Corax is, uh, trying something a little unorthodox. If we just give him a minute, I think he's just about done.

Absurdity DeVoid 2024/09/06(Fri)22:37 No. 1097104 ID: b60ac5
File 172568742704.jpg - (1.87MB , 3368x2220 , Divergent 366.jpg )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo-dCl1fa0I&loop=0

Wh- uh, nooooo? He's just um, pressuring them.

*to Corax: Ahhh! Hurry up!*

>>1097104
Ten.

*Corax moves the gun and shoots Melkior in his left leg.*

Don’t call my bluff. I said I would shoot you, I didn’t say where. Mad Creator, please say who you accuse or I will shoot him again.

Absurdity DeVoid 2024/09/11(Wed)02:49 No. 1097262 ID: d4b03b
File 172604815962.jpg - (1.41MB , 2302x1944 , Divergent 367.jpg )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjon2REtQ-g

>>1097262
Of course, sir. *Corax holsters his gun.*

Corax's thoughts to his team: Well done Hopkins, Maya, and you... "Peregrine." I want you to keep watching everyone, the purpose of this was to watch their responses. Keep watching and observe any odd behavior that seems out of character for what we know about our suspects. Especially watch Triumphant.

I apologize for the surprise, but it was necessary for the exercise in which I was conducting. I wanted to see their reactions based on being back into a corner, as these ones are the most likely candidates to be considered as working with, or are Happy the tragedy phantom, and since it is also a possibility that the one who is Happy may not be aware of it, it was also a test of their subconcious.

The following is my own conclusions. Felafaf is innocent, she showed more moral worry and panic even worrying about my own position, as well as the well being of suspect Melkior and the fact that what I was doing was to quote her 'Unjust.' Happy would want me to continue as if I was making a mistake, why interrupt me? Never stop your enemy when they are making a mistake.

Lorrence was quick to point fingers to Sirius as the suspect, but his reasoning for which involves the mishandling of the being known as 'Essence of Life.' As for what we know Happy seems to relish the chaos of it all and making it dance to his tune. I think it's fair to strike Lorence as a suspect, for now.

Sirius is an unknown is this but also is too honest. Honest people make many mistakes, and that is something Happy does not do. He doesn't fit the behavioral profile.

Oxidius was more quiet than anything and his behavior showed more unrest and worry for his... Companion. Happy would be willing to throw anyone under the bus to get what he wants as we have seen, certain people be damned.

Melkior was egging me on, again why interrupt your enemy when they are making a mistake, even demanding at one point that I shoot and kill him, continued to taunt his fellow interrogates. At this time, I feel more questioning of him may be appropriate as he certainly fits the behavioral profile.

The mad creator... He found most of this entertaining. Again, possible fit for the psyche profile, however it is intriguing the answer he gave as to who he accused. In fact both he and Melkior gave interesting answers. We can discuss that later in the debriefing.

>>1097268
Inner thoughts to Hopkins, Maya, and “Peregrine”: Something just occurred to me. Watch Lorence carefully. His body, it’s not his real body. It’s a corpse puppet, a kind golem made from dead flesh that he pilots from a separate location. How is this possible? In recorded interactions with Happy, he’s used similar abilities with puppets, and what’s more is that beings like Essence of life have also been able to use corpse puppets. One of you, ask him this is actually possible. By what technology or magics is this being done?

*Hopkins skulks in the hall, peeking in but keeping out of the way.*

Absurdity DeVoid 2024/09/17(Tue)10:14 No. 1097491 ID: df64c0
File 172659326216.jpg - (2.78MB , 3510x2304 , Divergent 368.jpg )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3JIm4YBJrA

>>1097491
As a matter of fact, Lorrence there is. As Melkior- oh speaking of which, Practical Maya, please bandage his wound if you can? Thank you.

As I was saying Lorrence, something that was said intrigued me. The body which we currently see, it's not your actual one isn't it? Your real one is still under our custody, and the one we see now is a limited corpse puppet that acts as something a golem, made from dead bodies. It is interesting because this ability has been used by Essence of Life in the past, and what's more, every interaction with Happy the Tragedy phantom has also been through a construct. How did you acquire such an ability? I've heard of certain members of your world that go into a coma and bring forth astral projections that have certain powers as long as they are bound to someone. Is this similar to that? I am interested to know where this ability comes from as it may shed a light on how Happy has also used his construct. If we can pinpoint the origin of this, then it may bring new evidence to light.

>>1097492
*Corax looks over his shoulder at The Mad Creator*
Rest assured, sir, I don't want a "fall guy." Whether you are, or aren't Happy remains to be seen.

*Hopkins looks around for that butler guy*
We should probably fetch some bandages for eyepatch.

Absurdity DeVoid 2024/09/25(Wed)03:50 No. 1097796 ID: 59c0fa
File 172726142690.jpg - (3.09MB , 2482x3232 , Divergent 369.jpg )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZfm3cvdTR4

>>1097796
Interesting. It raises another question however. How you are able to command your corpse puppets? From what you have said, I wouldn't be surprised if your puppets are corpses of yourselves from other timelines. If Essence could do something similar it must mean that her puppets had to have had part of her other selves in them, perhaps to... establish some neural/telepathic link? It would work better if its your own brain and body. Would you say this is correct, Mr. Lorrence?

> It is Essence singing a song and you can look at how each person reacts to it.
By all means.

Inner thoughts to Maya, Hopkins, and "Peregrine": I expect there will be a lack of a reaction from Happy, watch for that among our accused. This includes Triumphant.

thoughts: So beardy has experience interfering in dimensions, but in a sneaky behind-the-scenes way. And they're good at not drawing attention to themselves. One to watch, I'd say.

*Hopkins shuffles in to observe, lurking at the back of the room.*

Absurdity DeVoid 2024/10/06(Sun)15:37 No. 1098310 ID: b93ba2
File 172825426044.jpg - (5.39MB , 3508x4296 , Divergent 370.jpg )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa3jyGj9NxI

>>1098310
I think the when this recording was made was near her death. She knew that at some point in the near future, she was going to meet an end and would have to accept, whether she was ready for it or not. As for who it is for, it is for three people. One of them is Happy regarding how he treats her. Another is for the other Ana's, particularly the one known as Scarred Ana, the two were on opposing sides but there was a deeper connection between them. Lastly, I think this was also self-pity for herself. I suspect Spirit Contaminator kept this as a memento.

I am more interested to see how everyone else found this performance.

*Hopkins mumbles something noncommittal and tries to sneakily look through his notes, as he doesn't remember who this girl is. It sounds like she's had a rough life, but so has every other person in this room by the sounds of it. She could be connected to any of them, so he's looking for any emotion showing on any of the suspects' faces in the wake of the sad song.*

That's cute

Absurdity DeVoid 2024/10/13(Sun)02:54 No. 1098568 ID: aad9f1
File 172881327094.jpg - (2.76MB , 2656x2910 , Divergent 371.jpg )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpU61EtpaDY

*Corax pulls out his notepad and begins to write and talk*

Peregrine denotes the song, and our reaction as "cute" then backpedals asking why he said it, saying something else made him say it.

Triumphant shows no immediate outward reaction, other than annoyance and suspicion at being a suspect.

I think when considering this, we have to look at 2 things. One, how each suspects feels the song relates to them, and how Essence relates to each suspect as well.

1. Melkior's reaction seems annoyed more than anything, as if remembering a bad memory. Based on his track record with women, it wouldn't surprise me if he attempted sexual contact with Essence and was rejected or worse.

2. Oxidius seemed more fascinated, as someone who studies beings like her and Andrew Goodwill, getting a view into their psyche would no doubt be intriguing.

3. Lorence, no reaction and the only emotion showed was boredom. He doesn't like Essence and probably knows enough about her to want nothing to do with her.

4. Felafaf and The Mad Creator showed the most emotion during it, I suspect that they as near godly beings themselves were showing sympathy for how they felt, I assume what Essence was singing about mirrored their own feelings.

5. Sirius showed amusement. I suspect he thinks it was just a good song.

Given this information and speculation, I'd like to ask them what they think of Essence of Life and have each of them give testimony to any interactions they might have had with her see if there is any contradictions based on prior knowledge.

>>1098597
The things in italic font are things Corax wrote down for himself

Agh, are we even going anywhere with this watch their reactions bit? Whoever is Happy must be skilled at hiding their emotions to have gone unfound so long.

Sure we could look then at how Lorence and Sirius had the most muted response, and assume they are hiding their true emotion. But any of the others could be performing to throw us off.

At the end of the day, cases are decided by evidence, and all we have here is speculation.

>>1098628
*corax’s eyebrows raise at that and the ghost of a smile crosses his lips.*

Inner thoughts: Well said, Hopkins. Well said.

Absurdity DeVoid 2024/10/27(Sun)02:16 No. 1099094 ID: 54b14a
File 173002058241.jpg - (1.16MB , 1986x2084 , Divergent 372.jpg )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fj5uG6_mnoQ

>>1099094
We threaten him with knowledge he doesn't know about, or we threaten him with a weapon. There are two things I can think of that we say we have.

1. Is the Smile of Essence, we have recovered it and have already begun tests on it to determine its power.

2. Happy himself may not be aware there is another organization that is aiding him, but wants him to win. This other organization has stated that they do not want him knowing about it, as such it would throw a monkey wrench in both of their plans. This one I find more likely as it would take out two of our enemies.

What would really help would be catching a suspect with knowledge they shouldn't have, unless they were Happy. With all the subterfuge going on, Happy probably doesn't know how much we know. So we should trick him into saying something that he doesn't know that we know he shouldn't know.

But I don't know what that would be.

>>1099119
If we are going with that angle then the power of the smile of Essence may be our best shot.

Absurdity DeVoid 2024/11/06(Wed)07:51 No. 1099441 ID: 65be43
File 173090828816.jpg - (814.49KB , 1974x1478 , Divergent 373.jpg )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cNA1DOzSQQ

>>1099441
Inner thoughts to Hopkins and "Peregrine":I am fine with this idea, but it's also a good idea to try and get two birds with one stone. I say we also use the Smile of Essence as a backup but also hint at our stringy college's former allies. Only enough to drag them out as well.

>>1099455
*flips through notes* Living painting, living painting... ah, right. I'll concur with Corax then. If we flat out say that the painting told us, then Happy will know we're bluffing, as why haven't we arrested him then?

Absurdity DeVoid 2024/11/11(Mon)08:09 No. 1099628 ID: fffdf0
File 173134135520.jpg - (435.53KB , 1306x942 , Divergent 374.jpg )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eekw5g6IxfY

>>1099628
Very well.
*Corax stands and re-enters the room*

Thank you all for your patience. Some new evidence has come to light that pertains to you all. After review of the interrogation of the living painting Mad World, it has been determined that we have a more substantial credibility to the identity of Happy as the painting living Mad World has been in contact with him and has turned over more evidence.

Should any of you have any information that can corroborate Mad World's testimony on Happy, we will take it at this time.

Absurdity DeVoid 2024/11/22(Fri)01:22 No. 1100187 ID: 6a5cc1
File 173226737664.jpg - (2.30MB , 2948x2589 , Divergent 375.jpg )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htFJzGd_E00

>>1100187
> To Melkior
I am not at liberty to say as it is classified until this case has come to its conclusion. However I can say that the report he gave included him giving over a name and the names of his associates, most of whom we already have in captivity or are deceased. To quote Mad World: "Happy moves like a symphony, with an orchestra of the damned. The Spirit Contaminator, Essence of Life, and even that centipede beast—all parts of a grand performance. But make no mistake, Happy writes the script."

> To Felafaf
Thank you for you contribution.

> To Aisantue
We have the records of that, there are some who even suspect that Mad World was acting on Happy's Orders when the painting attacked her. Of course that would place a target on your back as you brought her here, possibly as a set up.

> To Sirius
Cooperate with us and we will cut you a deal, you will get your son back.

> To Lorrence and Oxidius
If you would like to submit your finding as evidence and testimony, it may look favorably on the tribunal.

to Corax: (I'm leaning towards Aisantue at this point. Nothing concrete, but his attitude seems suspicious. And if he had easy access to the painting, easy to set up the incident, and engineer plausible deniability to boot.)

Absurdity DeVoid 2024/11/24(Sun)09:30 No. 1100332 ID: 8fff14
File 173246945162.jpg - (2.40MB , 2544x2679 , Divergent 376.jpg )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mvbw4f2Itis

>>1100332
*Corax looks around at the room noting each reaction at the mention of Mr. Toothpick*

Inner Thoughts to Hopkins and "Peregine": One of these things is not like the other.

Aisantue, why so shocked?

Absurdity DeVoid 2024/11/30(Sat)13:16 No. 1100573 ID: 2c21b8
File 173300141806.jpg - (4.18MB , 2808x3414 , Divergent 377.jpg )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sekyV_o2pM

Sure thing, I think we've got a bone to PICK with him.
(Lets see how they react to such a worthless pun.)

>>1100584
Very well. Let us BRANCH out from this, I'm sure we'll get to the POINT of Mr. Toothpick.

Inner thoughts to Hopkins: I see what you did there.

Absurdity DeVoid 2024/12/04(Wed)01:50 No. 1100754 ID: 3ea4ff
File 173330580075.jpg - (3.49MB , 2482x3291 , Divergent 378.jpg )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8KmVSRrxVw

>>1100754
Inner thoughts to the team: Toothpick seems awfully vindictive. He speaks like someone who has been personally wronged by the Tribunal, and that leads me to question everything he said.

> I have never been to this high layer or reality.

This feels like a lie, why start out with that? It's awkward to begin a conversation with and feels more like deflection.

> All the talk of imaginary friends and believing in them and becoming real

This also sounds like a non-sequitur but I don't believe it is. That was too specific, and the with the talk of the Ash Tree... Hm. Toothpick here knows more than they are letting on. And apparently both Toothpick and Happy have a deeper connection with the Ash Tree...

*Corax chuckles to himself.*

Mr. Toothpick, are you familiar with the being known as Happy the Tragedy Phantom? It's funny you keep mentioning imaginary friends. I recall reading documents in this case about a battle between imaginary friends, our chief Gates Triumphant here had a minor role in that. The battle between Essence of Life who was under the control of Happy the Tragedy Phantom and the Voices of Ana who were fighting to ensure that Ana herself never fell under Happy's thrall. Based on what you know, can you provide any testimony or evidence as to who Happy the Tragedy Phantom might be, given both you and he have a connection with the Ash Tree?

*Hopkins is writing this all down as if it is relevant.*
Wait, you said "she" is still present? Can we get her to testify too then?

Absurdity DeVoid 2024/12/07(Sat)02:25 No. 1100896 ID: 3ea4ff
File 173356714087.jpg - (1.66MB , 2670x2014 , Divergent 379.jpg )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1WaQpj8VMI

>>1100896
*Corax ignores question entirely but begins to smile*

Mr. Toothpick, how did you know about the painting?

to team(So what I'm gathering is that Happy has a happy-go-lucky attitude 'like Melkior was acting'. But the real Happy is keeping that in check. So we need to wait for him to slip and let that carefree personality shine through.)

>>1101052
to Hopkins: Combine that with a good amount of sociopathy, willingness to sacrifice others for personal gain, and a good amount of intelligence, enough to know how to create parasitic life forms, and that's more or less the full picture.

Absurdity DeVoid 2024/12/13(Fri)14:53 No. 1101215 ID: 9246cb
File 173413039703.jpg - (2.15MB , 2681x2842 , Divergent 380.jpg )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQauUO41-rE

>>1101215
Inner thoughts to team: watch everyone else, we have bait now we lure out our fish. Mr. Toothpick is our bait.

Mr. toothpick, you contradicted yourself. You said the Ash Tree TOLD you about the Mad World painting but then turn right around and say you are only able to hear it meaning communication with the Ash Tree is impossible. Which is it?