Round 1: Test Drive

[cordibus]

Welcome to the first test drive!

Please don't worry too much about using your Personas correctly or following the prompts exactly. They're meant to give you starting ideas, but by all means, go wild and add more options!

The objective here is to try out characters and see who you could have the most fun with in the game's setting. However, feel free to follow this link to request a Persona be generated for you as if you were part of the game. (Please try to limit this to only one of your test drive characters if you can as to not overwhelm us! Never mind generating Personas is a pretty fast process! Request for as many characters away as you like!)

If you have questions about the test drive itself, you can ask them here! If you want to play an AU don't forget this entire post can be used for you to get AU scenarios set up and see who your character might have been related too or know before Awakening.

Now then, let's begin...

Prompt 1 - From Dawn to Dusk

The city has been abuzz for the past few weeks. A new string of murders is making front page news and serving as a grim reminder why the nightly curfew is so important. As families, perhaps even someone close to you, mourn, pressure continues to rise at the many police stations and at city hall. The people are afraid and they’re demanding answers.

There's not much time for you to dwell on this.. Like everyone else in the city, you have a lot to do, and a tight schedule to do it in. You don't even notice the application that has appeared on your phone's screen. The headache that follows, however, is strange and disorienting, and it brings with it an odd sensation that something is wrong today. You’re just not sure why.

The day passes by and soon, it's close to midnight. Your body, if you're not in bed by now, is completely exhausted. Despite your best efforts, you'll find yourself closing your eyes. Too bad it's quickly interrupted by a strange noise, and movement like something pulsating softly.

It's your phone, or at least you think it's your phone, but it's never glowed this orange before. There’s mist rising above it almost like fire...something's definitely bizarre about this. Despite your fears, you forces yourself to open it, and click on that strange snake-like icon.


It opens revealing a single statement and blank box;

To begin, please write your name.

Your fingers move on their own. Before you have time to really think about it, and as the pain inside your head becomes so terrible you start breathing rapidly and sweating, you've entered a series of letters and pressed enter. Now you're in a large chatroom with many others...but your 'name' you've never even heard of it...have you? It almost feels like you have...

Prompt 2 - Awakening

The last rays of the sun disappeared over the horizon almost an hour ago, yet here you are, walking through the apple orchards located behind one of the campus wings. The strange app that's been sending you strange clues the past seven days now says you're ready to face the truth. It told you to come here tonight, but never to travel alone. Repeatedly, it warns you to make sure to have someone close by if you're to survive…but besides some friends, what else did you bring with you? Did you pack for this, or did you figure you'd make it up as you go? Are you in a position to be able to bring weapons with you that no one would suspect?

Something is out there, and it's getting closer.

Before you can think, you see it: a large, blackish mass, almost like slime, slithering along the ground resembling a vaguely humanoid shape with glowing yellow eyes. When it roars again, it reveals rows and rows of teeth. This was a mistake your brain warns. The strange name from the chatroom, the days leading up to this...you're fairly certain even if you are prepared that you're going to die.

And yet, something inside you stirs. Even as they move closer, you find yourself charging instead of running, as your heartbeat increases. A voice inside is guiding you, each movement bringing forth a surge of memories of a past that you had lost. You’re angry and confused, but your pain, your fears, your rage for all of this… all of that needs to be taken out on those creatures.

All you need to do now is to tear out your heart.

Prompt 3 - A new, old life

Now that you have your memories back, the strange veil of this world has been somewhat lifted. Things that seemed simple now seem strange. You have so many questions, but not enough answers. Then there's the new weapons you wield and the strange creature inside of you...your Heart Persona.

During the day, you are encouraged to continue to live as you did before, but with old and new memories together, sometimes it is difficult to keep acting like you did. Will it cause issues in your job or school life? Will it change your reactions to whatever life you had here? Do you notice others like you who have awakened?

Maybe it would be a good time to send a chatroom message, just to ask others what they are planning to do. Maybe you should set up a meeting to fight shadows at night. Maybe you’ll organize a plan of attack or set up a club to escape the strange looks others have been giving you. Maybe you just want someone's opinion on the best place to have pizza. Hey, no one said you had to use the AppleNET just for serious things, after all.

Comments

himeko inaba ♡ kokoro connect

[dereban]

♡ option i.

[This is the biggest mistake that Inaba Himeko has ever made in her life. For some absurdly dumb reason, she found herself, in the dead of the night, typing her name and signing up for an app that she doesn't even remember installing, much less hear about.

And more importantly--]

Okay, I have an important question: did anybody see any sort of 'terms and conditions' before typing in their name? You know: the stuff that almost everybody skips and clicks accept before moving on in most websites?

Because I sure didn't.

And shouldn't Apple sue? Because seriously? AppleNET? That sounds like something that Apple can sue.

[Because that is definitely a cause for concern. Even though she has many, many complaints about the application. She'll bring that up later.]

♡ option iii.

[Having two sets of memories is annoying. It makes her wonder which life is real anymore, and it makes the emotional pain and loneliness hurt twice as much, if not more. There's just too much to think about and it stresses her out. Even though it's encouraged to live life as normal, she just... can't. So she decides not to go to club today.

It's to take a breather, she tells herself; but it's not very convincing. She feels like she's lost so much and there's a hole in her heart that was placed there when she proverbially tore her own out.

So she needs a distraction. A big one. And so, she sends out:]

Anyone free tonight? I need something to do, since I've been so bored. 【・ヘ・?】

[She so hopes she can do something. Anything that will get her mind off of... this.]

♡ option wildcard.

[These options don't suit your fancy? Feel free to ask me for a different prompt and we can work something out! You can also hit me up at endlesseight.]

1

[forsteri]

Now that you say that....

There wasn't any, was there? Now that you say that. But I can't seem to find a log-out button to go back and check. When I start the app it brings me straight here.

[dereban]

I sure as hell didn't see any.

[Be glad that this is text and not voice or video. Her anger would have seeped through ten times worse.]

And what the hell? Seriously?

[forsteri]

[Wow, angry. Yoshio can't help raising his eyebrows, behind the screen.]

I feel like maybe it's one of those ARGs. Something weird like this making itself known to this many people?

[dereban]

Do you honestly think so? I mean, it just came out of nowhere.

[forsteri]

Yeah. But if it's some kind of marketing campaign, things like this don't usually start with much fanfare, right?

[dereban]

But that doesn't make it legal to force install the program into my phone. That much should be illegal.

[forsteri]

I'd imagine it is. Though I don't know much about that kind of law... But even if it is, how can you even pin down who did it?

[dereban]

Well, if someone was a hacker, they might be able to do something about it.

[forsteri]

I don't know anybody like that myself, though. So unless you do, or someone who sees this conversation does, then that's not really helpful.

[dereban]

Unfortunately not.

[At least, she doesn't want to out herself as one.]

If I did, I'd have gotten them to fix this by now.

[forsteri]

Then the point's kind of moot... Unfortunately, unless we have someone with the know-how to find a question like that out, I don't know what to tell you.

[Maybe Kidou can, he thinks suddenly. His captain had always been able to display proficiency with whatever skill or hobby they were doing. He wouldn't put computers past him.]

I might know someone. I'll ask him.

[dereban]

Yeah, that's unfortunate. Let me know if he says anything, though.

1

[probablynoteren]

i don't remember... i usually skip them.

[The app certainly makes him uneasy, from its creepy logo to the strange mist that seems to rise from the phone, but like any youngster these days he's really good at ignoring discomfort while texting.]

apple can't sue if they don't know.

[An app like this? There should have been rumors about it by now. Urban legends. He's not tuned into the latest gossip, not usually, but the city's been abuzz with them lately just over the murders.]

[dereban]

I read all of it so I make sure I know what I'm getting into, myself. But I can file a complaint, can't I?

[probablynoteren]

i don't have time, but that's probably a good idea.

[It's sort of a weird offhand compliment. You have to admire the people who can read the entire Terms of Service Agreement, somehow. Even while you suspect them of being possibly a robot.]

do you know where to file a complaint?

[There would be a long line, just sayin'.]

[dereban]

E-mail, maybe? I mean, meeting in person is such a hassle.

[probablynoteren]

i mean. there's no contact information...

[Even when he explicitly looks for it, it's impossible to find. Maybe he's just not savvy enough?]

[dereban]

If there's no contact information, then this application really is crap.

[probablynoteren]

that depends on what it's for, i guess.

[Because if it's meant to be spam, some type of malware, or annoying as hell, it's succeeded pretty magnificently.]

almost everyone seems to have it...

[Among students, at least.]

[dereban]

Yeah, we haven't exactly figured that out yet. But seriously?! I just logged in...

[probablynoteren]

there's no instructions... but many people i know have been talking about it. no one knows why.

[dereban]

What a pain... guess I'm out of the loop for once. So what exactly have they been saying about it?

[probablynoteren]

that it's a virus. that they don't remember installing it. that it's a gas leak.

[He's really good at explaining shit, evidently.]

[dereban]

A gas leak?

[She understands the other two, but that last one raises some question marks.]