crazily | week 3 ig??? this is dumb so time doesn't matter

[ remember when rhys totally called out break for stealing sweets? well, now he's kind of a hypocrite because break is going to catch him with his hand literally in the cookie jar. he sort of freezes and then blinks in surprise when he watches break roll in through the window and opens his mouth to say something before shaking his head. nah, nevermind. instead, he grabs the snack cake out of the jar and unwraps it, wagging it at break as he speaks ]

You know normal people don't do that, right? Especially normal blind people. Just not a thing. What are you, a spider?

[ that doesn't even make sense, rhys!! but he'll just take a bite of the snack cake and with his mouth full: ]

Anyway, what?

[ Luckily, Rhys will learn here that so long as you use writing to pick Betray, you won't get Break kicking your ass for it. He doesn't know about Rhys being a snitch, so catching Rhys pilfering sweets of his own doesn't bother him. Instead, Break just rights himself, then leans back through the window briefly to grab his cane and pull it through with him. He kind of needs it. ]

Ha ha, I'm quite aware~! You know, if I could do a little magic trick, it would be even worse, since appearing in cabinets to startle people is the best method. ♥

[ It sounds like he's joking, but no... No, he is not. ]

Anyways~. It's just something I wanted to follow up on, since the trial didn't seem like a good time. That arm of yours surprised me!

[ good to know! only betray the blind guy when he can't read it. that seems like a very logical and obvious answer but well, rhys still hasn't figured out how break's blindness works and isn't taking any chances. that empty eye socket still haunts his dreams at night. ]

You sound like you're talking from experience which is, uh, kind of making me judge you? Cabinets aren't even that big, dude.

[ but if break's moving on, rhys will too. his eyebrows raise a little when break addresses the arm and he looks down at it before taking another bite of the sweet. ]

... Really? Is it because you're old?

[ Hence why he needs ~magic~, Rhys. But. Let's not dwell on that, because in the off chance he gets it back, now he definitely has to bully Rhys with it. Better to leave that a terrible surprise!

He at least closes the window after himself because it's cold, but his expression is quick to flatten at Rhys's question. Like, he may be old and make reference to it constantly, but still. ]

...You're an awfully rude brat, you know.

[ Though this probably isn't the way to get Rhys to be more amenable to a conversation, so he gets an oversized sleeve waved in his direction. ]

But yes, I believe so. That sort of thing isn't possible where I'm from, and since I can't see it, I have to rely on you to tell me more about it.

[ if rhys had to interact with break and break had magic, rhys might actually die! that might actually be a thing that happens! it would just be too much for rhys at this point in his life and he'd give up instantly.

he looks pretty shocked when break calls him a rude brat though. who, him? he's never heard such a thing in his life! honestly, you're reading him all wrong, break. he's a nice guy. ]

I'm not a brat. I'm like, twenty-seven.

[ and yet, despite the offense he doesn't defend against the "rude" accusation. well, okay! rhys just makes a face at the sleeve swinging and swats at break. go away, old man. ]

Uh, okay. I guess. Do you know anything about computers first? ... Or machines, in general? How much tech do you know?

[ Break knows how old Rhys is, and yet, he doesn't feel wrong in his assessment here in the slightest... Rhys is actually closer in age to him than Gilbert (minus the one hundred years thing, but), but he still feels like Rhys is more of a brat than Gilbert. But. He won't get into that. He just thinks it.

Instead, he just wanders over to the counter to start digging for more sweets of his own, and maybe to grab a pack of cigarettes. It's easy to guess who those are for, though. ]

Hmm, well, I've never heard of a computer, so no. Even the—I believe they're called televisions—here are new to me. So I imagine I know very little~. It's certainly not possible to have a fake arm that can actually do anything.

[ sometimes your emotional growth just stunts at twenty and you can't really do anything about it other than live with it. age is just a number, baby!

rhys just sort of watches him do this and feels like he should say something but in the end decides not to. maybe they should steal from the murder town store. yeah, anarchy! ]

Oh my god, you're so old. [ he's just going to keep bringing it up. ] What year are you even from? To like, uh, start?

[ and mostly cause he's nosy as hell. ]

I will hit you with my cane again.

[ Only Break is allowed to call Break old. Get with the program, Rhys!!

But you're also killing me here asking a basic detail about Pandora Hearts that's literally never explained, so. Break says a year here, but it's probably clear that it's not from the same measure of time as Rhys. Maybe he says a weird that's weirdly impossible. Maybe his version of "AD" is something weird and nonsensical!

The point is, Rhys is probably better off asking what his world is like because I can't do this... ]

[ yeah but rhys is still going to keep calling break old like all of the time. every single time, he will be calling break old! get used to it, break!

but okay that works and rhys just squints at break before shaking his head. ]

That sounds really dumb and also wrong? Super wrong. But fine, let me think...

[ how does one explain cybernetic limbs to an old blind victorian man ]

So... my arm is like the televisions but better? Like, I cut off my original arm and replaced it with this arm because it works way better. Just like a normal arm but it does things like... I don't know. There's a flashlight, it can record stuff -- well no, that's my eye -- but it's super strong too. I can also... break into other robotic things with it, like tap into how they work? Ugh, it is so hard to explain this without using the right terminology, dude.

[ He's not even going to dignify that first part with a comment... But the latter part at least gets Break listening more intently. It is hard for him to imagine, and there are a few parts in Rhys's explanation that stick out to him (cut it off? really rhys?), but ultimately, his request is simple. He beckons Rhys forward, though at the very least, he realizes that this one is odd to ask. ]

I realize that this is... odd to ask. But could I hold it? I'm likely to get a better sense of it that way.

[ hold hands with grandpa ]

[ go hard or go home when you're a low level nobody at hyperion, break.

anyway while rhys does hesitate for a moment, he doesn't deny the request. it kind of makes sense with what the whole... blind and old thing. so he nods, then he realizes break can't see the nod as he clears his throat awkwardly and -- ]

Sure, yeah. Why not, right?

[ he moves forward then and when he's close enough, he'd hold out the robot arm for break. go ahead, feel him up. ]

If you need me to explain anything, just... ask, I guess?

[ He can't see it, but he can guess that Rhys nodded well enough from that awkward cough. Break manages to temper his own reaction, because this is why he tried so hard to not reveal his blindness, but he didn't have such a luxury here. Still, when Rhys approaches, Break takes the robotic hand without hesitation. He seems to have a very good sense of where things are spatially, since there's not quite hesitation when he reaches out to take his hand. It's more like a handshake than anything else (since that would be weird).

Also, Break has very nicely manicured nails. Fun facts, since they're usually hidden in his stupid sleeves. ]

Well, thank you for indulging an old man's curiosity, first of all~. I doubt anything would come of it, but still, I can't help but be interested in prosthetics lately.

[ Because Break thinks Gilbert is from the same canonpoint as he is, naturally. He just hasn't had the occasion to realize that Gilbert does in fact have both arms in the game yet... Break tries to pretend he's cool and smart, but sometimes he's also an idiot. ]

It's able to grip things, which is the strangest part. How do you even control that?

[ rhys probably hasn't spent much time around blind people because that sort of handicap is just something that can just be... fixed, in his social circles. still, he's fairly impressed by break even if he wouldn't say it. he does poke a little fun when break takes his hand by wiggling the metal digits against his palm. haha, weird, right?

why are your hands so nice though? even rhys' robot hand is a bit dinged up but that's mostly from his adventures on pandora and murder town. ]

What? Looking to lose a limb or something? That's... probably a bad thing where you come from, huh?

[ true story, most of the people rhys knows with robot limbs have them because either a) they're smart enough to build them or b) they have the wealth to purchase them. it's a weird kind of privilege so rhys really doesn't think break could afford to lose a limb. ]

Oh! My brain. It's sort of... connected? It's as much part of my body as everything else is. Part of the surgery is connecting the cybernetics to your nerve endings and then there's a while of physical therapy to get the arm to respond to your brain. Eventually, you can do normal tasks and more with just a thought. I can even make phone calls on the arm, it's pretty handy.

[ things rhys doesn't mind humblebragging about: his prosthetics. ]

[ Break at least doesn't take it as teasing, since he can certainly dole it out, but he can't take it if Rhys hasn't already realized this... He is holding Rhys's hand more like a handshake since he doesn't want to make it weird, but he does grip it more lightly to feel at the groves of the joints. As for the first question, he just laughs and shrugs dismissively. ]

A death sentence, actually. You have to be very lucky to survive losing a limb, and I'm quite certain I wouldn't.

[ Whether that's luck or just his frailty. ]

...But I must admit, that's incredible. The most someone can hope for where I'm from is something made of porcelain just to have the shape, but it certainly couldn't move. This sort of thing, is it common where you're from?

[ oh, break. you have to learn to be on the receiving end too! it's good for you, personal growth. either way, rhys lets break hold his hand and doesn't really fuss. really, the weirder part here is that rhys feels the sensations of break's skin on his metal hand. how does that even work? who knows. ]

Like your eye, right? Leaving the socket empty... that's not something most people would do.

[ rhys can't imagine having a porcelain arm, actually. he'd break it immediately, he knows that much about himself. while he doesn't regret buying the arm and replacing it, there is a bit of fear of what would happen if he lost it. he's not sure he could live with just one arm -- it's petty but it's how he feels. ]

If... you have the money or if you can do it yourself. If you're poor, you can't replace anything and just have to work with what you've got. I wanted to replace it, I thought it would help me more in the long run. [ ... hm, break doesn't know about his eye either, does he? rhys decides he should add that in too. ] It's not just my arm either, I replaced one of my eyes. The left one, actually.

[ just like break! ]

Well, putting something there would ruin the "point," more or less. I could get a glass eye, but I've never quite wanted to~.

[ He says it lightly, but there's still a hint of seriousness there. The explanation is truly odd in terms of how he lost it, but why he chooses not to replace it might make more sense. He's more sentimental than he may seem, after all.

So when Rhys mentions that he chose to replace his eye, that does get Break's brow to furrow slightly, if only because that's not something he would ever imagine choosing for himself. But there's really no benefit to be had in it, of course. He does direct his eye up towards Rhys to brief level him a gaze that seems to ask "are you serious right now," but it's only for a moment. ]

...So, has it helped?

Oh. Ohhh! Spite! It's spite, isn't it? Why would you ever want to fill that hole if you lost your eye through some kind of tragic circumstances? You seem like a tragedy type of guy, Break.

[ sorry, break. rhys immediately had to ruin it -- but hey! he didn't call you xerxes! he honestly does mean that though, that just seems like a very break thing from what he's seen of the guy so far.

still, it's pretty obvious the vast difference in the world they come from with how blasé rhys is about his own missing limbs and different parts. this was -- and still is -- a privilege for him. he worked hard, saved up six months worth of salary, just to get such benefits. some people don't like this kind of thing but rhys knew that was what he wanted. go to a good school, get a good job, get the surgery. that was the plan. ]

Yeah! I mean, I don't regret it. My echo eye can do a whole bunch of things, I can scan people for injuries and heart rate and if there's a database -- I can bring up information on people that only I can see. Can do more than that too and it's been... useful. Really useful.

[ for maybe kind of obvious reasons, murdergame. ]

[ That gets him to laugh, and he appreciates it, since this isn't usually a subject he approaches with much humor. It is something like spite, he guesses. It's very complicated to pin down just what he feels towards the Will of the Abyss, but he would have to admit that spite is definitely a part of it. He's willing to jokingly get into that topic, but as Rhys explains his eye, that catches Break's attention in a different way. Obviously it's something he had completely missed about Rhys because of how visual it is, but he's surprised to hear what it can do. ]

...I would imagine so.

[ There's a tone that definitely implies he has something in mind, and he lets go of Rhys's hand. He seems to consider something, then asks: ]

What sort of injuries does it scan for, if you don't mind my asking? Just any kind of damage?

[ is it time to be kind of shady!! but rhys raises an eyebrow, glancing around the empty shop for a moment before shrugging. then he realizes break can't see the shrug and just answers him instead. ]

Normally, I can get a sort of... report on any kind damage, as long as I can look at it. If I see a dismembered arm, for instance, I can tell how long it's been since it's been on the body and what sort of state it's in. Maybe if it was ripped off or cut off. I can tell who it belongs to too if there's enough information provided.

[ ... but now here's the sucky part and he sighs. ]

It's not as... clear here though? Sometimes I get information, most of the time I don't. I think it's because I'm not connected to the uh, source of all the information I usually get. [ how does he explain that he needs hyperion's wifi to see stuff? ] Or maybe they just don't want me to figure out who killed people immediately. Might as well just take my entire eye then, assholes. [ uh ] I can get some information though and I've manually put in a lot of information myself. Like, if I scan you right now, I can see the profile the booklet gave you but in my eye. I can also tell your heart rate and body temperature. Stuff like that.

[ He makes a light noise of interest as Rhys explains, since that sounds useful indeed, if completely useless for Break in particular. Though actually, when he thinks about it, the perfect person to use something like this would definitely be Reim... Break wasn't an idiot, but data and research weren't exactly his forte.

Still, that wasn't quite why he was asking. It has a use in helping with the cases, certainly, but Break's own interest in a bit more personal. He does seem to hesitate, and it would be easy to assume that the pause is because he doesn't quite get it, but he's actually just weighing his options.

After all, he wants to ask a question that he may not want to know the answer to. ]

Just the heart rate and temperature?

[ If it's more that could be useful, but that's the problem. If it's more, then it's likely to give him a sense of the time he has left that's beyond a simple guess. He's not sure whether that's a positive or a negative here. But ultimately, he decides it's probably something he can at least think about. ]

...If there's anything else, I don't want to know, or at least not right now. But would you mind scanning me, in that case?

[ rhys crosses his arms over his chest now that they're free and he tilts his head to the side, watching break as he thinks. he's honestly not sure if it's the technology being lost in translation or something... more but he'll wait it out to hear break's reply.

he's kind of curious what break makes of what rhys' is telling him, wonders if this is a bad idea to tell him or if he's doing the right thing here. break, he thinks, wouldn't do too shabby back on pandora or helios even with his lack of sight. that's probably why rhys would prefer to talk to him over, say, everyone else here. ]

Sometimes more than that but it varies. The only sure thing is what's in the profiles, but with everything else going on -- sometimes it shows something different. Generally, I can get some information though.

[ but at the request, he nods before, ah. right. and instead break will hear the soft whirr as rhys' eye lights up as he scans him. everything turns blue and rhys focuses on break, reading the description that pops up a moment later. there's his profile, front and center with everything on it and then underneath:

Heart Rate: Not shabby
Temperature: Kind of cold
Current Inward Status: Major Irreversible Internal Damage
Current Outward Status: Blind, Tired, Old
Excessive Use Of: Tildes
Current Quote:

"I'll have to bully Rhys twice as much on your behalf, you know~."

rhys can't help but grimace at all the information and lets his eye turn off after a moment. ]

It didn't tell me that you're about to die, if that's what you're wondering. It did tell me that you're not in the best health though.

[ I'm so glad for the fake-helpful EchoEye descriptions... god... ]

[ Now that he knows what that sound is, Break is able to connecting the whirring to his eye, which is good to know. He just waits patiently, but when Rhys explains, he just ends up laughing lightly. It seems like he either takes this in stride or it's an answer he'd been more or less expecting. ]

Ah, I was that obvious~?

[ Though that is a very small comfort. It's something he's genuinely worried about, so getting that kind of confirmation is at least a small way to ease it. He shrugs, though the motion is followed by plucking a piece of rock candy out of one of the pockets of his coat. Considering how often he eats sweets, it seems like "diabetes" should probably be on there too. ]

Well, like I said, I'm frail. Day to day usually isn't a problem, but exerting myself can be fairly dangerous. [ He feels that this probably isn't adequate, so though he dances around saying "I'm dying," he at least implies it. ] I could see perfectly fine just a month or two ago.

[ Probably...??? Don't ask me what amount of time Pandora Hearts takes place over either, apparently. ]

[ the echo eye is here to help them both! apparently. maybe. either way, it's not the most accurate descriptions but still fairly solid for rhys. it wasn't hard to piece together that maybe break was worried about his health, with what the fact he spat up blood on rhys once. it's not too big of a leap from there.

still, rhys grows more worried as break explains and he looks pretty baffled by the end of it. why is break even here if he's falling apart so much? the guy should be at home! resting! or... something! rhys drops his arms to his waist and gives a soft shake of his head. ]

That... is really frightening to know! Do you have some sort of medication you should be on? To take care of the frailness? I can probably talk to Miata if you want. Maybe you should be in bed...

[ but instead break is standing in front of him, eating rock candy. he just stares at him for a moment before something occurs to rhys and he lets out a yelp, jabbing a finger at break. ]

You crawled in through the window, Break!

[ are you SHATTERING INSIDE now? ]

[ The concern just makes Break laugh, which is predictable, but there is the barest hint of warmth in it. He's used to receiveing this kind of concern, but granted, it's not usually as "gentle" as this. Sharon and Reim both know him well enough to just physically drag him to bed and make him rest, and if Cheryl gets involved? Well, then he'll definitely take it easy, since she's a fearsome woman. He's stubborn in the worst ways, and it's why this kind of softer concern doesn't quite work for him. He waves a hand in Rhys's direction as if to dismiss the thought. ]

You don't need to talk to her. I doubt there's anything that could help anyways~.

[ Well, no, there totally could be since the future is weird. But he wouldn't exactly want it. Even if he may not accept his impending death completely, he also doesn't have any intentions of delaying or running away from his death either. He's had his time, and more than he should have. It's a complicated outlook, even for him. ]

I'll be fine. I rest when I need to, which is the best thing I can do. Luckily there's not exactly much to do here save for our trials, so climbing in through a window or two is no problem~. I won't die from simply that.

[ it's always kind of weird for rhys to be concerned, just because there's always the creeping sensation of being stabbed in the back for it. he knows, logically, that that's not the healthiest way to react to that sort of thing but... well, hyperion fosters a certain kind of environment is all.

so, in the end, he's still kind of concerned for break even if break is waving him off. now he's invested. they're friends! maybe even family! (he probably shouldn't say that one aloud.) but he's going to make it a priority of his to make sure break's doing okay through the game. at least until one, or both, of them die. ]

You're probably right. I mean, you know your body better than I do! Just... don't die, man. If you die, there's nothing here to stop everyone from killing me.

[ what a leap of logic, rhys?? oh my god. but then he adds on -- ]

Oh wait, no. There's Morrigan. Nevermind.

[ ha ha ha...! ]

[ In a small way, he is touched by the concern, though he brushes that off in just the same way. It's uncomfortable for him to be valued by other people, since in a way, he feels that's unfair to them. He's known ever since the Abyss spat him out that his death would come for him sooner, so letting people get attached to a dead man... He felt that it was cruel, in a way. But he's at least a far different person now than he was just after that realization had come to him. He's still not one to easily open his heart to others, but he at least doesn't bitterly push them away. So he waves his hand idly, and it's a perfectly fanciful gesture to match that odd personality of his. ]

Ahh, I won't, I won't~. Or I'll at least do my best, since you know, we do need you to conduct our various little tests, right?

[ rhys opens his mouth to argue but... yeah. yeah, break has a point. a sigh and he runs his fingers through his hair, frowning down at the floor. ]

... Yeah. That is a thing that seems to keep happening, huh?

[ but okay, good. don't die, break. that's all rhys is really concerned about. ]

week 3 ig??? this is dumb so time doesn't matter

SOME ODD... SPOT OF TIME SOMEWHERE who knows

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