dumbshow | once more with shitposting

once more with shitposting

[Reim is loath to think it's convenient that the city needs to be put back together after everything. There's been so much loss, they've all felt it—but having something to do after Pandora is dissolved keeps everyone's minds off those things, more or less, so. It's a little convenient. It keeps people busy, himself included.

Most people, anyway... Reim has more than enough to do, from ironing out the details of the relief efforts (it's-not-Pandora-but-it's-mostly-the-same-people is not a viable organization name, the struggle) to dealing with people on a much more individual level, including trying to integrate the remaining Baskervilles— he's never been more stressed in his life!!

Unlike some people apparently on a quest to ruin the only peace and quiet he has in his schedule - locking himself in his office to eat meals - in between everything else. It's just after he's been to check up on Duke Barma, who is surprisingly... robust, if bedridden, and he's escaped that harrowing exchange only to find his office invaded and some kind of food out. It smells like food. That's not the lunch he ordered??

He sighs. It must be every day of his life at once. He will address... the office:]

Xerxes, come out of there.

[he doesn't even know where, but he Knows it's somewhere.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

You would spend an entire afternoon on cleaning? That doesn't sound like you're very efficient...

[He's doing his best!! He literally runs into the waste bin, but he grabs it before that can spill too. Phew.]

Are you sure you can handle being so important? [this heir to Barma nonsense... he sighs, dragging his feet to drop it beside the desk and just start blindly sweeping these crumbs over the side. Some of them miss, but he's trying?]

[Don't run into his trash... And don't remind him of his very real and not at all bullshitted in three seconds Heir To Barma duties, he's going to break out in hives.]

Well, it's not as if I have my Pandora duties anymore... [Do you hear this squeaking? That's Reim nervously cleaning his glasses, now that he has to think about the mountain of stress that's sure to lead to his young death.]

Be careful with those crumbs. [half-hearted...... anyway, sighing,] I'll admit, it's a lot to take on myself...

[squeak... squeak.... if he had... some HELP................]

[No more Pandora duties, yet he's doing all this dumb charity work too... Break could point this out, but he doesn't. Instead he pauses, then places a delicate hand on Reim's shoulder.]

I'm told I would be very distracting presence for a young lady's coming of age duties, so it seems you might be stuck with me on top of it all~!

[this is... the asshole way of saying he's sticking around, hey]

[Let him do his charity work, it makes him feel better... But ah, thanks, sort of??]

Oh, that's true—I wonder if I should send a card soon, or some extra hands to help... [Reim: making it all about more work. He clears his throat, like, he's totally focused on not working for real.]

Well, someone has to keep you out of trouble! To no one's surprise, that task falls to me.

Or you could let them handle it. [He says this with a sweet smile, but it's not a suggestion. He squeezes Reim's shoulder real hard to try and get across the fact he shouldn't do that what the fuck. Stop making more work!!]

You can keep me out of trouble, and I can take you to bed. [Ah, phrasing...] I don't want you falling asleep here, now.

[If he doesn't work, his brain stops thinking? Didn't you listen to him that time he was being gay about Gilbert?? Anyway, he hums, like he's thinking about it but he's also thinking about doing the thing he said...

And ah, phrasing. Break can't even see him raise an eyebrow, sad.]

I always get the precise amount of sleep I need to perform well. I thought we were going for a walk.

[He gets it, but also, what about his Promised Relaxation Time?]

[He can't see it, so he's just going to assume his slip up has gone by unnoticed. He's so smooth, obviously? Haha... ha...]

I thought you were threatening to cancel our walk. [Right, these crumbs... He's still missing a few spots after this last sweep into the trash, but don't hold that against him.] You shouldn't act like you wouldn't spend time with me if you actually crave my attention, Reim. Shall we go?

[Look, he's making the herculean effort to not shout about crumbs and go do more work all afternoon, don't test him. He hums, like keep telling yourself that, but he gets up and straightens himself out after that misery slouch he got into for a minute there, anyway. He is Ready.]

Fresh air is good for you! Let's go, before someone who can't do their work properly changes my mind for me.

[Being the boss is the worst. Anyway, after you, blind man... this isn't Reim's idea, he's only going to gently point out obstacles.]

[Um, give him a minute, he didn't actually plan on anything after getting Reim's attention. He takes up the wine bottle in one hand and, though unnecessary, takes one of Reim's in the other to pull him out of the room. They've already established he's coming along and Break knows his way around the house, but like... he wants to.]

If I'm going to be staying here officially, that means I should have a real space in your schedule every day... I'm going to take all your afternoons, now. You can write that down later.

[Xerxes Break, people are going to see this scandalous display...!! Just kidding, it was already established that Reim literally got rid of everyone for the afternoon, conveniently. No one will see this scandal except Reim. Literally no one else. So he will allow it.]

I need my afternoons, Xerxes. [sigh!!] But after work hours, I'm free.

[Take his evenings, instead? That works out better for everyone.]

But you never stop working... You're depressing me already.

[Is he whining? A little. He's whining while he's wining, because he's definitely just drinking straight from the bottle as they go now.]

You'll have to promise me you'll be done before it's dark out, then. [Hm.] And you can't take advantage of the fact it is always dark for me.

[This guy. Reim considers confiscating the wine bottle, but he doesn't want to start some 5-year-old level keep-away game here on the way outside. But god, ease up a little.

how dare you take his excellent blind joke]

You can still hear the clock chime. But alright, alright, unless there's an emergency, I promise I will be finished before dark. A routine is good for productivity!

[Ha ha he can make anything about work.]

[Stop!! Doing that!! He squeezes his hand in annoyance, but it's mild enough that he'll let it go with just a little pouting. How old is he.]

A routine is good so you can spend time with your best friend. [He'll ease up a little, but he's still taking another sip from this... He has to have some way to keep his nerves down, because he hates asking for things like he's about to now.]

I was hoping... you might read some things for me, when you have the time. That isn't work. All this time to myself now, and I can't catch up on anything...

[Hey, don't squeeze!! Reim hums, acquiescing; yes, alright, he knows. It goes without saying - for now, maybe he'll say it later, dramatically - but it goes without saying that there's just about nothing he wouldn't do for Break, so alright. He can be nice, and schedule his evenings around spending time together, and for once in their lives they can just be normal adults.

Sort of. They're still weird, the both of them.]

Read "some things"...? [ohhhh it's going to be embarrassing, he's thrilled] Of course. I do wonder what adventures those plucky knights are getting up to these days.

[Hey did you know, you're all nerds? Every one of you who reads these books.]

I didn't say it was that! [He makes some effort to look affronted, but it's maybe a few seconds before he just winds up laughing. It's ridiculous- something so silly being something to actually look forward to. He barely remembers a time he wasn't dedicating himself to something serious.]

You know... it's a shame, I can't identify with Edgar any more. I'll have to find a new character...

["Is there a sad old man in the books?" No, he's being nice. He'll avoid the sass and instead consider how nice it is just to hear Break laugh—an actual laugh, not a jerk playing jokes on everyone laugh.]

I'm sure you'll think of someone. Now, about that fresh air...

[They are officially going Outside, now. It's a nice day; after the world almost ended, most days tend to be nice by comparison, but this one is especially pleasant. Reim leads them to his favorite path, because of course he has a favorite path? and now, finally, he may be able to just relax.]

It's not as beautiful as the Rainsworth gardens, but it'll do.

[Can he truly relax when Break says stuff like this? He can't see, and yet... Even on the nicest of days, he has to go out of his way to make an ass out of himself so he doesn't seem so soft. It's cute that Reim has a favorite path, but he can't just say that... who would he think he is?]

I remember taking walks like this... you would always shout at me for my attitude. You were quite annoying, you know.

[It's alright, Reim already knows he's soft. Maybe he was super annoying and shouted a lot when he was younger, but it's not like Break was a real charmer, either!! They're both soft now...

But not so soft that he won't reach over with his free hand and push the side of Break's stupid old head. Shut up.]

You didn't learn! What else was I supposed to do?

[Wow!! He almost swats at his hand, but he still has the bottle and that would mean letting go of the other. He resigns to huffing and taking another drink instead, fingers curling into a tighter hold.]

Let an old man be bitter in peace. You were always fretting over everything I did, even if it was harmless... all while looking very stupid. [He pauses, considering... wait a minute...] You aren't wearing such clothes again, are you?

[Okay, first of all.]

I don't want to hear that from you, the man still in his pajamas. And that's still my coat!

[Give him his things back and get dressed and then, maybe, his weird outfit will be fair game. Because, uh, it is weird as all hell. Why is he this way.

More seriously, he adds:] Somebody had to look after you back then. Even if you were acting like you didn't need it.

["back then"......he didn't stop??]

[Um, he gave a coat to him and never asked for it back? Even if it's not the same one, that makes all of them his to use. Clearly that's how this works.

But like, don't tell him that. This is getting too sappy for him.]

You didn't have to do anything, Reim. You just cared too much out of some misplaced sympathy for a stranger... and it was quite naive. Where has it gotten you?

[That's not how any of that works and he'll be sure to outline it in detail later, but for now, don't test him!! He's very good at passionate speeches.

He doesn't have a passionate speech planned for this precise moment, luckily. Instead he just says, simply:] Right here.

[Yeah...!! Suck on that!!!]

You should know better by now; I'll never give up that easily.

[Oh... That shut him up easier than he expected. Is right here really all that good to Reim, after how difficult he's been? Break considers just not answering, but silence on top of the guilt he's been pretending doesn't exist would eat him alive.

He has the decency not to take another drink, at least. He just lets them walk for a minute before he finally replies.] You should have, recently... I went back to how I was, back then. When I woke up here, I thought... I couldn't protect what's dear to me anymore, and so there was no point to a life in this body. I shouldn't have put you through that.

[Oh- honesty. That's a welcome change, despite the dip into these serious subjects.]

That's right, you shouldn't have. [Reim isn't going to baby him about that, because it was awful. His indulgences go only so far. But.]

Let someone else protect what's important for a change. You've already done enough.

[Well, he can deal with not being babied here. That would have been enough to leave it, and he would have gone on to say something superficial to play it off, but then Reim had to go and say something soft like that. How dare he pull on his heartstrings?]

I don't deserve you, Reim. [He sighs, proceeding to lean his head on his shoulder.] ...You can't say things like that when you don't fight, though.

Edited 2017-11-07 12:07 (UTC)

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject