open;

[takeitslow]

Who: Peter and you.
When: 15-20th
Where: Lounge/Mess/Hallways
What: Peter avoids dealing with life via games, TV, and being an annoyance
Warnings: Will update as needed.



Lounge;

[For several days, Peter takes control of the TV in the lounge. At first it was trying to learn the games that BB had left him, but after talking to Wanda its become his way to stop thinking about his conversation with Wanda. It's hard to think about the death of his alternate dimension self when playing Mario Cart.

Maybe he invited you over to play a few rounds. Maybe you catch him watching 90s comedy shows at four in the morning. Maybe you just want to yell at the kid who's been hogging the TV all day and has the volume turned up way too loud on Duck Hunt.]

Mess Hall and Cafe;

[What's another great way to avoid feelings? Eating.

Peter has commandeered a table to himself and has gathered a huge mess from the sheer amount he's packing away. He looks like the food has personally offended him, glaring down at every bite and stabbing everything viciously with his fork. Someone's moved into the anger portion of the process.

You could approach, but that glare says you might not like what happens when you do.]

Hallways;

[And now he's moved into follow someone around and annoy them part of the process.]

I'm just saying, if you work for a family like that, you don't get away with being dicks to them. No rich person is putting up with that.

[He's spent the past few minutes explaining the plot of 'Fresh Prince' to you. Engage?]

Comments

Re: lounge

[saveyourserpent]

Well, yes, other than those.

[He may have spent a little more time on the cat game than he should, already. Arms crossed, he takes a step forward.]

Fighting, always fighting. Not that I'd say no to racing or hunting, but I love a good bout of punching everything.

[takeitslow]

Not that great, right? The only interesting one is the zombie game and it's kind of easy.

[He leans over, groping along the floor with one hand until he finds the games and pulls up the right one. He flashes the cover at Liquid.]

I've got something called Mortal Kombat. Feel up for a round?

[As he's asking, Peter pauses his current game and starts looking for the second controller to hand over.]

[saveyourserpent]

I... might have got a bit attached to the cat game.

[He can't help it! It's fun! It's cute! Still, he does like some action (or a lot of action), and when he leans in to see the cover of the game he grins. Oh, he's definitely familiar with that.]

Mortal Kombat? Oh absolutely. I remember playing that in the arcade. Or... might have been the third one by then. I definitely missed out on the first one coming out, anyway.

[He was a little busy with war and stuff back then. Right now, though, he's got some free time and an opportunity to get some simulated punching in.]

Still, definitely a good series from what I remember.

[takeitslow]

Dude, you know we have real cats running around here, right? They are literally growing in the garden.

[Plenty to be actually adopted from what he's seen dropping by there.]

It hasn't come out yet, where I'm from. It's a little strange to think there will be three. Or maybe there will never be any. I don't really get how the universe thing works around here.

[He finally finds the controller and hands it over. Then he gets up to change the games.]

[saveyourserpent]

The cats are... growing. [He shouldn't be surprised. He should never be surprised around here.] I thought they just lived there, actually. I suppose you can tell I don't spend much time there. Still... the game's still pleasant.

[He likes cats, though. Maybe he'll go hang out with the growing cats sometime.]

More than three, far as I know, but three's the one I spent the most time on. But yeah... the universe thing's pretty bizarre. There's some people here who come from when I was a kid.

[He takes the controller and sits down, leaning back.]

Guess games can at least be a space constant.

[takeitslow]

Yeah. Like on a tree. [Even after everything he'd seen around here it still surprised Peter.] I don't hang out there too much, but someone I know does and she told me about it.

Yeah? What year was it when you came? I haven't had the issue of seeing anyone from when I was young, but it seems like everybody is from some far off future.

[He makes his way back, going through the menu to put it on two player mode.]

One of the few perks about being kidnapped. Free food, we got a pool and there's a lot of video games.

[saveyourserpent]

Alright. Alright! I suppose when you're suddenly on a spaceship out in the furthest reaches of whatever galaxy this might be, a tree that grows cats is pretty reasonable. I mean. I've seen weird things even not in space. So.

[He shrugs. There's a lot of questions floating in his mind regarding cat-trees, but he'll probably ask someone else sometime.]

It was 2010. Some people I know here come from around '84, when I was twelve. Considering I worked with one of them later on, it's pretty surreal. [Worked with, and also was possessing until just before he got taken. He taps his fingers on his controller.] So when are you from, then?

Got that right. Sure beats the last time I was a prisoner. I'll still want to get out, but I'll spend my time wanting to get out having an alright time, rather than... not. [Maybe it's meant to be a kinder gentler form of brainwashing than what he'd been subjected to.]

[takeitslow]

Hey, story time. What weird things? You can't bring up strange stuff from your home world and not talk about it. Violates, like, ship code or something.

1973. January of, actually. So you're pretty far ahead of me. Your friends too. I get that it must be pretty weird though. Seeing people who should be a lot older.

[He's dealing with the opposite. His sister should be younger and his nephew shouldn't have a year on him when its his twin's kid. It's all pretty weird to him.]

Prisoner? Am I about to play a violent game with a serial killer here?

[saveyourserpent]

That so? I don't remember hearing that in the briefing. [He laughs.] My best friend was a psychic, for one. That's a pretty good way to get used to things being strange. Bit of a crash course.

[There's a lot that's been strange about his life, but that's always a good starting point.]

I'd be about a year old, then. You seem to be dealing with the future well enough. Probably a bit of a shock for the people I knew to see me all grown up. [Especially since he was pretty responsible for one of them dying, and then he impersonated him, and the guy'd been told all about it.]

Soldier, but I guess there isn't really too much of a difference in the end. Last time I got locked up had nothing to do with the killing, so don't worry.

[takeitslow]

Come on, like the Captains' ideas of a briefing really told you anything about this place. [Living here was the only way to learn it, he'd found.] Psychic, huh? Like the move stuff with the mind kind or reading the mind kind?

[Neither of which Peter found all that strange, with all he knew people to capable of at home.]

I've had some help in adjusting. Have you? With all this and the blasts from the past?

[He huffs a little laugh, scrolling through the character menu.] I wasn't really worried in the first place. I don't think you'd be the first person on this ship with blood in their hands.

I suppose I should thank you for the service, anyway. That's what people do, right?

[saveyourserpent]

I suppose it was a little lacking. Or a lot. [He's still got a lot to figure out.] Both, actually. He was very skilled.

[And since he'd known him since they were both kids, it wasn't hard to be used to strange things.]

Well, I mean, there have been people who've been incredibly helpful. Not that it's been massively difficult for me. I like to think I'm not too terrible at adjusting to big changes. [He looks through the menu, a thoughtful expression on his face.] Oh, I know that for sure. [His brother and father are on the ship, for a few out of many.]

Well, you'd be the first person who's ever thanked me at any rate. Not that I need it. [Maybe his ego likes it though.]

[takeitslow]

That's kind of a neat power to have. But I take if from pointing him out as the strange bit, that powers aren't a common thing in your world.

[It seemed a little hit and miss, what worlds had powers and which didn't.]

Yeah, most the people here are pretty nice. [A smile ghosts his lips. He likes it here, honestly.] I hope that's not supposed to mean you've already dealt with some violence here.

First for everything.

[saveyourserpent]

Not massively common, no. They're not unheard of, but it's not like everyone and their mum has them either. I've mostly been in special forces, so I've probably got more... exposure to that sort of thing than most.

[If it wasn't ingrained abilities, it was nanomachines or genetic manipulation. Even he's not entirely "normal" himself.]

Nothing beyond some... "friendly" sparring. I just know a few people, is all. [Although he wouldn't be quick to admit it, he doesn't exactly hate it here. Better than the alternative, so far. He's just waiting for something big to go down.]

That's certainly true.

[takeitslow]

They're using people with powers for fighting.

[He looks unimpressed and sounds a little bitter. After what he's seen from his sister, he can't imagine the military being fair on anyone 'special'.]

Mm. Well, good for you. Honestly. There's been plenty of violence to go around so it's good some people are avoiding it.

[saveyourserpent]

Sometimes, special forces are really special. [Hilarious.] That friend I mentioned was in my unit. He was our psychological warfare specialist. Did a damn good job of it, as expected.

[At least he was running the show that time around. He'd been a hell of a lot easier on Mantis than most people were. He finally selects himself a character, leaning back.]

So I've heard. A bit funny after hearing how peaceful this trip's supposed to be. But it's pretty much inevitable after getting so many people in a closed space together. Part of my job's keeping an eye out for internal threats, so I suppose I'll see just how things work out around here.

[takeitslow]

How were they recruited? Because they were special or did they get to volunteer?

[And even if they were volunteering, well, he'd seen how that had ended in the other universe. Sorry Liquid, Peter's getting progressively grumpier over this topic.]

And eye on internal threats? They've got you playing space police? [A small laugh.] That might work a little better if we had a punishment system that made any sense. You might want to bring that up to your supervisor.

[saveyourserpent]

Bit of both, I suppose. I'd known Mantis way back, so it was more of us working together again. I don't know how things might have been in other areas at the time, but if anyone working for me was being forced to be there, I wouldn't stand for it.

[Unless he was holding people hostage during a revolution, but details, details.]

Counterintelligence, specifically. Have to know if anyone's "plotting against us" or anything like that, I suppose. Also looking for outside threats, that sort of thing. Nothing I haven't done before. I'm guessing they're not used to having to dole out punishments.

[takeitslow]

[He gives Liquid a long, critical look before nodding.]

Okay. I'll take your word on that. Sorry, but I'm not too fond of the idea of special people being forced into shit.

[He snorts.] That's an understatement. Even murder around here earns just a slap on the wrist. And they don't bother figuring out the circumstances before throwing someone in the cells.

[Maybe he's just a little bitter over the night he spent in lock up over Rinzler.]

Let me know if you hear of anyone plotting against the captains. Looking after one of them is my job. Be nice to have a heads up if I'm going to have a fight on my hands.

[saveyourserpent]

Trust me. I'm my own particular kind of special, and I wouldn't wish what I've been through on most. My worst enemies, perhaps, sure, but my team? The people I've cared about? Never.

[He might not be a psychic, or have major superpowers, or anything like that, but being a genetically modified clone with a lot to live up to has its own problems.]

Hm. And here I'd been thinking I should be on my best behavior so I don't get in any sort of trouble, and it turns out I could just go about my business with little consequence? [He laughs.] Sounds like they need do do a bit of reforming on that front, then.

[He'll behave anyway, though, for the sake of getting back alive.]

What, you're a bodyguard? Hm, sounds like you'll need the intel then. Alright, I'll keep an eye out.

[takeitslow]

Again, taking your word for it. But that's a good thing. Something to be respected for. We see too much of the opposite around here.

Pretty much. I guess death not always being all that permanent screwed with the system. That or the captain's just really don't care about what we do to each other.

[Neither of which was a terribly comforting thought.]

Yeah. Surprised they stuck a teenager on it? [Though, as far as he could tell, all of the bodyguards -or at least a lot of them- were teenagers. If he were a little older or wiser, he'd find that a little suspicious.] Thanks, man.

[saveyourserpent]

Respect, hm? Sounds nice.

You'd think dying not necessarily being permanent'd be a good reason not to kill anyone in the first place. Why go through the effort if they're going to come right back? And then most likely you've got someone with a grudge.

[Look at him, being all logical about things.]

Not exactly. I had bigger responsibilities as a child. [It wasn't the same at all, but still.] Their decisions seem to be a mix of arbitrary assignments and things that do match up, so anything could happen. Just didn't think they'd all need their own specific bodyguards.

[takeitslow]

Right? But people don't seem to think that far ahead. I guess they think they'll manage that one time of keeping someone dead. Or maybe they just like the violence.

Yeah? What counts as a bigger responsibility? [Anything, honestly, with how little effort Peter has put into his job.] I don't think they actually do. The guy I'm watching, he's got two. We haven't had to actually do anything for him yet. I watched some guy the captain brought on board last planet for, like, a few hours and that's been that.

[saveyourserpent]

I like violence as much as any other person that likes violence, and I'm not going to pretend I don't. But if I want to kill someone, I want to kill them, not temporarily inconvenience them and have to deal with them wanting to retaliate. Maybe we've got to send out a memo.

Commanding an entire army of my own, for one. [No big deal. It was a bunch of kids, anyway. Very dangerous kids.] Maybe they're getting so many people in they have to make up positions just so it seems we've all got something to do? Or they're anticipating something big in the future and want to be ready just in case. Bit mysterious, aren't they?

[takeitslow]

You sound like some people I know. [Maybe he ought to introduce this guy to Niko some time.] Good luck with that. People know how it works by now, but it's not stopped anything from happening or gotten anyone to do anything about it.

Wait. Wait. You were in the army at my age. And acting as commander? Dude, what? [What's with the people here and being child soldiers? What sort of screwed up worlds did the Ingress pull from?] A bit? Try very. If I was more the conspiracy type, I'd say they had something planned for us and that we were playing right into it.

[saveyourserpent]

That so? Good to know I've got some kindred spirits round here. [He laughs, then shakes his head.] Wasted effort. Perhaps they'll get the picture someday.

...How old are you? It wasn't the army, we weren't exactly affiliated with governments or anything, but I was commander all the same. Bunch of kids back in Angola, needed a leader. I stepped in.

Well, it's not as farfetched as it sounds. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if that's exactly the case. Or, if not that, something similar. Keep an eye out. You never know.