etcelsior | we're all reponsible here

TEST DRIVE MEME

Considering apping into MASK OR MENACE? Want to dip your toes into the setting and get a feel of whether your character will fit into it? Or maybe you're just cruising and want to play around? Then you've come to the right place!

Pick any of the following scenarios below or feel free to make up your own, but don't be afraid to throw yourself at anyone's thread, either!

And remember to have fun!

01. Your memory is hazy and you might feel increasingly frustrated or anxious, or maybe you're excited as soldiers march past, barely glimpsing you. One second you're somewhere underground, the next you're enveloped in blue light, and suddenly you find yourself directly under Flordia sun's bright and burning glare. A female soldier steps toward you with a wide smile on her face and directs you to a car, ready to debrief you. You realize you are not the only one, surrounded by equally confused or eager faces... and you're all sporting a digital tattoo on your wrist.

02. Welcome to Cape Canaveral, where the smell of the ocean is in the air and locals are more than pleased to see new imPorts roaming their streets. They wave, they cheer, they ask for pictures as politely as they can. The more inhuman you look, or if you're wearing a costume, the more likely locals are to approach. Hey, enjoy the moment! The popular malt shop is offering you a free drink if you need it.

03. The technology in this world is certainly something. The cars are clearly modeled after popular 50s cars, but they hover several feet above the ground as they drive down the street. There are digital jukeboxes in restaurants, motorcycles also hover through traffic, advertisements can be seen on a digital projector on the taller buildings. Even kids on skateboards appear to drift a safe ten feet off the ground while playing!

04. Wherever you are, you can hear the loud revving of an engine, distance at first before you finally see it: a hovercar bursting around the corner, going beyond the maximum speed limit and just barely making its sharp turn. It doesn't appear to be slowing down any time soon, not with two police cars trailing it... and uh oh. Those skateboarding kids don't have much time to get out of the way as the car comes speeding down the road. You've been brought here for a reason Hero — so you better act fast.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Edgeworth doesn't tend to have any great level of trust for people who smile when they've just met you, and less so yet for people who smile like that. Still, running into such individuals is something of a professional hazard when one is in his line of work. And, even he must admit, there is something forthright about addressing potential dishonesty directly, even if it's done with a crooked smirk.]

Miles Edgeworth.

[He takes the man's hand firmly. And, no matter his skepticism, his voice is polite when he asks:]

Are you concerned with matters of law? I think I saw you listening in.

[Which is a more polite way to explain his suspicions than saying You look so very much like all the young upstarts in my office.]

Sorry, it was either that or-

[He tilts his head up, and closes his eyes-]

Three Coins in a Fountain.

[He shakes his head, and his smile disappears a bit (seems like it was going) and looks Edgeworth in the eye. There is something honest about Cary, even if he has a crooked smile.]

I'm a prosecutor in the Cook County State's Attorney's Office. It's just bad manners on my part, but you get an earful of a witness deposition and you can't help but pay attention.

Hm.

[Edgeworth lifts his chin very slightly, eying the man with a bit more interest. Cook County - Chicago? That means he's a transplant to this place. And by his style of dress, he doesn't look like someone particularly of this era, either...]

A prosecutor as well. Currently for this town, though I was previously Chief Prosecutor for the city of Los Angeles.

[Then, swiftly, without hesitation:]

What did you think of her testimony, Mr. Agos? Were you convinced?

[The thing about Cary is that he knows how to recognize opportunity, and this is one blinking bright and loudly in his face. So he takes a moment. He really thinks about what he heard, if her sincerity rang true, if he could cross examine her and make her fall apart.]

I think that if I were on the defense, I would hope for a witness who comes close to tears in a malt shop. That sort of thing is easy to make look shaky and unreliable.

[And a pause.]

But her story sounded sincere.

Hm.

[He leans back in his seat, crossing his arms.]

She'd be crying over her fear for the victim in the case, though. And at the same time, pointing her finger at the defendant as the one who made her shed tears. Doesn't that seem to you something that would engender sympathy?

There's too many variables for me to give you a sturdy answer. It depends on the defense, on the jury. I've seen defense attorneys who can turn the most horrifying cases on their heads with one shaky witness.

[He's been that defense attorney. But he concedes:]

If you can get her to hold her voice still through your questioning, you can probably win over a jury.

Hm.

[But that particular grunt is delivered with a very small smile of approval. He rolls his pen between his fingers and admits wryly:]

I've worked my job for fifteen years, and I'd never had to argue before a jury before coming here. I quite miss arguing before judges. There was so much less emotion involved. So much less conjecture.

[That sounds....strange, to make it to the position that he says he has without ever having to argue in front of a jury. Jury trials aren't the only kind of trials Cary's done - bench trials are common enough, especially in civil court - but he can't think of anyone in the SA's office who hasn't been through the ringer of a jury trial.

But then, he's not about to judge, either.]

Yeah, but sometimes you can sway a jury in a way that you never can with a judge.

[He smiles this time, and it's less coming-or-going and more honest.]

I had a hard time with it, too. I still prefer to settle.

Should a jury be swayed, though?

[His tone gets a little more philosophical.]

If my case were weak - if there were too little evidence - but it were bolstered by Ms. White looking sorrowful and beautiful on the witness stand...Is that morally right? I find myself with significant moral reservations that I never had to face at home.

[He laughs a bit at that.]

I don't know if those are questions I really like to think about too much. I just try to represent my client - and since my client's the state, it means putting away people who do awful things, even if I have to use pretty witnesses who look sad to do it.

[Edgeworth doesn't join in that mirth. Instead, pensively:]

How long have you held your job, Mr. Agos?

Not as long as you've held yours.

[He says that as a moment of deference, although no jury trials is still making Cary internally wince.]

I'm a third year.

[A little nod.]

And I take it that there are juries in your home.

There are.

[He says it simply.]

[He nods slightly.]

Is it going well?

I like it.

[And he does. It makes him wonder if he can find a similar position here. Maybe something that pays a little better than the SA's office, but god, no where is going to be as good as a defense attorney's pay.

But Cary isn't sure he's ready to go back to that.]

[A little nod, and then a wry, joyless little half-smile.]

Half the country is still convinced it'll bring the entire system to its knees.

[Because: here's Edgeworth, talking about something else entirely.]

[It takes him a moment to follow that particular line of reasoning-]

The law?

What system are we talking about?

Edited 2014-06-29 22:45 (UTC)

Hm - Oh, well - Yes.

[He adjusts his glasses.]

Of course the legal system. That's what they affect most closely, after all.

How would this place function without it?

[Cary isn't sure how any civilization would function without some kind of legal code, morally in line with his own or not.]

[Edgeworth's lips purse momentarily, and his eyes narrow very slightly, and he looks like he's about to ask a question - and then he shakes his head and instead goes with:]

Sorry. I meant to ask - In my home, we're about to implement juries. I was just wondering whether they are effective in your home.

[That makes much more sense, in terms of questions.]

They get the job done. Most of the time, they do a good one. Sometimes you get juries that don't.

[He shrugs]

It's not a bad system to have.

we're all reponsible here

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