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

Princess Twilight Sparkle | My Little Pony: FiM

[princessofsociallinks]

Prompt 1: Network


HHTwilightSparkle: Everyone. Do your usernames have any significance to you?
HHTwilightSparkle: Because I feel like mine... should.
HHTwilightSparkle: Despite the fact that it sounds like, well
HHTwilightSparkle: A magical girl's costumed alias, from a show for elementary school girls at that.


Prompt 2


The heart she ripped out was not a human one - it was much, much too large - almost eight pounds. Which makes some sense. What Twilight laughingly - literally: her laughter was verging into a cackle, which was... not good... - called her real form was still humanoid, but her ears now swept up and back with fine control; and she now sported a horn, a tail, and wings.

Her Persona danced in place, her cream witches hat and petticoats swaying, all three of her eyes gleaming with mischief.

"Hi!" the Persona chirped. "I'm Orobas, a Witch just like you! I'll be teaching you magic - starting with taking out these very mean and hurtful Shadows! Let's be best friends, and I'll teach you magical secrets in return, mmkay?"

Twilight grinned her approval, raising the wand that had appeared in one hand, the other resting on the pommel of the rapier now at her hip. She issued the order: "Orobas - Psi at this target. Thank you very much, friend."

Orobas pointed a hoof and laughed. The blast of psychokinetic noise that struck their target flowed from cream to cyan to pink to purple and back, the first time Twilight would describe pastels as 'harsh.'

Prompt 3



Twilight is where she was back when she thought she was honor student Lucia Knightley - in the library, taking notes. But what she's reading isn't a history textbook, but an imposing occult tome - an ornate copy of the Lesser Key of Solomon. She traces the sigil and image of Orobas, frowning - and likewise is looking up those of other heart persona she's seen, or on request.

(3)

[blackdogdown]

"Hey."

Someone has approached while Twilight wasn't looking, a gruff looking student in a dark black winter coat, hands squarely in his pockets. He might be familar to her, a fellow student, but well, he was quiet and usually didn't draw much attention, so why should she? He was only some kid they brought in for track....or so he thought.

Squinting one eye shut, he jabs a calloused hand at the book in her hands. "You going to be using that forever? Been a long waiting list."

[princessofsociallinks]

"I can well imagine," she says, a nervous laugh escaping her lungs.

She hands over the book. "Here you go. I'll have to order my own copy, at this rate."

And she says, sotto voce, "Which one is yours?"

[blackdogdown]

"Mhm." It's not exactly an answer. He has to take his other hand out of his pocket to properly grasp the book, revealing a pearly white prosthetic. He shifts it in the crook of his elbow, pulling out a scrap of paper and squinting at it.

"Had to write it down. Stupid things name was hard to spell." He puts the book beside her, tapping a page with a stiff finger. "Glasya-Labolas. Big dog. Wings? Wasn't particularly pleasant to chat with. You get something like it to?"

actually downloaded a PDF of this because why not

[princessofsociallinks]

"Look for the 25th entry," she says, almost absentmindedly. She's taken out her phone, and is typing something on it. "And I find the 55th particularly interesting."

He may get a text saying Talking about this openly might not be wise from one "HHTwilightSparkle."

....irl twilight....

[blackdogdown]

His phone pings, and he grunts as he shoves his hand into his pocket.

Oh.. Well. Yes hypothetically he understands that. But also, its really hard to care?
Whats the worst that could happen, he'd have to fight something? A demon maybe? Been there, done that.

He stills texts back though.

"BlackSwordsman" (God he still really hate that name) replies. Got it. He flips through the book idly as he types, coming to rest on first the 25th entry and then skimming it.

But you do have one, don't you? You wouldn't check out this book if you didn't.

3

[misplacedxsheath]

[Someone 'Lucia' might have seen around the library is also looking unusually concerned. In a bit of a reversal, he doesn't have his usual books on mythology or ancient history, but instead is carrying several books on recent history. The cover of the girl's book, however, causes him to pause on his way to an empty study table.]

The Lesser Key of Solomon? An unusual choice of reading material.

[princessofsociallinks]

"It's for a personal project, sir," she says, looking up at him. Ears, horn, wings and tail fully visible, though she doesn't know it. "Quite a few people have been asking me to look up entries."

Her offer is unspoken. Has she seen him around the distorted areas?

[misplacedxsheath]

He hadn't noticed at first, focused as he was on the book in her hands, but the horn draws his eyes first. From there, he quickly notes the rest of what's unusual about the young woman's appearance, though the only outward indication that he finds anything strange is that his gaze briefly shifts to the other people in the library, as if checking to see if they've noticed something. The easy answer would be that his mind is playing tricks on him, after how disorienting last night was. But when was it ever the easy answer, in his real life or, evidently, this one?

"It's a somewhat uncommon take on the concept of demons, but not an uninteresting one from a scholarly standpoint. I've studied it before as a curiosity, though it's been quite some time. I'd almost forgotten, until I saw that book."

[princessofsociallinks]

She sees his eyes wander. It takes her a second to understand the significance. "It must seem like a lifetime ago," she says, gauging his reaction.

She lifts up a wand that she was using for a wand's original purpose -
tracing the lines she was reading. "I've done some studies into magical traditions before, but this is a completely new methodology for me. And a troubling one - the author straight-up calls the Goetia 'evil spirits.'"

[misplacedxsheath]

"Something to that effect, yes."

He sets his own books down and sits across from Twilight. By this point, he's fairly sure of why she looks unusual, even if he doesn't know the specifics.

"They're demons following the traditions of Christianity, you don't expect the denizens of Hell to be particularly benevolent. I recall that there were a few exceptions noted to be of a good nature, but it's not something the wise would willingly dabble in."

1: network

[connivingbird]

Ankh: It's something that I've read in fanfiction
Ankh: Horrible fanfiction of the type in which the 'special character' does everything better and gets lots of sex as well.
Ankh: I find my annoying not special.

Re: 1: network

[princessofsociallinks]

HHTwilightSparkle: I'm familiar with that kind of writing, believe me.
HHTwilightSparkle: "Ankh" is an interesting word in it's own right, it's a magical symbol
HHTwilightSparkle: It's the sort of username I'd expect to be meaningful to you, and yet.

[connivingbird]

Ankh: It's pretty stupid stuff.
Ankh: Symbol for long life or something, right?
Ankh: I think I have a piece of jewelry with it somewhere.

[princessofsociallinks]

HHTwilightSparkle: I could mention how plausible the backstories and abilities in shonen are, if I felt like an argument.
HHTwilightSparkle: Particularly ones involving master thieves and superspies.
HHTwilightSparkle: But, hmn. Just a random accessory? And that's all it signifies to you?

[connivingbird]

Ankh: I find those annoying as well.
Ankh: Especially when I have to read a script for one of those.
Ankh: ........Sometimes I think about a castle, one of those huge dark ones like in Europe.
Ankh: And flames.

3, his human form is black

[mutesician]

Louis walks up behind Twilight, looking curious at the book she's looking through. He writes something down on a notepad and taps her on the shoulder before holding it out to her.

More extra credit, Lucia?

[princessofsociallinks]

She's startled. She's even more startled to see a massive swan - but works out who it is from the way he's communicating easily enough and regains her composure quickly.

"More of a personal project, sir. And a favor to some similarly interested friends. It seems... newly relevant," is what she settles on.

[mutesician]

He nods at her comment, leaning closer to look at the names on the page. Then his eyes widen, when he sees one of the names: Paimon. He soon regains his own composure, though, writing down some more comments.

I see. Is this for a new club?

[princessofsociallinks]

I mean, Twilight isn't exactly human right now either. Lucia was rather dark, but not purple.

Although she catches Louis' meaning immediately. Clever man. "...that might be a good idea, actually. We'd need an adult supervisor for it, though."

[mutesician]

Hey, that's why he noticed her in the first place!

He nods at her comment. This seems to be relevant to my interests. I feel Professor Nagisa will be interested as well.

1

[kokuyoyo]

49: Yes.
49: But not in a good way, I think.

[princessofsociallinks]

HHTwilightSparkle: I'm sorry if it's an uncomfortable subject.
HHTwilightSparkle: Perhaps we should talk about this in private, if that would make you more comfortable.
HHTwilightSparkle: I'm not sure how much we should trust the security of this app.

HHTwilightSparkle: Apart from thinking it should mean something, The most uncomfortable this username has made me is having to defend my magical girl hobby to a friend.

[kokuyoyo]

49: I've been trying to figure out this app for ages and still don't know anything about it
49: So I guess security is just one more mystery
49: But since everyone is talking about weird images, maybe "magical girl" isn't too far off the mark

[princessofsociallinks]

HHTwilightSparkle: ...Ever since I got it I've had dreams about friends I've never met.
HHTwilightSparkle: And my mind wants to associate them with Rider-Waite major arcana of all things.
HHTwilightSparkle: What about you?