video;

[brushoff]

[ Dorian's sitting down on a small, jet black armchair, tucked in the corner of an all too busy bedroom. There's a bookshelf stacked to the brim with books to the left and a medium sized oil painting hanging on the wall, a Romantic seascape with more emphasis on the clouds than the water, clouds painted in dark, stormy, gray brushstrokes. Dorian gives the camera a small nod, then starts to read from a book, in an even, measured tone, perfect for audiobooks. ]

"It was the strangest book that he had ever read. It seemed to him that in exquisite raiment, and to the delicate sound of flutes, the sins of the world were passing in dumb show before him. Things that he had dimly dreamed of were suddenly made real to him. Things of which he had never dreamed were gradually revealed." [ There's a pause, while Dorian flips the pages and continues reading. ]

"'I am so sorry, Harry,' he cried, 'but really it is entirely your fault. That book you sent me so fascinated me that I forgot how the time was going.' 'Yes, I thought you would like it,' replied his host, rising from his chair. 'I didn't say I liked it, Harry. I said it fascinated me. There is a great difference.'"

[ Dorian closes the book, as he looks to the camera. There's a hint of a melancholy tone in his voice as he continues—somebody's obviously been lost in memory. ] Words written by Oscar Wilde—today's his birthday, by the way. Wear a carnation and take some absinthe in his honor. But the words of the post aren't what I want you to think about: the content is.

Let's talk about books, network. What's your favorite book? Or perhaps your favorite author? And, if those are questions you simply can't answer, what's your favorite genre? And finally, has there ever been a book that so captivated you the way the one Oscar wrote about captivated me?

Comments

[douchebag]

Patron saint, eh? Well, if I was a religious kind of guy, guess I'd be worshiping at your alter.

[ But he's not. And not just because he already died. ]

Always figured morality to be a chain holding people back. Sure makes 'em less fun.

[brushoff]

[ Dorian's just smiiiiling as they talk. Oh Felix, he wants to get to know so much more of you already. ]

The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Another quote from Oscar's book and one that I've found immensely applicable as the years pass on.

[douchebag]

Maybe I ought to skip the poetry and read this guy's stuff. He sounds like my kind of guy. So do you.

[ And there aren't usually many of Felix's kind of guys anywhere. ]

What do you do for fun in this place?

[brushoff]

That all depends on which city you're in. For anything truly fun, head to Maurtia Falls.

[douchebag]

Already here.

[Another smile, way too sharp to be innocent. ]

I take advantage of the nightlife quite often.

[ Like, every night and he's not talking about going for a beer after the movies. ]

[brushoff]

Good, [ Dorian can't help but remark, with a grin on his face. ]

The other cities are boring as shit.

[douchebag]

Yeah, you know, I've been to a few and I wasn't impressed. Course, when I'm from, there are whole planets devoted to having a good time. Not single cities.

[brushoff]

Alas, those of us originally from 2016 have always had to deal with just cities instead of pleasure planets.

[douchebag]

[ He sighs melodramatically. ]

Guess I'll have to rough it, then.

[brushoff]

[ And then, in an attached text file, Dorian sends a list of various bars & clubs. One of them is totally a gay bar, but the rest of them are more hip and twenty-something. ]

Here you go. A present, so that roughing it won't be as hard as it could be.

[douchebag]

[ Felix has zero qualms about gay bars. He's equal opportunity where sex is concerned and will try them all, though the ones with too young a clientele will only see one visit. A guy who's on the wrong side of 35 has to have some standards. ]

You sir, are a life-saver. Metaphorically speaking. An undead-saver, maybe. Thank you.

[brushoff]

Oooh, you're dead? Sucks to be you, my friend.

[ but there's a hint of sympathy in Dorian's glib tone. He died as well! It totally sucked! ]

[douchebag]

[ That gets a bark of laughter. ]

Yeah, it really does. And this place is a shitty afterlife.

[brushoff]

I don't know. Speaking as someone who's encountered multiple afterlifes, this isn't so bad.

[douchebag]

How'd you encounter multiple afterlives?

[brushoff]

Encountered one back home and I must have encountered one when I died here. I don't remember this world's though.

[ and even with the one back home he encountered, it technically wasn't the afterlife in the strictest sense. ]

[douchebag]

What was it like? The afterlife you encountered in your own world?

[ Because Felix is reasonably sure that this isn't a real afterlife and he's curious what one of those is like. ]

[brushoff]

Buy me a drink and I'll tell you.

[douchebag]

Yeah, sure. I can do that.

[brushoff]

Wonderful! Got a place in mind or shall I pick?

[douchebag]

As the resident expert of all things hedonistic, I'll let you make the call.

[brushoff]

The Cuckoo's Nest. Medium price, good selection, exceptional merlot if you're a wine person. How about...tonight at eight?

[douchebag]

Eight sounds good to me. I'll see you there.

wanna log/action/assume this?

[brushoff]

[ In a sing-song tone of voice, Dorian continues, ] I'll be waiting!

[douchebag]

[ ooc: we can assume! felix would have bought him as many drinks as he wanted, generally asked a lot of questions about the afterlife and dorian's life. probably told some outrageous stories of life in space if dorian was inclined to hear them: fighting aliens, going to the vice planet gilgamesh, that sort of thing. ]