the true self meme

[misfortuneforall]

THE 'TRUE SELF' MEME


"In Jungian psychology, the shadow or "shadow aspect" is a part of the unconscious mind consisting of repressed weaknesses, shortcomings, and instincts.

Everyone has another side to them that they keep hidden away, feelings they bottle up to save face or avoid conflict. But what if those feelings take a life of their own...?

Perhaps it's your best friend, a close family member, a hated enemy, or maybe it's just a complete stranger. No matter who it is, they are different now, possessing creepy yellow eyes, a distorted voice, and a disconcerting aura. Take care in what you say to them, though, because there are three little words that will set them off into an unstoppable rage...

How to:
Step 1: Post with your character with their name and canon.
Step 2: Others respond stumbling onto your character.
Step 3: WHOOPS. Character A has been replaced by their Shadow or Other Self!
Step 4: Play out the encounter! Will you start an epic boss fight? Have a pleasant chat? Or maybe just flat out ignore them? Run wild!

Comments

[mischiefandlies]

[OOC: Certainly! On both counts. If this doesn't work, lemme know and I'll change it!]


[Not unlike the inversion spell, something had caught those who lie to themselves and others with the force of a kick to the chest. The Loki that Currently Is was ripped from reality and replaced with an embodiment of all his guilt, issues, secrets, and lies. Much like the inversion, all those qualities Verity appreciated about him were nowhere to be found.

The energy that caused this new little problem knocked out power around the entire apartment, or so it would seem. Verity might see that as a lie--as a matter of fact, nothing about her current apartment likely felt true. If she stepped into the hallway, it would be just as inky black as her room, and just like her apartment, trying to look out any windows yielded only a void. Windows wouldn't open, glass wouldn't shatter, and those exits? They just weren't even there anymore. It probably almost felt like she was the only person left in the building. She wasn't.]

Verity, Verity, dear sweet Verity.

[The hall in which she heard the voice would illuminate slightly, just enough to wash his more distinguishable features in a dim glow.]

Just how did you find yourself here, Verity? You don't belong. I can take you back home.

[He could and he would if she asked. He would be more than delighted to do so.]

[verity_willis]

[You didn't live in Manhattan as long as Verity had without learning how to keep a very level head, no matter the provocation.

When the lights had first gone out, she'd assumed that it was just that - a power outage. So she'd gone to a window with the intention of looking outside and seeing how bad it was. Outside had been nothing more than inky blackness that even a city-wide outage couldn't possibly have explained. She'd tried to open the window, and it had stuck despite all her best efforts even after retrieving a hammer for assistance.

So she'd gone outside, gone knocking on the door of a few of her neighbors, just to see if they were all right. No one had answered.

It was only then that her feeling of unease was starting to overtake her determination to do something. So Verity had gone in search of Loki, who for all his many faults was just a generally good person to be around in a crises, and besides, the otherwise oppressive silence was starting to make her ears ring.

So when Loki spoke, from somewhere behind her and back down the hall, Verity let out a strangled gasp of shock even as she whirled around.

It...looked like him. It was definitely shaped like him, sounded like him. And she very much wanted to go home.

But somehow, something in his voice made Verity's hackles stay up.]

Thanks, but...kind of think we have other things to worry about, right now.

["Dear, sweet Verity" said the spider to the fly.]

Like what the hell happened and where the hell "here" is.

[mischiefandlies]

[Sweet creature! You're witty and you're wise. She was just too clever for her own good. He doesn't move any closer, not yet, but he does watch her almost curiously.]

What happened? You slipped through the cracks into another dimension. Very dangerous business being here. A realm of shadow and midnight. I felt you slip and came looking for you.

[Which, surprisingly wasn't a lie. He did feel her slip through, though he never said he 'slipped through' with her when he came looking. He merely came to find her when he felt her.]

If you linger here long, it may be perilous to you.

[verity_willis]

[Later on, if there is a later, Verity will reflect just how advantageous her comparative lack of trust for her supposed best friend has proven to be. It's not that Loki is actively malicious, of course. On some level, she's not entirely sure he can help being at least mildly dishonest, and almost pities him for it.

But at the same time, keeping on high alert for lies of ommission and half-truths, now that she knows he can slip them by her, is what keeps Verity examining his words carefully even as her senses report that her friend is being entirely honest. She knows not to trust those senses implicitly around Loki, anymore.

Her wits serve her much better. So Verity gnaws thoughtfully, anxiously, on her lower lip...and then her eyes widen slightly behind her glasses, as she fixates on one point that might give support to her suspicions.]

..."I" slipped through the cracks? Not "we"? [After all, he's here, now, and so must have fallen through the "cracks" into this other dimension with her...

...unless...]

[mischiefandlies]

[Loki cants his head slightly, watching her as she sifts through his words. She was honestly too clever. He was casually strolling towards her until she spoke again and he stops.]

See, this is why I like you--it's also why you're tough to keep around, you know? You're sharp, you keep me on my toes, and you keep me honest. Straight and narrow and all that.

[If she doesn't back away, he continues walking again until he's about four feet from her. It's probably more apparent now that his eyes aren't what they should be--glowing a gentle amber hue.]

Straight and narrow. That's funny, isn't it? I keep trying to fool myself--fooling others--fooling you. But Loki is a story that can never be good can it? No one wants Loki to redeem himself. It's so much simpler if I'm the bad guy. Things aren't right in the multiverse if I'm not the adversary. They need someone to blame, and if I'm not around to be the scapegoat, they have no choice but to blame themselves.

[verity_willis]

[Verity's entire body slowly drew further and further into a tight, tense line as Loki strode nearer. She was finding herself torn between fight or flight in a way she wasn't sure she'd ever felt before. She was definitely leaning towards "flight", but wasn't sure if that might provoke this stranger in the same way a cat with a mouse might be.

Yet as the amber glow of his eyes became visible through the shadows, Verity couldn't suppress a visceral shudder of unease. In the end, she did the only thing she could think to do, and that was try to stall with words.]

Sounds to me like that's their problem.

It doesn't have to be yours'.

[She means that, at least where her friend is concerned. This double, however, she's not so sure will listen.]

[mischiefandlies]

Always looking for reason in me, aren't you? You almost make me believe it's possible. That I might--just might--have a chance. You're so precious and naive, even with all of that experience with the harsh truth of the world under your belt.

[He could almost see the fight or flight instinct tugging at her. It was amusing, and honestly he didn't want to hurt her. Not her. Not without reason. Certainly, if she ran he'd give chase. That was without a doubt. If she fought, he'd stop her.]

Tell me why you think it isn't my problem?

[verity_willis]

[Verity's first impulse was to bristle at that assessment of herself - as far as she was concerned, she was the furthest thing from "precious" or "naive". Just because the world suddenly turned out to be a lot bigger than she'd ever dreamed, that was hardly the same thing.

Yet he wasn't making any more outright aggressive moves, even if he was still eying her up like she was a particularly tasty cake. It made her skin crawl, but Verity stood her ground anyway. If he so much as twitched a hand in her direction, however, she was ready to step back.]

Look, I get it. A lot of these people, they're you're family, or your friends, from way back when.

But it's usually those people who are the last to see that you've changed or moved on.

I believe you when you say you want to change. I know you could find other people like me... [And here she falters, because while of course Verity wants him to be happy...it would be something of a lie to say that she wasn't enjoying being the only object of his attentions.

It's not like she has any other friends, either, after all.]

...so what they think or expect doesn't have to matter.

[mischiefandlies]

It may not matter, not at first. But I'm to spend the rest of my existence fighting their criticism? Defending my word against theirs? When something goes amiss, it must be Loki's fault. [In a mock tone,] Our happily ever after couldn't happen because Loki didn't want to be the bad guy.

There are no others like you. I'm going to burn. And I will keep burning until everything you think you see in me is gone.

[The hall around them erupts into flame, but there's no actual heat. Verity stands in the one dark circle untouched by flame. Around him, a dark aura radiates from his form like heat off the pavement, visible now that the room is alight.] Burning, burning, always burning. But there she is--the one person that believes. The one person that keeps the flames at bay. You're my salvation, you know. And that's why I can't let you go. Not out there. Not without me.

[Okay, now might be a good time to be a little worried, or so Loki--her Loki would tell her. This Loki was a little off the deep end.

He intends to take her back, out of the Midnight realm but the cost is the Loki she knows.]

[verity_willis]

[Verity stumbles back a few paces away from him with a strangled little scream of surprise as the hallway, to all accounts, bursts into flames...

...except it doesn't. There's light, but no heat, and all her other senses are telling her that this is just an illusion. Not real.

She's good at illusions, and so Verity settles back down from panic, gradually, as the other Loki begins to speak, to rant.

Verity hasn't quite caught on that this thing's plan is to replace "her" Loki. But it's clear enough that it plans to claw its way back into the real world, and she can't see her friend letting that pass unchallenged. The danger, at least, is obvious. For all the headaches he causes her, Loki is her best and only friend, and Verity loathes even the thought of seeing him hurt.]

...I'm sorry, Loki. [And she is, even now. Because what's also obvious is the fact that her Loki could very easily end up this way. She knows these doubts have been festering in his head, if not to this explosive degree.

So even as Verity fears this shadow, she also allows herself a moment of pity for it. Only a moment, however - then, moving all in a blur, she turns and runs off as fast as she can down the hall, plunging heedlessly through the flames.]

But that was never part of the deal!

[She never signed on to be his salvation.

There was a way in here. There must be a way out.]