[video]

[glassinine]

[BUCKLE YOUR SEATBELTS IT'S GONNA BE A BUMPY RIDE
by which I mean no, Edgeworth just has a quiet, calm, thoughtful little tirade for you all]

Good day. I'm acquainted with some of you already; for those whom I do not yet know, my name is Miles Edgeworth, and I work as a prosecutor here. I hope that you will indulge me in listening to a bit of a speech.

I understand that here, as in the previous city - and as in the homes of many of you - there is a tradition of vigilantism. I do not come today to decry vigilantes as criminals; I know that those of you who engaged in such practices almost certainly did so out of a desire to protect your homes, to fight crime that could not otherwise be fought, and the like.

But anyone who is considering returning to such practices here - who is considering becoming a vigilante and acting outside of the law - I beg you all to take a step back for just a moment and examine your actions with a critical eye.

I know that it is easy to resent the law. We like to think of the government as some meddling busybody keeping us from doing what is fun. But laws are never written out of spite. They're written for protection: of you, of your neighbors. At times, they're written to protect people from one another; at times, they're written to protect citizens from the government itself.

Laws are in place to protect people. So if you choose to act as a vigilante, to break the law, what are you doing? You're trespassing against others. You're resisting things that were put in place for the protection of yourself and your neighbor. Police cannot act as freely as vigilantes, but for good reason: they're held in check so that they are answerable to the people and to they cannot do harm to the people.

So I beg of you, any who would turn to vigilantism: consider instead working with the police. Particularly given recent events, the police force here needs those who have remarkable powers to help keep the citizenry safe. You will not be able to act as freely, perhaps, but you will be helping the city - and helping it in a way where you will not run the risk of overstepping your bounds and causing hurt.

Thank you very much for your attention. I welcome any disagreement or debate, and will freely and gladly engage any who wish to speak about this.

Comments

[connate]

Not lately, no. [ wow he already feels like an idiot for knowing jack about his ancestry, now he sucks at basic history. thanks edgeworth!! ]

And they aren't just children's stories. Not where I'm from.

[glassinine]

[...Well.]

So you're claiming that mermaids and talking animals and the like are real in your home?

[connate]

[ WELL.... ]

They usually look human. [ because that makes it less weird. ] But that's the idea, yeah. They're called Wesen.

[glassinine]

I...see. And this is not widely known.

[connate]

Not at all. Just to them and... people like me. [ well. ] And Hank and Juliette, but they're completely normal.

[ one day he'll figure out how to describe it in a way that doesn't make him sound crazy, today is not that day. ] I'm a Grimm.

[glassinine]

As in...a member of the Grimm family?

[connate]

No, not— I mean yes, that too, but it means something else. I can see Wesen for what they are.

[ and after a slight pause: ] Or I could, anyway. I don't even know if it still works here. Not many Wesen in Heropa.

[glassinine]

I...see. Give me a moment to ensure I have the story straight. You are some descendant of famed linguist, historian, and author Jacob Grimm; this lineage has given you the ability to recognize hidden fairy-tale creatures who have taken on the guises of humans. And is this why you joined the police department?

[connate]

Almost right.

[ wow that's super accurate but it still sounds stupid. ]

I had no idea about any of this until a few years ago— becoming a cop had nothing to do with it. Sometimes my job makes being a Grimm easier, but human law doesn't always have an answer for Wesen crimes.

[glassinine]

...Wesen crimes being what, exactly?

[connate]

Usually? Just murder. The problem is that you can't pin what looks like an animal attack or a freak accident on someone everyone else thinks is human, not in court.

[glassinine]

But you can. If it was a murder, no matter what it looks like, of course it can be brought before the court.

[connate]

[ he's sounded patient, maybe even chagrined; now his tone turns more critical. ] Only if you want to give the court an existential crisis.

[glassinine]

I think the court could handle that.

[connate]

When I first found about this, I thought I was going crazy.

[ there's a slight pause to reconsider his tactic, but there's no hesitation when he continues. ] Sometimes Wesen screw up. But the people who see them, they can't handle it— if they don't check themselves into the psych ward, someone else will. There's a reason it's stayed a secret for this long.

[glassinine]

[Firmly:]

All the more reason it must be revealed at once. If people believe they're mad because they know the truth, then those are lives ruined by maintaining this secret. If the truth is revealed, then that damage will be undone.

[connate]

And people would start murdering Wesen wholesale. [ he's losing patience fast, matching edgeworth's tone with a bit more edge. ] It isn't that simple. They have a system to keep their secrets intact.

[glassinine]

And why would they? Murder them.

[connate]

[ eDGEWORTH ]

Because they're monsters. [ that's bit out too sharply. he regrets it a second later, though he looks more irritated than sorry. ] Not all of them act like it, but that doesn't change the fact that they still look the part.

[glassinine]

And what of it? To my knowledge, people of less attractive appearances are generally not routinely killed for how they look. Why would seeing a strange-looking, hirsute sort of person suddenly trigger some heretofore unknown need to murder what is strange?

I mean, honestly, Officer, you've seen some of the people here. We've denizens of this town who are part fish, who have glowing eyes, who have horns and gray skin. They've not exactly been torn apart by panicking mobs as of yet.

[connate]

[ hirsute. nick's expression shifts to disbelief, and there's a delay while he tries to work out if edgeworth is completely serious.

which he is, apparently, so. ]

We're not talking about unattractive people, we're talking about creatures who grind down human bones for tea.

[glassinine]

Though not all of them do.

[connate]

[ an awkward beat. ]

Not all of them do the actual grinding, no. Some of them are... reformed.

[ not actually the highest of praises. his wesen friends are great, but they didn't start out that way. ] The point is that it's complicated. Scared people aren't. If they found out their neighbors weren't human, they'd react badly.

[glassinine]

Let me clarify something else - an assumption I've made based on some earlier remarks. Were you not earlier referring to dealing with their crimes via vigilante justice?

[connate]

[ .. is this a trap. ]

I was.