[OPEN]

[lethechained]

Characters: [OU] Naminé and anybody who finds her/her Shadow.
Setting: All over the tower
Format:  Up to you
Summary: Naminé's shadow is running around... being nice to people?  For the most part, anyway.  (Watch out, she's kind of emotional.)  Still, this is probably going to get awkward once the real Naminé catches up to her.  / Yeah, it gets messy.
Warnings:  Emotional Shadow, denial, Shadow Boss Fight and all that entails.


[NORMAL MODE]

[Naminé - or at least someone who looks exactly like her - appears to be in a very strange mood today.  Every little thing seems to effect her; one second she's smiling fit to put the sun out of business and the next it looks like rainclouds are what she'll be replacing.  The longer she spends on her own, the more distraught she seems to get, but since she appears to be seeking out anyone she(?) knows or recognizes, chances are she'll remedy that problem soon enough.  Anybody that's ever met Naminé is likely to be mercilessly hunted down and... smiled at?  Whatever the reason, she seems to be very happy to see anyone, anyone at all, but especially the people that she's already met before, and even more so the people she's formed more proper a friendship with.  So, anybody that she sees will likely be accosted upon discovery by a very cheerful young lady.  (Careful, though - she's liable to be very sad if she's not treated well.)]

[The real Naminé will be searching the tower herself, trying not quite frantically but about as close as she gets, to find her double.  Passersby may be accosted by this Naminé as well, only this one appears to be consistently grim and concerned, and she's looking for information regarding the location of her duplicate.]


[BOSS MODE]

[Whoops.  So apparently, someone had trouble accepting that this strange person wandering around was part of her - not only due to her own issues with denial but also because come on, how could she trust something like that in this particular Tower, infamous for screwing with people as it is?]

[Floor to ceiling, it seem like everywhere you look there is a giant mass of chains, shifting as though they're alive.  In the center of it all is the Shadow Naminé, held aloft by those chains.  Clothed in a dress that seems to go on forever, she's draped head to toe in white fabric.  The bottom is loose and flowing, the ends cut in a pattern of semi-circles.  The front is short enough for the ends of her toes to almost show, assuming she has them, but the back forms quite the train.  The middle and bodice are the only things that seem to be tight, and quite tight at that; in combination with the bottom and the long, flowing sleeves that repeat the pattern of semi-circles but go so far past her hands as to totally obscure them and hang off, flying about with her motions when she makes them, she almost seems too thin in the middle.  Veiled as she is, the only part of her skin that shows is the space between her nose and about where the line of the real girl's dress usually is.  The Shadow's skin is just slightly paler than its counterpart's, though her lips and cheeks are darker, more noticable and expressive, almost, despite the fact that her eyes are obscured.  She's almost reminiscent of some the lesser Nobodies, with their wasp waists and strange limbs and flexibility and their apparent lack of eyes, only what's underneath seems almost disturbingly human, for such a creature.]

[It'd likely be hard enough to get to her with just the chains everywhere, but what's worse is that she also seems to be making use of Corridors of Darkness.  Fortunately for passersby, she only seems to be interested in attacking Naminé, both with the chains (which the girl is doing her best to block with Reflect, though she'll soon tire at this rate) and with less obvious means.  This is also a clash of similar powers, powers over the mind and heart; at first it is visible only in Naminé's apparent distraction, but as time goes by and the battle gets more intense, something about the whole area just seems wrong, like it isn't quite real.  Those who are sensitive to such things may notice a fairly terrifying amount of magical/psychic energy that just keeps building up.]

[Those who choose to interfere will find that, unless they attempt to attack her directly, the Shadow Naminé will not attack them.  She will say things to discourage them from doing so, but only if they persist to the point of injuring her will she actually fight back.  Mental attacks on those susceptible include attempted memory removal and causing intense headaches and/or hallucinations, but the real Naminé will be doing her best to block such things with her own influence.  Aside from that, there's the kind of stuff that Naminé will not be able to help much with, like direct attacks from the chains.  For the most part, such attacks will be limited to attempting to restrain the interloper and/or cast them into a portal and send them to another part of the tower, usually a benign one where they will not be injured but are nevertheless removed from the fight until they can get back to where it is, should they choose to return.  Actually attempting to hurt someone will only happen if they have repeatedly damage the Shadow Naminé and will be limited to attempted knockouts with as little permanent/fatal injury as can be managed.]

  [Needless to say, Naminé is going to need some help.]

Comments

[knightime]

[Holy shit, she is like the happiest person he's met since all this stuff has happened. Like, genuine happy in the way that wasn't completely creepy as fuck.]

Woah, hey. I'm glad to see you too. I was hoping to run into you.

[lethechained]

[Genuinely happy is right, and she also looks genuinely pleased at that admission.]

Really? I was hoping I'd see you, too! It always makes me glad.

[knightime]

[She's a little more vocal than usual, huh. He might have to watch out for that, but she isn't showing signs like the usual Shadows, so it's hard to tell.]

You're okay, right? Shit kind of hit the fan. I wanted to make sure you were okay.

[lethechained]

[That's the funny thing about this shadow, and by extension about Naminé - so much of what she denies about herself is positive.]

Mmhm! I'm okay. I was a little lonely before, but not anymore!

[She pauses, quite suddenly and sharply shifting toward concern.]

I wanted to make sure you were okay, too. Are you?

[knightime]

[He's only met negative ones, so meeting one that's so positive has never occurred to him as possible.]

Were you by yourself? Maybe we should stick together. [He has had nothing but bad run ins, so this is logical.]

I'm chill. I'm so okay, I'm stellar. The brightest shining star, it is me. Words can't bring me down. Et cetera.

[lethechained]

[It never really did to the original Naminé, either - though it'll be little comfort that her Shadow is different, even if it's probably a good thing by some scales.]

Yes. I didn't like it...! [But wow, how her face lights up at that suggestion!] That would be wonderful! Thank you, Dave...!

[He just earned himself a good giggle her.] If you're still saying things like that, I guess you really are okay!

[knightime]

[Dave just awkwardly holds his right hand out, since his left hand has his sword in it. This is what you're supposed to do right? Hold hands or something so you don't get separated.] Come on. It's not really safe being on your own.

You doubted me? Of course I'm okay. Fuck this tower and it trying to ruin my day. [Not that this has been a good passed few days, honestly.]

[lethechained]

[The real Naminé would hesitate, most likely, the memories that are always close to the surface for her weighing her down. This Naminé does not. In fact, she seems pleased as punch to reach out and take his hand.] Right behind you!

Mm... no. But you'd probably say that anyway, wouldn't you? [Unabashedly saying what the real Naminé's realized about people and usually keeps her mouth shut about, no big deal.]

[knightime]

[He just starts walking, hand in hand. This was kind of...nice? He doesn't really do hand holding with anyone.

He stops when she says that though.] What do you mean?

[lethechained]

[And neither does she, most of the time - or, rather, neither does her Original, who has had little occasion or opportunity for such gestures in her life.]

[She stops next to him, seemingly unperturbed by the change, even though her expression now seems sad.] Even if you weren't okay, you might still say you were, right? Because if you don't pretend you are, it's a burden for other people. At least, that's how I think of it. [But which 'I' is she talking about? The Shadow self, or is she speaking for the Original?]

[knightime]

[Well, she might have to deal with it more since Dave is kind of just going to be a constant in her life in Animus. WELP.]

What makes you think I'm not okay when I say I am? [He isn't the best at hiding it, but he didn't think it was so obvious earlier. Did she always know? That's kind of worrisome.]

[lethechained]

[WELP indeed. A good thing to deal with, at least.]

[She regards him a moment, head tilting. That sure is a strange little smile, there.]

A hunch. But you might be surprised how much you can see, when you really look at someone. Especially if you have some things in common. [A well-informed hunch, then. Someone who's spent so long with the hearts and memories of others laid bare picks up a few things about how people work, after all. (And the fact of that matter is, she's more than familiar with acting like that, herself.) The pause that follows is present, but very small.] So? Am I right?

[knightime]

[That's a little unsettling...]

It's not a big deal. [Don't worry about it. It's only some small instances. It's not like people need to worry about him, right?] We all have bad days.

[lethechained]

[She eyes him a moment longer, then,]

If you say so. But you know-- [That certainly looks like pity, there, somewhere in with the smile.] ... everyone needs a friend's help sometimes, even if they don't want to need them. [-- Oh, did her hand just hold his a little tighter?] So if you want to talk about things sometimes, there's nothing to be ashamed of.

[knightime]

[Jesus Christ, she's like hitting every nail on the head with perfect precision. Was she always this observant and just didn't say anything about it?]

I-I'll keep that in mind. [He glances at their hands and back at her face.] It's not really anything to talk about right now.

[lethechained]

[You bet she was--]

[Her eyes, however, do not seem inclined to shift away. At that comment, though, she does nod.] Of course. We should find somewhere safe. My mistake. [She does keep smiling.]

[knightime]

Right. [Assuming anywhere was safe around here. But he continued to lead her down the hallway. He didn't trust the meadow as much after what happened with Link, but there had to be a floor that was relatively safe to stay in. Definitely not the dorms though, considering that was where most people seemed to converge.] For a huge ass tower, this place doesn't have that many safe zones.

[lethechained]

[She keeps pace with him, though by the look on her face, you'd think they were just on a stroll through the park, not looking for somewhere to hide from possibly murderous creatures... but perhaps that's because she happens to be one of those creatures.]

Isn't that the way they want it to be? ['They' being the ones in control of said tower, that is.]

[knightime]

[He doesn't look happy enough for them to be strolling through the park, unfortunately. He's too busy hoping he isn't going to run into anything that he might regret.]

It would make life a hell lot easier if they didn't try so hard to be a group of assholes.

[lethechained]

[Too late. Her face falls sharply.]

Mm! It's like they want us to be unhappy all of the time.

[knightime]

[Oh no. That was quick to kill the mood.]

I'm pretty sure they do. Or at least Jason. But, hey. Misery likes company I guess.

[lethechained]

[What started out as something like a pout eases into something a little more melancholy.]

Do you think they're really unhappy, too, then?

[knightime]

I don't know. If they're unhappy, they sure as hell don't plan on sharing with the class.

I doubt Jason is unhappy. And the others don't seemed that bummed either. Plus, it isn't worth worrying about since they're the dicks who keep fucking with us.

[lethechained]

--....

... I do wonder why. Sometimes-- I wonder if they have a choice.

[knightime]

Because Jason performing surgeries for his own enjoyment and to win was completely out of his control.

[Oh wait. That's information that isn't actually too available. He forgets he didn't see her during pod month.]