None shall know how his anger is simply caged between gritted teeth, willing his mind to take note of every word exchanged in said, all for the sake of his own stroked fears.
( The fact that I can recognize this guy just with his speech patterns is starting to say a lot. )
A mere result of these agonizing months — notes and memories alone in his arsenal, and to put it in Blackquill’s thoughts, only he and the Phantom alone were on the battlefield. Words, how they were strung together and how commonly they were used… Apollo had took note of all such things, for every single person in the agency, and so much more. And now, it seemed that they’d be his only advantage.
An sigh, a short lived embodiment of all his frustrations, is released as he pushed back his ‘ antennae ’ once again, placing his hand back on the table whilst he tried again and again to keep his wits about him — to try and stay on track with this man, to not scream nor cry at the thought, every damned time he chose to spit and laugh and his face. It seemed like a losing battle. Each and every day. And, oh, goodness — as if it couldn’t get any worse :
‘ …your friends in my sight. ’
Those words were repeated, over, over, and over, curses and dead wishes running rampant all the same. God, why did he had to guess ? His thoughts are only of the terrible possibilities, and what little solutions he had but couldn’t use. Nope, no one at his side, and certainly no one to save any of them now.
He can feel the heat of anger and guilt alone rushing to his face, another damning sign of that so dreaded feeling of everything in the world, always pushing oneself to the edge of all that’s known, nowhere to hide and nowhere to run — if only to his family to protect them both. There’s poison at the tip of his tongue as he forces his words out yet again, knuckles already sheet white in record speed and voice right at it’s edge. God, he could feel his voice almost breaking, but who was he to care right now. The attorney couldn’t give a damn about pride now. Not with the vision of a man and girl, once standing, now still and fell, in his mind.
‘ WH — WHAT ?! NO ! Don’t you dare — don’t you dare hurt any of them ! ’
Not just in this scenario, though. For every damned time he’d hear that voice, for any time that monster had gone near his family. It’s a laughable wish, to be sure. But, Apollo would still hold onto it, if only for the sake of their lives — that this nightmare could end. Even if fate wasn’t so kind to grant it, he’d scream and wish and curse ‘til it did, even if no one could lay eyes upon such an ugly scene ; but to any ear to be taken and used, all that would be heard was something resembling a low growl and then a groan whilst he racked his brain for any more solutions — anything more than to stand here and let not one, but two souls take the fall for a stupid mistake that he alone had made.
‘ Arrgh, o-okay, what do you want now ? What the Hell could you possibly want now, then ? ’ The brunette’s voice nearly reaches a crack, already pushing at the edge if only out of worry — such dying words released through gritted teeth like a bloodied grunt before the fall. A sad contrast to the classic Apollo Justice : the man who’d put the one on the opposite end behind bars in the past, and the one breaking at the sound of him out of them in the present.
❛ no --- no, no, no --- no ! mr. justice you’re getting me
all wrong here ! please calm down ! your voice is killing
my ears --- ❜
he held out the phone, an arm’s length away from his face. far too loud ! & he thought that that he could be deafening & throw his voice for miles as fulbright ( but it seems to be that he is outmatched ); but now was no time to raise competition with the other, though stalling this conversation would mimic relief inside of him. maybe it wasn’t preventing the conversation from moving forward that he wanted, when it was more so that he wanted to let the seething anger bubble up more & more in apollo --- let it sit, simmer, & boil with time. surely each passing second would spark something. annoyance ? more aggressiveness ? something else ? it wasn’t as if he experienced it enough to know.
with the other’s barking still fresh within his ears, came an exhale that dare challenged both volumes with what was previously spat out ·& that of a solomon starbuck’s own sigh; it was eerily close, if one listened hard enough, yet still off in length & more. practice makes perfect, though it was thought that he would never need to use that sigh again.
❛ i would never touch them !·do you really think i would do
that now, in a public space with witnesses all around ?
mr. justice, people give you faaaaaaaar too much credit ! i
can’t even believe you would think that of me ! ❜
& then came a choked sob. it sounded quite real, all displayed with water works & everything. there even was the resist in going as far to pinch the bridge of his nose, head held back, even if the attorney wouldn’t be able to see such things. it only took a small amount of time to pass for him to realize that, that show wasn’t anything forced, but came out naturally.·
❛ ... sorry. it seems i got far too into character. now, what
do i want ? i want a lot. maybe your life, since you almost got
mine taken. or, perhaps, your job, since you almost costed
me my own. what about your identity, since you tried to strip
me of mine ? what about fear ? so much instilled fear for your
friends, your family, your entire being ? i don’t think these are
unfair or selfish wants, do you ? you see, right ? it’s only what
you caused to happen to me, just a taste of your own medicine. ❜
he had proclaimed himself to be the embodiment of justice, law itself in the best of times ( within the boundaries of a costume. ) & yet, how more unjust could this be ? truth be told, he wasn’t planning on outright seeking any of what he spoke of ( save for fear --- it would be there, if he had a say in everything ), mostly listing off fabricated desires to scare the one on the other line --- he barely felt selfishness or want with many things to begin with, after all. purely fictional.
❛ though, how have you been ? tell me what you’ve been up to,
what you want. i don’t like talking about myself. ❜
❝ It’s over! ❞ ʕง•ᴥ•ʔง rolls in here w non ur 1 ʕง•ᴥ•ʔง
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE EXECUTION.
eyes were wide & darting from defense to defense, scanning for facial cues & hints to what was happening. ‘ it’s over ‘ ? --- hardly would be what should of been crossing his mind after the attorney blurted out such an accusation, & yet that word dare not bloom from tightly pursed lips & hands dare not move from their position; clenched to a wooden witness stand.
❛ what was that ? ❜
there was no life emitting from the voice of athena cykes, most recent victim to meet the sharp end of a knife propelled with great force. to say the person standing before the court was the real athena cykes, daughter of world renowned psychologist metis cykes, would be just another lie to slip from lips of anyone. no one would be able to spit out that claim, for the person pointing his index directly at the phantom, face twisted with anger ( --- & distress ? ), continued on with his ramblings.
❛ proof, one more time ? ❜
you killed so & so ! you killed athena, & clay, & metis ! you were trying to get your psych report ! you sabotaged the launch ! & now, you’re scared of the evidence that’s piling up against you, right ? on top of that, you don’t even know who you are ! you’re not athena cykes, you’re not even detective fulbright ! --- you’re the phantom.
question goes unanswered as the entire list of charges were laid out in front of him, a breath barely getting between it all. the final thing out of his mouth was something horrific about identity. who was he to lecture the other on identity, a sense of being ? he had it --- all or nothing. justice knew who he was & what to do, while the one shaking where he stood was losing grip on something not there to be begin with.
❛ t --- that’s right ! i don’t know who i am ! there is NOTHING ! ❜
face distorts as fast as words can fly out, hands desperately grasping at his mask; completely fake. that’s what he was, right ? a complete, utter fake. there was nothing to him. he was constructed off of other people; their lives, experiences, personalities, & faces. leeching their entire beings to fulfill his own, empty one. there was no being. & there never would be one. all he would continue to do, if given the chance, was pose as one person. & then the next, & the next, & so on until the end of time. there was enough people in the world to become to get him through life.
❛ there is nothing -- ... ❜
what came next wasn’t a surprise. two hands tear at latex material, flinging it off ( orange wig & all ) & discarding it feet away. the person staring back at the defense team was the one & only, detective bobby fulbright of the los angeles police department.
❛ this ... this is me ! right ? this is me, isn’t it ? this is who i am ? you believe me, don’t you ?! see ? this is me !! you --- you --- can’t take that away from me ! you can’t take a person’s identity away from them !! this can’t be over ! ❜
a long pause. a moment of vocal composure ( save for the noticeable shake in his words ), opposite to all body language.
❛ y -- you think this will be the last time you hear from me, apollo justice ? ❜
❛ soon, soon, mr. wright, soon ! it’s a, uh — very complicated process to go through, you see. it just might take a bit to really get everything sorted out properly … but thank you for the concern !! have you worked out everything that needs to be worked out ? ❜
1. ❝ No —- no, don’t do it! ❞
2. ❝ What’s all the fuss about? ❞
3. ❝ I’m not afraid. ❞
4. ❝ They mean to kill me. ❞
5. ❝ You’re classically handsome. ❞
6. ❝ Come out, this instant! ❞
7. ❝ You have to give it back. ❞
8. ❝ We’ll see each other again. ❞
9. ❝ If I came back, would you be here? ❞
10. ❝ Look who came back. ❞
11. ❝ He/She told me it was true love’s kiss. ❞
12. ❝ I say, crush them! ❞
13. ❝ Is this to be my legacy? ❞
14. ❝ I can see you waiting for me to die. ❞
15. ❝ Please, you have to trust me. ❞
16. ❝ Would you rather I let them beat you to death? ❞
17. ❝ I saved your life. ❞
18. ❝ What have you done to my beautiful self? ❞
19. ❝ Well, I saw nothin’. ❞
19. ❝ I love babies. ❞
20. ❝ Don’t do this. ❞
21. ❝ I like you begging. Do it again. ❞
22. ❝ You’re not offended? ❞
23. ❝ You’re not welcome here. ❞
24. ❝ Oh, dear. What an awkward situation. ❞
25. ❝ Please, don’t do this. I’m begging you. ❞
26. ❝ No power on earth can change it. ❞
27. ❝ Is this it? ❞
28. ❝ No more flying. ❞
29. ❝ It’s so ugly you could almost feel sorry for it. ❞
30. ❝ I hate you. beastie. ❞
31. ❝ Greedy, bloated goat. ❞
32. ❝ Oh, come on. That’s funny. ❞
33. ❝ You failed me. ❞
34. ❝ Oh look, the little beast is about to fall off the cliff. ❞
35. ❝ Go away. Go! ❞
36. ❝ I don’t like children! ❞
37. ❝ How could you do that to me? ❞
38. ❝ How could you do that to me? ❞
39. ❝ I know you’re there. Don’t be afraid. ❞
40. ❝ I’m not afraid. ❞
41. ❝ You mock me. ❞
42. ❝ That’s all I wish to say about it. ❞
43. ❝ There’s something I have to tell you. ❞
44. ❝ I can take care of myself. ❞
45. ❝ We can look after each other. ❞
46. ❝ I need a life of my own. ❞
47. ❝ I love you very much, but it’s time to say goodbye. ❞
48. ❝ Nothing could stop me. ❞
49. ❝ Goodbye —- for now. ❞
50. ❝ Have you not worked it out yet? ❞
51. ❝ I don’t care anymore. ❞
52. ❝ I’m sorry to have to tell you this —- ❞
53. ❝ I think you’d better come and sit down. ❞
54. ❝ Don’t touch me! ❞
55. ❝ Look at my feet! ❞
56. ❝ I’m looking for a girl. ❞
57. ❝ It’s done. ❞
58. ❝ Don’t come, it’s not your fight. ❞
59. ❝ I can hear you. ❞
60. ❝ Look at what you’ve done. ❞
61. ❝ True love does not exist. ❞
62. ❝ We can’t give up. ❞
63. ❝ True love doesn’t just fall from trees, you know? ❞
64. ❝ Don’t you want to kiss her/him? ❞
65. ❝ You didn’t do it properly! ❞
66. ❝ I told you. ❞
67. ❝ I will not ask your forgiveness. ❞
68. ❝ What I have done to you is unforgivable. ❞
69. ❝ I was so lost in hatered. ❞
70. ❝ Now I’ve lost you forever. ❞
71. ❝ No harm will come to you for as long as I live. ❞
72. ❝ No truer love. ❞
73. ❝ Are we going back, now? ❞
74. ❝ Get back! ❞
75. ❝ How does it feel? ❞
76. ❝ It’s over! ❞
77. ❝ Hurry up, they’re waiting. ❞
78. ❝ That was not all. ❞
79. ❝ Wait for me! ❞
80. ❝ He’s waiting for you in there. ❞
“That’s a “step”-ladder.”
So? What’s the difference? You need to stop
judging things based on narrow-minded cultural assumptions, Nick!
“R-right… sorry. (This girl is OUT there!)”
bobby would like.... be the person to give kids like Tons and Tons of candy like if he could he’d probably give kids a bowl each bc he wants them to have a good time
kaledo-art
tangentwithtanner
andulkaphoto
theartofmadeline
jbbartram-illu
areudirty
yousharknotpass
kianamaiart
