towerofanimus | i can't breathe and i can't smile

Entry tags:

i can't breathe and i can't smile

Characters: Zuko and EVERYONE!
Setting: Room 1-10 and the cafeteria
Format: Whichever!
Summary: Zuko wants to get down to business ~~to defeat the huns~~
Warnings: This will be updated as needed!

Room 1-10

Zuko awakes with a start, noticing immediately that this isn't where he's supposed to be. He barely takes in the details of the room before he rolls out of the bed he's apparently been placed in, flames licking up his fingers, looking for signs of a threat. Details - like what the hell he's wearing - can come once he's determined that no one is looking to attack him.

Cafeteria

A bit of exploring - after, of course, changing into his actual clothing and strapping his swords to his back - eventually leads him to the cafeteria, looking just as bewildered and defensive as before but this time on active lookout for someone who can tell him what the hell is going on. Why is he collared? What is this place? And why is he only being served oatmeal?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Amelia is immediately drawn to the new boy in the cafeteria that morning. Obviously the swords make him stick out, and the way he's looking around like he doesn't have a clue what's going on, but most importantly, he looks like he's around her age. Score.

She sidles over to him as gracefully as she can manage, with a broken leg, and limited room in the crowded cafeteria to counterbalance with her wings. Which is to say, not very. But she plays it cool.]

Hey. You new here?

[Zuko recoils slightly, less out of 'ew girl cooties' and more out of simply unused to being approached informally. He does nod, stiffly, and turns his attention back to the oatmeal.]

Is it that obvious? ...And is all the food this bland?

You just looked a little lost. [She smiles.] Sometimes the food's good, like last month they had steak and corndogs. This month it's pumpkin. But you gotta eat the oatmeal before you can eat anything else or you'll just puke it all up. Dunno why.

That makes absolutely no sense.

[It is, however, one of the less odd things to happen to him today. He takes a bit more time to look the girl over - wings. Huh.And...]

What happened to your leg?

I broke it. [Bit of an understatement, really. She shrugs] Lots of things about this place don't make sense. But you learn to deal with it, I guess. I haven't been here too long.

What's your name? I'm Amelia.

Zuko. And how long is "not too long?" I have... something to take care of.

[The people here don't need to know about his home world. He doesn't trust them yet, not personally. He can accept explanations about his new location because honestly, he doesn't have any better ones.]

Yeah, welcome to the club. [She looks a bit wistful for a moment, her perky smile faltering.] I've been here a couple months. Other's've been around for years.

Years--

[Zuko shakes his head. It's so much to take in that it feels almost like sensory overload, and he has to sit down.]

What escape attempts have been tried?

I don't know all the details, but obviously none of them have worked yet.

Clearly. If people have been here years...

[He doesn't want to think about it, but maintaining ignorance won't help anyone. Maybe he can't fix everything... but he can fix something, somehow. His palms begin to glow in frustration.]

I refuse to believe that there's nothing I can do.

Oh, no one's giving up. One of these days we're gonna figure out how to get out of here and get back home, I'm sure of it.

We will. We have to. I have to.

How many people have been brought here? Do you know?

[His tone is clipped and frustrated. His first instinct is to start burning things until someone starts giving him solid answers, but he's learned to very much distrust his first instincts. This requires a more measured approach... no matter how confusing and frustrating it is.]

There's gotta be at least a hundred or so. And we're all from different universes.

[Perhaps Zuko will notice someone who could help him out also grabbing a bowl of oatmeal in the cafeteria. Ryoji's been here long enough to know most of the ins and outs of the place. Perhaps there are others that would have more knowledge, but Ryoji is still willing to help, as evidenced from the way he pauses at Zuko's table, a small smile on his face.]

Uh, hey there! Are you alright? You look a little lost.

I'm fine.

[It's obviously the kind of automated response he's used to giving, but after a moment he mentally smacks himself. He needs to actually get information.]

...Yeah, lost is a good word for it. I have no idea what's going on.

Oh, you must be new then. I've been here for a while, so if you've got any questions, I can try to answer them!

[He slides into a seat at Zuko's table, not really asking for permission. He gets a little too friendly sometimes...]

[Normally, Veronica chose to not interact with most people. She just wasn't the sociable type. But this guy actually made her curious. His attire was very reminiscent of home, plus he looked insanely confused as he eat his oatmeal.

God did she hate that stuff.]

Uh, h-hey. How's it going?

Well... I'm in a weird new place with no explanation, so I can't say I'm great.

[His tone is grumpy and distant, but it's nothing personal at least?]

[She nods.]

I know right? Get used to it too. They barely tell us anything outside of those letters you get when you wake up.

How am I supposed to get used to it?!

[The sudden outburst had been building; his time spent at home had given him a bit of time to learn how to put a lid on his temper for a bit but eventually confusion and anger has to go somewhere.]

None of this makes any sense! I keep waiting for myself to wake up but I don't even know why I would dream up something like this!

Edited 2013-10-17 23:47 (UTC)

[Confused and bewildered person standing with oatmeal?

Must be a newbie.

Here's someone who might know what he's doing, giving the cafeteria a once-over before adopting a corner for himself and his meal. The redhead isn't too irritable-looking today, though, so that's a start.

Harass y/n?]

[Y. Always Y.

After a while, Zuko is starting to seriously itch for answers, so he purposely sits across from Asch at the cafeteria table. It's still odd not to sit on the floor, but that's the least strange thing about this.]

You look like you know what's going on.

[They're success stories of socialization in royal families. The redhead looks up and - yep, he's gotten himself saddled with another newbie to fill in. This keeps happening.]

The letter is true, your world is destroyed, the tower is hell, your face isn't real, and you do have to eat the oatmeal.

[Yes, he does keep a checklist of commonly raised newcomer concerns, why are you asking?]

...I'm not going to bother questioning any of that.

[He doesn't quite know what to make of it, and until he does some more looking for himself he won't be able to. The face comment gets him to twitch, but there's a more pressing question at hand.]

How was my world destroyed?

[Congrats, Zuko, that officially makes you the Smartest Newcomer Asch has ever had to deal with.

And he doesn't care about what your face looks like, really.]

Some kind of virus - we're not given many details.

Disease... that's not the way it was supposed to go.

[Zuko's tone is a mix of confusion, anger, and regret, though he does work to keep the oatmeal warm. He has no answers; even if the redhead is lying, it's a better lead than Zuko has.]

I'm sure you've confronted them, but who is in charge here? And what's up with the collars? You've addressed them, I'm sure, but it's good to know.

It's the way mine was supposed to go, but that's unrelated. Year too early anyway.

[Yay for plagues and prophecies about plagues. Not.]

There's four administrators - in order from most to least helpful, Zo, Riki, Ruana, and Jason. Don't expect anything good out of them - even being near them, these days, is a good way to get into trouble.

[Not that he regrets the information he'd gotten out of the attack on Riki, but... Well, next time he's making for the stairs.]

The collar is a part of the underlying structure of the artificial body you're wearing. It doesn't come off.

[Zuko pokes at his oatmeal, slight disgust registering on his face -- he'd be hard-pressed to find anything more bland.]

What is this place exactly? You mention it's hell but that can't be literal. What should I watch for? I'm more than battle-ready, but I'd prefer to avoid it.

Edited (not a prompt) 2013-10-19 15:44 (UTC)

[Wait till Jason month, bro. Nothing but nutirtion bars as far as the eye can see.]

It's pretty literal in effect, if not intent. As far as we can tell, it was once some kind of research facility.

[Going by the flashes of not-dark while they were stuck in the dorms, at any rate.]

These days it's not much different, except we're the lab rats.

This man looks as if he's been working hard - or rather fighting hard considering his armor appears broken, having only one side of his neck guarded and a chunk of the breastplate missing.

He gets a tray of pumpkin pancakes, plain, and starts eating one by hand, clearly very hungry. But he stops when he sees someone just standing around with oatmeal looking confused.

"You've just arrived? You'll have to eat that if you want to eat anything else."

"Well, that doesn't make any sense. Why do you get pancakes?" It's said in a very sulking tone, but he is still a teenager, and a grumpy one at that. This guy looks like he's seen some stuff, though. "You look like you know what's going on around here."

Enoch only nods in response to the last part. He knows more than he'd ever expected to learn about this place, at least.

"Our bodies aren't made to eat the food here. Everyone is given oatmeal when they first arrive - there's something in it that allows us to stomach the rest of the food. If you tried to eat these right now, you would only vomit them." He tries to give him an encouraging smile. "It isn't so bad if you eat it while it's still warm."

"Not made? What does that mean?" He does take the tip about keeping the oatmeal warm though and subtly heats his hands, gradually causing it to come to a slow boil. If he's going to eat something so bland at least it won't be cold.

"It's..." He pauses, a thought occurring to him. "Well, I suppose it would be the same regardless. The guests that came here had to eat it, too... I suppose then this world is just that alien. But...they do make our bodies. We're souls living in golems of metal and special film."

Inelegant, yes. But there isn't a good way to break this, is there? Besides, he's tired of tiptoeing around the truth, looking for a good opportunity to reveal it. He almost never winds up doing so in time. There's too much to tell.

It takes Zuko a little bit to process exactly what's just been said to him. He feels solid enough, and when he thinks on all of it being a dream it seems much more real than any one he's had before. There's a level of normalcy that makes the unfamiliar surroundings that much more surreal. After a moment, Zuko notices that he's sitting down.

"So... what does that mean? Where are we?"

"We're in a tower named Animus, overseen by four hosts - Ruana, the leader; Jason, the physician; Riki, the architect; and Zo. He's the one that preserved our original bodies on our worlds and brought our souls here. Our state means very little, in practice, until one of them is involved."

Enoch sits down as well. This is something he's used to doing, by now. Every time, there's been a little more to tell. It really is best to let them ask the questions, he's found, else, it will be impossible to tell everything.

Hello.

[Kariya feels fortunate this month. There's some soup, which he can actually eat. So he doesn't have to only have oatmeal at every meal.

Seeing the young man's scarred face, he feels a pang of empathy, his own face also badly scarred. He puts down his soup spoon and smiles.]

You must be new. I'm Kariya.

[After all, he's eating the oatmeal, and most people don't have Kariya's stomach problems, so he's probably new.]

[The scars on the other man's face gives Zuko pause; he's used to being the most gratuitously deformed person in the room. It's not even a criticism, just an observation. He turns his attention back to his oatmeal, pulling a face.]

New, yeah. I just woke up today and I have more important things to do than sit around eating bland food!

[His frustration results in sharply exhaling steam.]

...Zuko. I'm Zuko.

[Kariya has yet to meet anyone more gratuitously deformed than he is. The fact that he's currently missing half an arm due to events in the tower doesn't make matters any better.

He blinks as the young man appears to actually breathe out steam. Is he a magus? Not that that means much here, when there are so many different forms of magic present.]

I understand. You must want to explore, or find a way back. There are people here working on that. They say--we'll find a way.

[He wants to believe that. Sometimes he does.]

It's nice to meet you, Zuko. I've been here a while... Maybe a year now. If there's anything I can help you with, I will.

A year?

[He's grateful for the advice, he really is, but there's too much tension coiled up for him to properly express it. He grinds the heel of his hand into his eye -- the left one, so he can still see.]

how far have they gotten? I can't wait that long, I have to get back-- everything is going to be destroyed and I have to help stop it!

[He nods, realizing that the amount of time he's been in the Tower isn't exactly comforting, but it's only the truth.]

I don't know. I wish I could say. It's hard to tell.

[He knows it's not the most helpful answer, but he doesn't have any other. And he doesn't necessarily approve of the others' methods. He thinks they might have made things worse.]

I have to get back, too. There's someone I need to help. I'd do anything to get back.

[He hesitates. A part of him knows everything is already destroyed, but he doesn't want to tell this young man that, and his mind shies away from the thought, in any event. He's not ready to deal with the loss of the people he loves.]

We will. I know we will.

[He has to tell himself that, or he won't be able to bear it.]

[Zuko grinds the heel of his hand into his temple, trying to rein his emotions back in. This isn't a situation he'd ever even dreamed of, let alone prepared himself for.

There's always one option, though.]

What can I do?

You could join the resistance. The people working to help that I talked about. My--friend knows some of them. He helps them sometimes, and he fights monsters. So that there are less of them to hurt people.

[Kariya thinks this works, even if the monsters keep coming.]

Some people here, they try to get by. They survive. It's difficult, but it's important that we don't let them take away our humanity. I believe we can go home again.

[His voice sounds weak as he says this, but he's sincere enough, even if his year here has worn down his optimism and it does falter at times.]

[Naoya's routine is rarely changed; grab something in the cafeteria, see if anyone new had shown up, and then offer his aid. Zuko wasn't someone he recognized, so after grabbing his own food, he walked over and gave him a small nod. There was a sword sheathed on his left side, along with a submachine gun on the other which probably looked a lot more alien to the fire nation prince.]

Hey.

[Too bad Naoya's not that great with talking, mind you.]

Need help with anything?

Can you get me out of here? Because if you can't, I'm not very chatty.

[Sullenly, he pokes at the remains of his oatmeal with his spoon; it wasn't so bad after he learned to eat it quickly. Liquid cardboard; best not to dwell on it.]

...They say people are trying.

[He shrugs.]

I'm not either.

[Did you want him to sit down, and have his own food? No? Too bad.]

That's right. We are trying. If you want to help us, you're welcome to join in.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

i can't breathe and i can't smile

Cafeteria

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[Cafeteria] [I'm late sorry]

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Cafeteria after a bunch of people have talked with him

I am so sorry this took so long

No problem I had my own problems before tagging back haha