Rᴏʙᴇʀᴛ E. Mᴀɴɪsᴄᴏʟᴀ { ʀᴇᴍ } / тнe ѕleepιng мan (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ironicinitials) wrote2011-10-05 05:23 pm
ironicinitials) wrote2011-10-05 05:23 pm
ilpromenade app.
PLAYER
✧ NAME: KJ/Katie
✧ LJ USERNAME:![[insanejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/ij-userinfo.gif)
the_betrayer
✧ CONTACT (EMAIL, AIM, MSN, PLURK, ETC.): harkness said @ aim; agalio @ plurk
✧ CURRENT MUSE LIST: Crowley, Jack Harkness, Simon Bellamy.
CHARACTER
✧ NAME: Robert Edward Maniscola "The Sleeping Man"
✧ SERIES: OC; His canon is nameless ;)
✧ HISTORY: Before we get into him, some quick notes about his world. While his world's layout is like ours, it has people with abilities. It has unique individuals with different skills and abilities. These skills are ones that people are typically born with. It has superheroes and super villains. It has icons for children to look up to. It wouldn't be unusual to walk down the streets of a city and see a costumed superhero. It is completely normal for them. Characters in comics don't exist in his world, there's no such thing as the comic book hero. Technology is in about the same place as well, though there are many rumors of robot-this and robot-that existing in his world, as well.
Robert was born January 17, 1985 to Edward and Alison Maniscola. He's native to northern New Jersey and while he has traveled, he's lived in the same place his entire life. Robert was young when his parents discovered a fascinating thing about their quiet child -- he wasn't sleeping. Doctors upon doctors couldn't resolve it and as an infant it became clear that his body was compensating for his inability to sleep. They weren't quite clear how it was, but it was obvious by the fact that he hadn't died. Robert's life was pretty normal: average, middle class. His mother stayed at home in his youth, and his father was a teacher at the local college in Chemistry and Physics. He was always taught the importance of education. He started attending pre-schooling at age 3, then entered the public schooling system at age 5. He progressed quickly through the early years of schooling. By the time he was in grade 5, he was eight years old, at least two years younger than each of his classmates. Robert always knew he was smarter than his classmates, but he never figured that he was different from them in other aspects. It was at this age that he met a boy his age who was blind, Eison. Eison would stand up for the bullied, fight for those that was right, and like any average eight year old boy: idolized the heroes of the city. The caped crusader types of heroes. Robert never bought into the superhero thing, even at a young age he found that tights were stupid and ridiculous and that if he wanted to help people, he'd have to do it in his own way.
On a quick note: Robert learned after two years of meeting Eison that the boy had an ability that was routed in connection (touch, verbal, etc). This is important to note because as a result, Robert associates connections, such as touch, with the use of an ability on him, and has developed a strong adversity to it. Especially when it is done without his permission.
His parents kept him out of the homes of his classmates any time that he wanted to attend a party or sleepover. They did not want him labeled as a "freak" due to not sleeping. He was never sheltered from the fact that he was different, and in fact they encouraged him to use those extra hours in the day to learn new skills and study; however, they feared the labels that other families would place upon him. And they also knew that children were cruel. Robert never ended up having a bullying problem as a result.
He did, however, learn that it was normal for others to sleep, and that he was not able to participate in this activity. In fact, he had started to become obsessed with sleep by the time he got into college (at age 14) he decided that he was going to study sleep, pharmaceuticals, biology, and chemistry in his continuing education. He started to want to find a cure and a reason for being as he was. He strongly started to desire that sensation of sleep and knew that he was unable to obtain it.
To the point of obsession. A sick obsession. As he studied through college (all the way up to getting his doctorate), he would experiment, study, and test things on rats and other lab animals. He felt no sympathy and would test them on random people as well. He even went so far as to ask Eison to allow him to test it on him when the boys were just teens, and Eison slept for four days. The same remedy had no effect on him whatsoever.
He and Eison did remain friends throughout the years, and he became the first person that he could truly trust. As Robert continued his schooling, Eison had convinced him that they could be like the heroes that he saw day to day saving people from everything. That they could be heroes. Eison even gave him his name -- The Sleeping Man and introduced him to a man by the name of Fischer when he was nineteen. The three of them formed a group, and Robert was balancing school, heroics, and a job.
The last two years of school seemed to move much more slowly, and by graduation (at 21 - for his Doctorate) he had already obtained contracts with several pharmaceutical companies for development. The medications he was creating were known to be inventive and powerful remedies. At twenty-two, he bought his own (large) home. It had four stories, several rooms, and a nice basement where he had set up his lab and the "Watchtower"-esque area.
When it comes to business -- he bought out other companies at the age of twenty-two and expanded his small empire (which is still expanding). His small company works in development, particular of pharmaceuticals, and is primarily a research company. By the time he is 25 (currently), he has well over twenty different medications that are working through approval stages. He also is working on developing a brand and patent development company to assist people in reaching the point that he did and achieving their goal of having an invention on the market. He has a lot of connections and resources that he has found and developed through relationships. He wants to make those resources available to others. This is how he has found himself helping others.
A year ago was when things really started to go down. When he took up his mantle as "The Sleeping Man" and was far more serious about it. When both Eison and Fischer joined him in it. When they started to call themselves the "Unsung Heroes". The ones that no one seemed to know about, but were always there making a difference and changing lives. Robert hired on En, a hacker, at this time, to guard the network, their secrets, and develop the technology around the home more thoroughly.
At about this time, people are starting to be kidnapped from various places (their homes, the street, restaurants, etc). When they are returned they are different. They have abilities that they never had before. These people are being taken away and experimented on in the attempt to create people with abilities much like the ones that people are born with. The problem is that these people - often times, end up dying. Their body is unable to handle the new changes, and it kills them after several days of their return. This group calls them "Fake-heroes".
Under the influence of Eison, Robert is now working to prevent kidnappings and the experimentation. They have more recently become aware of who this person is and the group that he associates with, and they are working to cause a collapse. Robert wishes to meet him in hopes that if he is able to make people with abilities, that he might be able to fix what he is.
Robert is always searching for a cure for what he is, although part of him has realized that he won't ever conquer it and that he will always be different.
✧ TIMELINE: Just after his first official encounter with the man who is creating these Fake-heroes. He's just got a rather nasty blow to his chest, and is a bit bloodied and beaten up.
✧ PERSONALITY: He is very different in the business environment than he is in social situations. When he is attempting to conduct business, Robert is extremely professional, strong, and well spoken. He comes across as just friendly enough to get the job done, but not too personable. He keeps to himself and is extremely private about all of his affairs. He dresses nicely, always in dress slacks and a jacket or a tie. He seems approachable, but not in a "friendly" way. In other words - he knows how to conduct himself in particular situations.
Robert can be described as a "prickly" and "difficult to get along with" sort of person if you're trying to become his friend. Due to the fact that he is exceptionally smart, he tends to look down upon people. He doesn't tolerate stupidity and is an equal opportunity hater. He is very rough around the edges. Some people accuse him of being too angry or annoyed by the world, and that is the impression that he often gives people when he's frustrated by them.
He speaks his mind in any environment that he is in. He lets you know exactly how he feels about you and is blunt to the point of being rude and almost cruel. Robert does not single people out. He will hit girls, he'll hit disabled people (ie: his blind best friend), anyone that drives him to the point where he feels that is the only way to feel better. Remember, "equal opportunity hater". He doesn't care who it was that bothered him or has driven him to the point of hitting them, he will hit you. This isn't to say that he is a violent person, because he definitely isn't, but if you said something that made him feel bad enough to hit you, then he will.
Robert doesn't share in many of his other feelings, either. In fact, people who don't know him well/that he doesn't trust, might think that the only things he feels are: anger, annoyance, and frustration. It is hard to make him smile and laugh, and it really takes the right buttons being pushed to get him to. Unless he's laughing at you (which isn't exactly the same thing). Likewise, he's not a good person to go to when you're down and hurt. He is terrible at comforting someone (known to have said things like: "Don't be too sensitive"). In essence: He doesn't share his feelings, don't share yours with him. Even if he did care, he wouldn't know how to make you feel better.
His social skills are very weak when trying to form non-business relationships, and as a result treats most of his friendships like business relationships. A lot of his anger, frustration, and annoyance comes from the fact that he didn't fit in with children his own age, nor did he fit in with the children he went to school with. Most of the people he gets along with are a result of Eison introducing them into his life. He is not incapable with making friends, but it is a lengthy process, and he'll have to get to know you pretty well.
Robert is not completely unfriendly, though. While he trusts very few and has a hard time forming close friendships, they do happen. He may start to express himself once comfortable with someone. He'll laugh, smile, and even appear to be happy in the company of someone he truly does like. In his life, there's only three people (his mother, his father, and Eison) who have gotten to this point with him, and that is okay to him. Robert is alright with everyone being acquaintances, and he doesn't think that he needs to be everyone's friend. He doesn't think that everyone needs to like him.
He has a very, very strong sense of justice. A lot of this comes from the fact that Eison is his best friend (he had a lot of influence on him). He may have thought the superhero thing was stupid when he was young, but now he certainly does not. He does not have an ethics code that prevents him from killing someone, either. And while he hasn't, he would if he felt he needed to in order to protect the rest of the people in his city. His role as a superhero has probably also made an effect on who he chooses to befriend, as he would prefer it not be someone he is going to risk having to lose.
Internally, Robert is very different from the impression he gives. The only time you see part of him is when he is fighting crime and saving lives. The compassion he never shows people, the strength, the justice are all a part of him as "The Sleeping Man". He sticks his neck out for people, cares, and seems to even love everyone he is with. (I mean, hell, just before arriving, he stuck himself in the line of fire to protect someone.)
He struggles a lot knowing that he is different, and his truest desire is to sleep and be normal. He views himself as unworthy of those relationships deep down, and often asks himself if he is really worth it himself. He doesn't really care if he lives or dies, as long as he does it for the sake of saving someone else's life. He just hasn't quite figured out to express things like love and compassion without the superhero mask to hide behind.
The jist of it is: Robert is not an all bad guy. He comes off as abrasive and a bit mean to people. He may appear to be rude and angry. He doesn't discriminate in how he is towards people and treats will treat you how he wants to regardless of anything. Robert is difficult to get to know, but once he does like you (which takes a lot of work), he will stick his neck out for you.
✧ ABILITIES/POWERS: Robert can not sleep, and how it happens, no one is really sure. He has never slept. He has been awake the full 25 years of his life. This genetic deformity has put a serious damper on his psyche and for awhile, his physical help. As a way of compensating for it, his body is capable of a some regeneration of physical injuries and health.
Most of his skills, though, are learned. He is very smart. His fighting skills come from a lot of training, but he is still rather thin and non-muscular due to his inability to sleep. He is capable of making medications, poisons, and etc, as his specialty is bio-pharmaceuticals.
Oh. Did I mention already he wears a costume and fights crime at night? Because he totally does that with the help of a few people he works with.
✧ TIME OF ARRIVAL: Night.
✧ MASK DESIGN: in silver; simple. ♥
✧ PLACE OF SOLACE: His four-story home with his basement lab and tech center. Hero-central. ;)
SAMPLES
✧ FIRST PERSON: [ here ] ; an entire thread, though the post is his, as well
✧ THIRD PERSON: Beware was the word that stuck in Robert's mind. He dragged himself against the wall, holding the note as he waited patiently for his body to slowly heal. This was a pain. He didn't know where he was or how he had gotten there. Or why it had felt like he had just woken up because he knew that was impossible. He caught his breath in his throat and leaned against a wall in the room, holding his chest. He pulled the mask off of his head so that he could breathe a little bit easier.
The beware concerned him because he really wasn't in the shape to be dealing with a new danger when he had just taken a serious hit to his chest. Against the wall of this room, he used his legs with the assistance of the wall to get to his feet, stumbling for a moment. "The bastards," he grumbled. Maybe he had died, maybe this is what dying was like. He doubted that he would be given that mercy. He assumed that he was hallucinating this entire place and he had fallen over somewhere and was wondering around his home.
Although he couldn't quite figure why he would imagine a mirror on the wall which was showing him Eison. He stumbled towards it, his leg nearly numb from pain. They were talking in the mirror, all badly beaten but alive. It was like watching himself on film. It was bizarre. "Great," he mumbled. He moved his hands against the mirror, then pulled it back in a fist. Blood stayed behind on the mirror, but still he shoved his fist into the mirror with violent force. The glass shattered and it covered his fist in new blood.
"Damn it," he muttered. He stumbled away from the wall and pulled up his shirt in order to examine wound. It was less deep than it had been when he had first gotten it. There was still markings on his flesh and he was starting to bruise. He dropped his shirt and cursed. He was going to be sore for days. He hoped that by the time he recovered that whatever was causing this hallucination had worn off.
✧ ORIGINAL CHARACTER QUESTION: Robert's initial reaction is NEVER to freak out. He will, though, be very displeased. He'll also call bullshit when people call it a city of dreams. He's cynical so he'll play "Doubting Thomas" for quite awhile and assume that what he is hallucinating the whole thing. After that point -- he's going to search for answers and the "how" rather than a way back. The people -- well, it'll be hard for him to deal with them. He'll have to learn that they have the answers that he wants, so he has to socialize for them.
✧ NAME: KJ/Katie
✧ LJ USERNAME:
the_betrayer✧ CONTACT (EMAIL, AIM, MSN, PLURK, ETC.): harkness said @ aim; agalio @ plurk
✧ CURRENT MUSE LIST: Crowley, Jack Harkness, Simon Bellamy.
CHARACTER
✧ NAME: Robert Edward Maniscola "The Sleeping Man"
✧ SERIES: OC; His canon is nameless ;)
✧ HISTORY: Before we get into him, some quick notes about his world. While his world's layout is like ours, it has people with abilities. It has unique individuals with different skills and abilities. These skills are ones that people are typically born with. It has superheroes and super villains. It has icons for children to look up to. It wouldn't be unusual to walk down the streets of a city and see a costumed superhero. It is completely normal for them. Characters in comics don't exist in his world, there's no such thing as the comic book hero. Technology is in about the same place as well, though there are many rumors of robot-this and robot-that existing in his world, as well.
Robert was born January 17, 1985 to Edward and Alison Maniscola. He's native to northern New Jersey and while he has traveled, he's lived in the same place his entire life. Robert was young when his parents discovered a fascinating thing about their quiet child -- he wasn't sleeping. Doctors upon doctors couldn't resolve it and as an infant it became clear that his body was compensating for his inability to sleep. They weren't quite clear how it was, but it was obvious by the fact that he hadn't died. Robert's life was pretty normal: average, middle class. His mother stayed at home in his youth, and his father was a teacher at the local college in Chemistry and Physics. He was always taught the importance of education. He started attending pre-schooling at age 3, then entered the public schooling system at age 5. He progressed quickly through the early years of schooling. By the time he was in grade 5, he was eight years old, at least two years younger than each of his classmates. Robert always knew he was smarter than his classmates, but he never figured that he was different from them in other aspects. It was at this age that he met a boy his age who was blind, Eison. Eison would stand up for the bullied, fight for those that was right, and like any average eight year old boy: idolized the heroes of the city. The caped crusader types of heroes. Robert never bought into the superhero thing, even at a young age he found that tights were stupid and ridiculous and that if he wanted to help people, he'd have to do it in his own way.
On a quick note: Robert learned after two years of meeting Eison that the boy had an ability that was routed in connection (touch, verbal, etc). This is important to note because as a result, Robert associates connections, such as touch, with the use of an ability on him, and has developed a strong adversity to it. Especially when it is done without his permission.
His parents kept him out of the homes of his classmates any time that he wanted to attend a party or sleepover. They did not want him labeled as a "freak" due to not sleeping. He was never sheltered from the fact that he was different, and in fact they encouraged him to use those extra hours in the day to learn new skills and study; however, they feared the labels that other families would place upon him. And they also knew that children were cruel. Robert never ended up having a bullying problem as a result.
He did, however, learn that it was normal for others to sleep, and that he was not able to participate in this activity. In fact, he had started to become obsessed with sleep by the time he got into college (at age 14) he decided that he was going to study sleep, pharmaceuticals, biology, and chemistry in his continuing education. He started to want to find a cure and a reason for being as he was. He strongly started to desire that sensation of sleep and knew that he was unable to obtain it.
To the point of obsession. A sick obsession. As he studied through college (all the way up to getting his doctorate), he would experiment, study, and test things on rats and other lab animals. He felt no sympathy and would test them on random people as well. He even went so far as to ask Eison to allow him to test it on him when the boys were just teens, and Eison slept for four days. The same remedy had no effect on him whatsoever.
He and Eison did remain friends throughout the years, and he became the first person that he could truly trust. As Robert continued his schooling, Eison had convinced him that they could be like the heroes that he saw day to day saving people from everything. That they could be heroes. Eison even gave him his name -- The Sleeping Man and introduced him to a man by the name of Fischer when he was nineteen. The three of them formed a group, and Robert was balancing school, heroics, and a job.
The last two years of school seemed to move much more slowly, and by graduation (at 21 - for his Doctorate) he had already obtained contracts with several pharmaceutical companies for development. The medications he was creating were known to be inventive and powerful remedies. At twenty-two, he bought his own (large) home. It had four stories, several rooms, and a nice basement where he had set up his lab and the "Watchtower"-esque area.
When it comes to business -- he bought out other companies at the age of twenty-two and expanded his small empire (which is still expanding). His small company works in development, particular of pharmaceuticals, and is primarily a research company. By the time he is 25 (currently), he has well over twenty different medications that are working through approval stages. He also is working on developing a brand and patent development company to assist people in reaching the point that he did and achieving their goal of having an invention on the market. He has a lot of connections and resources that he has found and developed through relationships. He wants to make those resources available to others. This is how he has found himself helping others.
A year ago was when things really started to go down. When he took up his mantle as "The Sleeping Man" and was far more serious about it. When both Eison and Fischer joined him in it. When they started to call themselves the "Unsung Heroes". The ones that no one seemed to know about, but were always there making a difference and changing lives. Robert hired on En, a hacker, at this time, to guard the network, their secrets, and develop the technology around the home more thoroughly.
At about this time, people are starting to be kidnapped from various places (their homes, the street, restaurants, etc). When they are returned they are different. They have abilities that they never had before. These people are being taken away and experimented on in the attempt to create people with abilities much like the ones that people are born with. The problem is that these people - often times, end up dying. Their body is unable to handle the new changes, and it kills them after several days of their return. This group calls them "Fake-heroes".
Under the influence of Eison, Robert is now working to prevent kidnappings and the experimentation. They have more recently become aware of who this person is and the group that he associates with, and they are working to cause a collapse. Robert wishes to meet him in hopes that if he is able to make people with abilities, that he might be able to fix what he is.
Robert is always searching for a cure for what he is, although part of him has realized that he won't ever conquer it and that he will always be different.
✧ TIMELINE: Just after his first official encounter with the man who is creating these Fake-heroes. He's just got a rather nasty blow to his chest, and is a bit bloodied and beaten up.
✧ PERSONALITY: He is very different in the business environment than he is in social situations. When he is attempting to conduct business, Robert is extremely professional, strong, and well spoken. He comes across as just friendly enough to get the job done, but not too personable. He keeps to himself and is extremely private about all of his affairs. He dresses nicely, always in dress slacks and a jacket or a tie. He seems approachable, but not in a "friendly" way. In other words - he knows how to conduct himself in particular situations.
Robert can be described as a "prickly" and "difficult to get along with" sort of person if you're trying to become his friend. Due to the fact that he is exceptionally smart, he tends to look down upon people. He doesn't tolerate stupidity and is an equal opportunity hater. He is very rough around the edges. Some people accuse him of being too angry or annoyed by the world, and that is the impression that he often gives people when he's frustrated by them.
He speaks his mind in any environment that he is in. He lets you know exactly how he feels about you and is blunt to the point of being rude and almost cruel. Robert does not single people out. He will hit girls, he'll hit disabled people (ie: his blind best friend), anyone that drives him to the point where he feels that is the only way to feel better. Remember, "equal opportunity hater". He doesn't care who it was that bothered him or has driven him to the point of hitting them, he will hit you. This isn't to say that he is a violent person, because he definitely isn't, but if you said something that made him feel bad enough to hit you, then he will.
Robert doesn't share in many of his other feelings, either. In fact, people who don't know him well/that he doesn't trust, might think that the only things he feels are: anger, annoyance, and frustration. It is hard to make him smile and laugh, and it really takes the right buttons being pushed to get him to. Unless he's laughing at you (which isn't exactly the same thing). Likewise, he's not a good person to go to when you're down and hurt. He is terrible at comforting someone (known to have said things like: "Don't be too sensitive"). In essence: He doesn't share his feelings, don't share yours with him. Even if he did care, he wouldn't know how to make you feel better.
His social skills are very weak when trying to form non-business relationships, and as a result treats most of his friendships like business relationships. A lot of his anger, frustration, and annoyance comes from the fact that he didn't fit in with children his own age, nor did he fit in with the children he went to school with. Most of the people he gets along with are a result of Eison introducing them into his life. He is not incapable with making friends, but it is a lengthy process, and he'll have to get to know you pretty well.
Robert is not completely unfriendly, though. While he trusts very few and has a hard time forming close friendships, they do happen. He may start to express himself once comfortable with someone. He'll laugh, smile, and even appear to be happy in the company of someone he truly does like. In his life, there's only three people (his mother, his father, and Eison) who have gotten to this point with him, and that is okay to him. Robert is alright with everyone being acquaintances, and he doesn't think that he needs to be everyone's friend. He doesn't think that everyone needs to like him.
He has a very, very strong sense of justice. A lot of this comes from the fact that Eison is his best friend (he had a lot of influence on him). He may have thought the superhero thing was stupid when he was young, but now he certainly does not. He does not have an ethics code that prevents him from killing someone, either. And while he hasn't, he would if he felt he needed to in order to protect the rest of the people in his city. His role as a superhero has probably also made an effect on who he chooses to befriend, as he would prefer it not be someone he is going to risk having to lose.
Internally, Robert is very different from the impression he gives. The only time you see part of him is when he is fighting crime and saving lives. The compassion he never shows people, the strength, the justice are all a part of him as "The Sleeping Man". He sticks his neck out for people, cares, and seems to even love everyone he is with. (I mean, hell, just before arriving, he stuck himself in the line of fire to protect someone.)
He struggles a lot knowing that he is different, and his truest desire is to sleep and be normal. He views himself as unworthy of those relationships deep down, and often asks himself if he is really worth it himself. He doesn't really care if he lives or dies, as long as he does it for the sake of saving someone else's life. He just hasn't quite figured out to express things like love and compassion without the superhero mask to hide behind.
The jist of it is: Robert is not an all bad guy. He comes off as abrasive and a bit mean to people. He may appear to be rude and angry. He doesn't discriminate in how he is towards people and treats will treat you how he wants to regardless of anything. Robert is difficult to get to know, but once he does like you (which takes a lot of work), he will stick his neck out for you.
✧ ABILITIES/POWERS: Robert can not sleep, and how it happens, no one is really sure. He has never slept. He has been awake the full 25 years of his life. This genetic deformity has put a serious damper on his psyche and for awhile, his physical help. As a way of compensating for it, his body is capable of a some regeneration of physical injuries and health.
Most of his skills, though, are learned. He is very smart. His fighting skills come from a lot of training, but he is still rather thin and non-muscular due to his inability to sleep. He is capable of making medications, poisons, and etc, as his specialty is bio-pharmaceuticals.
Oh. Did I mention already he wears a costume and fights crime at night? Because he totally does that with the help of a few people he works with.
✧ TIME OF ARRIVAL: Night.
✧ MASK DESIGN: in silver; simple. ♥
✧ PLACE OF SOLACE: His four-story home with his basement lab and tech center. Hero-central. ;)
SAMPLES
✧ FIRST PERSON: [ here ] ; an entire thread, though the post is his, as well
✧ THIRD PERSON: Beware was the word that stuck in Robert's mind. He dragged himself against the wall, holding the note as he waited patiently for his body to slowly heal. This was a pain. He didn't know where he was or how he had gotten there. Or why it had felt like he had just woken up because he knew that was impossible. He caught his breath in his throat and leaned against a wall in the room, holding his chest. He pulled the mask off of his head so that he could breathe a little bit easier.
The beware concerned him because he really wasn't in the shape to be dealing with a new danger when he had just taken a serious hit to his chest. Against the wall of this room, he used his legs with the assistance of the wall to get to his feet, stumbling for a moment. "The bastards," he grumbled. Maybe he had died, maybe this is what dying was like. He doubted that he would be given that mercy. He assumed that he was hallucinating this entire place and he had fallen over somewhere and was wondering around his home.
Although he couldn't quite figure why he would imagine a mirror on the wall which was showing him Eison. He stumbled towards it, his leg nearly numb from pain. They were talking in the mirror, all badly beaten but alive. It was like watching himself on film. It was bizarre. "Great," he mumbled. He moved his hands against the mirror, then pulled it back in a fist. Blood stayed behind on the mirror, but still he shoved his fist into the mirror with violent force. The glass shattered and it covered his fist in new blood.
"Damn it," he muttered. He stumbled away from the wall and pulled up his shirt in order to examine wound. It was less deep than it had been when he had first gotten it. There was still markings on his flesh and he was starting to bruise. He dropped his shirt and cursed. He was going to be sore for days. He hoped that by the time he recovered that whatever was causing this hallucination had worn off.
✧ ORIGINAL CHARACTER QUESTION: Robert's initial reaction is NEVER to freak out. He will, though, be very displeased. He'll also call bullshit when people call it a city of dreams. He's cynical so he'll play "Doubting Thomas" for quite awhile and assume that what he is hallucinating the whole thing. After that point -- he's going to search for answers and the "how" rather than a way back. The people -- well, it'll be hard for him to deal with them. He'll have to learn that they have the answers that he wants, so he has to socialize for them.