[ LAAAAAME. No wonder he hasn't been able to contact his sibling if he was spending all his time moodily despairing on the ground, wholly overtaken by lover's heartburn and whatever passed for looming infatuation these days. Not that he knows anything about it, because, you know, them's the breaks. He really, really doesn't want to know that his brother's a walking angstfest, even if he's all but guessed as much at this point.
It's admittedly kind of weird hearing Gilbert's voice after such a protracted hiatus, though, mainly because he sounds like he's crying?! Maybe he really was choked up about Elliot attempting to reach a stalemate after that whole sellout business where Gilbert sold his soul to the Vessalius dukedom to pledge allegiance to a dweeb and a girl that liked to sniff and bite people like she was feral. ]
Are you alright? Do you need a moment?
[ They haven't even touched his death, but frankly speaking, Oz has probably brought him up-to-snuff on the current state of affairs. He isn't calling to host a pity party or anything. ]
I'll cut right to it, then. Did you hear about Vincent? Has he told you anything in particular lately?
[ look he is not a walking angstfest, okay, he has been on the ground not evening attempting a crawl for the entire duration!
...This... entire duration, anyway.
And that dweeb is too adorable and his focus in life to ever consider feeling any remorse that might suggest he'd be choked up at contact (except that also doesn't mean he wishes like crazy he could be a 'cool' older brother... or, you know, definitely still on the terms they used to be before Elliot pretty much disowned him for following his heart ;( he would like to have his cake and eat it, too, but he gets it... he...
—no one cares, Gil, so save it...), but if he knew it was between this and between letting know a stupid bird just bullied him for options on why he might sound near tears...
Yeah, he'd let the first one fly anyday. As if he wants Elliot to know how even more pathetic his big brother can be; none of this is cool.
Gilbert blinks at the question on being okay (because, well, maybe that would be worth getting a little choked up with Elliot and his tsundere extreme mode) but he doesn't even get to answer before the point is being cut to.
(Also, ahaha Oz catching him up on everything, one would hope... but they'll have to talk eventually okay!! No escaping forever, it's not possible.)
The time between his first response and his next is enough for him to sigh and manage to get rid of the needed urge to sob in pain. While it's just audio, Gilbert does bring his hand to pinch at the bridge of his nose as if trying to get a quicker grasp on what Elliot could be talking about. Vincent has been around, but he hasn't told him anything (other than a lot of sympathetic pats of Megumi being gone and maybe how it's probably for the best who knows, Gilbert isn't all that sure he was listening.
So, at least when he replies this time, he doesn't sound like an emotional loser. In fact, to his credit, one could almost forget his initial reply... Or, you know, absolutely remember it now because they are so damn different sounding. ]
No, what happened?
[ he's concerned, of course. Elliot coming to him with this sort of thing means it's got to be serious. ]
[ CRAWLING ANGSTFEST ... EVEN BETTER ... how the hell is he supposed to respect you anymore if you can't even mope like a decent person ... >:-(
Besides, he wasn't aware Oz ever existed until Gilbert became enamored with a kid who sincerely believed shonen optimism could save the day. It's kind of unfair, okay — no one tells him anything?! He practically had to wheedle it out of Oz with the threat of bug evisceration hanging over their heads, then Leo threw a wrench into things before dissipating right into the woodwork. Plus, he got insulted by his literal hero, Xerxes Break. If he can't trust his own family, he's destined to live out the rest of his days as a hermetic monk tilling soil and meditating on the bullshit he's gotten ensnared with thus far. It might be better for everyone if he did, but that's out of the question with his attitude. And, you know, that he can't start something without fucking it up halfway through.
In terms of ethos, Elliot's a loser through and through. He's just an unintentional one. ]
I suppose Vincent didn't mention that he threw a child out of his apartment window the other day.
[ That seems like a serious enough preface. Elliot pauses, allowing that idea to disseminate ugly notions about the reliability of their currently presumed insane sibling, then: ] I found her, by the way. She was bleeding profusely from the forehead and attempting to climb back in. I took the liberty of escorting her to the hospital because she clearly wasn't in her right mind.
[ He's not the type for voyeurism, but something in his tone scintillates. Words catching light in full-blown exposure, intending to cut through anything Gilbert might attempt to conceal with equivocation or well-intentioned duplicity. ]
You're my brother, Gilbert. You'd tell me if anything was troubling you, correct?
[ of course then Elliot is explaining this to him a little more and if she was bleeding profusely and attempting to climb back in... Well, normally he'd go with that being the littlest Baskerville brat, but considering the type of people in this crazy world, there could be a number of children with overly cement-headed physically damage tolerance... right.
Hm, he doesn't exactly care if Lily got herself tossed all that much but Elliot is the only truly decent one of the Nightray siblings, alive and otherwise, so of course he took it—no no, her— to the hospital.
He's about to ask, truly wondering about this situation (not that Vincent really needs a good reason past she was simply physically in his way at the time...), but stops as that tone registers.
But Elliot's words, too, make him consider, because is this really something he needs to keep a secret from his little brother, when there's nothing to harm here but his own pride because he's been affected by someone leaving?
At the same time, though, is he expecting Gilbert to confess that oh btw in case you somehow missed it, I ditched Nightray House for Vessalius, but Vincent's with the Baskervilles, now...
...ehem. ]
...A lot of things are troubling me, but I'm not sure if I can answer you more than one at a time. Are we talking about in regards to Vincent or just the general thing on my mind right now?
[ Vincent always concerns him, to be honest... but more importantly Gil gets this is one of those 'times' where if he fails to produce, he's lost a chance to potential make a rift smaller rather than multiply it's already decently sized distance of separation. ]
[ ONLY GILBERT ... ONLY GILBERT WOULD DO SUCH A HALF-ASSED JOB OF CONVINCING HIM ... like half the time he keeps everything under wraps whenever Gilbert comes by, but thinking badly of his adopted siblings is such a new concept to him. That and no one tells him anything. Jerks. He deserves to be on the in-crowd and get informed with all the bullshit that's gone down since he kicked the bucket. It's not vilification, exactly, but on the receiving end Elliot's voice comes off as particularly judgmental, slung into the phone like an immiscible insult. ]
I don't know. I was hoping you knew something about it, seeing as how he's always concerned about you when you land yourself in trouble.
[ AKA why are you friends with Oz? Why is anyone friends with Oz? Why is Elliot himself friends with Oz? Vessalius's only (questionable???) charm points are his absurd optimism in the middle of crisis, and that's saying something. When it comes down to it, Elliot will hate you forever for abandoning him for a rabbit boy, a girl, and then Gilbert's own feelings, respectively, because it doesn't automatically relate to him in some way. This is what the call's really about. Ten entire tons of abandonment issues barely concealed by his own self-denigration in the matter because Gilbert never picks up the hint until it smacks him squarely in the face. ]
Both. It's not as if I care about what you do in your free time in particular, but if you don't even know what Vincent's been up to, you must be in trouble. It happened quite a while ago.
[ He's not helping matters digging his own grave, but Elliot's trying harder than he ever did when he was technically alive, so it matters that he's reaching out (or so he'll convince himself of, in the end). ]
[ IT ALWAYS GOES LIKE THIS WHY... does the cerealian university here have 'how to not fail at being an older brother class 101... because maybe Gil needs to enroll in this stat!!
Gilbert winces slightly because he can hear that sound even without seeing his younger brother in person. But, the tone is in fact the biggest reason and not so much the suggestion.
Vincent throwing a Baskerville child out the window isn't what he'd call "trouble"... at least, not in him being any more concerned about Vincent than he normally is. So, at the beginning, he's trying to piece things together; but as Elliot continues to talk, Gil comes to slowly realize the question is less about what's wrong with Vincent right now and more about why Gilbert is being such an incredible failure at keeping an eye on things one would think him better at.
The abandonment issues, as always, are still going over his head in soaring waves, Elliot did nothing wrong to deserve having siblings like this! The abandonment is over his head, but at least he gets (and takes the opening) for a moment. ]
...First, though, do you remember being some place else like this before coming here?
[ He's never asked, and honestly he's never cared to worry about it until just now, thinking it might shed some light on how easy or difficult (aka: stupid) this explanation is going to be as it comes out of his mouth. ]
[ It's okay, Gilbert, he knows that even if you've got the emotional tactility of a lima bean before it's promptly run over by a motorcycle, your heart is in the right place. So you weren't there for his poignant death scene, or like, present in his life at all when it didn't directly correlate to Oz in some way, but respect's there. Deep, deep, deep down where he acknowledges that he would've been a good trillion times more fucked-up if he'd only had his blood siblings to account for. And while Gilbert is no shining paragon of virtue, Elliot takes everything he says to heart with esteem, because in the end he really is no more and no less than the person he's always been.
He stares down at the audio function of the CereVice, ruminating upon how to tackle the question and its implications.
A protracted sigh, and then: ] ... No, I don't. Were you somewhere else before this?
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audio
It's admittedly kind of weird hearing Gilbert's voice after such a protracted hiatus, though, mainly because he sounds like he's crying?! Maybe he really was choked up about Elliot attempting to reach a stalemate after that whole sellout business where Gilbert sold his soul to the Vessalius dukedom to pledge allegiance to a dweeb and a girl that liked to sniff and bite people like she was feral. ]
Are you alright? Do you need a moment?
[ They haven't even touched his death, but frankly speaking, Oz has probably brought him up-to-snuff on the current state of affairs. He isn't calling to host a pity party or anything. ]
I'll cut right to it, then. Did you hear about Vincent? Has he told you anything in particular lately?
audio
...This... entire duration, anyway.
And that dweeb is too adorable and his focus in life to ever consider feeling any remorse that might suggest he'd be choked up at contact (except that also doesn't mean he wishes like crazy he could be a 'cool' older brother... or, you know, definitely still on the terms they used to be before Elliot pretty much disowned him for following his heart ;( he would like to have his cake and eat it, too, but he gets it... he...
—no one cares, Gil, so save it...), but if he knew it was between this and between letting know a stupid bird just bullied him for options on why he might sound near tears...
Yeah, he'd let the first one fly anyday. As if he wants Elliot to know how even more pathetic his big brother can be; none of this is cool.
Gilbert blinks at the question on being okay (because, well, maybe that would be worth getting a little choked up with Elliot and his tsundere extreme mode) but he doesn't even get to answer before the point is being cut to.
(Also, ahaha Oz catching him up on everything, one would hope... but they'll have to talk eventually okay!! No escaping forever, it's not possible.)
The time between his first response and his next is enough for him to sigh and manage to get rid of the needed urge to sob in pain. While it's just audio, Gilbert does bring his hand to pinch at the bridge of his nose as if trying to get a quicker grasp on what Elliot could be talking about. Vincent has been around, but he hasn't told him anything (other than a lot of sympathetic pats of Megumi being gone and maybe how it's probably for the best who knows, Gilbert isn't all that sure he was listening.
So, at least when he replies this time, he doesn't sound like an emotional loser. In fact, to his credit, one could almost forget his initial reply... Or, you know, absolutely remember it now because they are so damn different sounding. ]
No, what happened?
[ he's concerned, of course. Elliot coming to him with this sort of thing means it's got to be serious. ]
audio
Besides, he wasn't aware Oz ever existed until Gilbert became enamored with a kid who sincerely believed shonen optimism could save the day. It's kind of unfair, okay — no one tells him anything?! He practically had to wheedle it out of Oz with the threat of bug evisceration hanging over their heads, then Leo threw a wrench into things before dissipating right into the woodwork. Plus, he got insulted by his literal hero, Xerxes Break. If he can't trust his own family, he's destined to live out the rest of his days as a hermetic monk tilling soil and meditating on the bullshit he's gotten ensnared with thus far. It might be better for everyone if he did, but that's out of the question with his attitude. And, you know, that he can't start something without fucking it up halfway through.
In terms of ethos, Elliot's a loser through and through. He's just an unintentional one. ]
I suppose Vincent didn't mention that he threw a child out of his apartment window the other day.
[ That seems like a serious enough preface. Elliot pauses, allowing that idea to disseminate ugly notions about the reliability of their currently presumed insane sibling, then: ] I found her, by the way. She was bleeding profusely from the forehead and attempting to climb back in. I took the liberty of escorting her to the hospital because she clearly wasn't in her right mind.
[ He's not the type for voyeurism, but something in his tone scintillates. Words catching light in full-blown exposure, intending to cut through anything Gilbert might attempt to conceal with equivocation or well-intentioned duplicity. ]
You're my brother, Gilbert. You'd tell me if anything was troubling you, correct?
audio
Wha—?! What the hell did he do that for!!
[ of course then Elliot is explaining this to him a little more and if she was bleeding profusely and attempting to climb back in... Well, normally he'd go with that being the littlest Baskerville brat, but considering the type of people in this crazy world, there could be a number of children with overly
cement-headedphysically damage tolerance... right.Hm, he doesn't exactly care if Lily got herself tossed all that much but Elliot is the only truly decent one of the Nightray siblings, alive and otherwise, so of course he took it—no no, her— to the hospital.
He's about to ask, truly wondering about this situation (not that Vincent really needs a good reason past she was simply physically in his way at the time...), but stops as that tone registers.
But Elliot's words, too, make him consider, because is this really something he needs to keep a secret from his little brother, when there's nothing to harm here but his own pride because he's been affected by someone leaving?
At the same time, though, is he expecting Gilbert to confess that oh btw in case you somehow missed it, I ditched Nightray House for Vessalius, but Vincent's with the Baskervilles, now...
...ehem. ]
...A lot of things are troubling me, but I'm not sure if I can answer you more than one at a time. Are we talking about in regards to Vincent or just the general thing on my mind right now?
[ Vincent always concerns him, to be honest... but more importantly Gil gets this is one of those 'times' where if he fails to produce, he's lost a chance to potential make a rift smaller rather than multiply it's already decently sized distance of separation. ]
audio
I don't know. I was hoping you knew something about it, seeing as how he's always concerned about you when you land yourself in trouble.
[ AKA why are you friends with Oz? Why is anyone friends with Oz? Why is Elliot himself friends with Oz? Vessalius's only (questionable???) charm points are his absurd optimism in the middle of crisis, and that's saying something. When it comes down to it, Elliot will hate you forever for abandoning him for a rabbit boy, a girl, and then Gilbert's own feelings, respectively, because it doesn't automatically relate to him in some way. This is what the call's really about. Ten entire tons of abandonment issues barely concealed by his own self-denigration in the matter because Gilbert never picks up the hint until it smacks him squarely in the face. ]
Both. It's not as if I care about what you do in your free time in particular, but if you don't even know what Vincent's been up to, you must be in trouble. It happened quite a while ago.
[ He's not helping matters digging his own grave, but Elliot's trying harder than he ever did when he was technically alive, so it matters that he's reaching out (or so he'll convince himself of, in the end). ]
... You can tell me what's wrong.
audio
Gilbert winces slightly because he can hear that sound even without seeing his younger brother in person. But, the tone is in fact the biggest reason and not so much the suggestion.
Vincent throwing a Baskerville child out the window isn't what he'd call "trouble"... at least, not in him being any more concerned about Vincent than he normally is. So, at the beginning, he's trying to piece things together; but as Elliot continues to talk, Gil comes to slowly realize the question is less about what's wrong with Vincent right now and more about why Gilbert is being such an incredible failure at keeping an eye on things one would think him better at.
The abandonment issues, as always, are still going over his head in soaring waves, Elliot did nothing wrong to deserve having siblings like this! The abandonment is over his head, but at least he gets (and takes the opening) for a moment. ]
...First, though, do you remember being some place else like this before coming here?
[ He's never asked, and honestly he's never cared to worry about it until just now, thinking it might shed some light on how easy or difficult (aka: stupid) this explanation is going to be as it comes out of his mouth. ]
audio
He stares down at the audio function of the CereVice, ruminating upon how to tackle the question and its implications.
A protracted sigh, and then: ] ... No, I don't. Were you somewhere else before this?