[semi-open]

[windsongs]

WHO: Hibiki and assorted
WHERE: Various places around Stygia and the Shadowlands
WHEN: The first half of November
WHAT: General catch-all post
WARNINGS: Drunkenness and depression, and some really, really bad movies. Will add more warnings as needed

Open starters coming soon! If you would like to plan a thing, feel free to message me over Discord (Pearl#7619), Plurk (impearls) or by PMing this journal!

Comments

2/2

[nagano]

[ Myriad emotions bombard him from every direction.

Darkness. Trepidation. Anxiety. Excitement. Wonder. Warmth. He feels a mother's smile draw at the corners of his lips. Her daughter's radiant grin. That same daughter's concern.

Weakly, Kaito looks up to see two Hibikis staring directly at him. One is a memory. Well, they're technically both memories, considering the fact that they're dead.

And in the same instant that all those feelings assail him, they're gone. There's a faint prickling sensation in the back of his neck, but it too vanishes.

All that remains is the silence of his mind... and the thrum of Hibiki's emotions. Yet the sensation is nothing like what he knows. In his experience, the auras of living beings blanket over him, their emotions washing into his psyche.

Yet now, he feels what she does—concurrently. Rather than absorb what she feels after the fact, he's experiencing it at the same time.

Golds widen. His hand lifts from the notebook, shaky yet steady. It settles on her cheek, and that's when he knows for sure.

Their psyches are linked. Their souls are linked.

'Holy shit.'

O̴h̴,̸ ̵g̵o̸d̸f̶u̵c̴k̷i̸n̶g̴d̶a̵m̶m̴i̸t̶.̶

Both voices convey clearly, directly into the blonde's mind. ]

[windsongs]

[ Outside of needing to touch someone's tether, Hibiki knows nothing about this whole process. Truth be told, she's been avoiding it altogether, which has been relatively easy to do. While the older denizens of the Netherworld have been quick to push the process on them, their words have gone in one ear and out the other. This isn't for her, she concluded. She can and has always gotten by just fine on her own.

Needless to say, she isn't prepared for this process at all.

The moment Kaito touches the notebook, she feels a faint prickling all over; like her leg has fallen asleep and manages to push that sensation through her whole body. The blonde shudders a bit as the hair on the back of her neck briefly stands on end as she feels an undercurrent of emotion flow through her.

Stormy blues search golds only to widen in surprise as he touches her cheek, his voice resonating in her head. Wait, she can hear him?! Holy shit is right!

'K... Kaito? ...You can hear me, right?'

There's a smarmy sigh from her shadow, the side-eye coming out loud and clear;

W̵e̷l̸c̵o̵m̸e̴ ̴t̸o̵ ̷t̶h̵e̵ ̶s̷h̵i̴t̸ ̶s̶h̴o̸w̷,̴ ̸I̵ ̶g̵u̴e̵s̸s̷.̸

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Hibiki's shadow. ]

[nagano]

[ Oh. Oh, that's weird. Kaito's always prided himself in keeping other psychics out of his head. Now Hibiki's just... there. Chilling. And so is a voice that he immediately categorizes as her Shadow.

His palm rubs against her face, and he nods.

'Loud and clear.'

T̵o̶o̶ ̶l̷o̷u̴d̴.̷ ̶T̷o̴o̷ ̵c̵l̸e̶a̸r̴.̴ ̴S̸a̷v̵e̶ ̸m̵e̶ ̵f̴r̵o̶m̵ ̶t̷h̸i̴s̵ ̸s̸l̶i̴c̸e̸ ̶o̶f̴ ̴l̸i̴f̴e̸ ̷b̸u̵l̴l̵s̸h̶i̶t̴.̵

His Shadow's voice sounds completely identical to his own, save for that warbly quality and the second pitch thrown in. Very Persona 4-slash-5-esque. ]

[windsongs]

[ Oh, this is going to take some getting used to. Not that Hibiki isn't accustomed to hearing something other than her own voice (or her shadow's) in her head, but having another person just taking up space is...

'This is so weird! Really cool, but really weird!'

And yet she seems to be more amused than anything, as she subtly leans her hand into his touch and laughs a bit. Does she speak? Does she broadcast? It's bizarre that she has the option to choose.

I̴ ̴d̸o̶n̵'̵t̸ ̶g̶e̷t̸ ̶h̶o̷w̸ ̵y̷o̵u̷'̸r̷e̷ ̶n̵o̸t̸ ̴m̸o̵r̴e̶ ̴u̶p̶s̸e̷t̸ ̵a̶b̵o̶u̸t̶ ̵t̴h̶i̷s̷ ̵h̷u̴g̶e̸ ̵i̷n̵v̶a̵s̴i̷o̷n̵ ̵o̶f̷ ̷p̸r̸i̶v̸a̴c̵y̵.̸

Oh, stop it. She's having fun here. ]

I didn't realize you two were just going to be in there talking. Your shadow's kinda snarky.

[ Are you holding out on her, Kaito? Is this guy secretly a sass master? ]

[nagano]

[ Kaito rolls his eyes, even though his lips betray a smile. Eventually, his hand is pulled away so he can poke her nose. ]

It's just pretending to be personable.

[ Y̴o̴u̵ ̸l̸i̷t̸t̵l̵e̸ ̵s̷h̸i̷t̶,̶ ̵I̴'̷m̸ ̸t̴h̶e̵ ̴l̴i̴f̷e̴ ̶o̷f̶ ̸y̶o̷u̴r̷ ̶s̵a̴d̴ ̷h̷a̷t̷ ̵p̴a̴r̵t̶y̶.̶

Aaaand just like that, as it continues to complain, its voice dies out. Kaito sighs. ]

This is weird. I'm used to feeling peoples' emotions, but it may take you a bit to get accustomed to an extra set of feelings that aren't your own triggering at any random moment. And remind me to teach you how to close off your thoughts. As much fun as you're having now, I don't think you want to be broadcasting yourself to me at all times of the day.

[windsongs]

[ A̸r̴e̶n̶'̴t̷ ̴w̸e̴ ̶a̶l̷l̸ ̵j̸u̷s̴t̵ ̶p̸r̴e̶t̴e̸n̸d̸i̶n̴g̴?̵ ̷H̵o̴w̷ ̷i̶s̸ ̴t̷h̴a̵t̷ ̷a̴n̵y̵ ̶d̶i̶f̴f̶e̵r̵e̴n̵t̴ ̷f̷r̷o̷m̷ ̴e̵v̷e̴r̷y̸d̶a̴y̴?̸

Hibiki does her best to ignore the comment from the peanut gallery, but she can't disguise the faint twinge of discomfort that follows it. Yeah, now that he mentions it, it would probably be good to learn how to stop broadcasting what goes on in her head. ]

...Is this what you go through normally? No wonder you're over it already. Yeah, I'll definitely want you to teach me how to turn this off. There's a lot going on up there I'd rather you not hear about.

[ O̷h̷,̶ ̷g̶o̶o̶d̸ ̷p̸o̵i̷n̴t̸.̸ ̷I̶ ̴w̶o̴n̷d̸e̸r̴ ̷i̶f̵ ̵h̵e̷ ̷c̶a̶n̶ ̶h̶e̴a̴r̴ t̷h̷a̸t̴ l̴o̴u̶d̷ ̵a̵n̷d̶ ̵c̴l̵e̷a̷r̸.̸

And suddenly the idea of him having direct access to her mind becomes a lot less appealing, and while she continues to smile, it's a bit strained. If he can hear that song swirling around in her head... ]

I'll wanna get on that sooner rather than later. After you've recovered, obviously.