[Fin] Murder U Too - Endgame

[wahoothis]

"Getting real tired of going through this hurdle. So how about a bet with you Kelly. If you're right and Cookie Monster truly is the killer, you can take something of mine without having to wait for me to drop dead." He says annoyed yet firm, arms crossed. He was a bit confident in his thoughts, but he's going to have to put his money where his mouth is.

[Florien]

I accept your bet, Ranma, seeing as there's no risk of me losing anything if I'm wrong. I'm not wrong, but there's no risk if I am. Anyway, Hostperson, yes, please clarify that for Alexis so we can move on to the extrajudicial violence part.

Kellensea, as always, seems utterly confident in everything she says. In her mind, there's quite clearly no way she could be wrong about this.

[wingedcatgirl]

The logs count how many living people are in a room at a time, I say. So yes, dying and walking out would look identical, as one fewer person in the room.

>Try to figure out anything from the reports. [Ranma, 5]
... After repeatedly stepping through the reports, Ranma can't find anything that explicitly contradicts anyone's story. Of course someone went to Doug's room that isn't admitting it, but this isn't letting him work out who.

>try to figure out the other person who left their room [Bow]
Kellensea says it was Haruka, and that makes sense, though it would imply that Haruka went to the Medbay twice?

[Kennifer]

"Thanks for clarifying. And I'm guessing the person who went into Doug's room just before night ended, when Doug was already dead, was Kai, looking at the shoes for... whatever reason, since when several of us went to Doug's room, Kai was already there."

Alexis checked this against her notes, and it seemed to line up.

"And this is you, Kellensea? Going from the balcony to various other places, including Storage, since you'd said you were in there..."

There isn't any tone of accusation in her voice, for the record. Merely curiosity and a bit of frustration as she's trying to work this out. She's wondering about the trips to medbay, and whose late-night wanderings are possibly completely unrelated to the murder, if anyone's are.

[artsyGeek]

After some moment of thinking, Haruka realised yet another realisation. "Hold on. Have we gathered or even know any potential witnesses, by any chance?"

[Caret]

Bow responds to Haruka's question. I wasn't there for the murder, so it all boils down to you, Kai, Kellensea, and Cookie Monster at this point.

[wahoothis]

"I guess that helps some. . ." Ranma says, scratching his chin. "Hm. . . Let's see. . . From the hand check earlier, we were able to deduce three potential match. Cookie Monster, Kai, and me. I've given my alibi: I was in my room all night training and meditating. Cookie Monster's given his, having gone into a kitchen for a midnight snack. The only one here who hasn't given any alibis at all was Kai. Kellensea's the one who's provided most of his alibi, but we have yet to hear from him" Ranma heard the Hakura and looked up, thinking. "If someone saw anything, don't you think they would've said anything? The only ones who were out at night, as we're aware, was Kellensea, Kai, Cookie Monster, Bow and Haruka according to her." He'd gesture to Kellensea with a small frown.

[Florien]

Yes, Alexis, that is correct. I assume that person rapidly travelling all through the places is me, as I, as far as I am aware, am the only person who went into storage. I do not believe Kai could have done the deed, because that would have required entering the kitchen, doing the deed, and entering the kitchen again for incomprehensible reasons. I believe from this evidence it is quite obvious that Kai, though there is no ACTIVE exoneration, there is no implication either, and some anti-implication, including him finding the body, but not until LONG after the deed was done. There is implication of the cookie monster, but no evidence to suggest that the cookie monster was NOT involved. My conclusion... well, I think it's accurate enough for the purpose before us.

[Kennifer]

Alexis counts on her fingers.

"So, five people wandering out at night. Four left their rooms plus Kellensea leaving the office, so that much at least lines up with the official record."

She ponders this.

"I'm curious why so many people were out wandering, besides the killer. To take things from the medbay, kitchen, or storage? Because it doesn't seem the safest time to do that. To get a midnight snack? At least that's what Cookie Monster claims he was doing, but there aren't any cookie crumbs around... Unless he had some vegetables, didn't he say he also likes veggies? And I'd still like to know why a knife was taken and disposed of when it wasn't even used in the murder itself. There's so many things going on, like one of those annoying jigsaw puzzles that purposely has leftover pieces."

[Subparman]

“My alibi... ? It's quite simple. I have none. It's true that Miss Kellensea was correct about a number of things, however, I never encountered the Bow creature during the night.”

Kai ponders over Alexis's  thought.

“The reason I left my room... ah. I have ESP.” ...A beat passes. “I... was attempting to make a joke. Call it a suspicion? Forgive me for my wariness, but I sought Miss Kellensea out of my own accord. I was hesitant to let her out of my sight from what I'd gathered the previous day, but I have no reason to suspect her now, by my own admission.”

[Florien]

Well, I can't speak for the others, but I was out because I thought someone, knowing I live in the office currently, would come there to kill me, and so, I left so they would go there and be shocked that I wasn't there. And then the Medbay thing was spur-of-the-moment, realizing "hey I could take some of the antibiotics and that way, when the rest get used up, I control the only source of them." So it goes, you know?... What are you talking about, Kai? That noise behind you last night in the kitchen, that was Bow jumping out of a vent. Then it jumped back in, and you turned around, fearing attack, and then I ran past you while you investigated.

[Kennifer]

"And here I'd thought you made it nigh impossible for anyone else to get into the office."

Alexis turns to look at the Eevee.

"So... who all saw you last night, that you know of?"

[wahoothis]

"The only thing I could see the knife being used for was for the snack Cookie Monster mentioned. Because I doubt Cookie Monster entered the kitchen, grabbed a knife, and immediately thought. . ." Be prepared for the worst Cookie Monster impression. "Me gonna go murder someone. Let me just put up this easy to use weapon and kill them with my own bare hands."

Upon doing that, Ranma held his throat in slight irritation. "How the hell do you speak like that all the time. . . ?" Ranma asked with a cough, feeling like he just gargled sandpaper. "Although. . . Now that I think about it. . ." Ranma mumbled, getting an idea. "What is Kai exactly? And don't say something stupid like human or anything. I meant what is he, talent wise?" The martial artist asked, arms crossed. "From the apron and frying pan, he seems like some kind of chef. Couldn't it be possible he has his own kitchen gloves? I know this is just a theory, but if he could, he could've easily used his own gloves to cover his hands. But this is a stretch, I admit it. But if he did kill Doug, a lot of things could make sense."

With a small shrug, he just looked at everyone. "Let me just picture this scenario: Kai enters Doug's room and kills him, around the time after Cookie Monster entered and left the kitchen. He enters the bathroom and flush the gloves to try and destroy potential finger prints. Then he enters the kitchen, where he also encounters Kellensea. This part is a stretch, but what if Kellensea was working with Kai in some way? The two of them have been pretty thick as thieves: Meeting each other at the kitchen and balcony, immediately voting Cookie Monster. Not to mention they've been handsy in this case: Kai being there before everyone else like he knew where to search, he could've placed the fuzz in the room since he had enough time. When I fished the gloves out of the toilet, I believe Kellensea was the one to take the gloves from me. They were still wet, since I had to use paper towels to not touch the water. If she had some fuzz on her beforehand, she could've stuck them in the gloves and pretend that Cookie Monster truly was the killer. Why she would help a potential killer? Maybe it's because she wanted the victim's close, maybe she's treating this situation like a game, or maybe she's just being a pain in the ass for the sake of being a pain. This whole case is just a pain in the ass. I'm getting tired of going through this, and even when I lay out my own ideas, she's-" Gestures to Kellensea. "just going to deny and deny. Even I'm getting tired of going around in this circle of arguments. I'm ready for this to be over already. . ." Brushing his ponytail off the side of his shoulder, Ranma just put a hand on his forehead, getting a migraine from everything about this case. Hearing the vent comment, Ranma suddenly got thought. "Hey Host person. What happens if someone enters the ventilation of this place? Would they show up on the report?"

[Caret]

Kellensea, and that's it. At least that I know of.

[wingedcatgirl]

I shake my head. No, the trackers don't reach the vents. Old security hole, really should patch that, I say with no indication in my tone that I'm ever actually going to patch that ever.

[Subparman]

“Chef? No, no, I'm merely a househusband. They are similar, although different. (But I do make an excellent eggs benedict, I'll have you know.) It's... unusual to refer to it as a talent, but this does appear to be what our captor had in mind.”

Kai absentmindedly demonstrates his gloveless hands and lack of gloves otherwise on his person. His room, as the others would know from previous investigation, remains untouched.

“ ‘Handsy’... How do you mean...” He sighs, looking exasperated for the first time in the trial. “Perhaps consider that in our current situation, there is little to benefit from a ‘joint murder’, as you seem to be insinuating? Miss Kellensea—forgive my bluntness—hardly seems the type to assist another with escape to no real ends.”

“Ah, but judging by the way neither I nor Bow took notice of each other, Miss Kellensea must have been observing us from outside. I recall no other witnesses.”

[Florien]

Come off it bow, earlier you said you saw both Me and Kai together last night. Wait, you're saying that only I saw YOU? That could be plausible. But you did see both me and Kai, correct?... Either way, I don't believe this argument is going in circles. I believe this argument is going in a straight line. It is going as follows. I provide evidence, and Ranma says "well, now there's too much evidence" and blocks the straight line. This is bullshit, and you all know it. Imagine if you applied that to other things! Hey, look, I found all this evidence that being stabbed in the neck makes you die! "oh no, there's too much evidence being stabbed in the neck makes you die, I don't believe it." UGH! Just... UGH! It's like banging my head against a wall, except with less chance of concussive symptoms! My conclusion fits the evidence best, this elaborate plan involving someone coordinating with ME of all people is hardly even remotely plausible, and WHERE THE HELL WOULD WE GET THE COOKIE MONSTER FUZZ FROM IN THIS SCENARIO?!

[Subparman]

“If my being in the room before anyone else is so pressing to you, it would perhaps be well to remind you that I was the one to discover the corpse. ...As a matter of fact, I haven't slept since last night. Most bothersome. Somehow, I doubt the announcement would sound if the murderer backtracked into the room to plant evidence.”

“I had found no other sources of the cloth, myself, but it is possible that's due to oversight. Has anyone inspected the Cookie Monster's room for traces of it?”

[wahoothis]

"The kitchen, like I proposed. You and Kai were both close to the kitchen, where Cookie has confirmed to have been at night. He's also been shown to have signs of worn and tear, so it's entirely possible for his fabric to come off. If anything, you two were the most likely ones who could do this, since you had the moments of opportunity." Ranma said before glancing at Kellensea. "The entire crime scene was spotless except for a strand of fuzz. Which wasn't even around the body if I remember. If Cookie Monster was the killer, wouldn't there be more fuzz on the body then, say, around the room? And your argument of me cutting through a straight line is bullshit. We're saying that there's a lot of evidence the points to Cookie, but would this really be so straight forward? You might as well hang a sign over the dead body at this point saying "COOKIE MONSTER DID THIS, VOTE HIM" and you'd believe it. He told us he went into the kitchen for a snack, and left it. If he was the killer, couldn't he have made up a better alibi? Not to mention his method of murder: Snapping someone's neck. It'd be difficult to do so if you had no idea what you're doing. Snapping one's neck isn't as easy as people make it out to be. The host did mention that the laws of physics are different around here, but they just told us that mere minutes ago. Cookie Monster doesn't look that strong, so would he know that he has the strength to break someone's neck. If anything, he probably would've used that knife to kill Doug, since it was the only potential weapon he could've used in this scenario. There's also something we haven't went over." Ranma gripped his fist. "Why Doug of all people? Why was he chosen as someone's victim? Couldn't there have been easier targets to kill, like Bow or Alexis. . . No offense you two. Doug was a pretty massive guy, taking him down would be difficult, even if you knew the strength change the host talked about. So let's ask ourselves a simple question: Why Doug was chosen? It couldn't have been a random choice."

[Kennifer]

Alexis wrote something on her notepad, and made a mental note to herself to be extra careful tonight.

"I'm just trying to make sure I have the events straight, as well as everyone's stories, before I vote. I... have no desire to potentially send an innocent to their death, even with evidence."

She looked at her feet, her hair falling over her face again as she bowed her head.

[Caret]

Bow meanwhile tries to...

>search Cookie Monster's bedroom and the kitchen for potential sources of fur

[artsyGeek]

> Investigate the kitchen as well

[wahoothis]

He'd look over at Alexis and nodded. "We can't just immediately assume that someone did it because there's a landslide of evidence against them, especially when that evidence could easily be fabricated. Believe me, I know. . ." Ranma lightly shudders, remembering times when people tried to make it seem like he was going behind Akane's back and cheat on her with different girls. . . and guys. "So forgive me if I think this is too straightforward to be over and done. But hey, if you're right, least you're getting. . . I don't know, a beaten locker. . . ?" It now occurred to him he doesn't really have much to give to Kellensea if he's wrong.

[Kennifer]

"I mean, sometimes you're just so sure everything points one way and... you're wrong. I don't want to make that mistake."

She'd add in her head, "not again."

[Florien]

Let me explain this as clearly as I possibly can. The murder happened before Kai entered the kitchen. The murder happened before I entered the kitchen. So, please, explain how Kai and I coordinated our actions so fucking brilliantly, as would be required for this plan to be pulled off, while barely associating with each other before it happened? It would be a simpler, cleaner, and more sensical explanation to say that the Cookie Monster didn't frame anyone and missed some evidence during cleanup. That would explain the lack of fuzz on the body, the clean nature of the room, and the very tiny amount of evidence IN the room itself. You need so many more epicycles to create a scenario where I and Kai work together to frame the cookie monster that it just doesn't make sense. So why, WHY, do you hold to this? What have you to gain by exploring more and more obscure and elaborate plans, when the first and second most likely plans, being "cookie monster screwed up" and "cookie monster framed itself" are the most likely by far, requiring the fewest assumptions? Zharzy, our group's wizard back home, he told me about something. It's called something else there, but I believe you call it "Occam's Razor". "A legendary weapon wielded with the mind alone", he called it. To say what it means, it means that the simplest explanations, that is, the ones which require the fewest and/or most likely assumptions, are the most likely to be true. For the assumption that Kai did it and I aided him, you would need the following to be true: A. that I'm willing to aid another person here for no tangible benefit to myself. B. That Kai is a master of cleaning up evidence. C. That at no point would I betray Kai to improve my own status among you. D. That somehow, Kai and I continued to coordinate our actions, piling more and more Cookie Monster framing evidence in various places throughout the night and day alike. And of course, E. That Kai left no signs of a coverup behind, despite this enormous amount of covering up that would need to be done.

Kellensea pauses, letting that sink in for a moment.

Here's the assumptions we'd need to make if the cookie monster did it. A. That the Cookie monster is either not great at cleaning up evidence, or deliberately framed itself to get you to question the evidence that it failed to clean up. That is the only assumption we have to make. So, do you now understand?