Thread with Peter Vincent for applicationmessiahedSeptember 10 2011, 17:10:49 UTC
[Hope's dreams are more memories.
They're a reflection of the all the times she lived in, combined into one desolate and ugly apocalypse worse than the separate individual ones she once existed in. In this world there are no humans, they were all dead centuries ago. What did remain was a human/cockroach hybrid that survived the nuclear holocausts and evolved into nasty little creatures that almost never seemed to die. Hope's mother died at the hands of these creatures. And in her dreams Hope never stops fighting them.
Except now. Now she rests in an abandoned and crumbling building, taking her gun apart and cleaning it as she sits around a fire. Usually Cable is with her, even in dreams. But his death has left an impact on her psyche, and she can't even bear to look at his dream self any longer. So she sits with her back to the wall and cleans her gun, leaving a piece of meat sitting by the fire that she's already chewed on, but she's saving the rest for later. Conserve and persevere.
[Peter's dreams, meanwhile, are fantasies. Or tales of terror. Sometimes colored by memories, sometimes with connections to real life... but often those connections are buried under more than one layer of metaphor. And sometimes, hey. Sometimes a dream is just a dream.
In this dream, he's a leader. A small group of faceless, mostly-nameless followers trek with him across this desolate landscape, doing their best to survive and fighting off those... weird cockroach monster things. Peter's subconscious hasn't given them a name, but it doesn't matter. They're the Enemy.
They've stumbled across an unexpected nest and are being pursued. They run toward a cluster of buildings. Shelter. Peter grabs his second-in-command by the scruff of his shirt, pushes him onward.]
Antony! Get everybody behind that wall!
[He turns and rattles off a report with his machine gun, catching a few of the little bastards, as he backs up and then runs behind the others into the building, rolling through an open window.
The redhead sitting at the fire is a surprise, but Peter's got more important things to worry about right now. He levels his gun on the edge of the window, keeping watch for the first monster to show its creepy insectoid face.]
[Other humans? At first her mind doesn't seem to comprehend, but her dreams fill in the mental blanks to make this work with her. It doesn't change how she reacts to her shelter being invaded by them, though. Which is very unhappy.
Especially when she sees why.
She quickly finishes putting her gun together, some unknown machinery from some unknown time. Cable had collected a lot of things like that. Then the girl was on her feet and at a window across the room, shooting the first sign of movement and killing one of the creatures.]
Any one of you that touches my food gets the same treatment, just so you know. [She snapped at the people behind her as she shot another of the creatures.]
We can talk chow later, sweetheart! [Although a few in the group might be tempted. Especially the kid. Peter hopes his mom is keeping him out of the way. Everyone else is focused on taking out the creatures.
There's still a dozen of them out there. Peter fires a shot - make that eleven. Someone else takes care of another - ten. Then out of nowhere one of them's made it to a window and is attacking one of the humans, who falls back screaming. Peter springs toward him--] Shit-- [--and rips the creature off of him, throws it away. It rolls across the floor, hissing.]
[If she hadn't been ambushed like this, Hope might have been a little more willing to lean towards amiability. Right now, she was just pissed off the one moment of peace she had in this place had gone to hell in about five seconds becomes some idiots got themselves cornered inside with her. There goes her safe spot.
Hope fires off another two shots, taking one down and nailing the arm off another, when sh'es distracted by the sounds of one of the creatures breaking in. She steps away from the window now and is on the other creature in a heartbeat, her boot on it's chest as it tries to get up and her gun in it's face before she pulls the trigger.]
Fucking bastards. [She mumbles before looking at the human that got attacked and the others not armed, shaking her head.]
Come on, we've still got eight more to finish off.
[Peter takes the gun off of the fallen human and returns to the window... The dream glosses over the rest of the stand-off. Then there's a sense of calm. The creatures are either dead or have been run off. The humans are left hanging around the building with only a few people standing watch at the windows.
Peter lights up a cigarette. Offers one to the redhead, looking at her curiously. Something about her still doesn't fit in the world of his dream.]
[By this point Hope's happily given her food over to the kid in the group, though she made a big deal out of it like she didn't want to. But she remembers being starving at that age. It's not fun.
She takes the cigarette and leans close enough to the fire to light it before sitting back against the wall.
His question seems to confuse her though. And for a second she looks around the room, like she's searching for someone. Then she seems to remember.]
Yeah. Been alone for as long as I can remember. [That was right. But it didn't seem right either...] Where'd you find all these people?
Y'know. [He takes a drag. Sits down next to her against the wall, all scruff and dust and affected nonchalance. The perfect image of an anti-hero.] Around. Here and there. There were four of us in the beginning.
The kid's new. Picked him up a week ago. Bug fuckers got his parents. [Wait -- didn't the kid have a mom? Well, if he did, he doesn't anymore.]
You've got too many. You shouldn't travel in more than three, max. And you shouldn't have so many adults without weaponry. Even the kid should have something.
[And three was pushing it. She had a memory of her mother being killed as they tried to run from the roaches. Little fuckers shot her in the stomach.]
You can't stay here long. None of us can. Where there's one, more will follow soon. The place has been compromised.
[She doesn't mean to sound harsh, but Cable and her always looked out for themselves. They never had time to stop and think about others. All the times they would have died if they had.]
That nest - that was a major error. Last time I send Liz ahead scouting. At least until she can get her act together.
[Studying her some more.]
So, take a guess. You had a big happy family like this Once Upon a Time, and one by one you watched 'em get picked off, and now you're a lone wolf? Watch nobody's ass but your own?
[Looking to the kid.] Even the beginnings aren't so good, for some.
[And that casts a pall over the dream, at least from Peter's perspective. For a moment, everything becomes somber and silent and focused. You could hear a pin drop.
...and then he breaks out of it. Pulls a flask from his jacket, smirking a little, disbelieving.]
I really don't think I used to be so depressing. Shit.
[Hope doesn't seem to notice it. Or maybe she does. Her brain has the best avoidance mechanisms in the world, though, and she pretends it's not there. She just moves on with her life.]
I don't think any of us are depressing. This lifestyle just kind of puts a depressing light on everything you do. I could probably jump up and dance around and be happy and it'd still be depressing somehow.
They're a reflection of the all the times she lived in, combined into one desolate and ugly apocalypse worse than the separate individual ones she once existed in. In this world there are no humans, they were all dead centuries ago. What did remain was a human/cockroach hybrid that survived the nuclear holocausts and evolved into nasty little creatures that almost never seemed to die. Hope's mother died at the hands of these creatures. And in her dreams Hope never stops fighting them.
Except now. Now she rests in an abandoned and crumbling building, taking her gun apart and cleaning it as she sits around a fire. Usually Cable is with her, even in dreams. But his death has left an impact on her psyche, and she can't even bear to look at his dream self any longer. So she sits with her back to the wall and cleans her gun, leaving a piece of meat sitting by the fire that she's already chewed on, but she's saving the rest for later. Conserve and persevere.
This is all Hope knows, in life and in dreams.]
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In this dream, he's a leader. A small group of faceless, mostly-nameless followers trek with him across this desolate landscape, doing their best to survive and fighting off those... weird cockroach monster things. Peter's subconscious hasn't given them a name, but it doesn't matter. They're the Enemy.
They've stumbled across an unexpected nest and are being pursued. They run toward a cluster of buildings. Shelter. Peter grabs his second-in-command by the scruff of his shirt, pushes him onward.]
Antony! Get everybody behind that wall!
[He turns and rattles off a report with his machine gun, catching a few of the little bastards, as he backs up and then runs behind the others into the building, rolling through an open window.
The redhead sitting at the fire is a surprise, but Peter's got more important things to worry about right now. He levels his gun on the edge of the window, keeping watch for the first monster to show its creepy insectoid face.]
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Especially when she sees why.
She quickly finishes putting her gun together, some unknown machinery from some unknown time. Cable had collected a lot of things like that. Then the girl was on her feet and at a window across the room, shooting the first sign of movement and killing one of the creatures.]
Any one of you that touches my food gets the same treatment, just so you know. [She snapped at the people behind her as she shot another of the creatures.]
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There's still a dozen of them out there. Peter fires a shot - make that eleven. Someone else takes care of another - ten. Then out of nowhere one of them's made it to a window and is attacking one of the humans, who falls back screaming. Peter springs toward him--] Shit-- [--and rips the creature off of him, throws it away. It rolls across the floor, hissing.]
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Hope fires off another two shots, taking one down and nailing the arm off another, when sh'es distracted by the sounds of one of the creatures breaking in. She steps away from the window now and is on the other creature in a heartbeat, her boot on it's chest as it tries to get up and her gun in it's face before she pulls the trigger.]
Fucking bastards. [She mumbles before looking at the human that got attacked and the others not armed, shaking her head.]
Come on, we've still got eight more to finish off.
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Peter lights up a cigarette. Offers one to the redhead, looking at her curiously. Something about her still doesn't fit in the world of his dream.]
You really all on your own out here?
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She takes the cigarette and leans close enough to the fire to light it before sitting back against the wall.
His question seems to confuse her though. And for a second she looks around the room, like she's searching for someone. Then she seems to remember.]
Yeah. Been alone for as long as I can remember. [That was right. But it didn't seem right either...] Where'd you find all these people?
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The kid's new. Picked him up a week ago. Bug fuckers got his parents. [Wait -- didn't the kid have a mom? Well, if he did, he doesn't anymore.]
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[And three was pushing it. She had a memory of her mother being killed as they tried to run from the roaches. Little fuckers shot her in the stomach.]
You can't stay here long. None of us can. Where there's one, more will follow soon. The place has been compromised.
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[She doesn't have to tell him twice about needing to move, but they should have a few minutes of relatively-safe rest.]
Everybody here's just trying to survive. That's all anybody does these days.
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[She doesn't mean to sound harsh, but Cable and her always looked out for themselves. They never had time to stop and think about others. All the times they would have died if they had.]
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[Studying her some more.]
So, take a guess. You had a big happy family like this Once Upon a Time, and one by one you watched 'em get picked off, and now you're a lone wolf? Watch nobody's ass but your own?
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[Takes a drag of her cigarette before starting to take apart her gun. Time to clean.]
Though who's story has a happy ending out here? Happy beginning, fucked in the end.
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[And that casts a pall over the dream, at least from Peter's perspective. For a moment, everything becomes somber and silent and focused. You could hear a pin drop.
...and then he breaks out of it. Pulls a flask from his jacket, smirking a little, disbelieving.]
I really don't think I used to be so depressing. Shit.
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I don't think any of us are depressing. This lifestyle just kind of puts a depressing light on everything you do. I could probably jump up and dance around and be happy and it'd still be depressing somehow.
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[He can see it now through one of the windows, in the distance, silhouetted against the yellow sky: an enormous ferris wheel slowly turning.]
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