had framed someone, do you really think I would be pointing my own mistakes out?

[crouching_sin]

Tch. Heavenly host... do you really think something with the power to keep us here would let you return there even if you were killed? Please. You're more naive than I thought.

[losergod]

There's absolutely no reason I shouldn't be able to return back to--

[ He pauses. Where was he supposed to go back to? ... Oh. Oh no. ]

... Wherever it is I'm supposed to be.

[crouching_sin]

You don't even know? My, my. Seems you're having trouble.

[losergod]

[ ... This is really a problem. He thinks about those kids.

"Loser God."

They didn't believe in him. Maybe he's--

No. No, that's no true. He knows what he is. ]

... I'm fine. Besides, you've probably noticed by now that all of us seem to be missing parts of our memories. It appears I was not exempt to this. If I was in a mortal vessel, it would have been relatively easy for them to do that.

[crouching_sin]

And I'm not supposed to be missing any memories at all - that's the whole point. But to forget something that important... I have to wonder just how much getting back a memory like that would be worth to you. Enough to do the Commander's bidding?

[losergod]

I remember enough.

[ It's said somewhat shakily though, as though he might not be entirely certain if he's really sure. The kids really did a number to him in the House's school, and he's just not sure if he's simply got a Defective Soul Cube like they say, or if he really IS the God of some world.

He remembers dying. That memory is vivid in his mind. But if everything can be called into question, how can he be sure of anything?

It was bad enough to think about his life before he died. Not being remembered was, well. Already an issue he had. He takes an unsteady breath. ]

My Soul Cube is not Defective. I've been socializing just fine here.

[ He says it quietly, though, perhaps almost to reassure himself. ]

Power

[backuphero]

[Sure, staring isn't polite, but there's not much else you can do when somebody's turning into animate darkness in the dining hall, now, is there?

Screw it, this kind of weird calls for having ice cream for breakfast, and that's what's in the bowl Jonathan's holding when he walks over.]

You, uh... you okay there?

[crouching_sin]

[He sighs and turns back, frowning.]

I'm fine. I'm simply not used to this... ability. I don't like it. It reminds me a bit too much of a certain someone I know...

[backuphero]

[That's not the answer Jonathan was expecting, in any way. He lets out a low whistle, and sits down nearby. Not too close, the living shadow thing is kind of mashing every last monster-hunter RUN AWAY button possible, but he's determined to ignore that.]

Damn, that's rough. Still, you'll get control of it eventually, I'm sure.

[And here we have someone who should never have been granted limited telekinesis showing off and picking his spoon up without anything but his mind.

Pay no attention to the fact that it wobbles. He didn't actually spill the ice cream, that's what counts.]

[crouching_sin]

It's fine. It's not as if I'm all that concerned. This is just an annoyance. I'm more irritated that my skills have been taken from me.

[He watches the telekinesis with some interest.]

At least that one's useful.

[backuphero]

[There's not an immediate answer, as Jonathan leans forward and takes the spoon into his mouth. He pulls it out, swallows that bite of ice cream, and shrugs, wiggling the spoon between two of his fingers.]

I guess. Anything heavier than one of the textbooks upstairs won't move, but... well, if I could do more I guess having problems like you're having would've sent somebody to the ceiling and back by now. Is it just happening randomly?

[There's someone who isn't here who would know better than that what questions to ask, but - she isn't here, that's the problem. He's going to try to figure this out, though, and when they all get out of here he'll be able to tell her he managed to do it!]

[crouching_sin]

Not randomly, but when I'm not paying attention. It requires a bit of concentration to not do it. It's ridiculous and I'd rather have something like what you have - at least you could bean someone with a book if they start coming after you to kill you.

[backuphero]

Well, when you put it like that, it does sound better... still... I hope it's not as automatic as blinking or bre - wait, does it sort of match up to when you blink?

[JONATHAN tried LOGIC! It's... not in any way effective, dear God.]

[crouching_sin]

No, it doesn't. It'll take a bit of experimenting to figure out what exactly the trigger is, but we have nothing but time here, don't we?

[These eggs he's eating are... not great.]

[backuphero]

Yeah... time, and a tin can to live in.

[He looks pretty glum for a moment, but - well, he doesn't perk up as he notices the gingerly way that Naoya's eating, but he snaps out of the gloom very quickly.]

Were those the ones you're just supposed to dump water on and heat up, or the ones from the freezer? There's plenty more ice cream if you'd rather have something not... that....

[Seriously, the longer he looks the less that looks like eggs and more like some kind of rubber.]

[crouching_sin]

The water ones. And yes, I know there's ice cream. I do want that, but I thought I should try to eat something that wasn't that...

[He sighs and stands up.]

Ice cream for now, and then later I'll have to see if the tapes will give me anything good.

[It's. It's possible?]

[backuphero]

Wait, we can get food back from those!?

[Not that he's anything approaching good at the games yet, but... he's getting really, really tired of the shiny spacefuture B-rations.]