thread moved to new post! @bonescribes
The detective yelps at the sudden grab. Part of him immediately wants to shove the prosecutor away, but would that only incite more fury? Violence is the last thing he wants. So there Fulbright stood, frantically trying to think of how to deescalate the situation.
Simon Blackquill wasn't told about him, that much is obvious. Having read the court transcripts, it's also clear how much the Phantom manipulated the other. So now here Simon is, faced with an individual who looks exactly like his manipulator.
What does Fulbright do to gain the trust of someone who has every reason not to trust him?
...If only he were better equipped mentally to deal with such a scenario. Fulbright can't stand this. Being looked at, like... like someone's just seen a phantom ghost. A monster. This is already by far the worst it has been, but the prosecutor isn't unique in his discomfort! Former "friends" of the detective's acting off in his presence, for instance... Then again, none of them were close friends, were they?
Because, evidently, no one in his life knew him well enough to notice that anything was wrong. He was gone, but the world kept spinning like nothing had changed. One cannot understate the nightmare he awoke to.
"Bobby Fulbright" was no longer a symbol of justice.
Everything about his image had become tainted.
In that moment, as his thoughts continued to spiral, something slipped.
"...It is a joke, isn't it?"
"Sure would make everything less complicated if I were laying dead in a ditch somewhere, wouldn't it?"
Not at all like himself. However... nothing like the Phantom's impression of him, either. This is new. Different.
After a beat, it occurs to the detective that this cannot be helping. What is he saying!? Deescalate, you fool!
"…I--Sorry. Sorry. I-I... Sorry. I... I thought the Chief of Police would have... warned you. C-clearly... not."