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Mar. 19th, 2012 05:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
angry_saladYOUR NAME: Kat
PERSONAL JOURNAL: N/A
E-MAIL: visions.in.my.head@gmail.com
AIM: sugikat
CHARACTERS IN TAXON: Hrrrnnn.... Party Poison.
CHARACTER NAME: Arthur
CANON: Inception
MEDIA: Film
BIRTHDAY/AGE: February 17, 1981 (age 31)
CANON POINT: During the Inception of Robert Fischer, jr, as he's fighting Fischer's subconscious security in zero gravity.
WHY THIS CHARACTER AND CANON POINT?: Inception is a complicated movie. the longest scene we see Arthur in is this, and it gives him a chance to wonder if Taxon is a dream or not.
PROGRAMMED POSSESSION: His totem, a simple red loaded die. The weight and balance is known only to Arthur, and while he's awake it'll act according to physics. In a dream, however, the outcome will be anything but what it's weighted to.
HISTORY: Much of Arthur's history is unknown--the majority of Inception focuses on one job alone. Through this, we learn about Arthur's work/previous work with the others team, but the vast majority of his own past is undetermined. Through interviews, production notes, the prequel comic, and a number of fan interpretations that I agree with (1 and 2), I've been able to come up with the required headcanon to fill in the rest:
Arthur was born the oldest of a large, lower-class family by a single mother. Forced to grow up at an early age, he spent the majority of his time taking care of his siblings and helping his mother out while he could. His grades ultimately suffered with how stretched thin he was, and as his priorities were more keeping his family fed and with a roof over their head instead of study for math exams. It was easy for him to fall into a life of petty crime, though the moment he was of age he joined the military.
Immediately seeing that he had more smarts then physical tendencies, Arthur was a prime candidate for Project Somnacin, where he would run in to Eames. Obsessed with Dreamsharing and the concept, Arthur began to go so far as to learn how build and rebuild the PASIV device. It wasn't long afterwards that he ran into Dom Cobb and his wife, Mal: the three immediately hit it off and it didn't take much for him to go back into the more illegal realm of Dreamsharing--after all, there were less rules to stop creativity.
PSYCHOLOGY/PERSONALITY: Arthur is The Pointman for a reason: he's reliable. Almost to a fault. Obsessed with the little things, he can easily come across as slightly anal or even hard to deal with--he's merely focused on the minute details.
He's creative, if not in Cobb or Eames' way--a quick problem solver and an even quicker critical thinker, he's learned to think out side the box. He's aware of his limits, but constantly pushes them. A critical thinker, Arthur has a tendency to poke holes in people's theories, and has a reputation of being a bit of a naysayer. However, it's simply his job (and one he takes very seriously) to figure out the worst possible scenario.
He's loyal, almost to a fault, as he follows Cobb despite the shade of Mal. Even if he protests, there's a strong likelihood he'll still do whichever task was assigned to him.
Arthur is also slightly motherly, unafraid to take care of the very few people he trusts. He is not, however, a bleeding heart--and he is unafraid to let people now when they've messed up and just how dearly it costs them, as exhibited by his snipe at Nash after the failed attempt at extracting information from Saito.
In general, he's quite introverted and particular about things--not quite to an OCD level, but details are of the utmost importance. This extends to things like appearance (though he doesn't always wear three-piece suits, outside of dreams he's prone to business-casual), surveillance, and conversation. He rarely voices his actual feelings on matters--his mind is very analytical, and he's long since learned to keep his opinions to himself and instead focus on the rational parts of whatever is being discussed.
Arthur is patient and tends not to view himself as superior to others (except for Eames), despite his intelligence and excellence at his craft. He has a fondness for taking new people under his wing when it comes to Dreamsharing, though it takes either the word of Cobb or another trusted source to get him to do it. He's very much a mentor--he's able to explain things like paradoxes and show them in his dreams with little to no effort.
He's also quite competitive when it comes to certain things and people--Arthur is always trying to be better at what he does, and refuses to be happy and stagnate.
The majority of his subconscious in the dream where he teaches Ariadne is prim, proper, and very business oriented. This is the best representation and reflection how his mind works.
Arthur is not, however, without his faults. He, like most of the dream team, is morally dubious at best, and a complete criminal at worst. He's not above breaking the law--in fact it's something he happily embraces. He also is quite picky, and that reflects in everything from his friends to who he trusts to what he eats. It's part of what makes him a good Point Man but is also his downfall. He's suspicious by nature, and reluctant to make friends. Especially in a city that might be a dream. He'll also prioritize his team before anyone else, and has no qualms with violence--he's not one to brandish a gun in public, but he's not afraid to harm himself (or others) if he thinks this is a dream.
POWERS/ABILITIES: Arthur is a normal human being, simple as that. However, his job as a Point Man entails a lot. this link goes into much more varied detail, but to sum it up:
Arthur is a very well-rounded character. He knows his way around computers--enough to know the vast majority of business CEO's deleted paper trails, and the ability to get in and out of said businessman's bank accounts, or find any information even potentially leading him to the possibility of his jobs going wrong.
He's gifted in surveillance, electronic and otherwise, and has the firearms training and hand-to-hand combat needed for the physical aspect of the job thanks to his military training.
He knows the ins-and-outs of the PASIV device, and how to make Somnacin as well. As such he's fairly decent with the ins-and-outs of devices if he has the time to study them. Because of both his military training and some of his missions gone wrong, it can be easily assumed his body has attuned to the stress and strain he puts into himself in the dreams, giving him a higher pain tolerance than average.
Another notable ability is Dreamsharing. While anyone can dream, Arthur is a lucid dreamer: in Dreamsharing terms, he's capable of being aware of when he's dreaming, and his mind is stable enough to support others in a shared scape, allowing more than him to explore it.
ARRIVAL POST: The body has a hard time orienting when your center of gravity shifts from zero to--well, actual gravity. It's why the moment he's transported he squats down, eyes wide, holding a hand to the ground. It's not ground, it's a harsh metal, and Arthur doesn't even so much as breathe for a moment as he tries to scan the area.
Had the dream shifted? He had been in the middle of combating Fischers' subconscious in a hotel corridor. This certainly wasn't a hotel corridor. This was something else...
"Ariadne." The word came out of his mouth but he knew it wasn't really true--Ariadne was good. Very good, even for someone who'd had minimal training. Certainly not stupid enough to turn this dream into a sci-fi adventure.
"Shit." It's clipped and Arthur remembers to breathe again, going on instincts. It's a job. It's still a job and he's holding the gun. He straightens, holding it up, scanning the area, checking for people. Nothing.
The gun gets tucked into the back of his suit pants, wishing he was still wearing his jacket instead of shrugging it off. It's an unconscious habit, but he rolls his sleeves up, loosening his tie. No projections, no need to worry about neatness. The pedestal before him is a perfect surface, and he strolls to it with purpose, brushing the phone-like device off of it and reaching into his pocket, pulling out a simple red die.
"C'mon," the annoyance is hidden by the fact that the phrase is underneath his breath, and he rolls it, staring at the outcome.
"This isn't a dream?"
No--it had to be. Someone, somewhere, had messed with his totem. Nothing looked like this in the outside world. And the PASIV? Where was that? Taking a deep breath, Arthur closes his eyes and pulls out the gun from the waistband of his pants, putting it to his temple.
Speak up now, citizens of Taxon, or Arthur's going to have the shortest lifespan record.
ADDITIONAL SAMPLE: Arthur resists the urge roll his eyes because there's Eames' smile, looking smug and perfect and he could practically feel the telepathic 'ha, ha, hah, I'm better than you'.
"Cute," He says finally, eyes narrowing. Here it is again--the usual push and pull of the daily life of Eames and Arthur. Eames strutting his stuff like some sort of paisley wearing peacock and Arthur trying very hard to remember why on earth they were sharing a hotel room, let alone playing cards.
Babysitting the gambling addict was not part of his job. No matter how endearing the guy is. He's not stupid--he knows the moment something terrible and horrible goes wrong Eames will split, kill himself in the dream to wake up and run like no tomorrow. He knows he's probably going to do it soon. He can see it--sense it. Maybe Cobb can, too.
Biting his lip has never really been a habit with him--but it was when he was playing cards with Eames. It was less about the hand you had and more about Eames trying to catch all your little ticks--an annoying habit, but Arthur had his own. Rolling up his sleeves. Triple checking everything. Following Cobb to the ends of the Earth.
He crooks an eyebrow, just to watch Eames' reaction. A pause, a hold, a lock of eyes and Arthur can't help it: he smiles, finding the whole thing absolutely ridiculous.
"It's a game," he points out, setting his cards on the table. "Jesus, Eames. I'm not something you're going to forge, it's just a game. Stop staring at me like that." He ignores Eames' protest, takes his hand, and begins to shuffle, leaning back in his chair. That was one of the habits that wasn't false, and as he shuffles he tilts his head to the side.
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were thinking of leaving."
There's dead silence. Arthur's smile is tense, eyes focused.
"It's because of Mal, isn't it?"
PERSONAL JOURNAL: N/A
E-MAIL: visions.in.my.head@gmail.com
AIM: sugikat
CHARACTERS IN TAXON: Hrrrnnn.... Party Poison.
CHARACTER NAME: Arthur
CANON: Inception
MEDIA: Film
BIRTHDAY/AGE: February 17, 1981 (age 31)
CANON POINT: During the Inception of Robert Fischer, jr, as he's fighting Fischer's subconscious security in zero gravity.
WHY THIS CHARACTER AND CANON POINT?: Inception is a complicated movie. the longest scene we see Arthur in is this, and it gives him a chance to wonder if Taxon is a dream or not.
PROGRAMMED POSSESSION: His totem, a simple red loaded die. The weight and balance is known only to Arthur, and while he's awake it'll act according to physics. In a dream, however, the outcome will be anything but what it's weighted to.
HISTORY: Much of Arthur's history is unknown--the majority of Inception focuses on one job alone. Through this, we learn about Arthur's work/previous work with the others team, but the vast majority of his own past is undetermined. Through interviews, production notes, the prequel comic, and a number of fan interpretations that I agree with (1 and 2), I've been able to come up with the required headcanon to fill in the rest:
Arthur was born the oldest of a large, lower-class family by a single mother. Forced to grow up at an early age, he spent the majority of his time taking care of his siblings and helping his mother out while he could. His grades ultimately suffered with how stretched thin he was, and as his priorities were more keeping his family fed and with a roof over their head instead of study for math exams. It was easy for him to fall into a life of petty crime, though the moment he was of age he joined the military.
Immediately seeing that he had more smarts then physical tendencies, Arthur was a prime candidate for Project Somnacin, where he would run in to Eames. Obsessed with Dreamsharing and the concept, Arthur began to go so far as to learn how build and rebuild the PASIV device. It wasn't long afterwards that he ran into Dom Cobb and his wife, Mal: the three immediately hit it off and it didn't take much for him to go back into the more illegal realm of Dreamsharing--after all, there were less rules to stop creativity.
PSYCHOLOGY/PERSONALITY: Arthur is The Pointman for a reason: he's reliable. Almost to a fault. Obsessed with the little things, he can easily come across as slightly anal or even hard to deal with--he's merely focused on the minute details.
He's creative, if not in Cobb or Eames' way--a quick problem solver and an even quicker critical thinker, he's learned to think out side the box. He's aware of his limits, but constantly pushes them. A critical thinker, Arthur has a tendency to poke holes in people's theories, and has a reputation of being a bit of a naysayer. However, it's simply his job (and one he takes very seriously) to figure out the worst possible scenario.
He's loyal, almost to a fault, as he follows Cobb despite the shade of Mal. Even if he protests, there's a strong likelihood he'll still do whichever task was assigned to him.
Arthur is also slightly motherly, unafraid to take care of the very few people he trusts. He is not, however, a bleeding heart--and he is unafraid to let people now when they've messed up and just how dearly it costs them, as exhibited by his snipe at Nash after the failed attempt at extracting information from Saito.
In general, he's quite introverted and particular about things--not quite to an OCD level, but details are of the utmost importance. This extends to things like appearance (though he doesn't always wear three-piece suits, outside of dreams he's prone to business-casual), surveillance, and conversation. He rarely voices his actual feelings on matters--his mind is very analytical, and he's long since learned to keep his opinions to himself and instead focus on the rational parts of whatever is being discussed.
Arthur is patient and tends not to view himself as superior to others (except for Eames), despite his intelligence and excellence at his craft. He has a fondness for taking new people under his wing when it comes to Dreamsharing, though it takes either the word of Cobb or another trusted source to get him to do it. He's very much a mentor--he's able to explain things like paradoxes and show them in his dreams with little to no effort.
He's also quite competitive when it comes to certain things and people--Arthur is always trying to be better at what he does, and refuses to be happy and stagnate.
The majority of his subconscious in the dream where he teaches Ariadne is prim, proper, and very business oriented. This is the best representation and reflection how his mind works.
Arthur is not, however, without his faults. He, like most of the dream team, is morally dubious at best, and a complete criminal at worst. He's not above breaking the law--in fact it's something he happily embraces. He also is quite picky, and that reflects in everything from his friends to who he trusts to what he eats. It's part of what makes him a good Point Man but is also his downfall. He's suspicious by nature, and reluctant to make friends. Especially in a city that might be a dream. He'll also prioritize his team before anyone else, and has no qualms with violence--he's not one to brandish a gun in public, but he's not afraid to harm himself (or others) if he thinks this is a dream.
POWERS/ABILITIES: Arthur is a normal human being, simple as that. However, his job as a Point Man entails a lot. this link goes into much more varied detail, but to sum it up:
Arthur is a very well-rounded character. He knows his way around computers--enough to know the vast majority of business CEO's deleted paper trails, and the ability to get in and out of said businessman's bank accounts, or find any information even potentially leading him to the possibility of his jobs going wrong.
He's gifted in surveillance, electronic and otherwise, and has the firearms training and hand-to-hand combat needed for the physical aspect of the job thanks to his military training.
He knows the ins-and-outs of the PASIV device, and how to make Somnacin as well. As such he's fairly decent with the ins-and-outs of devices if he has the time to study them. Because of both his military training and some of his missions gone wrong, it can be easily assumed his body has attuned to the stress and strain he puts into himself in the dreams, giving him a higher pain tolerance than average.
Another notable ability is Dreamsharing. While anyone can dream, Arthur is a lucid dreamer: in Dreamsharing terms, he's capable of being aware of when he's dreaming, and his mind is stable enough to support others in a shared scape, allowing more than him to explore it.
ARRIVAL POST: The body has a hard time orienting when your center of gravity shifts from zero to--well, actual gravity. It's why the moment he's transported he squats down, eyes wide, holding a hand to the ground. It's not ground, it's a harsh metal, and Arthur doesn't even so much as breathe for a moment as he tries to scan the area.
Had the dream shifted? He had been in the middle of combating Fischers' subconscious in a hotel corridor. This certainly wasn't a hotel corridor. This was something else...
"Ariadne." The word came out of his mouth but he knew it wasn't really true--Ariadne was good. Very good, even for someone who'd had minimal training. Certainly not stupid enough to turn this dream into a sci-fi adventure.
"Shit." It's clipped and Arthur remembers to breathe again, going on instincts. It's a job. It's still a job and he's holding the gun. He straightens, holding it up, scanning the area, checking for people. Nothing.
The gun gets tucked into the back of his suit pants, wishing he was still wearing his jacket instead of shrugging it off. It's an unconscious habit, but he rolls his sleeves up, loosening his tie. No projections, no need to worry about neatness. The pedestal before him is a perfect surface, and he strolls to it with purpose, brushing the phone-like device off of it and reaching into his pocket, pulling out a simple red die.
"C'mon," the annoyance is hidden by the fact that the phrase is underneath his breath, and he rolls it, staring at the outcome.
"This isn't a dream?"
No--it had to be. Someone, somewhere, had messed with his totem. Nothing looked like this in the outside world. And the PASIV? Where was that? Taking a deep breath, Arthur closes his eyes and pulls out the gun from the waistband of his pants, putting it to his temple.
Speak up now, citizens of Taxon, or Arthur's going to have the shortest lifespan record.
ADDITIONAL SAMPLE: Arthur resists the urge roll his eyes because there's Eames' smile, looking smug and perfect and he could practically feel the telepathic 'ha, ha, hah, I'm better than you'.
"Cute," He says finally, eyes narrowing. Here it is again--the usual push and pull of the daily life of Eames and Arthur. Eames strutting his stuff like some sort of paisley wearing peacock and Arthur trying very hard to remember why on earth they were sharing a hotel room, let alone playing cards.
Babysitting the gambling addict was not part of his job. No matter how endearing the guy is. He's not stupid--he knows the moment something terrible and horrible goes wrong Eames will split, kill himself in the dream to wake up and run like no tomorrow. He knows he's probably going to do it soon. He can see it--sense it. Maybe Cobb can, too.
Biting his lip has never really been a habit with him--but it was when he was playing cards with Eames. It was less about the hand you had and more about Eames trying to catch all your little ticks--an annoying habit, but Arthur had his own. Rolling up his sleeves. Triple checking everything. Following Cobb to the ends of the Earth.
He crooks an eyebrow, just to watch Eames' reaction. A pause, a hold, a lock of eyes and Arthur can't help it: he smiles, finding the whole thing absolutely ridiculous.
"It's a game," he points out, setting his cards on the table. "Jesus, Eames. I'm not something you're going to forge, it's just a game. Stop staring at me like that." He ignores Eames' protest, takes his hand, and begins to shuffle, leaning back in his chair. That was one of the habits that wasn't false, and as he shuffles he tilts his head to the side.
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were thinking of leaving."
There's dead silence. Arthur's smile is tense, eyes focused.
"It's because of Mal, isn't it?"
