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

[connivingbird]

prompt III chatroom:
[He should be sleeping. He had a schedule to keep and not enough time in the day keep up with it. But still, he figured what could hurt? Maybe he wouldn't be the only one on this thing. Though he decided that he was not going to ask something that everyone else probably will ask. Instead something simple like food or something.]

Ankh: I demand a year's worth of popsicles before I do anything else for you humans.

[Well. He wasn't sure what prompted that but it was out there and he wasn't going to take it back. Except. Maybe he should be nice?]

Ankh: Now. [He tried?]

prompt II - Time Judged All
He shouldn't be out here right now. That thought was chasing around in his head, following the strange urge to go outside and get away from the nagging feeling of the world not quite being right. He told his manager that he was going to go for a jog, and that he might stop at the library, but he didn't do either of those. Instead he was here, heading behind the library's bulk to the back alleys where he had - in the distant past of his delinquent teen years - smoked and fought and learned how to palm coins and cards and dice. Ever since the murders started up, these areas were lost zones, the remains of the past soaked in the bricks and mortar only to be given up as the sun fell.

Tilting his head back, he found the scratched name and symbol that he had been so proud of and then kicked at a loose stone, hearing it smack into the wall and sighed. Well, he wasn't going to find anything here. He turned around to head for the corner store when he saw it, that strange shadow, no, creature with eyes and teeth and he shrank back, feeling his heart pound.

Tch, are you going to act this way? Like a human?

The voice was his own but not, ringing as if it was made from the sound of metal rubbing against metal. Under the metal was the screech of a peacock, the shriek of a condor, the scream of a hawk. He pressed his hands against his head, tasting metal in the back of throat. Blood? Did he bite his tongue?

Wake up!

His hands went to his chest, sinking through skin, his shoulder blades throbbing, fire heating his skin. The metal taste grew and for a moment he thought he saw his hand change from human to something armored and tipped with talons. There was a click, his heart stopped, and metal clashed. Dimly, he thought he heard another voice, singing a happy birthday song.

prompt II - Anything Goes
It was over and he gave his head a shake, lips pulling back into a sneer as he looked at the rapidly dissolving goo that once was a monster. There was a feeling of disappointment that there was nothing to collect from it. Tossing his head, his hair settling into blond curls, and stretched his right hand out, the strange armored form not dissolving like the monster had done so.

"I wonder," he said, savoring the words as he turned. "Do you think that we can find more of those?"

Sure, there was a part of him that was surprised and kind of creeped out by everything but that was the human part, a simple part. He easily shoved it down as he always did and then paused, head tilting to the side - a slender blond freezing and listening like a bird, one foot raised slightly as if anticipating that he was going to leave the ground. Then he jabbed his hand towards the nearest person, talon-tipped fingers curling in what could have been a 'come hither' motion, but also could be a way to let the eye in the palm of the hand to see as well.

"Tell me your name."

chatroom

[dssploded]

"You humans." Are you not one?

[It's not any kind of judgement. Rather, he's curious, because he's recently had to come to terms with not being human, himself.]

[connivingbird]

Ankh: Would I say that if I was?

[dssploded]

Nagisa Kaworu: That's fair.

[It's impossible to see from the text that he's amused. Also curious, but he hesitates to ask outright exactly what version of nonhuman the other might be, because he's not sure he'd want to be asked, himself. So something else.]

Nagisa Kaworu: Do they commonly listen to your demands?

[connivingbird]

Ankh: That depends upon the human. Some do. Some don't.

[draculabackwards]

Alucard: Why popsicles exactly?

[connivingbird]

Ankh: Because I doubt any of you would have means to gather Medals.

[draculabackwards]

Alucard: Like an Olympic medal? Probably not then.
Alucard: Any particular kind of popsicle?

[connivingbird]

Ankh: Nothing like that.
Ankh: I need OOO and he has yet to show up, if he was even here in the first place.
Ankh: The blue ones are the best.

[draculabackwards]

Alucard: If you have enough money, you could get your own popsicles.

[connivingbird]

Ankh: I'm suppose to be dieting.
Ankh: At least that's what this guy claiming to be my manager is telling me.
Ankh: He's making me annoyed and I'm tempted to set him on fire.

[draculabackwards]

[Weren't popsicles supposed to be better than, say, ice cream?]

Alucard: I would think a popsicle wouldn't be that bad. If you have a manager, are you also on television?

[connivingbird]

[Ankh can eat them by the truck full so who really knows.]

Ankh: He insists that I'm a singer.
Ankh: Me. Sing. That's a laugh. I'm not a song bird.

This just occurred to me so... continuation of the other thread, after the battle?

[lovelledup]

The monster was gone. It came and went and there was so much in his mind, present and past conflicting. He looked from the last of the goo over to the person beside him, like he was seeing someone completely unfamiliar--and maybe he was, if the armor on the other's hand was any indication. That was certainly new.

Still, when asked his name, it was habit that had him responding, "You know my-"

He cut himself short. No, he didn't. He hadn't bothered to tell his brother the weird name that had showed up in that chatroom because he didn't think it really mattered, but more importantly, this wasn't his brother.

"Gladion," he replied, his voice suddenly a lot more distrustful. "And who the hell are you?"

yup that works

[connivingbird]

It was strange. The very human memories warring with other human memories - Shingo, the guy he was calling his twin. And this one here, with the similar style though there was something off. Not his brother, not really, but in this world, so very much so.

His eyes narrowed, the armored hand twitched as he turned to face him fully. There was an almost rainbow shimmer of something at his shoulders as if cut-glass caught a hint of light before it was gone again.

"Ankh. But before this, it would seem we thought we were related. Why?"

[lovelledup]

"I don't know." He shook his head, trying to clear the thoughts. Some part of him was still trying to believe the person in front of him was family, even when all current evidence spoke to the contrary. The rest of him was angry it was a lie, and halfway tempted to take it all out on his not-brother. If he had his Pokemon...

And wasn't that strange? To immediately think of a Pokemon battle when such a thing didn't even exist here?

"How is it I can remember two lives at once?"

[connivingbird]

Ankh arched an eyebrow, looking the kid over and trying to push aside the thought that this brat was actually his brother. If he had anything like what humans consider brother, it would have been found among the other Greeed, not some kid that technically had a similar style to his own.

Style though did not mean they were related no matter what the human part wanted to tell him.

"How do I know? I barely understand you humans as it is." And there was an eyeroll to emphasize this fact, even if he was sort of lying.

[lovelledup]

"What-"

'You humans.' For all that he knew Ankh wasn't really his brother, and that whatever ha happened to his arm was weird to say the least, the thought that he wasn't even human hadn't occurred to him.

"What are you?"

[superstylishsquid]

Alastor: You assume everyone here is human. Despite that other life, I'm not, and I don't MAKE offerings.
Alastor: But if you get me some really good hot chocolate, maybe we could trade.

[connivingbird]

Ankh: Did I say it was an offering?
Ankh: It is an exchange popsicles for work, as how humans enjoy getting payment for their labors.
Ankh: I wouldn't know the first thing about good chocolate.

[superstylishsquid]

Alastor: Usually, when someone's negotiating payment, they say WHAT they're doing.
Alastor: If you just mean you're not fighting those shadow monsters, hope you like just living whatever stupid human life you ended up with.
Alastor: And if you've never had good chocolate before, you've wasted both your lives.

[connivingbird]

Ankh: I did say that if they expect me to help, I require popsicles.
Ankh: I didn't know it was that hard to comprehend.
Ankh: I have other things to do with my time then be a stupid human.
Ankh: I've had good chocolate.
Ankh: It was homemade so I wouldn't know what store bought brand would be the equivalent.
Ankh: Nor do I seek it out.
Ankh: I prefer ice cream.

[superstylishsquid]

Alastor: Sure, but here's the thing: it's not just the humans that have a problem here.
Alastor: Actually, they've got it easiest, since at least they don't get stuck as something else during the day.
Alastor: It sucks not being able to stretch my beautiful wings.
Alastor: I've always preferred warm stuff myself, but chocolate ice cream is pretty good too.

[connivingbird]

Ankh: I don't have that problem
Ankh: Then again I wore a similar form to blend in so it doesn't bother me as much
Ankh: I'm warm enough as it is, I don't need to overheat.

[superstylishsquid]

Alastor: Lucky you, if you don't have any limbs you miss in a human form.
Alastor: I've never really cared for looking completely human myself, it's so constraining.
Alastor: What do you mean warm enough? It's not cold out, but nowhere near too warm for hot chocolate.