animus_network | [video]

[Oh, now here's a familiar face. Uncomfortably familiar. It's all Richtofen can do to keep himself from touching his own cheeks to make sure he's still himself.

How stupid. He never thought he'd see Nathan again. How long has it been? Over a year? Yes, a year and a half since he was forced into that Irish brat's smelly little body. Since he was accosted with his memories, agh, since he got Richtofen's in turn--

The disgust on Richtofen's face is palpable when he switches the feed on. He speaks as if he's addressing a particularly gross animal.]

You're back? Und here I was hoping you were dead. Why don't you crawl back into whatever hole you dug yourself up out of, child?

Back? I've never even been to Germany! [What the fuck was this asshole going on about, "back"? Nathan frowns, an edge of his panic leaving as it makes room to be properly offended at the rather uncalled for greeting.] I may be incompetent, but I'm not about to spend my time in a country full of sick, sausage-loving bastards who would throw me into some sort of torture-fetish ring just because my hair may-or-may-not be vaguely Jewish!

[Some people, after all, would call the curly, unkempt mop on his head a Jew-fro. These people were twats and Nathan wanted nothing to do with them.]

And I tried the whole being-buried-alive thing once, thank you very much, and although it may come as a surprise you I'm not exactly keen on repeating the experience.

[A coffin was hardly a four-star hotel, he'd come to find. Mostly, it was just dull. And then there was the whole bit with not having a place to shit, getting starved and dehydrated, and occasionally suffocating. If nothing else, it had at least proved that he could honestly get a good wank in anywhere, anytime.]

Edited 2014-04-06 00:58 (UTC)

[Oh, he knows how often Nathan can get his rocks off. He never asked for that knowledge, but there it is.

Richtofen has been around long enough to be familiar with the whole "alternate universes" thing, though, so he's aware by this point that this Nathan is a different one than the one he swapped bodies with. (Unless he's just pretending, which is always an option in Richtofen's paranoid mind.) Still, it's a very slight comfort. That means he knows more about Nathan than Nathan knows about him.]

Ja, ja, laugh it up about the sausage, it is not as if I have heard those kinds of remarks five thousand times before! [Richtofen ends, red-faced, on a shout, but he calms himself down in record time. He is the Mood Swing King.]

In any case. You are new here, aren't you? [Considering what he knows about Nathan's life, he doesn't bother asking what his tolerance for otherworldly bullshit is.] I was mistaking you for... well, you know, another you. Would you like the abridged version, or should I allot some time to telling you every mundane detail about this place?

[Oh, Nathan laughs--okay, it's more a giggle really--without needing permission. If anything, Richtofen's anger only makes his smile widen. He fully intends to ignore the offers for an explanation in favor of being witty and fully charming, but even Nathan can't completely forget how freaked out he is about the whole waking-up-in-a-strange-tower thing.]

Another me? Fuck off. The world couldn't handle two of me. In fact I couldn't even handle two of me! I'm so beautiful I'd make myself jealous!

[Oh, wait, that's right, he was actually going to be reasonable and find out about what was going on here. Let's give this another shot.]

Go on, then. Let's hear it. And I think I'd like the quick and dirty version, if you'd be so kind. I'm not being funny or anything but I can only listen to people who talk like total twats for so long before I go completely mental.

[And if the short amount of time he'd been there since he'd woken up was any sort of indication, Nathan had a feeling he'd needing all the sanity he had.]

[Richtofen's eye twitches.]

Oh, trust me, I understand how you feel completely...

[He'll just leap right into the explanation, then. The more he gets to talk, the less he has to hear Nathan flap his lips like an idiot. He sighs.]

Right, well, your world has been destroyed, und an awful little boy named Zo who lives in this place can only save one person from every universe. The joyful caveat is that we all wind up here! [His voice peaks on a high note, and he actually smiles for a second. Then, in an instant, both his face and his tone fall flat again.] Yay.

There are infinite versions of everyone in an infinite number of universes, und it just so happens that there was another version of you here before. He und I were involved in a wonderful experiment together, but luckily for new-you, Jason - he is a scientist, though much less magnificent of one than I am - is now dead. How lucky you are.

[He's pretty sad. It would've been nice for the twat to get dissected by Jason at least once.]

[This whole explanation takes a whole while to actually sink into Nathan's skull. That mass of hair does a good job and making it difficult for information to faze in. Nonetheless, it does get there. Eventually, after he makes a lot of confused and downright "like fuck I'm going to believe this shit" expressions. Of course, he can't exactly not believe it when he hasn't actually seen any real evidence that this is all just a big hoax.

But then, who wants to just go ahead and believe that they've been kidnapped to some freaky Tower full of aliens and shit? In his denial and his ever-charming attitude, Nathan chooses to continue being a smartass regardless of how much or how little he believes Richtofen.]

So this is like one big, fucked up sci-fi version of Noah's Ark? But with mad scientists?

[Man, Barry would be losing his shit over this.]

Don't be daft! [A vein in Richtofen's forehead throbs.] Noah brought two of each animal onto his ark, not just one. Honestly.

[That is clearly the most important matter that needs to be addressed here. He's not even Christian or Catholic or what the fuck ever, and he knows that. Kids these days.]

Alright, calm down!

[Nathan throws up his hands in a mocking gesture of defense. How was he supposed to know that they had bible study in Nazi training camp. Or maybe this guy just had a book club. Whatever. It was weird. But also kind of hilarious.]

Then I'm guessing I can rule out the idea that we're all here to procreate.

[Richtofen rolls his eyes and groans in disgust.]

Of course we aren't. You could not even get someone pregnant here. Did I forget to mention that your body is not particularly organic anymore? [He taps a finger to his chin.] I think I did, actually...

[In hindsight, it's obvious why he's never heard of a pregnancy scare in this place despite the numerous marriages and disgusting relationships. Shooting collar fluid into more collar fluid isn't the best way to make babies.]

*Oh. He remembers this face. It's the madman who raved nonsense about bizarre "cults" in the tower at the terminals. He supposes he should leave the greeting to Richtofen, given how unpleasant he'd been, but...*

There was another version of yourself here before. He was a raving madman, wrapped up in frightening delusions. *His features soften in sympathy.* I should hope you're different...it was rather saddening to see.

It's a long story, one I've had to tell often, so please, forgive my bluntness. *With an apologetic smile, his voice takes on the very tone of someone who's said this sort of thing all too often, over and over.* This isn't a 'setup'. This is a tower called Animus, and, unfortunately, that note is true. I...don't know if he's still saying we should all be happy here, however. That's what he wished of us before...before he understood...before we understood, in fact.

A deluded, raving madman? That doesn't sound like me at all! Either you're in on this whole thing and having one big laugh or you're mistaking me with someone else entirely.

[Nathan throws his hands up.]

Hey, maybe you're just so blinded by how utterly handsome I am that your memory's gone a bit fuzzy. There's no shame in it.

[When Enoch goes on to explain more about the Tower, his grin fades into something more like honest confusion.]

Animus? Like that cartoon shit that overweight bastards with no self-respect wank themselves off to? I think that's called anime.

[And, wait, note? There was a note? Nathan had definitely been too preoccupied with his new and improved jumpsuit to bother reading any scraps of paper left at his bedside.]

*...Yeah, this is the same guy. This is pretty pathetic already.*

No...I have no idea what that is. "Animus" means "soul".

*And he doesn't think he can trust any description of this "anime" he might provide, either.*

[Nathan scratches his head, looking wholly unimpressed. That's the only way he knows how to not look like he's totally clueless, which, to be honest, he probably looks anyway.]

So we're in a tower called "Soul" then? [Pfft. Please.] You know, I was starting to buy into this whole haunted house of horrors vibe, but that's just gone and killed it. Never underestimate a good title.

[Nathan waves his hand in a rewind gesture then, shaking his head.]

Wait, nevermind about all that. What was it you were going on about? You mentioned a "he"?

[He wasn't a mind reader, for Christ sakes. That was Kelly's schtick. And it was a schtick he didn't envy, for that matter.]

"Tower of Souls", if you want it to sound more menacing, though I don't know why you would. The "he" I mentioned is the one who wrote the letter, it's probably still on your nightstand. His name is Zo, and he's the youngest and kindest of our hosts here.

[Zo, huh? Where had he heard that name before?]

Oh, right, yeah! The other one mentioned him to me before, only I believe the word used to describe the little shit [said here more or less endearingly] was "awful". You know I'm getting a lot of mixed signals here.

[Nathan frowns thoughtfully, but hardly misses a beat.]

But then again I'm pretty sure the other one is a Nazi pedophile so maybe I shouldn't take his word for it.

[Of course for all Nathan knew, Enoch could be just as big of a Nazi pedophile and was just better at hiding it. Well, he didn't sound German, at least, so there was that.]

"Nazi"? I'm afraid I'm not familiar with the term.

*And not commenting on the "pedophile" part because he's pretty sure this person throws false accusations at everything he sees. He remembers the "furry" tirade. In fact, he's probably not going to trust any explanations about this "Nazi" business he hears from him, either.*

But Zo truly cares for our well being and doesn't torture us the way the others do.

You--

[Nathan looks astounded.]

You don't know what a Nazi is? World War II? The Holocaust?

[Jesus! What planet is this guy from? Well, presumably one that doesn't share Earth's history. That's a thing, isn't it? Other weird fantasy worlds and shit?]

Okay, so basically they're a group of fucking nutjobs who thought it would be one big jolly holiday to go around murdering the Jewish for their religious affiliation. [Nathan hesitates, looking sincerely thoughtful for a second.] It could have also had something to do with the dark hair and the big noses but--[His tone changes abruptly.]--no, it isn't funny! Nobody likes a prick who makes Holocaust jokes, I should know!

*He doesn't know what "Jewish" is either. Kind of hard to know the word when you're born well before Judah.

But rather than asking about any of these things (a world war? A war between worlds, or a war encompassing all of one world? Both sound terrifying.), he finds himself caught off guard by how plausible all this was. It wasn't like the claim of a tent made of books, or the spastic, disjointed generalizations about "furries" in general. People killing one another for their beliefs was most certainly a thing that happened, unfortunate though it was, and the sudden change in tone wasn't something he'd heard when he was going on about the "furries". And a war on a world or multi-world scale? He could see how such a thing might happen - worlds as countries or chains of alliances.

But while he might cautiously entertain this idea as a sane one grounded in reality for all these things, there was still the matter of the accusation.*

I...ah. I'm afraid I haven't met anyone here who was volatile enough towards anyone else for their faith to kill them.

*And a quick check reveals...Richtofen as the only other person who had been speaking to him as of this point in the conversation. Richtofen didn't even seem to care what anyone believed...

Another false accusation, it seemed. He couldn't even imagine Richtofen even hiding any vitriol. He was far too transparent with it, honestly.*

Edited (clarification because that last sentence sounded weird) 2014-04-28 06:07 (UTC)

He's definitely a Nazi, or at least associated with them. The uniform is unmistakable.

And don't mind Enoch. He was born well before there was a Germany. If I'm guessing correctly, I believe he's from about five thousand years before you.

[Hello there, indeed. And who is this fellow? Nathan supposes that for the moment he can forgive the interruption, if only because the guy is making him look better.]

You hear that? Nazi! [Nathan's grin is practically manic as he puts his hands triumphantly on his hips.] I know a sick bastard when I see one.

[And speaking of potential sick bastards.]

And how do you know so much, anyway? Are you one of those history nerd types?

... In a sense. There are many strange people here, from different times and different worlds. What holds true in your world likely does not hold true in others, and nothing from your world really holds true here.

But to answer your question: I was alive during World War Two in my world. And the first World War. And every war, because reincarnation is a bitch when you can remember everything from every life.

And before you start with the 'that's insane' or 'you're crazy' talk, drop it. We're on a tight deadline until - well. We're not certain what, but likely the end of our ability to exist here or anywhere. Shove your disbelief to the side and help, or get out of the way. Either way no one has the time to sit here and babysit you through the five stages of grief or the five stages of whining.

*Normally, Enoch might chide Naoya for his callous words, but honestly, he's grateful for his intervention. Nathan isn't the sort he'd want to talk to for long periods of time, but his conscience leaves him unable to just leave him.*

But I've never seen any signs of hatred in him for-...

*And that's when it clicks. Uniforms mean some degree of organization. Could they have become so entrenched that...*

Unless it was something which one could be born into without agreeing?

*Enlighten him, Naoya.*

In theory, yes. The war didn't last long enough for someone of his age to be born into it, however. And while I'm told there were few options for those in Germany to avoid being caught up in it, he strikes me as the sort of person who would have joined willingly in order to take advantage of their... lax policies towards treatment of experimental subjects.

[Richtofen you do kinda come off as a crazy mad scientist, okay.]

Wait a second! Wait a second just back up, alright?

[Nathan waves frantically at the screen, then scratches his head as he struggles to process all the information he's just been slammed with. Of course, he ends up fixated on one singular point.]

So you're saying you're immortal? Both of you?

[Suddenly he goes from puzzled to grinning. No fucking way. How big of a coincidence was that?]

I'm immortal! Look at this--look at us! It's like we're a club. We even complete each other. Brains [Naoya], brawn [Enoch], and I, of course, provide the looks!

[Of course.]

Sound rather like you're a bigmouth. Much talking, nothing behind it.

[Look who decided to join the conversation.]

Immortality won't be of much use to anyone if things are going to turn nasty.

And it's not 5000 years. It been 360.000... no, 14.000 years.

It's a different immortality than the one you're thinking of, probably -

[Oh. Lucifel.]

Your sense of time is unreliable. Time doesn't mean anything to someone like you.

First of all. [Interrupter number 2.] Rude. Didn't anyone ever teach you to raise your hand when you have a comment?

[He looks back to Interrupter number 1.] Second of all, who cares what kind of immortality it is? It's immortality! That's a power straight off the A-list! Am I the only one who thinks that's...cool? What the fuck!

*Well, that might explain why Nathan's crazy. Poor guy. He hopes he never gets to be like him.

Lucifel's appearance never fails to relax him, though, and a small smile goes to his guardian.*

It's true. His sense of time has always been odd.

*Sorry, Lucifel. He'll make it up to you somehow.*

But I suppose if he's the "big mouth", you're the new "looks", aren't you, Lucifel?

*That's how.

Except wait. What?*

And just how long have you been immortal?

... It's a curse, not a superpower. But you sound young. You'll learn.

Hey, nobody's stealing my title away from me. I was born looks and I'm staying looks!

[Nathan stops, scrunching up his face as he does the math in his head.]

You know I haven't really been counting, I've been so busy being a national celebrity, but if I had to put a number on it I guess...somewhere around half a year. Maybe a bit more. Whatever, I've died more times than I can figure on one hand, I'm getting the hang of it!

[He makes a noise of disbelief. Curse. Come on. Nothing this awesome could be a curse. Who didn't want to stay young and beautiful forever? Who didn't want to get anything and everything they wanted?]

Edited 2014-05-03 04:49 (UTC)

Half a year...you are young. You haven't even lived a lifetime yet.

*He sighs heavily.* You'll see, in time. Once we've time at all.

Time doesn't have much of a meaning if you have always been able to walk through it as you like.

[He had to learn that during his stay here. But they're gonna have to talk about that Enoch. But to get back at the kid...]

And it seems no one taught you respect to your elders. Half a year of immortality makes you nothing but a baby compared to others.

Exactly. You're not even fully grown. You're nothing but a brat.

[Wow. What crawled up all their assholes to make them such...well, assholes?]

Hey, now! I may be blessed with boyishly good looks but make no mistake, I’m an adult! I had my own flat and everything back home, in a manner of speaking.

[By “in a manner of speaking” Nathan of course meant that that he lived on the floor of the city’s community center after having been kicked out of his mother’s house. But it counted. He bought his own vending machine food when he couldn’t manage to steal it!]

Jesus; real nice fucking welcome you give people around here! So what, I was a little freaked out by this whole mess, can you blame me? This hostility is completely uncalled for, you dicks! No wonder nobody wants to join your club!

Of course you're an adult by normal standards. But you apparently have to improve your listening skills - we only spoke in terms of your immortality. You've only seen a part of what it means to be immortal.

"In a manner of speaking"... that isn't much of a clear statement, is it? Looking like an adult doesn't make you one. And acting the way you are is immature. Not really the trait of an adult, unless the definition in your world is different from the one I'm familiar with.

[You are welcome Nathan.]

Or what do you say?

[Naoya and Enoch are free to add something to his words if they wish.]

Edited (typo) 2014-05-10 23:12 (UTC)

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this isn't awkward in the slightest...sorry for all this

video; hello there

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I am so sorry for him.

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video; forever late

LUCIFEL GET OUT 8( (ilu)

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