Jasper + Emerald

[dramatispersonae]

Through the doors, you find yourselves in a small circular room that seems to be decorated much in the same way as the ring is decorated today. The curtains are in alternating colors of your teams, and in the center stand are three surprisingly lifelike, but faceless sculptures. They stand with their backs to one another, facing out to the chairs. About each of their necks is a cord that holds a sign written in a fine, looping cursive.

Comments

Instructions

[dramatispersonae]

As soon as everyone has entered the room, Mother's voice resounds from everywhere and nowhere at once.

"Mother understands very well That her children do grieve so over what has been done to them. Yet although your voices may raise in demand for retribution, for punishment, do my dear children know the price that must be paid to mete such actions out? If I were to place such power into your hands, how would you weild it? It is quite important to know the weight of such things.

The first task before you today is arbitration. Before you stand three criminals, so accused by their actions that have run contrary to the laws of the land and common decency. It will fall to you to determine a suitable punishment for these criminals. Though you be of different colors you must speak with one voice. Mother does so despise dissent among the masses. Please be mindful as well that a punishment not delivered from your own hands will hold no weight at all. The actions you choose must be those that lie within your power as you stand now. Also do try to be quick about it, Mother would so hate to be kept waiting."

((OOC: The first task is to decide punishments for the three crimes listed. The punishments decided must be a consensus of everyone in the room. They also must be something that someone can physically carry out. Punishments like community service and imprisonment aren't valid.))

The Signs

[dramatispersonae]

The three signs about the necks of the statues read as follows:

Gambling, Jailbreak, Child abuse

There is a small table before the stand with a pen and a small sheaf of papers to be used to write out punishments.

Re: The Signs

[aberdevine]

Gambling:
"The criminal will be forced to sit through an exceedingly boring lecture on the evils of gambling and the necessity of following the law and not committing further offenses in the future."

Jailbreak:
"The criminal will be forced to sit through an exceedingly boring lecture on the necessity of following the law, no matter how arbitrary the circumstances might be, and not committing further offenses in the future."

Child abuse:
"The criminal will be forced to sit through an exceedingly boring and strict lecture on the proper treatment of children and the necessity of following the law and not committing further offenses in the future."

Discussion

[dramatispersonae]

Re: Discussion

[aberdevine]

What the fuck, no.

Re: Discussion

[thinkoutsidethebox]

Punishment from our own hands, is it...?

Re: Discussion

[existentiallychallenged]

Another game like this? So it probably turns out that they all had good reasons for doing these things, right?

Re: Discussion

[alldesires]

What the hell is this.

Re: Discussion

[itsalluseless]

No way.

Re: Discussion

[unbalancedscales]

So we have to punish people when we don't care or have qualifications...?

Re: Discussion

[rebells]

[ . . . haah]

How charming.

Round One

[dramatispersonae]

Once the last punishment has been decided the room comes alive with whispers and murmurs, all indistinguishable from one another, but growing in intensity until the entire room is drown out in white noise.

Just as suddenly as they began, they stop and the room goes black. When the lights come on again, Erika is gone and Red appears before you wearing a neatly written sign over their neck that says Gambling with the punishment decided written in fine letters below.

Instructions

[dramatispersonae]

There's not even a moment's pause before Mother's voice cuts in again.

"Come, children, that wasn't so difficult, was it? Now we can begin the true lesson of the day. It would truly be a weak willed individual who would determine the suitable punishment for a crime and not be able to carry out that action with their own hands. Mother didn't raise you to be that way now did she?

All that I ask of you are two tasks. First, determine an arbiter who shall carry out the punishment that you have seen fit to assign the crimes this individual has committed. Second, that arbiter must carry out the punishment to its full extent. Do try not to be sloppy, Mother is watching.

If you should fail in this task, well, Mother will have no choice but to see that you are suitably punished. The failure to give a criminal what they deserve seems to me that it would serve as tacit consent of the crime in question, don't you think? Therefore, though it pains me to speak as such, if you cannot carry out the task that you have laid before yourselves, both the arbiter and the accused shall suffer it. Should you fail to even determine an arbiter then it shall be meted upon every member of your parties who is present.

Now then, doesn't that sound fair?"

Round One - Discussion

[dramatispersonae]

((The accused may speak but they'll find themselves unable to use any skills or touch the other teams in any way.))

Re: Round One - Discussion

[performing]

[HOW DID I END UP HERE .............]

Re: Round One - Discussion

[unbalancedscales]

Who wants to give the lecture?

Re: Round One - Discussion

[alldesires]

[you guys seem to have this under control, so. just chillin'.]

Round One - Decision

[dramatispersonae]

Re: Round One - Decision

[aberdevine]

Your sentence for the crime of gambling is to listen to an exceedingly boring lecture. Prepare yourself.

[takes a deep breath]

Gambling, as I'm sure you're aware, is a crime. Whether performed on an individual level or as part of an organized institution such as a casino, it thrives on unfairness. It is, after all, impossible for everyone to win. For even one person to win, someone has to lose something. Given that casinos are generally set up so that the house has the advantage, this is especially unfair. It is also an act commonly associated with organized crime, which prides itself on members such as loudmouthed idiots fond of the overzealous use of firearms and no respect for other people's clothing. On an individual level, gambling can cause financial and moral ruin, much to the degredation of society as a whole. Those who gamble not only lose their own property, but property that belongs to their families and friends. Stealing is a common outcome of an inability to pay gambling debts. It should be noted that gambling also encourages cheating in games, as the stakes are high enough that players will do anything to win. As Oscar Wilde once said, "One should always play fair when one has the winning cards." This attitude is most prevalent--

[it keeps going]

--present in every society, but that is hardly reason to condone it. After all, gambling behaviors have scientifically been proven to be addictive, possible due to the nature of the reinforcement schedules involved, and--

[and going]

--so as you can see, despite the mathematics involved for the individual, gambling does not, in fact, pay for society as a whole--

[aaaand going, until:]

--not to mention that all cultures have systems of allowed and discouraged behaviors without which they would cease to function. In conclusion, this is why you should not gamble and not commit crimes in the future.

Round Two

[dramatispersonae]

Once your punishment is meted out, the whispers begin again, faster this time. When the lights flicker on and off, there's a sinister chuckle that emanates throughout the room, for a moment it seems like one of the statues has moved, shifting to look at you with an empty face, like that of a bird on fire. Erika has returned but Battler is now gone. Red has disappeared as well but now Lynx appears before you wearing a neatly written sign over their neck that says Jailbreak with the following punishment written in fine letters below:

Five lashes, a lecture on the necessity of following the law, no matter how arbitrary the circumstances might be, and not committing further offenses in the future

A cane sits on a table before the stand.

Round Two - Discussion

[dramatispersonae]

Re: Round Two - Discussion

[aberdevine]

--what the hell?! That wasn't what we decided on!

Round Two - Decision

[dramatispersonae]

Re: Round Two - Decision

[alldesires]

Okay, here's the punishment.

[Let's do the lashes first- he'll just go up to Ling and-]

Hold still.

[c...arefully plucks five eyelashes from his eyes...]

There, five lashes. Right. Now, the lecture... [ahem]

Breakin' the law is a bad thing by human standards, so what with bein' a human and all you really should try hard not to do that, even if it seems like a good idea at the time. After all, uh... oh, if you were in jail you probably broke the law to get in there, so that's no good either. So don't do... whatever it was you did to get thrown in jail again. But if you do, don't break out again either. Got it?

[well, he tried]

Round Three

[dramatispersonae]

As before, the whispers build in intensity and the lights flicker. Lynx is taken from you as well as Swift. The laughter from before is back increasing in pitch and cadence. For a moment the curtains are gone, the ring is bare and black before you, and in the stand before you is a sobbing figure, or is that a head of bright red curls? The images flicker so quickly it's hard to tell, but just a quickly as they began, they end.

Battler returns just as Dragonfly appears before you wearing a neatly written sign over their neck that says Child abuse with the following punishment written in fine letters below:

Twenty lashes, treat the accused as a child

A cane sits on a table before the stand.

Round Three - Discussion

[dramatispersonae]

Re: Round Three - Discussion

[pitching]

. . .

['-']

Round Three - Decision

[dramatispersonae]

[Endgame]

[dramatispersonae]

Once your punishment is complete, the lights go dark again. Both the whispers and the laughter returning, one layering over the other in a deafening din. From the darkness around you, you feel like you can see faces, twisted smiles and small, bright eyes watching you. You feel them on your skin, prickling, the scrutiny so intense that it might reach to your very core, exposing every deed, ever aspect of yourself for all to behold. The discomfort mounts, building, but just as you feel that there's no part of you that will ever be safe from their gaze you see a flash of light and find yourself back at the ring.