WEEK 2

[bathymetric]

So far, good news! You've managed to avoid killing! A week has passed in the facility, but how many more are there to go until one of you tries out Rule Seven? I mean.... we know, but.

No new areas just yet, it remains you guys and yours here for now. Well, and Angel, but again - you don't exactly see her unless you want to. It's more than a little lonely... maybe someone ought to shake things up.



SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY

[ ooc: Welcome to Week 2, your first case week! Remember to turn in regains here, your AC for last week here, and if you like, come visit Angel's office hours here!

Comments

[bolderfell]

...If it comes to it, maybe. Rather not hand a woman of your profession anything you could use against me, given mine.

[Just because he probably couldn't hack it as a thief in 2020 Japanifornia doesn't mean he's going to stop being one.]

But if something does happen, now that the Professor's putting the pressure on... If it'd help you prove I wasn't the culprit, I guess I'd let you. And if it's just about seconding your findings...

[As he muses out what he's going to say, he adds a couple more loops of braid to his rope.]

Well, I've got a pretty good eye for detail. Comes in handy in my line of work, too. So I might be able to help then.

[snackooed]

A second pair of eyes is extremely valuable out in the field. Especially if they're good ones. And while I hope things don't take a sharp turn for the worst, the more allies we have, the better we'll fare. So I'd appreciate that a lot, if it comes down to it.

[ Though she does understand his apprehension. Given his occupation, he has every reason to be wary...as a matter of fact, it's probably not a stretch to say it's likely part of the job. But part of being wary is being observant, and that's likely invaluable. ]

I'd like to keep our professional relationship strong, Therion. If you ever need an investigation partner of your own, I'd be happy to help. Especially now that I have one of the most important tools for the job.

[bolderfell]

[He stops braiding again to just look at her.]

...Are you supposed to have professional relationships with thieves?

[snackooed]

I don't see why not. Especially in these circumstances.

[ She can't help but flash him a smile. ]

Besides, I haven't seen you steal anything just yet. And even if I did, it isn't as though I have jurisdiction down here.

[bolderfell]

Heh. If you see me steal something, I'm doing it wrong.

[He's not wearing his scarf, so he can only turn his face away to hide the small smile she's fished out of him.]

I prefer to work alone, but... I'll think about making exceptions. Especially in these circumstances.

[It's not like he hasn't before. The whole, odd, noisy band of them, traveling Orsterra together for reasons Therion can barely articulate... This is a bit like that, isn't it.]

Who knows. Maybe I'll even teach you a couple tricks of my trade.

[snackooed]

Oh, that's a dangerous proposal. If you taught me how you ran your operations, the crime lab director might wake up one morning to find that I've snuck some pretty expensive tools home with me, just to try them...

[ It sounds like she's only half-joking... ]

Anyway, as long as I have you, can I ask a favor? If you see any more of this powder come out of that coin machine, or if you happen to catch sight of a bottle that sprays out liquid labeled "Luminol" somewhere in your travels? Pass those along to me, if you can. Especially the luminol.

[bolderfell]

Sure. [Well, that was easy.] What's that do?

[snackooed]

It's a chemical solution that I hope I won't have to use, to put it simply. You know how fingerprinting powder lets you see those "latent prints" I mentioned earlier? Prints that you can't see with the naked eye?

[ She definitely seems more serious, here. ]

Luminol is a spray that has a strong reaction when it makes contact with an oxidizing agent, and produces light, thus the name. In other words, to cut to the chase, if the spray makes contact with something like bleach, or trace amounts of blood...well, even if someone tried extremely hard to clean up the mess, to the point where you couldn't see anything normally? The chemical will react in bright blue, which you'd be able to see if you shut off all of the lights, or wore special glasses like mine. It's extremely critical to find any hidden blood trails, or drag marks, or even the way the culprit exited the crime scene, if they got any blood on the bottom of their shoes.

[bolderfell]

[The first part of the explanation definitely flies right over his head, but the more she talks, the more he finds he actually does understand. By the end, Therion's nodding along.]

It's powerful, then. Yeah. I'll keep an eye out for it, and for the powder.

[snackooed]

In an investigation, it's make or break. But especially when you combine it with something like fingerprint powder, what at first seems like a perfect crime can suddenly become a lot clearer. There's a lot that goes on in a crime scene that the naked eye alone won't be able to pick up on. And there's a lot of evidence that a culprit might think they've left no trace of, only to find out down the line that they've given us a core piece of the puzzle without even realizing it.

Of course, it's not a be-all end-all. All the tools let me do is find things I wouldn't normally see. I still have to put it all together with the facts of the case, and run it through with the rest of my team.

[bolderfell]

[Yeah. Therion hangs on each word and takes it to heart, not only because it's interesting, but because he knows firsthand how badly a criminal can misinterpret their situation. It's humbling, a little galling, but also oddly encouraging to hear her perspective. It means he's not the only short-sighted idiot in the world. Or, well, at least in the universe.

The cord keeps his hands busy, but he's barely looking at it, really.]

Your team. They're all... forensic investigators, like you?

[snackooed]

Not all of them. Since I work for the police, not everyone at the scene with me is an investigator. As a matter of fact, before I got this job, I was just a regular detective on the force, which I didn't like at all because I barely got to do any forensics...but, even when I was on that job, I was working closely with the other forensics staff to get to the bottom of whatever cases we were assigned.

[ Which was kind of like pouring salt in a wound... ]

But even within the forensics department, there are experts who specialize in certain areas of analysis. We have a "latent print technician," for example, who tends to be the go-to when it comes to examining latent prints and pulling them from trickier surfaces. We also have a "photo technician," who takes photographs of the crime scene from all angles before we disturb it by investigating.

[ ...Hm, wait. ]

I probably have to explain to you what a "photograph" is, don't I?

[bolderfell]

[Ah! No, he knows that one!]

Shelley has a camera. I get it. That way, you know exactly how everything was when you found it. Or, if you miss something, there's a chance you'll see it later.

[He shakes his head wryly.]

Criminals in your world have it rough.

[snackooed]

We need to make sure that we're extra thorough. A little over a decade ago, they changed the law regarding trials...

[ Hoo boy. ]

When a suspect is detained in connection with a crime, as you may know, there's a trial before a judge who determines whether they're guilty or not guilty. [ Not necessarily "innocent"... ] Under the older system, trials could take months on end...but that system created an enormous amount of cases, with judges having to dedicate a significant amount of time to each. So now we have what's called the "initial trial" system, where all trials have a maximum time limit of three days. It's a lot more work for the attorneys, and the police who provide the evidence, but the government is able to process detainees much more quickly that way.

It just means I can't afford to be sloppy, really.

[bolderfell]

Three days sounds... rushed.

[Why is Ace Attorney like this.]

What happens if you find out you were wrong after all?

[snackooed]

It's definitely not a lot of time. My sister was the Chief Prosecutor, so I've seen first-hand how much work it's put on the attorneys. For the defense attorneys, too, of course...

If there's some kind of problem at the initial hearing, it's possible to appeal, but they're rarely granted, and even more rarely result in an overturn of the initial sentence.

[bolderfell]

...

[Head tilt.]

Defense attorneys?

[snackooed]

So at that trial before the judge, you have two advocates who are arguing to determine whether the suspect actually committed the crime. The prosecutor argues on behalf of the state, and she uses our evidence and says something along the lines of, "The police department's forensics team found the suspect's prints at the crime scene, we have an eye-witness who saw the suspect exhibit suspicious behavior that day, and the suspect has no alibi. Therefore, it is clear that the suspect is guilty of the crime."

Now, on the other side, the defense attorney argues for the suspect. When the witness gives his account of what he saw that day, her job is to look for contradictions in his testimony, things that don't line up with the evidence. The defense attorney not only has to argue that the suspect isn't guilty of the crime, but also offer an alternative theory of the case, where someone else is.

Really now, I don't envy them even a little.

[bolderfell]

[wHAt the fuCk]

Somebody tries to help the criminal? That's allowed?

[snackooed]

Well, the idea is that even if someone is accused of a crime, we want to make sure that they have a chance to plead their innocence, so to speak. Just because the evidence is pointing one way doesn't ever mean that the case is open-and-shut.

[ Though her job is to be on the other side, it sounds like she's fairly passionate about this? ]

After all, this is the rest of someone's life at stake, here. Three days may make it a bit of a race against the clock, but more than anything, our goal isn't just to ensure that there's justice, it's also to make sure we give the attorneys all of the tools they need to reach the truth. And when someone's back is to the wall, having someone who believes in you...it makes all the difference in the world.

[ She can't keep her feelings out of her words. ]

[bolderfell]

...

[Momentarily at a loss, Therion looks back down at the cord in his hands. After a moment, he begins to braid once more, as if gathering his own thoughts with the motion. Grab, loop, over--grab, loop, over. Maybe it works. He speaks up eventually.]

I wouldn't know.

[He clears his throat.]

Gaolkeepers and judges don't exactly work that way where I'm from.

[snackooed]

[ Ema can't help but sigh and scratch the back of her head. Deep breaths... ]

Our system isn't exactly perfect either, of course. As a matter of fact, it was only recently that we moved on past a period called "the dark age of the law". [ Why is Ace Attorney like this, indeed. ] Not everyone involved in the process has noble goals, to put it mildly. And I'm certainly not naive enough to think that the police force is above that.

[ Quite the opposite, actually. If there ever was anyone who would know just how deep corruption can run... ]

Still, on the other side of the coin, there are plenty of prosecutors and defense attorneys alike who act with dignity in the face of all of that, who are willing to fight for what's right and turn the situation around. Those are the ones who keep people's faith in the system alive.

[bolderfell]

You put a lot of stock in that. In faith. Having belief.

[He sounds tired.]

[snackooed]

I think it's an important thing to have.

[ Though she can understand the exhaustion. It can be hard to keep, sometimes. ]

I've been in my fair share of hopeless situations. I wouldn't have made it through if I didn't have something to believe in. Whether it was my sister Lana, or my colleagues, or even my own abilities as a scientist.

[bolderfell]

[A sister, huh. Colleagues. Her own abilities.]

Just take care that that faith doesn't betray you. ...Seems you've got a lot left to teach me, after all.