PROJECT FATLUS DAY 1

Originally posted on Facebook on Thursday, November 3

On Halloween Night I was asked by a friend to participate in a project of his for school. Not only was the deal of the Professor shelling out money to any who participated caught my interest (HEY ITS $30 OK?! DON'T JUDGE ME!) but it was the fact I got to play video games for it! I have until December 3rd to document my role in this project.

For two hours every day, I am to play a game made by "Atlus." My friend loaned me "Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 2 - Innocent Sin" for this project. I was intrigued mostly by the fact I could spread 'rumors' around town to gain an advantage. Within my journal I am to tell my weight, where I am in the game and if I wanted, my thoughts of what's going on in the game every ten days or so. Well its day one of my journey, so let's see what I've been up to shall I?

WEIGHT: FFFF IDK. I know I'm 200 something pounds though. I need to check it one of these days. >_>;
Hours played so far: 1 hour and 53 minutes and counting

The game opens up to a young man working on his bike. Two of his fellow peers pop up, aptly named "Thugs" and harass the kid working on his bike. A man is introduced to the story who's face is scarred and is apparently the Principal and apparently where I'm at is a school. Lovely.

....But one has to wonder, what's a principal with a scarred up face like his doing here? At a school? Anyway....

The principal shoos the thugs away, but not before one of them forks over a bike part they stole from me. I would love to chase after them and beat them but the Principal decides to talk to me and bother me as well. At this point I am told to give the character a first and last name. INTRIGUING! Most of the games I've played only let me give a character a first name. I'm never given the chance to give them a last name as well! I waste little time and type in my phone a google search for a random name generator and it spews out Alva Scmili. I pop in the name as well, it just OOZES bad ass. I'm also told to give him a nickname and decide his nickname will be Alvi. None of these "chan" stuff for him. Nope~! I also should make note here that the main character, who at this point will be referred to as either Alva or Alvi, doesn't "talk".

The Principal goes on to a spiel of how I'm a known bad ass in school that only makes me only more confident I made the right choice in giving him that name. The principal then goes on to say that the school councilor has been looking for me and to go find and talk to her. Super right? You're deluding yourself if you think so.

The school itself is compromised of four floors; three of which contain classrooms and various other rooms while the fourth is a mysterious clock tower in which the door is lock and alas I have no key at the moment to further explore it. So I head back down to the first floor and pester my fellow peers as to where the councilor is. They tell me she's on the "next floor" and to go look for her there and on the second they tell me the same thing and on the third floor they say she's back on the first floor. It is also during my random chatting with them that I learn of a game called "The Joker Game" in which people chant, the Joker appears, and a wish is granted.

....Why then do I get the feeling this is BAD? Like people die BAD? I suppose the creepy students who talk about it either doesn't help. Seriously. Like one girl sort of admitted to wishing another girl got 'cursed' so she could win a contest. >_>;

In any case, I start to get pissed about having to play 'chase' with someone who's supposedly looking for me and this school is only creeping me out further and further. No wonder my character hardly speaks! I also learn he turned down a slew of girls after him. I can't say I blame him. Right, getting sidetracked here....

Along with learning about this 'Joker' game, I learn a girl by the name of "Lisa" is looking for me as well and has a note for me. Splendid! Two morons to track down. They also note rumors have been coming true as of late. Frustrated, I return to the bike rack area to find, you guessed it, THE DAMN SCHOOL COUNCILOR. She states she decided to wait for me here figuring I'd turn up sooner or later here. WELL YOU WOULD HAVE FOUND ME SOONER IF THE PRICIPAL DIDN'T SEND ME ON A----wait. I don't think I would have been there. I think I would have booked it by then on my bike. TO RUN AWAY FROM YOU BECAUSE YOUR ANNOYING.

I HAVE DECIDED THIS.

She asks what my plans are for after high school and I am presented with three choices; go to college, job hunt or the good ol' IDK WHAT I'M GUNNA DO answer. I figured he'd respond with going off to college because well, he does want to get smarter. The councilor seems happy with this answer yet not at the same time. She asks if this is really what I want to go and once more I'm presented with a choice; "DURR. OF COURSE" and "I'm unsure."

I went with unsure as well he wouldn't be sure if that's what he really wants. I sure as hell wasn't sure what I was going to do while I was in school. She does the whole 'it's okay' speech before I'm saved by----I mean rudely interrupted by Lisa and her note. The councilor goes away (THANK GOD) and we open up the note. Apparently someone's throwing down the gauntlet and challenging my bad-assery and kidnapped a fellow student. But that's not what boggles my mind. It's where they are having said gauntlet taking place and where the hell they are that does; PRISON. THAT'S RIGHT. A GANG OF HIGH SCHOOL KIDS IN A PRISON HAVING A THROW DOWN OF BAD-ASSERY. WHERE THE HELL ARE THE PRISON GUARDS TO STOP THEM!?! Apparently, non-existent in this tale. Splendid. Lisa decides to tag along and we head off to the prison stated in the note.

As we travel along merrily to prison, the scene changes to the gang who had sent the note. A tall, lanky looking fellow with blue hair and attends the rival high school speaks to a plump looking woman who has eaten all their food happily. While he has a heart attack and she pesters him about the Joker game and rumors coming true, his three cronies move to the side and talk to one another about Alva (me! Tee-hee!) showing up at any given moment now and second guessing if writing the note was a good idea….and if it was a good idea to lie to their boss about the girl being a 'fan' of the band. Yup. That's right.

Apparently they've been having band rehearsals. IN PRISON MIGHT I REMIND YOU. PRISON! GAH!

That's when me and Lisa show up. Lisa goes on to demand the return of said student who apparently runs the school newspaper and is a rumor starter. The blue haired fellow, who introduces himself as Micheal, demands to know why I've come and I flash the note and he looks to his cronies. They fess up and state I'd be a good fit for the band as no one has responded to their request of having people join the band. WELL I'M A LONE WOLF BAD ASS. I DON'T BELONG IN A BAND. I don't even get to tell him that before somehow they end up talking about playing the Joker game to see if it's really true. Alva silently tells them it's a bad idea (Okay, not really. I'm shouting at the screen that it's a horrible idea and for Alva to do something to stop them) and before long, they join hands for a Kumbayaya session. At this point, Micheal starts telling his cronies as much while the newspaper girl watches, egging them on to continue. They chant and as Alva continues to suggest they stop and it's a bad idea (….Okay, rather ME at the screen), they quickly pull away and pull out their cell phones.

WHAT. THE. FUCK. WHAT SORT OF GAME IS THIS?!

Sure enough, Joker pops up and splits himself into a few mirages for him to respond to the number of 'wishers' that are playing. The three cronies minds are zapped as Joker tells them that their dreams and wishes are impossible to achieve and they'll become shadows. Micheal, rumor girl and Lisa start crapping their pants while I ponder on ditching them there and leaving them alone with Joker. Unfortunately, Joker spots me and starts to choke the hell out of me while shouting nonsense that he's going to get me back. Back for what? He also states he knows Lisa and Micheal, confusing  us only further. We get into a brief battle and we are introduced to Personas. WE LOSE. HORRIBLY. We then are transported to odd world and told we have to stop an impending apocalypse about to take place and to gather more Personas. At this point, I'm utterly lost confused as no doubt Alva is too and wondering why I dragged him into this mess. But you know who we both blame for this?

THE SCHOOL COUNCILOR. IF SHE DIDN'T TELL THE PRINICIPAL SHE WASN'T LOOKING FOR ME, I WOULD NOT BE HERE AND THIS WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED. THIS COULD HAVE ALL BEEN AVOIDED. I'm gonna kill her when I see her.

Sooooooooooooooooooo we finally leave the prison with the mission being find Joker and the best place to start our investigation is my creepy ass school. We need to get weapons first, but what self-respecting person would sell underage children weapons?

OH YES. I FORGOT. IF PEOPLE CAN HAVE BAND REHERSALS IN PRISON, CHILDREN CAN EASILY ACQUIRE WEAPONS.

……………..And apparently the local ramen shop sells weapons because she was a former Russian Spy. And guess what?! IT'S A RUMOR!

So we head to the local ramen shop and as we enter, I'm treated to a brief exchange between the owner and a detective also checking out such a rumor. Lisa then suggests we head to the police station and ask about the rumor. Say whut now? I indulge Lisa and head to the place and end up meeting the head honcho detective who APPARENTLY KNOWS ABOUT PERSONAS AND WHAT'S GOING ON. WHAT. THE. HELL?!?! He decides to make the rumor of the ramen shop owner being a former spy selling weapons true and that we have to order "banana deep friend ramen" as a means of acquiring weapons. We return to the ramen shop needless to say, order up and I'm given a free sword, a leather glove weapon for Lisa and a…guitar case for Micheal.

….HOW DOES THAT CONSTITUTE AS A WEAPON?! Whatever, I'm no longer going to argue the logics of this game. Just…it makes my head hurt. >

Well if a ramen shop serves as a weapon shop, then the sports shop down the street could serve as an armor shop. LO AND BEHOLD MY TRAIN OF THOUGHT IS CORRECT. I buy chainmail for all as well as some lovely hats for armor. I'm not going to ask how a sports shop gets chainmail. I think I'm better off NOT knowing. Now armed and utterly stopped caring mere minutes ago, I somehow fit three people on my bike and tote off back to my school of creepiness.

Upon our arrival, students are having panic attacks as more students have been getting 'cursed' during my brief disappearance and the clock begins to move and chime. The janitor has a heart attack and starts chanting and more panic happens. LOVELY. We decide to not waste any more time and begin our investigation right away. As I make my way up the building of my school, I chat to with my fellow peers about their fears and what's been going on. One them tells me about this student who's gone missing and another tells me he saw her in the bathroom and go to beat her up.

…..RIIIIIGHT. I HAVE NOT LOCATED THIS SPOKEN OF BATHROOM YET BY THE WAY. Nor this person I'm supposed to find.

Anyho, I get to the third floor and enter the principal's office only to find out he's gone missing. I then get ambushed by reporter woman and her assistant and they start to ask me if I knew anything about the Joker game and rumors. Lisa manages to play off we don't know anything until Micheal screws it up and gives it away that we DO know stuff. DAMMIT MICHEAL YOU MORON. I SWEAR, I'M GOING TO BEAT YOU.

That reminds me, I also get introduced to their fighting system and this….chatting thing with monsters. I waste half the battles trying to talk to them to get free stuff and end up half the time getting them mad at me and they attack me. HOW RUDE! Also, Micheal's case apparently hides a MACHINE GUN in it. DON'T ASK.

RIGHT BACK TO WHERE I WUZ.

We end up explaining to them what happened and then suddenly we get this feeling we KNOW them. They end up joining our merry band.

And that's where I'm at.

RUNNING AROUND TRYING TO FIND THE PRINCIPAL AND FIGURE OUT WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON. I STILL HAVE NO CLUE WHAT THE FUCK I'M DOING.