[open RP meme] The "pester Edgeworth in his office" post, Dreamwidth edition

[truthsnomiracle]

[Chances are, when you enter room 1202 of the Prosecutor's Office, you'll find High Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth hard at work. He learned the hard way not to be too quick to throw people out when they interrupt him, so as annoyed as he probably will be once he notices your presence, you'll more likely than not get a sufficient chance to justify yourself. Usually.]

[To help clarify the purpose of this post, this is someplace anyone can come tag me if they want -- just start a thread and specify Canonworth, TVKworth, or any other preference! Canons, AUs, OCs, and canon OCs welcome, both AA and non-AA!]

Comments

[truthsnomiracle]

Here, kidnappees aren't separate in any physical way, yet we likewise have to work around issues of memory and of the difficulty of presenting evidence; they can't even be made aware of the fact that we differ from them. Why, just recently, I found myself in the position of prosecuting a serial killer who happens to be a kidnappee and who had victims amongst natives and kidnappees alike. When the proceedings began, I faced inquiries as to why I didn't charge him for roughly half of the murders; by the end, he was thought to have been convicted for nearly all of them because the natives forgot that our half of the victims had even been murdered! [Edgeworth slams the table in frustration, making the tea set clatter.] Certainly, kidnappees soon return from the dead much as Cair Paradisa residents do, but... nrrgh!

[cantacquityou]

I can very much identify with your frustration. Interestingly enough, I was almost in the position to prosecute a resident serial killer by request of the 'Peace Patrol,' an organization in which-...[He paused] ...hmph, it's almost amusing to call it such when 'organization' is precisely what it lacked. In any case, it was created to survey and protect the residents, or so it claimed. I took a personal leave for the city for a little less than a fortnight, and when I returned, I received word that the Peace Patrol disbanded and that the criminal was released... [He snaps a finger.]

...just like that. How long does 'death' last here, out of curiosity?

[truthsnomiracle]

Typically a week, although it's said to occasionally last longer.

Lack of organization was a concern when I arrived as well, though that's begun to change thanks primarily to myself and Allen Ridgeley. Much of my time as of late has been occupied not with investigation into the mass kidnapping, but with creating a functioning justice system amongst ourselves. It was a surprisingly well-meaning case of assault that the native courts could not have handled properly which initially spurred my efforts, but the situation has grown far more dire. The main difficulty lies in finding allies in the cause of justice; we most glaringly no longer have any defense attorneys in our ranks.

[cantacquityou]

[As he listens, he begins to feel a slight sense of pride well up within him upon hearing this as if 'pride' was lacking for him in the first place, and quite taken aback not only with the parallels of circumstances, but precisely how they both reacted to them, as well... ]

...To arrive in a strange world and immediately attempt to take charge, establish a judicial system and enforce some sort of order above all...

...Well, I'll be damned. You are me.

[truthsnomiracle]

Well, perhaps not immediately -- merely the moment the need grew obvious. My first act was to investigate the hotel, given that it houses us free of charge and yet somehow continues to operate. It continues to amaze me that no one else thought to do so before, though Mr. Ridgeley proposed that perhaps a few others thought to and didn't dare.

[cantacquityou]

That is more luck than I have had, at least. Even after weeks of investigation, all that I am able to come up with remains the same as the day I had arrived -- that the castle is somehow a sentient entity that possesses the ability to control and influence any and every aspect of space, time, and the lives of the residents contained within a specified periphery. Beyond that, there is the 'Dead Zone,' and from I've heard, it has earned the name for more reasons than one.

[At this point, he looks down at the teacup in front of him. He has not touched it since, and by this time, it was probably lukewarm by now. He raises the cup to his lips, but asks before proceeding to drink:]


...The precautions you took didn't happen to involve this cup of tea as well, did they?

[truthsnomiracle]

They did not. I brewed the tea in case this interaction did, in fact, prove to be of this nature rather than another confrontation with a personal Shadow. I could take a sip myself first if that would put your mind at ease.

Sometimes, powerful Shadows begin to influence the minds of natives and kidnappees alike as the moon waxes, but typically the kidnappee community can locate and destroy the Shadow responsible once the moon is full. With one exception, I haven't heard of Shadows having any material influence outside of the Dark Hour as your description of the castle's power suggests.

Nothing physically prevents us from leaving Prospero, but our homes aren't in this world -- many have tried to locate them and failed. Furthermore, the apathy that allows us easy employment is unique to the island's culture, making relocation more trouble than it's worth.

[cantacquityou]

There are times I find I cannot trust myself... but I'll take the risk this time around. [He smirks ever-so-slightly, then sips.]

...As for Paradisa, other than taking from each resident something they hold dear, the castle does seem to regard us as playthings. Bizarre occurrences happen more often than I'd care to say. There has been instances of residents reverting back to children, switching genders overnight, having live lobsters affixed to their hands... There is no apparent pattern to these events. I have suffered a few 'losses,' myself, other than the permanent 'loss' I've apparently experienced...

[truthsnomiracle]

To judge by certain voice-scrambled, untraceable voice posts on the network, someone who's either responsible for or is merely aware of the patterns of the greater Shadows sees their influence as "tests" for us. I must concede that the events here seem to lack the childish sadism you describe.

If you aren't aware of your loss, then presumably what you've lost is a memory or set of memories.

[cantacquityou]

...




I believe I may very well be aware of my loss.

[truthsnomiracle]

(While I admit curiosity, I also recognize that tone -- the point is most assuredly best not pressed.)

...Very well.

[If nothing else, awkward silences are good opportunities to sip tea...]

[cantacquityou]

[Ah, you know yourself very well, Edgeworth. However, contrary to the usual, this Edgeworth finds this to be a shining opportunity to get the information he has been wanting for a very, very long time...and he actually wants to talk about it. He sips his tea as well.]










...I do not suppose it would trouble you to tell me a bit about my father? I do not recall ever having one.

1/2

[truthsnomiracle]

[Whoa.]

A staggering loss indeed. If not for his influence, we might not have questioned our mentor's beliefs sufficiently to have refused to cross certain lines -- if not for our father, we would have been no man worth Wright's pursuit.

2/2, and keywords.

[truthsnomiracle]

Gregory Edgeworth was a defense attorney -- famous in his day, and our idol as a boy. [The local Edgeworth pauses for a moment to think of how to describe his own father to himself...] Imagine, if you would, that Wright's temperament were more akin to our own, though warmer than ours. He lived for justice... and ultimately, through a single scratch placed on our future mentor's record, he died for it.

And yet... th-though it pains me to admit it... that isn't the end of the story.

[cantacquityou]

Go on. Please.

/wades deep into headcanon interpretation of how Edgey took 3-5

[truthsnomiracle]

...Consider, if you would, the one and only thing that we've refused to believe even in the face of evidence -- evidence that whispered in Wright's ear in plain sight time and again. We told ourselves that it was mere showmanship, until a certain case made it far harder to deny -- not because of the displays it involved, but because the facts of the case made sense no other way, and because our insistent denial of the very category this thing would fall into was thrown into question by another experience earlier in the same case. Even then, we continued to cling irrationally to the hope that it wasn't true.

Have you never wondered why?

[cantacquityou]

I understand what you are referring to, yes. After all, [He quoted himself - a quote the other Edgeworth may recall himself saying prior to the case in question] "what true 'Man of Science' would believe in such tripe" without sufficient evidence? But what relevance is there where our father is concerned?

[truthsnomiracle]

B-because... we would sooner deny that v-very e-evidence... th-than entertain the n-notion that our father would b-betray his own values post-mortem with a l-lie when it mattered m-most.

...That is what my last doppelganger forced me to realize. The third party who kept him at bay can be thanked for helping me realize Father's motive for such a crime, however.

[cantacquityou]

[He found himself terribly perturbed not only by the implications brought upon the association of his father with the word, 'crime', but by the effect it appeared to be having on the self seated before him.]

"Betray his own va-..." "Post-mortem"? I am afraid I don't understand...

[truthsnomiracle]

He committed p-perjury, in the name of preventing us from being accused of killing him. ...Even after the case in which we last aided Wright in our home worlds, we continued to deny that which made such testimony possible, insist to ourselves that it must have been a hoax, rather than consider the possibility that Father was the liar rather than Misty Fey.

[cantacquityou]

[He throws his head back and rubs at his forehead and temples with his fingers.]


...It is all starting to come together, now... The victim of that 'DL-6' incident...it was...my father...

[truthsnomiracle]

Precisely.

[cantacquityou]

Just that little piece of the puzzle explains a whole lot, really... If that is the case, what exactly did he 'lie' about, and what evidence do we have to say that he did so intentionally?

[truthsnomiracle]

[Give this Edgeworth a moment; these aren't the most pleasant memories.

After regathering himself a bit:]

Father... died while unconscious. In a completely true account on his part, he would therefore have claimed that he didn't know how he died. However, those of us in the elevator passed out the moment after we, in our addled state, threw the gun. Furthermore, we and Yanni Yogi were the only people in the elevator aside from Father. Finally, he, much like the police, had no reason to suspect that the murderer might have come from outside the elevator.

[He pauses, allowing his other self a chance for his other self to question his premises... or to simply draw conclusions from them.]

[cantacquityou]

....The victim - Father - placed the blame on the bailiff, yes... I recall those details, at least...