Glamour Failure

[animusmods]

Characters: any
Setting: all around the Tower
Format: any/party-style
Summary: A general mingle log for the reaction to the beginning of the Idealism event.
Warnings: PG-13; please include any more detailed warnings in your threads if necessary

Comments

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[fuhgeddaboudit]

[Labrys was calm even now, though the wireframe seemed to fidget and shift uncomfortably as she moved. Oh, she had panicked for a moment or two as the lights came back up. But wasn't this really just the same as things had been back in Inaba? The lie of what she thought she was had been stripped away to show the cold metallic truth.]

[Somehow, it was easier to bear this time. She knew who 'Labrys' was; more than metallic limbs or even a frame of wire. Whatever a 'soul' was and whether or not it was the same as her heart...it didn't really matter right now. She was who she was, and it was a heart that made her that way. There was no doubt in her mind that much remained intact no matter the form it was encased in.]

[Was she scared? Absolutely. Ariadne had gone silent, and there was a terrible lack of the capacity to calculate solutions or access her general database--then again, her mind was oddly quiet without those. There seemed to be a sense of calm found in there, complex logic and calculations giving way to nothing but thought.]

[Others would be terrified. Humans wouldn't take artificial forms as well as one who was already artificial. So she had to stay calm for those who couldn't.]

[Labrys straightened up and walked through the tower steadily, fidgeting and discomfort diminishing and altogether vanishing as time went on. Someone had to be calm. Someone had to steady those that couldn't steady themselves.]

[Someone had to keep order even in chaos.]

Hope it's okay for him to find her when she's still fidgeting a bit?

[oathshackledbird]

[Diarmuid isn't sure what draws his eye to the particular figure. Perhaps it's the purpose in their steps? The fact that they seem so composed and driven that it's either admirable or scary? Maybe it is the very small fidget that seems familiar when she stops for a moment to look around?

Or maybe its the pull in that part of him that is still him when he sees that fidget that does it, but after seeing that it only takes him a few moments to cross to where she has paused.]

Labrys? Is that you?

sure thing =3=b

[fuhgeddaboudit]

Lancer? Yeah, it's me.

[A nod.]

You alright?

[oathshackledbird]

Diarmuid.

[It's a shame that in this form they have no facial expressions because there would be a playful twinkle in his eyes right now. There is some amusement in his voice, but it's not quite the same.]

I am doing well. For servant such as myself, this...is not so new as we are souls that are occasionally called down and placed into new forms for a time. Granted, those forms aren't anything like these are, but the principle is the same.

And what about you? You seem to be taking this quite a lot better than when we first found out about being souls in February. Were you able to come to some satisfactory conclusions after our talk?

[fuhgeddaboudit]

Kinda, yeah. I guess I've had somethin' like this happen to me before, so it ain't really a big deal to me this time. It's...it's weird, but I think I'm probably okay with it, ya know?

[oathshackledbird]

You've had something like this happen before?

[While he might not have a face to show expression with, Diarmuid's head tilts slightly as it often does when he is confused about something.]

Was it something to do with being created as you were or...?

[fuhgeddaboudit]

It's kinda complicated. There was this whole thing with my Shadow where I sorta...forgot who I was. I forgot everythin' and fooled myself into thinkin' I was a human. When she confronted me and forced me t' remember, the whole illusion fell apart. and it...wasn't all that pretty, ya know?

[oathshackledbird]

I can't imagine it was. I remember you mentioning your shadow now and fighting it. I just didn't realize it was so much like this.

[His voice sounds worried and if he still had a face that could show expression, it would be showing concern as well.]

Are you sure you are okay with all this? It's not bringing back bad memories? Or at least, not more than you can handle?

[fuhgeddaboudit]

I ain't somebody ya gotta worry about. Sure this wasn't how I expected t' spend today, but I can manage. I'm more worried 'bout everyone else.

[oathshackledbird]

[He's smiling, even if she can't see it.]

Labrys, you're important to me. I am afraid I'm always going to worry about you. However, I am relieved to hear and see you are doing so well. I'm proud of you.

[Diarmuid steps forward to give her a hug.]

I will let you find your friends. But if you need me for anything, don't be afraid to track me down, okay?

[fuhgeddaboudit]

You are one a' my friends. I was hopin' I'd be able t' check up on you, too.

[She hugged him back, mildly surprised at how real everything still felt.]

You're gonna be okay, right?

[pitiedthefool]

[Wandering, calming others like this was just another day in the life (because, if you think about it, it kind of is), just doing what it took to maintain his own sanity and calm. Oddly enough, that meant doing what he could to help others calm down.

In the midst of it though, he decides to take a moment again to look for familiar figures when he spots someone who looks like a robot of a robot (what).]

Labrys-?

[fuhgeddaboudit]

Yu-? Ya got it, it's me alright.

[She stopped walking and reached out to touch his hand (such as it was).]

How're ya doin'? Is everybody okay?

[pitiedthefool]

[He offered his wire hand, glad for some familiarity. Funny. She still felt real as ever.]

I'm alright. Or, as well as I can be.

[Considering things that happened...before even the masquerade.]

I've only run into Minato and Yukiko-san so far. Both are taking it as well as you'd think.

[fuhgeddaboudit]

I found Yukiko earlier too.

[Labrys shook his hand, faintly surprised at the sensation. She'd expected cold metal like her own touch usually was.]

I ain't really blamin' them for freakin' out. I know how it feels, gettin' a shock like this.

[pitiedthefool]

[He nods, glad for that.

...Guess that part of the illusion (or, maybe it was just expectancy) was still active. It's almost funny, really.]

Yeah... I guess it's our turn now, huh.

[and on a...rather large scale. Not going to lie, but if it weren't for the fact that he saw what Jason could do with this film and wires before now, he likely would have flipped his shit, too. The fact that this is paaaartially his fault kind of helps, too.]

[fuhgeddaboudit]

I'm sorry 'bout that. It ain't the kinda thing I'd wish on anybody.

[She folded wire arms and sighed, shaking her head. All in all, she was taking this incredibly well.]

Hey, I can't hear Ariadne right now...you ain't got any a' yours, do ya?

[pitiedthefool]

Don't worry about it. If anything, we could have been cheap copies of our original bodies in another way than some wire container.

[He's silently impressed, really. They're both taking it rather calmly, too-

Aaaand then the mention.]

...They're silent, too. Even Izanagi. [a beat] Though I can't say I'm surprised; we are just souls.

[fuhgeddaboudit]

But I don't get it.

[She put her hands on her hips, tone genuinely confused instead of upset.]

A Persona's part of our soul, ain't it? ...Actually, I still ain't sure what a soul really is. But I thought that was right.

[pitiedthefool]

We are. But... we can't exactly summon them like this.

[He looks a little bit puzzled, but tries to put it together audibly.]

I don't fully understand it either, but since before I arrived last "spring", the administrators have been able to manipulate not just our bodies [which is... kind of obvious how, now] but our way of interacting, too. Like an elaborate illusion. Not only that, but some of us have been downstairs. I believed the automatic voice referred to disabling our abilities as "decontamination".

...

My guess is, they're really confined to a part of our soul somehow, or something is going on that we don't have all the answers to yet.

[But how? A projection of what they expect, or-?

...Ugh, sometimes being a truth seeker sucks.]

[fuhgeddaboudit]

[Labrys put a hand to her head, tapping one wire finger thoughtfully.]

I guess that'd kinda make sense but...I still don't get what a soul really is. It sounds like it's the same as the kinda heart I was programmed t' have, but I ain't sure.

You're real smart, ya know--maybe this ain't the time, but can you explain it at all?

[risingshepard]

[A vaguely familiar green wireframe with various films strapped to her--each in the shape of futuristic gear, steps into view, having made its rounds on the other dorm floors.

It takes her a few moments to notice the other, but with how easy it is to mistake someone for somebody else in this state, she can never be too sure. Thus, Shepard approaches more guardedly than usual, not raising her voice just yet.]

[fuhgeddaboudit]

[Labrys paused at the approaching figure, trying to determine just who they were on what little information she had. She knew her own body wasn't too hard to identify, being the oddly-shaped silhouette it was, but the mechanical girl was having trouble doing the same for other people.]

Hey--sorry, I'm havin' trouble recognizin' ya. D'you need help or anythin'?

[risingshepard]

[That brings the figure to a momentary stop, but gets something of a laugh out of it.]

Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing. Could definitely use some help, though.

[There's an undertone of familiarity, and the voice is probably something of a giveaway, if the name she brings up isn't.] Have you seen Narukami? If so, how's he holding up?

[fuhgeddaboudit]

Oh...sorry 'bout that. It's tricky figurin' out who anybody is.

It's hard t'say--better than most of us, at least. What about you?