#v { klavier }; my heart is a bird on a spit in my chest

[bindingties]

“ If it would protect my brother, then I would gladly die 

A THOUSAND DEATHS. ” 

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(( what’s up nerds my current emotional fixation is on this au hope y’all like this bc im neck deep

also like... i know the actual tarot card has a bunch of other meanings that idk if entirely fit but i was mostly playing w the martyr / self-sacrifice idea and also just the fun visuals ngl ))

[bindingties]

If they say you’re the devil, a demon in the flesh By my blood, I’m the same and will bear the fate you left

(( If the antagonist verse represents Klavier’s resentment toward his brother reaching a fever pitch and drowning out the desire for praise and love from his brother, then it would make sense to have a verse at the other extreme. ))

Despite every instance of suffocating control Kristoph could exert, Klavier desperately held out hope of hearing Kris’s pride and hearing it come from somewhere genuine rather than the words appearing distant or performative.  That need grew more and more intense and eventually entangled itself in Klavier’s perfectionism.

Resentment or anger became a personal flaw - an meager excuse for failure - without Kristoph actually having to say a word.

When he was accepted into Themis and asked which course he would take, Klavier chose the defense attorney course.

He still met and grew close to Constance Courte, who started picking up Klavier’s worsening perfectionism and desire for approval and tried her best to help.  Ultimately, though, she only slowed the spiral the slightest bit.

Klavier graduated and became a defense attorney at 17, joining the Gavin Law Offices.  

I honestly have no fucking clue of the Zak Gramarye trial works, but I’m saying things shake out similarly enough to canon, I can only do so much.  I will also leave up in the air how much Klav is actually involved?  I want to default to Kris being so paranoid that he wouldn’t ask Klav to do anything any more suspicious than in canon where he tells Klav about Drew Misham.  But, like, if a Kris wants to play more with an accomplice then, at this point, Klav would do anything asked.

When Nick started coming around, Klavier tended to keep his distance, not really liking how piercing Nick’s gaze could get.  He got along better with Apollo, though, and tended to be a bit brighter and closer to his canon personality when around him.  

Which, of course, meant that Klavier demanded that he get to see Apollo’s first trial as the defense team leader.  And then he could only watch helplessly as his brother was led away in handcuffs.  He bolted from the courtroom immediately afterward, thus missing Wright & Apollo’s conversation.  When Apollo came to the offices later, Klavier told him in no uncertain terms that he was fired.

Klavier couldn’t accept the verdict, couldn’t accept the ace, and tried endlessly to get Kris’s consent to ask for a retrial, but never received it.  Klavier took the refusal as an indication that Kristoph didn’t trust him and so resolved to work even harder to prove himself worthy of being his defense attorney.

Eventually, Klavier caught wind that Nick was investigating the Zak Gramarye case and, likewise, heard of Drew Misham’s murder and test of the Jurist System.  Not trusting Wright at all, he performed his own side investigation and pieced together at whom the finger would be pointed for Drew’s murder.  Sensing that this would be his last chance, he visited his brother in prison once more.  On the way, he strategically greased a few palms.

He came not with a request but a demand that they switch places, trusting in his brother’s innocence but unable to face the possible risk of a “wrong” verdict.  When Wright visited Solitary Cell 13 to inquire once more regarding “Shadi Smith’s” murder, he spoke not to Kristoph, but Klavier.

Interestingly enough, however, the question of the motive to murder “Shadi Smith” caused Klavier to manifest black psyche-locks.  

Therefore, Klavier was the one called to the witness stand and he impersonated his brother perfectly.  Except a tiny detail.  Klavier’s hand has no scar.  Something impossible for someone focusing not to notice.

In this verse, while Klavier knows how to play guitar, he never actively pursued music and he dropped the hobby in an attempt to have more time to study and prove himself.  He’s usually seen smiling, but it is muted and small.  Overall, he exudes an aura of pure exhaustion and is rather lonely.  He sacrificed having a social life in his impossible pursuit of the perfect praise - at a certain point his mind became so toxic that, even if Kris were to praise him, he wouldn’t accept it as genuine, internally arguing that some tiny bit of inflection meant that it was pitying or otherwise false.

[bindingties]

👀 + klavier, any klavier... u good?

ZONE OF TRUTH || ACCEPTING

Antagonist!Klavier grins.  “Morally? Absolutely not.  Otherwise… well I’m getting fucking tired of this pretending to be a loving sibling act and want to dry heave every time I’m forced to talk to Kris, but… otherwise I think I’m doing great for being in the middle of this messy appeal process.”

—

Mainverse!Klavier attempts the exact same easy, carefree smile.  “Of c - !”  The words lock in his throat, morphing into something sob-adjacent along the way.  He attempts to twist the sound into a laugh, trembling just slightly.

“I feel like I’m walking a tightrope with no safety net below me and a crowd that I’d hate to disappoint by falling but also I genuinely think would be delighted if I fell and became nothing but a stain on the ground.  Would they be happier if I fell?  And maybe I…”

Something in him freezes up and it’s not that he’s about to lie.  It feels like there’s a grinding in his skull, something’s wrong.  He shakes his head, the feeling vanishing without a trace and, with it, the rest of the sentence.

“… Who wants a drink?”

—

“How can I be ‘good’ when my brother has been wrongly convicted and won’t let me help?!”  The transcript for California v. Wright in the murder of Shadi Smith trembles in the defense attorney’s hands.  As his temper flares, shame stabs his gut, dousing the flame.  Anger is wrong.  Anger is an excuse.

He takes a breath.

“That’s... that’s not right.  Kris has every reason not to trust me with his case.  I’m not good enough.”  

He brightens as much as someone permanently physically and emotionally exhausted can.  “But I’m drafting the perfect appeal, one that’s ready to counter any arguments thrown my way.  The faulty ace is the biggest problem, but it’s obvious Kris wants me to be more prepared than that.  If I show him this once it’s all done, he’ll have to see that I’m worth that trust, ja? ... Ja?”

He smiles, but desperation taints the expression.  “But otherwise I’m f- tired.”  He blinks, surprised at his own admission.  “But I’m always tired so there’s no - !”  The words won’t leave his lips and he frowns.  “This is just how I always feel.”

[bindingties]

*mustard falls on defense attorney Klavier*

Klavier yelps, jumping out of the way.  He then begins fussing over his now stained shirt and blazer.

[bindingties]

Klavier-as-Kristoph, how well do you think you could take prison life?

“A bit belated to ask as much, wouldn’t you say?” Klavier replies, easily matching Kristoph’s affectations.  “It’s already been six months and I dare say that I’ve made quite the cozy space for myself.”

Klavier isn’t sure how well he himself will handle being in here; he’s not well-built for being without work.  But he has to do this because Kris never should’ve been here in the first place and there’s no way he can risk the sentence getting worse if Wright pulls something underhanded.

[bindingties]

Defense Klav, are you proud to have Kristoph as a brother?

Klavier beams. “Of course!  He’s an amazing attorney, ja?  I look up to him and can only hope that someday I’ll make him proud of me.”  The words are said with levity - as one might say a normal goal - but the overall aura of bone-deep exhaustion Klavier exudes gives them a brokenly desperate edge.

[bindingties]

Omniscent Klav, 👀 + What you you think of your defense attorney self?

ZONE OF TRUTH || ACCEPTING

“You know, I had genuinely considered becoming a defense attorney, but I had been so scared of living the rest of my life in Kris’s shadow, of being under his overbearing thumb forever.”  Klavier cracks a pained smile.  “In a way, it’s nice to know that, to a certain extent, I had been right.”

He watches himself hug his knees to his chest, sitting in a cell in the detention center.  Kristoph’s suit jacket has been meticulously folded and placed on the least dusty and dingy surface in the room with his glasses delicately placed on top.  He watches himself try and fail to hold back tears.  Hears himself apologize to a person who cannot hear him.

Klavier’s smile fades.  “But I wish I had been wrong.”

[bindingties]

type-3blade replied to your post “(( thinking abt the obvious Bad End™ for Defense!Klav where the switch...”

the real question is whether kristoph would react to this sentence :)

(( that truly is the million dollar question hsgfjhsdghjfsdhjfgds

Because, while Klavier can do little more than accept it, he would honestly view the whole situation as a noble sacrifice that is protecting his brother from an unjust sentence and i hnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn ))

[bindingties]

Defense Klav, post-Apollo figuring out you aren't Kristoph, How you feeling?

Vera’s trial has been put on hold while they hunt down the real Kristoph.  

Klavier sits in handcuffs in the witness lobby, trying to make himself as small as possible.  Ever since Apollo broke the truth of the switch wide open, he’s felt like a child playing dress-up.  Kristoph’s suit seems to swallow him and he can feel exactly how it is not at all tailored for him.  This is just a physical manifestation of his desire to be the sort of person who could fill Kris’s shoes.

He’s not.  And it looks like he’ll never be.

“… Kris was right not to trust me.  I’ve failed and now he’ll be charged with an escape attempt all because of me.”  He wraps his arms around himself and squeezes his eyes shut.  With the suit on, he can almost pretend like he’s holding Kris and Kris is holding him back, giving him the comfort he’s always wanted.

A comfort he doesn’t deserve.

“I’m just a failure….”

[bindingties]

(( thinking abt the obvious Bad End™ for Defense!Klav where the switch is never discovered but Turnabout Succession still proceeds as normal and Miles still leverages his influence to get “Kristoph’s” sentence changed to execution

i just

hnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn ))

[bindingties]

Defense Klav, what's it like for you if you're ever set to defend a person that you come to privately believe is guilty?

“I still have to do everything in my power to defend them.  My private beliefs mean little.”  The words come easily and his face remains pleasantly unreadable.

[bindingties]

(( See, what else is really sad abt Defense!Klavier taking the execution sentence is that he views it as a noble sacrifice - almost a last-ditch way to make up for all of his “failures” - while also still hoping that Kris would fight the sentence tooth and nail.

Though even if Kris fought it, Klav would only feel joy at being cared for for all of 2s before his toxic thought patterns spun it as an expression of pity or ‘well now he has to be you and you certainly didn’t leave him a worthy reputation. obviously this is just one step to rebuilding the law office’s reputation after you tarnished it’

It’s a Bad Time ))

[bindingties]

@onceuponymous replied to your post “Defense Klav, are you proud to have Kristoph as a brother?”

I'm imagining Athena hearing something defense Klav says and Widget's screen fucking cracks

(( Defense!Klav: *opens his mouth* Widget: aight imma head out ))

[bindingties]

(( Defense attorney Klav is held up mostly by caffeine and nicotine, the latter of which is a vice Klav feels more than a little shame for even though he rarely actually smokes - instead tending to misuse patches to avoid the habit being visible.

He only drinks once in a blue moon, afraid of making a fool of himself and embarrassing his brother in the process. ))