#most of my legal banter is styles after Kind Hearts and Corronets

[morgue-xiiv]

I was always under the impression that Harry broke the pinball machine during his bender. I'm super curious to hear why you believe Kim broke it, if you're willing to elaborate! :)

Thanks for the ask, I was waiting for an excuse to bring this particular rant onto Tumblr because my discord and AO3 friends are like... one minute from duck taping my mouth shut.

As for Harry doing it... That actually makes a lot of sense! However most of the shit he breaks (the Skua, for instance) goes remarked upon and iirc no-one accuses him of breaking the pinball machine.

Here's my breakdown of why I think it's Kim, complete with FAYDE links

Motive: We know Kim expected Harry to remember. Notice he says "*now* he remembers ... you remembered, congratulations"

Means: Kim hangs out in the motor pool (communist quest) and is adept with radios (see moralist quest), is interested in machinery (crane watching) and technology (his digital camera, his car, his digital watch, the fascination he betrays when seeing Soona program for the first time) so we can reasonably conclude he has a decent enough understanding of electronics to at least quietly disable something.

Opportunity: "It seems we had a little scheduling error on Sunday... Saturday too, actually" that passive, gentle, blame-free greeting was the moment I fell in love with Kim Kitsuragi, but what he's saying is... I tried to meet up with youfor 2 days already and we missed each other... so was he waiting in the Whirling those days? Well unless he can provide me with an alibi, I posit that he was (objection council is testifying, etc)

evidence type 1) inconsistent and evasive statements made by the accused. On Monday, right in front of Kim, Lena says the pinball machine is broken. YET, when youenter through the blue door, Kim says the machines back there are all broken, and states "only the machine in the main hall works" THEN he LOOKS AWAY EVASIVELY. Because he knows he's just said something incorrect. It's broken... Lena said it was broken.

But it could have been broken before Kim arrived, I hear you say. Well, to that, I ask, Mr Kitsuragi, and do remember you're under oath, did you not also say "one of them even works, I've seen the Hardies banging away at it"? This establishes in his own words that the machine was working some time prior to the game timeline. (someone made the point that bashing away at it might be trying to get it to work, But Kim describes pinball as an annoying game with a bunch of flashing lights, so he would presumably not describe a machine as working if it WASN'T lit up; An astute gentleman such as he would notice the difference between tilting a working machine and slamming a broken one to try and get it to work)

Anyway, that is the bulk of my case. I have one further witness to call, if the defence allows: Garte the cafeteria manager. (I'm draggining this way the hell out, hope youenjoy pretend coutroom banter)

Now, Mr "the cafeteria manager" , no, I know you DO have a canonical last name but I can't remember it and I'm making a joke. I didn't say it was funny, a joke is a joke even if it's not a good one. Please, wait for the question before making further statements.

Ahem, did you or did you not say, when presented with the information that Klaasje was the person who damaged the phone line, "I thought we had ONE good guest in the building"? You did? And this statement references, does it not, both the new information that Klaasje had damaged the phone line, and the established fact that Harrier Du Bois had broken your Great Skua taxidermy? Indeed, so I ask you this, how many rooms do you have in the hostel cafeteria you bartend, ah, excuse me, are the manager of? Let the record reflect the witness held up 3 fingers. And at this time, were any of the rooms *vacant*? No. And this third room, was the man staying there the accused; one Lieutenant Kitsuragi? Indeed. So when you said you thought you had *one* good guest, was Lieutenant Kitsuragi excluded on the basis of his association with the Aforementioned Criminal Du Bois, or was there another reason youdo not consider him to have been a " good" guess? Is is possible, in your personal opinion, that each of your 3 guests at the time have broken something important? Du Bois your taxidermied bird, Miss Amandou aka Katarazine Alaasje, the phone line, and Lieutenant Kim Kitsuragi; your pinball machine?

objection: leading the witness.

Well, the ladies, gentlemen, et cetera of the jury have heard the question, it will be upon them to make their determination. The prosecution rests.