(no subject)

[harmonizenpc]

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."

Comments

[phantomcloud]

"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.

[harmonizenpc]

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."

[burningbow]

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.

[harmonizenpc]

"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."

[allisnothing]

"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?"

[harmonizenpc]

"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."