WEEK 1 TRIAL

[foundationmods]

It was noon on Saturday.

No matter where they were, no matter what they were doing...the moment the chimes rang out through the hall, they felt a change.

The world...began to expand, as they felt themselves leaving the world they were on, and towards another, much larger world...🗈

This new world looked like...the inside of an ornate courtroom, like something that wouldn't be too far from some kind of grand fantasy novel. The audience was full of people with Goat Heads...like some kind of bizzare trial proceedings.

The Witch - Yuuko - was there, sitting in the most important place, smiling in her mysterious way at everyone. There was no music to be heard, but... perhaps on another plane, in another place, someone else heard music as they gazed upon the proceedings.

As they looked around, they might have also been surprised to see that their forms had changed - perhaps only slightly, or a much more dramatic change. It seemed like this place demanded a different form in some way, even if it was just a change of clothing.

...There was a deep silence in the room, one that no one wanted to break. It was the faint tension in the air, like the moments before a race or a competition begins.

Yesterday had been the start of the game. But now, armed with all they knew...now, they had to truly go up against the Witch, and somehow.....win.

Right?

Comments

FANTASY RETELLING - 1/ ??

[lutea]

[Before any of them can say anything, Yuuko holds up her hand.]

Let me give you the information you'll need, first.

[She waves her hand - and everyone there will suddenly get all the information contained on these pages in their head, instantly memorized.]

...And let me tell you the truth of what happened last night.

[Without warning, a thin pane of...space? appears, shimmering once before something begins to play on it...]

FANTASY RETELLING

[lutea]

Sh-riiiiip….Sh-riiip…

With the door locked, putting duct tape on the inside of it was a pleasure.
The outside of the door had also been securely locked up with her seals, so there was sure to be no way any intruder could enter without revealing what they had done.

...Of course, such a thing was expected of the Great Detective.
She would be doing her master a disservice if she dared do anything less.

Finishing her work on the door, she smiled - and then quickly sighed, wiping away the sweat on her brow.
Though she was quite healthy, it was quite a warm summer night, and the heat was stifling with her frilly, ornate clothing.
Though she wasn’t planning on sleeping, perhaps a quick wipe of her forehead with a cool wet cloth would be enough to energize her for the long night ahead, waiting for the first moment when a murder happened.

She had to be there the moment a scream rang out, of course.
To do anything less….well, she couldn’t be properly called The Detective in that case, right…?

Opening her bathroom door, she began to head in -

And then, she….stopped.

The reason for this was quite simple.

One cannot enter a small bathroom when someone is already inside of it, of course.

There, in front of her….defying all odds….was the Witch, Yuuko - staring down at her like a snake staring down it’s prey.
Those mysterious eyes of hers held no mirth as she gazed down, seemingly into the pit of Erika’s own soul…

...Yet, she was not afraid - only angry.
How dare the Witch appear before her on this night? Didn’t she know that tomorrow, they would be facing each other?

As Erika opened her mouth to speak -

Yuuko moved, twirling a finger in the air...and causing a wet washcloth to slap itself across her nose and mouth.
Almost instantly, the acrid smell of harsh chemicals - made to kill small bugs and all things that crawled in the dirt or flew in the sky - worked it’s way into her mouth and nose, flying up to her brain and -

Stepping back into her room proper, Erika clawed at the washcloth - but it was stubborn, and wouldn’t move.
As she attempted to frantically tear it off, Yuuko followed her into the room, watching impassively....waiting.

With a final burst of effort, Erika tore it off, hacking and coughing.
Her lungs felt like they were on fire, with her eyes having gone red from breathing in the fumes...but it wasn’t enough to dampen the Great Detective’s spirit.
She glared at the witch and took in a shaky, coughing breath -

Only to be slapped with something around her mouth yet again - this time, a piece of her beloved duct tape.
No matter how she tried to pull it off, it simply….would not come free…

“....Forgive me. You are the victim tonight - and thus, I must do this to you.”

She spoke...yet though her words were mournful, she had no trace of emotion in her voice.

Only a cold, cold certainty…

With a start, Erika felt herself being lifted into the air….and struggled.
Not because she was afraid of what might happen, but because she was angry that the Witch was about to most likely forcibly pull her life away through magical means.

It went against everything she knew….everything she was.
How dare this Witch...sully that?!
Yet, she was helpless.
Like a child, flailing and crying as their mother picked them up to place them in bed, she yelled past her duct tape muffler…

All in vain.

“...I will share with you a few fragments, Erika. I hope they are to your liking.”

The Witch moved her hand -

And then, Erika felt endless wind brushing past her.
Her blue hair flew up into the air in front of her from the force of it...and she realized she was falling at an incredible speed.

Turning her head, she saw...ground.
A tiny speck in the middle of a wide blue, but...that speck was getting larger by the second.
Ah, of course.
Her great intellect was able to determine what was happening easily.
She was falling toward an island….and at this speed, she would splatter against the ground, looking like a burst tomato…

Her screams weren’t heard - though even if she hadn’t had the duct tape over her mouth, it would have been impossible to hear over the roaring wind.
In no time at all - and yet, what felt like an eternity - she fell closer and closer to the ground, looking as if she was going to land in the center of a rose garden-!

The moment she was about to hit the ground, she closed her eyes-
And suddenly, all she felt was water

Opening them in shock, she realized she was now in the middle of a great ocean, the pressure of it tight against her skin.
The air in her lungs - something she had taken for granted when she was falling - now was more precious than gold.

Flailing, she tried to swim towards the surface...and yet, the glimmer of the sun seemed to stay constant.
How deep down was she?
Was she being held in place?
Her already scalded lungs screamed in agony as her air began to run out, moving her arms even faster towards air, but it was useless.

Darkness began to creep into her vision as she reached her limit.
Soon, she would unconsciously breathe...and even though her mouth was covered, her nostrils weren’t.
Saltwater would fill her lungs, and she would drown.
And as she thought that -

Suddenly, she was back in her room, lying on her bed.
Not a trace of saltwater remained - not on her skin, or her clothing.
She wasn’t even damp, yet...she was bone-tired, having swum for what felt like hours in that moment - so tired she could barely lift a finger.

“Did you enjoy it?”

The words of the Witch made Erika turn her eyes to the sound - where Yuuko was, with a knife in her hands.
Ah.
Was that...all an illusion?
No, of course it had to have been.
She wasn’t even wet, and yet….where did this exhaustion come from?

“Your eyes tell it all. Sleep now, Furudo Erika. When you awake...you’ll be much happier.”

And then….the knife floated.
It rose up out of her hands, into the air, and down-
Thunk.

It was a wet sound, mingled with a muffled scream.
The knife pulled itself out of the wound - which began to bleed heavily - and placed itself next to Erika.
Of course, she didn’t notice.
The blood loss was too great...and in a mere moment, she passed out.

Yuuko turned, and vanished into smoke.
She reappeared outside of Erika’s window, not sparing a second glance back as she began to walk, heading for the foyer.
Inside the room...Erika slowly bled out.
And, in just a few moments….her breathing stilled as she died.

A gentle, quiet end for someone who had always been so loud in life.

THE WITCH

[lutea]

[The portal fades after that, and Yuuko remains - staring impassively at all of them.]

....You have seen my truth. Thus, a few options are open to you now.

You may believe what I have said, and blame me for the death of Erika. If all of you agree to that, then it will become the truth.

...Or, you can argue against it - and prove that one among you did this. As humans, that is your right. And as humans, you must use the Blue Truth to fight against me - the one thing that can destroy a Witch.

...Though in this game, there will be no destruction.

As long as you can present me with a Blue Truth that contradicts my claim, then I do not care if you name the correct culprit. As long as it overturns my truth, you win.

...However, I will not wait forever. Thus -

You have six hours to figure out who did it. If there is no Blue Truth that I accept within that time, then I will win this trial.
...I will not refuse everything, of course. I have rules I must be bound to, as well. As long as you are all intelligent enough for this...then I will face you fairly, even if the one who controls you still cowardly hides.

But be prepared. We will truly fight a battle here, with the Truths as our weapons. Though you will not be harmed, you will still feel the pain of them as clearly as you would a wound.

[She shakes her head, once.]

...That should be all. You may ask me to repeat any red statement, or to repeat any theory that you have in red.

...However, I have the right to refuse to say anything if it would put me in a disadvantageous position.

Tell me, o pieces.

Was Erika's Death a Mystery, or a Fantasy?

???

[foundationmods]

[And on another plane of existance, someone else begins to speak, clarifying for their audience...]

(If there's two or more theories that have enough characters behind them, a vote page will be put up for everyone to vote on which theory their character is going with.

You can treat the rest of the page like how normal trials work, but always remember that you can ask the Witch to clarify stuff at any time - just keep in mind how the Red works from the page.

If there's any issues or questions, just ask it to the mods on Discord.

Code for Blue Truth:
<font color=#000099><b>TEXT GOES HERE</b></font>

As a reminder, Blue Truth is meant for theorycrafting - so while you can ask for information normally, Blue Truth is meant as a counterattack against the witch.

Going up against her and getting hit multiple times will require you to step away, though there's no imposed time limit. We just ask that you have your character back off.

If you'd like an example of how trials go, please look at this mock round trial.

[improbablenotimpossible]

[As the court room superimpose itself over them, Ruler spread his arms out, as if assisting an unseen tailor measuring him, a black silk inverness coat with a pale blue lining drapes itself over his shoulder as a brass-colored, corset like contraption cinches itself around his waist, several hinged apparatus unfurling itself from it, each of them ending with a crystal-clear lens, rotating and positioning themselves to catch the light filtering in through.

As a final gesture, the cigarette he had just pulled out morphed into a meerschaum-style pipe, that is emitting a small trail of odorless fog, encircling his feet and spreading outwards]

I see, so this is how we are intended to disprove 'Fantasy'. I can assure you, we will not accept this illusion as the truth!

As one of the two who had examined Miss Furudo's body, I shall present my evidence, and let us hear what else we have uncovered!

[kiddatheart]

[ ryuji is dressed as so, because he's not got no bones about it. he listened to yuuko's explanation with a confused furrow of his brows ]

Uhh, come again?

Who the hyuck?

[keydomhearts]

[ There is someone new there, wearing a familiar jacket. ]

Whoa! Why does everyone look do different?

[youkaiwatch]

[ Well, that's different. ]

[incrediblystressedout]

She's saying th--

--you have a skull mask. Can I ask why you have a skull mask?

[kagamiimagak]

Oho- I get my Magino frame now? [It was certainly an outfit. Being a leotard with a waistcoat over the top. But the real attention grabber was the large robotic arms replacing her normal ones. And the sweet dragon hat...

It is a very nice hat.

But she waves a robo-mitt. Moving on.]

So is she actually dead? How was it? I didn't see the body but I'm guessing she was poisoned or stabbed.

[goldenmaniac]

Oooo...

[Sorry Sora, Takumi is petting your new ears.

[excavated]

[ Syaoran himself is dressed in what seems to be a uniform, and while others seem to have changed drastically, he doesn't seem to seem to be surprised in the slightest bit. ] I didn't get to see Furudo-san for myself, [ due to other circumstances ] so I'd definitely like to hear what everyone else found. We're definitely going to break this illusion. [ He frowns, but there's a determined glint in his eye. ] We have to.

1/3

[foundfate]

Probably because something something witch-

2/3

[foundfate]

[youkaiwatch]

[ Glances down at his lack of pants... ]

That's a bold choice.

3/3

[foundfate]

Ah.

You're one of those people.

[oceanicbutterfly]

[People who've been with the Foundation for a while might have two questions: where did Karen go, and why is Cure Aqua here?]

Well, that was an absurdly complicated story.

[goldenmaniac]

[Takumi is here... and tinted a soft blue. In fact he's surrounded by constantly shifting blue artifacting and seems almost ghost like.]

...oh.

[kiddatheart]

Right, when I was runnin' around the flower garden yesterday morning, I went into the garden shed and saw that a garden stake and some insecticide was missing from there.

[excavated]

[ GIVES WATANUKI A LOOK does he dare ask what he means by 'those people'.... ]

[foundfate]

[Watanuki basically traded for a red uniform but is otherwise the same.]

Red isn't even my school's color...

[Yes this is Important to him.]

[foundfate]

[Gonna just





try to stick his hand through Takumi's head.]

[kagamiimagak]

[claps from the magical girl]

Go ahead. I get the feeling this might be connected to the letters she sent out.

[anonnomnomnom]

[There's a... really large furry blob with wings floating in the middle of the courtroom! He doesn't look too far from the goats that have been serving them, in certain aspects, but somehow there's a much more ominous aura about him. The skull jaw seems to be grinning...] Aha, I didn't expect this! But this form isn't too bad, either. It's got everything I need! [That is to say, he's flexing his funny hands and legs and tail, swishing everything around. He even does a couple loop-de-loops in mid-air, and flies in a little circle around the nearest people.]

[kiddatheart]

... Aesthetic?

[ probably shouldn't talk about metaverse or being a phantom thief just yet ]