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

Pharos - Persona 3

[seasonsofdeath]

1

He'd been in bed a long time ago- he's allowed to stay up until 8:30 normally, and today his parents sent him to bed earlier because he was complaining of feeling sick. But Pharos hasn't really been able to get much sleep, which makes him all the more irritable and upset, especially since he's already exhausted.

Rolling off, he plants his face into his pillow as if that will help, but then there's that pulse and he can tell something has changed. He slowly pulls himself out of the pillow, and sees the glowing phone...

Death: This app is weird.

Death: And I'm not supposed to talk to strangers online.

He doesn't even totally register the name he put in instead of his own.

3

Post-Awakening is... difficult on Pharos. Being a ten year old boy is a lot different from being a Shadow of Death. Except, unfortunately, for the inability to be able to judge a situation well enough to figure out what might be appropriate conversation. Pharos has never had a lot in the way of tact, and given the subject matter he's now prone to talking about, it's getting a whole lot worse.

"But what did I say?" he might be caught asking as a concerned teacher leads him away to the counselors' or principal's office. Turns out talking about death at school is not ok.

Not to mention his rather grumpy posting to AppleNet.

Death: Shadows aren't supposed to have Personas. It doesn't make sense.

3, don't have a PB but his human form is black

[mutesician]

Well...Louis has been trying to look out for the Awakened kids. He's tried to pass off some of Pharos' comments as being related to some stories Lucia's club is talking about, but that excuse can't hold forever, and he knows using it too much will probably get the club investigated, or Pharos removed from it. Still, he's at least able to stop one of the teachers and bring Pharos to the principal's office himself. He's using the phone for this conversation, since it's easier to manage while walking.

Louis: What was it this time? He has a reassuring smile on his face. He knows Pharos' circumstances, and he'll do his best to let him talk more about it if he wants.

o> roger! and pharos may or may not do music things, haven't decided yet.

[seasonsofdeath]

"I don't know," Pharos says, with an irritated sigh. That's the hardest part so far- everyone else seems to universally know what is and isn't ok to say, and he hasn't worked it out yet, "I... guess it might have been when my teacher was talking about needing to protect the environment so that the earth can live longer, I said it was still going to end eventually. ...I wasn't trying to say we shouldn't still be nice to it!" He found the reason, but may have still missed the point.

[mutesician]

Well, Louis has his own biases in regards to the environment. After all, it's kind of where he lives...or used to live, he supposes. At the same time...he knows that Pharos is quite acutely aware of death in general. He taps his chin a bit while he thinks, trying to figure out how to point it.

Louis: I guess she might also have been worried about where you learned that. The heat death of the universe is generally part of the high school curriculum. Hey, if you try to be the teacher who tries to help out every kid, you'll eventually pick up non-music stuff from them as well. Some teachers just don't like their students knowing stuff they haven't taught yet. He pauses. I guess it might also have seemed strange if you didn't sound worried about it. Most creatures tend to worry about death.

3

[thewrench]

News flash! None of this makes sense >_<
But good to know

[seasonsofdeath]

Why not?

Shadows are the things we fight at night. Personas are what we summon. You didn't know that?

[thewrench]

well yeah i know that
but 'Shadows aren't supposed to have Personas'
shadows having personas is news to me
i mean it's not surprising, police have guns, gang members have guns

3

[draculabackwards]

[Alucard has heard one of his tutoring students is having a bit of a rough time lately. So with this in mind, he hopes he can talk to Pharos about what might be happening. It'll certainly give him something to think about other than his own disturbing post awakening.]

Pharos? It's Adrian. Are you ready for your math lesson?

[seasonsofdeath]

Oh, um, hi Adrian. Yeah, I guess so.

[It's not like he has much choice, and at least this means his teachers who have already heard him say things he's apparently not supposed to will stop looking at him weird for a while.]

[draculabackwards]

[He gets all their books and problems ready for the lesson.]

Your parents have told me that you're saying a lot of things to the teachers. I don't think I quite understand what they're so upset about. [You couldn't exactly avoid death, after all. Especially as he remembers a certain kind of Death. He liked stealing all of his good equipment!] So you can tell me a little if you like.

1

[secretbirden]

[Yuuya's fascinated by the app, mostly browsing through apparently dozens of other confused people. What even kind of prank is this?

Then he spots Pharos' line and chuckles quietly.]

Sakazaki Yuuya: orly

Sakazaki Yuuya: heres some starngerly advice anyway

Sakazaki Yuuya: cool it with the edgelord kid

Sakazaki Yuuya: how old r u anyway?

[Ah, the wisdom of the ages.]

[seasonsofdeath]

Death: What's edgelord?

Death: What are you talking about?

[he's not telling you how old he is YOU ARE A STRANGER]

[secretbirden]

Sakazaki Yuuya: you know

Sakazaki Yuuya: how your name is...........

Sakazaki Yuuya: DEATH........... 💀💀💀

Sakazaki Yuuya: i understand wanting 2 b cool, as i am v cool and mnay ppl desire 2 be me

Sakazaki Yuuya: but dont worry so much

Sakazaki Yuuya: if ur really a kid youve got lots of time to become truly COOL

Sakazaki Yuuya: like so

Sakazaki Yuuya: 🍧🍧🍧

3

[mockingbirb]

Does anything about this make sense? Asking for a friend.

[seasonsofdeath]

Well the app was probably the contract.

[See now it all makes sense.]

[mockingbirb]

What? Have you (kind of) done this before? Because it sure sounds like it.

So what happens to the people who signed this contract and then, I don't know, got hit by a bus and were in the hospital and couldn't make it because their legs were in casts or something? Because I've reeeeeeally been wondering about that.

3

[princessofsociallinks]

HHTwilightSparkle: If you have prior experience with Shadows, please elaborate. We need all the information we can get.
HHTwilightSparkle: Also, I really hope your username is more of the Rider-Waite tarot motif than actual literal death.
HHTwilightSparkle: The former would be a good sign.

[seasonsofdeath]

I am the Shadow of the Thirteenth Arcana. I was made to bring about the Fall.

[so... yes and no???]

[princessofsociallinks]

"Was," Past tense?

Leaving aside the Jungian meanings, why can't a Shadow have a Persona?

1 (ish)

[themortalhalf]

The migraine pulsing behind his temples has gotten no better since this afternoon, and no amount or combination of pills he's taken has done much of anything except remind him how useless medicine can be sometimes. He has every intention of throwing himself in his room and turning the light off, hoping the headache will have been kindly shown the door by the time he's conscious again. He has a quiz tomorrow, but he's miles away from caring.

As he walks to his room, he passes his brother's. The kid hadn't been feeling well either, now that he thinks about it. Maybe some bug was going around the campus, and they had both won the wrong lottery. He opens the door a crack to check on him—see if he's asleep or if he needs something—when he catches a light coming from the room. He finds the glow unpleasant, somehow.

Was he on his phone?

He swings the door the rest of the way open.

"What are you doing?"

[seasonsofdeath]

Oh no.

Akira as he is now named immediately puts the phone face down on the bed next to him. "Nothing!" he says automatically, even though his brother can see him, probably saw his phone, and at the very least knows he is not asleep, even though it's midnight. "...What are you doing?"

[themortalhalf]

Nothing? Sure. Of course he believes that.

He glances over at his brother's phone, but doesn't try to pick it up to see what he's even doing on it at this time of night, just sighs, grimaces. "I thought you were sick."

3, let me know your spoiler cutoff

[aceofalosthand]

Hello. That's an interesting statement.

Joker: Do Shadows normally not have Persona? Why wouldn't they?
Joker: I'm asking because I'm curious - I'm a Persona-user myself.

I'm up to... 8/25 or so now?

[seasonsofdeath]

Death: Because they're the same thing.

Noted!

[aceofalosthand]

Joker: ...In my limited experience, your Persona is what happens when you conquer your own Shadow.