[ DEADSHOT ]
↳ a wip reintroduction by @holotones
❝ we’re sending them all to their graves.” lukas’s gold tooth glinted in the firelight as he smiled, the desert wind ruffling his dark hair. the end of his golden canine tapered into a cruel point. sal couldn’t look away from the harsh cut of his mouth. “all these bastards.” lukas grinned at sal, but it was more a baring of teeth than a smile. he swirled the can of soup, dust caked on the outside of the can. “we’ll take their money, we’ll take their guns, but most importantly -” he leaned forward, his dark eyes gleaming with something other than firelight. “- we’ll take their dignity. every last bloody scrap of it, you hear me? ❞
BASIC INFO
title // deadshot. (previously branded for mercy.)
genre // sci-fi, post-apocalyptic, western
pov // single, third person limited
status // outlining
themes // redemption ; rebel against authority ; everyone thinks they’re the hero of their own story ; justice ; heroism ; deception ; suffering
SUMMARY
humanity has reached the final frontier - space. decades of research and study have finally borne fruit: space ships are now better; sleeker, faster, stronger. humans have reached the planet aerope.
the thirty percent or so of humanity put on aerope are thriving. plans are being made to eventually transfer every last human on earth to aerope - until the first pulse wave tore its way through the earth. in the span of an hour, seventy percent of everything humans had worked so hard to build was ruined. two weeks later, the second wave hit and wiped out pretty much everything else. all communications with earth are now down.
the humans that are left have organized themselves, trying to form some semblance of order in this rapidly degenerating society - some formed large groups in the cities with one or two people in charge, some banded together to form smaller groups in the ruins of the towns, and some chose to keep moving from settlement to settlement. maybe the pulse waves caused this, maybe it didn’t, but the amount of radiation on these lawless wastelands is growing.
the metal known as decasycrin is now in high, high demand - it slows the effects of the radiation worming its way into the bones of everyone on aerope, it acts as the key component of interstellar ships, and, in its refined form, it serves as a euphoric drug. most of the people in charge of these cities are spending their money and manpower on digging, digging towards what their instruments pick up - a colossal deposit of decasycrin deep below the earth. it’s enough to fix every broken ship they have. but there’s something that no instrument picks up.
this vast amount of decasycrin is on and in the body of a creature. a monumental creature that would dwarf the largest of earth’s creatures times ten. this creature sleeps in the core of aerope, swaddled in molten magma and suckling on pure fire. centuries have seen the repose of this monster buried in aerope’s guts, but the creature is slowly waking. its dreams cause the pulses; radiation seeps out of its pores to the surface of aerope, turning it into a barren wasteland populated with irradiated corpses - some dead, some not quite yet.
somewhere in the cracked, orange plains lies a boy with sun-bleached brown hair and a mouth made for lies. when he wakes - for he will, eventually - he won’t remember anything. not his name, not his age; not where he is nor why he’s there. half-dead, he’ll be found by a group of looters who know they’ll all die sooner or later, and these bastards plan to deserve it.
they’ll take him with them. they’ll name him, they’ll approximate his age, and they’ll take him in. he’s not going to die out there. he’ll survive long enough to realize his affinity for guns, he’ll survive long enough to realize that there’s something gargantuan living deep in the bowels of aerope, and maybe - just maybe, he’ll survive long enough to get all these walking corpses off of this godforsaken planet.
CHARACTERS
SAL: a boy who finds himself alone and half-naked in the orange plains of aerope. he wakes, knowing nothing. he’s taken in by a group of rat bastards. they assign him the name sal, and decide he looks to be about twenty one years old. short, only about five and a half feet. missing the pinky finger of his left hand. light brown hair and dark blue eyes searching, always searching; thin shoulders that hold the weight of the world.
LUKAS: has been looting with the bastards since he was fourteen. has been generally surviving since he was born. twenty two years old. golden canines sharpened on purpose. lean and tall, standing at well over six feet. dark hair and dark eyes, a smile sharp as a knife.
MYRAH: brat baby. fourteen years old, but acts as though she’s six. loves candy, loves to wear pink - although there’s not much of that colour here. foul-mouthed and flippant, myrah joined the bastards when she was nine. she’s their best medic. short, dirty blond hair in pigtails, pond-scum green eyes, and fingers that cannot stay still.
CONR: probably the most intimidating out of all of them. stands at close to seven feet tall with arms as thick as tree trunks, perfect for holding weapons - whether they be guns or axes(he has nothing against guns, but he much prefers smashing heads in melee style). thirty three years old. short, neatly trimmed black hair and beard. dark skin and dark eyes glimmering with something maniacal. just here to fuck shit up before the radiation catches up to him.
ISLEA: number one protestor against the men and women who call themselves kings of the cities, the ones who hide away in their bunkers stockpiling decasycrin to get themselves and themselves only off aerope. her daughter lost her legs breaking into one of the headquarters in one of the cities; she was looking for decasycrin and decasycrin only, so that she could feel happy again. forty one years old, short; straight black hair and slender dark eyes. only here to get revenge for her child. only here to twist the necks off of these so-called kings, to watch the light in their eyes fade under her short, stubby fingers.
taglist: @vviciously @nepeinthe @wrtingcorner @semblanche @bloodofold @marvinorjack
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