Second Unused Utility Belt | Video

[hellofist]

[Today, Cass is dressed like a normal person. She's sitting in the cafeteria with a mug of tea, perched in a chair with her knees drawn up to her chest and her oversized sweater pulled over them so she's just a blob of blue fabric with arms. Even the hood is up. With her chin on her knees and her eyes on the tea, she speaks to the comm quietly.]

Had all the words. Could make them, if I wanted. Could write. Talked normal. Was normal.

Couldn't see bodies talking. Didn't need. [Her fist comes up to rub at her temple.] Makes headaches, now.

Does that... happen a lot? Was confusing. Was not fun.

Comments

[text]

[wemaketheworld]

Happens enough.

Isn't supposed to be fun.

[A few seconds pass before he adds:]

Usually educational. Rarely fun.

[video]

[hellofist]

[Normally, Cass will at least attempt to make out words when she has to. Now, though? She just ignores the text completely.]

Can't read.

[voice]

[wemaketheworld]

[...eh. That's fair enough. He switches over to voice; less comfortable than hiding behind the written word right now, but at least there's shadow. Anonymity. A face without fabric.

The voice is grit and broken glass, if a little more...emotional than he's normally given to allowing. Side effect of the breach, or so he tells himself.

He gives a neutral grunt before speaking. It might be clearing his throat, it might be the Rorschach version of an apology, it might be...just about anything, really.]

Breaches aren't supposed to be fun. Usually educational. Rarely fun.

[voice]

[hellofist]

[And Cass leaves it voice. She can't read anything off a voice, has a hard time even really understand just the spoken word, but she can. That doesn't mean she's going to let someone who won't let her see them see her.]

Learned nothing. Waste of time.

[voice]

[wemaketheworld]

[If he knew, he might have picked video instead. But it's Rorschach, he's not especially good at looking at things from the perspective of other people.]

Didn't find lesson.

Isn't lesson in traditional sense. Lesson in...self. Alternatives.

[voice]

[hellofist]

[He talks like her. It's strange, how comforting that actually is.]

Then, failed it. Bad lesson, bad teacher.

[voice]

[wemaketheworld]

[...on his end it only makes him a little sad. He knows what he went through to talk the way he does, he wouldn't wish it on anyone else.]

Can't fail if don't know to look.

Wait for floods. Harder to miss then.

[An unimpressed snort. Ohhh how he hates floods. At least during breaches and ports he can usually hurt the bad things because he's mostly himself. Floods...it's more complicated.]

[voice]

[hellofist]

Can you... learn to look?

[She wants to try. She doesn't like being in the dark, not knowing things other people know without even trying.]

Floods... worse?

[voice]

[wemaketheworld]

Yes. Takes practice. Patience.

Learn what to look for during floods. Apply same tactic to other changes.

Floods... [How to explain them. Why does he even care enough to WANT to explain, but she asks the right questions. Sounds like him. He can't just abandon her to the wolves.]

Change in self. Only...an aspect. Only part. Not the whole. Change shape, change personality. Change in thinking.

Temporary, fortunately. Lasts a couple days, then things go back to usual.

[voice]

[hellofist]

Bad at patient. But... will try.

[It's worth it, learning all this. She has to learn if she expects to survive here.]

Don't understand. Why? Supposed to... help people. Floods, breaches, don't help. So... why make us do them?

[voice]

[wemaketheworld]

Hurm. [It could be a laugh, could just be the verbal equivalent of a snort. Anyone's guess really.] Admiral's got a twisted sense of humor.

Experience things from different perspective. Your choice to learn or ignore. Tend to be...relevant. Somehow.

[In his experience, anyway.]