>>844776
>>"Why don't you like Progress?"

>>844776
>"Why don't you like Progress?"

>>844776
>"Why don't you like Progress?"

>>844869
>>844886
>>844916


"Why don't you like Progress?" you ask. Jessica huffs. "There's nothing here for me." she says before taking a large bite of salad. "Everyone's talking about how Progress is such a cozy little town, but everyday here feels the same and it makes me want to rip my hair out..."

"Being a bit melodramatic, are we?" Levi asks with a half-grin. Jessica grumbles at him, but you're preoccupied with something else in the cafeteria. One of the students seems to be standing still, looking dazed and confused with a spilled lunch tray at his feet. He's standing in a puddle of milk, but seems not to notice.

>"What's his deal?"
>"Is that guy OK?"
>"Who's that?"
>Write-in

>>844992
>>"Is that guy OK?"

>>844992
>"Is that guy OK?"

>>844992
>"Is that guy OK? I have the urge to start a friendship with him."

>>844992
>>"Is that guy OK?"

>>845031
>I vaguely feel as though a long nosed man is creepily whispering 'persona, persona, persona, social link, social link, social link' into my ear over and over.

>>845001
>>845018
>>845038

"Is that guy OK?" you ask, pointing at the confused looking student. At this point, he's drawing the attention of most of the cafeteria. Jessica and Levi both turn to look.

"Huh...? Is that Chad?" asks Jessica. "Yeah, that's Captain All-American Quarterback alright." says Levi. "But what's with the statue gimmick? The mannequin challenge isn't cool anymore."

As Levi says this, a staff member walks up to Chad and tries to talk to him. You begin walking towards Chad to hear what's being said when Chad's eyes suddenly roll back and he collapses to the ground, drool dribbling out of his mouth as he lies on the ground like a marionette who's strings have been cut.

Of course, this causes quite the hubbub in the cafeteria.

---

It's awhile before the ambulances come to take Chad away, but it's all anyone talks about in the classroom for the rest of the day. Even after class lets out, you run into Levi and Jessica.

"Pretty crazy for your first day, huh?" asks Levi.

>"I've been through worse..."
>"Did Chad have a stroke or something?"
>"Do people zone out and collapse often around here?"
>Write in

>>845166
>"Do people zone out and collapse often around here?"

>>845166
>>"Do people zone out and collapse often around here?"

>>845166
>"Did Chad have a stroke or something?"

>>845166
>>"Did Chad have a stroke or something?"

"Do people zone out and collapse often around here?" you ask. "I mean, it looked like that Chad guy had a stroke."

Jennifer shrugs. "Dunno. I can't remember the last time something like this happened."

Levi rubs his chin, deep in thought. "You know, I've been thinking...the way Chad was all weird before he collapsed? It reminds me of the Knotch."

Jessica groans. "Seriously? That's what a guy having a stroke reminds you of? Some dumb ghost story?"

>"Okay, I'll bite. What's the Knotch?"
>"What do notches have to do with anything?"
>"Knots? Like, the thing you tie?"
>Write-in

>>845422
>"Okay, I'll bite. What's the Knotch?"

>>845458
"Okay, I'll bite. What's the Knotch?"

Jessica rolls her eyes. "Ash, you're wasting your ti-"

Levi cuts her off. "The Knotch is a bit of a town legend...according to the story, the Knotch is a massive disfigured humanoid with a face that looks more like an animal than a man. The Knotch can only be seen by whoever its hunting, and rips their soul out to eat it. which leaves the person catatonic. Usually, the victim dies the next day."

"And it's all a bunch of nonsense our older siblings would tell us an Halloween to scare us sleepless." interjects Jessica.

"Every legend's got some grain of truth to it," Levi says, rubbing his chin. "If Chad doesn't make it past tomorrow, the Knotch might actually be real."

----

Gonna get some shut eye, will continue this later.

aww shit, its back, boys!

(Holy shit I didn't expect to conk out for that long! Sorry guys.)

----

>"Levi, you don't seriously believe in the Knotch, right?"
>"So there's a monster in town?"
>Write-in

>>846046
>"So there's a monster in town? Great, because that's what i want to hear first day."

>>846046
>"Levi, you don't seriously believe in the Knotch, right?"

>>846046
>"So there's a monster in town?"

"So there's a monster in town?" you ask. Jessica rolls her eyes. Levi just shrugs. "It's a possibility- there's a few people in town who swear up and down that the Knotch is real. If there is truth to the story..."

Levi's expression turns grim. "...Chad's not going to make it."

---

Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018 - Before Class

You walk to class and the minute you walk in the door, you feel a heavy atmosphere. Levi and Jessica are hanging by the lockers, both looking rather upset.

>"What's wrong?"
>"...did something happen?"
>"Oh God, Chad's dead, isn't he?"
>Write-in

>>846370
>"...did something happen?"

>>846370
>"What's wrong?"

>>846370
>"...did something happen?"

>>846376
>>846388
"...did something happen?"

Levi looks up at you and nods somberly. "...Chad's heart stopped beating early this morning." he says.

Jessica says nothing. You feel like your stomach is knotting up. It's only your second day and already someone's dead...it makes you think about your mom and how she's fighting for her life.

Levi sighs. "Man, I made fun of Chad for being Mister Perfect...but he WAS a good guy. The kind of guy you want to be jealous of and hate but can't because he was so goddamn nice to everybody."

"Yeah..." says Jessica. "It just doesn't seem right."

Levi pulls a notebook out of his bag. "I know this might not be the best time to bring this up, but-"

Jessica shoots him a look of raw anger and grief. "If this is about your stupid fucking Knotch, you can keep it to yourself." she snaps.

Levi holds up his hands defensively. "Look, I just want to make sure that what happened to Chad was just a freak medical problem. The Knotch lives in the forest, right? So after school, we go into the forest and look around."

Jessica sighs dejectedly. "Fine, but after this, we're done talking about the Knotch!"

----

After School

---

You meet with Levi and Jessica at the edge of the cedar forest that lies on the outskirts of the town. "Alright, I brought flashlights, a GPS, water bottles, granola bars..." Levi holds up a pack so full it looks like it's about to burst apart at the seams.

"Let's go!" says Levi as you march into the woods. "What are we looking for, anyway?" asks Jessica. "I thought only the Knotch's victims could see it."

"We're just gonna look until we find some weird shit." says Levi.

You all begin looking around the forest, searching for...something. As you look, you stumble across a fairly large clearing with a dead cedar tree in the middle of it. You step into the clearing and notice that the area's too quiet- no birdsong, no grazing deer, no insect sounds. It's a little unnerving.

>Call out to Levi
>Call out to Jessica
>Investigate the dead tree
>Write-in

>>846561
>Call out to Jessica

>>846561
>Investigate the dead tree

>Investigate the dead tree

>>846602
>>846625

You walk up to the dead tree. The trunk seems to be hollowed out, with a hole in it big enough for a grown man to fit inside of. You look down and see the hole goes into the ground. You're about to take a closer look at the hole when you feel your feet slip on a bit of mud and you find yourself falling down...deeper...deeper...deeper still...


---

???

You open your eyes to see yourself in what looks like the clearing you found the tree in. But something's off- there's motes of dust floating around amidst a thick haze, and everything seems darker, colors seem less vibrant. There's also a black, sickly looking vine-like growth that covers the ground and creeps up the trees at the edge of the clearing. You turn around to see that there's no dead tree like there was in the last clearing.

>Call for Levi
>Call for Jessica
>Explore
>Write-in

>>846802
>Call for Jessica

>>846802
>Call for Jessica

>>846832
>>846844

"Jessica?!" you shout, hoping someone will hear you. But no one calls out to you in response. You walk over the diseased ground towards the edge of the clearing when you hear the sound of someone hitting the ground from a fall. You turn on your heel to look, and see Jessica and Levi sprawled out on the ground. You run up to them and help them to their feet.

"Where the hell are we?" asks Jessica, looking around. She turns to you. "I heard you calling my name and it sounded weird and echo-y. I found a dead tree but Levi tripped on a root and we both fell down some hole...what the hell's going on?"

Before you can try to think of an explanation, you hear animalistic growling coming from the far edge of the clearing. Levi gulps nervously. "What was that?" he whispers.

>Investigate the growling
>Run for it. This place looks like the clearing, so go to where the town would be
>Write in

>>846935
>Run for it. This place looks like the clearing, so go to where the town would be
No need to stick around and find out.

>>846935
>Run for it. This place looks like the clearing, so go to where the town would be
Nope

File: RuinedProgress.jpg (85 KB, 956x547)

85 KB JPG

>>846943
>>846977

"RUN!" you scream as you lead the others to the side of the clearing that isn't growling and make a mad dash through the forest, jumping over fallen trees and dodging gnarled brambles. When you get to the exit, what you see on the other side makes you stop dead in your tracks.

It looks like Progress after some sort of apocalypse- the color is all but gone and there are black vine-like growths everywhere. A thick haze covers the ground. You hear Jessica and Levi take sharp intakes of breath.

"What the hell is this?" mutters Levi. Jessica sounds like she's on the verge of a breakdown. "This-this can't be real. This is some sort of hallucination."

You take a look to see a light coming out of what you assume is the bar. It flickers and glows orange, like a fire.

>Enter the bar
>Explore elsewhere
>Write-in

>>847140
>Enter the bar

>>847140
>Enter the bar

>>847146
>>847155

You cautiously enter the bar, wordlessly beckoning for Levi and Jessica to follow. When you enter, you see that the typical booths have been ripped out to make room for a sleeping bag, some sort of storage crate, and a fire encircled with cinder blocks with a camp stove perched atop it. The fire is fading and sputtering, indicating whoever started it hasn't been here for a little while.

"There's someone here?" asks Levi.

He should've stayed quiet, because from the back of the bar comes a haggard looking man with a scraggly beard and torn up clothes holding a shotgun. You all freeze but when he takes a good look at you, he lowers his gun. "Y-you're not Shadows. I thought I'd never see another person in my life."

"Wh-who the hell are you? What is this place?" demands Levi.

The old man glares at him. "Look, kid. I can get you all out of here. But it's too damn dangerous to stick around. You'd be better off leaving this place and writing it off as a bad dream."

As the man speaks, you hear growling coming from the door. You peek outside to see a pair of wolves with pitch-black fur and blue masks stalking the street, approaching the bar.

>Alert the old man
>Run
>Write in

>Enter the bar

>>847227
>Alert the old man

>>847227
>Alert the old man

(Gonna have to cut it short. Will resume tomorrow, assuming this doesn't fall off the board. Please bump if needed.)

>>847227
>Alert the old man
>>847255
See ya. This thread will last three days until auto-saged.

>>847243
>>847251
>>847260

"Hey, there are wolves outside!" you say while the old man speaks to Levi. The old man swears and pulls you away from the door, clutching the shotgun.

"You damn kids must've lead the Shadows right to me! God, why did I never get my Persona?!"

Persona...the minute that word is spoken, you feel like there's something in your head, calling out to you.

I am thou...thou art I...

Your head is throbbing. The wolves get up to the door...

And then they explode into a spray of inky-black ichor, and out of the mess emerges a pair of floating pumpkin-headed creatures brandishing lanterns.

You feel something in your pocket, something that wasn't there before. You instinctively reach in and pull out a bulky flip phone.

Answer the call...

>Open the phone and hit the call button
>Write in

>>851335
>Open the phone and hit the call button

>>851335
>Open the phone and hit the call button

>>851389
>>851399

You flip the phone open with one hand, flicking your wrist with one fluid motion and putting your thumb over the call button. A brilliant blue light emanates from the screen.

"...Persona."

Everything is awash in radiant blue light. Out of the light emerges a female figure, clad in sleek gold armor. Draped around her are bands of gold jewelry. Her helmet is shaped like a lion's head, with a black visor fit into the lion's mouth. From behind the visor, you can see two red glowing eyes.

I am thou and thou art I...from the sea of thy soul, I awaken to the call...I am Gilgamesh, king of Uruk and peerless warrior. The world calls for your strength child, now GO FORTH!

Everyone else stands in awe of what just emerged. The old man dashes to the storage crate and opens it, revealing a number of weapons: an fire ax, a machete, a pair of brass knuckles, a combat knife, a spear, and a long sword.

"Grab a weapon!" yells the old man.

>Take the combat knife (Your melee weapon type will be knives)
>Take the machete (You will use 1 handed swords)
>Take the ax (You will use heavy weapons such as axes and hammers)
>Take the spear (You will use polearms)
>Take the long sword (You will use 2-handed swords)
>Take the brass knuckles (You will use knuckle and gauntlet weapons)

File: nCaj8jh (1).gif (123 KB, 500x281)

123 KB GIF

>>851435
>Take the combat knife (Your melee weapon type will be knives)
>Gilgamesh
Glorious

>>851435
>Take the spear (You will use polearms)

A long weapon should be a nice change of pace.

(Crap, gotta skedaddle again. Be back tomorrow or Tuesday.)

>>851435
>>Take the spear (You will use polearms)
Spears for days.

>>851435
>>Take the spear (You will use polearms)

>Take the brass knuckles (You will use knuckle and gauntlet weapons)

>>851435
>Take the spear (You will use polearms)

>>851435

>Take the spear (You will use polearms)

>>851435
>Take the brass knuckles (You will use knuckle and gauntlet weapons)

>>851435
>>Take the brass knuckles (You will use knuckle and gauntlet weapons)

>>851435
>>Take the brass knuckles (You will use knuckle and gauntlet weapons)

We shall be known as the fisting master

>>851435
>Take the spear (You will use polearms)

>>851435
>>Take the spear (You will use polearms)

>>851435
>Take the spear (You will use polearms)

>>851435
>Take the brass knuckles (You will use knuckle and gauntlet weapons)
I know most likely spear will win, but the possibility of being called fisting master is just so much fun.

File: pyrojack.jpg (138 KB, 1280x720)

138 KB JPG

>>853849
>>853534
>>853443
>>851739
>>851604
>>851550

You grab for the spear, wanting to keep the pumpkin-headed monsters at a distance. You step forward with Gilgamesh floating behind you and with the spear brandished firmly. A smirk forms on your face as you feel your confidence rising. You can do this.

Like an instinct, a serious of words- no, commands, rushes into your head

>Bufu
>Lunge
>Rakunda

>>855484
*series

Goddamn typos.

>>855484
>>Bufu
Gotta take that weakness for a One More.

>>855484
>Bufu

>>855484
>Bufu

What's the battle theme?

>>855490
>>855495
>>855502

You say the command, and Gilgamesh raises her hands to the sky before bringing them down to strike the ground. A cube of ice envelops one of the pumpkinheads (Shadows?), and it immediately shatters, with the thing inside breaking along with it. You turn to the other Shadow. It worked the first time, why not the second?

"Bufu."

Another ice cube forms around the pumpkinhead and destroys it.

You smirk triumphantly, resting the spear across your shoulders and feeling like a badass.

"Wh-what the fuck?!" yells Levi, peeking over a table that he and Jessica were using for cover. "The hell did she just summon? The fuck were those things? I am so fucking confused right now!"

The old man snorts. "That there's a Persona- a kind of manifestation of the masks people wear to face life's hardships. At least, that's how Chuck explained it to me..."

"Who's Chuck?" asks Jessica.

The old man sighs, looking forlorn. "He...he was a friend of mine. I got taken here years ago and he tried to get me out...but he wasn't strong to save me."

>"Was Chuck a Persona user, too?"
>"You said you don't have a Persona...is that why you're here?"
>Write-in

>>855531
>"You said you don't have a Persona...is that why you're here?"

>>855515
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6Guysn__GU

>>855531
>"You said you don't have a Persona...is that why you're here?"

>>855532
>>855542

"You said you don't have a Persona...is that why you're here?" you ask.

The old man nods. "Yeah...since I didn't have a Persona, I couldn't get through the Breach..."

He pauses to realize you have no clue what 'the Breach' is. "The Breach is...crap, I have to explain a lot, don't I?" he asks.

You, Jessica, and Levi all nod simultaneously.

The old man sighs. "Chuck called this place The Fade, because everything looks like something sucked the life out of it. It's the Knotch's lair."

"Ha!" shouts Levi. "I KNEW the Knotch was real."

"Yeah, and it killed Chuck and has been trying to hunt me down for years, so pipe down." snaps the old man. "Anyway, the Knotch doesn't eat souls like the legend says- it eats memories. Experiences. It begins by 'draining' its prey, slowly sucking the victim's memories out. Then, a few days later, it takes what's left of the victim's mind. And without the mind, the body doesn't function and it shuts down."

"So, Chad had been the Knotch's victim since before the school year started..." says Jessica.

>"So what can we do?"
>"There's got to be a way to save people from the Knotch, right?"
>Write-in

>>855618
>"There's got to be a way to save people from the Knotch, right?"

>>855618
>"So what can we do?"

>>855618
>"So what can we do?"
>"There's got to be a way to save people from the Knotch, right?"

"So what can we do?" you ask. "I mean, there's got to be a way to save people from the Knotch?"

"There is a way...but forget it. Too many people already died trying to save people from the Knotch. I can't let you kids get involved..."

"Bullshit!" shouts Levi. "I don't care what kind of survivor's guilt you've got, we can't stand around and let the Knotch eat everyone's memories!"

"And what would you two do?" shouts the old man. "Only one of you has a Persona! Just go back to the clearing."

>Refuse
>Accept it. The guy doesn't seem to be open to argument.
>Write in.

>>855738
>>Accept it. The guy doesn't seem to be open to argument.

>>855738
>Accept it. The guy doesn't seem to be open to argument.

>>855752
>>855753

"Forget it." you say, looking to Jessica and Levi. "He's not gonna listen to us. Let's just go back to the clearing."

You and the others leave the old man behind in the ruined version of Progress. When you get to the clearing, you find a black, swirling vortex where the hollow tree was. "Well, I guess we know how to get out," you say. You grab Levi and Jessica by the hand and jump into the vortex.

Next thing you know, you are tumbling out of the trunk.

"Well, that was...fucking weird." says Jessica. Levi grunts. "I still feel like the old guy should've told us more..."

You all go your separate ways, not sure what to make of what just happened in The Fade.

It's getting late, and you still feel the flip phone in your pocket.

>Just go home
>Check the phone

>>855823
>Check the phone

>>855823
>>Check the phone

>>855823
>Check the phone

>>855826
>>855827
>>855829
You open the phone up and take a good look at the screen. There are options on the screen.

>CONTACTS
>STATUS
>FRIENDS
>CALENDAR

>>855847
>STATUS

>>855847
>>FRIENDS

>>855847
>FRIENDS

>>855858
>>855863
You select 'FRIENDS.' The phone displays a loading screen before displaying

ERROR: NO FRIEND DATA FOUND

>>855898
Fudge
>STATUS
Next

>>855898
>STATUS

>>855908
>>855911

You try STATUS. You get another loading bar, then:

ASHLEY HAYES, AGE 16, FOOL ARCANA

UNDERSTANDING- BASIC
KNOWLEDGE- AWARE
COURAGE- AVERAGE
EXPRESSION- ROUGH
DILIGENCE- CALLOW

You see the Status window has a second page, and you select the 'next page' button.

[color=green]ACTIVE PERSONA: GILGAMESH

RESISTS: ICE
WEAKNESS: ELECTRICITY

KNOWN SKILLS: BUFU, LUNGE, RAKUNDA.
NEXT SKILL: RAKUKAJA

>>855950
>CALENDAR

>>855956
You open the Calendar function. There doesn't seem to be anything special about it...

You decide to check the last function before you head home. You open Contacts. Another loading screen, then:

Contacts: 1/6
1. GILGAMESH
2. (Empty)
3. (Empty
4. (Empty)
5. (Empty)
6. (Empty)

It seems like Contacts is a list of your Personas...it seems like you can hold more than one- up to six, if the menu's anything to go by.

You head home, wondering what the next days will bring...

(Gonna wrap it up and archive the thread.)

>>855997
Thank you for running.

>>855997
Thanks for running, Host.

Seems like I missed this one, again.
Any heads up when's the next session?

Hey, can our cover for doing Persona things be a Band in which we play no music?