Mall – Build-A-Bear Workshop

(Gosh, they've just got all the bears and other assorted critters◊ a child could ask for, even a bunch of licensed properties...)

(Interestingly, it seems they have one that's a promotional tie-in for the Grayrock Wildlife Center. Guess there's a white lion there?◊)

---

Mall – Dick's Sporting Goods

(The footage itself isn't the best quality, but the general shape and size of the men can be made out, along with a few facial features. Some of them aren't quite tall enough to match up to what the alleged killer looked like in their footage, and some of them are simply too wide to have fit under the coat.)

(The remaining gents appear to◊ be◊ as◊ follows◊.)

...did he really wear a sandwich board into th—...

(The activity from the footage dies down after a while, only one person walking over to the now-depleted shelves.)

(...however.)

---

Norm's Room

(Logan peers over the notebook, looking solemn.)

...Let's have some of the eggheads among us examine it first, but sure. Fuckin' shame, eh? An artist cut down in his prime...

(Turns to Dia, smirking a bit.)

Now there's an idea. One sec...

(Reaches into a pocket on his cargo pants, producing... a fingerprint duster kit! Moseys over to the window and starts dusting.)

You kids keep lookin', and lemme know if I need to use this thing on somethin' else. I admire your youthful instincts.

(Katrakis watches silently, his mane of white hair gleaming in the rays of sunlight emanating from the window.)

---

Wal-Mart

…

(Eyes narrow a bit.)

...Hold up. I'd be lyin' if I said this wasn't a bit off, sir...

(How is Gesicht dressed today? And how tall is he?)

---

Curio Rouge

(Mrs. Rouge smirks at Dirk and takes the information down with a pen and paper.)

...Hm. I should probably cross-reference this with the horoscopes I put out on the death dates.

(Is already trying to pull them up on her iPad.)

---

Star Times Website

(hm....... There's a fluff piece about an apparent giant snapping turtle in the creek, article about the Sallow Lodge organizing a trash pickup around said creek, retrospective on the death anniversary of the white lion that apparently made the Zoological Center famous many years ago, several articles about the killings and the citizens' unrest surrounding them...)

---

Mark's Car

…

Eheheh! That sounds good. I bet your friend would have liked it if you came here a few years ago... That's when Prince was still alive.

(They finally pull up to the building◊, which has a prominately displayed statue of a lion at rest◊ right outside.)

We're here...

(Reaches down, getting himself a hat out of the floorboard.)

---

Mall – Phone Repair

'S gotta be southern, right?

(The gent comes back up from his diggings, producing a little box with a USB cord connected.)

(He asks Kintobor to go ahead and open the app(s) in question with the corrupted data on them, explaining that this can hopefully do the trick.)

---

Church

...Ah— Sorry, hold on...!

(A faint scuttling before a small woman◊ opens the door. She looks a bit nervous, but definitely unlike whoever Shadow was pursuing just now.)

...Goodness, uh—... May I help you?

---

Mall – Music Store

(gosh, it's nice... Only $20 for this absolute beaut.)

Heh! Like what you see, huh.

(AAAA BEHIND YOU)

---

Archives

(An odd name indeed...)

(Through further searching, Bakugo manages to turn up a pretty detailed profile of this gent. Beefus◊ is the descendant and namesake of an infamous Confederate major, one of General Lee's most fierce and ruthless men.)

(Now this Beefus, apart from being a member of the city council, has also garnered a reputation for being super fuckin' racist and trying to antagonize people in Grayrock who aren't white. Fortunately for everyone else, the extent of this nastiness is filing petty complaints with the police and carrying hateful sandwich boards around on his little excursions through town. Doesn't seem like he has an arrest history...)

make it through this year if it kills you yet | 2001-2019

Wal Mart

(sarcastic) Would you believe me if I told you that I was one of those investigators around town? (about the size of an average adult)

Curio Rouge (Aichi)

-OK, so he's not sure if he should really pursue anything involving the Sallow Lodge organizing a trash pick up...-

-...But he can mention it to the others for them to decide whether it's worth pursuing or not.-

"The Sallow Lodge recently organized a trash pick up around a creek..."

-...A lion...?-

-R Leonis is associated with Leo... That... can't just be a coincidence, can it?-

"...They're talking about the anniversary of the passing of a white lion that made the Zoological Center famous..."

-Maybe it means something...-

-He decides to ask Violet about it.-

"R Leonis is associated with Leo... Is there any way that this could mean something too?"

-...I don't know, Aichi might just be grasping at straws...-

"There are also articles about the killings..."

-He starts with checking on the lion and the zoological center first, just in case...-

Edited by CrystalMemoria on Sep 6th 2018 at 10:29:22 AM

-!-

Carmine turned slowly, still looking it over.

"More or less. I prefer steel string over nylon, gives it a better sound."

[forum cryptid: it/it's]

... I need this tape. Who has access to this footage and who are the four men pictured in the video?

"... Oh! Hello ma'am! Are you well?"

Trudy tries 2 b unassuming for the nice lady...

-koata smiles and nods, MAYBE HE CAN SAVE THIS NMASTERPIECE!!!-

-he holds onto it and looks around the room some more, maybe norm left behind a phone, or a laptop. then they could look into the history and stuff!-

LOVE IS STORED IN THE AXOLOTL!

Hmmm, maybe that secret society thing that Agent Shadow found could be connected?

Spelunking through a Halo Ring is something else...

Curio Rouge (Aichi)

-Well... Perhaps he should look at the stuff about the clean up.-

"Um... There is that article about them arranging to clean around a creek. Would you like me to look at that too?"

Lions... lions are important... what's the universe trying to tell us?

What if there’s no better word than just not saying anything?

... -Franziska gravitates towards the white lion-

What a cute little thing... look. It is strong... but fierce, as well.

-she takes it-

I will make it my own.

Edited by thespacephantom on Sep 6th 2018 at 5:52:45 AM

UN JOUR JE SERAI DE RETOUR PRÈS DE TOI

"Well, 'hopefully' doesn't fill me with confidence..."

-Opens up the Notes app first-

"...Did anyone else come by here?"

I see... alright. Agent Midoriya and I will be out of your way for now then.

-outta the car, professional fbi agent mode activated-

mario is red, i am green, i try my best, but everyone's mean

Hotel Mario: Dia The Delightful Detective

Dia chuckled and nodded her head from side to side as her face showed a smirk, she shrugged, unsure of why she was really the one thinking up the obvious deductive ideas here as the complete newbie, but she didn't mind.

"Flower was stomped before he could bloom, unfortunate really" Maxwell squinted at the floor, despite describing a tragedy her voice wasn't really melancholic, but there was a hint of anger down there, buried beneath a mountain of focus.

"Well… Let's search for what kind of feet this flower burying creature had" Machina said as she looked around for any signs of a chase or a fight possibly going on in the room, weapons, the direction of the most recent footprints and so on.

Midoriya

(outta the car with Shotaro)

Guess we should make a bit of distance from them.

Bakugo at The Archives™

(despite managing to form a good profile of Beefus, Bakugo is starting to feel like he's losing the trail)

(the victims certainly aren't all non-white folk)

(Beefus has no apparent criminal record, and while he does have a petty feud with the Curio Rouge, that doesn't connect him to the victims)

(still seems like the kind of guy who'd murder over petty shit like this, but likely not cunning enough to commit serial murder)

(he hasn't let Beefus off the hook just yet, so he goes deeper into Beefus' ancestor, his namesake)

(he's looking for any connection to Grayrock, maybe a point in history when Beefus' bloodline is introduced to the town)

"Shake the dust." - Anis Mojgani

Wal-Mart

...I mean... Do you have proof, or—...? Look— look, man. I've got...

(Deep sigh, fiddling w/his glasses a bit.)

...I knew one of the victims. I... I've gotta do everything I can to make sure this sicko is brought to justice. If you are trying to help, great, I'd really like that. But as it stands... I don't have any reason to trust you.

---

Curio Rouge

...Ah, Prince.

(Sad lil' smile...)

My husband actually did Prince's taxidermy when he passed away. Poor old thing made it to 20, but his heart gave out. It was so weird... We had all gotten really used to him. He was Grayrock's very own special thing.

(Holds a hand to her chin, quietly pensive.)

...I hadn't even considered ol' Prince in terms of the Leo angle. As for that other article, you can take a look if you'd like. I'd figure it'd be cut and dry, but there might be something in there.

---

Star-Times Website

(The article itself more or less echoes what Mrs. Rouge said. Prince the white lion was a big draw for tourists and rather iconic of the whole city, the local football team having been named "the Lions" after him and wearing white uniforms.)

(He was famous for his unusually docile demeanor, spending most of his time either asleep or just seemingly contemplating his surroundings with an air of quiet solemnity. It was rumored that he never, in his entire life, roared even once.)

(He was pretty valuable to zoologists, too, and had studies done on his unique genetic expression that gave him the white coat.)

---

Mall — Music Store

(Some chunky weirdo◊ with a nametag that reads "Günther" stands behind Carmine, smiling serenely.)

So I've been told. Heh! And I had to be told, I actually know jack-all about music. Maybe that's why we're closing down... What I do know, though— we have one just like it in the back, except with steel strings. Would you like it.

(inflect your fucking questions, Günther)

---

Mall – Dick's

(The tape remains on this single, distorted frame of a young, tall man in apparent agony.)

...Wh— what the fu—...

…

...My manager, but— uh— he's on his lunch break... And— and Dr. Breen, I could go get him. The—... I recognize two of the men. The younger one with the beard is Cooter Jones, he owns a restaurant in town... The old guy is Mr. Katrakis, the man who runs the Valiant... I dunno if—... sorry, this is just... this is fucked up, if you'll pardon my French.

---

Church

...I am, yes. And— no, not that I know of... My husband's out of town for the week. Was... there a break-in or something...?

(nervous little lady...)

---

Norm's Room

(...ah-HA! Both a phone and a laptop an—)

(...hm, you'll need a password to get into either.)

(Pretty immaculate, Dia, not really any footprints. The window being ajar and the blanket swept on the floor are the only two real signs that anything was amiss at all...)

...Hey, kid. Your suspicion was right.

(Motions towards the now-dusted windowsill, sure enough bearing some BIG OL' THUMBPRINTS on it.)

So I'm supposin' he did go through here after all... Question now is, why?

---

Mall – Build-a-Bear

(Claudia creeps up alongside her and smiles imperiously.)

How charming... As for me, well... I feel like a bit of a "basic bitch" in this selection, but...

(Holds up... awww, a sprinkly and sweet Hello Kitty...◊)

Both felines... perhaps friends. Ahaha~...!

---

Mall – Phone Repair

…

(The gent plugs his device into the micro USB, fiddling with it for a fairly tense minute or so before...)

…!

(He looks up. His old, sleepy eyes are wide, and the confusion is plain on his face.)

...Uhm... Oh geez, is it— it's not anything bad... is it...?

(The poor girl goes a bit pale thinking of the possibilities.)

…

(The man explains, briefly and clearly, that the corrupted text has removed itself from the text files and... formed an .mp3 file.)

...Wh—... huh?

---

Zoological Center

(The two young weirdoes hop out of the car, Mark closing the door behind them.)

It's fine... At least come in the building with us so I can pay for your tickets.

(Leah, in her infinite wisdom, is taking a phone-pic of a bumblebee on the ground immediately outside the Wild Animal-Having House.)

...she's so big...

---

Archives

(...Ah, old Cletus Jeremiah Beauregarde, the ne'er do well son of a wealthy Georgia plantation owner, who moved to Texas and near the settlement that would be Grayrock in 1832 with a wave of Anglo settlers.)

(Of course, he brought his slaves with him, and it was rumored that he moved there to evade the fallout of a drunken rampage he may or may not have gone on in the city of Athens on his 20th birthday. Regardless, he remained a wealthy and problematic figure, and fathered the infamous Major Beefus Cassidy Beauregarde with a woman who may or may not have been an escaped circus freak.)

make it through this year if it kills you yet | 2001-2019

"So it was...conversion of audio to a text file? I've heard of it, but...well, go on man, play it!"

"I just chased someone down the hall towards this room. Ma'am I'm going to have to search the area. It's part of a federal investigation."

Lions... lions and sandwiches... Prince... or the deceased lion formerly known as Prince...

What if there’s no better word than just not saying anything?

How... interesting.

-looks down her nose at the sprinkly teddy. That's a bit childish, isn't it...?-

-looks around, noticing Carmine's absence-

It seems we have lost the good agent. No matter. Come — let us clothe these bears and lions.

-goes to the section of outfits they have-

UN JOUR JE SERAI DE RETOUR PRÈS DE TOI

Wal Mart

(pulls out his badge) If that doesn't convince you, I will promise that you won't be harmed when I'm around.

Curio Rouge (Aichi)

-It really is sad to hear about the passing of Prince, but Aichi continues reading.-

"He sounds like he was a very nice lion... He was very important to the community, wasn't he...?"

-...He was rumored to have never roared once? Wow...-

"I'm glad he lived a long life..."

-Aichi begins pulling up the information about the Sallow Lodge pick up next. He probably should go ahead and look at that.-

-After all, someone with one of their fliers ran off somewhere...-

Edited by CrystalMemoria on Sep 8th 2018 at 6:54:14 AM

-SHIT! hmmm...-

-koata looks at dia, wondering if she has anymore ideas unlike him-

LOVE IS STORED IN THE AXOLOTL!

Norm's Room: The Destructive Dia Delegation of Deductions

Dia frowned, poked her left cheek, the floor was clean… Was there not a chase that lead through this door to the window? She spun her pen faster as she spoke to Logan.

"Well I imagine he was escaping from his assailant, but there's… No sign of footprints here, say can you distinguish if there's one set of thumbprints on the windowsill or two?"

Maxwell stood up, still looking for clues she turned to Koata, her eyes widening as she saw the laptop, she moved closer and grabbed it, not particularly caring for the young agent's private space she smirked, a wide smile on her face she spoke with a hint of excitement to her peer.

"Hey eh, Kowhatever, scroll through the guy's comic book for me will ya? And gimme a list of character names, location names, the name of the series too shit like that, gimme some clues for his hobbies too, maybe celebrities he was into" Machina cracked her knuckled, opened up the laptop, took a seat and set the computer on the table, waiting for her fellow investigators to help her, she mumbled to herself. "Hopefully this dude's enough of a dork for this to work…"

Edited by LiorVal on Sep 8th 2018 at 4:24:05 PM

Carmine swung back around to take a second glance at the nylon-stringed guitar, then back again to GOONTER.

"i'd like to take a look at it, yes."

[forum cryptid: it/it's]

Uh—s—sure...

-koata starts flipping through again-

-feeling real insecure about having his name pronounced wrong and being treated like this-

-then again he'sa rookie and she's most likely a veteran-

LOVE IS STORED IN THE AXOLOTL!