MOCK TRIAL

[notjustanytoon]

[Perry the Platypus has died. There is no doubt about that. Those of you who were hoping that nobody would give in to the judge's demands have swiftly been proven wrong.

The students are hoarded to the studio lounge once again, where a large door has appeared, seemingly from nowhere. Inside, defying the laws of space and time, is an incredibly large room, bigger than any of the others. It's boring and brown, a perfect courtroom, and seems far more maintained than any of the other rooms.

Three very large framed portraits hang ominously over the whole proceedings. The first depicts an old mansion, decrepit and decaying, with an oddly purple tint. The second features a vintage building, tower-like in size and scope, against the backdrop of a bolt of lightning. The third...is considerably harder to make out. Namely, while a few bits of the picture appear to still hang there, it by-and-large seems to have been torn and clawed at by some very very big claws.

There is a circle of podiums, 27 to be exact, standing around a large bubbling pool of you-know-what. Be careful not to trip, kids. Each of these podiums bears a student's name, a small stool for sitting, and a screen and keyboard. You can guess what those are for, can't you? The podiums for our three minuscule friends come with stairs to reach the top of them, of course. 2 of the podiums stand empty, adorned with mini golden oscar statuettes depicting Edgar Balthazar and Perry the Platypus.]

Once everyone takes their places, Doom appears, sitting at a chair placed in front of the portraits. An ideal place to overlook these proceedings.]

The trial in the case of Perry the Platypus's death shall have very simple rules. You have accumulated enough evidence over the past hours and must now figure out who is responsible. When I call the vote, you shall type in the first and last name of the individual you hold responsible.

[His expression lights up just a little.]

Succeed in accumulating a correct majority vote, and you shall live while the culprit is punished. Should you fail to gather up a majority, or vote incorrectly...

Well. I suppose you'll find out.

[You have the evidence you need to piece this together, but can you apply it properly? Is there another way out of this situation? You'll just have to put your heads together and find out.]

(ooc: welcome to the mock trial! for those of you new to this, threadjacking and pointing out contradictions while contributing to the discussion is encouraged. if you have any questions, feel free to ask your mods!)

Comments

[notjustanytoon]

...What.

[ilovepuppies]

POSSUMS. YOU HEARD THE MAN.

[notjustanytoon]

Are we really back on this nonsense again.

[ilovepuppies]

YOU HAVE A GANG OF WEASELS FOR MINIONS.

[notjustanytoon]

I'm clearly human.

[terribibble]

Are you? Has anyone ever got a good look at you?

[Anyone could be a cartoon now, okay. Or a possum.]

[notjustanytoon]

Considering my winning multiple elections, yes, I would assume so.

[terribibble]

Any one of us.

[notjustanytoon]

I'd assume you have working eyes, Mr. McGucket.

[returntodarkness]

............

[ Ansem is. Going to take a risk. Because he is a petty man and you have shackled him. ]

Your "dip," as you call it. It destroys all medium of entertainment, yes? Capable of melting film, paint... Anything that can be displayed on a screen. Am I correct?

[notjustanytoon]

That is exactly what it was designed to do.

[returntodarkness]

.............You wear quite covering clothing. If you weren't of an entertainment medium, you wouldn't have to. And given your methods here, you have little to fear of simply becoming messy since you've hardly done any of this by hand. In fact, the only skin we can see is your head. Quite perfect for a prosthetic stage mask, actually.

[ ...This is a risk and if everyone dies, so be it, he'd know he's right because there's no way to answer this, he feels, without revealing the truth. ]

Remove your gloves.

[notjustanytoon]

[...]

You expect me to comply with that request.

[pinkflip]

...But Troy's right. There's something weird about you. [She...squints...] How do we know you're not a shapeshifter? Not...what he seems, after all.

[notjustanytoon]

I was once an actor. Perhaps that's what you're confused about.

[kindaruledatit]

....Really? You?

[That sounds unbelievable.]

[notjustanytoon]

I was. Classically trained, as a matter of fact.

[pinkflip]

Psh, no, definitely not.

[notjustanytoon]

Fair enough, my dear.

[terribibble]

[No, no, guys. Don't dismiss this. Think unusually.

Ponder alternately, like his old prototype posters used to say.]

Did you -- did you work here?

[notjustanytoon]

I was commissioned to work at these studios, once. That was a very long time ago.

[ilovepuppies]

So, what, were you in silent movies or something?

[Get it, 'cuz he's old.]

[whistlenotchirp]

Shoulda known. You can never trust an actor, that's what I've always said.

[ilovepuppies]

[That's an oddly specific response to her observation. She's just gonna point accusingly at the honorable judge.]

IT'S YOU! You're the possum in a human suit!

[exclamationpoint]

. . . Well, the deal doesn't have to be that.