Hey, have me talked about a mute Arthur yet? I know I've asked that to some people, but not you yet. I was thinking someone along the lines of Arthur waking up screaming so often from the nightmares after the incident, that he eventually loses his voice altogether. He learns sign language to talk to Vivi, but he can some times be a little sloppy with the metallic one and she won't understand him. When Lewis rejoins the group later, he thinks Arthur's giving him the silent treatment for a while.
Okay, so, we at Hell’s Office discuss mute Arthur quite a lot, actually. And the lack of mute Arthur everywhere, I’m gonna write fic, I swear.
So what I like (I can’t speak for the whole crew) is to imagine that Arthur will sometimes slip into these moods where he literally just doesn’t talk. It can last from a day to a week to a month (the record was two months and a week). He will literally just clam up and he knows sign, he’ll use sign to speak, but since no one (save for Kylie) knows sign, they don’t know what he’s saying. He likes to sign because his movements are surer, and there’s no way for him to stutter like he does when he’s nervous.
And Lewis and Vivi get so frustrated that they can’t understand him, can’t figure out what’s wrong, that they learn sign. They don’t tell Arthur and they learn sign and when he slips into not speaking and he’s signing and then he gets frustrated and signs “nevermind, you don’t understand...” and turns away.
But then Vivi grabs his shoulder and turns him back around and sloppily signs back “So tell us.”
And Arthur is shocked, staring agape at her, when Lewis steps up and signs hesitantly and jerkily “Just go slow.”
( zeroroheichou was the genius behind this little scenario)
SO THEN AFTER THE CAVE
AFTER THE CAVE
He clams up. He will literally not say a single word, no matter what Vivi or Lance or Mystery or any of the gurus will do. Oh, sure, he spoke for the first few months, but once he’s out of the hospital? Not a peep.
Vivi becomes fluent in sign, of course, but the thing with sign? When Arthur drives, he can’t talk to her. It’s the perfect avoidance technique and Arthur is a pro at avoidance.
So when they Lewis rejoins, he forgets that little tidbit about Arthur, and get’s super angry at him not talking and then Vivi has to explain it and cue all the angst.
Mute Arthur, man.
I need it.
