Welcome to the roleplaying journal of Justin Pendleton, a socially inept charming intellectual and murderer from the movie Murder By Numbers.  If you have anything at all to say about my portrayal of him, go ahead and leave a message.  I think I've enabled anonymous commenting?  

I should note that Justin has been in the game and developing for nearly a year.  He's very different than he was when he first arrived, but I do hope he's still very much in character.  If you have questions about how he went from point A to point B, do ask and I'll do what I can to explain (and if I can't explain, I'll apologize profusely and try to fix it).  You're also more than welcome to hit me up for plotting here!

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Police Case Records

It feels as if the City's repeating itself. Curses, murder--an endless cycle. It's tiresome.

The latest rash of murders apparently concluded this evening. Information regarding the whereabouts of First Lieutenant Rip van Winkle or the names of others involved in the murders and Millennium as it currently exists in the City would be appreciated.


( Forensic Reports // Left Public )

( Police Filter // Unhackable )

( Private // Unhackable )

Masks of anonymity on and off the network?  A propitious start to the month.

I've been here for one year to the day.  It seems as if it's been much longer.


( Police Force Filter // Unhackable )

( Forensic Report // Off Network // Available to All Police Force Members )

( [Private to Road // Unhackable] )

( [Private // Off Network] )

I've never seen this curse last multiple days. Does it have something to do with the traditional Samhain festivals? Those covered two days--the days that marked the changing of the year. From October 31st to November 1st, the world was believed to shift from a light time of year to a darker and, during that shift, the boundaries between the world of spirits and the world of humans was thought to dissolve.

Fitting enough.

There're some--I've met some people more than once on days like this. Are any of you here?

( Murders // Open to All )

( Police Force // Unhackable )

[ooc: Fourth Wall - Anything goes!  Fourth-wallers can see all parts of this entry and anyone can say anything they please to Justin.  (I should note that I'm up insanely late and will probably pass out now.  I'll be largely unavailable through Sunday, but I'll reply to all tags as soon as possible. :3  Thank you for being patient, and backdating is forever!]

In the interest of clearing up any lingering confusion: I do not play the guitar.  I don't sing.  Ever. 

The curses have been relatively benign in the past week.  I assume this means we can expect the worst on Halloween. 

Shilo?  Would you like to go to the pumpkin patch?  With me.  We can get a couple to carve--a couple pumpkins.  If you would still like to.  It's fine if you would rather not. 

( Private // Off Network )

Today's curse apparently involves werewolves. I recommend staying inside.

Yesterday might have been one of the last decent days to walk through the gardens. The summer plants are dormant now and the autumn blooms are opening. (This holds true for much of the garden, but certain areas appear to be immune to seasonal changes. There was a healthy Ochna serrulata blooming near the graveyard.) Most of my house plants are dormant, but the Tricyrtis formosana--also called the blue Tricyrtis, the Dark Beauty, or the Toad Lily--opened its first buds.

I like plants. They're predictable, quiet, and not prone to cannibalism or murder.

To my knowledge, the latest murders remain unsolved. I doubt anyone will reply, but If you have information regarding any recent criminal activities, you are encouraged to come forward. Thank you.

( Private to Shilo // Unhackable )

( [Off Network] )

In situations like this, I believe maintaining a list of crimes committed is an impossible, unfeasible, and ultimately futile task.  If the City is attempting to further undermine what citizen-imposed order exists here, it's succeeding.  Nothing encourages disorder like a no-holds-barred bout of cannibalism.

The Aztecs were likely cannibals.  They didn't eat people indiscriminately (as seems to be the case today); instead, they performed complicated rituals that involved the sacrifice and consumption of politically important prisoners of war.  In some cultures, eating the dead was a vital funereal rite.  They believed that the deceased would live on--in part--in the souls and bodies of those who partook of their flesh.  Even until recently, women in a specific tribe in New Guinea ate the brains of their relatives out of respect.  There was the Donner Party, as well...

There are more reprehensible cases of cannibalism--cases where the act had nothing to do with respect, ritual, or survival.  Jeffrey Dahmer murdered and consumed parts of seventeen men over a period of thirteen years.

Midnight will be unpleasant.  I assume more than a handful of those cursed won't react well to today's actions.

No one--including me--will be entering or exiting my apartment today.  I'm sorry for missing work, Abby.


[ooc: Cursed, but he's still in his right mind and keeping the gnawing to himself.  I can't believe I have relevant icons.]

( Police Filter; Unhackable )

Now that I have the freedom to create a network entry without a curse influencing me, I have nothing to say.  I read once that the captive always has more to say than the free man.  I don't doubt the veracity of this.

If anyone has information regarding an organization or group known as Weiß or Weiss, please share it.  Your confidentially is assured.


[ooc: Anyone who is close to Justin may have noticed that he has been slightly more reclusive and distant than usual (I didn't know it was possible, either).  Additonally, semi-hiatus is still in effect, so I apologize for slow tags!  This entry needed to be made.]

I'm a murderer.  The murder was unjustifiable.  Deplorable.  Meaningless.  I did it to find meaning, and I did it because Richard wouldn't.  I had to be better than him at something.  I believed idiotic things.  I thought that crime was the truest expression of freedom--murder, the most liberating act.

Richard died because of me.  He was a bastard, but he was all I had and he died because I thought I could redeem myself.  Redemption is a lie.  No one gets a second chance at life.

I joined the police force as penance. 

I didn't regret being in prison--not at home and not here.  I deserved it.  I think I've paid enough now.

I think I love someone, if love is real and not a biochemical response to set stimuli.  She should do better, but I don't want her to.

I should delete this.  Truth is as rewarding as charity.

[The recording device clicks on of its own accord, as these things so frequently do. There's a good deal of background noise--distant screams and sobbing, for the most part--before Justin begins talking to absolutely no one. His voice is hoarse and strangled.]

We already paid for what we did. We already paid. What more do you want? Do you want me to die again?! Will that--it won't fix anything. It won't. It won't bring her back.

When I--I had no idea. You have to believe me. I never thought I'd--I had to show him.

I could have let her die, but I didn't. I saved her, and she--she didn't save me, and she killed him. We paid. I just want another chance... to start over. I haven't hurt anyone else. I wouldn't... I'm not like that. I'm not.

...What was her name?

What was her name...


[ooc: In the prison, obviously. He's been here for almost a year without letting the murdering thing get out, so it was time, yeah? ...Erm. He will be rather surprised that everyone in the City could hear that.]

In light of this, information regarding Weiß or Weiss--whether it's an organization or an individual--would be appreciated. The crime appears to be an isolated incident; regardless, take caution when outside and travel in groups when possible.

Thank you.

( Private to Shilo // Unhackable )

( Private to Self // Unhackable )

Given the prevalence of time distortion in dreams, I doubt I can rule out the hypothesis that I'm dreaming based solely on my perception that this has lasted longer than most dreams do. It doesn't feel like a dream, but feelings are irrelevant when searching for empirical data. Has anyone tried to understand dreaming while experiencing a lucid dream?

If this is a dream, what is my subconscious saying to me by presenting me with a tape recorder? By forwarding the date eight years?

Why am I compelled to use the recorder when I know the recording will do me no good while I'm awake? Why have I been looking for an exit when I don't want to leave?

I will remember to avoid reading Descartes before sleeping.


[ooc: Cursed!Justin is pre-Richard-tutoring, so a bit younger, a little more awkward, and somewhat prone to using unnecessarily large words to sound older than sixteen. Oh, and none of that murdering business.]

( Police Filter )

The curses this month seem mild, if more embarrassing than most.  Some people have suggested that September will be worse to make up for it; I think the deities are running out of ways to make our lives miserable.

The last curse wasn't bad.  I prefer evil fairies to dentists.  The fairies paid well.

[Filtered away from Shilo]

Does anyone know where I can find this insect or something like it?  It needs to be alive.  I'm willing to pay an indigo for one, if someone can catch it.

( Filtered to Shilo )

The human struggle for existence invariably involves property.  We require food, clothing, shelter, companions... land.  Wars are fought over the question of ownership for man is not a self-sustaining creature and needs other things to thrive. 

But we know that the desire for ownership doesn't stop with the necessities of life.  Humans are greedy creatures by nature.  We want more than we have, even if what we have is more than enough to sustain us.  Greed causes conflict; occasionally, if greed appears on a large scale, it causes bloodshed.  Sometimes, in the desire to dominate our surroundings in the act that we know as ownership, we label other individuals as property.

There are few things more morally reprehensible than claiming ownership over another person. 

The one thing that all humans, poor or rich, own is their own person.  We possess ourselves from birth and have every right to stay in possession of ourselves.  Denying someone the ownership of himself or herself is far worse than petty theft; it's the domination of another human... the stealing of something fundamental to sentient existence.  Claiming others as property is to rob them of their selfhood.

...So stop writing on each other.  It's wrong and imbecilic.

( Police Filter )
---

Is anyone here familiar with quantum theory?  Do you think that the City abides by the same physical rules that typically govern the universe, or would it be futile to try and understand the City from a purely scientific perspective?

Yesterday's curse was interesting.  Assuming this weekend follows the established pattern, tomorrow and the day after should be even more interesting.


[ooc: Connection to Dr. Horrible has been okay'd by Horrible-mun.  And Captain Hammer is on the Police Filter, right?  ...Also, anyone who happens to be with the police may feel free to remind Justin that he's a forensics monkey and not Nancy Drew.  Unless no one minds if he plays detective, of course.]

[The recording begins with a muffled thud. This thud is immediately followed by a series of muttered, indistinguishable words that may or may not be profanities.

The muttering ends abruptly. There's a rather sinister rustling sound--the sound of dry leaves, perhaps. It's a distinctly unhappy noise.]

What--?

[More unhappy rustling cuts the question short.]

Oh. That wasn't my--

[CRASH. The audio feed ends. The following is text.]


There's apparently a curse today.

What day is it?


[ooc: Justin is back from The Great Beyond. He may be slightly confused, especially because his plants seem to be upset with him.]

Waking up in a body that isn't mine was surprising--not completely unexpected, though. 

Waking up in a body that isn't mine with a python next to me was the most disturbing experience of my life.  Road, why does Len-Len sleep on your bed?  I don't think I hurt it when I threw it off, but I might if it follows me out of your apartment.

If anyone sees my body, be aware of the fact that I'm not in it. 


[ooc: Body swap with Road.  Justin will be very keen on avoiding any discussions about the side-effects of being in a Noah's body (not to say he won't play with the powers a little bit).]

I remember some of you.  You never did tell me how you know me.

Is Richard  Can I buy anyone a drink?  I don't usually, but it's a holiday.  I've been told that holidays are meant to be fun.

--

( Private // Unhackable )


[ooc: Anything goes.  Fouth-wallers can see the entire entry, strikes and all.  Try not to be too mean.]