Arthur

[Well, the first clue that Arthur's affected is his beard. Also, he's not wearing a suit. GASP!!!]

This is a really boring flood so far. I was hoping for one that made people sing and dance and fall in love or something. It would've been hilarious. Instead, we've just got-- fuck, I don't even know. Looks like the same old boring Barge to me.

Anyway. The Death Toll's mostly passed, so if you need me, I'm gonna be in the pub. Come on up for a drink. If you ask nicely, I'll even mix you one.

[Private to the Admiral + Perry OUT OF SPITE]
Hey, Admiral. Take away Perry's furniture. All of it. And his Rose Bowl ring, too.

[Private to Perry]
Enjoy the new room, bitch.

[OOC: Feel free to spam Arthur in the pub! He'll be there all flood, when he's not sleeping or screwing around. Responses will come from lolparadox

As for his AU: this Arthur never got his act together, never went to college, and never joined the army. He knows nothing about dream sharing and is basically a low-life who sleazes and cons and mooches his way through life. He's on the Barge as a warden to, IDK, make money or something. Oh, and Perry kills him every once in a while because this Arthur's not as good a fighter as his normal self.]

[Tommy St. James greets the communicator with his trademarked crooked grin, the one probably seen on the cover of so many magazines in the months leading up to his anticipated crime film, The Thrill Killers, in which he played a young detective trying to take down a pair of contract killers. And then, that trademarked crooked grin, along with Tommy, promptly vanished from the public eye once the movie flopped big time. Not that you can tell by how smug he looks.]

You know, I almost think this whole "storm" thing was arranged just to keep me from leaving the show again. [He chuckles.] Nah, I'm playing. It's good to be back. I mean, the trailer's a little smaller than I'm used to, but that's TV for you. It's all so quaint.

So, how are you? What'd I miss? Sorry I didn't keep up with you guys, but, heh, you know how it is when you're working on a big movie. Or maybe you don't. [He laughs, shooting the camera another grin.] No, no, I'm just kidding. You guys are great. Tell me everything.

[OOC: Here's Tommy St. James: GIANT HOLLYWOOD DOUCHE. Or wannabe Hollywood douche. Maybe just a douche. He was on the show for a while, got a few side roles in hit films, was pegged as the next It Guy, so he left the show and starred in a huge flop. AND NOW HE'S BACK, READY TO BE ADORED. ]

[The audio clicks on, but there's some slight hesitation before Arthur speaks. He really does not like opening himself up to possible exposure-- who knows who's listening, after all-- but there's a very important person he wants to speak to, and he's pretty sure he can't just filter this to her.]

...

[No, not gonna outright address her. Arthur clears his through and sounds totally calm and normal.]

It's good to see some of you out again. Sometimes, you don't really realize what somebody brings to this place until they're already gone.

Any former shipmates, be sure to stop by and say hello before you go. [But if you're a stranger, you can GTFO >C]

[OOC: HAVE AT ARTHUR. Restrictions: no post-canon Cobb, no Fischer and no "HEY I SAW YOUR MOVIE, IT IS INCEPTION"/"HELLO JGL" type fourth walling.]

There's something to be said for the truth setting you free. In my case, I think I can safely say that I'm never going to feel embarrassed again. I'm just glad to have my brain-to-mouth filter back.

[Private to Perry]
[LINEFACE.] Enjoy yourself?

[Private to Alice]
You weren't affected, were you.

[Infirmary Filter]
I know some of you work with unconventional medicine from time to time-- any of you know how to heal bones quick? [lol before Arthur resets himself :C] I'm just working out my options here.

[Private to Buffy]
Your inmate quizzed me about some personal details during the last flood. Am I going to have any problems with him?

[OOC: Arthur's flood-affected post and all comments therein? YOU BETTER BELIEVE HE PURGED THEM FROM THE NETWORK AS BEST HE COULD. Specifically because he publicly admitted to Achilles that he's a criminal.

ALSO, NAOMI: If it's not cool for Arthur to have picked up on Alice not being affected, I can change it! I just figured he could tell, in retrospect, that she wasn't blurting every little thing out like most people.]

Thanks for that, Admiral, but I didn't need a flood to tell me that cats are assholes.

I think I'll skip the personalized apologies this time. To anyone I pushed, slapped, kicked or sat on during the flood: it wasn't personal.

[OOC: WHOOPS, I posted this prematurely, because Korean keyboards are weird.

...

AND NOW I'M TOO LAZY TO ADD ANYTHING ELSE TO IT, SO ENJOY A VERY BRIEF POST. I'm gonna try to finish up catlog tags uh. Tonight or tomorrow, idfk.]

Have you known such a savoury grief as I?
Do people say "Strange fellow!," whom you meet?
— My amorous soul, when I was due to die,
Felt longing mixed with horror; pain seemed sweet.
 
Anguish and ardent hope (no factious whim)
Were mixed: and as the sands of life ran low
My torture grew delicious yet more grim,
And of this dear old world would not let go.|

[There's a long pause in the text, then he switches to voice.]
 
It's Baudelaire.  I can't remember the rest.  I just wanted to share, because... because I woke up, and it was like when you get a song stuck in your head.  An idea that replays over and over again, and you try to get it out, but you can't. [He lets out a soft snort at the thought.  NOT THAT ANYBODY WOULD KNOW, but Arthur's tone sounds more like his normal, pre-Invasion self.]
 
The thing about an idea is... If it isn't yours, you can always trace it back to its genesis.  Your mind-- your mind is-- it's this incredible tool; it retains so much more than you can even comprehend.  Some speculate that you never really forget anything-- you may not recall something, but it's still there, locked inside your head.  You can't, you can't make a person believe in a lie forever, not if you don't go deep enough. [He laughs hollowly]  Any memory can be retrieved. 
 
Anything...
 
[Murmuring:] It's on the tip of my tongue.
 
[He lets out a soft sigh and begins to recite, his voice going flat:]
 
J'étais comme l'enfant avide du spectacle,
Haïssant le rideau comme on hait un obstacle...
Enfin la vérité froide se révéla:

J'étais mort sans surprise, et la terrible aurore
M'enveloppait. — Eh quoi! n'est-ce donc que cela?
La toile était levée et j'attendais encore.
 
That's it.  That's what I was forgetting.
 
[OOC: CUE ARTHUR GOING CRAZY.  Or beginning to.  He knows something's wrong; he knows that he should be able to check that this is reality, but the whole concept of a totem is basically gone, so he's left in a daze.  IF I'M FEELING INTELLIGENT ENOUGH, his comments will become more and more surreal, but if I'm not, he'll just be in a weird malaise.  By tonight/tomorrow, he'll start trying to "kick" his canonmates and himself.  With a gun.  The poem is "The Dream of a Curious Man", and I'm using the second translation here.  OH AND: Arthur's on the deck right now, staring down at the "sea" of stars, so that's where you can find him.]

[Warden Filter]
I'm not big on speeches, so I'm going to make this quick.

[Arthur's voice is a frustrated growl right now. He sounds about ready to punch something. Also, he's hanging out by the entrance to Level 0 and keeping his voice somewhat low so Perry can't overhear. This also means that because he's by the entrance, anybody else looking to sneak past him to play with Perry while he's making this post... would have to be invisible and teleport through the door, I guess?]

To those of you having a laugh about Perry's big-screen debut-- [Have some condescension:] and I know some of you are, despite the big W next to your names-- you do realize that he wasn't just "beating up" Rex, right? That part, where he stops moving? He's not unconscious; he's dead. That's a snuff video. It's not a goddamn joke.

I don't give a damn how you feel about Rex. I don't care what he did to you-- and yeah, I was affected along with the rest of you. When you support something like that video, you're not just doing it at his expense. You're doing it at my inmate's. He's not your attack dog; he didn't kill Rex for any one of you, and it's not behavior I want encouraged.

You'd think that'd go without saying, right? I sure as hell thought so. I knew I had to expect some inmates patting him on the back for a major backslide, but I didn't think I'd have to worry about wardens doing it. Wardens sneaking around behind my back to give him positive reinforcement for his actions. Wardens trying to congratulate him. Wardens going against my explicit orders to leave Perry to me. Wardens making it so I've got to keep one eye open for them at all times, when I should be focusing on my goddamn inmate!

Yeah, I know I'm saying "wardens," but what I really mean is Loki, who I've had to chase away three times now. But hell, who knows, there could be more of you who think Perry did a big public service for you.

It takes a lot to turn a man into a calculated murderer. Perry wasn't one before he came here. Now it's my job to push him back to Square One, and I don't need you assholes undermining me and standing in the way.

If I hear about any one of you trying to sneak around to congratulate him, to give him a fucking prize for killing a man, I'll put a bullet in your goddamn head to give you a headache as big as mine. And the only reason I'm not telling your inmates this is I expect you to pass the word if you think your inmate's up to something with him. You know your inmates better than me, so you should be aware of any [Sarcastically:] "budding alliances". Anybody looking to turn my inmate into their personal attack dog better think twice.

Keep a tight leash on your inmates, while I try to do the same with mine. And any unpaired wardens out there might want to try their hands at keeping an eye on Loki, so I can get back to my job already.

[With a disgusted noise, he turns off the communicator.]

[OOC: I WILL NOT GUARANTEE RESPONSES TO THIS. Arthur just wanted to alert the other wardens to 1) Loki undermining him and trying to applaud his inmate's backslide and 2) the possibility that their own inmates will probably try to seek out an alliance with Perry now to take out their own enemies... although that part kinda got lost in his bitchiness :V Anyway, he's not up for playing ~barge politics~ right now, so that's why there may not be responses from him. BUT YOU GUYS ARE FREE TO DISCUSS WITH EACH OTHER, IDC.]

[The communicator clicks on at an odd angle, like it's just been haphazardly tossed to the ground.  Luckily, you get an artsy view of Arthur's couch, which currently has a fourteen-year-old Arthur dancing on it, all gangly and grunge-chic. He's singing-- or... screaming-- along to some Nirvana and getting his dirty shoes all over the couch.]
 
Grandma take me home, Grandma take me home, Grandma take me hooooome!
 
[And then he sort of stumbles off the couch in a heap, laughing, as the song winds down and the next one comes on.  What's this?  Oh, Arthur's drunk off of... Arthur's liquor collection.  You can see an empty bottle of whiskey rolling around in the background if you're paying attention.  He props himself up on his elbows and reaches out to grab the communicator, bringing it clooose to his face, grinning, giggling a little.]
 
Hey, hey... HEY.  Anyone-- anyone got... some smokes?  I'll traaaaade. [He snorts with laughter, then drops his head down, thinking, and pulls it up again with a little frown.]  Dude.  Hey.  Dude.  Why're there... there so many fuckin' kids here?
 
[BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT A KID, ARTHUR.]
 
I say-- I-- I think... everyone who's like, not a kid? Should come here. [He rolls onto his back, laughing with glorious intoxication, and fumbles around with the communicator, so you're getting some tilty angles and shaky-cam going now.]  We could party.  [He raises his brow, as though he's just noticed that the music's still playing, and he's suddenly VERY EXCITED.] Whooo!  [And with that, he starts singing the next song and finally manages to click the communicator off.]
 
[OOC: Arthur was a terrible kid :c]

( OPEN SPAM )

[VOICE; later]
[Arthur's words are a little slurred. It's unusual for him to do any Dear Diary entries on the network, share what he's feeling, any of that, but tonight's a special occasion. His perception's been unexpectedly turned on its head, and he's lost control just long enough for this.]

You think... you think you know someone. In and out. Like... you've been inside them. Seen them at their most vulnerable. But you can crawl into a person and never know... what they're capable...

[There's a long silence, then he continues.]

How do we construct our realities? They're... they're memories. Experiences. We take them... and we build our worlds. None of us really inhabit the same one. I mean... What I see, when I look at my family, my friends, colleagues, strangers I pass on the street... it's not what anybody else would see. People carry these complex... internal lives, but to us, the... the "main characters" of our perception, they're just... [PROJECTIONS.] roles to be filled, that we put them in based on what we know-- our memories, the images they project, the reality they put together to share with us...

You see, it's all very precarious. Reality. And a fundamental omission, once uncovered, it... [He chokes, then lets out a frustrated snarl after a beat.] Knocks the whole fucking house of cards down.

[CLICK.]

[OOC: Backdated to this post and the Very Bad Things with Mal. He now knows that Cobb incepted Mal and never told him, and he's torn between his loyalty to Cobb and his feelings of friendship with Mal.

FOR THE SPAM, consider it like a mini-day in the life thing. I don't mind multiple threads, but would prefer nothing like, VIOLENT OR EARTH SHATTERING, as he has to go and get drunk alone like a sad man afterwards.

As for the content of the voice post, if you're one of the SMALL HANDFUL OF PEOPLE who knows about dream sharing/extraction, you can read the double meaning in Arthur's post. Otherwise, uh, please don't suddenly "catch on" to that stuff, because there's no reason to.]

[Arthur's in his study/at-home office, and he's got the camera on his fancy iPhone thingie on him, so you get a nice close-up view of his LOVELY LADY FACE. Thanks to some tips from Mal, he's got some tasteful makeup on to complement his stylish outfit. He looks a little grim, but he's gotten over his initial sulking.]

This is Arthur. Or... [He makes a slight face.] Annette Arthur-Capa. Might as well come out now, so you know who I am if you pass me in the street. Now, it looks like... [He shifts and leans forward, reaching across his desk to grab his planner.] I'm already pretty acquainted with most of you. It seems that Annette-- me-- is a... somewhat accomplished therapist, judging by the number of clients here. [He looks down and arches a brow, impressed.] Not to mention the hourly rates.

[Smirking.]

Looks like I'm the breadwinner, Capa.

[Back to business.]

Anyway, Annette's specializes in interpersonal relationships. Marriage counseling and... [Ergh.] sex therapy. Judging by the names in this book, a lot of you don't exactly have rosy marriages. My assistant will probably leave you all a message if she hasn't already, but I thought I'd spare you the shock of finding out you're in couple's counseling from a stranger by forwarding your appointments to you privately.

[He leans forward, giving the camera a stern look.] By the way, I've got a family to feed, so I do expect to be paid.

[Private Texts to: WHOEVER WANTS MARRIAGE COUNSELING, listing the time, date and location of services.]

[OOC: I WILL POST UP A LOG FOR ARTHUR'S COUNSELING SESSIONS SOON. They can take place at any time during port. But first... there will be a grocery store log. ALL ARE FREE TO JOIN IN.]