video/optional action

[dontthinkaboutelephants]

Who: Arthur
Broadcast: Video, fleetwide
Action: Optional; Red fish
When: Now is good

Hey! [Arthur waves at the camera, he's wearing some of his new clothes that are more utilitarian than his usual style (Yes, he keeps blowing his money on clothes. Hush.)] So I have all the preliminary sketches done. If you asked me to draw you something, you should come on over to the Red Fish to see them and tell me if I need to change anything.

I'm also working on a research project with Ms. Carter. If you could answer with some of these preliminary questions I threw together, I'd be most appreciative. Keep in mind that you don't have to answer all of them, especially if they make you uncomfortable, and that these results may be available to anyone on the ship.

attachement: surveypt1.docx

We may have some more questions in the future.

[He picks up and fiddles with a pencil, needing to do something with his hands.]

Has anyone here... lost someone close to them? How do you deal with that, especially if you maybe could have stopped them dying, if you had known something was wrong?

Comments

[ private / video ]

[beardstrokes]

[ Does he want to answer this? Those are questions that had plagued Obi-Wan for many years before he let them subside. They still come to him in his darker moments when he doesn't have an answer.

And the Force never has one for him. ]

I have.

[ private / video ]

[dontthinkaboutelephants]

[He hesitates, fiddling with the pencil some more.]

You've lost someone?

[He hesitates again.] How would someone get over something like that?

Action

[child_of_bhaal]

[Sometime after his post, she wanders rather directly into his room. She knocks, and then goes in, his question list pulled up on her comm, which she's mostly looking at rather than at him.]

You have a lot of complicated questions, my friend.

Action

[dontthinkaboutelephants]

[He doesn't quite meet her eye, still fiddling with that damn pencil.] Do I?

video

[bythewaves]

[ Softly ]

Far too many - of my family I am the last who remains. And I go on - that is all I can do. For them, as well as for myself. I go on, and I remember, and I tell their tale so that others remember.

video

[dontthinkaboutelephants]

But how do you- how do you go on after that?

Video

[spontaneouscombustion]

[OOOH a survey! Pinkie pauses the video while she fills that out, but when she fills that out... oh... ouch... so yeah, the pink pony face coming on right now... is a little less chipper than normal.]

No, I haven't. I'm really sorry, though. Do you wanna talk about it?

Video

[dontthinkaboutelephants]

[YAY survey!

But oh my god, a sad talking pony what is going on. But she's so nice... he holds back on asking about that.]

Thanks. I don't know. I don't usually. I was just kind of hoping there was some quick fix to how I feel, but I guess that was stupid.

[GOD THOSE SAD PONY EYES THO.] I'll be okay. I survived getting shot; I can survive this.

[bigvessel]

[Here is a survey . That he totally lied on about ten times.

So helpful, right?]

[dontthinkaboutelephants]

[Goddamnit. Thanks anyway, bro.]

Voice;

[alwayscomeback]

You never really deal with something like that. You just learn to live with it. You get good days, you get bad days. The best you can do is hope the good days outnumber the bad ones and when the bad ones do come along, you try to come out of the other end of them as together as you can be.

Finding stuff to take your mind off it helps. Even if it's just for a little while.

Voice;

[dontthinkaboutelephants]

Yeah. [He's so bad at this; he doesn't know what else to say.] I guess I was hoping there was some easier way than feeling like... this. But that's not very realistic.

[namisan]

[One survey. Mostly true answers. She can understand the merit of doing something like this.

...that last question, though. Hits close to the bone.]

Don't focus on the bad. Don't sit there blaming yourself or playing "if things had been different" games-- it's in the past and you can't fix it. You did what you could at the time, right?

My mother died a long time ago. I focus on all the good things about our life, and I remember her advice and I follow it, and I try to do her proud. If you can go to bed at night and imagine them smiling at you, it helps. A lot.

[dontthinkaboutelephants]

[YAY for the survey!

He hesitates.] I'm sorry. About your mother.

And... yeah, that's right. It just felt... like I should have been there.

[He takes a breath, trying to remember Mal's smile, and the ache in his chest hurts a little less.] Maybe you're right.

action

[thetigress]

[After a short note announcing her intention to visit, Caterina makes her way over to the Red Fish to seek Arthur out.]

I hope I am not interrupting. You seem to have a great deal on your mind today.

action

[dontthinkaboutelephants]

[He looks up from his notebook on the kitchen table in surprise, and then stands, pulling a chair out.] I suppose I do. And not at all. Please, sit. Are you here to see your sketch?

voice

[antisheep]

[Have an almost completely blank survey but Angharad did her best.]

What are you researching?

[Then, a small pause as she contemplated the more complicated question, letting out a little sigh.]

As for your other question... Would they have blamed you for their death?

voice

[dontthinkaboutelephants]

[IT'S THE THOUGHT.] I'm trying to find similarities between passengers. Maybe find a reason that they're bringing the people they're bringing.

[He doesn't have to pause for this question.] No. Never.

video | private;

[winn]

I'm -- really sorry for your loss.

[ he pauses. there doesn't seem to be a good way to move on from that topic - and it is a topic that's on his mind constantly, he's terrified of the prospect of failing to save his girlfriend. but this guy is a stranger, and well...

he clears his throat. ]

I filled out your survey - if there's anything else I can help with, I'd be happy to.

[ he rubs his chin nervously, trying to figure out the proper way to breach the subject of those intriguing sketches he mentioned, but that could wait until a reply comes, right? ]

It's listed right there at the top but - hello, I'm Winn Schott.

attachment: surveywschott

video | private;

[dontthinkaboutelephants]

[Arthur pauses, not sure what to do with that. No one's really said they were sorry for him for losing Mal.] Thank you.

[Okay, good back to business.] And that's great. That'll help a lot.

[He gives him a small smile.] I'm Arthur Hall. Nice to meet you.

text, private;

[bloodbiter]

I am sorry for your loss.

It depends upon the circumstances. Why did you not know something was wrong?

text, private;

[dontthinkaboutelephants]

Thank you.

Her husband and my friend did a pretty good job of hiding things. Or he must have, if what I think happened happened.

audio

[lord_wizard]

[This is one of the few times he's not going to show his face and he'd make it private if he knew how, but this will have to do]

Yes. And all you can do is resolve to not make the same mistakes again.

audio

[dontthinkaboutelephants]

That doesn't seem good enough. When she's gone.

[A pause.] I'm sorry. [About who he lost.]

video »

[mucked]

[ his query about loss is not lost -- ahem -- on her, but she refrains from broaching it at this point in time. too painful; too personal.

instead: ]

Are we getting a good response rate, Arthur?

video »

[dontthinkaboutelephants]

Some of them are a little blank, but I think we can still use the data available.