Albert Meursault is an expert shapeshifter, con artist, critic, journalist, and philosopher. A smooth talker and master of deception, Albert can charm, lie, and manipulate his way past any obstacle.
History
Meursault was born to a dysfunctional family of six, growing up in a world of the lower class living. This lifestyle is one of the main reasons why he dresses like he lives in the street; why he averts expensive clothing and makes them appear vintage.
A fleeting star in his youth, Albert played as a goalkeeper for the University of Algiers' football team, until a bout with tuberculosis sidelined his athletic ambitions. Always of small stature, he found himself drawn to the escapism of the silver screen, rock-and-roll concerts, and comic books. Movie stars and rock legends became his idols, larger-than-life figures who fueled his desire to transcend his reality. Albert began to see the world as a stage, and he, its leading actor.
Meursault became obsessed with music, a connoisseur of genre, and a bitrate-hungry audiophile. He would purchase -and steal- many records and valued them highly, especially if they were signed. His record collection contained music and artists nobody else had heard of, and if he believed that an artist was becoming popular, he would deny they ever listened to them and quickly dispose of any evidence.
Los Santos
As a young dreamer with more ambition than talent, Alby scraped together what little his family had, stealing just enough from his parents to buy a one-way ticket to Los Santos in 2004. To him, the City of Saints was a shimmering beacon of hope, a land of infinite possibility where he could rise as an artist, or a musician, or an actor. But reality was far less kind to the 18 year old. Lacking the raw talent or connections to make it big, Alby quickly found himself homeless and hungry, struggling just to survive. He begged for scraps, stole food, and picked pockets to stave off starvation. Each day hardened him a little more, chipping away at the romanticism he had carried with him from home.
Gangland
| “Your the one who dragged me to this shiny shithole of a city, Army. You sold me on “endless opportunity and an after dark scene to die for.” What I got was broken neon lights, ugly gangs, fucking martial law, and people like you who think wearing a expensive suit makes them untouchable. And yet, here we are in Eden City. Wow. Where's all these "opportunities", huh? Real ones. I'm tired of swiping pocket change.” |
Albert eventually made his way to the burgeoning metropolis of Eden City, often called the new heart of the world. Despite his reluctance, he was coerced and persuaded by his best friend and partner-in-crime, Armin van de Corput. Albert initially loathed the city's polished ambitions and overhyped reputation, but in true ironic fashion, he found himself enamored with its raw, gritty underbelly. While he despised the city's attempts to embody perfection, he reveled in its imperfections—the dimly lit alleyways, the exciting gang warfare, the thrum of underground clubs, and the "after dark scene" that pulsed with life.
From swindling corrupt real estate moguls and duping shady tech startups to meticulously conning high-profile elites at exclusive clubs, Albert's heists were less about the payout and more about the performance. As a master manipulator and smooth-talking conman, he relished the thrill of crafting elaborate deceptions that brought powerful figures to their knees.
For Albert, each job was a rebellion against societal constraints, a way to mock the facades of power and challenge whoever "The Man" happened to be that day—greedy executives, exploitative institutions, or even the crushing monotony of modern existence. It wasn't about wealth but the rush of outsmarting the system and proving that even the most untouchable forces could be undone by a well-played lie.
Quotes
- ❝When they have that look on their face that screams "Why?" You know you've made it as an individual. They look at someone like you as another one of them, boring, bland and colorless, but they look at me like a wrong-shaped puzzle piece, an out of pitch guitar string, like I'm comic sans on their mother's gravestone. They judge me, but I don't care, because deep down they are wasting their time and I'm just living life.❞
- — Describing his response to mainstream judgmental behavior.
- ❝Who could have dreamed in 1995 that the alternative society would eventually multiply to such extraordinary proportions that it becomes our mainstream.❞
- — Regarding his adolescence
- ❝We all know the routine: you smirk condescendingly at the arty young adult with the glasses and the tattoos, or assume that everything he or she does is “ironic”—scare quotes included.❞
- — Reasserting his own view on the label "Hipster"
- ❝I stared into the abyss only to see myself staring back at me.❞
- — Said after secondary marijuana smoking.
- ❝Ipse se nihil scire id unum sciat, so don't ask me.❞
- — When asked his view on this generation's lifestyles.
