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

Mitsuru Kirijo | Persona 3

[1in_perfection]

Chatting/Prompt 1:

It’s been a very long day. And stretches into a long night; one where Michelle finds herself falling asleep at her study desk, before getting a sudden awakening by something going wrong with her phone.

She isn’t a tech expert. Not by any stretch of the mind. But even she’s certain apps are not meant to act in such a way. And her fingers, fogged by fatigue and a sudden flash of fever, fail to delete the thing and instead type out…

…Something that could be a name.

’Mitsuru.’

But it isn’t her name. This isn’t correct. Michelle frowns, and the scowl that traces across her face only serves to deepen her headache. She tries to focus on the phone keys, and type out another delete command.

Instead, she manages to highlight and paste something into what appears to be a chat room.

‘Archetype, a universal presence found in individual psyches, considered to be a collectively inherited idea across humanity’s shared experience and subconscious. Commonly linked to Jung. Compared to the organs of the psyche, as vital as any psychical. E.x. the shadow and shapeshifter, as an unknown facet or repressed-’

This night isn’t going as expected. But she finally gets control of her typing.

‘…That was a mistake on my part. I enacted a copy-paste with my psychology notes where I shouldn’t. I meant to inquire on this curious application on my phone. And if there is any way to alter my screen name. Something about this combination of letters is causing a migraine for me.’


New-Old Life/Prompt 3:

One dart forward. Plunge with the rapier and jab. There’s a tenseness to her wrist, that makes her feints come out clipped and strained. With the way she strikes the fencing dummy, it’s all about the action; for once, finesse takes a back seat.

Any other day, Mitsuru would be appalled by that.

’Mitsuru. Not Michelle.’

Until now, she never thought it was possible to have too much information churning about in her head. But two sets of conflicting memories proves Mitsuru wrong in that. Two different mothers and fathers, two different but still rocky relationships with her family… it all clouds her head. And spurs her to continue her strikes.

When she hears footsteps, she whirls around, rapier already up and pointed at the new arrival, with Mitsuru glaring down the sword and whoever she finds at the end of it. It takes her a moment to catch herself, and realize how much she’s acting out of reflex and emotion.

“My… apologies.” Mitsuru’s voice comes out cold; colder than any time she’s spoken as Michelle. But she still lowers the fencing sword. “ I didn’t register you approaching… I’m afraid I have a great deal on my mind.”

Wildcard:

(ooc: COME AT ME, GUYS. Meet up with Mitsuru or Michelle at the library, studying, fencing, music practice, classes, etc.

3

[princessofsociallinks]

The girl before her is dressed as Lucia Knightley would dress, and looks the same - but for the addition of a coat of purple hair, a unicorn's horn, and wings, and independently swivelling ears.

She bows her head. "That's... completely understandable, miss. We've all been under a lot of stress lately. As I'm sure you can see."

[1in_perfection]

She narrows her eyes at the girl in front of her. She looks like someone from Mitsuru's memories; glimpsed at a library or at a music club... sans the new colors and appendages. Those seem to flicker on and off in Mitsuru's eyes, like a very strange form of mirage.

"...Lucia, was it?" And she says that in a way to show how much she doubts that's the actual name. Mitsuru tilts her head to the side by a fraction, still trying to track and categorize what she thinks she's seeing... and remembers to lower the fencing foil, as long as she's at it.

[princessofsociallinks]

"It was," she says. The face flickering back in is that of a young girl with dark skin, black hair, and a purple and pink ribbon instead of the stripes. "And Michelle was your name, right?"

Her emphasis on the past tense would be strange to any onlookers, but Mitsuru should understand her meaning.

[1in_perfection]

Before she answers, Mitsuru's eyes dart around the practice room. There doesn't appear to be anyone in earshot, but even then caution has a way of closing around her throat. Instead Mitsuru dips her head in a very slight nod.

"...Formerly." She keeps her voice low. "And while I remain on the records under the name... I have a certain hesitance in answering to it." Or the deep rooted pain that name threatens to draw up. Mitsuru's fingers clench into a fist for a brief moment at the flicker of Michelle's memory; being cast aside by one's family-

"This situation," she gestures to the school grounds at large, "sets me ill at ease. At the moment, practicing and observing seems to be the only solid and constant thing I can rely on."

3

[pouringrain]

[Immediately both hands go up, placating and defending all at the same time. He could easily have dodged any swings, but he was familiar enough with this senpai - kind of... maybe - that he didn't fee like he had to be concerned for his life or anything.] "No worries, no worries. You're still pretty good at that!"

[Yuuki - no, Yamamoto. Yuuki was another name - a different name? Or was it? He was still having trouble figuring out his memories from the ones here, and it shows in it's own way. The warm smile he'd usually give was smaller, less carefree than what might have be familiar to the senior in front of him.

He had yet to lose his chipper optimism, however, as he folded his hands casually behind his back and took a step closer. Peering over the sword and then back up to her with a curious tilt of his head.] "So whatcha doing here all by yourself? Training?"

[1in_perfection]

'Remembering.'

The thought causes Mitsuru to narrow her eyes; she's certain there's another headache coming on, with this influx of information. And her other self seems eager to flood her mind with all sorts of memories (false memories, she has to keep telling herself) that his person is an underclassman of sorts to her.

And that as of now, he has nothing to do with the turmoil in her head. So there's no point in having him receive her frustration. It's unbecoming of a Kirijo.

And if she continues to tell herself that, she'll be more and more convinced that's who she is.

"Lost in thoughts." Mitsuru admits, lowering the practice weapon and swishing it to the side. Releasing a touch more energy and frustration. "And I find that practicing helps my focus in sorting them out... though if you don't mind my inquiring, are you here for the same?"

She thought he was in baseball. Not fencing.

[pouringrain]

"Ah, yeah! You could say that."

Bubbly laughter followed, bright and cheerful. Even if the smile that came after still held a bit of uncertainty, he wasn't really sure what brought him all the way over here. Just did it on impulse, but having a sudden recollection of memories - his friends, his real dad, and all those fights he'd been in, just made it where he was itching to pick up a sword again.

Or something similar, but he hadn't expected to bump into Mitsuru on his way over here. He'd consider it something of a happy accident, as he never minded her company and she didn't seem too different from before.

"I was looking for somewhere to try my hand at swinging a sword, because I forgot but then I remembered! And I don't want to let my other friends down, so I figured why not practice and make sure my skills are back in top condition. But then I saw you and thought, maybe I should talk to her! So here I am."

[1in_perfection]

Mitsuru's hand flashes up in a 'stop, please' sign. Something about his choice of words is... well, bewildering for one. But more importantly, there's an echo of what she's experienced in what he says. Albeit a very faint echo of her own experiences, given how fast those words are coming in.

"Wait a moment... how does one-?" Go about forgetting and remembering how to swing a sword? But then, it probably has something to do with how one can forget and then remember how to summon a different self, so Mitsuru stops that question short.

"...Never mind, actually. But what I did understand from that is that you've... gained a sudden understanding of swordplay, and wish to express it?"

03

[themortalhalf]

Shinjiro hadn’t expected to have rapier pointed at him the moment he stepped into the room, but perhaps he should have. His reaction time is slower than it might have been—he still has a headache, a reminder of a very long, troubled night coupled with 18 years worth of memories suddenly being injected into him like a drug—but it’s fast enough, reacting like he would have if he were back in Tartarus, where quick reflexes were demanded by those who wandered its labyrinthine corridors.

He takes a step back, examining her and trying to fit the woman he sees before him into the memories he now remembers—the ones confined to Iwatodai. She’s different, but still the same. They both are, he guesses. He’s lacking his usual coat and beanie, but his hair is still as long as he recalls it being. He just looks more like a person society would accept with fewer reservations—cleaner, less a mess. Still a mongrel but no longer a street mutt, scrounging food out of trashcans, his uniform loose and slightly rebellious. It's more like he was before everything had went wrong and he had left the dorms, not expecting to return.

An eyebrow lifts.

“Glad to see you still remember how to use a sword.”

He wants to stick his hands into his coat pockets, but he can’t anymore. He doesn't have it.

[1in_perfection]

It takes a moment for her eyes to focus on the other person. But when they do-

Seeing him standing there does something to her head; shakes something loose that her practicing could barely touch. That's evident in how her eyes go wide for a split second, like someone just doused her with cold water. It's a very blunt-force wake up call... and fitting, with what's playing through her fragmented memories.

"Aragaki-"

No. That's not right either. Her memories suggest he was one of the few people she was on a first name basis with.

"...Shinjiro." And a part of her wonders how she ever forgot that. There's an almost shameful feeling curling up in her stomach at the thought. Naturally, the best course of action is to silent it with words.

"It... seems as though I do remember that much. Even if everything else is too disordered for my liking." There's a hint of a frustrated sigh in her words. "This said... knowing how to fight may prove to be advantageous, soon enough."

[themortalhalf]

It's strange hearing her say his name. His real one. Shinjiro feels like he hasn't heard it in years, like it's a name that's been covered in layers of dust, one that had been locked away in a cellar thought lost to time. But hearing it—as strange as it sounds to his ears (though not quite "wrong")—makes him feel just a little less crazy. He stares at her for a little longer, noting the frustration in her voice, trying to bring to mind everything he thinks he knows about her, like it's a test, one he feels like he has to pass to stay sane.

"Yeah. It's all a damn mess."

There's plenty of memories he doesn't even want to touch. But you couldn't just choose which memories you did and didn't want to remember.

His eyes flick over to her rapier. "So. You're going to fight then? The Shadows here."

[1in_perfection]

"To put is bluntly, yes. It certainly is a mess." Mitsuru sighs out, gauging him up. The truth is, he seems tattered and tired but everything that's gone on. And she can make quite a few guesses on what he's been through... because frankly, she feels and probably looks similar to him.

But being tired doesn't prevent her from dipping her head in a nod.

"...Yes. I am. It seems the one course of action where I have some control, and some say in what happens. And simply sitting back waiting does not sit well with me. My... other self," and there's a brief flash of irritation in her expression at that. "May have been content to study and practice, and nothing more. But now that I know there's something more insidious, I refuse to be idle."

But even if her own mind is made up... she doesn't seem ready or willing to drag Shinjiro into this.

"I won't pressure you to joining this fight. I don't remember everything with clarity, but... I do remember wanting to respect your own decisions."

Wild---though sort of 3?

[sociallyarcward]

[John wondered if maybe he should have tried harder to talk himself out of fencing. He'd never taken a class like that before, but here he was, standing in front of the racks and already dressed in the gear. It wasn't...quite the same as the sword he'd remembered using--the sword Jaune used--but how much closer was he going to be able to get.

John looked down at his chest. Well, okay, there was ONE place he could get a sword, but he wasn't about to do that here because GOD did that hurt.

His eyes drift over the foils and he selects one at random, picking it up and giving it a good swish like he'd seen in movies...like he'd seen in his own memories.

He was oblivious to the other people in the room until he turned around and nearly ran into one of the girls there. He stumbled backwards.]

S-sorry.

And here we go!

[1in_perfection]

She's on edge. That much is clear in how she continues jabbing at the training target, and then spins around when something shows up in her peripheral vision. Mitsuru dances sideways with a sharp, "Dieu!" snapped under her breath, weapon up and ready to fight-

But it's not a shadow that just blundered into her. Only a person... who despite seeming awkward on his feet has a certain knack for sending her heart rate into overdrive.

She should probably do something about that, and those reflexes still screaming at her to fight.

"No harm done. I was needlessly focused on practicing, to the exclusion of all else." Mitsuru allows at last, taking a step to the side. She brings the weapon back down, before taking in the newcomer a bit more.

"Are you here to practice, perhaps?" She nods to the foil he's holding.

[sociallyarcward]

Red hair. It's...but no, that's not right. He doesn't recognize her from that, she's from around school. And not that school either. Ugh, why did this have to happen? His life wasn't so bad before that stupid app. Sure, getting shoved into lockers and being picked on in the hallways wasn't the best but it had been...simple.

He turned his attention back to the foil in his hand, "I--yeah I think so. It seems like it could be interesting."

[1in_perfection]

"I can vouch for it being just that. It can be quite engaging," to the exclusion of all else apparently. Mitsuru's own fencing sword taps at the side of her foot, signifying that reflexive reaction of hers still weighs on her mind.

"Though if you are not familiar with it..." Mitsuru considers the situation only briefly before reaching a decision. Maybe there's a bit of her false self still in her that feels an inclination to aid someone; maybe its that she's tiring of facing off against a training dummy. Either way, Mitsuru gives a nod to the newcomer. "I am in need of a sparring partner. And I consider myself versed enough that I might be able to teach you something, if desired."

1

[neverbeentogeorgia]

Oh, man. Akira laughs out loud to himself after reading that first block of text followed by the formal, verbose apology that follows it. He's pretty sure he knows exactly who's in the chat room; there's only one person that talks or writes like that.

Sakuya Kira: lemme guess
Sakuya Kira: this is michelle from senior cycle isn't it

[1in_perfection]

Mitsuru Kirijo: Yes, though the screen name attached to my words is not one I'm familiar with.

Right after she types that, Michelle stops to rub at her forehead. That ache is making her skull feel like an eggshell.

Mitsuru Kirijo: Except perhaps for a brief bout of deja vu.

[neverbeentogeorgia]

Oh, well that's more interesting. Combined what she said before about it being unfamiliar name and her headache, he sobers up. He has... would you call this a hunch? No. No, this is closer to a sense of... foreboding. A premonition.

Sakuya Kira: Did that sense of deja vu coincide with that migraine of yours?

[1in_perfection]

Mitsuru Kirijo: There does seem to be something of a correlation. Though at first, I thought it was due to stress.

And why wouldn't it be? They have studies and exams, and she specifically has to worry over the possibility of her family looking over her performance; she lives here and pursues her education under their permission, after all. Though right now, that worry feels distant compared to her current source of confusion.

Mitsuru Kirijo: You wouldn't happen to be experiencing the same, would you? It might be a condition unique to campus life.

3

[argentimperator]

The rapier met with a saber, 'Seth's' stance perfect and balanced. He didn't seem bothered by either the reflexive reaction or the new coldness. Sephiroth's own green eyes, he knew, were colder than they had ever been before he remembered his old life.

If Mitsuru paid attention, sometimes his pupils seemed to flicker and shift into slits, a faint glow appearing and disappearing in his eyes.

"You're out of focus." Calm and cool, controlled, but not judging. "A dummy might not be a useful partner to you right now."

[1in_perfection]

"Actually, my focus is more clear than it's been in days." Or is it months? She wasn't certain on how long she'd been lingering in this place, and where her own experience stopped and the shadow and mirror show of false memories took over.

Mitsuru twitched her hand to the side, causing the swords to scrape.

"Are you volunteering to step into that place, however? I wouldn't refuse a challenge." She coached her own voice into something more level and frank. It was true, that this one seemed to understand a sword; she could see that in the poise, even the block. And it would suit her more than striking a fixed target over and over.

In another moment of taking him in, those false memories provide some data; Mitsuru frowns for a moment, uncertain how much she wants to accept what's being given, before finally deciding it has some use... even if the authenticity is in doubt.

"Seth Valens... upper class man and senior in the fencing club." There ARE still formalities to observe, after all. "I will admit, I find it surprising you'd make an appearance now."

[argentimperator]

"I believe it has been a surprising sort of week for quite a few people. And I am finding training dummies unsatisfying of late myself."

Sephiroth shifted his hold on the saber, his stance sliding smoothly into a balanced one that could attack or defend. Overall he preferred going on the offense, but the young woman looked like she needed an outlet. His junior, the memory of Seth pointed out. Someone he had a responsibility to.

"Let's see how much of a challenge we can present each other."

[1in_perfection]

"Very well then." She shifts her fingers across the grip, ensuring the sword is balanced just so in her hand. Mitsuru narrows her eyes, tuning out what she can; no frustration, confusion, or anything else that distracts. Just a will to fight. Maybe he is an upper class man, but that only encourages her to make this a committed, best-of-one's-abilities-match.

"Then let's see just that."

First lunge, to test the defenses. The rapier licks out, to give a test tap directed at the left shoulder, and Mitsuru leans her weight into the strike, to get the best amount of reach she can; she stares down her arm to gauge the reaction, and see what, if any counterstroke she'll receive.