I am a Shadow, the true self.

[followedbylemmings]

If you haven't played it, watched it, or learned about it through RP osmosis, the general gist of the Persona 4 shadows/dungeons/Personae is that,

1. Someone (you) gets tossed through a TV into what's basically a manifestation of humanity's collective unconscious. A JRPG Jungian dungeon sprouts up to match your deepest, darkest issues. All those things you try consciously to repress show up in all their possibly obnoxious glory. Describe it in loving detail if that's your thing.

2. You also meet up with your Shadow. This isn't the same as your evil twin. Evil twins are evil, but might act a lot like you normally do. As a general rule of thumb ask yourself...is this streak of cruelty my doppelganger is displaying something I'm in denial of or is it some random crap that came out of nowhere? Do I secretly want to kill everything or am I chill with existence? If it's the latter, it's your evil twin. If it's the former it's your Shadow.

3. People will (hopefully) come to save you! Ideally before you deny everything and cause your Shadow to transform into a boss fight. That said, if you really want to join the band of PCs instead of becoming an NPC and fading into the background you'll need to accept your issues. Reach out to your true self!

Comments

Chrome Dokuro | KHR | OTA

[cherished_avatar]

[Chrome's dungeon is made of vaguely purple mist-filled hallways that look like alleyways cut with roads that have monsters which look a bit like cars that scream down them at irregular intervals attempting to cut down anyone unwary and crush them. The lighting is very indirect, and shadows of cats slink around as the only warning that a car may be coming.]

[The room that her Shadow is in, however, looks more like a hospital room than an outdoor place; and the Shadow-self that is berating her is a facsimile of her with long hair, a caved-in stomach, and a medical-bandage over her missing eye that is bound into a hospital bed by IVs, straps, and machines of all kind, standing on it's end so that the girl clinging desperately to her spear is forced to look up into the other-her's eye as she's being ripped up emotionally.]

Shutting yourself away, why don't you just admit that you want to be open to people? I'd be a much better person than you are. You're just a façade, 'Chrome Skull', not a real person at all.

N-no! I am strong!

Axel [AU] χ Kingdom Hearts χ OTA

[flurryofsnow]

[There are two things that will become immediately obvious to anyone entering Axel's little realm.

The first, it's cold. A world of ice sculptures and frozen metal.
The second, it's not intact. Chasms tear through the floor, and structures seem to have sections broken out of them. There's no sign of where the damaged parts could have gone, though, and some of the gaps just seem to lead to void.
The misty air is full of faint creaking sounds that could be damaged buildings holding on to existence, or could be a strange creature moving around. Paths through this world make no physical or logical sense, routes that can't lead where they should or don't know where they want to lead.
A confused domain for a fractured mind.]

[freshmanleader]

[Ice. Mao likes ice. He doesn't understand this place, not yet...but he will. It's only a matter of time, given his brilliance.

Provided he can just find a place where that thing will leave him alone for a little while. For something so silent, it makes a lot of noise, and draws a lot of attention, and stares at him pulsing with power but never doing anything.

Mao settles himself up on the roof of one of the creaking buildings - he's not heavy, so he trusts that it will hold his weight. If only for a little while. Then he folds his arms, bows his head, and settles down to think.]

[flurryofsnow]

[The cold's howling, the creaking sounds not fading: whatever's been frustrating him so far might have gone away for a while, but he might not be left alone for long.

The void casts shadows, and there are things - spiked and cloaked - prowling the dungeon-realm's roof that aren't going to be willing to leave someone to relax.

(... And somewhere, the host and victim of this place is equally wishing he could just put his feet up.)]

[freshmanleader]

[Mao opens one eye as he feels something creeping up on him. Glancing over his shoulder, he's just in time to see the little Shadow melt back into the rooftop.]

...hm. [He stands up, drawing his sword.] Sneaking around, huh?

[But the scout has reported, and more...things start creeping up out of the shadows and cracks. Mao smiles, an almost animalistic expression as he raises a hand.

With a cry of "Shine Beam!", the rooftop lights up like a beacon in the midst of hundreds of lasers that pour in at the monsters. More will come, of course...but it buys Mao a few seconds to consider his next move.]

Re: Axel [AU] χ Kingdom Hearts χ OTA

[firewheeling]

A confused domain for a fractured mind, foggy and uncertain with the mist that hangs in the air, where visibility is limited and dim, and sounds and sights themselves seem ambiguous, reluctant to resolve themselves into anything clearly identifiable, or even allow anyone to pinpoint what direction they truly come from. It's cold and bitter and broken here, full of senseless fragments and jagged edges and pieces that just don't match up at all. A frozen, barren wasteland where nothing grows and nothing lives, stark and pale as death and nothingness themselves.

It's inhospitable, even to those who it ostensibly belongs to--the air is so cold it sears Axel's lungs and burns his eyes, ruffles his hair and scours at his skin through the leather of his coat, leaves a migraine slowly building behind his eyes at the ominous unsettled feeling that hangs over the land. Something is happening here, or has happened, or will happen--but the one thing that is certain is that this is a Bad Thing. Even simply staying still could leave Axel falling victim to this restless unknown fate, plunging him into a yawning abyss as some rift to the Void tears open beneath his feet.

When the indistinct shape of Castle Oblivion looms ahead of him, it might seem like a welcome sanctuary from the strange and hostile land he's found himself in, even if the stairs are slippery with ice and the great double doors are dusted with intricate patterns of frost that shines like diamonds. The hinges are stiff with the cold, frozen so solid the door seems locked at first--with enough force applied, though, they swing open, metal moaning like a wounded thing. And yet, for all the strangeness.....

Castle Oblivion looms ahead, as grand and pale as ever, bare and empty and beautiful. It may not be welcoming, but it's familiar, and it must be safe. And isn't that what matters?

Re: Axel [AU] χ Kingdom Hearts χ OTA

[flurryofsnow]

Isn't he already...? Honestly, Axel doesn't know any more. The last few - however long it's been - of exploring this strange place has been more than enough, and it's already playing hell with his head and body. He's crouched low in on himself, cursing with what of his frozen breath he can manage, one hand even pulling his hood down as far as it'll go just to make sure it doesn't blow away in a gust of wind - not something he's known to happen in the past, but right now, he's not taking any chances as he trudges through the wastes.

The sight of any solid building'd be a relief, regardless of what it is - here and now, familiarity's just a bonus. At least if he gets through the doors, that should be some shelter. He can hope as much, at least. So he'll shoulder-barge his way into the frozen Oblivion the best he can, and struggle to get the door back to being closed.

Progress. He hopes.

[firewheeling]

Even an ice elemental like Axel finds himself raw and exposed against the weather outside, just as wind-lashed and vulnerable as anyone else. As stiff and neglected as the door is, and the way the wind is howling through and trying to batter at him even now, it's difficult to force the door shut on his surroundings, but it can be done. By the time the slam echoes through the entry hall, Axel is standing ankle deep in a pile of powdery snow that had blown in with him, but the cold is more bearable now, a creeping insidious thing that numbs instead of bites, and the wind is still and silent.

There's no wind at all, here, and yet..... And yet, there's a chill breath of air that ruffles Axel's hair even under the hood, like someone is petting him, stroking his face affectionately. The air is still and stagnant, and even if Axel's nose is nowhere as good as Zexion's, he can still smell dust and age here, the ravages of time and memory, the last fading echoes of Darkness and splintering stone. In this place, to find is to lose, and to lose is to find. That is the way in Castle Oblivion.....

It's something Marluxia could probably easily do, if he were inclined to--to touch Axel with such possessive intimacy, to breathe cryptic whispers right into his ear, even without being near him at all. The wind could do and carry many things, after all. But Axel is evidently alone in the Castle, and Marluxia is long dead, isn't he? He had died at Sora's hands. Didn't Axel's memory hold true for at least that much?

Saft | original character | ota

[whitescalesbigmouth]

[Welcome to Saft's or should I say Tragic little dragon Princess Nivalis' Dungeon everybody.

And oddly enough for Saft? This place looks like it could have leapt right out of a Disney movie. It's so girly and princess like but wait- This place also looks as if many a knight, a prince, someone in some form has constantly tried to rescue the fair maiden trapped in here but has been devoured or burnt alive somehow.

And are those piles of gold everywhere, collected in hoard piles everywhere? This place is a mess! Almost as if there are two personalities trying to fight against each other. Oh hey, Isn't that the real Saft up in that giant golden cage danging off of the ceiling dressed in pretty pink princess robes right now?]

Oh won't somebody save me from this?!

I'm a girl but no one will ever love me because I'm also a monster! Oh woe is me!

[But wait, If Saft's up in that cage - where did that horribly sweet mocking tone of hers come from?]

[stolensazureus]

"Saft?" Oh look, Az might not be a knight, or a prince, or even a dragon slayer any more, but she does have a sword. Which she holds at the ready as she eyes the charred human corpses and piles of money. "What is this place?"

"Tch!" Az puts the sword away. "never mind you can tell me once we're out of here."

Az calls her name activating the collar round her neck and a moment later there's a blue dragon clumsily hovering before the cage.

"What in the world are you wearing?" Az asks.

[whitescalesbigmouth]

Well if it isn't my wonderful big sister-esque best friend! But you're not a prince...Awwww how disapointing, I was hoping you'd be one!

[The girl steps closer pressing herself up to the cage.]

Oh! Confused are we? I'll give you a hint! I'm a princess! Or at least I wish I was, I only act like I do because it's how I've been brought up, but I hate it! I'd much rather be like every other girl who dreams of dresses and falling in love! Oh woe, woe is me!

[stolensazureus]

Azureus cocks her head to the side, almost like a confused puppy.

"Okay.... I guess this place just makes you as crazy as it is if you're in here too long." She said worriedly. "I'll get you out and then we can get out of here all right?"

The blue dragon grabs hold of the cage, clinging to it with her clawed feet, her tail even curling around one of the bars for extra leverage. She keeps her wings spread and tensed just in case the cage can't take her weight, and then grabs a the cage door with her teeth trying to wrench it open.

[mega_maiden]

[Was it hard, wandering this place? True to form the path was obvious, but the place was littered with almost unfair jumps and spikes and robots impaled on them mercilessly on the great spear. While some look like her, others look like her siblings, former enemies, sometimes just faceless drudges. Unsettling for an organic, downright horrific for any robot.

Rock is at the end, in a room with a door like a shutter. Actually two of her, though it's easy to tell who is the real one. Rock has never worn a smile like this, and her eyes have never been yellow. The real Rock stays down hands cupped over her ears, trying to block out her shadow's discordant voice.]

HeHehEh. Craaaai and cover y-y-your ears. III won't go away. Little murder machine~

[movingforces]

Tris's dungeon resembles a maze, with overturned rocks, wrecked buildings, and the charred pieces of what might have been a boat. In a few places, there are the corpses of men and women who are dressed extremely shabbily, as if they were once enslaved. The collars and cuffs around their ankles reflect that. The entire place is punctuated with howling winds, the ground occasionally rumbling dangerously, and unpredictable weather- hail one minute, sun the next, followed by thunderstorms.

The closer one gets to the dungeon's core, the more the place seems to resemble a home- or a temple. When the wind isn't screaming down the corridors, a child's scream of nothing less than pure emotional anguish can be heard. Moving closer to the source of the noise and wind leaves one in the core of the dungeon. The core reveals the source of the cries of anguish. This leaves one in what used to be a library, which looks to have seen a tornado roll through. Some of the furniture is in odd places, and there are books strung about, their pages torn out in places, some soaked, some scorched.


There are two redheads in the dungeon's core, one in the throes of young adulthood, one clearly at the cusp of puberty. The younger has golden-glowing eyes, and her hair is wild in comparison to the coiled mass of braids on the elder's head. The child's face is tear-stained, and she sports a black eye and busted lip. Her clothes are ratty, looking like they may have once been decent, but have been worn well past that point.

"Look at you," The child's voice is accusatory, leveled at the older redhead, layered with eerie echoes. "You're all alone, just like I've always been. Nobody is coming for you because nobody cares, and it's all your fault. You lie to everyone, you lie like breathing- that medallion's a lie, those clothes... And even if you were honest, people would see who you really are, what you're really like, and run screaming! You're not human! You're a killer, a monster, and nobody would ever stay around after learning that!"

Mukuro Rokudo | Katekyo Hitman Reborn | OTA

[tofufu]

(ooc: I can tag back in prose or [action], up to you.)

The dungeon is not so much a dungeon but a mansion. Wide, sprawling, paved with marble and filled with expensive art and trinkets, it's also thriving with activity. Children chat and play happily on the stairs and on the floor, their laughter filling the gilded hallways to the point where what is an echo and what is direct sound meshes and becomes a mass of noise. Nothing seems amiss at first, not even as you proceed further into the mansion and are swept up in the buoyant chaos. If anything, it gets more and more crowded until you can barely walk for stepping on children, though the children themselves don't seem to mind. They grin and apologise for being in your way.

If a path can be cleared to one of the upper bedrooms, there you'll find a tall figure with long, dark blue hair (and a tuft that is vaguely reminiscent of a certain tropical fruit). He's standing amongst the children, staring at one teenage boy in particular whose hair style matches his own, though their tresses are far shorter. There's no expression on the older one's face. The blue-haired teen's, however, is sweet and open.

"Come! Come play with me! Look, I have so many friends now. So many friends I don't have time to play with them all. Won't you play with them for me? You know you want to have fun~" The teen's voice trails off into laughter that contains a strange edge of mania to it. Perhaps it's just your imagination? "Fun, fun, fun~ This is what you think Tsunayoshi's new world will be like. All fun and no death, no killing~ And so many friends for you to play with!"

The teen's smirk then is vicious and cruel, but the eyes still bright and friendly as they reach out a hand to the older man. "You see, humans aren't so bad after all."

[notsogrimreaper]

[Now this dungeon is a familiar one. It looks to be a facsimile of Tartarus, with long, confusing mazes of corridors all bathed in green light from the full moon seen from any window. As one continues their journey through here, they may occasionally hear a rattle of chains, a small child's giggle-or, perhaps the worst of all of those, a monstrous howl. Whatever is making those sounds is right behind the explorer, but, once they turn around, they will see nothing.

Some of the floors also have mirrors affixed to the fall, but it is advised not to look into them, as one who does will see nothing but black, hollow eye sockets staring back at them.

How many floors are there in this cursed place? Hopefully not as many as Tartarus... better start moving before the Shadows get restless.]

[worst_week]

[One question. Would you prefer to treat this as though it were an event in some game, or as a full-on Persona-flavored AU? Given how vague the meme's prompt is, I felt it didn't hurt to ask. I can totally roll with either, so whichever works for you is best!]

[notsogrimreaper]

((Say we'd treat it as a sort-of AU where after the events of P3 Ryoji is reborn in Inaba or something? /shrug It doesn't matter!))

[worst_week]

[No no, that works great~ Thanks!]

["You enjoy this, don't you?" Back when it had been her in the dungeon, those words out of everything else from her other self had been the easiest to swallow. Undeniably, and almost shamelessly, Megu thought this was fun, even if it endangered herself and god knows who else. She partook of this rescue mission as much for the challenge it presented her with as for the sake of whoever it had been thrown in.

It was just like one of her games. Just bigger, more realistic, and it forced her to keep on her toes with far deadlier consequences.

This dungeon had hers beat handily. It was nearly enough to make her regret going in alone, especially with the sense of paranoia it was successfully creating within her. Maybe she was biting off more than she could chew; and having someone else handy to confirm those noises that kept coming up would have been swell too. But, she didn't have that kind of backup, and whatever it was she either couldn't see it, it kept disappearing, or was further away than it sounded. Keeping on the move was probably the smart thing to do.]

I imagine the fog doesn't affect either of them? Also keywords.

[threadoffate]

[Ito really shouldn't be here; he hasn't a weapon and no persona to speak of, and the only thing saving him from being eaten or something similarly horrible is that the shadows seem to be treating him as one of their own...i.e ignoring him. But that doesn't stop him from jumping at every weird noise or half-seen movement. Not to mention avoiding those shadows like the plague. Who knows when one of them will decide he's not shadow enough to be left alone?

But the former scarf is determined to find what he came for- who he came for. He could feel it: Ryoji was in here somewhere, and Ito wasn't about to start letting his once-owner be truly alone. If he couldn't help the person he cared about the most now that he had a human form, what good was it in the first place?]

o-oh no Itooooooo ;;

[notsogrimreaper]

[Ryoji is there, but the feeling of him is faint, as though he's several floors up above... or maybe a few floors up, just on the verge of death. Still, at least he's there.

Most Shadows do avoid him entirely. If anything, a curious one will venture closer to Ito, then retreat once Ito did.

What Ito should really be focusing on is the maze-like quality of the floors. Tartarus had always been like a labyrinth, easily causing people to get lost or stumble upon dead ends. It would be recommended that Ito doesn't make the same mistakes. It may not be so easy to just turn around and continue on his way after finding a dead end and seeing what he would in those places.]

/Master of song feels

[deathccessory]

[Recommended or not, it's nearly impossible to avoid all of them even if he can sense his former owner- but no matter what he sees there, Ito had decided when he came that he wasn't leaving without Ryoji. The fact that Ito can only faintly sense him only strengthens the resolve to find him quickly no matter what the dead ends have to offer.

Not going to lie, though, the once-scarf is pretty grateful for the shadows avoiding him like that. He'll wonder about why later.]

Axel || Kingdom Hearts || OTA

[firewheeling]

Have you been to Castle Oblivion before?

Perhaps these endless winding white halls are familiar to you, then. Perhaps you understand the strange nature of this place, where to find is to lose, an to lose is to find. Perhaps you are comfortable with how vast and grand and empty it is, a place of stillness and silence akin to the grave. Perhaps you are used to the cold feeling of isolation that Oblivion gives you, as though you could vanish and wander directionless forever, and nobody would ever find you again--would ever miss you, even--, anchorless and adrift as though you're losing yourself, just as much as you're growing lost.

Perhaps this is a new place for you, and the drifting mist that now fills the halls and leaves your head throbbing has no reason to seem out of place.

Either way, you've found yourself here, and nobody seems to be present to greet you.

[afterthemoon]

As a matter of fact, Isa has been to Castle Oblivion before, but that was years ago at this point. He certainly hadn't expected to come back.

Isa knows how this place works, and he outright refuses to wander. He'll ignore anything that beacons him to.

[firewheeling]

There's little to beckon him to wander, really. After all, the entrance hall he stands in is empty and still; the silence is broken only by the sound of soft, ragged breathing. Looking up the stairway, Isa can catch a glimpse of black leather and red hair through the fog; Lea is sprawled at the head of the stairs, half-curled in on himself.

But there's another figure stepping right over Lea as though he barely acknowledges he's there at all--as though he's simply trash to be ignored and kicked aside with the sweep of a boot. It's a strange, dizzying sight--Lea is descending the stairs, one gloved hand trailing along the banister, coat sweeping along behind him as he moves.

He's leaving himself behind as he comes down to meet Isa, smile warm and enthusiastic; save for the fact that there are two of him, it might be a reassuring sight..... save for the fact that his eyes are glowing a brilliant gold, almost exactly like those of someone touched by Xehanort's influence. "Isa! I hadn't been expecting you. What brings you back here, of all places?"