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Who: Persona-users, Suwa
Where: "Critical thinking" class. Third floor, otherwise unused classroom.
When: Wednesday, April 19th
What: Persona 101.

"Good afternoon, everyone!"

Rather than Yachiyo, it was Suwa who stood at the head of the classroom on that first Tuesday, out of her lab coat and in a sensible skirt suit. "Today's going to be an introductory lesson on the shinmen--though you may be more comfortable with the word Persona--and the other world, so it was decided that I should deliver it."

She clapped her hands together and half-bowed, wincing a bit. "I'm sorry about how our first meeting went, but some of it was necessary, and some of it... well, Yachiyo-sensei is... difficult sometimes."

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From his seat somewhere in the back of the room, Taue offered his opinion on the matter.

"I thought she was fine, really," he chimed in, "Takes a lot of stones to so calmly tell a bunch of teenagers to commit suicide. Nice to see that even someone like her can pass the Chitoku psych test."

For once, though, Taue actually had a notebook out and a pen at the ready. This class, he figured, might have actual importance in his immediate life.

Mirai had chosen himself a seat near the middle by the window, and when he heard fearless talking his eyes slanted in Taue's general direction. This was not surprising, because his roommate was very ballsy indeed. Like a god placing his hand into a wolf's mouth. Taue, he believed, had the ego of a divine. If ever there was a person in need of enlightening, it was this one.

He hesitated then. Taue sure was a problem. But he wasn't the worst person here While he thought about that, he looked around and seemed quite interested in everyone there. They were obviously going to have to work together. He leaned forward and brought his hands under his mouth and turned his eyes to the woman at the head of the room.

Ryuta stationed himself at a desk in the front of the class. It was an ideal spot after all. It was easier to focus on the material, the teacher was readily available to assist you, and it was closer to the exit. He was a little surprised no one else took such a coveted position.

On his desk was a standard notebook with multi-color tabs on the side to better organize the material. A pencil, pen, highlighter, and eraser rested beside the notebook ready to be used in a moments notice. To top it all off, he held a small tape recorder. While out of date, it served its purpose rather well.

He seemed rather pleased with himself. Preparation was, after all, the key to success. And this class could very well provide valuable information, a deciding factor on the battlefield. One forgotten note or misheard lecture could very well lead to an early grave.

He readjusted his glasses for a moment before answering Suwa, "It matters not now. What's done is done." The past is past. Better to focus on the current task at hand.

Edited 2013-08-31 19:10 (UTC)

Suwa winced at Taue's comment. "That's not entirely fair. It was necessary in some form, for reasons I'll come to today."

She cleared her throat lightly. "Since that was brought up, I'll begin with the shinmen--the Persona, as those like you who have them seem to know them. I believe Yachiyo-san called them 'guardian spirits'; it's the closest description we have for something we admittedly still don't fully understand. As Takaoka-san told you all, the Potential is rare, and it also weakens with age--and there are other dangers when you're older, but I'll come to that as we go on.

"The Persona is derived from the mind, and its form and abilities are linked to the personality and psychology of the user. The word means 'mask', and it appears in the work of the psychological theorist Carl Jung, who used it to describe the role one plays in society. The shinmen seems to express that in some indirect, archetypal way..."

Another light clearing of the throat, and she shook her head. "But all that's not necessary to know. Of course, if you're interested, Sekimiya-san or I can talk with you about it in more detail...

"What is important to all of you is that extreme stress and fear of death are needed to bring them out. That's why the Evokers exist." There was a fairly large lockbox next to her, from which she brought out what seemed to be one of the not-quite-weapons they had all received that day, but it lacked the pale blue light along the hilt, and flared to life when she pressed the button.

"The blade creates the illusion of being killed without actually being able to penetrate the skin. It's completely safe." Suwa brought her hand near the edge of the blade, which warped subtly around it; there was only minimal space between them, but the effect was nonetheless clear. It became even more striking when she brought her palm parallel to the guard and the blade suddenly shrank to fit the smaller space.

"This is only a demonstration model. The real thing has a subtle effect on brainwaves as well, which helps induce the necessary mental state for the Persona, and lets it keep working after you know the trick. But it's not enough on its own, which is why you need a reasonably convincing illusion of death."

Her faint smile was apologetic and slightly sheepish. "If it's any consolation, it hurts less as you go on."

Edited 2013-08-31 23:22 (UTC)

Haruka, meanwhile, was sitting near the door. She didn't have a notepad out but she seemed to be listened, her head prompted on her arm. At Suwa's last comment, she said, matter-of-fact,

"That's good. It's hard to fight for your life when you're on the ground and out of it because your mind thinks you've died."

Miyume had chosen a seat near the door, as well. The attacks were becoming more frequent now as much as she wanted to head across the room to sit next to Mirai, her body refused to cooperate with that wish. So Miyume had sat down next to Haruka right before the lecture had begun.

As ill as Miyume had looked during the Persona awakening, she seemed even more exhausted now. If Yachiyo had been teaching instead of Suwa, she wouldn't have had any qualms about putting her head on her desk and sleeping through the entire lecture. Suwa had struck her as less inclined to forget they were human beings first and whatever the government wanted them to be second. So Miyume was willing to reciprocate that respect by trying to stay awake and hear her out.

Edited 2013-09-01 20:41 (UTC)

Ryuta wrote down quick summaries of everything Suwa said. While he wanted to hear some more details regarding Carl Jung's theory, he felt that would be best saved for another time. After hearing her explanation of the Evokers, he was reminded of a fairly important detail which hasn't been discussed yet.

"Parden me, Suwa. I was wondering about these monster's we are supposed to fight. What exactly do we know about them? Any distinguishable patterns or signs of intelligence?"

"That is the idea," Suwa responded, to her credit nearly managing to suppress her wince at Haruka's phrasing. "Shadows are dangerous--even if we do have a few means to hold them off, they're temporary at best, and nowhere near as effective as a Persona.

"And I was just about to get to your question, Tanemoto-san. And so, the Shadows." Next out of the lockbox was a small projector, which she placed on a nearby desk at the front. A bit of fiddling with the console, and an image emerged: a hologram of a black, amorphous thing with two malevolent yellow slits for eyes and a pair of clawed limbs. It shuffled along ominously as Suwa continued.

"Shadows are the natural inhabitants of the other world. As the Persona is derived from the mind, according to our best theories, the other world and the Shadows are as well. The Shadows are in some way related to, perhaps even incarnations of, humanity's darker impulses."

She gestured to the projector. "There are two varieties. The first, and most common, is simply called a 'shadow'," she went on, using the English word. "So far as we can tell, this black blob is their natural form. They're not sentient--their one goal is to feed on human minds, and to that end escape the other world. I'm sure you're all too young to recall anything about the Apathy Syndrome incidents at Port Island, but that was the work of these beings."

She paused, distracted for a moment from her lecture by Miyume's current state, a concerned frown clouding her brow. "Hazama-san, are you all right? Would you like me to call the nurse?"

"I'll be fine," Miyume reassured the woman. Even her voice sounded weary but a tiny smile surfaced. "This is normal and I'm used to it."

It appeared that she'd been right about Suwa. She was sensitive and had a kind heart. Or at least, she understood the importance of appearing that way to inspire cooperation. Either way, Miyume could respect and sympathize with this woman more.

"So, please continue. This is very interesting."

And it was. It held her interest enough to keep her awake even when she felt so sleepy.

The way Suwa's lips pressed together made it clear that she wasn't comfortable just leaving it at that, but she nodded nonetheless. "After, then."

With that, she went on. "When threatened, shadows transform into one of any number of forms." A few button-presses brought up a number of bizarre shapes, one after the other: a floating ball with a giant, toothy mouth, its tongue lolling out; a floating tiara attached to a mask and hair; a giant, masked stag beetle; a pair of masked, robed humanoids linked by spears piercing through both their bodies.

"Their properties are difficult to predict, though there are some similarities between those of similar shapes, and they can use the same abilities as the Persona--something we can only call magic. Fortunately for us, most aren't very intelligent. Some are capable of cooperation and rudimentary strategy, but that's all we've observed.

"The other kind is much more dangerous."

The projector now showed a human silhouette in black, with color only in its yellow-irised eyes, bearing a look nearly as malevolent as the monster from before. "This is the Shadow--" here she used the Japanese word, kage "--also called the 'other self'. While common shadows are the darker side of humanity as a whole, this Shadow is the manifestation of the repressed desires and emotions of a specific person, someone who's entered the other world while in a state of intense emotional stress or self-doubt.

"If the person denies them, then they only get stronger--like the common shadows, they become monstrous and lash out." The projection bulged and swelled unpleasantly, growing vicious claws and far too many limbs. "Except in a few rare cases, the only way to permanently quell the Shadow is to accept what it represents..."

The silhouette shifted into a vague, glowing figure, albeit one that still had too many arms. "... At which point it becomes a Persona."

Mirai was so curious about the exchange between Suwa and Miyume that he lifted his head and gave them a curious stare. It was highlighted by his soft smile - which had been on his face all the time - his brown eyes sparkled with delight. That joy tried to hide his wickedness and failed.

He had been sat over in the corner looking thoroughly unconcerned. But since others were there in the class too, there were comments that were very interesting indeed. He wished he could be amused by more of them.

Grudgingly, he had come to accept that one thing held him to this mission - and looked forward to leaving his problems behind him in Tokyo. The magical figure glowing over the projector filled him with a sense of enlightenment. The shock of it ran through his body up his spine and down his arms - and made his hands tap the desk to outlay all his energy. One then shot up. He was dying to ask a question.

"That's our Persona. And a Shadow. And our Shadows are something I am fairly sure none of us have encountered."

While he had stated what made him curious, there was no doubt the methods their Personae had been acquired were radically different.

"That's correct. Very observant, Imaizumi-san."

The projector shut off for the time being, leaving Suwa the only focal point of the class. "Acceptance of the Shadow is the other way we're aware of to gain a Persona. But it's actually more hazardous and less reliable than the Evokers--there aren't many people who can look at something that looks like them, saying everything they hide even from themselves, and accept it, especially not in the mental state needed to bring it forth in the first place.

"And if it runs wild, and no one is there with a Persona..." Her eyes and lips pressed shut, and she shook her head. "They're typically stronger than common shadows, but their intelligence is what makes them far more dangerous--and their determination to kill their counterpart and anyone else in their way."

Edited 2013-09-03 23:31 (UTC)

"So we won't need to worry about facing our inner Jekylls?" Haruka asked. She sounded less blunt than she had in the previous statement, turning her head in Suwa's direction.

"We already have our Personas so our own Shadows wouldn't manifest?"

"Unfortunately, that's not the case," Suwa sighed. "We haven't observed it ourselves, but research indicates that under severe emotional stress, the Persona could revert to a Shadow."

The mere thought, it seemed, brought on a worried frown. "Of course, it can then be tamed again, but all the same difficulties would be there... It would almost certainly take extreme conditions to trigger it, but all the same, you'll need to be careful."

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