InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "I'm not crazy, I'm special"

Eames (dream_bigger) wrote in colligo_threads,
@ 2010-09-20 22:32:00

Entry tags:

ariadne, arthur, eames

WHO: Ariadne, possibly Arthur when he wakes up, Eames
WHAT: Oh, nothing much, other than the fact that EAMES CAN'T TELL LIES? O.o
WHEN: Backdated to yesterday morning (19th September)
WHERE: Dream Team HQ. I mean, flat.
RATING: There will be swearing. A lot of swearing.
STATUS: In progress.

Eames was sitting on the floor in the living room, sucking on the end of his pencil as if it were one of his cigarettes, and thinking about the list he was compiling.

Ariadne worked in an art supplies shop.

Eames needed art supplies (and money. But he could get money easily. Contrary to popular belief, he didn't always need to cheat in casinos. He was capable of winning because he was just. that. good. If he needed money to get art supplies, then he'd go and play poker.) because he needed to do something to avoid going batshit insane with boredom. A bored Eames was something to be avoided, at all costs. So he was going to paint. That meant he needed stuff, hence the list he was going to give to Ariadne.

Graphiet pencils - 9B-4H, 3 Bs if poss.
putty rubber, sharpner
Sketchpads, A4 and A3 (or equivalnt)
Mixing tray (big one)
Watercolours (halfpans or tubes, don't mind) in follwing colours:
cadmium yellow, yellow ochre, cadmium red, burnt sienna, cobalt blue, coeruleum blue, hookers green, paynes grey, titanium white, mixing white
Acrylics, same colurs
Brushs (long handels if poss):
Rigger size 04
Fan size 04
Hake size 50
Flat size 19
Round Sizes 02, 04, 08
Filbert sisez 00, 06, 14
Palatte knives, one small, one medium.

He stopped there, and read over the list. He read it again, and then whistled low as he worked out roughly how much it would have cost back home. About eighty quid for the brushes alone which normally wouldn't have been an issue, but then, he had rather a lot of bank accounts back home, unlike here. He did a bit more maths in his head, and then realised he'd need maybe $300? He could easily make that in an evening, plus some to spare. It'd be fine.

He read over the list once more, genuinely not seeing the spelling mistakes, and then got to his feet, being careful to stay quiet since Arthur was still asleep on the couch. Eames could behave himself from time to time, after all, and for a big man, he knew how to move silently. He walked into the kitchen, stretched until his spine popped in a few places, and then set about making breakfast. Tea and a fag, breakfast of bloody champions.

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labyrinthine
2010-09-20 11:44 pm UTC (link)

Ariadne wasn't working the first shift that day, so she managed to sleep in. And managed to sleep, period, which was pretty great. She slept so soundly that she didn't really think about it when she woke up and, still groggy, rolled out of bed and wandered into the main room. But she perked up a little when she saw Eames in the kitchen bustling about.

"Please tell me you're making coffee?" She yawned and put a hand over her mouth, less self-conscious about the fact that she was wearing a tank top and underpants than she would have been with someone who hadn't seen her naked. But then, she had also completely missed that Arthur was sleeping in the living room. Ariadne was not at her best in the mornings.

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dream_bigger
2010-09-20 11:53 pm UTC (link)

"Tea, you heathen," he replied, then looked over and grinned at how sleepy she still was. "I can make you some if you'd like, though. Did you sleep well?"

He leant back against the counter top and finished his cigarette, then turned on the overhead fan that was over the cooker. It'd get rid of the cigarette smoke, right? It was a bit noisy, though, so he turned it off again after a minute, and set about making coffee. "I was wondering if I could place an order with your work, by the way. I've even made a list. Arthur would be proud of me."

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labyrinthine
2010-09-21 12:00 am UTC (link)

"Whatever." Ariadne rubbed her eyes, squinting at him. "That would be awesome. And I did, for once." He probably understood what she meant; he'd done more shared dreaming than she had.

She combed through her disheveled hair and pushed it out of her face, nodding at his question. "Sure, of course. I was thinking of getting you some stuff anyway, just because. More sketchbooks?"

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dream_bigger
2010-09-21 12:16 am UTC (link)

He nodded because yes, he understood. "Plenty of natural dreams left in you yet, my dear," he said, scooping coffee out of a packet and into a cafetière. The kettle boiled quickly, and he poured the water in as well, before replacing the lid.

"Mm. And some other things. I won't have the money until later tonight at the earliest, but I'll be able to pay for it all in a few days at the latest," he admitted, then took the list out of his jeans pocket and handed it to her, before going back over to check on the cafetière. He decided to let it sit for a few more minutes, and then frowned as he realised just how much detail he'd gone into. How very odd.

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labyrinthine
2010-09-21 01:29 am UTC (link)

She blinked. Natural dreams. So that was how they referred to them, huh? Well, it made sense, she supposed. Ariadne scanned the list, frowning to try and figure out what some of the atrociously spelled words meant. But she could get most of them.

"Okay, cool. And it's like fifteen percent off with my employee discount, so that's fine." An awkward moment passed where she tried to decide what to do with the list - not having a pocket to shove it in - so she just set it on the counter. "How are you going to get the money? Coercing some unlucky mark?"

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(now with correct Eames! Well done, self, well done.)

dream_bigger
2010-09-21 10:42 am UTC (link)

"Fifteen? That's even better," he said, quickly working out that the discount would knock off almost $50 if he'd been correct to begin with. "Although I don't need everything all at once, so if that's easier on you, just let me know. Or I could just come into the shop and harrass you until you give me things to go away. Whichever works best for you."

He finally decided that the coffee was ready, and pushed down on the plunger before filling a mug for Ariadne. He set it down in front of her, and went to get his tea. "I was going to go to that casino, and win a few poker games for it, actually. It's what I used to do when I ran out of money," and he stopped right there. What the fuck? Why had he said that?

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	labyrinthine 2010-09-21 11:24 am UTC (link)
	"I wouldn't mind being harassed," she replied with a small grin. Ariadne picked up the mug and let the warmth seep into her palms before taking a large gulp. And... Eames stopped short in the middle of a sentence. "Are you okay?" Because winning poker games sounded like fun to her, not weird. But then, he normally didn't say much about his past. At all. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

dream_bigger
2010-09-21 12:29 pm UTC (link)

He was fine. Of course he was. He opened his mouth to tell her as much. "I'm tired. I didn't sleep as well as you, and I'm a bit confused by what I'm saying," he admitted, then frowned again. Really not what he'd intended to say at all. "More than a bit, to be honest. And getting a tad annoyed with mysel- what the actual fuck?"

He looked over at Ariadne, wondering if she knew why he was acting like this. He sniffed his tea, but it didn't smell like Yusuf had suddenly shown up and dumped some godawful concoction into the kettle while he'd had his back turned. And his cigarette had been as lovely as ever, without any extra chemicals added to it.

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	labyrinthine 2010-09-21 01:27 pm UTC (link)
	"Okay, this is way too weird for before I finish my first cup of coffee." Ariadne took another long swallow of her drink and leaned against the counter, looking back at him curiously. "Are you just... saying whatever comes into your head? This place is bizarre, messing with your head has to be easier than turning you into a woman." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

dream_bigger
2010-09-21 10:26 pm UTC (link)

"Ariadne, my sweet, you twist roads into Moebius strips and turn buildings inside out for fun. You do not get to comment on the given value of 'Weird'," he pointed out as he scratched at the back of his head in confusion. His tea smelt fine, so he drank when she did, then crossed the kitchen to stand beside her.

"Saying what comes into my head? No. No no no. If I was doing that, I'd have told you that I was fine, and then that I was wondering if Yusuf had shown up and was pouring things into the kettle without being seen, like some sort of... I don't know, chemistry ninja or something. Oh my god, what the hell am I saying? Stop asking me questions, woman." This babbling was vaguely horrific.

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labyrinthine
2010-09-21 11:59 pm UTC (link)

"Not for fun, for work. Well, also for fun." She set down her mug and looked up at him, studying his face and the growing look of horror. This wasn't funny, even if he was referring to Yusuf as a chemistry ninja. Well, that part was funny.

"Sorry, I just... we should figure this out. So you're not just saying whatever pops into your head." Brain teasers before breakfast. Fun. "Are you saying stuff you wouldn't say otherwise? Do you have to answer my questions?" She paused and tried to think of a good test question. "What's your birthday?"

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dream_bigger
2010-09-22 12:08 am UTC (link)

"Yes, yes and it's the fifteenth of September. Fucking hell," he said, after trying his hardest not to say anything. There was nothing vague about this in the slightest. It was horrible. He almost clamped his hands over his mouth, but instead, he grabbed his fags and lighter from where he'd left them on the counter and lit up yet another cigarette. This place was playing havoc with his lungs; he couldn't think of a time when he'd smoked quite so much.

Wait a minute. "What about you? If I ask you questions, do you have to answer me?"

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	labyrinthine 2010-09-22 12:13 am UTC (link)
	"Yeah, I think I do." A horrified expression appeared on Ariadne's face, and she did clap her hand over her mouth. "Please don't be evil," she said, muffled by her fingers. She didn't trust him to accept her request at all. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

dream_bigger
2010-09-22 12:25 am UTC (link)

"I would never!" he replied, protesting more out of habit than out of any real sense of indignation. He was far too busy with his cigarette to do otherwise. "This is... this is fucked up. Why couldn't they have just left me as a woman? Bloody fucking hell. Tits, I can cope with. THIS?"

Eames was not impressed.

"We should see if Arthur's the same. Once he's woke up, that is."

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	labyrinthine 2010-09-22 01:02 am UTC (link)
	"I don't know. Oh, hey, that wasn't so bad. We'll just have to be careful about what we say, I guess." Ariadne shook her head as if shaking off the creepy feeling of having to answer his question, and picked up her mug again. "We really should. I'd go poke him but he never sleeps anyway." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

dream_bigger
2010-09-23 10:03 pm UTC (link)

"Usually, I am careful about what I say. I can tell you this much, though. I won't be asking any questions if I can help it. Well, other than this one. When's your birthday?" Since turnabout was fair play, and all that.

He laughed softly at her comment about Arthur. "If you want to poke Arthur in his sleep, go for it. It won't end well, though, unless he's hooked up to a PASIV."

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labyrinthine
2010-09-24 12:29 am UTC (link)

Ariadne smiled, sipping her coffee. "April fourteenth. Not for a while yet. We should have belated birthday cake for you or something." Because that was clearly a logical response to the situation. Clearly she'd spent too much time in Paris where butter was always the answer.

The smile turned into a smirk as she glanced over her shoulder towards the rest of the apartment. "Broken nose, broken wrist, chokehold... I can guess. I think I'll keep my bones intact, thanks. Or use a really, really long pole."

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dream_bigger
2010-09-24 11:41 pm UTC (link)

"I'll remember that," he told her after exhaling a lungful of smoke, because it was the sort of thing that stuck in his memory. Plenty of time to plan presents. He shook his head when Ariadne mentioned having birthday cake, though. "We could just have cake. And tea. The tea's non-negotiable. I'm not all that into celebrating birthdays, I'm afraid." At least, not his own ones.

Grinning around his cigarette, he nodded at her assessment of how 'poking Arthur awake' worked as a general plan. "You sound like a professional. I'd offer my bargepole, but I don't want hit either." And no, that wasn't Eames being not-so-vaguely filthy. Honestly.

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labyrinthine
2010-09-25 03:22 am UTC (link)

"I bet you will." Ariadne finished her coffee and set down the mug, arms folding over her head as she stretched. "I'm good with non-occasion cake too, don't worry." And she was okay with not forcing people to celebrate. So long as there was pastry involved. The question about why he didn't like birthdays was on the tip of her tongue but she bit it back just in time.

That grin of his was inherently wicked, wasn't it? His comment made her eyebrows shoot up. "Is that what they're calling it these days?" Whoops.

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