towerofanimus | 006 | Time to get to it....

Entry tags:

006 | Time to get to it....

Characters: Gymnasium: Sephiroth & OPEN. Dormitory 03-02: Sephiroth, Master Xehanort & Odagiri Hidetoshi [Possible Open if anyone had reason to invade].
Setting: Gymnasium Floor 39: Any morning 19th - 23rd November. Dormitory 03-02: 19th November, Mid-Afternoon.
Format: Prose & Action, I'll match
Summary: Gymnasium: If there is one thing Sephiroth will always do, it's waste time making himself better. Dorm 03-02: This could be the start of something, an opportunity for sharing thoughts, ideas and possible plotting.
Warnings: Possible hating on the admins. Also usual risk of violence. Will keep updated as it progresses

Gymnasium:
[Maybe, just maybe. He might be developing a routine. Is that a good or a bad thing? Sephiroth doesn't know if this is his control keeping his mind occupied or indeed if he's been set up for this, he tries not to think too much about it recently. It's a big downward, paranoid spiral to consider layers upon layers of what is illusion and what is reality; having to just get on with the fact that there is a collar permanently fixed around his neck is enough of a reminder.

Of course, he wants to find answers. However else could he decide to accept or reject any of the ideals of this Tower he was stuck in. But it would take time for theories to develop, for facts to be learnt. He had to be patient, he had to keep his mind as clear as possible and that meant doing things to resist the urge to brood too much. He had also recently learned that quite possibly he may not be the superior being in this place. And so, almost every morning Sephiroth can be found pounding away at the track, launching precise strikes at the punching bag, or carefully pumping weights. Not every morning though, and of course not always the same routine. That would make him too predictable.]

Dorm 03-02:
Life in the dormitories and sharing his sleeping space had turned out not to be so difficult. Being such an early riser, usually Sephiroth could quietly slip away out of the Dormitory before the other residents he shared with were awake. That suited him just fine, first out and last back most of the time except on the morning after the inevitable collar-check that he seemed to have made clear that he would attempt to boycott every time if that's what it took to find a weakness in the system. Sephiroth had trouble sleeping anyway knowing well what such a vulnerable state such sleep was, and not knowing too much about the other residents that he shared with. He didn't think that the kids would become a threat; such children would only become a problem if they somehow got in his way or if he ended up somehow opposing them. Thankfully, from the couple of occasions he'd spoken with Xehanort the older man didn't seem inclined to cause him any grief either.

It could have been a lot worse. Sleep had started to come a little easier since he'd taken to reading a little in the evenings. At the Mountains of Madness was proving an enthralling, yet somewhat confusing read. Not that Sephiroth was illiterate in anyway at all, far from it. It was more that he didn't have any background knowledge of this world called Earth and so in order to understand sometimes chapters were re-read so that he could be sure within his own imaginaton how he envisioned this strange world. Tohko was right, HP Lovecraft did have a very particular way of writing that was for sure. If Sephiroth found he was running out of patience with the fiction there was the other book that lived on his bedside table. Well it wasn't really a book but more like a pile of papers bound together with string. It contained Shion's 'survival 101' compliation on known fungi, plants and berries within the Tower. Sephiroth had yet to check out the Forest on Floor 32, as he was naturally suspect to follow anyones research other than his own. After all, the admins could have changed everything since Shion found out all this information. The would-be Turks sources could be questionable as well.

By this afternoon, Sephiroth had worked out, cleaned up and found himself drawn back to the Dormitory to re-read a chapter of the fiction he had decided not to persue the previous evening. At least it would give his long silver hair the chance to dry off fully before he went off in persuit of anything else today. Long leather trenchcoat was draped across the end of the bed and pauldrons placed almost like an ornament on the top of the chest before Sephiroth had drawn all of his hair forward over one shoulder and sat up with his back against the headboard to continue reading At the Mountains of Madness. Occasionally he would run fingers idly through his hair to work any knots out that would inevitably tangle as the otherwordly, shiny silver mass dried off.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Hidetoshi had gotten used to the orange collar locked around his neck—or to be more accurate, he had learned to ignore it beyond the daily indignity of the collar-checkups he suffered silently through each Monday.

His internal clock had been slow to adjust to the abrupt change of this Tower, but adjust it had, and he had awoken early several times now. He was neat and brisk in awakening; he rolled blearily out of bed, put on his school uniform and spent a short amount of time in the bathroom to brush back his gray hair and clean up before the vice president of the student council then made his bed, and went down to attend to the regular needs of his body. It could be compared to rigid clockwork, his morning routine.

It only varied in how he spent his time after breakfast: sometimes he would return to the dormitories and accompany his personal time there. Other times, he would practice knowing knives and speaking to the other residents of the Tower. And after choosing to spent the rest of his morning practicing knife-throwing, Hidetoshi had elected to return to the dorm with his lunch—fluffy French crepes he'd cooked himself, better than the tasteless crap they served in the cafeteria—cradled awkwardly in his hands and just... read, or something for awhile. Try to prevent too much tension from building up and imploding.

It wasn't too often he spoke to his roommates. He'd observed them occasionally, as one was bound to do to people he had share a sleeping space with, but there had been no sufficient interaction between them except on the first day of arrival. And this late afternoon, when he returns to find Sephiroth seated on his bed without his standard trenchcoat, he'll walk over to his own bed to carefully place the plate of crepe on it. Stacked beside his bed, atop his chest, were books on various subjects ranging from the practical applications of knives in combat to volumes of instructions for college-level student on the methods of successful teaching, and one science fiction novel, Battle Royale, an old favorite of his. Hidetoshi selects that one, sits down on the edge of his bed and munches away at his lunch while he flips to the page he last left off at and continues reading. Sometimes he glances over at the older man without comment. Until; ]

Might I ask which book you're reading?

[ It was best to start off with small talk if you wanted to hold a conversation with them. ]

Edited 2012-11-19 08:32 (UTC)

[For a moment it was as if Sephiroth hadn't even heard Hidetoshi speak. A slight furrowing at the eyebrows might be seen but it depended how close he was looking; after all Sephiroth's head was tilted slightly forwards and the bangs on the front of his hairstyle may hide that detail.

Eventually the older man took a steadied breath, reaching the end of that paragraph and looked up and over at his roommate. He hadn't intended to be rude but sometimes this book really required him to think.]

At the Mountains of Madness. It's good, though pretty complicated.

[It is a good read, though Sephiroth has still not figured out it's relevance to the Tower. Tohko said it might change his mind about how he feels about being here, but he's yet to figure how she's got that opinion from it.]

[ Hidetoshi isn't in a rush nor is he gearing up for one of his lectures at school, so he didn't particularly mind waiting for an response. Perhaps his roommate was finishing whichever paragraph he was reading, or thinking over a suitable reply to his inquiry. He took a bite out of his crepe, careful to spill no crumbs on the open pages his book on his lap, swallowed, and raised an interested eyebrow at the answer he received; ]

Lovecraft? That's one of his longer novels, isn't it?

[ Not an author the vice president of the student council had ever been intrigued by, or read at great length, but Lovecraft had practically created an entirely new genre of horror with his fatalistic, morbid take on the world and the universe in general. And his... hatred of fish... and adoration of cats that worked itself into the books he published. It wasn't hard to recognize the title since he would have to be not paying any attention to popular literature to not do so. ]

Quite complicated, I agree. The author had a unique take on the world.

[Xehanort kept odd hours, that much was evident. There were more nights where he didn't sleep, merely laying on the bed and reading various books, if he was even in the room during that time. Whether or not he ate wasn't obvious either... he seemed content to come and go with little commentary, usually only stopping by to take a book out of his trunk - anyone who happened a glimpse inside would be surprised to see that there were only books within.

It was then that he returned, a ream of folded paper in hand and rather sedate expression on his face. A nod of the head at the two who were currently present before he went to add the papers to the trunk, before sitting down. A quick gaze cast over, eyes falling on the book Sephiroth was holding...]

I hope I did not interrupt anything, gentlemen.

I wouldn't know, he's not from my world. But it is rather strange.

[Sephiroth spoke of Lovecraft of course, assuming Hidetoshi already knew that there were lots of people from lots of different worlds in the Tower and so wouldn't be too taken aback by his statement.

Before any other conversation could ensue the door to the Dormitory opened and Xehanort walked in. Rare as it was for almost all of them to be in the same room at the same time Sephiroth allowed the book to remain open but couldn't help but observe what Xehanort was doing. He couldn't really see much of him opening the trunk from his bed across the room but their eyes met when the older man looked over at his book. He hadn't really been staring, but a quick observation soon covered up any notion that he might have been over-curious.]

"It seems reading is an indulgence they can't take away from us. So I guess all three of us are indulging." [He couldn't help but ironically smirk, the smallest victory in this Tower maybe. But then, two libraries supplied the books.]

He was a strange man, by all accounts... More than a little mentally unstable.

[ And since Hidetoshi was perfectly aware of the great range and diversity of the people residing within the Tower after the assumed destruction of their worlds, from many differing worlds with many biological, historical and magical differences. So he's not surprised in the slightest by Sephiroth's admission of being born in another world. After all; slitted green eyes and unusually long silver hair? It was a bit of a dead giveaway there.

And then his eyes too swiveled from the muscular soldier to the old man that walked in. Ah, this was an odd occurrence. It wasn't very often they were all in the dorm within the same period of time, much less spoke to each other after all. He has seen a quick glimpse inside Xehanort's trunk once; it wasn't surprising to see it had been filled with books, considering the ancient man seemed to have a mild passion for knowledge from what he had seen. Showing proper respect to one's elders was considered important in the society Hidetoshi had been raised in, and so he politely dips his head in greeting. ]

Ah, no, you were not, Xehanort-san. [ He then chuckles under his breath a little at Sephiroth's commentary. ] ... Indeed so!

[He inclines his head politely back to Hidetoshi, and turns slightly to address it to Sephiroth as well... While he's seen roommates come and go, he's rarely connected with them at all. This is a curious, unusual moment, and he's quite apt to take advantage of it to learn more about the fellows he's sharing a space with.]

It is perhaps one of the foremost pastimes here, one they provide us with limited resources for. Shamefully, they limit the scope of what we can read, lest we perhaps learn too much of what they do not wish us to know. For those of quick thinking, however, there are ways around such limitations. Like-minded individuals can share ideas and concepts outside of the written word... we do not need books to learn about the forbidden cultures and ideologies of other worlds.

[Bowing ones head is universal enough of a greeting. Sephiroth returns the gesture whilst letting At the Mountains of Madness rest open on his drawn up knees. Resolved to give the social interaction a go.

Again, Sephiroth runs a hand through a patch of the hair draped forward over his shoulder. Making sure it doesn't dry knotted . Not that his hair ever really did knot itself, it was more of a habit to do whilst it was still damp.]

"That's very true, two libraries full of everything other than what might prove useful. In fact, you could go so far as anything you may read or even see here may be part of a set up in this grand experiment.

Thing is, how do you verify truth?"

[ He closed his book with a quiet snap, and placed it down next to the plate of half-eaten crepe on his bed. History had always interested him. It was, his opinion, a good idea to learn from history so you wouldn't repeat past mistakes. He nods, agreeing with the points Xehanort is making. If the written word was suspect or limited, people would easily fall back to oral and by word of mouth to share culture and ideas to better the situation. Books were not a requirement for learning. ]

The limitation of resources, the denial of basic rights, and deprivation of knowledge is a common strategy for maintaining control over others, both historically and in modern day. Alliances among people from differing cultures are often forged by finding common ground or a common enemy between them, and that is a connection our hosts would probably prefer discouraged if they wish to smother any thoughts of rebellion against their control. [ Pause. But if they desires to stop any chance for rebellion, the logical steps for the admins to take would be to disable any reliable method of communication (e.i. the network) except when necessary, get rid of the libraries altogether, and their experiments would actually make sense, and they wouldn't allow them to share dorms, yet... It was illogical, or the admins were just plain stupid.

Or as Sephiroth suggested, it was just a part of the grand experiment they were conducting in the tower. ]

But if they wished to do that effectively, they would have prevented our access altogether. [ His grey eyes slide over at his copy of Battle Royale before moving onto Sephiroth, patting his heavy mane of silver dry ] To verify something, you test it. You challenge it and see if the 'truth' holds up to your challenge, right?

[Their words ring true, but having been there long enough has given Xehanort the insight that there is perhaps very little that the tower residents can do to throw off their captors. The only time that they had truly been somewhat outclassed was the threat from outside, the whale-creature that brought in the monsters.]

We are caught up in the webs of their design. Whatever manner of beings they are, they have a great deal over us that we cannot yet comprehend. Once that lack of understanding is eliminated, the footing becomes equal.

[He smiles at Hidetoshi's words. This is truly a mindset he can agree with.]

The only way to truly verify something is, as said, to try. How else do you get a result? Most are simply too afraid of what will come to make the attempt.

Agreed.

[Sephiroth looked between Xehanort and Hidetoshi, very keen to hear what the others had to say. He found himself agreeing with both of his roommates, something he hadn't particularly expected. It was like Kariya had said, more than one person had to stand up. Otherwise there could be no hope. If anything was more true than anything - they all had a common enemy.]

So what 'truth' would be the logical place to start?

[To Sephiroth, there were too many questions which ran around and around in his mind. He found himself idly fingering the side of his collar again; making sure his long hair wouldn't get caught around any of the tubing. He hates this thing more than anything else he has seen the Tower do so far, more importantly - what it stood for was unacceptable.]

[ Xehanort's words stirred within his mind an image of a tangle of spider webs, with fat spiders perched in the middle of the thread, occasionally twitching one of their many limbs to drag a juicy, struggling fly closer to its demise. He promptly twitched himself, then envisioned a giant sneaker coming down out of the sky and smashing the spiders flat and felt a little better. ]

If most are too afraid to make the attempt, they are either overly cautious, or perhaps they fear what they hold up as the truth is too flimsy to withstand the test and would collapse under pressure. Of course, whether or not their concerns are valid depending on the situation at hand.

[ In this case, being wary is preferred but what did they have to lose? Their worlds were so much dust, devastated and ruined. He had Jay's word for that, along with the input of others. His school mates, his peers, and his family, all but a few were as dead as their universe. And here, trapped within the tower of souls, they lived at the mercy of beings they barely understood, and cruel ones at that. Beings that considered them flies to be swatted and killed at leisure. (Except for maybe that Dex...) If only Hidetoshi knew he was conversing with two people who believed genocide was an acceptable, logical response to their problems. Hidetoshi reached up and flicked a loose lock of hair out of his eye, an old tic of his. ]

If we're going by 'truths' that would be best immediately solved, I would like to understand these wretched collars they put on us.

[ The collar required those daily check-ups, and he had no inkling of what the fluid pumping through the tubes was; but if they escape, he would logically assume they do something to stop them, such as a bomb or the fluid would stop working, or something. Escape would be pointless if they would die soon after from the effects of whatever they have done to they bodies.... To be practical, there were countless worlds. But it would mean nothing if none of them could leave the Tower without inviting death.

And he rather hated the idea of his body being altered without his agreement. ]

The collars... there are many wild theories running around.

[His roommates are rather new, so he decides to provide a bit of information for their perusal.]

The fluid is a colour, and colours seem to be quite important. When our minds were displaced from our bodies a few months ago, it was a mixture of colours that brought us back to where we needed to be, the colours used adding up to the value given to our collar. Even earlier than that, before my time here began, apparently there was a mix-up of colours, and many people began to lose control... thus it seems that the collars have not only a dampening effect, but something of an identity control as well.

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neverbeamemory - 2012-12-05 22:56 (UTC) - Expand

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altitonant_emperor - 2012-12-08 19:36 (UTC) - Expand

[The Gymnasium isn't a fitting setting for Kariya, but he'd wandered down from floor Forty-One, that strange, bug filled floor that unfortunately reminds him of home.

Sephiroth is a familiar face by now, a definite acquaintance, and so Kariya pauses at the distinctive sight of him. It's no surprise that someone like Sephiroth would be at home somewhere like this. He's clearly a powerful man, physically and otherwise.

Taking the opportunity to rest--he gets tired so easily now--Kariya watches quietly, not wanting to disturb Sephiroth, then gives a little wave when Sephiroth next happens to glance in his direction.]

[Sephiroth reached up and placed the bar back on it's brackets carefully; in case it might break, before sitting up from on the weight bench.

And there was Kariya just in his line of sight. With a strange wave in his direction. That piqued his interest at least. Wiping a line of sweat from his brow with the back of his hand Sephiroth then stood, stretched a little and headed closer to Kariya.

The cripple looked out of place amongst all the equipment scattered around that was for sure. Come to think of it, Kariya looked more- well he seemed less energetic than he did before when they had talked. He hadn't seemed like his condition was degenerative in anyway but then Sephiroth never had asked.]

Something wrong?

No, I'm fine.

[His voice sounded more hoarse, his throat being progressively ruined along with the rest of him. He leaned back against the wall, resting his weight, letting out a breath.]

I was only passing by. When I saw you, I thought I'd stop to say hello.

[A purely social call--well, more or less.]

Have you made any headway with your plans?

Not since we last spoke.

[Sephiroth answered simply but didn't go into too much detail. How everyone just went back to their 'normal' selves on the 1st November, how the admins apparently got bored with their experiment. He'd been oddly quiet since then, Sephiroth had a lot of time to reflect on the urge to lash out his frustration on everyone else in an attempt to showcase his own control over himself. As it turned out, he had ended up agreeing with Kariya's thoughts; they would have expected him to do that so it was all the more reason not to.

So now control took a different stance at least for the time being. However, with this thread of thought often came questioning ones own motives. He still could not bring himself to submit to the collar check-ups; each time trying to come up with a way of avoiding it and eventually being cornered and/or subdued. As tiresome as it might seem, it still made Sephiroth feel sick to think what they were doing to him.]

Your condition, it's getting worse isn't it? [Observant and blunt to boot. He's never asked or shown any interest in Kariya's state of being. It had never seemed relevant before.]

I haven't either. I've met some more people I might be able to work with, who might be able to help, but that's all.

[At the question, he nodded. It was not an unusual question, and Kariya knew only too well that his appearance was worsening along with his condition. There was no way to hide it.]

It is. It's going to keep getting worse. [The worms won't let up, they'll keep preying on him.]

I think we're both on about the same stage then, there could be a few people who could prove helpful. Though time will tell.

[Tohko, the book girl? Maybe he'd understand more about what she was trying to tell him by lending him things when he'd actually finished that book. There was definitely more to her than met the eye. The 'Turk' brigade if pushed? Sephiroth hadn't seen anything of them recently other than noting Reno's training class advertised on the network; there was a reason why children shouldn't play with knives.

Sephiroth's next question was more to establish facts than to express sympathy. Sympathy was not one of things he delivered very easily]

Did they make you like this?

I'm surprised by how many powerful people there are here. It can't be a coincidence, can it? It's nothing like the general population back home.

[Meeting more Servants and Masters at least means he has more powerful potential allies, even if not all the Servants are fond of him. Fortunately, it's only Saber who wants to kill him outright.

He doesn't avoid Sephiroth's question, and the lack of sympathy doesn't bother him. He doesn't expect sympathy. He went a while without it.]

No, I was like this before I came here. I have--parasites.

I am seeing someone who's helping me with them now, but they can only do so much. I've already had them for some time, and they're strong.

[And they didn't have any outside sources by which to compare answers they might discover within the Tower. Being inside the Tower was therefore a flaw in any consideration. Sephiroth resisted the pull from that downward spiral of thought again; his getting angry about it was equally pointless and was perhaps even intended.

Kariya's condition. Something smaller in scale to consider may offer a refreshing respite.]

Parasites.

How long for?

[They couldn't be contagious per se otherwise Kariya would likely have spread them around. But then just because Sephiroth hadn't seen anyone with similar symptoms didn't rule it out either.]

[He was getting more used to discussing his condition, after existing in silence for most of the time he'd had them. He could never tell when someone might be able to help him. He hadn't found any harm yet in telling people about his ailment.]

I've had them for more than a year now. They--you could consider them a family crest. They're not ordinary animals. They're familiars.

[Sephiroth paused and his eyebrows creased a little further together - trying to get his head around this new concept. The Tower surely did challenge the boundaries of existence that Sephiroth had known before.]

Familiars? Though they degenerate you? Eat you up from the inside? Sounds pretty unhelpful to me.

They give me the power I need to fight.

[Not that he looks capable of much fighting.]

Magecraft. But at the same time, they're killing me. So no, they're not helpful. But I need them.

[Sephiroth raised eyebrows a touch as Kariya explained. He wasn't going to make the comment which danced at the front of his thoughts; that Kariya looked even less of a fighter than he did when he first encountered him.

And it seemed that the Tower was just going to let him decay away into death. Sephiroth was totally opposite to giving up on anything, and it prodded at his anger a little that it seemed Kariya was given no choice about it.]

And there isn't anything to do about it? If we are all so important to them -

[Sephiroth sighed a little, anger piquing but in control.] - Forget it.

Dorm 03-02 [later afternoon]

Re: Dorm 03-02 [later afternoon]

Dorm 03-02 [later afternoon]

sorry for the delay :( work is killing me

:-)

s'alllright

at least it's almost over... today is the daaaay

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