Ad Visitatores

[animusmods]

Characters: anyone participating in the event
Setting: floor 56 and eventually other areas of the Tower
Format: either
Summary: Welcome to the Tower.
Warnings: horror/creepiness/potential danger/generally unfortunate things all possible
Notes: PLEASE GO HERE TO MAKE NEW POSTS.

A few minutes before anything happens, Ruana's voice rings out over the Tower's intercom--it manages to be louder than anything the residents happen to be doing. "Hey, everyone, there's something exciting going on at floor fifty-six! Go make sure they don't get themselves killed!"


You arrive, stepping or tumbling, in a surgical suite. It looks abandoned, with dust collecting on the table and floors. The lights flicker, and for a moment blood dripping off the table, puddling on the floor--but no, the lights are back, and surely that was your imagination. It's quiet, eerily so, but nothing hinders you, and you're free to spread out and explore. There are multiple rooms here, like in any hospital, and it's all a bit confusing. Occasionally the lights flicker, and it's a bit frightening as Things appear that shouldn't exist. Shadowy creatures stitched together and reaching for you, doctors brandishing phantom surgical tools, blood splattering the walls or floor or ceiling, how did it get there--but none are real, and all of them vanish when the lights return. Eventually you find the staircase, spiraling up and down into darkness. Approach it, though, and the thing glitters with a barrier that will push back any attempts at climbing the thing.

A girl, a teenager dressed in red and black, appears. And she does simply appear, inserting herself into the space, nearly pushing it aside to make room in it for where she is now. Her face beams with unconcealed excitement, and her words tumble out on top of themselves. "You can't go there! Yet, I mean. You'd all die!"

The girl steps onto the staircase, passing through the barrier as if it weren't there, and sits on the steps to address everyone. "Hi! I'm Ruana. You didn't show up the normal way, so the Tower can't support you yet. We got this one floor ready when I saw you were coming but, well, the Tower's kind've big, so getting all of them set up is taking a little longer than I thought." She smiles, sheepishly apologetic in a carefree sort of way. "I've got everyone coming here to visit you--or at least they know they can visit you--and I'll have someone bring food up for you. It'll be oatmeal, and oatmeal is super boring, but you have to eat it, okay? Then you can have whatever you want! The cafeteria's down on the first floor if you get hungry. We should have everything ready in a few hours. I've gotta go help with that, so you guys wait here.

"Don't worry, the monsters can't get to this floor as long as that barrier is up."

And then she's gone, blinking out of existence. The barrier will remain for three hours.

Comments

[the_usual_stuff]

[And there's what he had been patiently looking for.

Minato is greeted with the familiar: a slightly off-kilter smile, small and secretive but happy in a way to see him, loose wide striped sleeves, and sandals. The small head of curly black hair turns towards him and then moves closer fearlessly.]

Hello, Minato. [A pause. Dude, what the hell is wrong with your soul, it's... flimsy-like or sorta corroded like you've been spending a lot of time dying or alone, suffering. ??? That's not good.] You haven't been doing well.

[evokingfool]

[In order, yes he died a few times, yes he's been alone for that entire month (?? who knows about the passage of time) and yes, there's plenty of suffering. It's a wonder that he haven't snap a long time ago. The closest was when his Shadow walked around, or his return to his home world.

Minato stops in front of Pharos, looking down at him. It's been a long time since he talk with him.]

...Yeah. Things have been rough, but I'm still... [It's not surviving, when he sometimes get killed.] ...keep on going.

[the_usual_stuff]

[If he had snapped, the deathly entity were two-thirds upset/angry at the administration!! and one-third highly disappointed. While Pharos is here, he's gonna see what he can do about repairing at least a little of the excessive damage wrought on one of the metaphorical centers of his existence.

He looks up at him, arms tucked behind his back, smile unwavering.]

Stagnation wouldn't suit you. [Stated clearly, firmly, neither would fickleness or rash decisions. He wasn't reversed yet and he remained upright.] To stay still in this life, wouldn't that be a shame? What is the name of this Tower?

[evokingfool]

[It would've been easy to for him to snap. His own journey got derailed and his personal growth was, instead, put through the tower's horrors. It would be a lie to say he's completely unaffected by the "games" and deaths he saw.]

The Tower of Animus. [Of the soul. During that Q&A session a while ago, the name stood out to him among the other information.]

[the_usual_stuff]

This is so? [Hm. Not a place he knows. Pharos blinked, head tipping to the side before straightening.] And you've been here for quite some time? That must have been difficult.

[Feels an emotion he... isn't quite able to peg as sadness/unhappiness over that.]

[evokingfool]

[He paused to think. How long has he been here by now?] ...Just a little over a year or so.

[Long enough for him to have his first anniversary here.]

It's a little difficult, but I'm not alone here.

[The bonds he made here, his Social Links, was what keep him sane and focused. It would be harder if he has no one to count on.]

[the_usual_stuff]

[That relieves him a little. Bonds + Minato = Strength/protection. Much better.]

As long as you're not standing alone, without the connections of your heart, then...

[Pharos made a small hand gesture.] Hey, who was the girl that welcomed us here?

[evokingfool]

[Without his connections, Minato wouldn't know how he manage to keep going. He have a glimpse into that state when he went home, with only the Death Social Link remaining unbroken in that world.]

The girl is Ruana. She's one of the admins in control of the tower.

[the_usual_stuff]

[Pharos being the only one left in the ruined desolation that was once Minato's home world probably wasn't the most... comforting thing, was it? Or company.]

And who are the others in control?

[evokingfool]

[It's nice to have someone to talk to, even Pharos. But...Minato also miss everyone else, to talk and spend time with on things Pharos wouldn't know or is familiar with.]

Dax, Jason and Riki. [There's Zo, but he doesn't seem to have a lot of power.]

[the_usual_stuff]

[Probably missed hanging around with living people too. :'D]

Are they humans? [Pharos cocked his head to the side curiously.]

[evokingfool]

[Yeah, there's that.]

...Not quite. [Zo and Ruana, at least.]

[the_usual_stuff]

[Simply, questioning;]

Explain?