Shad being a creeper (ch97)

because that's totally what that just was

I am going to start this off by saying... well... that chapter was definitely very interesting to write. Not because just of what happened, not at all. But... it was oddly... fun. For... some odd reason, my forte in writing happens to be writing creepier things, such as that chapter. I mean, it isn't like DOWNRIGHT creepy but-

well, maybe it is just me being slightly creeped out by it.

whatever

It'll certainly come in handy later. (especially when I have someone like Edd I will eventually have to write for...)

now... moving on to that "Kairi affecting Shad having a heart discussion" that came up a while back. I know I'm covering it again, but I was just look at it the other day, and this chapter made me think of something concerning it.

I remember saying that Kairi is NOT the reason that Shad has a heart. Which is still true, she's not. There is a completely different reason as to why he has one. However, I will admit, Kairi is playing a rather large role in... well... making that heart matter.

I remember, in that discussion, that I might have possibly said that she wasn't really playing a large part in this. And, looking at it now, I'm wondering "WHHHYYYYY!?!?!" Because she is playing a rather large role. I think what happened there, is that I didn't quite understand the question that Flightfoot asked (which was something along the lines of what I'm discussing now, and how Kairi affects Shad and whatnot) and so I answered it... not appropriately.

because, you see, him having a heart wouldn't really matter. Even if he has one, he is still pure darkness. As such, his heart would be completely perverted and corrupted and distorted by darkness that it really wouldn't matter.

but... spending time with Kairi is changing that. Because whether he wants to or not, he's falling in love with her. And even love can change that perverted heart.

no, I won't go into sappy details about that. Because I know that the darkness can very easily pervert love, too (and I'm not going into depth on that, either. Think about it long enough, and you'll understand why I don't necessarily want to).

...did I just confuse you even more?

OMG!! did you know!?! Vanitas' theme is just Sora's slowed down and stuck in a minor key (and then you add about x10 epicness) but still!! SOO COOL!!! 

sorry... just figured that out... (well, someone on youtube pointed it out, and then I listened, and...)

enough of the side tangent!

Back to Shad being a creeper

 oh! In case you're wondering what memory Shad used on Kairi at the end there, it's... *looks* chapter 24 of Falling to Pieces.

just thought I'd let you know

*looks through chapter, muttering about remembering there being more I wanted to cover...*

ah! yes! that last little section there, with Shad in the Dark Margin, was really fun to write. I'm not sure why, but it was. Don't criticize me.

also, did you catch that clever little insert of the story title at the end?

lol, no I'm not bragging about it.

I'm mentioning it because, when I wrote it, I didn't even realize that I put it there. I wrote that scene a while back, mainly because Shad wouldn't shut up about it, and I wrote that last line and I was like "ooh! That sounds good! But... where have I heard it before..?" and it took me about 5 minutes to figure it out...

yeah...

also, when I first wrote that scene, Shad's original description for his tears was "warm wet stuff". Not kidding.

...

OH! Now I remember why this chapter was so interesting to write! Because I like expanding on how people's powers work and whatnot. Didn't I mention that earlier with Toby?

So, writing this from Shad's POV and explaining how he uses the darkness to manipulate people was definitely really fun to expand upon.

Speaking of how Shad manipulates people, there's this basic little thing that I have yet to properly explain. He's given me a big huge rant on it, but I can't post the rant because it only makes sense if you understand who he's ranting at, and telling you who he's ranting at would be spoilers. I do plan on posting the rant as soon as I can, though. Promise.

However, to explain it simply, just in case you are wondering, most of what Shad does is a lot like pulling strings. There are strings attached to emotions (at least), which he can easily pull and manipulate. (That explains why he "tugs" at certain emotions. It's because the emotions are like strings.)

There's something different about memories though. Memories are more like releasing something from a cage or a box.

Sorry if that didn't make sense. I just don't really want to go into too much detail because he explains it so well in the rant... so...

alright, one more thing I want to cover.

Just in case someone's wondering "ohmygosh! How did that actually work on Kairi!?"

Well, depends on what exactly you are saying would prevent it from working.

The fact she's pure light?

Shad gives you the answer to that. She may be light, but she's still "poisoned". Simple things like this (because, really, warping someone's thoughts IS simple) will work on her.

Kairi will never stop believing in Sora.

Well, you do have a point there. She wouldn't. However... she didn't have much of a choice in this case. She was forced to believe the lies that Shad told her. 

Plus, Shad's not stupid. He knows what he's doing. (Why do I feel like I'm talking about Edd all of a sudden?) He went and did this while Kairi was half asleep not only so that she wouldn't be able to decipher his lies, but also so that even if she did comprehend what was going on, she wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight against it. He fed enough darkness into his lies to make her believe they were true. He used a few of her memories to "back up" his lies.

Why wouldn't it have worked?