anonymous text, un: ANON

[doreimi]

i have a question. there's no right or wrong answer, i'm just wondering what people think.

suppose somebody came here, and outwardly they seemed like an average person. kept to themselves, didn't make trouble, maybe were a little bit weird but not, like, offensively so. you've never seen them do anything wrong. they seem pretty harmless. they're just a normal, fine, generally boring person.

then imagine somebody else said that they knew that person, and that all the niceness was just an act, and really that person was dangerous. really dangerous. and that the person hurt people in really bad ways. but imagine there was no proof of it, really, just that upset person's word against the boring person's.

how would you decide who to believe? would you only go by what you saw yourself, or only by what happened here and not where they came from, or what? would you believe anyone at all?

like i said, there's no right or wrong answer, i guess. i just wonder how you would make a decision either way, in a situation like that.

Comments

[tigerpoet]

Do I know both the accused and the accuser equally well? If the accuser is my friend, I'm going to believe them, even if there isn't proof.

permanon

[doreimi]

so it's sort of a question of who got there first? what if it turned out it was the other way around, and the supposedly dangerous person was your friend? would that change anything?

[tigerpoet]

If the accused was my friend, I would want to talk to them about it. I wouldn't say any names, because I don't want the other person to get in trouble, but I would ask them about the things that were said and if they have any basis.

text | un: fantasma

[teaserving]

trust the potential victim
keep an eye on the guy in question

better safe than sorry

[doreimi]

so you would get both sides of the story.

what if you asked and the supposedly dangerous person lied? you wouldn't know that they were lying, obviously. but they'd say it's all false, there's no truth to any of it.

[trenchdoting]

There's an easy answer to that, pal! See, ya gotta settle it in a court of law! Put their testimonies together, and evidence, and ask Mr. Edgeworth to prosecute, and bam! Just like that, the truth'll come out!

[tigerpoet]

If they were my friend, I would believe them. I know that they could still be lying, but I don't have it in me to suspect my friends of lying to my face.

If they weren't my friend... I don't know. I'm not sure I would completely accept that the accusations were true, but I also don't think I'd spend much time around that person if I could help it.

text | un: kishibe

[penpoint]

I can easily find out who's lying. Regardless, though, there's no harm in practicing caution around someone who's been identified as dangerous.

permanon

[doreimi]

[Oh, Abbacchio. ]

what would it take for the guy in question to convince you he was fine? or would you trust the potential victim no matter what, no questions asked?

permanon

[doreimi]

what if there wasn't any evidence? suppose the supposedly dangerous person was really good at getting rid of it. so it was just the dangerous person's testimony against the accusing person's.

is mr. edgeworth good enough to get to the truth even in a situation like that?

permanon

[doreimi]

you could be absolutely certain who was telling the truth and who wasn't?

[She knows full well he could, but. Anonymous.]

[doreimi]

i understand. i think it's a hard decision to make in a situation like that. when it's only one person's word against another's, it's hard to know what's true and what isn't.

[penpoint]

Absolutely. And honestly, someone being too normal is suspicious.

[tigerpoet]

I want to believe the best of people. Sometimes that's a good trait to have. Sometimes it isn't.

[At least he's self-aware enough to know it can be a character flaw.]

I want to believe the accused isn't a terrible person, but I also want to belive the accuser isn't lying about something like that.

[doreimi]

would it make a difference to you what the crime was? the thing the person was accused of, i mean. would that influence it any?

[doreimi]

are you suspicious of everybody? or just when somebody makes an accusation like that?

[tigerpoet]

It might. I might believe that someone would be falsely accused of, say, shoplifting for petty reasons.

But to say that someone is something like a murderer... That isn't said lightly. Not unless you're certain.

[penpoint]

Not everybody. Besides, who makes accusations like that for fun?

[doreimi]

so even if they were your friend, if someone made an accusation like that, you'd at least have a doubt...

right?

[doreimi]

i guess you'd have to be a pretty twisted person to make an accusation like that for no reason, sure.

[tigerpoet]

Even if they were my friend.

...but people change. I would still at least want to talk to them about it. If it's something they regret, if they've already served their time for what they did... I still want to hear their side of the story.

[doreimi]

so when you say "served their time"...

you know people can come here even though they've died, right?

[tigerpoet]

Yes, I know. I'm a ghost myself.

Anon

[foolishjustice]

The Ware Wolf Shop sells pills that can show whether or not someone is telling the truth. If one of the involved parties isn't willing to take one, then I would suspect their testimony.

But that raises another question: what if neither side was lying? What if the accused really had done terrible things in the past, but was trying to start over and be a better person?

Would you give them a second chance, or do they deserve to be condemned forever for the sort of person they were in the past?

[i_will_live]

I'd be careful but I wouldn't avoid the accused person entirely.

Even if they did something horrible it might be the case they want to change. If nothing else this place could be a second chance for some people

Maybe if you're somewhat close ask them point-blank about it. It might help them own what they did if it's true.