#i think part of it is that he’s a prosecutor so his arguments are well structured

[circussbeetle]

Thinking about how Hotch almost certainly has The best monologues in the entire show. From “my team? Let me tell you about my team.” To “When im home, it’s like im in this silent panic” to “at your core, you’re a coward” to “sometimes the day just… ends” Hotch has some of the most moving monologues in the entire series and i think its so interesting when you think about how quiet he is normally, he’s so reserved and usually his sentences are clipped and direct, more like orders than monologues, and yet on the other side he has an almost theatric delivery to his monologues that makes it so captivating to listen to, makes you hang on every word. He’s so eloquent and concise, every word he says is so intentionally chosen, and it really lands when you’re watching the show. His monologues will always be the ones that stick out to me the most as some of the best line deliveries in the entire series

[croquis-el]

Let's talk about how similar Naruhodō and Mitsurugi are in terms of morality and high responsibility in relation to their work.

And how determined they are to put themselves at risk, knowing full well that it could end badly for themselves.

I will talk about how they both share the same moral principles and how they do not allow others to lead them astray from their intended goal.

So, illegal evidence

Now you may be thinking - what the hell, this has nothing to do with the topic

And I will say that everything is just the opposite

I will discuss the use of fake evidence, its creation and responsibility for it, backed up with evidence

Let's start, as they say, from the beginning and pose the following question:

Does Naruhodō believe that Mitsurugi made shady deals, and will he protect him from these rumors?

In the first game of Trilogy, we are introduced to Naruhodō, shocked that his righteous friend is surrounded by rumors of evidence tampering, and how he desperately tries to understand whether it is true (he does not deny the fact of the shady dealings, does not vehemently defend Mitsurugi, saying “no, he couldn’t do that” and is fully aware that this could really happen).

And at first everything seems open and understandable - yes, perhaps it was so, and now Naruhodō's anger about this is clear to us

But then 1-5 happens, which closes a huge plot hole and gives answers to many questions. Mitsurugi has never falsified evidence in his life, which he honestly states to Naruhodō and which is later confirmed in court (he was caught colluding with witnesses and hiding evidence, but not falsifying it).

Now let's get back to Naruhodō and his attitude towards this. Having learned that Mitsurugi did not fabricate evidence on his own (other people above him in position did this), Naruhodō does not rush to defend him, saying “This is a forgery,” but literally says the following: “So it's true. Even though he may not have known it... He really was involved in falsifying evidence” .

In response to the above question: Naruhodō believes that a lawyer is responsible for the validity of evidence in the courtroom, regardless of who provided it to him previously, and will not even try to deny this.

And he’s not the only one who holds this opinion.

Mitsurugi himself also believes that "The police department's error is my error. I am a prosecutor, and I am responsible for it."

Considering Mitsurugi's resignation letter, Akane Hozuki (Ema Skye) doesn't understand why such serious measures need to be taken, even when such serious accusations have surfaced, but without decisive action on the part of superiors. Naruhodou answers her with the following: “Someone has to held responsible. That's how it is in the grown-up world.”

Naruhodō understands Mitsurugi's emotional state and accepts his willingness to resign from the prosecutor's office, knowing that this is not happening in a vacuum. If you used fabricated evidence (not even by yourself) - bear responsibility for your recklessness.

When Naruhodō used the fabricated page from the diary, he understood that no arguments would be heard by the court and took full responsibility for providing the fake evidence (but not for fabricating it). Naruhodou acted according to his own words from 1-4 and 1-5 - he doubted the legality of this evidence, but still used it and took the weight of the punishment upon himself.

We don't know how he felt or what he was thinking in the days after his license was revoked (except he felt "lost" and because someone is too good at hiding his emotions), but even in the thick of the situation, he remained collected and calm, and two weeks later he began investigation to find the person who framed him.

And now to the main thing.

Both Mitsurugi (in the SL-9 case and possibly other unknowns) and Naruhodō (the falsified diary page) unknowingly (but not freed from doubt) used false evidence provided to them by other people

And both blamed themselves for their inattention, recklessness, naivety.

And now a new question - was it that they voluntarily used obviously illegal evidence?

Yes

Mitsurugi, being an acting prosecutor, deliberately used 10-year-old evidence in the investigation, for which, according to the law, it was impossible to prosecute the guilty party. He was well aware that he was taking a big risk and that the balance was between “truth and illegal evidence” and “justice and the loss of truth,” but he still took the opportunity to bring to justice someone who was above the law.

Naruhodō deliberately fabricated evidence as a suspect in the Trump Turnabout case and a disbarred former lawyer. And he didn’t even deny it while in the courtroom. Naruhodō did not claim that the bloody ace was real. He only pointed out the possibility of why this card had to be taken from the crime scene. He used a trick! And he also did it in order to trap the criminal who framed him (more than once). And we know that Naruhodō doesn't forgive two offenses - betrayal and poisoning. He wouldn't have tolerated such an attitude towards himself after the case in which he found himself involved in his 3rd year at university.

Naruhodō would never take another person's guilt after that incident (neither in case 1-2 about the murder of a mentor, nor here in 4-1). Therefore, he could not afford to be convicted and led the trial as an eminence grise. He had to go over heads to get rid of false accusations and he wisely used his knowledge of the law, strictly controlled his testimony, smoothly leading the court to the correct decision, gave his lawyer only the information that was relevant to the case, preventing unnecessary facts from slipping off the tongue .

Now let's move on to the most controversial issue: would Mitsurugi condemn Naruhodō for fabricating a bloody ace? (to prove his own innocence)?

I think not

Mitsurugi in AAI 2 talked about the flexibility of the law, that only a person sets the limits of his own capabilities, that the law grows and develops as a living being, as a person. If the law tries to hide the truth, then it is mistaken.

The truth is Naruhodō's innocence.

If you listen to the law, then the defendants turned out to be the innocent party.

If you push the rigid boundaries, it becomes possible to find the true criminal.

Officially, we don't know what happened in those missing scenes, but I believe that Naruhodō wouldn't have received an ounce of judgment from his best friend, and given the circumstances, he could even help from the shadows (just remember AAI, where he is still at the investigation stage proved the innocence of his friends and colleagues - it is enough that he unconditionally believed Yahari (Larry), Mikumo (Key), detective Gumshoe (detective Itonoko), so Naruhodō cannot be an exception, but more about their mutual trust later). Didn't it seem strange to you that the judge calmly agreed to Naruhodō's request for an additional search of the crime scene, and allowed him to practically carry out his defense on his own, guiding his lawyer in the right direction? Here's a new rhetorical question.

Also with the presentation of the fabricated page - Mitsurugi expresses out loud that he regrets that he wasn't able to help Naruhodō earlier (he probably tried), to which Naruhodō replies that there is no need to blame himself and that it was solely his decision to give up badge, admit the charges and his future without a lawyer's license. Naruhodō believed that he did not deserve pity specifically in this matter, but Mitsurugi proved him the opposite - everyone gets what they deserve, but what Naruhodō deserved was the return of his license and the reliable shoulder of a friend and ally, who strives to do only the best for his friends (and not set them up by trying to ruin their lives because of your own pride).

As the result: both Mitsurugi and Naruhodō strive for the development and evolution of the law, for change the judicial system, for search for truth and justice using all methods available to them. And they are ready to bear responsibility for the course of the trial, for the evidence they provide, for their own words, even if their actions don't meet the standards of the laws adopted in their realities and will lead to terrible consequences for themselves.

P.S. please remember that this happens in their realities, which do not pretend to be reality. Comparing our world and law and their world and law is wrong.

[deadpresidents]

"Sometimes lost amid all the shouting of a high-octane campaign heading into its final couple of weeks is that simple if mind-bending fact. America for the first time in its history may send a criminal to the Oval Office and entrust him with the nuclear codes. What would once have been automatically disqualifying barely seems to slow Mr. Trump down in his comeback for a second term that he says will be devoted to "retribution."

In all the different ways that Mr. Trump has upended the traditional rules of American politics, that may be one of the most striking. He has survived more scandals than any major party Presidential candidate, much less President, in the life of the republic. Not only survived but thrived. He has turned them on their head, making allegations against him into an argument for him by casting himself as a serial victim rather than a serial violator.

His persecution defense, the notion that he gets in so much trouble only because everyone is out to get him, resonates at his rallies where he says "they're not coming after me, they're coming after you, and I'm just standing in the way." But that of course belies a record of scandal stretching across his 78 years starting long before politics. Whether in his personal life or his public life, he has been accused of so many acts of wrongdoing, investigated by so many prosecutors and agencies, sued by so many plaintiffs and claimants that it requires a scorecard just to remember them all.

His businesses went bankrupt repeatedly and multiple others failed. He was taken to court for stiffing his vendors, stiffing his bankers and even stiffing his own family. He avoided the draft during the Vietnam War and avoiding paying any income taxes for years. He was forced to shell out tens of millions of dollars to students who accused him of scamming them, found liable for wide-scale business fraud and had his real estate firm convicted in criminal court of tax crimes.

He has boasted of grabbing women by their private parts, been reported to have cheated on all three of his wives and been accused of sexual misconduct by more than two dozen women, including one whose account was validated by a jury that found him liable for sexual abuse after a civil trial.

He is the only President in American history impeached twice for high crimes and misdemeanors, the only President ever indicted on criminal charges and the only President to be convicted of a felony (34, in fact). He used the authority of his office to punish his adversaries and tried to hold onto power on the basis of a brazen lie.

Mr. Trump beat some of the investigations and lawsuits against him and some proved unfounded, but the sheer volume is remarkable. Any one of those scandals by itself would typically have been enough to derail another politician...Not Mr. Trump. He has moved from one furor to the next without any of them sinking into the body politic enough to end his career. The unrelenting pace of scandals may in its own way help him by keeping any single one of them from dominating the national conversation and eroding his standing with his base of supporters...And victory next month may yet help him escape the biggest threat of all -- potentially prison."

-- Peter Baker, laying out very plainly how insane it is that America could very well elect Donald Trump as President once again, in the New York Times. I really hope you'll take the time to read the whole article, which I am sharing gift links to in order to bypass the paywall, and remember just what is on the line on November 5th.

(Please feel free to copy and share this gift link to anyone and everyone that you think needs to read this immensely important article in the next two weeks.)

[etz-ashashiyot]

A man is on trial for battery against his half brother.

His stepfather is called as a witness, and testifies to things he saw, things he thinks he saw, and things that did not happen.

The defense then asks the witness:

"Sir, isn't it true that you were only present for some of these incidents?"

"Isn't it true that you only saw parts of the incidents?"

"And isn't it true that you did not intervene or seek assistance in intervening in the incidents you were present for?"

"Isn't it true that you yourself instigated the argument between the brothers?"

"Isn't it true that you used to physically abuse the defendant?"

The prosecutor objects to the relevance of this last question.

The defense responds: "Your Honor, the history of abuse in this family is relevant because it goes to the intent, causality, and most importantly at the moment: the credibility of the witness. He has every reason to lie about his own part in this family conflict."

Judge: I'll give you some leeway.

Witness: I never abused him.

Defense: You never abused him? That's really your testimony?

Witness: Yes.

Defense: So your prior seventeen-count convictions of domestic abuse and attempted murder of your stepson aren't proof enough?

Witness: Well sure, that's evidence, but that was so long ago.

Defense: So you did abuse your stepson?

Witness: It's more complicated than that. It wasn't what it looked like.

Defense: So to this day, you still can't take responsibility for abusing your stepson?

Witness:

Defense: And isn't it true that you never paid restitution to him?

Witness: No.

Defense: You never apologized to him sincerely?

Witness: No.

Defense: You never even served more than a few days in jail?

Witness: No.

Defense: And yet you're here, today, asking this court to seek the maximum fines, punitive damages, legal fees, and a life sentence?

Witness: Yes.

Defense: All while having never faced any such consequences for your own behavior and denying your own role in creating this conflict?

Witness: He deserved it then and he deserves it now.

Witness: Besides - if it was really that bad, he should know better himself. It should've been a lesson to him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is what every single goy from a country that participated in the Shoah and/or Farhud sounds like when they engage in Holocaust inversion.

[sangoqueenkoko]

guess who’s back and trying to gain motivation again.

me. sigh

sorry for the delay and inactivity in the writing area.

anyway

NEUVILLETTE

final verdict

angst

MAIN MASTERLIST | HYDRO MASTERLIST

.

part 1 (you are here!) | part 2

If both parts do well, I’ll write an alternate ending!

Summary: You were falsely accused of a horrific crime, and the verdict is announced... you do not take it well. And neither does Neuvillette. But you both have to accept the fate chosen. Set before the 4.2 archon quest.

Warnings? Inspired by the 4.2 Archon quest, so be cautious if you haven't completed it yet! This is rusty because I haven't written in so long. I am so so so so so so sorry! I'm trying my best! (L/N) means Last Name!

PART 2 CONTAINS DEATH!! just a heads up.

Contains the appearance of Furina, and Neuvillette of course!

You. Yes, you!

(Y/N).

You were a child of a well-known noble family in Fontaine, the type of family that has all sorts of connections to other parts of Teyvat, as well as in the city. This means people like Neuvillette.

Perhaps even Neuvillette himself. That you're greatly acquainted with. Or more. ahem.

More on that later.

But power and authority come with problems.

Despite if you caused it or not.

"We now turn to the Oratrice Mecanique D'analyse Cardinale, we now learn of the final verdict," Neuvillette said sternly as he turned to the large set of scales in the centre of the stage, you couldn't miss it.

Furina, being the Hydro Archon, and an avid advocate for trails and the drama that they contain, sat in her usual seat, sat on the edge, looking over the balcony as her interest continued to peak.

The Oratrice's stunning image of gold and the tear-shaped jewels that sat on both sides of the scales glimmered in the light, showing off its intricate design and details. It's pretty yet dangerous as it decides the fate of countless people.

Innocent or not.

And after, what felt like an eternity...

"According to the judgement of the Oratrice Mecanique D'analyse Cardinale, Mx (L/N)..."

That's right, you were sitting in the seat of the defendant, opposite of the prosecutor, the almighty, all deciding Oratrice between you. Neuvillette's expression looked to be set in stone, despite the current situation; someone, you, were being accused of a crime that you did not commit.

You knew that.

People in the audience knew that.

Your family knew that.

Heck, even Neuvillette knew, from the countless times that he has met and conversed with you. To the point, you two had a secret admiration for each other but made it never known.

You were never the person to do such a heinous crime, not even think of such things, and, again, a lot of people knew that. But there are just some people who will never take that into account and do whatever they can to make another person's life a living misery. And sadly enough, that was the situation for you.

"...is guilty..."

Gasps and quiet sounds of outrage scattered the courtroom, people muttering both sides of the argument. Like how you don't deserve it. Others would be on the side of the verdict that you did deserve it.

But I didn't do it! You cursed in your mind as tears rapidly welled up, blurring your vision, I was framed! I would never do such a thing to anyone! Why won't anyone realise that!

This said crime... was too bad to mention. Too graphic. Too grizzly to be committed by someone like you. But no one saw that. You so happened to be near the location of the crime at the worst time.

Neuvillette saw how you curled up in your seat, hiding your face from anyone who could see. He tensed up and turned to face the rest of the room

"Order, order!" Neuvillette announced, voice raised as his cane came down, the loud noise reverberating through the room as his thundering voice called for order. It was brash and sudden.

The crowds commotion casted the trial to a sudden halt, in which a certain someone didn’t like.

"Ugh," Furina groaned with a sigh as she dropped her head before looking up, "now the opera has come to a halt! Please continue, Neuvillette!"

The cane came down again and the room would fall silent quite quickly soon after.

"The Oratrice Mecanique D'analyse Cardinale has also come up with the punishment..." he peered down at the card that the Oratrice had produced with the verdict, "Mx (L/N) is to be punished by...

t-the death sentence."

His voice wobbled as he announced. He was clearly upset by the news.

More gasps. Furina stood up to get a better view of the unfolding drama. Not even she expected this.

In his words, "Emotions burst forth from the depths of the heart, and surround their host like a dense fog."

He was overwhelmed and saddened, outside it started to rain, causing the people outside to suddenly run for cover.

Clearly whoever committed this crime wanted you to pay for it for some unknown reason, and wanted the most extreme sentence. You stood up and felt your stomach plummet, your legs went weak, you felt cold sweat overcome you, you felt sick, a hand over your mouth to hide the loud cries that escaped.

But the sound of those sobs was masked by the crowd of noise below you.

The Oratrice chose how the punishment would be carried out.

Primordial sea water.

More specifically, by drowning.

[alynnl]

8, 14, 15, 16 for the fandom love ask game (any media you feel like chatting about)

8. you hope more people will come to appreciate

Overall, I just want more Ace Attorney fans to play and appreciate The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles in general. Everyone who plays it seems to enjoy it, but our numbers are small compared to the mainline games. The storytelling and the gameplay is just fantastic in this one and I just want more people to experience it, because it's worth it. It's even more worth it to go through the story completely blind, but even if you do get inevitable spoilers that come from being on the Internet at large, learning the context behind those spoilers is still emotional.

14. the ship that always makes you smile

My feelings about it have been a roller coaster, but I eventually settled on the more positive ones - I adore Wrightworth/Narumitsu. Their interactions in the first trilogy and all the story beats they hit were just amazing. There's a reason they have a lot of fan work and analysis to this day. The foundation is solidly there in the first trilogy and there are many directions people can go from that foundation (whether or not they include the second trilogy is up to them.)

15. the character that always makes you smile

So many of them (in mainline and the spinoffs in Ace Attorney) - but if I picked the first name that came to mind of course it's Miles Edgeworth. He is just everything to me. He's a sassy rival to Phoenix. He's a tortured soul who is haunted by his past. He's a big brother figure to Franziska and Kay. He's got hilarious banter between himself and Gumshoe. And he also won't back down against the truly corrupt and powerful. He's a hero, and icon and he's got style.

16. a tiny detail in canon that you want more people to appreciate

I don't know what makes a detail "tiny" since different people notice different things about stories in general. But I guess I have to talk about Van Zieks here and something I don't see mentioned about him a lot (from my scrolling on Tumblr. This might have been mentioned elsewhere.)

What sets Van Zieks apart from a lot of rival prosecutors in the Ace Attorney series is that he actually doesn't do anything unethical. Yes, he's rude and over the top with his bottle flipping and chalice throwing. And I will not ignore his racism either because it's so in your face from the very first case you encounter him. But he doesn't forge evidence and never even entertains the thought of doing so. He doesn't intimidate witnesses, bribe the judge or try and rule over the courtroom with an iron fist. He never blackmails anyone. And without giving away too many spoilers, there is more to him than being "The Reaper of the Bailey."

So I guess his moral code is what makes me see him as redeemable, as well as his character development in later parts of Chronicles.

There are arguments about whether or not his arc was handled well, but I think it was written decent enough for me to get what it was going for and accept it.

[characteroulette]

A study on prosecutors -- (previous) (next)

Simon Blackquill, the Twisted Samurai.

Simon was actually a bit of a hard sell for me, much like his contemporary. I'm not really into Dual Destinies or Spirit of Justice (and therefore I'm not able to remember all the details as well as I can the other games oop so sorry if I get some things wrong here), but there are things I enjoy about them. One of those things ended up being the prosecutors!

It's thematically appropriate with the whole "dark age of the law" setup. A prosecutor who's on death row is allowed to take on trials to help with the workload the prosecution's office is dealing with. (Don't mind the fact that there's enough wiggle room for Klavier to go out for an event.) We hear from Fulbright about this prosecutor and Athena seems to recognise him. The absurd of why are they letting an inmate have any legal sway whatsoever doesn't matter so much. This is the dark age of the law.

Then we meet him and he's appropriately a grumpy jerk.

We're not given the details of his crime really, just whatever we can glean from the animated cutscenes. (It involved blood and a sword.) But Blackquill's mannerisms are harsh and unforgiving. He's a psychological suggester, able to run circles around the judge and drag us along for the ride by the ear. I think this part of his schtick is kind of annoying to deal with, mainly because of how obvious it is that he's messing with all of us, but it definitely does make for a fun character. He really showcases how easy it is to become intimidating in this world of dumbasses when you're able to keep even a single braincell advantage. (The less forgivable act, to me, was his shutting Apollo down at every turn. He is so mean to Apollo! It's not like Apollo can help that his eyes are magically tuned to other people's body language, and yet Blackquill calls it cheating and cuts him down for it. Then he allows Athena to do her mood matrix things with very little argument! This was a huge jarring point for me for a long time and part of the reason why it took me so long to actually finish this game.)

The setup is there: something about this guy is performative, is softer when handling Athena. Yet he masks it all very well with his abrasive attitude and trickery. He forces us into a corner, forces the hand of our client, and we have to head back out into the investigation.

It's easy to explain away most of his attitude, in actuality. He's been in prison for seven years. He mentions constantly the different mates he's met in the clink. Fulbright may act like his only friend and supporter, but there's too large a gap between them considering Fulbright holds too much authority over him.

Blackquill has become unsociable from his time in the clink. His refusal to admit to the truth has him leaning into his belligerence, has him constantly acting the part of the bad guy. (When did it start to become a part of who he is? Perhaps he's always been a little twisted. It never rings false to anyone besides Athena, after all.)

His situation is intriguing and so we're hooked into wanting to know what the hell happened to make him like this.

Also, I gotta give a special mention to his talking sprites. All of them are really good, from him slamming the desk as he laughs (which is just how I see him in my head by this point) to his eye flashing as he glares down at you. He plays with a lot of the usual conventions, too, turning his back towards you and never actually having a full point. I may not like how his objection sounds (and this is a me problem, I only like about 20% of the actual objections in this series whoops), but his "Silence!" is pitch perfect. That really conveys more of his character than anything else, devs and his va did a damn good job with that one.

Anyway, second day of the trial. It's actually pretty fun to see Blackquill on the ropes, having him act as if we're the ones cutting him down instead of the other way around. He's just as annoyingly ruthless here, but it's easier to deal with when we can actually gain some ground on him. For all his posturing and intimidation tactics, he can't keep up the act while we're shutting him down.

Once we pull off our victory for our client, he's back to being a cool customer. He's a pretty graceful loser compared to so many other prosecutors we've seen. Compared to Gaspen, even. There's still a lot we don't really know about him and his situation, but he's made his character loud and clear for us to see. For that, I gotta say it's understandable if you started liking him by this point.

Case 3 is kind of a mess during the trial segments due to everyone trying to confess to the murder. Blackquill may be facilitating a bunch of this nonsense, but he's as along for the ride as we are. That makes things more fun and tolerable than it could have been, so hey.

It also showcases his softer approach with Athena; again, the hints are being put down. You can't quite pick them up yet because you don't have the full context, but you can notice Athena mention that she's fighting so hard in order to save someone not our client. (And Blackquill even addressed her as directly about it as he can, saying that she should know it's useless trying to reach him.) When Means puts Athena out of commission for a minute, Blackquill doesn't mock her or even take advantage of the situation. He doesn't help, either, he can't do that without giving away the whole game, but he allows her the time to come back. That's probably the biggest hint we get as to who these two are to each other and it's a subtle thing, too.

His dynamic with Athena is probably the most enjoyable, also. She's a real spitfire in court, owing to her youth and her energetic nature, while he's a steel wall with trickster energy. They work surprisingly well off one another, trading jabs and him always seeming to be a step ahead but never fully leaving her in the dust. He recognises her inexperience and she recognises his humanity; neither want to hold back against the other and yet their blows aren't as harsh as they could be.

He was, after all, made to be her opponent on some level. Seeing their dynamic work so well off one another, it's easy to stop finding him aggravating and start finding him endearing. A rough around the edges older brother type rather than a hardened criminal trickster type. (Though he is very much still both.)

An aside on the DLC case, I think it's very funny how Blackquill was the only prosecutor willing to try this case against an orca. Sure, he saw the underlying actual murder mystery beneath it all, but it's so easy to imagine him being presented this case, laughing his ass off, then agreeing to prosecute it. This man's as insane as Phoenix!! And that goes a hell of a long way to endearing him to us. To me, specifically. His mannerism against Phoenix is kinda not fun, considering Phoenix is hardly ever fun in this game, but it's such a wacky little character detail about him that I just adore. His devil may care attitude may come from a dark place, but it lends itself to such a fun time.

Of course, we then reach the fourth case and even more mysteries are thrown in our face.

For one, Blackquill is just as on edge and vicious concerning this case. We understand some of Apollo's beef, he knew the victim and is emotionally invested in his client, but Blackquill being just as invested is definitely strange. It definitely raises some alarm bells to keep in mind, right up until the courtroom is blown up and we're forced into a time skip.

Meeting Blackquill's older sister adds another piece to the puzzle. She's really nasty especially to Athena and you make a note of it, but still can't quite make out the whole picture. It's an easy detail to overlook, even, if you aren't really paying attention to the names, since there isn't a big fuss made over her being his older sister. It connects him to this space station, but not in a way that matters. Not yet.

Another piece is Fulbright's odd behaviour. They really have to work hard to start building enough clues for Fulbright's turn to make sense, but the important thing for us concerning Blackquill is that he seems more worried about Blackquill's rehabilitation than before. Fulbright himself is struggling in what he should reveal to us, where his sense of justice lies, and Phoenix presses him to share enough with us for the next day of the trial.

Of course, Blackquill continues the trial with his added fervour. It really feels he has more of the pieces to this puzzle than we do at this point, but we at least manage to hold our own until Fulbright returns with the decisive evidence to prove Starbuck's innocence. The problem then is that it implicates Athena.

And Blackquill goes into absolute panic mode.

This is what he's been trying to prevent! He can't have Athena accused of another crime, he can't defend her this time like how he did before. He's doing his best to hold his uncaring demeanour together, but he's slipped too much for it to be convincing. He's run out of time and his sister refuses to accept that.

This leads us into the final case and our impromptu trial to figure out just what exactly happened for Blackquill to land himself on death row.

How Blackquill guards himself while absolutely falling apart here is so heartbreaking. He's doing his best to protect Athena, to save the girl who's his mentor's precious treasure, and him and Athena going back and forth on whether or not the whole truth is worth exposing, no matter how painful it is, is excellent. I really feel Blackquill's desperation here, aided by one of the sickest Mood Matrix segments ever. Learning that Edgeworth asked Phoenix specifically to become a lawyer again to help Blackquill, having Edgeworth act as prosecutor on this trial, everything about this is so good. All of it really lends to showing us the player why we should care about Blackquill. It definitely got me good.

Only once we prove Blackquill and Athena both innocent does that weathered shield finally fall. Blackquill gets to show off a bit of his less guarded self, gets to have some fun as we leap into the next segment of the trial. He gets to finally, finally dig up the truth behind that terrible lie he's been keeping for the past seven years and confront this Phantom himself. If the Phantom reveal wasn't so slapdash, this entire segment would be a lot more powerful, I think.

All of it, though, is in service of the straight up satisfaction we get when seeing Blackquill at the end, able to live his life again. Seeing how he actually calls on Athena's help in the next game, then hops onto the bench with her to help her out is so good, there's so much growth that happened there. He's still his smarmy trickster self, but he's willing to show a bit of his caring older brother side! I love seeing it.

Anyway yeah hopefully this conveys how much I love Blackquill, wish he had that little extra oomph to his narrative to make him truly great.

[ceilidhtransing]

This Yom HaShoah, I want to think about the following from Ian Kershaw in his book Hitler, the Germans and the Final Solution:

“[There was] a discrepancy between the centrality of anti-Semitism to Hitler's world-view, and the relatively unimportant place it appeared to occupy in the scale of values and ranking of priorities of most ordinary Germans. I summed up the argument in the claim that “the road to Auschwitz was built by hate, but paved with indifference”. The implications were, I thought, well summarised by one perceptive reviewer [James J Sheehan], when he commented: “While it was always frightening to imagine a nation swept away and dominated by the Nazis, it is surely no less frightening to consider that the Nazis were able to accomplish most of what they set out to do without acquiring unquestioning allegiance or imposing complete control. Apparently they did not need to: it was not necessary for Germans to believe, nor even for them to approve; compliance, not conviction was required. For the Nazi state to thrive, its citizens had to do no more than go along, maintaining a clear sense of their own interests and a profound indifference to the suffering of others.””

Which in turn reminds me of perhaps the single most important work about the Holocaust I have ever read, that ideally everyone should read if they can, Christopher Browning's Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland. This police battalion, made up largely of middle-aged men from Hamburg, shot thousands upon thousands of Polish Jews to death as part of the Holocaust, and directly participated in rounding up and sending yet more Jews to the death camps of Treblinka and Belzec. One of Browning's focuses is the motivations behind the personal decisions made by these policemen to shoot or not to shoot - because yes, a tiny minority of them chose not to kill Jews, chose not to execute a genocide. Some of them also shot at first but reached a stage where they felt they could shoot no longer. The idea of “choice” in genocide is too often neglected when discussing how the Holocaust played out - it is frequently assumed that those who killed did so largely out of fear for their own lives, that if they didn't shoot then they would be shot themselves - yet, as Browning points out,

“It was the German scholar Herbert Jäger and the German prosecutors of the 1960s who firmly established that no one could document a single case in which Germans who refused to carry out the killing of unarmed civilians suffered dire consequences.”

There are so many passages from Browning that would be worthwhile to quote, but I think of the above - the Nazis were able to accomplish most of what they set out to do without acquiring unquestioning allegiance or imposing complete control. Compliance, not conviction was required - and choose this one:

““If the question is posed to me why I shot with the others in the first place,” said another who subsequently asked to be excused after several rounds of killing, “I must answer that no one wants to be thought a coward.””

Genocide doesn't require all its killers to swallow an extreme ideology or be personally driven by hate; it just requires its killers to kill.

[pb-dot]

Film Friday: 12 Angry Men

I've been putting off writing about this film for a while now. Sidney Lumet's 12 Angry Men from 1957 is one of my favorite movies of all time, and yet it is curiously hard to talk about in the way I usually talk about movies. Well, it's time to try at any rate.

12 Angry Men is a chamber play set in a cramped and hot juror's room and adjoining bathroom, and the titular Irate Fellas are the jurors in a murder trial. The case is against a young man accused of stabbing his father to death. At first, the case seems open and shut, argued with convincing evidence and eyewitness testimony. Only one juror, #8 played by Henry Fonda, votes for a not-guilty verdict and as the state requires unanimous guilty votes for the death sentence, the discussion is on.

What 12 Angry Men really gets right about the courtroom drama is that it understands that court proceedings aren't about observable truth, as Juror #8 says "I don't really know what the truth is. I don't suppose anybody will ever really know." Courtroom Dramas aren't even primarily about the drama, but rather the rhetoric, the arguments, and the strength of the story being told by the prosecutor and the defense.

Juror #8 stands alone on his argument that although the prosecution served a compelling story in their arguments for the kid's guilt, there are enough holes in it that he is not comfortable with sending a person to the electric chair over it. At first, it's very much a story about resisting the Will Of The Group as a frequent argument that comes up is "Well we (the other jurors) think he's guilty." As the movie goes on #8 finds support first from the aging #9 and later as more of his fellow jurors, his opponents, such as they are, come into greater focus. These are Juror #3, a domineering patriarch type of person, Juror #4 a strict logical fellow, and Juror #10, who is a racist.

It is also fascinating to me how 12 Angry Men tells the story of the case the whole movie is about. We're fed bits and pieces of it as the jurors argue over the facts, but there never is a grand reveal or twist or "tell" as to what is really and truly the truth, merely aspects of the case as presented by the prosecution. The closest we get to a definitive Turnabout Point is when Juror #8 produces an exact replica of the supposedly unique knife used to commit the crime, as he purchased it within walking distance of where the victim and defendant lived. Now, this is a cool moment, but it somewhat detracts from it that this probably isn't legal, both in the "smuggling a knife into the courtroom"-sense and the "jurors going sniffing about around the crime scene"-sense. Even so, there's no denying it's a hell of a dramatic moment.

Now all this talk about the case is well and good, but it should be remarked that this is very much a drama about the people in the jury room. 8's quest to raise the questions that the defense failed to even point out is one part of it, but there is also #9 finding a purpose at the tail end of what he considers to be a mostly unimportant life and #7 being confronted by his flippant attitude in the face of the serious matter of deciding between a man's life and his death.

There's also no getting around #3, the staunchest proponent of the Guilty verdict. It's clear from relatively early on that the big lad has a chip on his shoulder of some sort, although it isn't quite as easy to identify as #10 overt racism and classism, there is a silent seething anger to his persona that makes it clear he doesn't believe in the guilty verdict on account of the arguments being made. I would personally like the sequence where all of this comes to light to be expanded a little upon to really sell the emotionality of it all a bit more, but I guess one could only have so much catharsis in a movie in the 50's.

In the end, 12 Angry Men is a powerful film about confronting bias and questioning the stories we are told about what the truth is, and it is, despite the limited location and low level of action, electrifying to watch. The dialog is sharp as a tack and the acting makes the most out of it to give the jurors distinct personalities and motivations both inside and outside of the case at hand. There really is something to be said for the limitations in the setting usually reserved for theatre, as it allows the human elements of this movie to really shine.

[dykelawlight]

2. job headcanon

for mikami or light?? so interested in ur law experience here!

Oh love this!! I think Mikami is exceptionally good at his job and probably a good guy to have as a coworker. Passionate about the work, keeps his head down, in it because he genuinely wants change (which is about as good as you can ask for from a prosecutor, even though the "change" isn't reform lmfao 🙄) etc. etc. He's on the young end for an attorney, having passed the bar right out of college (though I believe it's more common in Japan to go directly to law school from college rather than returning as an adult, since many people don't go at all and rather take the preliminary qualifying exam for the bar, which does not require a law degree ⁠— Mikami may or may not [depending on whether you go by the manga or anime timeline] have attended law school as a graduate program anyway bc the law school system was not instituted in Japan until 2004), which means he might have to work a little harder to be respected by his colleagues as a whippersnapper fresh out of the year-long prosecutor training program. However, I think his colleagues probably admire his work ethic, even if he's unlikely to join the rest of the office for drinks ⁠— so, respected and liked well enough by the people he works with, but still kind of socially unpopular just because of his own standoffish tendencies. He maybe has freaked somebody out individually by saying some surprisingly aggressive shit about the nature of good and evil and how evil deeds should be punished but frankly dudes like that are a dime a dozen in prosecutorial and police offices so it's probably whatever.

He's a total fucking pit bull in court and imo probably really good at telling a compelling story to the judge since his passion for obtaining what he views as justice for victims is so real and close to his heart. I imagine him as a real firebrand who almost transforms from this solemn, mild-mannered guy to this vibrant, angry advocate who's very capable of swaying a jury and really demonstrates the emotional basis for his Kira fanaticism. But he's not purely an emotional performer ⁠— his arguments are airtight from a legal perspective, even though his written voice is probably kind of dry and lacking in any particular linguistic flair. People who have only met him in a courtroom context are often surprised at what he's like in his day-to-day life, but they wouldn't be if they'd ever read his legal briefs, lmao.

I like to imagine Light in a non- or post-Kira AU going on to join a Japanese intelligence agency like the Public Security Bureau of either the NPA or the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, specifically in a line of work like the TMPD PSB's Fourth Foreign Affairs Division handling global counterterrorism efforts. I imagine this because I think it would be funny. I also think he would be well-qualified for a role of that type (The Global Terrorism Is Coming From Inside The House) and would have the nepotism bonus from his dad lmfao, and would additionally probably really enjoy it when it was exciting and politely tolerate the boring parts. I think he'd be well-liked and admired by his peers, as usual ⁠— we can see the way the task force treats him for evidence of this. He's a hard, competent worker and a friendly guy, so I imagine he moves up the ranks relatively quickly. (Also, the PSB building is right by the Tokyo Public Prosecutors Office, so if Mikami ever moves out of Kyoto and gets a job over there, I know they're making out in the courtyard and shit.)

[solis-solaire]

“WELL I’M KEEPING THE CRAVAT”

“OBVIOUSLY, how tf would you prosecute without one?”

I AM DYING.

--AA1 spoilers, AA5 spoilers, minor AAI case 2 spoilers ahead--

Well now this audio has me wondering why Edgeworth kept wearing the cravat after the whole DL-6 getting solved thing. Because it’s been accepted that he began wearing it in the first place due to von Karma’s influence, instead of wearing a bowtie like his father did.

Even after his first trial he lost the over-the-top suit that reflects Manfred’s (although he still kept it on the wall in his office. Maybe he’s trying to remember it whenever he works to remind him to never act that way again?). You’d think after that whole mess that Miles would want to distance himself as much as he could from Manfred’s teachings, and from the way he handles himself in court in the AJ Trilogy I’d say he managed that.

However you’d think that he would’ve started with the easiest things to change, which would be what he wears to court. The cravat is really the only physical part of his appearance (that I’ve noticed) in the first game that was reminiscent of von Karma, so why keep it past AA1? I would think it would be torturous to consciously wear the same things as the person who ruined your life and showed no remorse when he was caught, who just before that tried to send YOU to jail for a murder you didn’t commit.

Maybe it’s similar to keeping his first suit framed in his office, to remind him of what not to be. But I feel like wearing the thing is a little close to home, you know? It’s not like he can see the cravat when he’s wearing it. Maybe because he can feel the neckwear no matter what. Like the von Karma teachings will wring his neck if he ever returns to them.

Or maybe it’s more like Franziska. When I was playing the trilogy I initially thought that maybe she hadn’t heard the full story about Miles’ trial in Japanifornia, only that THAT FOOLISH PHOENIX WRIGHT had bested both her little brother and her father first try in court, and wanted to avenge the von Karma name.

But she was still referencing the von Karma name as something to be proud of during AAI, which takes place 2-3 years after AA1. It could be a variety of things, like she could be in denial, or she could be using it as a coping mechanism in order to feel like nothing’s really changed in her life when in reality she’s dealing with the loss of a parent. Or it could also simply be posturing in front of others in order to not show weakness to anyone in her workplace.

However, my own conclusion is that she decided that her father is no longer worthy of the von Karma name. The day he decided to shoot Gregory Edgeworth was the day he forsook the name of von Karma, therefore she is simply refusing to acknowledge he was ever a part of her family. I began thinking this because of what she said in AAI: “I thought I’d never see the day that a disciple of the von Karma household would become a criminal!” (In reference to Miles getting falsely accused of a murder). Like she just doesn’t acknowledge her father at all by saying that statement. She only seems to consider herself and Miles as part of that name, which is really cute honestly.

So, my point is that Miles is on board with Franziska’s own decisions with reclaiming the very teachings that misled him for 15 years. He investigates the crime scene exhaustively even though as a prosecutor he probably wouldn’t need to. He never gives up as prosecutor, even if he may not agree personally with his own arguments (I say this in reference to AA5. I personally feel like if he was given the choice, he wouldn’t be so hard on Athena since she was in a very similar boat to himself so many years ago. However, he needs to do his job and looked to approach the matter similarly to how Apollo did: needing to present every possibility of guilt in order to prove her innocent without a shadow of a doubt in anyone’s mind, which is likely what he found a prosecutor’s job to really be).

Him continuing to wear the cravat long after Manfred’s sentencing (and probably execution) could be another example of this. To show to everyone that he is NOT turning his back on his teachings or his life for 15 long years, but instead reclaiming that part of his life as his own, to be proud of what he’s gone through and how much he’s grown. That despite how rough it was for him, he was still in control of who he wanted to be.

Or maybe I’m overthinking things and the artists just didn’t consider that when making his sprites for future games/didn’t want to make new sprites for AA2 and AA3

Request: Edgeworth Meets Edgeworth

Anonymous asked prozdvoices:

Prozd, could you please voice an arguing between rookie Edgeworth and investigations series Edgeworth (in a dream or crazy situation, dunno)? It would be kinda of a chalenge but it would be cool to show how he changed.

Consider it a magic dream sequence.  I always found rookie Edgeworth’s outfit REALLY GOOFY.

[chubbycaucasianchristiancloseted]

This is 100% the Democrats own making

This is 100% the Democrats own making, they were so blinded by her promises to get Trump, they didn’t vet her. If this was a Republican we would have known about the corruption prior to the 2020 election. This case has a real possibility of falling apart and Democrat voters have only themselves to blame.

If Trump is reelected in Nov he will be the most well vetted politician in American history. He is not perfect by any means BUT every possible allegation against him is on the table.

This seems to be a common theme in Democrat offices. After getting elected you use your position to rack up the cash and then give it to family and lovers to wash it, then you take a cut back.

Direct Quotes:

The all-day hearing escalated steadily throughout the day, culminating with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis taking the witness stand for a combative brawl with defense attorneys that drew several rebukes from the judge.

There was talk of cash exchanging hands from Willis to Wade, where they store their money at home, CashApp usage, and their spending habits – all to get to the question of whether Willis benefitted financially from putting him on her staff.

The hearing will continue Friday with Willis still on the stand. The judge said he does not plan to issue a ruling on Friday.

The risks could not be greater, and Willis’ credibility is on the line.

Things quickly went off the rails. Willis didn’t act much like a traditional witness and was more like a prosecutor, arguing with the defense attorneys, raising objections, making legal arguments and even having exchanges with the judge. She even raised her voice at one point.

This led to a few rebukes from McAfee, who urged her and other attorneys in the courtroom to maintain “professionalism” and to not “talk over each other.” Willis repeatedly accused some of the defense attorneys of peddling lies – before and after the judge’s admonishment.

“You’ve lied in this. … I think you lied right here,” Willis said to attorney Ashleigh Merchant, pointing to copies of filings that raised accusations of self-dealing and nepotism.

On the stand, Wade stuck to his earlier claim – in a sworn affidavit submitted to the court – that his romantic relationship with Willis began in early 2022 and that they split travel and vacation expenses.

Bryant-Yeartie said she observed “hugging, kissing, close affection” between Willis and Wade prior to 2022

Wade and Willis have offered a simple explanation for why there’s essentially no paper trail to back up his claims they split expenses: Willis used cash.

Credit card statements submitted in Wade’s divorce proceedings show he paid for two flights for them in recent years, to San Francisco and Miami. They also took lavish trips to Belize, the Bahamas and some Caribbean cruises.

Trump lawyer Steven Sadow asked Willis about the breakup, eliciting an answer that revealed sexist remarks that Wade allegedly made to Willis in the past. She said, he “is used to women that, as he told me one time, ‘the only thing a woman can do for him is make him a sandwich.’” She explained that this was a part of their breakup – but it also was a defense to the self-dealing claims against her.

Nothing that happened Thursday undercut the factual allegations against Trump, Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows, or the other GOP allies who are accused of trying to overturn the 2020 election.

State prosecutors want that judge to issue a $370 million fine against Trump, after finding that Trump and his company committed significant fraud against banks and insurers by lying about his net worth and assets. They also want Trump barred from doing business in New York.

[ausetkmt]

Edwin Pieters is searching for answers to why the Biden administration fired him as an immigration judge.

He said he received satisfactory reviews during his time as a judge. His decisions were roughly 50-50 in terms of approvals and rejections, so he doesn’t think it was perceived partiality.

The explanation he settles on is that he is a Black judge brought on by the Trump administration. That combination doesn’t fit well with the team currently running the Justice Department, which has gone on a tear in dismissing Trump-era judges from the immigration courts.

“To be very candid, the left are sick,” Mr. Pieters told The Washington Times. “If I have an opinion opposed to yours, all of a sudden I become the enemy. That whole school of thought, and then being a Black man, a New York prosecutor. The advocacy groups made it clear Biden should not be hiring from the background of prosecutors.”

Mr. Pieters was hired under the Trump administration but wasn’t installed until President Biden took office. He had nearly two years on the job, after which he would have ended his probationary period and been “converted” into a permanent position.

He was called in this month and told he was out.

He said his supervisors told him his “performance” was not up to par. He questioned the reasoning, given his satisfactory evaluations.

Mr. Pieters said the Executive Office for Immigration Review, the Justice Department agency that runs the immigration courts, investigated him after a lawyer complained about his Twitter account. The Office of Special Counsel investigated him for a Hatch Act violation — conducting politics while on the job — because of Twitter posts complaining about Democratic politicians.

The special counsel’s office gave Mr. Pieters a warning but recommended no discipline. He said he never heard any outcome to the first complaint.

Immigration judges are not part of the regular court system, do not receive Senate confirmation and are not tenured for life. They are civil servants in the Justice Department, though they operate on similar principles of evidence and justice and courtroom arguments as other judges.

Their duties include ruling on asylum cases and other defenses from illegal immigrants facing deportation.

When he joined the bench in 2021, Mr. Pieters said, colleagues gave him clear signals that the way to stay in the agency’s good graces was to “grant everything.”

“This was advice on several occasions,” he told The Times.

He said that conflicted with his belief that a judge’s responsibility is to “see justice done.”

Mr. Pieters is the latest in a string of Trump-appointed immigration judges to be ousted. One Justice Department source said more than 10 judges recruited in the Trump era have been fired at the end of their probationary periods or resigned before they could be fired.

“It’s clearly ideological because only IJs appointed under Trump are being fired,” said the department source, who pointed out that the Trump administration didn’t do similar housecleaning of Obama appointees.

“The ideological goal is to firmly establish a de facto amnesty for anyone in EOIR proceedings by breaking EOIR so that almost no one is ordered removed regardless of the law,” the source said.

The purge goes beyond line judges. Of 10 senior executive posts at EOIR, six have seen upheaval since Mr. Biden took office, according to the department source. The source said the upheaval in the Biden era is unprecedented.

The Justice Department said it wouldn’t comment on specific personnel moves, but defended its process and said “the vast majority” of judges do get converted to permanent positions.

“All decisions related to career civil service employees are based solely on performance, the presidential administration an individual was hired in has no bearing on decisions related to performance or other evaluations,” the department said in a statement.

The purge has done nothing to solve the major issue facing EOIR: the staggering backlog of cases, fueled by the record surge of illegal immigrants rushing the border.

EOIR listed nearly 1.9 million pending cases as of the start of this year. That was up from 1.3 million cases at the start of fiscal year 2020.

Last year’s volume of cases, with more than 700,000 new dockets, was the largest in history. Judges completed only 310,000 cases during the year.

Few migrants win their cases before judges. Only about 10% of cases in fiscal year 2023 are granted “relief,” meaning migrants have proved their claims.

Deportation is ordered in about half of all cases. The rest is a mixture of migrants giving up their claims and Homeland Security deciding not to pursue a case immediately. In those cases, the migrants are still on the docket.

Matt O’Brien, who was appointed as an immigration judge in the Trump administration but terminated by the Biden administration, wondered why EOIR would be ousting capable judges while facing a stupefying backlog. Some migrants were told they wouldn’t get their first hearings for at least five years.

“The only answer is that the efficient judges aren’t producing ideologically correct decisions, so they have to go,” said Mr. O’Brien, now director of investigations at the Immigration Reform Law Institute.

“I suspect Judge Pieters was terminated because he represents everything that the open borders Biden administration hates: a successful, conservative, ‘minority’ jurist who backs Donald Trump,” he said. “It’s clear that Team Biden wants to link immigration enforcement with ‘racism’ in the eyes of the American public. But Judge Pieters makes that impossible because he single-handedly torpedoes the leftist narrative that our judicial system is rife with discrimination.”

Several sources said the upheaval stems from an active circle of lawyers who practice immigration law and see rulings from Trump-era judges as too harsh.

Mr. Pieters said he first got crossways with the agency after a lawyer complained about his Twitter posts to his supervisors. The posts included retweets of others questioning the 2020 presidential election, backing the Republican candidate for governor in New York in 2022 and questioning high levels of illegal immigration.

EOIR launched an investigation. Mr. Pieters said he never heard any conclusion to that probe, but his supervisors said somewhere along the way that the Office of Special Counsel had taken over the probe.

He said he was upfront with office about his posts and sent them while he was off the clock.

He was pulled off duties while the investigation was open, which means he hasn’t judged cases in months. He was told he would have other roles, but no work was ever given to him.

When he was called in and told he was being ousted, Mr. Pieters said, he confronted his supervisors by saying, “If I had tweeted to open the borders and let everyone in and in support of Biden administration border policies, I would not be in this current predicament now?

“Both just looked with this blank stare with no response,” he said. “Then I said, ‘Then this is political?’ Both replied the same way with a blank stare and silence.”

[tiffanylamps]

just realised (or connected the dots) that when han juwon says that those who’re connected to the case shouldn’t handle it, dongsik agrees becuz the reason why the killer isn’t suspected is cuz he’s part of the close-knit village.

and dongsik understands this. and later on juwon understands that dongsik did understand that. which is why later on, juwon’s reflecting everything dongsik has taught juwon back to him, telling him “you’re too connected to this case. you’re too connected to the people connected to this case. you’re not suspecting the right ppl”

and mf gives him a list of ppl to suspect.

i love their dynamic so much

OKAY!! Tell me to shut up now because this is one of my favourite parts of Joo Won's character!!

Despite how rigid Joo Won is - spine-wise and in terms of his moral compass - he still manages to be a very adaptable person. I think it's one of the things that many of the other characters in the show don't expect from him, which causes them to underestimate his intentions and misinterpret his actions. Some of these characters are Han Ki Hwan, Lee Chang Jin, Chief Jung Cheol-Mun, Oh Ji Hwa and Kwon Hyuk to a certain extent.

Episodes 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 13, and 16 (there might be more) follow the theme of one being too emotionally connected to the case at hand. Whether that be Dong Sik with Min Jeong and Yu Yeon or Joo Won with his father. But the topic is first probably introduced in Episode 3. Episode 3: Joo Won and Dong Sik have been asked to give a statement after they found Min Jeong's fingertips, so Dong Sik can be dismissed as a suspect (which Joo Won realises straight away and states out loud for the audience). DS: Your office is big enough. Why are we here? JW: She's doing this for you. A cop is only human. She knows how people will think of you with the recent case. The first thing Ji Hwa asks in this scene is are you okay? She hasn't entered this situation as a police officer, which is something she struggles with throughout the entire show. [Side note: Joo Won and Ji Hwa oftentimes share the exact same beliefs about how to approach their jobs. They believe a cop is a cop and no one is above the law BUT the law sucks. They both express these opinions in different ways throughout the show, Joo Won with action and Ji Hwa with opinion. But obviously, they express themselves differently and we are meant to perceive them differently because of their age, gender, and their role within the narrative.] So, because of the traumatic thing that has happened, which she now has to investigate, she approaches the situation as a friend. Which, given the informal nature of the summons, I get BUTTTTT the issue with that is... They're police officers and this is an active missing person/murder investigation, of which, Dong Sik was the lead suspect in a similar cold case... So, the two of them sharing information willy-nilly in the investigation room is actually kind of unprofessional (in my opinion). When I first watched it, I agreed with Joo Won: Ji Hwa is too emotionally involved to be non-bias and Dong Sik shouldn't be given information (inside the interrogation room), it doesn't do well for the investigation... AND to give Joo Won credit, he did live with Prosecutor (Kwon Hyuk), so he probably knows the ways a lawyer can tear apart a case. This then poses a very interesting line of questioning. Joo Won states all the logical reasons why Ji Hwa and Dong Sik shouldn't be a part of the case: they were like family to Min Jeong, Dong Sik was once a suspect 20 years ago, and the formality of the questioning of a witness does not allow for the briefing of that witness. But then Dong Sik counters his argument with: What's wrong with that? Why can't detectives get their feelings involved? What's wrong with being like family to the victim? We want to lock up the bastard who did this to our family. What's wrong with that?

It's the whole reason he became a police officer. It's what he's spent 20 years doing!! HOWEVER, 3 years prior to the canon timeline, Dong Sik berated Lee Sang Yeob for having the exact line of thinking... and it influenced his actions, which lead to his murder.... (and considering how borderline suicidal Dong Sik is, are we stepping too far to assume that he doesn't care to come out of this whole experience intact/ alive??? Maybe, maybe not)

But Dong Sik knows where Joo Won is coming from because he's been in his shoes but he also knows that sometimes, you need emotions to get involved. Lee Yu Yeon and Kang Min Jeong don't have anyone to help them now... there's only Dong Sik left. So, when it's your family that is killing your family, you need those emotions to stop them/bring them to justice.

"To catch these monsters, we must become monsters." Dong Sik, episode 3

So, Joo Won thinks the police shouldn't investigate with their emotions. Dong Sik thinks they should. Out of the two of them, Joo Won is the hypocrite here. He approached his investigation of Dong Sik with nothing BUT emotion (despite how much he likes to pretend he didn't). Joo Won is responsible for Lee Geum Hwa's murder. She's a sex worker with no family in Korea, with no one to claim her body. So, incensed with folly and guilt, Joo Won investigates with emotion.

In episode 4, Dong Sik asks one of the most important (throwaway) questions of the whole series: “It’s a dangerous thing to become attached to someone. Don’t you think?”

The series shows us throughout that the answer is yes and no. It is dangerous but it is worth it.

Episode 10 Joo Won is one of my favourite versions of him. He took the time to digest his relationship with Dong Sik, he highlighted all the parts he didn't like and all the parts he did, he realised Dong Sik's language and decided to reapproach him speaking it. I don't care what anyone says, he's adaptable! It only took him a week to realise Dong Sik isn't the killer, it took a month for them to bring a 20-year-old serial killer to justice (although, you can't really give Joo Won credit for that), and it only took him 3 months to process whatever the fuck was going on between him and Dong Sik. Joo Won learned to speak Dong Sik's language by copying his actions. He planted the evidence (so the police would investigate Kang Jin Mook's suspicious death), he smiled at the camera so Dong Sik would know it was him, he made them dinner so Dong Sik would stay, he said the list of names to prove to Dong Sik 1) look I've been paying attention 2) I know you and I see you (he's a lil creepy) and 3) you've been blindsided by your trust. He doesn't want Dong Sik to make the same mistakes.

Plus... everyone should be a suspect. (that's the way i see it anyway)

Throughout the show, Dong Sik proves time and time again that there isn't much he'll do for those he loves. Plant evidence? Sure. Get himself arrested? Duh! Be a part of a plot to take down the Commissioner of the police? Piece of cake.

But Joo Won is just as willing and twice as reckless as Dong Sik.

So, if Dong Sik investigates with his emotions, Joo Won investigates with his whole heart. Because as soon as Dong Sik gains Joo Won's loyalty, there's not much Joo Won wouldn't do for him. Plant evidence? Sure. Voluntarily get arrested on live national TV? Duh! Promise to go to hell? Piece of cake. Go into a house with the knowledge that you could be murdered? Let's go!! Arrest your dad and your partner? (that one is a little harder)

(gosh he needs to chill)

So, Dong Sik asked: What's wrong with that? Why can't detectives get their feelings involved? What's wrong with being like family to the victim? We want to lock up the bastard who did this to our family. What's wrong with that?

He investigates with his emotions dictating his actions BUT like he says in episode 11:

Inspector Han, it's my job to go berserk without thinking about the consequences. You can stick to just being you. Be calm and composed. That is your job.

Dong Sik knows, as does Joo Won and us, the audience, that Joo Won is not a calm and composed man. Out of the two of them, that's Dong Sik. He is the one that can compartmentalize his emotions and think these through before acting but he is very trusting, far too trusting for his own good. Whereas Joo Won is very analytical but he's impulsive and his emotions can make him sloppy and presumptuous.

But when they work together, they are able to keep each other in check and follow through.

So, to answer Dong Sik's question Why can't detectives get their feelings involved? The answer the show gives is that Joo Won is right: A cop is only human. So, yes, they can but they need their partner to keep them in check.

-

Thank you for sending this ask! I absolutely adore this aspect of their dynamic as well. So I decided to agree with you by writing way too many words and include beautiful gifs. I went a little off-topic but I hope what I'm trying to say correlates with your point and furthermore, makes sense. I hope you have a great day!

[victoriadallonfan]

Rant Incoming!

I actually did like the storyline, but I think the idea that the Anti-Parahumans needed "valid arguments" is dangerous because it overlooks how bigoted they really are.

Like, this isn't "Anti-supervillains"; that's literally how most normal people and superheroes feel. This is Anti-Parahuman, as in "we want these people gone from existence or subservient to us" and, uh, noooo thank you.

Just as an example: Lets say you or a loved one gained superpowers after a traumatic incident. You are no longer allowed to run for any government position, you are actively feared and distrusted for powers you may or may not have, you cannot profit with your powers unless you submit to intense government oversight. Furthermore, that profit often requires that you have to engage in violent fights against other parahumans for the cameras, and if you don't protect your hometown from a killer kaiju (instead of, say, spending it with your loved ones) then you are seen with scorn and suspicion. And the moment the greatest hero turns evil, everyone looks at you like a ticking time bomb ready to go off.

A few of them, even, think you should be wiped off the face of the Earth or made second class citizens.

That's the parahuman experience.

For context:

Anti-parahumanism existed pre-GM. It was, in fact, established in the legal system. Parahumans were subservient to human Directors (many of whom openly were bigoted to them like Tagg and Piggot), they couldn't unionize for businesses, and - in the cases of Canary and Lustrum - overcharged in crimes. Reminder, Canary was so heavily demonized in court that the Prosecutor made up abilities she could have and she couldn't even defend herself. Her lawyer took days to respond to email, the Judge basically said he was ignoring all precedent to make her an example to other Parahumans because he didn't want Canary to ever be paroled. According to Lustrum, she was charged for a movement she had no control over, and Nailbiter believed her when she said it, because she could tell this woman wasn't built for violence.

Later, in PHO Sundays (which take place before Ward, during the 2 year timeskip with Weaver), we learn that the death of Protectorate cape was heavily downplayed by the PRT in favor of promoting new capes on the scene and that the killed cape had been trying for a long time to remove a drunk and disorderly teammate from her roster... only to be ignored by the PRT.

The Anti-parahuman movement in Ward is not something that just happened. It was always there.

Furthermore, most of humanity is actually under human control anyways, statistically, because of Cheit and Shin. Settlements under parahuman control are, statistically, the minority. There simply aren't enough parahumans for it to be viable.

And Cheit was only compromised by parahumans because they literally chose to trust someone who has a history of backstabbing and assassinating heads of state. Ditto with Shin trusting Amy and Chris, the former which was going to ally with Goddess to conquer Shin willingly.

Furthermore, Anti-Parahumans the mistake of painting a sweeping picture of Villain Control = Parahuman Control, which is just unfair. It's like comparing all past German Emperors with Hitler because both held the majority of the power. The Warden's aren't perfect by any means necessary, and neither is Citrine, but they do support society and protect the masses as best they can (including protecting Bet refugees) and refuse to wage war on people who actively want to wage war on them.

Even worse, Citrine is even stated by foreign governments to be the reason the City will do so well, because she's competent and has a council of civilian/non-parahuman leaders that she communicates with (of which Gary was part of), unless Gary tries to sabotage her (which he does).

Gary, for his part, is literally trying to sell Gimel out to a world conquering Cheit and doesn't even get a slap on the wrist for his crimes (that we know of). Note, his actions helped terrorists murder people. This coming from the guy who left his position of councilman over the City in Gimel out of spite because Jeanne Wynn was a parahuman and because he was tired of hearing about "bad news", who then goes on to complain about how he's not being told anything!

I really cannot stress this enough, that people like Gary cannot be allowed to think they have "valid points", because Gary and his ilk supported domestic terrorism that killed innocent Capes and was supporting supervillains like Love Lost by providing them weapons, and actively allied with Teacher.

Gary went on Television twice to attack a kid being abused by her parents (including lead poisoning) and the hero team who have literally been the sole reason that Gimel wasn't torn to pieces by dozens of portal bombs. He, to their face, called them the worst of the worst.

And yes, I totally understand why some people might initially think Anti-Parahumans have a point. Yes, it's understandable for blame to grow (as Vic says, blame can ruin nations), but I again behoove everyone to remember that humans are not the only victims of GM, as Parahumans were the ones who were facing down Scion constantly and consistently (and Endbringers before that).

And that an often-overlooked fact is simply that Parahumans are the only reason that Gimel exists and isn't a slave state to the religious conquest of Cheit or bigotry of Shin, and are the biggest factors in keeping refugees safe from Bet to Gimel.

They are, quite frankly, the only thing keeping civilization chugging along in the face of a multiversal catastrophe, where they themselves were betrayed by their own representation of the greatest hero of all.

And for 99% of them, it's not a choice. Society, pre-GM, made it very clear that parahumans are seen as less than humans, their only worth beyond merchandizing is to serve as (non)human shields for "real people". Which absolutely sucks when you want to use your powers for something other than fighting, but the government doesn't let you start up competing businesses and that not immediately joining the government as their lapdog makes you less trustworthy.

The anti-parahumans are absolutely believable in formation, but that doesn't negate the fact that it's based on intolerance, ignorance, and that parahumans themselves have been mistreated for far longer.

So no, I don't think they have valid points and I don't want them to.

[lnsfawwi]

thoughts on hotch often on first name basis with (ie. close to) female colleagues

not that they call him Aaron (that's David Rossi exclusive lol) but he calls them by first name.

Katie Cole. It's very obvious they've worked together quite a few times, not clear if she was part of BSU. Interestingly, by all accounts Katie should know Gideon better, but she & hotch seemed much closer. (maybe that's just Gideon being Gideon.)

Cici Hillenbrand the prosecutor. They seemed very amicable, the trust & confidence in each other were deep. Cici let him sit at the prosecution's table during trial, in reality that doesn't happen. She also ran her argument by him, plus asking him out for a drink at the end? Maybe she's got a crush on him, who wouldn't tho?

Natalie Colfax the FBI agent. When they worked again in LA, Aaron went straight to her and said, “congratulations, Natalie.” It's obvious they kept in touch and Aaron thinks highly of her. Also suspiciously friendly given none of others showed any similar friendliness.

Andi Swan. the BAU worked w/ Andi before, but not often. Morgan knew her but that's it, but Aaron knew her well enough to give a comment about how she & the missing undercover agent shared the same trait.

Kate Joyner. This goes w/o saying ig.

Lily Lambert. Not sure if it counts bc Lily explicitly asked ppl to call her Lily. They ARE very close, which makes me wonder if she was in the late 90s BSU/BAU team.

He really gets along w/ female colleagues especially comparing to male ones. He's never called Reid Spencer, rarely calls Morgan Derek, even w/ Sam Cooper he stuck to Cooper, he wasn't as friendly with the detective from Lila Archer case when they met again, and he threatens Axelrod everytime they meet lmao.

Part of it is bc he doesn't fare well w/ other alpha males, and law enforcement is an extremely macho environment. And guys don't usually like showing affection, so he approaches guys differently.

Another is I think he tends to be extra soft with women and NOT in a condescending way. He offers emotional support which is patient, honest and quiet, like a skilled therapist. He makes people fee safe, esp women in an ultra macho environment. In a way he becomes feminine. Nothing is above or below him, there's always emotional response from him. If you want to call him at 10pm to rant about how your fav show is cancelled? You bet he's gonna be there for you.

(I'm not saying he doesn't give emotional support to male friends, but he understands guy like Morgan doesn't want to be coated by him, so he'll show his support some other way.)

Moreover, I think he needs that feminine presence in his life and himself. He doesn't want to be a super macho guy bc vulnerability, compassion and empathy is important. This job will eat him up if he lets it, so he has to find a way to maintain those qualities we so often attribute to femininity. He values those qualities in his female friends/colleagues, and he keeps them close to remind himself of that (and sometimes to remind THEM of that, see JJ&Garcia&Em).