[BBS]

[corruptedsouls]

[Tobias has mostly been keeping to himself, his studies, and his family lately. With everything that's happened, he's really just wanted to introvert for a bit -- at least as much as he can with the people he cares about. But all this time, a question has been nagging at him. Bothering him. He's certainly not the naive child he was before, but some things he simply can't seem to understand.

Which is why he's turned to Garden for help.]

What makes a bad person "bad?" Is it when they hurt someone? Or destroy something? Or is just thinking about doing that enough to be bad?

And... why do bad people do those bad things?

[And yet, amidst this, there's something else on his mind.]

[PM to Marco]

Hey Dad? Why don't you and Mom have an egg?

Comments

[espio]

Reputation. To show off. Same reason there's a bunch of wannabe heroes, weirdly enough.

[corruptedsouls]

I don't understand.

[No big surprise there.]

[espio]

In simplest terms, they just want attention.

[corruptedsouls]

[...Oh. Oh.]

So they're kind of like me before I came back?

[espio]

Dunno. Maybe a little.

Anyway, I fight villains because they do bad things, but I don't necessarily think they're evil.

Evil would be Sidewinder, Super Sonic or Robotnik. And probably the Brotherhood of Metallix as well, but they're robots and can't really help the way their programming went.

[corruptedsouls]

So the villains you fight don't want to do bad things? Or want to make up for them?

[espio]

Not exactly. I mean they have the potential to change and do good - something a truly evil person can't do. They might change, and they might not.

[corruptedsouls]

So what do you do when they don't?

[espio]

Generally, they end up in police custody, go to trial, and are sentenced according to their crimes. Could be a period of unpaid work, they could be imprisoned for a certain length of time, or they might just have to pay a fine. Depends what they did.

If they keep causing harm to innocent people, then I will keep fighting to stop them.

[corruptedsouls]

What if they killed someone?

[espio]

Really, it would depend on the circumstances. It's different for things like accidents, loss of control, self-defense and such, but generally? Setting out to deliberately and maliciously take someone's life away would get someone life imprisonment.

[corruptedsouls]

What about accidents?

[espio]

I'm not a law student or anything, I just deal with active threats, but here's how I understand it:

It would depend on the circumstances of the accident. There'd probably still be a trial, to determine if it was an accident or not, and determine why and how it happened.

They would still be sentenced and probably face jail time, but it'd be at the judge's discretion based on the numerous factors involved - the point of a trial is to examine the case and evidence in detail and judge them fairly.

[corruptedsouls]

[...There doesn't seem to be a reply for that one. Something might have gone wrong, Espio.]

[espio]

[Hmm... Toby's answers were coming in fairly regularly. Maybe he just stepped away from the computer...? But they were in the middle of a conversation. It seemed a bit odd for Toby to stop answering.

Espio waits for a bit, then decides he can't be arsed to stare at a computer screen in the hopes of continuing a conversation with someone in the same building and sets off to go find Toby instead.]

[corruptedsouls]

[Tobias is easily found in his room, staring at the computer screen himself. He's... wanted to reply to that, but he hasn't been able to think of... well, anything to say there. With the reason he's been asking...

...Well.

Pikachu is the first to notice Espio's presence, flicking her ears in annoyance and making a "chaaaaa" at him.]

[action]

[espio]

'sup, rat?

[Espio leans in the doorway, inclining his head towards Pikachu in acknowledgement. That greeting loosely translates to "hello, small cute thing!" in Espio.]

You went quiet all of a sudden. Figured I'd come find out why.

[perma-action]

[corruptedsouls]

I'm sorry.

[He sounds troubles, and looks even worse so. Pikachu gives another noise, probably translating to something along the lines of "Hello stupid purple thing."]

Re: [perma-action]

[espio]

For what?

[Crosses the room and plonks himself on the bed next to him, not bothering to ask permission.]

Going quiet? You don't need to apologise. I was just... worried, I guess. Didn't think you'd drop out in the middle of a conversation.

[corruptedsouls]

I... I didn't know what to say. I don't... want to go to a trial.

[espio]

[Oh. OHHH. Suddenly, Espio has a very strong idea of what's wrong.]

You don't have to.

[corruptedsouls]

But you said that's what happens.

[espio]

At home in New Tek City, yes. And even there, things that happened in another reality are none of our courts' business - that, and they can't prove anything, and the case'd be thrown out of court before it even got through the door.

And here... well, causing death is actually expected, given how military this world is. Sure, things still exist as crimes, but even so...

[Lies back on the bed and stares at the ceiling, not sure what to say.]

[corruptedsouls]

[Tobias doesn't seem to know either, so he just lays down slightly on Espio and closes his eyes.

He's really just lost and emotional right now, so the contact is calming.]

[espio]

[Wraps his arms around him and just lets him lie there.]

You're a good person, Toby, you just... have a lot of painful memories. I'm not telling you to forget them, but don't let them hold you back.