skippedabeat | Round 1: Test Drive

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Astin glances over and then does a double-take as the other kid's face does a strange flicker of the double-identity kind. The expression on both of his faces says it all: he doesn't want to be here. And neither does Astin.

So why are we here? Why not just leave?

It's a thought that never would have occurred to him before, much less to act on, so caught up in preserving appearances, and yet the appeal is instantaneous and undeniable. After the secretary steps back into the secretary's office to inform the Principal that there's yet another student here to see him today (apparently there's been a rash of inexplicably irritated and unruly students, Kira turns his head to "Astin."]

The way I see it, we have about thirty seconds to split this joint before she comes back in here and we lose our opportunity to escape. What do you say we make a break for it?

[He honestly isn't expecting the other student to talk to him, and he especially isn't expecting him to say that But it's a good point, really. Why exactly is he sitting in this office when some part of him is sure he's not supposed to be a student here in the first place?

He nods, and glances toward the closed door, then back to the other student.]

Let's go, then.

[Kira stands and strides to the door in one fluid motion. The heavy oak and frosted-glass door opens without so much as a creak; checking the hall outside, it's completely empty. Kira motions to the younger boy with a small wave of his hand to follow him and then slips out the opening.]

[Gladion follows, making as little noise as possible as they leave the room and sneak down the hallway. Luckily the hallway stays empty, though he hears footsteps in the one crossing it, and motions to the older boy to make sure he noticed the corner might not be so clear.]

[Kira nods, backing off and away from the perpendicular hallway. There's a pair of vending machines next to the Principal's office, and he ducks back behind them, motioning for the younger boy to follow him.]

[He steps back into the shadow of the vending machine, and just in time it would seem. He can't see whoever's in the hall from there, but he hears the footsteps get a little too close for comfort and stop at one of the machines. That's a tense few seconds, but then whoever that was takes their drink and walks off away from where they are.

He listens for other sounds of people moving around nearby, but nothing stands out, so maybe the coast is clear again.]

[Kira fishes into his back pocket and pulls out a small but highly reflective metal lighter. He extends his hand and uses it to take a peek down the hallway: as far as he can tell, they're safe.]

C'mon.

[Kira slips back out into the open and then starts off toward the main exit at a sprint.]

[He nods, and follows the other student down the hall and out the door, luckily not running into any more trouble along the way. Outside the door, there are a handful of people within view, but none are teachers, nor are any of them paying enough attention to the doorway to wonder why the first second of them getting outside looked quite so rushed. So from there, it seems easy enough to just play it cool.]

So now what?

Just follow my lead.

[Kira starts calmly walking toward the parking lot, hands jammed in his pockets and strolling slowly like they're not up to anything particularly bad. He leads the way to a motorcycle.]

You ever ridden on one of these before?

[He nods at the question, not the slightest bit surprised at the motorcycle.]

My- [There's a catch here, just enough to be noticeable. He's not his brother, not really.] ...brother has one.

[Kira's eyes flick to his face at the catch in his voice, noting that his companion is still struggling to filter through his feelings. Well, that's fine; he is too, isn't he? No point in drawing attention to it.

Kira flips open the back box containing his helmet, pulls it out, and hands it over.]

Here. It's a little big, but you should wear it.

[He's glad that whatever might have been noticed about that slip in his speech wasn't called out. It's on a long list of things he wouldn't be at all interested in talking to a near stranger about.

As for the helmet, he just takes it with a slight nod and puts it on.]

[Kira can be a good confidant--but that's the key, isn't it? Before someone's going to open up to you, you have to have a base level of trust already established. He knows better than to pry too deep too fast.

Kira climbs onto the bike first, kicks up the kick stand, and places his hands on the handle bars. The electric motorcycle lights up instantly, recognizing his fingerprints. He turns his head to look over at his companion.]

Hop on.

[As he climbs onto the bike, he can't help the slightly rueful smile that crosses his face. It's a long list of things that "Asher" never would have done. Getting sent to the office, sneaking out and skipping school, getting on a motorcycle going to who knows where with someone he's only ever seen briefly in the school halls. But in reality he's the kid who ran away from home to join Team Skull--it's not that strange.]

You have a plan for where we're going?

[Not that he really cares at the moment, but he likes having some idea of what's going on. Speaking of which.]

What's your name, anyway?

Round 1: Test Drive

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Gonna go ahead and continue this since I think we're making it game canon. If that's still the plan.