lestercraft: (Bloody but unbowed)
Arthur Lester ([personal profile] lestercraft) wrote in [community profile] silentspringlogs2024-05-20 10:42 am

Part Four: The Encounter

Who: Arthur Lester and PEOPLE
When: April/May catch-all
Where: All over Sweetwater!
Open/Closed: OPEN
Applicable Warnings: Discussion of torture and missing persons, general malaise and paranoia.


Solo
It's been... difficult in a way Arthur can't quite elaborate on.

Or, well. He can. It fucking sucks. But it's something he doesn't, because he doesn't want anyone pitying him more than he already has to fucking deal with. Because he knows (feels incredibly strongly) that everyone already sees him as useless - or worse, helpless. And he can fucking take care of himself, he managed it before Parker decided to hitch his cart onto this dead fucking horse.

Washing and drying his clothes, he can manage: he and Helly had to learn how to use the machines together to begin with. Ironing, he can't - he's not even going to pretend he won't burn himself, or set something on fire somehow.

Sorting is right out. So the meticulously matched suits of months past are gone completely; Arthur's new look, as May stretches on, are completely mismatched. At least to some degree his suits are still fine; all of his suit colours work together, so instead he just looks visibly rumpled, his tie is slightly but visibly uneven - at least he can shave and style his hair alone, but it's a rather disparate and unbecoming image, especially with the whispers he keeps leaving in his wake, about being constantly arrested and kidnapping that poor driver and maybe he's faking that he's blind--

It's difficult to keep up a foul mood all month, but by God is this place making him want to try. At least the other Book Club members (or whatever the fuck they're calling themselves) at least know that he's still up for a conversation if they find him in the diner, or the library trying to keep up studying Braille. Or even just on the street, having finally mastered his cane by sheer brute force.


With John

...and then he's not alone.

Because there's a teenager with him pretty much constantly from then on. A golden-haired youth with brown eyes that hangs out nearly exclusively on his left side, talking incessantly. It's not like it's a one-sided discussion, Arthur is clearly engaged and listening, replying even, but most of the time it's just the teenager talking at him about - pretty much everything, but a casual listener will definitely notice that it's mostly about the things around them, describing what he's seeing for Arthur.

And it's not subtle how John is staring down anyone who tries approaching them, to the point of glaring when people get too close, but there's the definite impression that if anyone wants to talk to Arthur in private - yeah, that's not happening. The child is coming too.
firstgreenisgold: (glaring to the right)

[personal profile] firstgreenisgold 2024-05-27 11:46 pm (UTC)(link)
John looks absolutely livid, but the knowledge that he can't talk inside of Arthur's head and say everything he wants to say about that-

No! Not later, Arthur! What the fuck do you mean, torture!? Who tortured you!? I will fucking kill every single one of them I swear to fucking Christ-

The (silent) litany will continue as wide brown eyes stare hard enough Arthur might feel it.

He's jamming lasagna in his mouth before he screams.
freakymagoo: (200)

[personal profile] freakymagoo 2024-05-28 09:52 am (UTC)(link)
"What, like a chip or something?" Bucky isn't above cutting himself in a few places to satisfy his own paranoia - maybe he'll even find whatever supersoldier serum inhibitor they might have planted in him - but they're probably not at that level of investigation yet. Besides, it doesn't necessarily have to be something physical. It could just be a waste of random stabbings.

"Guess they want something from us the locals can't give." Only, as far as Bucky's concerned, he can't see any common thing that they might have that the locals might not. Everyone came here from different places and times with different abilities and knowledge.

"How's the driver?" It was a pretty shit plan and Bucky's not sure anyone came out unscathed.