It was a dark and stormy night (2)... (Destiny)

by INSANEdrive, ಥ_ಥ | f(ಠ‿↼)z | ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ| ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, Saturday, July 06, 2024, 18:00 (139 days ago) @ Cody Miller
edited by INSANEdrive, Saturday, July 06, 2024, 18:04

EXT. SOCIAL CLUB - LATE EVENING.

The air is thick with rain, heavy with the thumping chorus among the tattered green canvas awning. A single arc-necked light above provides only enough light to see in the casted shadow "D.B.C" at the front, where the "C" was once actually an "O", but the tatters of time has made what work it does.

CODY MILLER stands just at the cusp of its limited protection, in the rain, looking up. Hearing. Eyes closed, feeling the rain hit his face, and splash against the all natural, fair trade production, PFAS/PFC-free recycled nylon raincoat, the production of which had a low-carbon footprint. Reflective tape has been added 2nd hand along the various hems, allowing for increased visibility at night.

After a few moments he returns his hooded head to a natural position, opening is eyes to neutrally gaze at the antiquated bronze doorknob of yore. With a deep reinforcing sigh, he approaches out of the rain. Then stands still.

For what may have been an eternity, but was just a minute, he stands there. The rain. The canvas awning. The hum of the light. And then with sudden quickness, he opens the door.

INT. SOCIAL CLUB, HALLWAY.

Camera: Facing door, hallway.

Hallway: Long, three Lights. Two outer ones off, center one on. Each of the walls saturated with a tight puzzle of picture frames and memories. Mildly dirty, long needing a wax wood floor, long rubberized carpet. Doorway at right of frame (Coat room), by center light. Light-switch by the door frame in the hallway.

With the closed door behind him, CODY MILLER approaches the coat room, putting his hood down and beginning to remove his coat and stops for a moment to look down the hall.

Camera: Static Behind shot, Hallway. Momentary, sharp contrast of Cody in Foreground on left, with bar and few tenets at distance. As Cody moves out of frame, change focal point to bar.

CODY MILLER goes to hang up his raincoat, he does so without touching the light-switch by the door frame in the hallway. He then approaches...

INT. SOCIAL CLUB, BAR & LAN FLOOR

Camera: Start with previous camera position, now approaching from behind, allowing a full view of the space. After that... your call. As the scene and expertise demands.

BAR & LAN FLOOR: On the left, the Bar. Designed by the 80's, and sparsely stocked, with more memorabilia then actual product to drink or eat. Marathon Game Boxes, empty Halo Mountain Dew Bottles, Destiny/Destiny 2 Merchandise and the like. A Neon "Frog Blast the Vent Core" and "I Love Bees" glows above. A few TV Screens on the wall, plus a few CRTs long unused, as no one wants to risk the hassle of removing the hefty things off the wall.

On the right, of which Posters cover intermixed dusty brick walls and wood paneling, of Chief being a gosh-darned ICON in Starry Night, Concept art of Marathons Rogues gallery of foes, Original Destiny posters of "What's A Hunter?", some custom drawn work by "Leviathan" and, oddly, some shirts folded behind glass, "This ring will make us brothers". A row of large, plasma screens line the wall, with some short 2nd hand office dividers in-between. Original Xboxs and 360s lie dormant, thinly caked with dust. Controllers lay on the floor, as if to be picked up again, and the thin dust saying otherwise.

In-between it all, simple circular tables and chairs. Distant door way leads to twin bathroom hallway, unisex signage. Each door with a hand written paper sign: "Whatever the mess, clean it up yourself. -Wu"

Characters in scene: Cody Miller. Kermit. INSANEdrive.

Character Starting Action: Kermit is reading an article from gamesradar. INSANEdrive is not seen. ZackDark is texting on his phone.

With a perplexed look on his face, Cody approaches ZackDark.

CODY MILLER: Who are you?

ZACKDARK: Quem sou eu? Eu sou o ZackDark!

CODY MILLER: What are you doing here? You're not in this scene.

ZACKDARK: Sinceramente, não tenho muita certeza. Mas fico feliz por ter sido incluído! Isso é muito legal! Vou sair agora, portanto, tenha uma boa noite.

ZACKDARK LEAVES.

As Cody glances over to see what Kermit is reading, a muffed voice announces from the bathroom: "Man alive you really are a Dinosaur you old bastard, goodness, look at all this shit."

Focused entirely on what he is reading, Kermit utters to him self.

KERMIT: Gee, I wonder if anyone else remembers that presentation by Chris Barrett and Joe Staten long before D1 came out, where one of them let this stuff about the solar system slip and the other shushed him?

At the same time, INSANEdrive pops his head out of the bathroom.

INSANEDRIVE: Hey, do we have any...

He notes that Cody is behind Kermit. A sigh intermingles with the word "soap", an expression of slight exasperation enters his expression.

INSANEDRIVE: (Under his breath) Well, here we go.

KERMIT: Man, I wonder what the future of Destiny shall be!?

CODY MILLER:

The future of Destiny should be one where it is in the past.

Kermits look of bemused wonder shifts to frustrated bewilderment. He looks behind and replies.

KERMIT: This is the DBO Social Club. Why are you still here?

CODY MILLER: It's the last holdout before Social Clubs die. I'm not ready to move to the Mosh Pits and Dives.

INSANEdrive speaks up.

INSANEDRIVE: Hey Cody, are you an idiot?

Cody looks up, unbemused, and does not answer, taking the social hit with stride, as INSANEdrive approaches to a more social distance.

INSANEDRIVE: Perhaps that was too blunt, but I mean it, are you an idiot? Here you state the perceived rarity of our present social connection, and yet your start, your first utterance is nothing less than a bitter aggregator that shuts on any possibility of conversation. Does that... does that not provide you a clue as to change? Time and time again, we've mentioned of your capacity of being an ass, and yet, despite improvements, brother, what are you doing? Are you an idiot?

Cody takes a moment.

CODY MILLER: I just want things to be the way they were.

INSANEDRIVE: That's not an option brother. I mean shoot, look around, here you cling among sand through fingers. All with an audacity to spit upon the sand... no, no, that's too safe an answer. You're smarter than that.

Cody takes yet another a moment.

CODY MILLER: What would you recommend?

KERMIT: Lighten the fuck up dude.

INSANEDRIVE: *Feigned Shock* KERM! Such language. There are children in the room.

KERMIT: Cody is not a physically child.

INSANEDRIVE: I'm talking about me, old man.

KERMIT: Oh! *Hahahaha* Right, wouldn't want you to learn any bad words.

INSANEDRIVE: Yes, yes that's the jo-... *ahem* CODY! So, here is what I recommend; Allow yourself to be miserable.

CODY MILLER: ???Wha? Allow my self to be...

Cody regains his composure.

CODY MILLER: While I think there is plenty of that already, please explain.

INSANEDRIVE: Well, I mean, it's been a decade now and in all my recollection, it's two things... the edit, and the boxes you declare quality from. You can't, you WON'T do this or that because it does not achieve the list of check boxes, again and again. It honestly appears to me like you are the very poster child of a remixed adage. A "why have just ok when I could be perfect". DBO isn't supposed to be a prison, but, you sure seem to behave like it is.
--------------

I limited my writing practice here to 3.5 hours. I'm now posting it "warts and all". Scene ends with...

INSANEDRIVE: Don't worry about it man.

INSANEdrive pats Cody on the back. Codys eyes go wide.

CODY: Did you... did you wash your hands?

INSANEdrive recoils.

INSANEDRIVE: Oh, right... sorry.

INSANEdrive turns to Kermit.

INSANEdrive: Do we have any soap?

KERMIT: We have some of that rot-gut vodka under the counter.

INSANEdrive: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.