wethelostooc | EVENT: Cast In Shadow (Plotting)

Entry tags:

!event,
!world hop

EVENT: Cast In Shadow (Plotting)

On the 17th of November, residents of the Meadous will wake to a note from Zephyr at their bedside. It's much shorter than it usually would be from the godling, and it's also much more direct.

Everyone,

I heard another voice across the planes. This one reached out to me, inviting me to visit. I don't know how to feel about that, but... I think we should go. I think she's in trouble and needs our help. That's the feeling I get.

Please meet me at the playground tomorrow at 3:00 PM. I know that's really early for some of you guys who are nocturnal, but this can't wait very long.

Love,
Zephyr

CAST IN SHADOW

The Events Calendar post for the plot is HERE

This event will be the Meadous' fourth world-hopping event.

In this instance, the realm is one that Zephyr found by invitation. On the morning of November 17th, the archway on the path next to the playground will become active in the Mirror Dimension. Those with senses related to space/time will get a reading that there is something 'off' about it. Looking at it through the silver kaleidoscope located in the playground will show that the archway is covered and absolutely roiling with Stardust. Stardust is usually associated with living things.

Zephyr will turn up at the appointed time and explain the following:

The archway is a portal to another world.
The only access to the proper archway is through the Mirror Dimension. (Zephyr doesn't want anyone accidentally stumbling in there.)
The archway is a two-way connection to another realm. They DO NOT have control over that other realm. The only thing they can make sure of there is that there are no other connections. Characters can go to the new realm from the Meadous and come back to the Meadous from the new realm.
THIS MEANS THAT INJURY AND DEATH IN THE OTHER REALM IS OUTSIDE THEIR DIRECT CONTROL.
They're not sure who has reached out to contact them, but it sounded like a young woman. Her voice was warm and inviting, but held a note of trepidation, as if something dark was looming on the horizon.

As for the new realm...

Welcome to Valinta.

Valinta is a world loosely based on the Persona series. It is overseen by the Assistant, a subdued woman who appears to be in her late 20s. She wears a deep blue dress, trimmed in silver. Her long brown hair is tied back into a low bun, a few braids also woven in.

Valinta itself is split into three main realms:

The Velvet Meadow is the realm that the characters will arrive in, and the realm that Agatha exists in. This will serve as their entry and exit point to Agatha's world. This realm is a large meadow area filled with grasses and flowers ranging from deep blue to violet. The border of the meadow is lined with trees whose trunks and leaves are also tinted in those same shades.
Mensilvas is the forest beyond the meadow, where darker things seem to lurk. This is where the Shadows dwell and where the individual Palaces form. (For more information on these, please see the comments.) Brilliant blue butterflies that hold a strange power flit about, congregating on the ground and trunks of trees. Where they rest in clusters, the world seems to shimmer, as if a pathway were open.
While the forest can be entered and explored from any location, there is a single cobblestone pathway that stretches through the trees... Leading into the Human World, where the humans inhabiting Valinta dwell. The passage seems to be visible only to the guests of the Velvet Meadow, who can use it to both enter and exit the human realm.

When the Guests arrive, Agatha greets them warmly and openly, welcoming them into her realm. She explains that she is the caretaker of this world; the meadow, the forest, and the realm beyond. However, her control over Valinta has been slipping. If the Guests are so inclined, she would welcome their assistance in figuring out what is going on. She will also explain that Mensilvas is a mysterious place that plays upon the subconscious mind. There are dark things there, brought about by the stirrings of the human heart. It is not a safe place to wander, but she will not stop anyone from entering. Indeed, entering the forest may be one of the places to search for answers.

Within Mensilvas, characters will come across Shadows--aspects of human subconsciousness that have taken on a tangible form. Most Shadows are naturally driven by instinct, and will attack any person that they come across. They can not be injured by normal people. Only a person in possession of a Persona will be able to fend them off. If a group has no Persona-user? Their best bet is to run. Fortunately, they do not travel very quickly, and in most cases are not very clever.

Also present in this event, characters will have the ability to create Palaces, Shadows, and/or Personas for their characters. The Palaces will appear in Mensilvas at random, where anyone will be able to explore their depths. Shadows will be played by the players that they belong to, and can also be encountered by anyone. Persona are not exactly playable, since they do not converse with the character to any great extent; but players will be free to design their own persona for their characters. More information about these three things will be found in the comments below.

The goal here is to find out what is depleting Agatha's control over the world, and discover a way to subvert it before Agatha loses control of this realm entirely. This may require some detective skills on the part of the characters, and the characters' actions within the world will help guide the choices that are ultimately made.

tl;dr version

Valinta is world split between consciousness and subconsciousness; the Human realm and the realm of Shadows.
There are three realms in Valinta: The Velvet Meadow, Mensilvas, and the Human World.
The Velvet Meadow is the entry point from the Meadous.
Mensilvas is inhabited by Shadows, which are aspects of human consciousness. The non-character Shadows will be hostile towards anyone they find.
The goal is to find out why Agatha is losing her grip on Valinta. Updates will be provided as the characters investigate.
While in Valinta, characters may or may not have Palaces, Shadows, and/or Persona created by the player.

More information is in the comments below:

General Questions

What are Palaces?

What are Shadows?

What are Persona?

Plotting!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Which Mod is running this plot?
Michi is in charge of this plot and will be responding to questions. The other mods have had minimal input on the plot design and what will happen.

May I opt out?
Yes! Your character can simply not enter Valinta.

Can we talk to Zephyr?
Zephyr will be available through the usual means, as needed.

NEW UNIVERSE! Can my space-hopping character go hog wild and escape the Meadous?
No. That is the only vestige of real control that Zephyr retains. Characters can universe hop between The Meadous and Valinta, but that's it.

What about powers, in general?
Zephyr's training wheels are more or less off on character powers in Valinta. However, characters may find that combative abilities don't work against the creatures in Mensilvas. Otherwise, your characters will be fully powered over there WITH THE EXCEPTION of game-breaking abilities. Please use discretion and make sure you talk to your fellow players if your actions are going to have a major impact on their characters.

What if we die in Valinta?
Zephyr has very minimal control and connection to Valinta. If your character dies in Mensilvas, they will become a Shadow for a short period of time (a nondescript Shadow, not a Personal Shadow). They will exhibit all the instinctive behaviors of normal Shadows, including hostility towards other characters. After two days, they will mysteriously reawaken in the Velvet Meadow under Agatha's care, having only vague memories of the previous days. She will then suggest they return to Zephyr and the Meadous to rest for a few more days. In that time frame, their Personas (if obtained) will be unable to manifest, even when called; and they will feel exhausted and sluggish. Mensilvas will be a much more dangerous place to them, and Agatha will not allow them to venture into it in that state.

Can I bring an NPC out of Valinta and into the Meadous?
Unfortunately not. Normal humans of Valinta can not access the Velvet Meadow, and Agatha will refuse any attempts to take her away from her realm.

Where do characters arrive in Valinta?
The Velvet Meadow! The archway to the Meadous is there and will remain so for them to come and go.

Edited 2018-11-16 01:36 (UTC)

Can general shadows be found in Palaces?

Yes, general shadows are also found in the Palaces.

Awesome, thanks.

I asked this on plurk but I'll ask it here just so everybody can see it even if they don't have me added:

do wished-for powers work in other realms? like royce wished for emotion sharing with alfie, does that work outside of the meadous? or is it restricted to only where zephyr is?

All powers will work outside of the Meadous--with exception of game-breaking powers. There's no difference between a power the character naturally has and one wished for through Zephyr.

Do personas happen with the moment of resolution or do the shadows vanish with personas appearing at the moment of need?

For those who have shadows, it's typically at the moment of resolution. The shadow disappears and you see the persona for a moment before it disappears too. That's when the character would learn the personas name, too.

For those who do not have shadows, they instead find their persona and its name at their moment of need.

Do characters know what shenanigans their shadows get up to? Or are their experiences considered completely separate?

Characters do not know what their shadows are up to, no. They're completely separate from the character.

Will Personas stick around after the event?

They will not. Personas are confined to Valinta.

Aww...would a power regain wish work to keep them around?

It would be a power gain wish, rather than regain given the nature of event magic, but yes. It is something that could be wished for.

"A place shaped by human thought..."

Within Mensilvas, there are places where the blue butterflies congregate on the ground and the trunks of trees. If any characters approach those places, they'll notice the way the world seems to shimmer as if a portal were open. Stepping through these butterfly portals leads the characters to places called Palaces.

Palaces are a section of Mensilvas that has been shaped to reflect a partiular person's subconsciousness. The size of the palace doesn't matter--they can be only a single room, a sprawling maze, or the size of a whole city. What they represent is the world as that person sees it. In some cases, that may be literal, but in others it may be metaphorical. For instance: If a character views themself as instinctively lucky, their Palace might be a casino. If someone views life as one big game that they need to win, they might have a Palace that's literally a video game. If a character feels trapped or isolated in their role in society, they might have a Palace that's a prison. One way or another, the Palace is a reflection of the character's circumstances or world view.

Here's some examples of Palaces from the series and the thoughts that spawned them, if you'd like a visual:
Kamoshida's Castle: He should be treated like a King. Everyone else are his servants or play things.
Futaba's Tomb: Her whole world is the room she's shut herself into. Everything outside might as well not exist.
Shido's Boat: The government is a vessel that he alone can steer. Only the priviledged may board.

A Palace is also home to a Personal Shadow. Shadows can exist without Palaces, but Palaces do not exist without Shadows. So please keep that in mind when deciding if you'd like to design a Palace.

And if you want, feel free to list your character's Palaces here for other players to explore!

Edited 2018-11-16 01:38 (UTC)

Gabriel Gray's Palace takes the form of a completely empty metropolis. The middle of the city is in daylight, but it gets darker and darker as you traverse to the edges. As it gets darker, there are more shadows, although they still seem relatively sparse here compared to other Palaces. It makes the entire place feel way too quiet.

The edge of the City is denoted by a thirty foot high Wall. The Wall is made out of concrete and has the occasional metal sconce providing light, as well as a regularly-occurring number 5. If you try to jump the Wall, it will get taller- if you try to dig under it, you'll find the concrete continues below. However, regular travelers will be able to find a door out of it if they desire. Just watch out for those shadows!

There are various spots in the City where signs of a struggle may be found. A bloody and torn Homecoming sign, kitchen knives stuck deep into a wall, a still-burning bonfire, a lone guitar string and a half-cleaned bloodstain, an empty and broken syringe, broken chairs, broken glass, and blood splatters can all be found, isolated, in various areas. The blood is most common- it seems to be nearly everywhere, either splattered or dripping or smeared. Once, you might even find it painted into the shape of mushroom cloud. But no matter how fresh these scenes seem to be, there will still be no signs of life nearby. (Note: All of these scenes represent violence Gabriel has perpetrated before- if you are familiar with Heroes, feel free to use any scene up to the end of Volume 3. And if you would like ideas, feel free to ask me!)

Edited 2018-11-16 16:41 (UTC)

Eliza Owens' Palace is a castle in bright, warm colors, with the drawbridge down and the gates wide open. Inside it looks just as welcoming, ready to let anyone in to look around and explore. There are tapestries and paintings everywhere, featuring the people who are important to Eliza.

There are a few areas that are more bloodied, with careful velvet ropes set up to keep people from getting too close. But even those are out in the open. They represent the murders in Town A and the Meadous, and the fact that Eliza still cares for many of those killers. However, there are some corridors that seem darker, where the tapestries start looking frayed and the paintings faded, and a careful eye might notice some of the people in them glaring at each other. Following the path will lead to a quiet room where Shadow Eliza waits, a bloodied halberd in her hands. There is one murder that's not out in the open-Eliza's own.

K's Palace

Edited 2018-11-18 00:45 (UTC)

Entering Zan's palace, what hits first is the underwater chill. Not the icy sting of a true ocean, but nevertheless, the cold and heavy weight of the deep, with none of the comfortable weightlessness beyond the lift of hair or clothing. Thankfully, breathing, at least, isn't a difficulty, nor is moving, talking, or hearing. Somehow the water allows that much.

It's hard to tell if it's a trench or a pit, with how dark the bottom is and how far away the light. But the light does shine high above, refracting at the surface. What really draws attention to it are the sounds that emanate; voices, distant and muffled, echo into the dark. The sound of conversation, laughter, even bickering but the bickering always seems amicable or energized. It's too hard to discern what's actually being talked about, but it casts a good illusion that life lies just beyond, taunting, however perilously out of reach it is. (No matter how high one climbs, jumps, or flies, the surface never gets any closer in reach. It may in fact seem farther.)

Far clearer is the sound of clanking and shuffling chains. It may just be a chain kicked along the ground, but somewhere in this world, there's the sound of something scraping and scrambling against rock and dirt. The chains loudest around this, making a raucous for a few minutes only for the sound to die out again. Whatever's there, it doesn't sound like it shares the same ease of breath.

But perhaps there's nothing there at all. Perhaps the dark and the echoes above are just playing with your senses...

(Despite all appearances, there is a way out for those who enter. If one is willing to give up reliance on their eyes, they may feel out their way through the darkest parts of this world and suddenly find themselves passing through a small tunnel back out to the forest.)

Edited 2018-11-18 03:58 (UTC)

Ienzo's palace is a massive, terraced garden, as much a sprawling outdoor palace as anything else. In terms of architectural style, it closely resembles the city of Radiant Garden, sitting in the center of a vast, still lake, with moss-covered marble walls, ornate fountain squares, and glittering man-made waterfalls flowing into canals that weave throughout. It would be beautiful beyond measure, if it weren't at once overgrown and dying.

The gardens are in a state of horrible disrepair. Vines crawl over their retaining walls, digging into the grout and weakening it until they crumble. Roots from overgrown trees burst through the carefully laid mosaics. Rotting fruits litter the ground, unharvested and unappreciated. The canals are choked with algae, and the flowerbeds are dry and crackling. The whole place is abandoned except for the shadows, which take the form of cartoonish skeletal farmers, aggressive scavenging animals (think deer, raccoons, rats, chocobos), and strange, inky beings. Climbing to the ivy-covered tower at the palace's center will bring you face to face with the lord of the realm - or former lord, depending on who you ask.

Edited 2018-11-18 05:29 (UTC)

Lance will have a palace that takes the form of a unique space ship floating in the void of space. Anyone who enters will find the layout doesn't make any sense for what the craft looks like, but all has a futuristic aesthetic. There are windows on what appears to be the bridge, and through them there's the view of a beach. There's only one exit to the ship, however, and that leads you back out into space.

Exploring the Palace, you'll find several different rooms. There's what appears to be some sort of lounge or common area, which is where the sleek, futuristic feeling of the palace starts falling apart. In the middle of the room is a campfire cheerfully burning away. The edges of the room are dark and the floor is covered in sand, and it's not uncommon to see Lance's shadow here.

There's a hallway filled with bedrooms - each of which seems to have color-coded bedding and accessories. There are seven in total - red, black, pink, blue, yellow, green, and orange. The red room is dusty and dark, like whoever slept in that room has long since abandoned the ship. Lance's shadow can be found in the blue room.

The cockpit is where Lance's shadow is most frequently found - it's a simple room with red lighting, and just a seat with some floating, holographic panels and joysticks. The room is also absolutely covered in flowers. Hydrangeas seem to be growing out of every conceivable crack, and completely cover the windows of the cockpit, obscuring the view of the outside.

There are more rooms to explore, including one that looks peculiarly like a gym or dojo, making the Palace truly feel like a palace, and adding to the feeling that this sort of arrangement is impossible. They're largely unremarkable, except for the fact that hydrangeas - and only hydrangeas - can be found in some of them.

Access to John's palace is through a bookshelf where you need to pull out all of the James Bond books on the shelf to gain access. The Panic Room, itself is a utilitarian structure made up of a series of underground rooms. They're all roughly the same size and range in purpose from a kitchen to a workout room to a library. All of the rooms are different, but they have one thing in common: they're part of a maze.

The Panic Room is designed so that reaching the center is a trial. There may be traps to overcome, puzzles to solve, or enemies to defeat in order to move forward through the maze. There are also cameras everywhere.

At the center is Command Central where John's Shadow is most likely to be found. He's constantly monitoring the different rooms from the multiple screens and his laptop, ever vigilant. He carries a gun at his side and is quick to draw at even the slightest provocation.

Renart's Palace is a thick, ever-changing forest. The branches of gnarled trees block out the sky, and coiled roots break up the ground into an uneven mess. It's one of those forests that is dark and foreboding, and thanks to the overgrowth of vegetation it's difficult to see more than several feet in front of you. This is made worse by the fact that the landscape is constantly shifting, never quite the same as it was several minutes ago. To Renart, as someone nearly a thousand years old, the world is a place that changes hard and fast, and it's reflected in the sudden shifts of the forest.

Occasionally, characters can run into the 'edge' of it, and abrupt end where huge metropolis cities created by humans are encroaching on the natural wilderness. If one enters the cities they'll quickly find that it, in turn, is being encroached upon by more forest. It's an endless cycle of nature and civilization, with both being populated by extremely hostile shadows. The forest shadows are mainly predatorial animals, large bears, wolves, wildcats and so on. In the cities shadows are human-shaped, though they carry weapons: anything from bows and arrows to guns. Renart's Shadow can also be found lurking around, though interaction with her is going to be limited to close cr.

Bucky's Palace is a series of rooms connected by thin walkways, underneath which is nothing but void. Most of the rooms are locked, but have small windows that can be looked through. The scenes inside flicker from the occupants being alive, doing mundane things such as cooking a dinner in a kitchen circa 1940 or a group of soldiers playing a friendly game of cards, to being piles of bodies killed in gruesome ways amid churned up mud.

Each step brings a sense of vertigo, like gravity doesn't work quite right, and occasionally the pathways crumble underfoot or disappear after being walked on.

The only door that opens is at the centre of the span of walkways, and it leads to an underground concrete bunker. Inside the bunker is a chair surrounded by electrical apparatus and manacles, a large glass pod, and Bucky's shadow. Golden eyes stare out above a mask that covers the lower part of his face, he's wearing full tactical gear, and carries a literal arsenal of weapons.

Sherlock's palace takes the form of a sprawling mansion with many levels. Deep in the basement there is the sound of clinking chains, and anyone who ventures down there will find Moriarty chained up in a straight jacket. There's a morgue on one level, several libraries, a copy of Mycroft's office, a meadow that doesn't quite fit in with anywhere else, the Diogenes club lounge, Scotland Yard's interrogation rooms, and Baker Street.

Occasionally there will be a flicker of someone from Sherlock's life in these places. Mycroft may sit behind his desk and intone serious words about mind over matter, Molly may cheerfully hand over a severed foot for a collection, or Mrs. Hudson might bring in a cup of tea. All of them will interact if spoken to.

In the room closest to the top of the mansion is a well, a gravestone, and a dog's collar. A small version of Sherlock dressed like a pirate is sitting on the edge of the well, golden eyes glinting.

Ales' Palace resembles the the Temple of Wind when he became an Archfiend on Crysallis. It's a steampunk airship with lots of robot enemies roaming about, and there's an office space in the center of the temple with an enormously tall ceiling. The technical marvels are meant to distract himself and others to how much he's crumbing inside emotionally - if people try to tear off the pipes and flashy sheen, they'll see that the Palace is slowly falling apart and threatening to collapse into the snow fields below.

The entryway is through the engine room at the bottom of the ship, which floats above a snowy field. Characters can fight a boss to reach it or find a way to fly/climb up, and once in the engine rooms, they must navigate the maze-like dungeon. The machinery found there look new and shiny and impressive, but when damaged, they will see beneath the coating and find that they are rusty and breaking down.

After getting to the upper levels of offices and labs, they will find Ales at a giant empty room with high ceilings and a wide window overlooking a wasteland. By the window, far from the single entrance, is a small desk where Shadow Ales waits. If fought, he will call on a giant robot dragon to command.

Edited 2018-11-19 15:08 (UTC)

Toriel's Palace takes shape of an old abandoned cabin settled on a cliff over the seaside. The building is in massive disrepair, looking like it is on the edge of falling apart, it is surrounded by garbage and yellow flowers. One could easily overlook the building if not for the clear signs of life inside of it. A lit lantern hangs from one of the windows in the front of the cabin. The paper lantern sways with the seaside breeze, illuminating the sparse furnishing within.

Heading inside the cabin shows the same level of disrepair. Furniture has grown over with plant life, wallpaper peels from the wall, windows are broken out completely in some rooms. Vines hang limply around walls, seeming to squirm and shift occasionally.

The house seems too big and yet too small. Two bedrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, a living room and stairs that lead into a basement.

Exploring further in the cabin will reveal two rooms in shockingly pristine condition in contrast to the rest of the building. A children's bedroom. The bedroom is well furnished, full of toys and nice clothes. Pictures of children line of the wall of this bedroom. Each child is smiling in their respective pictures, posing in silly ways or showing off something they've made. Storybooks lay spread out on one of the two beds as if waiting for a return.

The second room untouched by nature is the kitchen. The smell of baked goods is almost overwhelming when someone walks into it. The kitchen table is piled with food of all kinds. Cookbooks float and bobble across the air, being reshelved by themselves. The kitchen is spotless, colorful and has pictures hung on the fridge.

The basement door hangs off of one hinge and anyone who walks down the stairwell can hear children's voices. The yellow flowers grow more densely further you go down. The basement is a throne room, overtaken by nature itself. Toriel's shadow can be found here.

"When people are unable to face their darker selves, they break loose, free from all control..."

General Shadows

Shadows are aspects of human consciousness that exist in tangible form. They act instinctively, with very little thought or calculation. If they see a person, they will attack them and try to devour them. Only those who have harnessed the power of a Persona are able to fight back against them. Normal attacks and magic will do nothing against them.

Within Mensilvas, Shadows can manifest in a number of ways, and are capable of both physical and elemental attacks. These elements can consist of fire, ice, electricity, wind, light, and dark. However, those Shadows that engage in elemental attacks are often particularly vulnerable to a different (often opposing) element. Clever characters might find themselves seeking out and exploiting these Shadows' weaknesses.

(For those familiar with Persona 3 and 4, feel free to use any nondescript Shadows from those games, or suggest any P3/P4 Shadows to other players. These are just examples to flavor your interactions/fights.)

Shadows of Characters

Is your character hiding a deep dark secret from everyone around them? Are they hiding a secret from themself?

Then listen up, because they might manifest a Shadow of their own. Personal Shadows are different from general Shadows in that they are formed from a particular character's repressed thoughts, and they take on the form of that character--albeit with gold glowing eyes. They are most likely to be found within a Palace also created by that character, but on ocassion can be found in a related character's Palace instead.

Either way, their singular goal is to confront that character whose thoughts created them. A Shadow will always try first to convince their character to acknowledge them--that they are one and the same person, but if the character remains stubborn and rejects the Shadow, they will in most cases become hostile and lash out. The more repressed a thought, the more powerful the Shadow becomes. Like general Shadows, personal Shadows can only be fought with Personas--meaning an aggrevated personal Shadow must be subdued by someone else's Persona. Once defeated, the Shadow will calm down again, but it will not relent in its quest to be accepted.

If the person does accept their Shadow, and acknowledges the repressed truth that spawned it, the Shadow will transform into a Persona.

"I am thou; Thou art I..."

Persona are obtained by facing one's Shadow and acknowledging the truth that they share, no matter how painful it might be. Shadows can form from many different thoughts and feelings, but Persona always symbolize the strength of heart required to face your darker self. It does not necessarily mean that you're willing or ready to change those parts, but you've taken the first step of acknowledging that they are there. At that moment, when the character accepts their Shadow, the Shadow becomes a Persona.

Here are a few examples of characters in the Pesrona series gaining their Persona:
Naoto Shirogane. Shadow confrontation starts at the beginning of the video, which manifests as a child in an overgrown labcoat. Persona acquired, 11:00 to 14:20. (CW: Gender Issues)
Futaba Sakura. Shadow confrontation starts at the beginning of the video, which manifests as a pharoh controlling her own tomb. Persona acquired, 7:50 to 11:00. (CW: Suicide Mention/Mental abuse of a child)

So what if your character doesn't have any deep secrets that they're banishing to the further parts of their mind?

That's okay, too. Not everyone has to have a hidden side to themself. In that case, they might already have their Persona, and they might only need a nudge to realize they can call its name and summon it.

Regardless of how a character's Persona manifests, each one will be related to a major card of the Arcana, which grants it a particular set of abilities to fight with. Which Arcana your character ends up with will depend on the character's personality. Here's a list of Arcana, the personality types associated with them, and the kinds of Persona associated with them. Feel free to pick whatever Arcana and mythological figure that suits your character. There's also a list of suggested abilities that a Persona of that Arcana might focus on, but it's not a strict rule. I'm not going to police your Personas. However, the Fool and World Arcana are off-limits for this event.

Edited 2018-11-16 01:41 (UTC)

Gabriel is going to have a shadow and a Palace. His shadow is going to revolve around a secret he's keeping from himself, mainly that he's frequently really enjoyed being a huge villain and being horrible to people who are either not observant enough or not smart enough. And that there's a large part of him that enjoys this even without the Hunger (his intuitive aptitude side effect) pushing him to be a monster. He likes chaos, he likes sweet revenge, and that's not something he can cut out of or separate from himself.

So, expect Shadow Gabriel to be just as awful- if not moreso- than his usual Sylar act. He will be terrible, but his focus will be almost entirely on Gabriel and getting recognition from him (as Shadows do). Therefore, you can expect Shadow Gabriel to snipe at and maybe even terrorize your character, but he probably will lose interest before long. In appearance, Shadow Gabriel will resemble the Five Years' Gone version of Sylar, with yellow eyes and- does he have claws? Sometimes it might seem like it.

Gabriel's palace is the Empty City, because he believes he should be alone and caged like a monster. Gabriel is going to have to defeat and/or accept his shadow to get out of it, and that is unlikely. SO I will time Gabriel going to other people's Palaces before he reaches his own. People are free to try and help or leave him to wallow in his own self-pity. Either way, it is unlikely he's going to be too much help with the overarching plot- but we'll see how it goes!

Eliza's Shadow is going to represent the side of her that realizes she can't always be unbiased, and that many of her loyalties conflict with each other and will force her to pick sides in some way. Still, she'll probably be able to accept it, although it might take her a while. Said Shadow will probably also be more annoyed at the people Eliza has a good relationship with, since it'll see them as the ones forcing her loyalties to be divided, although it will focus mostly on Eliza.

Her Persona is going to be Baldr, probably a more androgynous, angelic version of him. She'll also be up for beating down anyone's Shadows if they get too aggressive.

Ales' Palace will resemble the Temple of Wind when he became an Archfiend. It's a steampunk airship with lots of robot enemies roaming about, and there's an office space in the center of the temple with an enormously tall ceiling. The technical marvels are meant to distract himself and others to how much he's crumbing inside emotionally - if people try to tear off the pipes and flashy sheen, they'll see that the Palace is slowly falling apart and threatening to collapse into the snow fields below.

His Shadow outwardly admits that he wishes he could have friends and trust people, and that he's pushing everyone away because he's confused on how to be considerate to people. He'll talk about how he did awful things on his home world and on Crystallis.

His Persona will be Fortune themed, but I haven't decided on a specific

K's Shadow is going to represent his existential crisis. Is he real, is he a person, is he capable of exercising genuine free will? Or is he merely what he was manufactured and programmed to be, an unfeeling android** whose sole purpose is to hunt and kill his own kind, to obey his human handlers?

**Replicants are just androids under another name, in case there was any confusion; though he is different from Connor's type of android.

Can't have it both ways, he's either something or someone, and defeating and accepting his Shadow will give him a bit of a push toward embracing personhood (or at least acknowledging that he's capable of being a person, if he chooses to be and continues acting toward this goal, because I'm not sure he's capable of such a huge leap right away) and all the terrifying things that come with it. Including the fact he's essentially a serial killer, having killed countless other androids who had already discovered personhood themselves. He was ordered to kill them and unable to disobey, but still. It'll be difficult to come to terms with.

If his Shadow is subdued and he accepts it, his Persona will be either the Hanged Man or Judgement themed, I'm still looking into these.

I've set up a separate post to describe K's Palace and Shadow.

Edited 2018-11-18 00:53 (UTC)

So the first thing that is happening is that Zan's fighting basic shadows. The SECOND thing is that he's going to run into someone's (most likely John's) personal shadow and from there he'll be hitting the bulletin board.

Because clearly you all need a step by step tutoring on how to deal with your inner selves. Geez.

EDIT AGAIN: he's also going to be running into Gabriel in all this and coming to be Not Angry But Disappointed in Gabe. But maybe also a little angry cause feelings are difficult. I do not yet know to what extreme this will effect things.

With that down and down, Zan will be returning BACK to Mensilvas wherein he'll be a huge hypocrite and face his own shadow. Shadow of a shadow. I do not know at this time if it will go well.

If it doesn't, he will obviously need some assistance.

If it DOES however, he'll be taking on the chariot persona specifically this guy. Because its perfect. In said good end route, Zan's gonna be ruefully relieved to have some/any power in this situation and will actually probably be helping out beating back shadows.

IN EITHER CASE, running into Zan's shadow is gonna be a little limited. In most cases, Zan himself will be pushing or pulling people back. OOC, A lot of his issues are ones I'd prefer him working out with close CR (or rather tense but involved CR in some cases) specifically. But IC has reasoning too, those reasons being that Zan's shadow will not be hiding its secret craving to eat people and ergo comes with a big old cannibalism mention warning. Those usually un-involved with the guy will therefore likely be coldly told by zan to get out there.

This issue will not be the main issue zan deals with in regards to the shadow, but is nonetheless part of the whole package. Keep in mind the content warning if you choose to tag.

EDIT: And of course, everyone is free to stumble and wander about the palace as they please, even without necessarily tagging Zan. It's all good, go for it. His palace is described above.

Edited 2018-11-18 04:48 (UTC)

Ienzo's getting a palace (described above) and a shadow! His shadow is going to be based on his feelings of guilt over abandoning his responsibilities to his homeworld, Radiant Garden. His normal form - the one that's basically just a yellow-eyed version of Ienzo, hanging around the palace's highest floor and doing most of the talking - is dressed in the simple, unadorned clothes of a pre-industrial farmer, worn and dirtied from work. Looking closer will make it clear that's a costume, though: he's perfectly clean, with white, straight teeth and callus-free hands. He holds a crown in his hands or leaves it on the dusty, deserted throne, but he never wears it. He's the king of this place, and he's abandoned his duties to play at having a simpler, easier life.

As far as shadows go, he's pretty friendly! If anyone wants to run into him without Ienzo present I'm totally up for that! - mostly he just wants to talk about how glad he is that he isn't responsible for this mess anymore and how easy and carefree his life is, how he'd never go back even if he could. He just wants things to be simple and easy, and leave all the struggles and worry to other people.

Once provoked into a fight with Ienzo, he'll take on his monstrous ~~boss fight~~ form - a towering figure in kingly raiments, bound to his throne by beautiful flowering vines. Art is incoming, just give me a bit. Once resolved, he'll transform into the Persona Socrates, of the Moon Arcana. It's fine for Ienzo to have a real-ass historical figure as a Persona, he's not from Earth. Don't worry about it.

Lance will have a shadow and a Palace! The Palace is the Red Lion with the internal layout of the Castle of Lions, meaning there's a lot in there to explore.

Lance's shadow will mostly revolve around Lance's tendency to push everything down and ignore his problems, and will be keen to belittle himself at all times. Expect frequent comments about how everyone would be better off without him, potentially even to the point of needing content warnings for death and suicidal ideation. It's not going to be a great time getting the two Lances together in a room.

If Lance accepts his shadow or his shadow is subdued, he will have Undine of the Lovers arcana as a Persona! And that could be fun. If, again, it gets to that point.

Renart will have a Palace and a Shadow. Her Shadow is based off of her mind control, the latter of which is based off her mind control (her repressed desire to use it constantly, and the hiding of her more villainous past). Her Shadow has happily embraced the ability and will use it on people, and be more than willing to bring up Renart's past and how she used to use it constantly for selfish reasons. Interaction with her Shadow will be limited to close CR due to the mind control stuff.

If she gets a Persona it will probably be Reynard in the Moon Arcana, because it's foxes all the way down.

Toriel is going to have a shadow, and a palace of her own. Her palace won't be a winding mystery to unsolve as much as grief compacted into one small space.

Her shadow is primarily based on her sense of loss, her regrets, her grief, and her failures. She wants to seal herself away from the world to avoid living through the same cycle over and over again. She's frustrated, saddened and grieving over losing another child. Deep down Toriel hasn't dealt completely with all of her grief or her sense of responsibility over the various deaths she's witnessed. Getting her to acknowledge she can grieve and let go will help her out immensely.

Shadow Toriel will be primarily confined in the basement. Those who venture down will find her bound by vines, but able to move around to some regard. She's not very interested in conversation and tries to make anyone who approaches leave. She's angry, grieving and unable to let herself rest. Unless repeatedly confronted, she won't fight unless forced.

Her arcana will be Hanged Man. I'm tentatively saying her Persona will eventually be Isis (thanks QV)!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

EVENT: Cast In Shadow (Plotting)

General Questions

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Late question haha

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Palaces

The Empty City

The Bright Castle

The Neon Prison

The Watery Grave

The Wilting Gardens

The Abandoned Ship

The Panic Room

The Urban Forest

Bucky's Palace; cw: torture/gore

The Mind Palace

The Temple of Wind

The Hermit's Cabin

Shadows

Personas

Plotting!

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Ales

K

Re: Plotting!

Ienzo

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Undertale spoilers, fyi