❮❮ 01; video. ❯❯

[godly]

[The video feed flickers to life, revealing the face of a young man decidedly still in his late teens. He's calm enough, almost professional, and his words will be spoken with the deliberation of someone who's put some thought into what they're going to say.]

I'm going to bypass what I assume are the usual comments concerning the... inconvenience of being brought here. I'm sure I'm not the only one who was either in the middle of something important or simply has more pressing matters at "home", so there's little point in being redundant.

[All-in-all, he appears to be taking this alright. There's only the slightest twitch, a furrowing of the brow -- but to anyone who claims to know Light well, this is merely an indication that's he a lot more irritated than he's letting on. (Consider it a blessing that no one really knows Light all that well.) He continues.]

My name is Light Yagami; I was a first year college student in Japan before my arrival. I understand that there are shared residencies here... in that case, if you happen to be one of my housemates, I'd appreciate you letting me know. I'd like to familiarize myself with your names, faces, backgrounds, personalities and et cetera, just so I can get a sense of [what he's getting himself into] who I'm living with and what daily life is going to be like. Just out of curiosity.

Secondly -- and this is directed to anyone seeing this -- I'd like some advice as to how to adapt here. This is a - [a pause because the notion sounds ridiculous but here he is] reality that isn't my own, so as far as I know, down could be up and up could be down. Explanations of do's and don't's are welcome, as is just general information if that's all you have to contribute. And yes, I know I've already been given a summary of what's supposedly happening; it's just that I wouldn't mind getting second opinions, or just meeting the people here.

[He looks as if he's about to end it there, and then, as if remembering something:]

Oh, and is the calendar on this thing right? February 26th? It's almost my birthday again.

Anyway, thanks for your time.

Comments

[glassinine]

Why? What's the difference?

[godly]

One is being respectful to another person's wishes. The other is a generalized rule that dictates everyone should abide by it even when you're not there.

[glassinine]

Weak.

[godly]

Excuse me?

[glassinine]

Your argumentation is weak. The line you draw is inconsequential. If you are, for whatever strange reason, so intent on defeating me in some debate, you'll have to improve your skills, young man.

[godly]

Inconsequential? I don't believe this. I provided a distinct difference -- whether or not you think it's consequential or not is a matter of personal opinion. The fact that you're dismissing me so quickly only lends to the feeling that you're, frankly, just being controlling.

[glassinine]

Ad hominem attacks. Weaker yet.

[godly]

[the hell man, what is this, the debate team]

Which are not always fallacious if provided with enough evidence.

[glassinine]

Incorrect. Evidence can be used to prove motive, and this is of value. But you did not provide motive. You merely slapped a label on me without any true support - and, compounding the sin, called this not a fact, but a feeling. I shudder to think how most professors of law would greet such folly at a recitation.

[godly]

I called it a feeling because I was being generous; I have no qualms calling it a fact if you really want me to. It's becoming clearer by the moment after all.

[professors of law?] Are you a lawyer?

[glassinine]

Call it a fact, and you become subject to greater demands of proof. Is that a path you want to wander down, Mr. Yagami? You cannot see deeper into the woods, and you do not seem to have the proper weapons to fight off the tiger.

[Still, he relents slightly.]

And yes. I am a lawyer.

i need more irritated light icons just for edgeworth

[godly]

[That would explain a lot, he thinks to himself.] You're quick to judge, Mr. Edgeworth -- the same thing you accused me of just moments before. You seem to be under the impression that I'm incapable of comprehending the logic you throw at me; whether this is sincere because you believe me "inexperienced" or you're just using it as a way to dislodge the conversation is something I haven't decided on.

But that's besides the point. The evidence of you wishing to display more than just a modicum of control over our living environment has already been presented to me; clear, concise, and numbered, in the form of your list.

Meanwhile Edgeworth has started to enjoy himself a bit

[glassinine]

So the fact that I have compiled a list is presented as evidence that I ought not have compiled a list. Does that seem like a solid bit of argumentation to you, Mr. Yagami?

what an old jerk. also i'm sorry for this tag

[godly]

No. It's the contents of said list that are telling, if you really bother examining it.

Rule number one, implementing a noise curfew. Three, four, and five, dictating overall cleanliness of the household. Ten, a chore wheel. [He pauses and then frowns -- he's doing this from memory right now, okay.] Six, clearly mentioning morality as if to persuade us further. And we've already discussed thirteen and fourteen; I suppose I could comment on the others if I wanted, but these come to the forefront of my mind.

By itself, it's strict but nothing is terribly unreasonable. Yet the fact that you have already drawn up a list -- a thorough one, too -- after only being here for two days... The fact that you've done so before even meeting your current housemates, before even knowing what their personal habits or desires or needs are, when everyone else in your position would still be trying to wrap their heads around what's really happening--

[A breath. What a wordy bastard.] That tells me that you prioritize order first and foremost. That setting rules and regulations in place that will make life more harmonious for you was probably one of first things on your mind when you were told that you had to share a living space with other complete strangers. Unless you're going to tell me that the very thought didn't make you the slightest bit uncomfortable?

oh my god never apologize please, you are SO GOOD AT LIGHT ugh

[glassinine]

[Edgeworth's response is butter-smooth.]

Better. But when you are presenting evidence, there is an order: strongest first, weakest in the middle, second-strongest last. Your flow of presentation is abominable.

[Then, transitioning easily, like the fact of him giving pointers isn't utterly absurd:]

And of course it made me uncomfortable. You were uncomfortable to learn of it as well. As was Ms. Harmon. Are you going to admit that you two are likewise controlling, or are you going to huff and puff and exert yourself to apply that insult to me alone?

aaah thank you tbh i've been a nervous wreck this entire intro post

[godly]

[There's a distinct frown at that little bit of "advice". But... oddly enough... Light doesn't protest against it. In that instance, Edgeworth just gets a:] I'll keep it in mind for next time.

[Light's transition is just as natural, it seems.]

Of course I'm uncomfortable. I'm uncomfortable about all this. But how I exhibit my anxiousness is the determining factor here. I didn't draw up a strict list as a way to guard myself against potentially disorderly roommates; it would've been the farthest thing from my mind. Personally I was hoping to get to know them first.

Maybe it's a coping mechanism. I don't know. I just know that a normal person wouldn't have already taken such steps to ensure an orderly and decidedly predictable living situation before anything else.

[Or be so stubborn about it, he wants to say. But he leaves that part out. For now.]

No you're absolutely lovely! And with such a tough character as well ahhhhhh

[glassinine]

No, of course not. A normal person would instead concentrate on expending hundreds of words attempting to prove his superiority over his roommate who makes it clear, multiple times, that he has no desire to engage in this juvenile contest.

[That's said just as levelly, just as smoothly.]

Mr. Yagami, I'm the chief prosecutor for the city of Los Angeles. I usually am at least on the clock when I'm putting up with callow upstarts attempting to prove their mental and rhetorical superiority over me. Are you truly going to force me to continue to suffer this headache at home? Or will I have respites from your yapping ego?

[godly]

My initial post was the gauge my situation and gather advice from those who have been here longer. With you, I'm attempting to have a rational conversation in which we can talk about the rules you're apparently imposing on your housemates.

[Edgeworth's credentials are impressive, that's for sure, but. But. Callow upstart?]

"Callow upstart"? [EXCUSE YOU.] I'm a model student and an upstanding member of society! I believe in order and fairness, and before I arrived here, I had been interested in pursuing a career in criminal justice. Don't just lump me in the same category as some ignorant, rebellious teen looking to show-off!

[glassinine]

Oh? So none of your arguments were about being right? They truly all were because you dearly wanted to explore the ethics of banning swearing?

[godly]

[....some of it was about being right.]

That was just an example. I already explained that to you.

[glassinine]

An example of my flaws. An example of why I should have been ashamed of my conduct. An example, truly, of your cutting insight. You're clearly an upper- or middle-class intellectual with high aspirations; I highly doubt you smoke, curse, or use the television extensively. You were arguing because you wanted to argue, and you wanted to argue because you wanted to win.

Green wood can be made to make a stinging switch, Mr. Yagami, but it's the steady oak from which spears are made. You say you wish to go into law enforcement. Tell me: in that line of work, would you sooner be a switch, or would you sooner be a spear?

[godly]

No one argues because they want to lose. I did have a legitimate point I was trying to make, though you've been pretty quick to dismiss it.

[He has pride enough not to confirm any of what Edgeworth had just said about him -- mostly because it was all true. He's always been too smart, the top of his class; but though Light has always been diligent, none of it was achieved through any true challenge on his part. He's too used to people eventually seeing the reasoning behind his opinions, because he's Light Yagami, the Perfect Role Model. And when they don't? It frustrates him to no end.]

I'd prefer it if you got to the point of what you're trying to say, rather than dousing me in metaphors. The answer, after all, should be obvious. [The spear.]

[glassinine]

The point is this: let yourself grow and culture. Even now, you answer me with impatience and impertinence, when I am not fighting you, but attempting to offer a bit of hard-won wisdom. You're still itching for a fight. You're still trying to prove yourself.

[Edgeworth thinks, with a mixture of pity, horror, and sad affection, that Light is so very much like he was at the precise same age. A bit more level-headed, perhaps, and a bit less polished, but those are just superficial differences. It's a blessing, then, that Light has no real power - that he's still just a student. It will save him from doing the damage Edgeworth did.]

[godly]

[It's a dark and awful truth that Light's recent past isn't so innocently simple. But as far as he's concerned, in this point and time, he is just a student. A student who was working with a certain detective and the police force to catch a mass murderer, but a student nonetheless. He hasn't had time to outgrow his pride -- he may never, truly, but that's a failing he's blind to.

He doesn't bother to hide his frown, but his words are a bit more deliberate than they were before.]

Noted. And taken with a grain of salt.

But regardless of any of that, I still expect the our household to convene and discuss these rules before implementing any of them.

[glassinine]

You may have the honor of leading that meeting.