POLYchromatic Application; Xerxes Break
[nick / name]: Rizu
[personal LJ name]:
stormcoming
[other characters currently played]:
Mizuno ][ Star Driver ][innocentvow
Araragi ][ Bakemonogatari ][stapletrauma
[e-mail]: opheliary@gmail.com
[AIM / messenger]: steelandpride
[series]: Pandora Hearts
[character]: Xerxes Break
[character history / background]: If you'd like the short version, wikipedia can be your friend. This timeline is also something of a lifesaver, (though it has not yet been changed to reflect revelations from the newest chapters, but those don't affect Break).
In the world of Pandora Hearts, (which is generally explained here, in brief), many key events of the "current" time began during the days leading up to, and shortly after, a cataclysmic event that occurred 100 years ago, now referred to by the citizens of this world as the "Tragedy of Sablier".
In the decade after this tragedy, the major Duke households went in to political uproar as the capitol moves from the crator that was Sablier to the new city of Lebereaux. Seeing as one previously minor noble house, the Vessalius, had been elevated in to prominence by the virtue of one of their sons being the so-called hero of the tragedy, and one, the previously feared and noble Baskervilles, claimed the villain as their own, let alone more rumors considering the powerful Nightray family as a potential ally to the Baskervilles, thus weakening their political status... Everyone with a drop of noble blood sensed it in the water and the noble families of the country began to fight amongst themselves for the coveted positions of power. In the political jostle following this upheaval of a long standing power balance many smaller noble houses waged all-but-outright war upon each other in an attempt to claim more and more prestige. One of these houses, the Sinclair, became just one more victim in the tragedy's aftermath when the entire family was murdered by a rival house.
Except for one single member of the bloodline and one loyal retainer. Meet Kevin Regnard, a knight of the Sinclair House, 24 years of age, who had, by luck or fate alone, been away from the manor at the time of the massacre along with a young daughter of his Lord. Returning to find them all dead, Kevin was wracked with guilt for being unable to protect his master, and in the days that followed, he ended up being contacted by and making a contract with a Chain, a monster particular to their world. The lure of the Chains, the reason humans make contracts with these dangerous beasts in the first place, is one of the most persuasive of all.
The ability to change the past.
Kevin became what is known as an "illegal contractor", committing countless murders to feed his Chain's demands until the clock on his chest, his remaining "time" before he was consumed by the beast, struck twelve, and he was sucked in to the Abyss, the "womb" from which Chains spring. In the Abyss, (a place unexplored, unknown, and full of contraction and mystery both), Kevin encounters what is now referred to as "The Will of the Abyss", a young girl called Alice. Alice easily defeats the knight's Chain, and him, and plucks Kevin's left eye from his skull in a fit of sadistic whimsy but before he can lose the other, Alice is distracted. The arrival of two young children seemingly fresh from the Sablier tragedy, covered in blood, the blond pulling his older, unconscious brother along, interrupts our charming and blood-strewn scene, especially when the blonde greets Alice as if he knows who she is.
This upsets her, and in a fit of sobbing and hysterical little girl temper tantrum/bestial rage, things get more and more chaotic. Remembering his first purpose, the reason he'd killed people, contracted with a Chain in the first place, Kevin begs the Will of the Abyss to grant him what he'd been seeking- the way to change the past, erase his mistakes, and the guilt that haunted him because of his Lord's death. Alice promises to change his time for him, and in exchange, asks of him to grant her wish.
To destroy her.
It would be decades before he even tells a single other person what this wish of hers was. After she tells him that wish, Keven loses consciousness and is thrown from the Abyss as it crumbles around him, Alice, and the two young children.
When Kevin awakes, it is ~15 years before the current manga timeline, (so ~85 years after the Tragedy of Sablier), found by a young girl named Sharon Rainsworth (aged approx. 10), and a retainer of the Barma household, Liam Lunettes (aged approx. 13). He is taken in by the Rainsworth family, one of the current Four Duke households in their country. It is then when he finds out how the Will of the Abyss changed his past, changed the events that, to everyone he meets, occurred over a generation ago. (Yeah, he was in the Abyss for about 5 minutes, and outside, about 30 years passed- it sucks like that.)
There was no massacre. The Sinclair family survived that day, and continued to fight in the struggle between noble houses. However, that struggle escalated when one of the elder Sinclair daughters was assassinated by a rival house. Due to this, one of her younger sisters contracted with a Chain striving to change things just as Kevin had- and in the process, sacrificed her entire family to her Chain. Yes, Kevin changed the past. Lord Sinclair lived for four more years than he had originally. But in exchange the Sinclair girl who had originally survived the massacre, the little girl who had looked up at Kevin with tears in her eyes over the graves of her family and asked him not leave her... no longer had her life. In this new past, there were no survivors. He'd accomplished nothing. Less than nothing.
Kevin discarded his past name, choosing now to go by the name of Xerxes Break. He spent many years bitter and closed off from others, but with the patient care of Shelly Rainsworth, the noble house's matriarch, he slowly opened back up somewhat, and learned to smile again, no matter how false those smiles can be. Now, fifteen years later and in the manga's current timeline, Break has sworn his loyalty to the Rainsworth household, contracted (legally, this time), with another Chain, and is working in the secret organization Pandora alongside Shelly's daughter, the girl who found him passed out in front of her family's gate, and fellow legal contractor, Sharon Rainsworth, seeking the truth of what happened during the Tragedy of Sablier, and in the Abyss.
When the current timeline runs afoul of the man now known as Xerxes Break, he is seen in Sharon's shadow, and seen again when young Oz Vessalius is pulled from the Abyss 10 years after being banished there at his coming of age ceremony (bringing the current manga timeline to approx. 100 years after the Tragedy, as Oz was sucked in to the Abyss ~90 years after). Xerxes offers Oz and his contracted Chain, Alice, (yes, this is a most confusing plot point- we know, sob), the chance to work for him as his underlings in Pandora, giving them the opportunity to chase shards of Alice's scattered memories, and they accept.
The first mission he sends them on is one intended to send a message to the boy he considers oddly and disturbingly naive. Without telling them the illegal contractor is already near being sucked in to the Abyss, he sends them to a town to investigate the young girl. Sharon confronts him about his choice to remove the photo showing the girl's nearly-strike-of-midnight contract from the mission file, and Break merely dismisses it as a kindness. A kindness, to show Oz that it is not always hope that lies at the end of the road.
Without trying to bore you to death, Break has a hand in many of the subsequent events that occur in the main manga timeline. He sees to it that Oz and co. head to the location of his coming of age ceremony in an attempt to lure out his original attackers, something that succeeds when the Baskerville Zwei shows herself there. Break also sends them on assignment to track down an escaped illegal contractor, suspecting why and how he managed to escape, something that ends up feeding his suspicions and dislike for Vincent Nightray (who he recognizes from the Abyss, as the little blood-colored boy all grown up, and who he suspects is not as forgetful of his past as his brother, Gilbert, is), even going so far as to bait and threaten (subtly, naturally), the Nightray noble when escorting them out of the Rainsworth house after he saved Oz and co. from the escaped contractor by shooting him.
We are then given Gilbert's account of Xerxes Break, when he relates how, after Oz's disappearance in to the Abyss, he was found by the man and "encouraged", shall we say, in to taking his place as the adopted son of the Nightray house alongside his younger brother Vincent, who had been seeking him- and also for the purpose of serving as Break's "eye" in the noble house. More of Break's past is given to us when he and Alice, then Oz and Gilbert as well, are pulled in to the Cheshire's playpen, Cheshire being the Chain who possesses Break's left eye thanks to a gift from the Will of the Abyss, as well as when in the aftermath they seek out the Duke of the Barma house, Rufus, for knowledge about the Tragedy of Sablier, but end up having Break's past revealed to them instead.
In addition, Break's utter dislike and distrust for a certain Vincent is only intensified when, after returning from Cheshire's dimension with the cat Chain's bell, (which holds a fragment of Alice's memories, and one incriminating of Vincent himself), Vincent shows his hand by revealing that while they were all occupied with Cheshire, he kidnapped Sharon Rainsworth, and poisoned her, offering Break the antidote (which he demonstrates on his own servant, Echo, whom he poisoned as well, specifically to... prove the antidote to Break), only if he would destroy the bell with his chain, the Mad Hatter. Break hesitates, as his goal is the truth and the bell a key, and Sharon even urges him to not worry about her, but in the end, his loyalty to Sharon's mother, (one could only conjecture his affections towards Sharon herself, though she has thought of him as something of a big brother to her since her childhood), wins out, and he destroys Cheshire's bell. However, Vincent, being the lovely little thing he is, proceeds to simply toss the antidote off the balcony. Luckily for Break and Sharon, Echo, in a fit of something that might be mercy or emotion throws herself forward and catches it, allowing Break the time to snatch her and the antidote away from Vincent's rather vicious backhand, and save Sharon.
Oz and co. later snuck off to the sight of the original Tragedy seeking answers and instead encounter the Baskvervilles and a befuddling mix of trapped and frozen memories of the past. Break made a dramatic entrance and came to the rescue of the besieged youngsters, stabbing Zwei through the chest and hand and defeating the Baskerville Lotti, as well. Once defeated, he initiates a conversation with her- in which he makes her an offer to become his friend, reaching out for information. He has to depart in order tobitchslap stop Gil from going psycho on Zai Vessalius, Oz's father, and takes the contractor out when he's overtaken by a sort of mental control. It's a quick role reversal however, because a little while later he weakens and a now calmed down Gil has to carry him to meet up with the others. There, he falls in to unconsciousness.
He awakens in the Rainsworth household safe and sound, but mostly blind- something he manages to hide from all but the most observant, Oz and Liam. It takes him a while to move from bedridden to out and about and begin adjusting to his failing vision. Once he does though, he uses the time while Sharon, Oz, Gil, and Alice are investigating the seals on Glen Baskerville's soul to investigate Oz Vessalius himself, reporting to Sheryl Rainsworth that some mysterious happenings occurred on the day of Oz's birth that raise the possibility he may have been switched at birth or some such.
We next see Break when he, Oz, Gilbert, and Alice "infiltrate" Duke Barma's household in order to investigate Isla Yura, someone they find out is related to the sealing stones. "Infiltrate" because Break and Oz are clever enough to realize that if Barma truly wanted to lock them out they would never have been able to get in- he's allowing them. So Break allows Oz to lead everyone around in disguise and play along with the game while he waits for the jig to be up. Up in a big way, because Isla Yura is a creep of the highest fashion obsessed with Jack Vessalius, and of course he'll let Oz have his coming of age ceremony party at his place, isn't that so convenient.
So it's off to the Isla manor using the party as an excuse to investigate the grounds for the sealing stone. While Oz keeps Isla distracted Liam and Break make their way around, and Liam takes the time to whap Break in the head and tell him it's about time to tell Sharon about his eyesight issues. Which he does, on the balcony when she asks him to dance, he is afraid for half a second she'll cry- he can't stand people crying, doesn't know how to deal with it- but she doesn't. He realizes she's become a fine woman standing at his side this whole time without him even realizing it- but that little bit of contentment doesn't last long at all, this is Pandora Hearts we're talking about.
Xerxes and co. run in to a fight between Leo and the young Nightray scion Elliot, and Gil leaves to chase after his adoptive younger brother and Break tells Oz to chase after Leo and get information out of him regarding his relationship to Isla Yura. While they're talking however, a man is attacked and beheaded in the manor by the person known only as the "Head Hunter" and their chain, the "Queen of Hearts". Break allows Oz to continue investigating alone, in the hopes that the Head Hunter will be easily captured when making an attempt on Oz's life.
Meanwhile, he makes his way to the basement and finds one of the Baskervilles, Lottie, whom he proposed friendship to in Sablier. When he corners her and she asks for clarification on his offer, he tells her it's simple. The Baskerville's goal and his personal one seem to be the same- so why not work together? His talk is interuppted, however, by the appearance of fake Baskervilles intent on recreating the Tragedy of Sablier, and in the scuffle another Baskerville, Doug, rescues Lottie and reminds her they have little chance of winning against Break, fleeing the scene. Though he wants to locate Liam and ascertain his safety, Break hears the chaos erupting above ground and heads back up, just in time to detain Elliot Nightray standing on the stairs above his decapitated sister's body, accusing him of being the "Headhunter" who has been killing off the Nightray family. The basis of his accusation- information he received from Duke Barma when they "infiltrated" his manor regarding a chain identified as "Humpty Dumpty".
However, after explaining his reasoning to Gilbert and trying to get him to check Elliot for an illegal contractor's seal, and then getting in to a raised voices BITCH YOU DON'T KNOW ME hissy fit with him, a man runs in screaming about someone cutting off heads, only to have his own head chopped off. Faced with this new evidence Break and Gil abandon Elliot and chase after the Headhunter. Another BITCH fight follows before the Headhunter makes himself heard again, and the game of follow the leader begins- with Break alone playing, leaving Gil behind.
Where the Headhunter leads Break, however, is to the basement where the Baskerville Lily seems to have just finished torturing and killing Liam Lunettes. Not cool. Lamenting how his careful plans have gone awry, Break kind of just. Snaps. And draws his sword on the Baskervilles for a fight. After all- he'd told Lotti before. If Liam was harmed by them... he'd not be able to get along with them at all. A high-level fight between Baskerville Fang and Break erupts in the basement and proceeds to the manor grounds. Something that suits Vincent Nightray, aka the Headhunter who led him the whole way there, just fine. A chance to get rid of the meddlesome Xerxes Break. Mad Hatter.
He holds his own for a while against the two Baskervilles, but their regeneration ability renders his sword skills mostly useless, and his blindness has deteriorated those anyway. He has to use the Mad Hatter to win, and he almost does, about to knowingly use it, snuff out his own life to take the two Baskervilles who killed Liam with him, before he dies of bloodless or something silly like that.
Before Gilbert comes flying in and flying kicks him.
A yelling pep talk follows in which Gilbert accuses Break of never asking for help and always running off alone when there are people all around him he could be relying on. This humbles Break momentarily, sobers him up to the idea that he was seriously about to die, not achieve any of the things he needs to do- so he asks for GIlbert's help defeating the Baskervilles. Which they do- well, with assistance from a third party who distracts Lily long enough to keep her from shooting Break, who in turn can them stab at her- though Fang takes the sword channeled through with Mad Hatter's powers, and thereafter dies. The Baskervilles retreat, and everyone is left wondering how the hell Liam, who distracted Lily, is still alive. Turns out his March Hare chain is pretty useless most of the time- it can let it's Contractor play dead.
Either way. Break finds himself strangely relieved and happy that Liam is alive. Unable to really move any longer, Break warns Gil of his thoughts regarding Vincent being connected to the Baskervilles before Gil runs back to Oz's side, where things are in motion to stop the recreation of the Tragedy of Sablier. One crazy fight and one sadly self-sacrificed Elliot Nightray, the Humpty Dumpty's original contractor, later... Sharon and Break make their way to the basement to use Sharon's chain, Equues, to evacuate the survivors. In the aftermath, Duke Nightray disappeared, as did Vincent. Leo, Elliot's servant, was detained by Pandora. Break is bedridden due to wounds and usage of his Chain.
Break is laid up for a week. During this week, lots of things happen- mainly the Dukes find out information about Isla Yura's goals at the mansion and Vincent kills Duke Nightray before kidnapping Leo, delivering Elliot's last words to him, and then swearing his allegiance to his lord, the reincarnation of Glen Baskerville. When he wakes up it's to an impressive lecture from Sharon Rainsworth- one he deserves and needs.
He doesn't have long to rest once he wakes, however- Leo is back, in his place as "Glen", and he attacks Oz and co. with Vincent and Echo. Break informs Sharon of his intent to fulfill his promise to the Will of the Abyss he made years ago, to destroy her. However, shit goes awry, as it tends to, when Rufus Barma, a close ally of the Rainsworth house, attacts the elderly matriarch Sheryl and steals her key to the Rainsworth family Door to the Abyss, by all appearances having switched his allegience to the Baskervilles when he realized they held the more likely chance of winning. Break and Sharon find Sheryl gravely injured in the garden, and Break pursues Rufus.
If you read that whole thing I am so sorry.
[character abilities]: Xerxes Break is a legal contractor with the secret organization Pandora, and is contracted to the powerful Chain known only as The Mad Hatter. The appearance we've seen of this chain is a somewhat warped version of the Alice in Wonderland character, though mostly prominent to the viewer is the distinctive hat, chains, feathers, and cards adorning it, as well as a billowing cloak over what seems to be an impaled eyeball. Break can summon his Chain at will, and call upon its powers- the most fearsome of those being the fact that his Chain is meant specifically for destroying things of the Abyss, including other Chains, (and things like Cheshire's bell, which is why Vincent had to go to such links to make Break destroy it, rather than simply take it and destroy it himself).
Break also carries a hefty staff that conceals a sword he is more than adroit with courtesy his former lifestyle as a knight, and can perform several actions that remain somewhat unexplained at the moment, but resemble magic and are no doubt linked in some way to his Chain, allowing him to do such things as travel from a cabinet, or underneath a table, on to a roof outside, or more battle-oriented things, such as creating barriers that can rebuff and imprison Chains of the Abyss.
Such powers don't come withoutgreat responsibility a price, however. As when he comes to blows with Duke Barma, and coughs up blood, (he does this more than once, but this is when the others notice), it's shown that the contracting of a Chain, and perhaps lingering affects of the Abyss and his former life as an illegal contractor, (his fully filled "time" is still drawn on his chest), is very strenuous on the body and repeated and frequent use of his Chain causes him bodily harm. Most crippling besides the whole internal organ damage is the fact that he began to go blind little by little, and as of current timeline, he is actually blind for the most part, able to only distinguish vague blurs where people should be, vague impressions of color. This blindness has limited his abilities and power level as, while he was a good enough swordsman that he was able to deceive people for a time, not even a swordsman as good as Break could keep up such a level of expertise relying mainly on hearing and what little sight he had left. His contract has deteriorated to the point that he is aware the next time he uses the Mad Hatter's power very well could be the last time.
In addition, the contract has "frozen" his time, and he has not aged since emerging from the Abyss, still looking relatively young if not definitely an adult man. However, he is approximately seventy five years old technically speaking, (though he's only lived 35-40 of them outside of the Abyss), and as he states at one point, though he looks ageless, he "may not have another year left" before he'd die of what could amount to old age.
[character personality]: As "Xerxes Break", Break's demeanor is often outwardly childish and immature, loud, demanding, and incessantly overly dramatic. He is prone to outrageous acts to shock and surprise and make an entrance, such as popping up when one least expects it from under a table or from inside a cabinet, offering you candy and then snatching it back and eating it in front of your face, and flopping over tables, waving all his limbs around, and making loud wooshing noises when his mistress tells her guests to dismiss him and his antics as simply air around them. He also makes use of a rather odd looking puppet he keeps on his shoulder and calls Emily, throwing his voice and warping the tone a bit, to insult people or suggest things, only to blame his words on the puppet should people get offended.
But beneath that innocent and foolish outward appearance, Break can be capable of being, and is, much more sinister, cruel, and calculating. He is not a wanton sadist nor a careless murderer or even a heartless abuser, but he is a man who manipulates others and events for his own purposes without the slightest bit of guilt, meddling in others' affairs, blackmailing and convincing others in to working for him and towards his aims, as well as guiding people along a path he's selected while making it seem like it was their idea all along. When others accuse him or confront him with his actions, asking for motives behind why he drives people to ends that he knows will end in their pain or sadness, he only answers with the truth as he knows it- that it's better to live with your eyes opened to the world and it's cruelties than to remain blind to them- that it's better to learn quickly that what lies in wait for you at the end of your road isn't always hope.
Break's drive comes from two main things: his consuming need to unravel the mysteries of the Abyss and the Tragedy of Sabrie, (an attempt to banish his guilt and lingering feelings over the events of his illegal contract and changing of the past as well), and his loyalty to Shelly Rainsworth. Working with Pandora, contracting with Mad Hatter, and his involvement in Oz Vessalius' business are all means to this end. Break jokes about friends and his comrades, but truth be told until recently, the idea of having actual people like that was one he'd cast aside. But it's true, that Sharon, who views him as something of a brother figure, Shelly, who saved his life, in a sense, once he thought himself lost to despair, and Oz and co., are all people he's grown close too, perhaps, in his mind, too close to. After all- he is one who has proven himself first not even being able to save his lord, and second, of not even being able to save a single little girl.
Don't mistake his assessment of his failures for anything beyond that- an assessment. Break doesn't deal in self-pity. Self-deprecating humor, sure, he can do that. But sitting around angsting is not really in his repertoire. He has things to do, goals to accomplish, and not a lot of time to accomplish them. Even when he wakes up blind in his bed he smiles and wears a mask before his comrades, and only in front of Liam, one of those few closest to him, does he actually admit his weakness and do anything like angst... for all of maybe three minutes. He does admit a bit more than he usually would ever in those few minutes, however. That he feels the punishment he receives in the form of a withering body is something like redemption for him, who could never really be forgiven for what he's done. But in the end all it takes is a few choice words to remind him to snap together, because in the end, Break doesn't have the time to sit around feeling sorry for himself, or even to sit around feeling sorry for many people at all. He has places to go, things to do, and mysteries to solve.
It's for this reason also that he's always carried on stoically, never complaining when he's hurt or injured. He'll fake complain and whine dramatically about stubbing his toe as part of his little act, but if he's near death you won't get a peep in seriousness out of Xerxes Break. He can't afford to let pesky little things like coughing up blood and going blind to slow him down, and he certainly isn't about to admit a weakness to anyone. Just like he takes advantages of others' weaknesses, he doesn't expect his enemies, or even "friends", to be above taking advantage of his own. He tried to hide his blindness for a long while from even those closest to him, Sharon Rainsworth and Liam Lunettes. He had to be bullied by Liam in to even telling Sharon at all, because really... confiding in people is the last thing Xerxes is good at.
Trust, in general, is not a skill of his. He's done so much manipulation in his life to get what he needs and in the course of that he's offered others the chance to use him in turn. You can trust a person when you know their motives and how strong their forced ties to you are but trust... is such a tricky word. He also rarely confides in others on account of his simply being... protective, in a way. He keeps those closest the most distant from him, because he doesn't know how to deal with things like a girl being angry with him for keeping a secret, or a friend looking at him with a hurt expression just because he may have overlooked telling them something that may be just a bit important. Break is what he thinks of as a "realist" when it comes to ties and possessions in the world. There are things that must be weighed, decided on... "If you want to protect one single thing, you must be willing to cast aside everything else." "Once you've lost something, you can't just take it back."
He can be startlingly blunt when he desires, willing to tell people he's using them, and to offer them the chance to use him in return for a mutual goal, able to wear that rare frown and tell a boy you find him disgustingly odd because of his optimism and selflessness, and able to lay out his plans and back-ups, explain them, and then shrug and admit someone wasn't his first choice, but they'll have to do. Sometimes teasing, sometimes sinister, Break walks a fine line between the two most times, depending on who he's dealing with, the situation at hand, and what he can gain or lose. For example, he'll flat out tell those under his thumbs what he thinks of them, tease them about their failures or rebuke them, but with those he knows he cannot outright accuse or face publicly just yet, (like Vincent), he walks a more cautious line, rarely coming out with his true intent and feelings, but instead hinting and using double-speak to get across his threats and warnings.
This is a smart man. He can bide his time and he can look several steps ahead of things, make plans and if they don't go accordingly, not the most common thing, but if they don't, he can come up with something soon enough. He's no genius mastermind but he has a knight's experience in battle strategy and honed skills expressly for he purpose of achieving his goals. He's the most feared man in the organization Pandora, thought to be the single most powerful individual at their disposal, and he wields both fear and respect as tools as easily as a blade. In the beginning, he is a "cool" character, always in control and always above it all, wise and experienced and driven.
But more recently, Break has been dealing with the truth of his encroaching mortality. He's known for a long time that contracting with Chains leads only to an early death, though he weighed the risks and he took the chances. But it's only now that it's become evident his time is running out. Now. His progressing blindness and physical weakness after using his powers and the fact that he's risking his life each time he enters a battle has put a few things in perspective for Break. Most importantly, the fact that he might actually run out of time before he discovers what he's been searching for all this time- the Truth of 100 Years Ago. It's lent a desperate edge to his actions, a certain willingness to risk that he never would have allowed before, at one point actually on the verge of committing suicide via Mad Hatter usage in order to win against his opponent- before one of his subordinates kicks him in the head. Literally.
All those kicks to the head have been doing some good- or bad, depending on how you look at it. For the longest time, ever since coming out of the Abyss and even now after Shelly's influence, (though to a lesser extent), Break has held himself apart. He doesn't belong in this time. He should have died decades ago. He killed people and fed them to a monster to change the past and only twisted it further. To him, these are all simple facts and truths, and reasons to keep himself apart from the people around him. He is a feared man, after all.
But over time... it became harder and harder to keep himself apart. Liam and Sharon were like a family. Shelly was like a new lady, in place of lord. Sheryl was his guide. Gilbert was his subordinate. Even the newcomers, Oz and Alice... they've wormed their way under his skin. Things he hid easily years before have become harder to conceal. There's a weird, awful sensation that sometimes creeps in and it's called "guilt", eats away at him sometimes and forces him to admit things he'd rather keep secret. It's an annoying, troubling, awkward, unwanted thing- being close to people. More awful for them, because Break knows he'll leave, and they'll hurt- and it's quite foolish of them to chose a man like him.
And quite foolish of him to think there might be some truth in what Gilbert told him- that there were precious people all around he should be calling out for, rather than going off to die alone.
All in all, Sharon describes Break as someone who "always arrogantly goes around making fun of people, always acts like he knows everything about everyone yet refuses to share and of his secrets, who pretends to be terribly mature but can't stand to lose, is a ridiculous perfectionist, gets bouts of nerves over the pettiest little things, a horrible hypocrite who is constantly trying to take care of others but can't stand being taken care of, and utterly hopeless to boot". Also he's a lousy dance partner even though he can dance well on his own.
That's pretty accurate.
[point in timeline you're picking your character from]: Chapter 62, before his full out-and-about recovery from being bedridden
[journal post]:
[Without doubt, that is a grown man, barefoot, in his pajamas, huddled underneath a blanket he has wrapped around him like a hood ala a five year old boy. Definitely a winner, right here. He looks really put out, too.]
I finally think I can take a nap and get a good rest, and this is how the world repays me? I'll be filing a complaint with the nearest authority, I guarantee it.
[He pouts- that's the only way to describe it.]
I wager a maid will need be contacted. And a nurse, I'll be wanting for a nurse, as well. And don't send me someone young and pretty, either, I shan't have it. A withered old man like me- it would only be construed as perversion, I know how you young types operate with your schemes and your wondering. Send me the ugliest and most untouchable maid you have!
I have another list- not quite demands, but a shopping list, you might say. Ahem.
[The man holds up a scrap sheet of paper, upon which is written in large, slightly messy font:]
[1] secretary
[1] monocle (left)
[1] dark horse
[1] bunny
[1] bunny owner
If you know where I can find any of these highly useful items, do please let me know. I'm afraid that's it, actually.
[And as he moves to turn the feed off with a little smile, almost a friendly look, he just... buries back in to that pile of blankets, yes he does.]
[third person / log sample]:
Being bedridden gave a man far too much time to think.
Xerxes Break was a man who already did a great deal of thinking, and not for any passing fancy. He had things to accomplish and things to solve, things to break down and things to discoverer, and so of course he thought. He'd spent his life since arriving in this time thinking- on his feet and off them, taking his time and rushing like it was the last moment he had on the earth. And so of course, Xerxes Break had done a lot of thinking in his not so short lifetime.
But he'd never been bedridden for a week.
Of course, he'd spent most of the actual week literally unconscious and recovering from an abdominal wound, not to mention the damage he'd caused his body just using the small amount of Mad Hatter's powers that he had, but that was beside the point.
The point, perhaps, was that rather than admitting to himself that it was the subject of his thoughts that made him so tired, he continued to insist that it was merely an issue of time.
After all, time was to blame for so many things.
Blame wasn't the right word. Time was the cause, the instigator, the end and beginning of all the things in life that troubled him in this particular moment. After all, it was time that was running out for him. It was time that had ticked away to mark the hundred years since the Tragedy of Sabrie, a hundred years foretold to be required before a soul could re-materialize in their world's cycles. TIme held hostage was the thing that kept his mistress' body in adolescence and left her staring after women her same age who looked like women and not girls, that kept his face the same in the mirror each time he looked. It was time that had been stolen from him, decades of time spent in the dark of the Abyss when he swore it was mere minutes. Time was what had been changed, and ruined any chance of redemption for Kevin Regnard.
Whomever counted Time their ally would win- but could any man truly count that old bastard an ally, a friend?
The too loud, self-deprecating laughter that came from their still injured patient was enough to rattle the maids. No matter, their chatter and the noise they made with their breathing had been too loud in his ears. Everything was too loud these days. He'd had to make them loud. With his sight fading at every blink, every time he had to call on that cackling Mad Hatter, he'd had to rely on other things. Hearing left untouched by decay, a body that he'd honed to be able to detect vibrations in the ground, the air around him, and most importantly a brain that could still extrapolate and assume based on the blurs that used to be people and colors and life around him. It had been easy enough to hide his growing weakness from those closest to him- well. That creepy brat Oz Vessalius had figured things out of course, but he was caught up in some sort of self-righteous moral code that at least kept his mouth shut, and though Liam had caught him as well- they all knew now.
The great Xerxes Break, nicknamed Mr. One Man Show by the young Rainsworth mistress, a nickname seconded by many, and considered the most powerful single asset to the organization Pandora, and here he was, laid up in bed with a wound to his gut courtesy a Baskerville's Chain and his weakened body recovering from strain and the thing nurses and doctors called "exhaustion, poor man", but Pandora's researchers loyal to the Rainsworth house called "the likely effects of the combined impact of a completed illegal contract with the ongoing use of a very powerful legally contracted Chain". Funny. But he wasn't dead just yet, not for lack of trying and reckless desperation he'd felt beginning to gnaw on the edges of his efforts ever since he realized every time that this time might be the last time.
Unlike some, contemplating things like this, Break did not cry or even frown. His expression was neutral when he was conscious, staring sightlessly up at the vague impression of solid that was the ceiling of his room. Sometimes he didn't bother opening his eyes at all, if only to stave off the visitors just a little longer. Lectured by Sharon, Gilbert, and Liam... hah. He could laugh.
He was laughing, if the silent shake of his shoulders was any indication.
People telling him that he should stop going off alone, that he didn't have to do it all by himself, that he had precious people on which to rely on, friends he could call on... it was laughable, after all. So he laughed. They seemed to forget that he was the man who'd done quite cruel things to them. Hadn't he sent Oz and Gilbert along with Alice off to watch a little girl die? (So they'd realize how this world worked.) Hadn't he been the one who'd hidden things even from those who'd stood at his side this whole time? (He didn't like to see people cry, you see, doesn't know what to do about it, and-) Hadn't he been the one who'd cheerfully offered a damaged young boy the chance to use him for his own ends if he'd just allow him the same favor, cajoled him in to acting as his Left Eye, a task that surely had brought him more than his share of trouble? (He'd said he could cut ties any time he wished, but it was kind of reassuring, to think of not having that shriveled, empty eye socket-)
Moving was still painful, but Break clenched his teeth and sat up, sheets gathering at his waist. He had no time to be wasting here. There was still the matter of Vincent Nightray, that rat with a crimson eye, the boy Leo who'd been brought to interrogation, the theories he needed to discuss with Sheryl regarding the Baskerville's next target, and briefings he'd need to have with Oz and Gilbert. He needed to know for himself if Liam was still alright. As usual, he didn't have any time to be laying around here, certainly no time to be bedridden, no time because being bedridden provoked all kinds of unnatural thoughts- to think, he'd almost mentally agreed with those foolish people, the nerve of them.
Stiff, weak movements and Break had pulled the top layer of sheets up, wrapped it around himself like a cocoon, and then... rolled out of bed on to the hard floor below.
Much better.
Being bedridden provoked all sort of unnatural thoughts. If one was going to be hopeless for a little while, it was better to look the part.
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stormcoming[other characters currently played]:
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innocentvowAraragi ][ Bakemonogatari ][
stapletrauma[e-mail]: opheliary@gmail.com
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[series]: Pandora Hearts
[character]: Xerxes Break
[character history / background]: If you'd like the short version, wikipedia can be your friend. This timeline is also something of a lifesaver, (though it has not yet been changed to reflect revelations from the newest chapters, but those don't affect Break).
In the world of Pandora Hearts, (which is generally explained here, in brief), many key events of the "current" time began during the days leading up to, and shortly after, a cataclysmic event that occurred 100 years ago, now referred to by the citizens of this world as the "Tragedy of Sablier".
In the decade after this tragedy, the major Duke households went in to political uproar as the capitol moves from the crator that was Sablier to the new city of Lebereaux. Seeing as one previously minor noble house, the Vessalius, had been elevated in to prominence by the virtue of one of their sons being the so-called hero of the tragedy, and one, the previously feared and noble Baskervilles, claimed the villain as their own, let alone more rumors considering the powerful Nightray family as a potential ally to the Baskervilles, thus weakening their political status... Everyone with a drop of noble blood sensed it in the water and the noble families of the country began to fight amongst themselves for the coveted positions of power. In the political jostle following this upheaval of a long standing power balance many smaller noble houses waged all-but-outright war upon each other in an attempt to claim more and more prestige. One of these houses, the Sinclair, became just one more victim in the tragedy's aftermath when the entire family was murdered by a rival house.
Except for one single member of the bloodline and one loyal retainer. Meet Kevin Regnard, a knight of the Sinclair House, 24 years of age, who had, by luck or fate alone, been away from the manor at the time of the massacre along with a young daughter of his Lord. Returning to find them all dead, Kevin was wracked with guilt for being unable to protect his master, and in the days that followed, he ended up being contacted by and making a contract with a Chain, a monster particular to their world. The lure of the Chains, the reason humans make contracts with these dangerous beasts in the first place, is one of the most persuasive of all.
The ability to change the past.
Kevin became what is known as an "illegal contractor", committing countless murders to feed his Chain's demands until the clock on his chest, his remaining "time" before he was consumed by the beast, struck twelve, and he was sucked in to the Abyss, the "womb" from which Chains spring. In the Abyss, (a place unexplored, unknown, and full of contraction and mystery both), Kevin encounters what is now referred to as "The Will of the Abyss", a young girl called Alice. Alice easily defeats the knight's Chain, and him, and plucks Kevin's left eye from his skull in a fit of sadistic whimsy but before he can lose the other, Alice is distracted. The arrival of two young children seemingly fresh from the Sablier tragedy, covered in blood, the blond pulling his older, unconscious brother along, interrupts our charming and blood-strewn scene, especially when the blonde greets Alice as if he knows who she is.
This upsets her, and in a fit of sobbing and hysterical little girl temper tantrum/bestial rage, things get more and more chaotic. Remembering his first purpose, the reason he'd killed people, contracted with a Chain in the first place, Kevin begs the Will of the Abyss to grant him what he'd been seeking- the way to change the past, erase his mistakes, and the guilt that haunted him because of his Lord's death. Alice promises to change his time for him, and in exchange, asks of him to grant her wish.
To destroy her.
It would be decades before he even tells a single other person what this wish of hers was. After she tells him that wish, Keven loses consciousness and is thrown from the Abyss as it crumbles around him, Alice, and the two young children.
When Kevin awakes, it is ~15 years before the current manga timeline, (so ~85 years after the Tragedy of Sablier), found by a young girl named Sharon Rainsworth (aged approx. 10), and a retainer of the Barma household, Liam Lunettes (aged approx. 13). He is taken in by the Rainsworth family, one of the current Four Duke households in their country. It is then when he finds out how the Will of the Abyss changed his past, changed the events that, to everyone he meets, occurred over a generation ago. (Yeah, he was in the Abyss for about 5 minutes, and outside, about 30 years passed- it sucks like that.)
There was no massacre. The Sinclair family survived that day, and continued to fight in the struggle between noble houses. However, that struggle escalated when one of the elder Sinclair daughters was assassinated by a rival house. Due to this, one of her younger sisters contracted with a Chain striving to change things just as Kevin had- and in the process, sacrificed her entire family to her Chain. Yes, Kevin changed the past. Lord Sinclair lived for four more years than he had originally. But in exchange the Sinclair girl who had originally survived the massacre, the little girl who had looked up at Kevin with tears in her eyes over the graves of her family and asked him not leave her... no longer had her life. In this new past, there were no survivors. He'd accomplished nothing. Less than nothing.
Kevin discarded his past name, choosing now to go by the name of Xerxes Break. He spent many years bitter and closed off from others, but with the patient care of Shelly Rainsworth, the noble house's matriarch, he slowly opened back up somewhat, and learned to smile again, no matter how false those smiles can be. Now, fifteen years later and in the manga's current timeline, Break has sworn his loyalty to the Rainsworth household, contracted (legally, this time), with another Chain, and is working in the secret organization Pandora alongside Shelly's daughter, the girl who found him passed out in front of her family's gate, and fellow legal contractor, Sharon Rainsworth, seeking the truth of what happened during the Tragedy of Sablier, and in the Abyss.
When the current timeline runs afoul of the man now known as Xerxes Break, he is seen in Sharon's shadow, and seen again when young Oz Vessalius is pulled from the Abyss 10 years after being banished there at his coming of age ceremony (bringing the current manga timeline to approx. 100 years after the Tragedy, as Oz was sucked in to the Abyss ~90 years after). Xerxes offers Oz and his contracted Chain, Alice, (yes, this is a most confusing plot point- we know, sob), the chance to work for him as his underlings in Pandora, giving them the opportunity to chase shards of Alice's scattered memories, and they accept.
The first mission he sends them on is one intended to send a message to the boy he considers oddly and disturbingly naive. Without telling them the illegal contractor is already near being sucked in to the Abyss, he sends them to a town to investigate the young girl. Sharon confronts him about his choice to remove the photo showing the girl's nearly-strike-of-midnight contract from the mission file, and Break merely dismisses it as a kindness. A kindness, to show Oz that it is not always hope that lies at the end of the road.
Without trying to bore you to death, Break has a hand in many of the subsequent events that occur in the main manga timeline. He sees to it that Oz and co. head to the location of his coming of age ceremony in an attempt to lure out his original attackers, something that succeeds when the Baskerville Zwei shows herself there. Break also sends them on assignment to track down an escaped illegal contractor, suspecting why and how he managed to escape, something that ends up feeding his suspicions and dislike for Vincent Nightray (who he recognizes from the Abyss, as the little blood-colored boy all grown up, and who he suspects is not as forgetful of his past as his brother, Gilbert, is), even going so far as to bait and threaten (subtly, naturally), the Nightray noble when escorting them out of the Rainsworth house after he saved Oz and co. from the escaped contractor by shooting him.
We are then given Gilbert's account of Xerxes Break, when he relates how, after Oz's disappearance in to the Abyss, he was found by the man and "encouraged", shall we say, in to taking his place as the adopted son of the Nightray house alongside his younger brother Vincent, who had been seeking him- and also for the purpose of serving as Break's "eye" in the noble house. More of Break's past is given to us when he and Alice, then Oz and Gilbert as well, are pulled in to the Cheshire's playpen, Cheshire being the Chain who possesses Break's left eye thanks to a gift from the Will of the Abyss, as well as when in the aftermath they seek out the Duke of the Barma house, Rufus, for knowledge about the Tragedy of Sablier, but end up having Break's past revealed to them instead.
In addition, Break's utter dislike and distrust for a certain Vincent is only intensified when, after returning from Cheshire's dimension with the cat Chain's bell, (which holds a fragment of Alice's memories, and one incriminating of Vincent himself), Vincent shows his hand by revealing that while they were all occupied with Cheshire, he kidnapped Sharon Rainsworth, and poisoned her, offering Break the antidote (which he demonstrates on his own servant, Echo, whom he poisoned as well, specifically to... prove the antidote to Break), only if he would destroy the bell with his chain, the Mad Hatter. Break hesitates, as his goal is the truth and the bell a key, and Sharon even urges him to not worry about her, but in the end, his loyalty to Sharon's mother, (one could only conjecture his affections towards Sharon herself, though she has thought of him as something of a big brother to her since her childhood), wins out, and he destroys Cheshire's bell. However, Vincent, being the lovely little thing he is, proceeds to simply toss the antidote off the balcony. Luckily for Break and Sharon, Echo, in a fit of something that might be mercy or emotion throws herself forward and catches it, allowing Break the time to snatch her and the antidote away from Vincent's rather vicious backhand, and save Sharon.
Oz and co. later snuck off to the sight of the original Tragedy seeking answers and instead encounter the Baskvervilles and a befuddling mix of trapped and frozen memories of the past. Break made a dramatic entrance and came to the rescue of the besieged youngsters, stabbing Zwei through the chest and hand and defeating the Baskerville Lotti, as well. Once defeated, he initiates a conversation with her- in which he makes her an offer to become his friend, reaching out for information. He has to depart in order to
He awakens in the Rainsworth household safe and sound, but mostly blind- something he manages to hide from all but the most observant, Oz and Liam. It takes him a while to move from bedridden to out and about and begin adjusting to his failing vision. Once he does though, he uses the time while Sharon, Oz, Gil, and Alice are investigating the seals on Glen Baskerville's soul to investigate Oz Vessalius himself, reporting to Sheryl Rainsworth that some mysterious happenings occurred on the day of Oz's birth that raise the possibility he may have been switched at birth or some such.
We next see Break when he, Oz, Gilbert, and Alice "infiltrate" Duke Barma's household in order to investigate Isla Yura, someone they find out is related to the sealing stones. "Infiltrate" because Break and Oz are clever enough to realize that if Barma truly wanted to lock them out they would never have been able to get in- he's allowing them. So Break allows Oz to lead everyone around in disguise and play along with the game while he waits for the jig to be up. Up in a big way, because Isla Yura is a creep of the highest fashion obsessed with Jack Vessalius, and of course he'll let Oz have his coming of age ceremony party at his place, isn't that so convenient.
So it's off to the Isla manor using the party as an excuse to investigate the grounds for the sealing stone. While Oz keeps Isla distracted Liam and Break make their way around, and Liam takes the time to whap Break in the head and tell him it's about time to tell Sharon about his eyesight issues. Which he does, on the balcony when she asks him to dance, he is afraid for half a second she'll cry- he can't stand people crying, doesn't know how to deal with it- but she doesn't. He realizes she's become a fine woman standing at his side this whole time without him even realizing it- but that little bit of contentment doesn't last long at all, this is Pandora Hearts we're talking about.
Xerxes and co. run in to a fight between Leo and the young Nightray scion Elliot, and Gil leaves to chase after his adoptive younger brother and Break tells Oz to chase after Leo and get information out of him regarding his relationship to Isla Yura. While they're talking however, a man is attacked and beheaded in the manor by the person known only as the "Head Hunter" and their chain, the "Queen of Hearts". Break allows Oz to continue investigating alone, in the hopes that the Head Hunter will be easily captured when making an attempt on Oz's life.
Meanwhile, he makes his way to the basement and finds one of the Baskervilles, Lottie, whom he proposed friendship to in Sablier. When he corners her and she asks for clarification on his offer, he tells her it's simple. The Baskerville's goal and his personal one seem to be the same- so why not work together? His talk is interuppted, however, by the appearance of fake Baskervilles intent on recreating the Tragedy of Sablier, and in the scuffle another Baskerville, Doug, rescues Lottie and reminds her they have little chance of winning against Break, fleeing the scene. Though he wants to locate Liam and ascertain his safety, Break hears the chaos erupting above ground and heads back up, just in time to detain Elliot Nightray standing on the stairs above his decapitated sister's body, accusing him of being the "Headhunter" who has been killing off the Nightray family. The basis of his accusation- information he received from Duke Barma when they "infiltrated" his manor regarding a chain identified as "Humpty Dumpty".
However, after explaining his reasoning to Gilbert and trying to get him to check Elliot for an illegal contractor's seal, and then getting in to a raised voices BITCH YOU DON'T KNOW ME hissy fit with him, a man runs in screaming about someone cutting off heads, only to have his own head chopped off. Faced with this new evidence Break and Gil abandon Elliot and chase after the Headhunter. Another BITCH fight follows before the Headhunter makes himself heard again, and the game of follow the leader begins- with Break alone playing, leaving Gil behind.
Where the Headhunter leads Break, however, is to the basement where the Baskerville Lily seems to have just finished torturing and killing Liam Lunettes. Not cool. Lamenting how his careful plans have gone awry, Break kind of just. Snaps. And draws his sword on the Baskervilles for a fight. After all- he'd told Lotti before. If Liam was harmed by them... he'd not be able to get along with them at all. A high-level fight between Baskerville Fang and Break erupts in the basement and proceeds to the manor grounds. Something that suits Vincent Nightray, aka the Headhunter who led him the whole way there, just fine. A chance to get rid of the meddlesome Xerxes Break. Mad Hatter.
He holds his own for a while against the two Baskervilles, but their regeneration ability renders his sword skills mostly useless, and his blindness has deteriorated those anyway. He has to use the Mad Hatter to win, and he almost does, about to knowingly use it, snuff out his own life to take the two Baskervilles who killed Liam with him, before he dies of bloodless or something silly like that.
Before Gilbert comes flying in and flying kicks him.
A yelling pep talk follows in which Gilbert accuses Break of never asking for help and always running off alone when there are people all around him he could be relying on. This humbles Break momentarily, sobers him up to the idea that he was seriously about to die, not achieve any of the things he needs to do- so he asks for GIlbert's help defeating the Baskervilles. Which they do- well, with assistance from a third party who distracts Lily long enough to keep her from shooting Break, who in turn can them stab at her- though Fang takes the sword channeled through with Mad Hatter's powers, and thereafter dies. The Baskervilles retreat, and everyone is left wondering how the hell Liam, who distracted Lily, is still alive. Turns out his March Hare chain is pretty useless most of the time- it can let it's Contractor play dead.
Either way. Break finds himself strangely relieved and happy that Liam is alive. Unable to really move any longer, Break warns Gil of his thoughts regarding Vincent being connected to the Baskervilles before Gil runs back to Oz's side, where things are in motion to stop the recreation of the Tragedy of Sablier. One crazy fight and one sadly self-sacrificed Elliot Nightray, the Humpty Dumpty's original contractor, later... Sharon and Break make their way to the basement to use Sharon's chain, Equues, to evacuate the survivors. In the aftermath, Duke Nightray disappeared, as did Vincent. Leo, Elliot's servant, was detained by Pandora. Break is bedridden due to wounds and usage of his Chain.
Break is laid up for a week. During this week, lots of things happen- mainly the Dukes find out information about Isla Yura's goals at the mansion and Vincent kills Duke Nightray before kidnapping Leo, delivering Elliot's last words to him, and then swearing his allegiance to his lord, the reincarnation of Glen Baskerville. When he wakes up it's to an impressive lecture from Sharon Rainsworth- one he deserves and needs.
He doesn't have long to rest once he wakes, however- Leo is back, in his place as "Glen", and he attacks Oz and co. with Vincent and Echo. Break informs Sharon of his intent to fulfill his promise to the Will of the Abyss he made years ago, to destroy her. However, shit goes awry, as it tends to, when Rufus Barma, a close ally of the Rainsworth house, attacts the elderly matriarch Sheryl and steals her key to the Rainsworth family Door to the Abyss, by all appearances having switched his allegience to the Baskervilles when he realized they held the more likely chance of winning. Break and Sharon find Sheryl gravely injured in the garden, and Break pursues Rufus.
If you read that whole thing I am so sorry.
[character abilities]: Xerxes Break is a legal contractor with the secret organization Pandora, and is contracted to the powerful Chain known only as The Mad Hatter. The appearance we've seen of this chain is a somewhat warped version of the Alice in Wonderland character, though mostly prominent to the viewer is the distinctive hat, chains, feathers, and cards adorning it, as well as a billowing cloak over what seems to be an impaled eyeball. Break can summon his Chain at will, and call upon its powers- the most fearsome of those being the fact that his Chain is meant specifically for destroying things of the Abyss, including other Chains, (and things like Cheshire's bell, which is why Vincent had to go to such links to make Break destroy it, rather than simply take it and destroy it himself).
Break also carries a hefty staff that conceals a sword he is more than adroit with courtesy his former lifestyle as a knight, and can perform several actions that remain somewhat unexplained at the moment, but resemble magic and are no doubt linked in some way to his Chain, allowing him to do such things as travel from a cabinet, or underneath a table, on to a roof outside, or more battle-oriented things, such as creating barriers that can rebuff and imprison Chains of the Abyss.
Such powers don't come without
In addition, the contract has "frozen" his time, and he has not aged since emerging from the Abyss, still looking relatively young if not definitely an adult man. However, he is approximately seventy five years old technically speaking, (though he's only lived 35-40 of them outside of the Abyss), and as he states at one point, though he looks ageless, he "may not have another year left" before he'd die of what could amount to old age.
[character personality]: As "Xerxes Break", Break's demeanor is often outwardly childish and immature, loud, demanding, and incessantly overly dramatic. He is prone to outrageous acts to shock and surprise and make an entrance, such as popping up when one least expects it from under a table or from inside a cabinet, offering you candy and then snatching it back and eating it in front of your face, and flopping over tables, waving all his limbs around, and making loud wooshing noises when his mistress tells her guests to dismiss him and his antics as simply air around them. He also makes use of a rather odd looking puppet he keeps on his shoulder and calls Emily, throwing his voice and warping the tone a bit, to insult people or suggest things, only to blame his words on the puppet should people get offended.
But beneath that innocent and foolish outward appearance, Break can be capable of being, and is, much more sinister, cruel, and calculating. He is not a wanton sadist nor a careless murderer or even a heartless abuser, but he is a man who manipulates others and events for his own purposes without the slightest bit of guilt, meddling in others' affairs, blackmailing and convincing others in to working for him and towards his aims, as well as guiding people along a path he's selected while making it seem like it was their idea all along. When others accuse him or confront him with his actions, asking for motives behind why he drives people to ends that he knows will end in their pain or sadness, he only answers with the truth as he knows it- that it's better to live with your eyes opened to the world and it's cruelties than to remain blind to them- that it's better to learn quickly that what lies in wait for you at the end of your road isn't always hope.
Break's drive comes from two main things: his consuming need to unravel the mysteries of the Abyss and the Tragedy of Sabrie, (an attempt to banish his guilt and lingering feelings over the events of his illegal contract and changing of the past as well), and his loyalty to Shelly Rainsworth. Working with Pandora, contracting with Mad Hatter, and his involvement in Oz Vessalius' business are all means to this end. Break jokes about friends and his comrades, but truth be told until recently, the idea of having actual people like that was one he'd cast aside. But it's true, that Sharon, who views him as something of a brother figure, Shelly, who saved his life, in a sense, once he thought himself lost to despair, and Oz and co., are all people he's grown close too, perhaps, in his mind, too close to. After all- he is one who has proven himself first not even being able to save his lord, and second, of not even being able to save a single little girl.
Don't mistake his assessment of his failures for anything beyond that- an assessment. Break doesn't deal in self-pity. Self-deprecating humor, sure, he can do that. But sitting around angsting is not really in his repertoire. He has things to do, goals to accomplish, and not a lot of time to accomplish them. Even when he wakes up blind in his bed he smiles and wears a mask before his comrades, and only in front of Liam, one of those few closest to him, does he actually admit his weakness and do anything like angst... for all of maybe three minutes. He does admit a bit more than he usually would ever in those few minutes, however. That he feels the punishment he receives in the form of a withering body is something like redemption for him, who could never really be forgiven for what he's done. But in the end all it takes is a few choice words to remind him to snap together, because in the end, Break doesn't have the time to sit around feeling sorry for himself, or even to sit around feeling sorry for many people at all. He has places to go, things to do, and mysteries to solve.
It's for this reason also that he's always carried on stoically, never complaining when he's hurt or injured. He'll fake complain and whine dramatically about stubbing his toe as part of his little act, but if he's near death you won't get a peep in seriousness out of Xerxes Break. He can't afford to let pesky little things like coughing up blood and going blind to slow him down, and he certainly isn't about to admit a weakness to anyone. Just like he takes advantages of others' weaknesses, he doesn't expect his enemies, or even "friends", to be above taking advantage of his own. He tried to hide his blindness for a long while from even those closest to him, Sharon Rainsworth and Liam Lunettes. He had to be bullied by Liam in to even telling Sharon at all, because really... confiding in people is the last thing Xerxes is good at.
Trust, in general, is not a skill of his. He's done so much manipulation in his life to get what he needs and in the course of that he's offered others the chance to use him in turn. You can trust a person when you know their motives and how strong their forced ties to you are but trust... is such a tricky word. He also rarely confides in others on account of his simply being... protective, in a way. He keeps those closest the most distant from him, because he doesn't know how to deal with things like a girl being angry with him for keeping a secret, or a friend looking at him with a hurt expression just because he may have overlooked telling them something that may be just a bit important. Break is what he thinks of as a "realist" when it comes to ties and possessions in the world. There are things that must be weighed, decided on... "If you want to protect one single thing, you must be willing to cast aside everything else." "Once you've lost something, you can't just take it back."
He can be startlingly blunt when he desires, willing to tell people he's using them, and to offer them the chance to use him in return for a mutual goal, able to wear that rare frown and tell a boy you find him disgustingly odd because of his optimism and selflessness, and able to lay out his plans and back-ups, explain them, and then shrug and admit someone wasn't his first choice, but they'll have to do. Sometimes teasing, sometimes sinister, Break walks a fine line between the two most times, depending on who he's dealing with, the situation at hand, and what he can gain or lose. For example, he'll flat out tell those under his thumbs what he thinks of them, tease them about their failures or rebuke them, but with those he knows he cannot outright accuse or face publicly just yet, (like Vincent), he walks a more cautious line, rarely coming out with his true intent and feelings, but instead hinting and using double-speak to get across his threats and warnings.
This is a smart man. He can bide his time and he can look several steps ahead of things, make plans and if they don't go accordingly, not the most common thing, but if they don't, he can come up with something soon enough. He's no genius mastermind but he has a knight's experience in battle strategy and honed skills expressly for he purpose of achieving his goals. He's the most feared man in the organization Pandora, thought to be the single most powerful individual at their disposal, and he wields both fear and respect as tools as easily as a blade. In the beginning, he is a "cool" character, always in control and always above it all, wise and experienced and driven.
But more recently, Break has been dealing with the truth of his encroaching mortality. He's known for a long time that contracting with Chains leads only to an early death, though he weighed the risks and he took the chances. But it's only now that it's become evident his time is running out. Now. His progressing blindness and physical weakness after using his powers and the fact that he's risking his life each time he enters a battle has put a few things in perspective for Break. Most importantly, the fact that he might actually run out of time before he discovers what he's been searching for all this time- the Truth of 100 Years Ago. It's lent a desperate edge to his actions, a certain willingness to risk that he never would have allowed before, at one point actually on the verge of committing suicide via Mad Hatter usage in order to win against his opponent- before one of his subordinates kicks him in the head. Literally.
All those kicks to the head have been doing some good- or bad, depending on how you look at it. For the longest time, ever since coming out of the Abyss and even now after Shelly's influence, (though to a lesser extent), Break has held himself apart. He doesn't belong in this time. He should have died decades ago. He killed people and fed them to a monster to change the past and only twisted it further. To him, these are all simple facts and truths, and reasons to keep himself apart from the people around him. He is a feared man, after all.
But over time... it became harder and harder to keep himself apart. Liam and Sharon were like a family. Shelly was like a new lady, in place of lord. Sheryl was his guide. Gilbert was his subordinate. Even the newcomers, Oz and Alice... they've wormed their way under his skin. Things he hid easily years before have become harder to conceal. There's a weird, awful sensation that sometimes creeps in and it's called "guilt", eats away at him sometimes and forces him to admit things he'd rather keep secret. It's an annoying, troubling, awkward, unwanted thing- being close to people. More awful for them, because Break knows he'll leave, and they'll hurt- and it's quite foolish of them to chose a man like him.
And quite foolish of him to think there might be some truth in what Gilbert told him- that there were precious people all around he should be calling out for, rather than going off to die alone.
All in all, Sharon describes Break as someone who "always arrogantly goes around making fun of people, always acts like he knows everything about everyone yet refuses to share and of his secrets, who pretends to be terribly mature but can't stand to lose, is a ridiculous perfectionist, gets bouts of nerves over the pettiest little things, a horrible hypocrite who is constantly trying to take care of others but can't stand being taken care of, and utterly hopeless to boot". Also he's a lousy dance partner even though he can dance well on his own.
That's pretty accurate.
[point in timeline you're picking your character from]: Chapter 62, before his full out-and-about recovery from being bedridden
[journal post]:
[Without doubt, that is a grown man, barefoot, in his pajamas, huddled underneath a blanket he has wrapped around him like a hood ala a five year old boy. Definitely a winner, right here. He looks really put out, too.]
I finally think I can take a nap and get a good rest, and this is how the world repays me? I'll be filing a complaint with the nearest authority, I guarantee it.
[He pouts- that's the only way to describe it.]
I wager a maid will need be contacted. And a nurse, I'll be wanting for a nurse, as well. And don't send me someone young and pretty, either, I shan't have it. A withered old man like me- it would only be construed as perversion, I know how you young types operate with your schemes and your wondering. Send me the ugliest and most untouchable maid you have!
I have another list- not quite demands, but a shopping list, you might say. Ahem.
[The man holds up a scrap sheet of paper, upon which is written in large, slightly messy font:]
[1] secretary
[1] monocle (left)
[1] dark horse
[1] bunny
[1] bunny owner
If you know where I can find any of these highly useful items, do please let me know. I'm afraid that's it, actually.
[And as he moves to turn the feed off with a little smile, almost a friendly look, he just... buries back in to that pile of blankets, yes he does.]
[third person / log sample]:
Being bedridden gave a man far too much time to think.
Xerxes Break was a man who already did a great deal of thinking, and not for any passing fancy. He had things to accomplish and things to solve, things to break down and things to discoverer, and so of course he thought. He'd spent his life since arriving in this time thinking- on his feet and off them, taking his time and rushing like it was the last moment he had on the earth. And so of course, Xerxes Break had done a lot of thinking in his not so short lifetime.
But he'd never been bedridden for a week.
Of course, he'd spent most of the actual week literally unconscious and recovering from an abdominal wound, not to mention the damage he'd caused his body just using the small amount of Mad Hatter's powers that he had, but that was beside the point.
The point, perhaps, was that rather than admitting to himself that it was the subject of his thoughts that made him so tired, he continued to insist that it was merely an issue of time.
After all, time was to blame for so many things.
Blame wasn't the right word. Time was the cause, the instigator, the end and beginning of all the things in life that troubled him in this particular moment. After all, it was time that was running out for him. It was time that had ticked away to mark the hundred years since the Tragedy of Sabrie, a hundred years foretold to be required before a soul could re-materialize in their world's cycles. TIme held hostage was the thing that kept his mistress' body in adolescence and left her staring after women her same age who looked like women and not girls, that kept his face the same in the mirror each time he looked. It was time that had been stolen from him, decades of time spent in the dark of the Abyss when he swore it was mere minutes. Time was what had been changed, and ruined any chance of redemption for Kevin Regnard.
Whomever counted Time their ally would win- but could any man truly count that old bastard an ally, a friend?
The too loud, self-deprecating laughter that came from their still injured patient was enough to rattle the maids. No matter, their chatter and the noise they made with their breathing had been too loud in his ears. Everything was too loud these days. He'd had to make them loud. With his sight fading at every blink, every time he had to call on that cackling Mad Hatter, he'd had to rely on other things. Hearing left untouched by decay, a body that he'd honed to be able to detect vibrations in the ground, the air around him, and most importantly a brain that could still extrapolate and assume based on the blurs that used to be people and colors and life around him. It had been easy enough to hide his growing weakness from those closest to him- well. That creepy brat Oz Vessalius had figured things out of course, but he was caught up in some sort of self-righteous moral code that at least kept his mouth shut, and though Liam had caught him as well- they all knew now.
The great Xerxes Break, nicknamed Mr. One Man Show by the young Rainsworth mistress, a nickname seconded by many, and considered the most powerful single asset to the organization Pandora, and here he was, laid up in bed with a wound to his gut courtesy a Baskerville's Chain and his weakened body recovering from strain and the thing nurses and doctors called "exhaustion, poor man", but Pandora's researchers loyal to the Rainsworth house called "the likely effects of the combined impact of a completed illegal contract with the ongoing use of a very powerful legally contracted Chain". Funny. But he wasn't dead just yet, not for lack of trying and reckless desperation he'd felt beginning to gnaw on the edges of his efforts ever since he realized every time that this time might be the last time.
Unlike some, contemplating things like this, Break did not cry or even frown. His expression was neutral when he was conscious, staring sightlessly up at the vague impression of solid that was the ceiling of his room. Sometimes he didn't bother opening his eyes at all, if only to stave off the visitors just a little longer. Lectured by Sharon, Gilbert, and Liam... hah. He could laugh.
He was laughing, if the silent shake of his shoulders was any indication.
People telling him that he should stop going off alone, that he didn't have to do it all by himself, that he had precious people on which to rely on, friends he could call on... it was laughable, after all. So he laughed. They seemed to forget that he was the man who'd done quite cruel things to them. Hadn't he sent Oz and Gilbert along with Alice off to watch a little girl die? (So they'd realize how this world worked.) Hadn't he been the one who'd hidden things even from those who'd stood at his side this whole time? (He didn't like to see people cry, you see, doesn't know what to do about it, and-) Hadn't he been the one who'd cheerfully offered a damaged young boy the chance to use him for his own ends if he'd just allow him the same favor, cajoled him in to acting as his Left Eye, a task that surely had brought him more than his share of trouble? (He'd said he could cut ties any time he wished, but it was kind of reassuring, to think of not having that shriveled, empty eye socket-)
Moving was still painful, but Break clenched his teeth and sat up, sheets gathering at his waist. He had no time to be wasting here. There was still the matter of Vincent Nightray, that rat with a crimson eye, the boy Leo who'd been brought to interrogation, the theories he needed to discuss with Sheryl regarding the Baskerville's next target, and briefings he'd need to have with Oz and Gilbert. He needed to know for himself if Liam was still alright. As usual, he didn't have any time to be laying around here, certainly no time to be bedridden, no time because being bedridden provoked all kinds of unnatural thoughts- to think, he'd almost mentally agreed with those foolish people, the nerve of them.
Stiff, weak movements and Break had pulled the top layer of sheets up, wrapped it around himself like a cocoon, and then... rolled out of bed on to the hard floor below.
Much better.
Being bedridden provoked all sort of unnatural thoughts. If one was going to be hopeless for a little while, it was better to look the part.