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

Yuuto Kidou | Inazuma 11

[tacticianing]

1: Questions

["Kidou" could see other names in the room. None of them were familiar sounding ones, although he shouldn't expect them to be. Internet aliases exist for a reason. And yet... his fingers hover over the keys, itching to type questions. How could he ask what he wanted to ask without sounding crazy? He'd just entered in a name at random, but he'd typed with such sure purpose that he knew, deep down, there was nothing random about it.

His name is Michi Yamashita. It's always been Michi Yamashita. So why does this other name sound familiar..?]


I have a strange question. How did everyone here select their username?

2: Truths

[A branch snaps underneath Michi's feet. An owl sounds somewhere far away, notable only because it's the only sound of another living thing out here. The rest of the trees around are so silent that it sends a chill up his spine. But he has to know.

He had followed the advice of the app, bringing someone along. He couldn't explain why when they asked, so he just said exactly that - 'I can't explain why, but it's important'. Maybe he should have been more specific - because Trevor panics and backs out when the darkness seems to stretch on from the trees onto them, and a wind rustles the leaves.]

Hey! Wait-

[And then he's alone out here, with the sinister feeling of something lurking just out of sight. Or.. or behind him? He whirls around at a rustling sound- oh. It's just a person.]

Someone else is out here, too?

3: Reflections

[Kidou Yuuto. Or, as the name custom was here, Yuuto Kidou. A name that belonged to a stranger that just so happened to share his face... except that he had the strange feeling it was the other way around. Kidou was who he truly was, and Yamashita...

He finds himself staring at his reflection in a glass window, suddenly apprehensive about it. Wide red eyes stare back at him, unshielded from the world. Anyone at all could see his intentions. The whole world lay out in front of him, without his trademark goggles to narrow his focus and force him to see only what was in front of him.

Right now, he needed that focus. Michi Yamashita did not have the same ability he did to keep calm. There's very real fear reflected back to him, in eyes that not even Kidou was used to seeing. He can still hear the thin ringing in his ears in the absence of his heartbeat. He could still feel, if he clenched his hand, memories of plunging it deep into his chest...]

Who am I, exactly?

[His reflection can't answer him. It can only stare back. He's not paying attention to the fact that he's acting so much weirder than normal. Michi Yamashita was a confident, generally happy person. Yuuto Kidou was a tightly wound ball of nerves curled beneath a calm, confident persona. Anyone who knew his fake self- or the one he's supposed to be here - would know that of all the things you could expect him to do, zoning out staring at a window wasn't among them.]

3: Action

[Or he can be found with a soccer ball in an unused field after school hours, practicing dribbling it with increasing speed. First it was just a walk, then a jog, then a flat run with the ball always ahead of him. He can almost picture the field with familiar people around him, all running with him - even though he's alone, the memories of teammates are strong with him.

He reaches the other goal, catching the ball with his heel to stop its momentum and planting one foot down on the ground. His other pulls back hanging in the air for a moment before with a cry he swings it forward with all his might, sending it directly into the center of the net hard enough to hang in the netting for a second before falling to the ground. The force is so much that he has to change feet to stay balanced, keeping the opposite foot in the air as the ball goes forward and planting it back on the ground heavily when it makes contact.

Anyone who's familiar with his brand of soccer would know that kick as the trademark Koutei Penguin one. But anyone who isn't would just know there was a lot of force to that.

There is a lot in Kidou's life he doesn't understand anymore, and can't cope with. Monsters, possible death, the pain still lingering in his chest every time he thinks about that night, or the fear that threatened to overcome him... suddenly being overwhelmed by memories of pain and anguish, and a loneliness that he never knew before - it was just too much. But soccer was the coping mechanism and best thing in Kidou's life before. And even though Michi has never touched a soccer ball since before today, he had a reputation for moving from sport to sport, activity to activity. No one would blink. Right?]

((Feel free to PM me, hit me up at Crobatman if you want another prompt or to plan anything!))

[forsteri]

[He thought he'd find him here. Sakuma has been spending more time than is probably wise here -- he knows he's supposed to be on the swim team, and he hasn't been skipping practice, but he's losing sleep because he's spending the time he would normally spend doing homework playing soccer, and then he still has to go home and do it.

Sakuma heads down to the field, then hesitates at the edge, when he realizes there's already someone there. But it's Kidou, so he's about to head closer -- and then he has to stop. Is that kick...]

Kidou?

[tacticianing]

[Kidou neatly traps the ball under his foot as it rolls back to him before turning back to face the familiar voice that hailed him. He's obtained sunglasses at some point; they're a far cry from his trademark goggles, but as long as he's outside, he can at least keep that small comfort.]

Sakuma.

[There's a tone to Sakuma's voice that he's not sure he likes. So... he'll just ignore it and keep control over the conversation before it starts. He knows what kick he used. He knows that if anyone would recognize it, it would be Sakuma. He's really not interested in having any discussion about it.]

Interested in joining? I could use the practice.

[forsteri]

[Ah, he covered his eyes. Not surprising -- Sakuma feels like probably he should find him a pair of goggles that he can wear at least on the soccer field, maybe, but for now, sunglasses are fine. He nods simply, dropping his backpack at the edge of the field and laying his uniform jacket out on top of it. He's better prepared for this than he was last time he was here, when he met Genda -- at which point he'd been in his swimwear, which wouldn't work that well for this. Not that his uniform does either, but he cares more about his jammers than his slacks.]

... Yeah, I am, [he says finally. He won't pursue that kick just yet -- that's for later. Possibly way later. He's not going to ask about it until he feels confident he'll get any kind of answer. For now he busies himself rolling his slacks up to his knees for mobility's sake, then straightens again, one hand balanced lightly on his hip.]

Haven't gotten rusty, have you?

[Not by the look of that ball-handling, but he can't help teasing just a little.]

[tacticianing]

[Sakuma takes some time to drop off his stuff, answering Kidou way before he does with words. In his own answer, Kidou slides his foot under the ball with just the right angle to pick it up, kicks it into the air-]

Let's find out.

[- and with a flash of his foot, sends it straight to Sakuma in a clean pass.]

[forsteri]

[Sakuma doesn't need to react consciously. His body just moves, catching the ball on the inside of his foot and guiding it back to the ground in a perfect position to be passed back. But instead he dribbles into the field a little, positioning himself to shoot. He's never been a striker, but since it's only him and Kidou, if they want to do more than just pass back and forth, they'll have to play all the positions themselves.

He doesn't wait for Kidou, and Sakuma doesn't stop running before he actually kicks the ball -- instead he plants his leading foot, using the other to sweep the ball around in a turn, then shifts his weight to that other foot to use his leading one to send the ball not back to Kidou but directly into the net.]

[tacticianing]

[Kidou's eyes narrow behind his glasses, watching Sakuma's movements intently.

It feels too strange to have the vision field he does. He doesn't need it right now; the sides are superfluous information that could only distract him from paying close and exact attention to what his friend is going to do. As Sakuma moves onto the field, Kidou's feet hit the grass, carrying him straight into a defender position even before he realizes he's moving at all. Is that instinct? the part of him that's Michi can't follow at all what he's doing.

The confusion slows his movements down, but only by a little. Sakuma comes to a stop - his foot draws back. He's going to shoot. He's not taken any angle to make that a pass, so - Kidou's not going to make it there in time as he is. Not unless he works very hard to get there.

Kidou doubles his speed, thanking Michi internally for having worked so hard to be good at track as he races to intercept. The ball almost passes through the line delineating the goal area before Kidou's foot catches it, sweeping it firmly into his possession.

So, that's how this is. With a grin, he feints continuing forward, then veers off to the other diagonal. With luck, he'll have bought some time to get past Sakuma and out into the open field.]

[forsteri]

[Oh, no. No, no. Sakuma won't let that stand. But Kidou's fast -- he was always fast, certainly, but he feels like he might be even faster than he was before. It's weird to think something like that, the Yoshio part of his brain insists -- you don't know Michi at all. But he does, Sakuma counters. This is his captain. If he doesn't know Kidou, does he know anything at all?

Undaunted by Kidou's speed, Sakuma sprints after him, and has to swerve to recover from that feint -- and then Kidou's out ahead of him and he has to hasten his own steps. He has to get past him -- if he doesn't, there'll be no way for him to block Kidou's shoot. Sakuma pushes himself harder -- Yoshio doesn't race the way Michi does, on foot, but rather with his whole body. It's given him endurance even beyond the level he had before.

He's intent on catching up and he does, though he's still not close enough to steal the ball back. He's close enough behind, though, that if Kidou were to stop abruptly, he'd bowl right into him. He doesn't have hissatsu to help him -- or at least, the ones he'd be okay with using can't be done on his own. So all he has is his own physical ability. Which is fine -- overall they're about evenly matched, and before it was in similar ways, but now -- now Michi Yamashita and Yoshio Koutarou have specialized in different areas. He's not sure how things might go now. All the more reason he work even harder.

Sakuma makes it to the point where they're running parallel to each other, but he doesn't make a move to steal just yet, just keeps pace. As soon as he sees an opportunity, though... if he can shoulder in there, he will.]

2

[blackdogdown]

Gut's is probably the least friendly person to see looming behind you when things are dark in spooky in the woods. His edgy black sweatshirt and dark blue jeans blend in well, leaving only the red hot ember of a fresh cig to illuminate his face.

He squints at the kid across from him, a trademarked one eyed glare.

"Hey, kid. I dunno where your parents are, but this is way past curfew."

He shakes a few ashes away, and jerks a thumb behind him.

"The roads back there, if your lost. There's something ugly in these woods right now. So don't come back, you here?"

[tacticianing]

Michi stares up at him, then to the direction he's being pointed.

"I know there's something in the woods," he says though he doesn't seem to want to offer up any further information about why he's out here. What can he say, that he's following the advice of a mysterious program on his phone? It seems a bad idea to admit that he's not lost - that would imply that he's out here this late on purpose.

"I was with a friend, but we got separated. We heard it at that time."

Translation being that he ran away when something spooked him, but details.

"I won't leave unless I make sure he's not still out here."

[blackdogdown]

Guts nearly groans. Of course there's another kid running around. Of course. As if a monster in the woods wasn't already trouble enough.

"Fine. Good on you then. You see which way he went?"

Yes, he's helping. He even takes out his phone and flips off a strange (but very familiar) orange app to pull up it's flashlight.

"But once we find him, you are both leaving, understand? I don't care what you came here for."

[tacticianing]

[If Michi sees that app, his eyes visibly widen in recognition, mouth opening to say something then and there. But he shuts it again when he's told further. That app... ]

I... thought it was this direction.

[So, deeper into the orchard?]

Now I don't know anymore.

[That's a disappointment in itself. He'd been severely hoping he wouldn't be caught out here. But it's a lot easier to point out that he's now alone instead of the reason that either of them came out here in the first place. With any luck, this guy isn't going to ask.]

[blackdogdown]

"Well, it's the best hint we got. Stay close, he can't have gone far."

He'd call the cops if he could, but the idea of more people in the woods with "something dangerous" afoot riles. He will not put more people in danger.

Instead, he turns the flashlight forward, searching for any sign of footprints or struggles through the brush. He looks back once, expecting Michi to follow.

"Whats your friends name, kid? You should call for him."

[tacticianing]

He can't say why that feels like a bad idea. Maybe, he rationalizes, it's because it's making loud noises at night where someone could hear. Even though he wants one person to... He gives the man a slightly anxious look before complying.

"Trevor! Hey!"

In the distance, something moves. It's fleeting - a deeper shadow nestled within shadows - and he loses sight of it almost instantly. In another life, he might know better than to pick the pace up to a light jog towards the thing. Apparently, not so much in this one.

[blackdogdown]

These idiots are absolutly the ones to die first in a horror movie. Something rustles, Michi follows, and Gut's trots after, swinging his flashlight around for any sign of life.

Something rustles again, a flash of black behind the leaves that darts away before the light of his phone can touch it. In another life, Gut's would have been prepared, drawn his weapon, told the kid to get back, because why would any kid hide in the woods and refuse to respond?

Instead, he ignores the anxious feeling in his heart and tries to pull the brush back, get a clearer view of the thing.

The light falls on something with teeth that snarls and writhes and oh, perhaps this wasn't the best idea