towerofanimus | 001 → i won't be idle with despair

Entry tags:

[au1] bella kirkwood

001 → i won't be idle with despair

Characters: Bella Kirkwood and YOU!
Setting: Room 1-11 (and Dormitory floor 1), Cafeteria, then a video post
Format: Preferably action, but I can match.
Summary: Bella's woken up in yet another new place and is 400% done with everything. So whining, general huffiness, and probably a lot of bratiness.
Warnings: None, besides Bratty Teenage Girl.

Room 1-11 and Dormitory floor 1:
[ Not including any of her hospital visits, this is the second time Bella has awoken in a bed that isn't her's in a state of confusion. There's a distinct lack of yelling from her brothers. At first she thinks it's just too early. But then she realizes the feel of her sheets are off, and she's missing about twenty pillows. Remembering the last time this happened, she's quick to sit up and shove her blankets off of her.

Hope you weren't sleeping, roommates. Because you're in for a rude awakening in the form of Bella letting out a short screech. ]

No! What? No, no, not again. This can't be happening again. Oh my goodness-

[ Once she manages to get a handle on herself, she clambers out of bed, takes stock of herself, then tiptoes cautious into the hallway. ]

Video post:
[ What's the first thing she does when she finds one of those itty bitty alcoves with one of those network machines in it? Tinker with it until it works, of course.

So now you have a teenage girl wearing an expression torn between distraught and annoyed, and she's pulling it off ridiculously well. She tries to sound calm when she speaks, but her voice is a tad bit shaky and high. ]

I don't know what's going on. Is this another one of Mayfield's games? Am I even in Mayfield anymore? Because this is too far, even for a sleazy horror fifties town.

And what are these? [ She slips a finger underneath her collar and tugs slightly. ] They're tacky and clunky, and purple isn't even my color.

Will somebody please just tell me what's going on?

The Cafeteria
God, would you mind doing me a solid and turning this into like, eggs and bacon? Or even a bagel? Because this morning already kind of stinks, and this goopy oatmeal isn't helping.

[ And when her bowl of oatmeal doesn't magically transform into something hot and delicious, she sighs and rests her cheek against the table. ]

At least the food in Mayfield was good.

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[Unfortunately for Bella, one of her roommates did not appreciate being awoken from a rather nice nap. This particular roommate had a temper, and even worse- the means to back it up.

Azula sat up and coldly glared at the new girl disturbing her beauty sleep. Yep, it was that same look that made grown men quake in their boots.]

Was that really necessary?

[Congrats, Bella, you now have one angry, grumpy Fire Nation Princess on your hands.]

[ Honey, your death glare is nothing compared to facing down Ruthie McGee and her slingshot. Unfortunately, her frustration is overpowering her confusion and fear, and she's quick to get angry, too. ]

Probably about as necessary as bringing me here was. Sorry for disturbing your beauty sleep, but I just got kidnapped again, and I really don't have time to worry about your feelings.

[Tohko normally didn't wander into the cafeteria, but she had to keep up appearances so that no one would suspect her of being a book-eater.

So, today, she would wander into the cafeteria, looking for something to eat..and hear a girl complaining over a bowl of oatmeal.

A new arrival..well, the timing seemed to be right.]

Pardon me..but if you're having trouble with the oatmeal, I can eat it with you. And, if you're a new arrival, I can tell you what I know about the Tower. That way, you'll know what you're up against!

Is that what this place is called? The Tower?

[ And then once she remembers that, yes, she does have manners: ]

Sorry. It'd be really awesome if you could tell me about this place. And I'll totally share my oatmeal with you, no problem.

[Tohko got a spoon as she spoke.]

Well, technically, the name of this Tower is Animus. But most of the residents just call it 'The Tower'.

[Tohko then sat across from the girl and smiled.]

Sure, I'll tell you everything that I know! But..make sure you eat the oatmeal, alright? If you don't, you'll throw up anything else you try to eat before you finish it.

[Tohko then thought as she went into her usual infodump.]

Let's see..Animus is run by five Administrators: Dax, who is the most humane of the bunch, Jason, who likes to torture and experiment on the residents, Riki, who manages the records and builds the Tower, Zo, and Ruana, who is a child-like immortal who has been here for thousands of years. She seems to rule over the other Administrators.

Monsters roam the Tower at night, and if you get too close to some parts of the higher floors, you'll get attacked. If you don't know how to fight, it's best that you start learning from someone.

Death is not permanent here. If you die, you'll just wake up in your bed the next day, but I imagine that if you die too many times you'll probably get punished, so please be careful.

[Tohko then nodded to herself.]

And that's everything!

[ For a moment, she just stares at the oatmeal. But as Tohko talks, she begins to eat it.

It's hard to control her facial expressions during the run down. This place already sounds worse than Mayfield. At least there she could avoid the bad things by locking herself in her room, if she really wanted to. Here, it sounds like she doesn't have a choice. ]

Right. Putting self-defense lessons on my mental to-do list. [ As well as 'Find out more about these Administrators' and 'Find a place that sells shoes'. ]

[Tohko took a bite of oatmeal as the girl spoke and nodded. It tasted like sand, but since she was used to it, she just chewed, swallowed, and continued on as if nothing was wrong.]

Good! There are a lot of people here who would be more than happy to teach you, so don't put it off. You'll die if you do.

[ Well. Points for not sugar coating it, she supposes. But she does look a tad bit freaked out for a moment. ]

Uh, okay. Moving it to the top of my mental to-do list, then.

Good. You can find a few people on the network and ask around, so it shouldn't be too hard to get started.

[Tohko then took another bite of the oatmeal.]

Oh, and your universe isn't destroyed! There are people here who wouldn't even be able to exist if their universes were destroyed, so don't worry. Your universe is fine.

[ She seems to visibly relax at that. That's one weight off her shoulders, knowing that her world isn't dead and all the people she loves back at home are alive. ]

Oh, thank goodness. That's good to know. [ She gives a smile. ] Can I ask you one more thing?

[At that, Tohko returned the smile.]

It is a relief, isn't it? It would be terrible if everything we knew back home was destroyed..but I doubt it is.

[She then nodded.]

Sure! Ask me anything! I'll do my best to answer.

Even if this was Earth, He wouldn't interfere in something as small as breakfast.

*Have a tall guy in weird armor sitting down nearby with a plate of heart-cut waffles. He moves the thick pink syrup on them around with his fork a bit, as if dissatisfied with it. After he only succeeds in trapping it in the squares on the waffles, he looks up at Bella again.*

If it's of any comfort, you can eat anything else once you've eaten that.

It'd be terrible. But I guess that's one blessing, our worlds still being there.

[ Bella reaches up and runs a finger underneath her collar. ]

What are these tacky collar things for?

I kind of wish He'd just interfere with my whole life right now. Pick me up out of here and drop me right back into my bedroom back home.

[ At this point, weird armor doesn't even phase her. She eyes his ridiculously lovey-dovey waffles and gives him a somewhat grateful smile. ]

So I only have to choke down one bowl of tasteless oatmeal? What a relief.

[At that question, Tohko sighed. Her own collar was filled with yellow liquid..but she had worn it for so long now that she didn't give it much though.]

No one really knows here..but..they might be for keeping our souls in place.

[ Blink blink. ]

I'm sorry, did you say souls? I'm pretty sure my soul is staying in place, collar or no.

[At that, Tohko sighed again.]

I know..one would normally think that, but this is the Tower of Animus. Animus is an old Roman concept that translates to 'soul', so this is the Tower of Souls.

Guess I'm a little rusty on my Roman. [ She tugs half-heartedly at the collar. ] This really stinks.

[Tohko smiled and scratched her head.]

Oh, it's alright! Don't worry about it..I didn't know it either until I looked it up. And I admit, it's not the best situation..but we're all working to get out of here, and there are a lot of kind people here, so it's not that bad.

[Tohko then took a bite of the oatmeal. It tasted like sand, but since that was normal for her, she kept smiling.]

[ Bella offers a weak smile. ]

Thanks. For, you know, telling me all of this and helping me eat this gross oatmeal. I'm Bella, by the way.

If He could intervene in this entire tower's business, that would be wonderful.

*He takes a bite of his waffles, too sweet for his tastes, but he's not turning down food. Everything is heart-shaped and/or pink this month. Sure is February. Not that Enoch knows quite what the connection is.*

I think it's meant to adjust our stomachs to this world, the way the collars adjust our bodies. *Or is that their souls? Who even knows...*

Why they couldn't make it taste any better, I don't know.

Oh, you're welcome! I'm always happy to help out. And it's nice to meet you, Bella! I'm Tohko Amano, the book girl.

Bring the Godly smackdown on this place of horrors. I can totally get behind that.

[ It's throwing her off that it's already February. She left home and arrived in Mayfield in May. She left Mayfield in October, and now it's February. All this stupid time stuff has made her completely miss her eighteenth birthday. ]

I went to public school for a while. Gross food is something I'm used to.

The book girl? Is that some sort of official title or something?

Well, it's not really official, but it is my title!

Well, if I ever need a book, I know who to come to.

[At that, Tohko smiled and nodded.]

Yup! Book recommendations, problem solving, mysteries, general questions..if you ever need any help, just come to me! I'll try and help you out!

"Smackdown"? *Enoch chuckles a little.* ...I like that word.

*Bella will have to excuse him. He is literally ancient. Partially also evidenced by what he has to say next.*

Ah, but... "public school"?

That's great! And actually really handy, since I'm probably going to end up needing it. So thanks.

Yeah, I'm full of 'em. [ She pauses. ] Good words, that is.

[ Thankfully, she's used to dealing with people who have no honest idea what she's talking about. ]

Yeah, it's like, schooling that's completely free, so there are a lot of people and a really low budget. Which mean the quality of their food really isn't their biggest concern, unfortunately.

Oh, you're welcome! Almost everyone in this Tower needs help at one point or another..I'm just happy to give it to whenever I can.

Ah...but everyone is educated. That...would explain why most people I've met from the future or from other worlds are literate.

Edited (typo) 2013-02-12 00:45 (UTC)

And that extends to helping people eat their disgusting oatmeal?

I wouldn't say everyone. Like, my stepbrother? I swear, he couldn't tell a verb from a noun if they bit him in the butt.

[At that, Tohko chuckled.]

Yup! After all, this is one of the worst parts about arriving in the Tower, so I'm happy I can help.

[It wasn't like she could taste it, anyways.]

*That seems...odd. Is she talking about the rare people who simply can't seem to learn how to talk?* So he has trouble making himself understood then...?

More or less. He's basically socially handicapped. Unless it has something to do with one of his techie dweebie computer games, he's totally clueless.

That's really awesome of you. I can't think of many people who'd do that.

[ She wouldn't even do that. She may have gotten a lot less bratty over the past year and a half, but she's still pretty selfish. ]

Actually, there are a lot of people like that here in the Tower. This isn't a kind place, so we all try to help each other out as best we can.

So he is...very adept with the computer and little else?

*He knew of people like that! They tended to be kind of awkward but very good in their trade. One of his traveling cloaks was made by such a craftsman - it had lasted him a long time, too.*

Anything to balance out all the bad here.

Exactly that. So if you need to trace the dude hacking into your MySpace? [ Yeah, they still totally use MySpace in her world. ] Budge is your man. But if he ever had to, I dunno, pretend to be dating someone in order to not be caught by the creepy carnival ringmaster, he's pretty much screwed.

Hopefully the balance will be overturned by all the good soon.

Hopefully so.

Hopefully..

[Tohko took another bite of the oatmeal before speaking again.]

Any other questions you have? Anything else I can help you with?

[ Bella scraped the last bit of oatmeal out of her bowl, swallowing it with the smallest of grimaces. ]

No, I think you've about covered it.

[At that, Tohko smiled and nodded before getting up and grabbing a plate with a hamburger on it. The bun and the burger were cut into hearts, but-as far as Tohko knew-they shouldn't taste bad.

She walked over and put the dish in front of Bella.]

Alright then. Here's something a bit tastier, if you want it.

*Er...

He understood absolutely none of that. He opens his mouth to attempt to ask about something, but...can't figure out which to ask about first, and closes it, looking blatantly confused while he tries to puzzle out what he can from context...of which there is none.*

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001 → i won't be idle with despair

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