Moving day...

[foolishjustice]

Who: Goro Akechi, mostly open but one prompt for Mav
What: The new guy settles in...and regrets transferring in right before finals.
When: The first week of March and into the next weekend.
Where: The library and local cafes, the training grounds, and Lumiere room 305
Warnings: None anticipated...

[Hall of Pythia/local cafes]

[Of course he just had to transfer in right before exams. He'd been frustrated by the timing, but of course his superiors had insisted. So here he is, right before final exams...he'd at least had the requirements for combat and magic classes waived due to the late transfer, but that still leaves him looking at tests for unknown lesson plans. As confident as he is in his general studies, it still makes him nervous. That's why, if he spots someone who looks like a student about his age, he'll put down his coffee and wave at them before calling out in Japanese accented English.]

Excuse me, you wouldn't happen to have copies of this years' syllabi for twelfth graders, would you? I just transferred, and I want to make sure my old school covered everything I'll need to know.

[Lumiere 305]

[For the first full week of March, Akechi was far too busy and exhausted to really introduce himself to his roommate. He'd partially unpacked, setting up his ant farm at the back of his desk, and then spent the rest of his time either on classwork or learning his way around the campus.

By Friday, however, he finally finds time after class to finish his unpacking. And, well...he does have someone he should really be introducing himself to. He offers a grin that's carefully measured to not show too many teeth...and, honestly, doesn't seem entirely natural.]

I'm sorry I've been so scarce since arriving, I seem to have picked a very troublesome time to transfer. My name is Goro Akechi, I look forward to getting to know you.

[Following the field trip into the orichalcum mines, the one thing Akechi had taken time from his studies for was to pay a visit to the forge. With the weekend now here, it's time to test out what he'd requested...a set of arrows, barbed and tipped with a glittering gold metal. Judging from the weight of the vanes on the back, a pretty heavy one, at that. Left to his own devices, he'll spend the majority of his Saturday here, alternating between archery practice (those who know how to hold a bow properly will note that he's left handed) and exercising his familiar. He's also chosen a...strange outfit to practice in. Even more strange, the mask vanishes when his familiar is summoned.]

It feels a little strange, being able to train like this out in the open...

Comments

[prisoneroffate]

Judging all "unilateral acts" the same seems unfair. Right and wrong are just as important as individuals as it is as societies. If society is failing to do the right thing, individuals have to step up.

[foolishjustice]

And what if an individual's idea of what constitutes right or wrong differs from that of society? For example, if someone has a personal experience that gives them a harsher opinion on certain behaviors than is truly warranted. What right does that person have to punish to their standards of behavior, when society would consider the offense to be much lesser?

[prisoneroffate]

It's up to the person. Just because actions can be bad doesn't mean they're always bad. Just like because an institution sometimes is just doesn't mean it's always just.

[foolishjustice]

Perhaps, but institutions by nature of being well known have more public accountability. If, say, the police began giving out harsh punishments for personal reasons, the public would become restless. But an individual, or even a small group, could fly under the radar and get away with whatever they wanted.

For example, I've heard of a group of likely student vigilantes calling themselves the Phantom Thieves. Because they operate independently, nobody even knows who they are. They dole out their brand of justice, but nothing would stop them from targeting people for personal reasons entirely divorced from the idea of punishing criminals.

[prisoneroffate]

That assumes that they would. If these Phantom Thieves act in a just manner and continue to do so, I don't see the problem.

[foolishjustice]

And what if they don't? Since their identities are unknown, we have only their announced actions to go on as a method of judging their character. Given that much, as well as the fact that they clearly have some form of supernatural influence on their targets, it would be irresponsible to trust that they'll never abuse their anonymity.

[prisoneroffate]

I don't see how they're any less trustworthy than a bunch of officials we know are corrupt and can get away with their actual crimes.

[foolishjustice]

You don't think their methodology makes a difference? They are tampering with others' hearts without permission. That's a very drastic measure to take, and suggests a frightening level of ability to manipulate their victims. And with that level of supernatural power, plus complete anonymity, they don't even need to bother justifying their actions to anyone but themselves.

[prisoneroffate]

If the targets are wicked, it's a justifiable means. Methodology doesn't really matter if they're just there to make evil look pretty. I think there's a lot to be said for judging actions by their results.

[foolishjustice]

The ends justify the means, do they? You should be careful with that line of thought. One could easily find themselves falling into using unjust methods to achieve a just goal if they focus only on the end result. You could end up with a lot of regrets that way.

[prisoneroffate]

They both matter. But you can't be afraid of progress just because the means of achieving it aren't pretty - especially if in its imperfection it doesn't hurt the oppressed.

[foolishjustice]

In other words, you're judging the morality of their actions purely by their impact upon those who suffer at the hands of society's injustice. But what if they were to bring harm to someone entirely uninvolved? For example, those police officers who do their honest best to uphold the law suffer if people lose faith in the criminal justice system.

The Phantom Thieves claim to be allies of justice, but they are, in truth, rivals to those of us sworn to uphold it. After all, vigilantes act behind the backs of law enforcement. Rather than seeing their actions as a success for the good of the country, they see them as a failing of the institutions they're supposed to be able to rely on.

[prisoneroffate]

That assumes police officers are doing their honest best to uphold the law. I've yet to see it.

[foolishjustice]

I had yet to see anything magical before my own power manifested, but that doesn't mean it didn't already exist. I've been doing my best to apprehend the true criminals behind my cases, after all.

[prisoneroffate]

No offense, but you admitted to knowing about officers being corrupt and you're still protecting them. Doing some good doesn't cancel out protecting bad. And considering how rarely officers seem to get arrested, I'm betting that's pretty common, huh?

[foolishjustice]

I wouldn't quite say I'm protecting them. It's...very difficult to create a case against someone involved in law enforcement. Generally speaking, if they have access to ways of fabricating evidence to secure a conviction, they have ways of erasing evidence against them. Finding grounds for an arrest would require catching them in the act of a crime, or extracting a confession. And it's not as though I have the means to make them regret their actions, myself.

[prisoneroffate]

Then what good is being on the inside upholding a corrupt system? Either way you're helping them, even if you don't want to.

[foolishjustice]

[Helping the corrupt, even if he doesn't want to...Ren doesn't know the half of it. There's a part of him that wants to laugh at the irony of it all, but he just plasters on his usual fake smile.]

Isn't it better to have someone trying to maintain the system's true purpose, rather than allowing it to fall completely to corruption? My hope is to encourage others to follow my example and truly uphold justice. After all, if a teenager can be so successful without tolerating false charges, surely adults should be able to live up to those same standards.

[prisoneroffate]

[If Ren notices the false nature of the smile, he doesn't comment on it]

Wouldn't that just paint a target on your back for making them look bad?

[foolishjustice]

I...do have some enemies within the police force, that much is true. I'm held to quite high expectations, and judged more harshly for failing to meet them than an adult would be. But I'm far too much of a public figure for them to be able to get away with anything that violates proper procedure, so I should be safe so long as I don't give them anything they can use as an excuse.

[prisoneroffate]

And these are the people that will somehow see the light of justice and truth and stop being awful?

[foolishjustice]

Perhaps not, they may well be a lost cause. But shouldn't someone try to set an example for those thinking of joining the police force? If all they see around them is corruption, then they might well believe they have no choice but to become corrupt themselves.

[prisoneroffate]

What happens when you get ordered to do something shady, then? Do you just do it, or do you quit? Even if it hasn't happened yet, it's bound to happen eventually.

[foolishjustice]

[The question hits more home than he wants to admit, considering all the shady things he's already had to do. It doesn't manage to take him completely off guard, but there's a hint of tension to his expression before he firms it.]

I stand by my convictions, and what I set out to do. If my superiors hold expectations of me that run counter to that, then I'll gladly explain to the public how they lost one of their most successful detectives.

[prisoneroffate]

So when that happens, you'll be fine tearing down the system? Seems like a lot of trouble if you're gonna get to the same place either way.