BCTheEntity

Persona - Soldiers of Fortune

Alina Sanford

'...it's... fine.'

She was used to being dragged around, even if she was exhausted and hurt. Trapped in a prison cell with far too many bodies, not so much... something in her chilled even as the others panicked out loud, until she realised along with the others that the corpses, if they even were, were practically falling apart. Hardly qualified as corpses at all.

The eyes, on the other hand... they came closer. They became the driving focus of the room, they and the body they were attached to - hooded rags, shadows hiding its face, and ultimately a figure soaked red with blood. Nightmarish in an utterly distinct way from the principal-judge, physically horrific rather than an authority who demanded no less than obedience. And... calling them out for their flaws. The one dragging her losing what she was supposed to have, Alina running from her family, and the darker-skinned girl losing her job. She... she hadn't run away... right?

And then came the attack. At the Fallen's word, the ashen corpses rose, then charged at them; and at Jin's word, they each began to flee once more, back down the... cell? Which twisted and stretched even as they approached. Her ankle was actually going to snap in half if she kept this up, she imagined, and her lungs really couldn't handle another bout of fleeing... whatever this place was, she felt it might crush her if she didn't stop, just for a moment... she ought to, she was a waste of energy anyway. Maybe, if she stayed behind, she could stop slowing down the others... give them a chance to survive. At least then she'd be useful.

Itiner: Heroes of Ardenfeld

Lael Xiloscient

Lael Xiloscient

Who I Am

Once a fairly bright-eyed child, with a keen sense of right and wrong, intense trauma at a young age followed by years of having been put down from all sides has rendered Lael rather antisocial. Prone to lengthy silences, not least due to their damaged throat, they are not keen to actively seek interaction with their home city. In fact, they shun society as a whole, considering it quite an unfair system in practice; whilst they have a modest reputation as a solid guide between distant locales, they feel in general that they do not need or really want to communicate with the vast majority of people longer than strictly necessary, not least because they struggle to keep their emotions under control when they are pressured. Because of this, the list of people they might reasonably consider friends is slim to none, though those they do befriend- typically those who recognise when they desire their personal space, verbally or physically- are watched over and guarded like a parent protecting their child, with instantaneous wrath brought down upon those who would harm this slender minority.

My Story

Lael was born to the pairing of Amaril and Quelenna, a couple of explorers who had settled down in Ardenfeld long ago, and now dispensed the knowledge of centuries to their younger allies, village sages of a sort. Their child received no less, and within the decade or so provided to them, they had passed on to Lael a lot of the awareness that an elf may need to function in life - from the weapon skills that came as part and parcel of their kinship, to how one might use nature as a veil, and even how to play the pan flute. Lael quickly grew into a confident young man, befriending quite a few of the village's inhabitants in turn... before the bandit attack.

His parents were not, precisely, unequipped to engage in combat. By their own words, spoken outside their home as flames drew toward it, they were happy to sell their lives if it meant Lael escaped without harm. However, it had been far too long since their last true fight - sheer numbers overwhelmed them, leaving both with mortal wounds. Lael was not one to let his parents die so readily, but he was but a child, and was quickly bested and dragged before them, knife to his throat. Quelenna, naturally, begged them to spare him in exchange for their own lives.

'You're already dead, you stupid bitch. What's your life worth compared to his?'

The question was a cruel trick. She offered them everything she could think of with her remaining lifespan, but to no avail, for as they pointed out, they could already take whatever they wanted from both parents. What left Lael alive, ultimately, was his specific captor's execution method: rather than slicing open his jugular veins, he plunged the dagger directly through his throat, bypassing major blood vessels, only to seriously damage his vocal cords. Before he was thrown to the ground and left for dead, he watched his parents be slain much more decisively by decapitation.

Bleeding, traumatised, and scared for his life, Lael barely found refuge with but a small proportion of those who he had befriended before, the bandit's words ringing in his mind. "What's your life worth compared to his?" It was his fault, his fault...

In the end, he lived, albeit near-unconscious from blood loss, but even with what little support healers could provide for such an egregious injury, his throat was scarred and his voice permanently damaged, leaving him unable to say more than a few words at a time without coughing and choking on his breath. Just as pertinently, he in fact refused to speak at all for quite a long time, his loss and those of his fellows heavy on his mind.

Landeil Family Orphanage did him no favours. Those running the orphanage, much less racially diverse than Ardenfeld's population, were not fond of some skinny knife-ear who wouldn't speak when spoken to and weren't shy to tell him so to his face, with a firm slap if need be. At the same time, the orphans who hadn't lost their entire village found him an easy target to pick on - though they learned not to, after several incidents where at least one joint was bent back upon itself to the point of snapping, despite how that further hurt him in the staff's eyes. Even the prospective adopters overlooked him again and again: most humans did not want a son who would outlive them several times over, and the few elvish parents who showed up were put off by his sullen attitude. Worst of all, he grew away from those from the village as a result of all of this, losing his boldness in favour of isolation, though he always considered them friends despite his worsening connections, and vowed as readily as the rest to return to The Lying Wolverine on the tenth anniversary of the village's destruction.

In the end, he was one of the first of the Ardenfeld pack to be removed from the orphanage at 14 years of age, deemed unfit for adoption and lacking in the way of life skills. For a while, he managed to serve as a cleaner at a tavern, but grew ever less enthused with the sorts of people he saw there - far too many mocked him for some reason or another, and too often he saw them at their worst. More and more often, he kept to the wilderness beyond the city proper, learning how to build shelter for himself and hunt for food, and at some point in his sixteenth year, he simply didn't bother coming back to Sarinan. The untamed wilderness was more interesting anyway - and for them, as they chose to abandon their gender along with their civility and simply be, almost more like beast than humanoid, it proved something of a balm, at least in terms of avoiding new stress. The worst they experienced was an incident with an unpleasant berry; afterward, they learned to feed a nearby animal with anything they were not sure was edible, and through this means established how to distinguish between poison and treat handily, even learning to combine the latter in ways that produced herbal remedies. Truly, they felt themself self-sufficient, without need of the outside world.

Until one day, when they were happened upon by an explorer lost deep within one of the forests surrounding Sarinan, who begged for help in returning. The plea was eye-rolling, but they weren't bluntly evil, so they helped guide the man back to civilisation. This, they shortly felt, may have been a mistake - not long after, another person sought them out, requesting guidance to the next city over. Then another, and another... before they really knew it, they'd become an unofficial wandering guide, leading folks to and fro on what almost resembled a more typical work schedule. It was not exactly fun... though, granted, they did find solace in that they need not speak to do this work.

And they learned new skills, too. Surprisingly many people demanded they drive them to their location, and they figured out how to handle wagons, carts, and the like in difficult terrain quite readily. Likewise, many wished for maps to follow so they could take themselves through the routes followed on their own; it took a few rich patrons, but they established how to draw maps soon enough, even if they never found use for such drawings in their own right. Most interesting, however, was a man in a dark cloak, often ferried back and forth betwixt Pallaviel, Sarinan, and other cities... an assassin for hire, they realised after a time. Though it became clear he wished not to hurt his guide even at bowpoint, he did reckon he could teach Lael a few things as an alternate form of payment - after all, they already had an idea of how many natural poisons worked. It was just a matter of formal training with the proper equipment, something readily established with no risk when miles away from any other civilisation. And so they gained a great understanding of how to produce ever more potent toxins, and an unusual sort of friendship with the killer despite their disparate paths in life.

Until the day the man declared he was dying. He'd been double-crossed on his latest contract, and targeted by another killer with a poisoned blade, both keeping a stomach wound from healing and toxifying his blood. He made note that, yes, this was something Lael could not help him with... and yes, it hurt greatly to see them so agitated by their own helplessness. But if they truly wanted to help, then they could do this: find the perpetrator, and kill them for him. As for the assassin... he took a rest on a nearby rock, and encouraged Lael to leave him. He'd had enough with what he'd experienced, anyway. Best to pass quietly here, than publicly in a noose or something.

This became Lael's quest. The first step to accomplishing it: following through on the appointment they'd made all those years ago.

Going Forward

Lael is not entirely sure where they want to go in future. Though physically an adult, they are far from the experience needed to deem themself so by elven standards, and in a way far too traumatised to seek that experience out directly. The civilised world has not been kind to them, and returning to it is an unpleasant, almost fear-inducing thought. Even so, this does not mean they cannot cope with it; indeed, if they wish to fulfil their dying friend's request to avenge them, it is likely to be a necessity. A small part of them wonders if they can reacclimate to an urban environment, or if it is simply infeasible by now.

As for their friends... they tried to keep in touch whilst still in Sarinan, but as one of the earliest "adults" out, returning to communicate with former equals was taken in a poor light. They of course found it entirely infeasible once they took up residence in the wilderness, meaning that they have not especially attempted contact for the better half of a decade. This is not to say they have not seen any of them since - their role as guide has granted them contact with quite a few folks in quite a few places, and those companions who also took residence away from the cities were not infrequently encountered - but they feel they have grown apart from them, even if in their mind's eye they still hold the friend group as precious, and do everything in their power to keep them safe when they can. In truth, they rather suspect they've let down the Ardenfeld pack by effectively abandoning the others, and they wonder if they will actually be welcome at the planned reunion by the time they arrive.

Persona - Soldiers of Fortune

Alina Sanford

The moments after she was picked up went by in somewhat of a daze. She was lifted, then dropped, then the guards transformed into monsters... she couldn't bring herself to move away, even as somebody came to strike them down, telling them to run. She was frozen in place, the wrenching feeling in her body leaving her incapable of rational thought. Was that fear? Or just her usual laziness? Was she really so pathetic that she'd rather just die?

That was answered the moment one of the other girls grabbed her hand and dragged her along, snapping her out of paralysis as she sprinted with her. Yes, this was fear, she was terrified. Was she screaming? She couldn't hear herself, or much of anything else, she just knew they were running after some of the others.

They made it into the courthouse. About then was when she got the chance to breathe properly, and perhaps process what had just happened. That woman... who was she? Why did the guards turn into monsters? The judge's vision, what... never mind, this was beyond comprehension to her. She was barely managing to cope with her grandparents becoming permanent fixtures in her life, let alone being arrested and assaulted. All of this, all the pain, the too-real agony of her ankle... and she still hadn't answered Mary's question earlier!

Then along came more guards. With that, everyone more or less ran as the guy they'd followed insisted, Alina following along with the woman whose hand still grasped her.

Except that that woman turned, dragging har back the way they'd come. No, why, what- ...oh, there was another person. Yeah. Sure, that looked reasonable too. She was... she... she was running out of energy. Her leg hurt. Her body ached from her sprint earlier. Her lungs were still struggling from the previous chase. The woman didn't even seem to notice, pulling her along like a doll as they followed the maintenance suit's progress - and the lone stork that followed her. Care was disregarded, apparently. Okay.

At last the chase ended as the chasee ducked into a cell, escaping the notice of her pursuer, whilst the woman pulling her took cover against a wall as a patrol of untransformed, faceless fabric guards passed by. Those were dangerous enough, anyway. Didn't need them to turn into freaks of nature, too. Oh God, they were gonna die here, shit shit shit. That was too close. Her ankle was starting to swell. Crap.

She waited a moment as the guards, the monsters, the... whatever they were left the area, until no clear threats presented themselves. They were too exposed, her and her new friend who was still clinging to her. Okay. Okay yeah, they should...

'We should get in the cell.'

Standing up, and pulling the person along as best she could if they would come, Alina limped to the cell door, stepping inside and to the side of the door proper, looking around until she spotted the person they'd been following in the first place.

'Hi.'

...that was all she had? Useless. Idiotic.

Persona - Soldiers of Fortune

Alina Sanford

Alina had been kind of out of it since getting cracked across the ankle, a couple of times even. She was aware that most of the others were appalled by the hobbling of all and sundry, and that it was the one homeless guy's fault for trying to escape, but she couldn't blame him for it. He was stronger willed than her, that was for sure; she hadn't even tried to resist. She couldn't do it. But the pain... she could feel something twinge sharply in her ankle every time she took a step. She hoped it was just a trapped nerve.

She returned to full awareness about as they reached their destination. In the end, it was President Myron Pondwater who proved to be the warden, and evidently the judge, of the prison - but some weird version of him, with one discomforting yellow eye peering out and all that garb. No... the outfit was the same as usual. Just warped. And enough people had questions, alongside the dumped and beaten form of the runner from before, that Alina couldn't say anything about the matter for a time. And... they were here of their own will? That- she-

'No.'

Why do that, Alina? Why did she say anything? What was "no" going to accomplish? This man, he didn't care about whether they lived or died, or anything even vaguely resembling justice, he just wanted to put them on trial and ruin them!

Now they were all going to die because of her. She should have just kept it shut and done as she was told. What came next was her fault.

Persona - Soldiers of Fortune

Alina Sanford

More people. Shit. Shit, shit shit shit.

Why, why in hell would they come to Texas? Why were all these people here? What were they here for-

Oh. The cracks. Yeah. Weird that they all came together in the same spot. Did somebody say something about being able to see them-

CRACK

What. What, what was happening. Why was the ground breaking apart. Were they all about to die? Probably. Maybe that was for the best.

Fumes were making her feel dizzy...

---

She landed on her side, the wind getting knocked out of her on impact. She needed another few moments to get back up, she was still exhausted from her sprint earlier... where the... where were they?

Some nightmare soul ocean on one side. What looked like a prison complex on the other, with... a city, on the other side? Not a chance. There were loops of debris coming over it, like the plasma hoops on the Sun's surface. Was she dreaming? No, couldn't be. She'd barely gotten a look at the others before collapsing, how could they be this detailed now? Unless her brain was just coming up with something in lieu of that.

Fuck. The more she came back to her prior education, the more she remembered how she wanted to do something else entirely. If this was real, it'd probably be a goldmine of historical data... probably because there was no logical explanation to how they'd shown up here.

Or a really cool album cover, ooh.

But no, no way it was a dream. All of them were talking about it, at least everybody who had a mind to. One of them was having a total breakdown. Her dreams almost never included that. It was... yeah, one of the people she'd managed to get her lunch over earlier. She never got their names, but this was surreal. If they'd all shown up here, and then they'd all gotten...

There was no reasonable explanation. No wonder he was kind of freaking out. Maybe she should do something about that.

'You aren't-'

Then the alarms started, and if everything had gone to Hell before, now they were in whatever hole was below Hell. Prison guards, furious with them, and they were being told to... to... when had she raised her arms.

What was wrong with the guards.

Oh. Maybe it was a nightmare.

No. No, that couldn't be it. What the hell were those things?

'I'm sorry.'

She hadn't done anything. She still had to say it. She did something. Otherwise they wouldn't be here.

They wanted them to move. She followed the guy leading. Somebody else didn't.

Noooo. That homeless guy was going to get them all in trouble.

Persona - Soldiers of Fortune

Alina Sanford

There were more of those cracks.

Rather, the same crack kept showing up everywhere. She'd thought it was a weird coincidence when she saw one that looked like the one at the desk on the table she chose to sit at - but the realisation that the exact same crack, complete with uncomfortable warm wind, was on the desk for her second class of the day too, and on the wall leading into that lecture hall, started to get her... somewhat concerned. Which was quite a major feeling, considering.

Almost enough to distract her from the issue of Mary. Which, post-class, became very prominent very quickly, since she'd chosen to approach as they left the room.

'Hey, Alina,' she greeted, as awkwardly as they'd been at lunch. Although, this time, she was clearly puffing herself up for something. 'So, uh, about earlier, this morning rather, see... well,' Mary stalled with unusual shyness, 'I guess what you said was kind of, uh, a surprise, to hear you say it, you see, but I've been thinking since then, right? And I sort of, I uh, well, I just think you're really sweet and kind...'

No she wasn't. She was insular and pushed people away.

'And you always put others first, and you listen well, right?'

No she didn't. She followed the crowd because she had to, and had nothing interesting to say. Not like Mary.

'Plus, plus, you're really good at your subjects,' Mary added with a smile, 'I mean, I know for sure your work in Chemistry is great!'

Mary's work. Mary was basically a private tutor without knowing it.

'So, um... well, I guess I just figure, since you said it so bluntly anyway... wanna go on a date some time?' she asked. 'There's a thing going on on Saturday...'

She was too good. Mary couldn't really be interested in Alina that way.

'...which, you know, it'd be nice to see you at. Guy mentioned you weren't interested, but if we both went, as a... oh gosh, as a couple...!'

She'd see the real her. She'd see how lifeless she was.

'...so, are you interested? You can say no if you honestly aren't, I promise I won't take it personally.'

And what would her family think? Her family would oust her for sure.

'...uh, Alina?'

Her parents would probably be upset. Her mother's parents would complain that she hadn't gotten with a nice family boy.

'A-Alina? Are you there?'

And as for Granny Edith... she'd make them break up anyway. It wasn't worth it.

'I'm pouring my heart out here, is all, so...'

Alina wasn't worth the effort.

'...please say something?'

The trill of her phone snapped her back to reality. Blinking, she checked to see who it was. Home, so probably mom.

'Sorry. I need to take this.'

The visible frustration on Mary's features was regretful, but she simply said 'After that, then,' and stepped away to let Alina take the call.

'Hi, mom.'

'Hi, honey, oh it is lovely to hear back from you!' came her mother's voice. 'How has college been? Good?'

'Fine.'

'And your friend Mary, has she been treating you well?' she asked. She couldn't discuss the request for a date, not now.

'Yes.'

'Great, I'm so pleased to hear it! But hey, you'll never guess what news I have for you,' she exclaimed. The tone of voice was a smile, but the enunciation... it almost sounded wary? The sort she reserved for Jonas.

'What's that?'

'Well, sweetie,' she explained, with what seemed like unusual delicacy, 'we've had a talk in the family, you see, and between your dad and your grandparents, well... mom, dad, and Edith are going to be moving to a care home for the foreseeable future...'

'...okay.'

'...it's the Waterfront Hillside Home! Right up the street from Barclay Waterfront University! Won't that be great?'

Alina probably responded to most of what her mother was talking about after that point. Instead, she noted with utter detachment that the crack on the wall near her was lengthening rapidly. Did nobody else see that? That seemed like a really big structural fault.

'...and I know it's a fair distance for them to go, but dad and Edith insisted, it's not too costly, and honestly with a fairly loose schedule, they might just get the relaxation they need so late in life. Plus, you'll be able to see them whenever you like!'

They could see her whenever they liked.

They could take over her life again if they wanted. She hadn't actually responded to her mom yet. Weird.

'Sooo,' she concluded, 'do you want to talk about what's on your mind?'

...she did not.

She hung up before her mom could reply, pocketing her phone as she began following the crack.

'Alina? Are you okay?'

Oh. No, she never said that to her mom. Huh.

'Alina? Where are you going?'

She began to jog.

'I'll be back soon, Mary.'

'Wait, Alina! ALINA!'

She began to sprint. She had to go. She had to go. This was too crowded.

Just run. Run, run, go, run.

That crack was really long.

Everyone's eyes were on her.

No they weren't. She wasn't interesting enough for that.

Nobody paid attention as she hurtled through the campus toward the gazebo, where the crack converged with just a whole bunch of other cracks. That was a lot of cracks.

That was a lot of people. Shit. People didn't need to be there.

She stopped once she reached the gazebo, leaning against one of the pillars and gulping down air as her muscles caught up with her mind. She looked up, and oh it was him again. The guy she'd spilled food on.

'Hhhii.'

She kind of wanted to scream, but it probably wouldn't leave her throat even if she could breathe properly.

She was on fire from the effort of running. It wasn't her strong point.

She probably looked like a mess. Were her eyes wide? They probably had their own things to deal with.

Why here? Why bring her grandparents here? No. No no no no no no. Why.

Persona - Soldiers of Fortune

Alina Sanford

Chemistry, as ever, was no fun. She understood the basic concepts, at least, even if she wasn't on Mary's level. The problem was that it dragged. It dragged beyond all reason. And she was sure the teacher wasn't trying to be a drag, at that, he seemed fairly into his subject, kept getting people involved and everything.

But... almost every day she had a class here, she recognised that she'd missed part of the lecture when she snapped to attention, and usually had to ask somebody what she'd missed later. And a lot of the time, that was Mary. And since she'd all but admitted to a crush on Alina, that was gonna be... maybe a bit weird.

Or maybe she'd pretend like Alina had never asked the question to begin with. That'd be fine too. She tried to keep the thought off her mind by poking around a thin crack in the desk in front of her. It was weird, honestly... she didn't necessarily have a set seat, so it was probably made since last time she was here, but the crack was an odd shape. Kind of unsettling, though she didn't know why. Maybe because it was uncomfortably warm, a bit like somebody had sat on that specific spot. Or like an overheated electrical device? That would explain the draft coming out of it...

'Psst, hey,' came a voice from next to her. Who was this guy... Mark, right? With a cat picture on his phone, and she guessed a sympathetic smile and tone. 'You look a bit down, Alina. You want to look at some pictures, and I can share the transcript with you after?'

'No thanks. I've got it.'

'Aw, come on,' he quietly tried to persuade her, 'I know you keep asking Mary about stuff afterward. I just...' He puffed out from the corner of his mouth, as if trying to phrase himself. 'You never look happy in here. I wanna see if- tell you what,' he realised with something of a glow to his features, 'maybe you can come with me and my friends, and we go to the cinema? Mary'll be there, I'm pretty sure!' He did seem earnest, but...

'No thanks. Mary wanted to study with me tonight.'

'Well, that's fine,' he continued, 'it'll be over the weekend-'

'I said no, Mark.'

'...psh. Fine, then,' he uttered, turning back to face the front with more disappointment than true annoyance. Then turned back for a moment: 'And my name's Guy, by the way.' Ohh, that explained why she didn't remember it. It made sense now.

The lesson continued unabated. Damn, she'd missed something important again. No way to avoid that awkwardness now.

Persona - Soldiers of Fortune

Alina Sanford

Alina was quite lucky to live on the first floor of the dormitory building. It meant she didn't have to spend long stretches of time climbing up and down stairs with a heavy bag - and with a relatively late class today, she could afford to relax a bit. Great. She needed some time to herself, after that weird half-remembered dream she had - if she didn't know better, she could have sworn she'd fallen down to this floor.

And she... didn't feel much like talking to the other people in the dorm right now, either. She'd do a bit of interacting later, probably.

So today was gonna be a bad one, huh? Wonderful.

She couldn't stay in bed forever, though. She had coursework, and she had a class just before lunch at that. At about ten, she finally dragged herself out of bed, and made a quick meal for herself. Cornflakes in milk, a banana, glass of water. Simple stuff. She tended not to spend much on food; she physically didn't need a lot, did she? Didn't want to get fat, or make it even harder to pay for college. After that, she brushed her teeth, got showered and dressed for the day - a simple yellow dress, this time - and pre-made lunch in the shape of a ham and cheese sandwich, a peeled carrot, and a bag of Lays. Just the salted ones. Again, light fare. She'd make something heavier for dinner, perhaps. Pasta? A salad to go with? Maybe.

She didn't pass anybody on the way out.

---

'Hey Aliiiinaaa!' Mary called out, running up behind as she did. Ah, Mary. Tall, blonde, friend to everybody. Alina's closest friend after half a semester, funnily. Embarassingly better at Chemistry than Alina. And they were right outside the gates by now, too, mostly devoid of other students.

'Hey, Mary. How's coursework going?'

'Ah, pretty swell, actually!' she replied, tossing her hair back behind her ear. 'I'm mostly done on the latest assignment; I could probably help you with it, if you wanted to come over later?' There was the ask, the request for her to come over.

'...maybe. I still need to think about dinner, too.'

'Yeah, perfect! We'll have something solid to fuel us, and crank it out in no time!' she cried, pumping her fist energetically. She hadn't said it yet...

'And then?'

'And, uh... and then we can, um, play some of this new game... it's, uh, pretty fun, you're a girl in an all-boy's school... they, uh...'

There it was. The perverse part of the query. Because, turned out, Mary was also very into pornographic games.

'Why do you keep asking me to play eroge games with you, Mary?'

'It's not ero-! It's not smut,' she whispered back intensely, blushing a little after her initial outburst. 'These are highly story-intensive visual novels with a lot of depth and plenty of paths to follow, like TellTale did before they went under. Sure, these ones involve some, you know, plot-based intercourse, for the sake of advancing the story and stuff, but you know that's not the sort of thing I'd show just anyone, Alina!' Yeah, like she hadn't asked- well, to Alina's knowledge, Mary really hadn't asked anyone else to play those sorts of games. Rumours spread like wildfire, and she suspected even she might have heard something about it.

'Besides,' Mary continued with just a hint of either mothering or smarminess, 'you'll get behind on the work again if you don't get on with it. Remember before the break, with the first project?'

'Yeah. That was right after grandad died.'

'Mm. Not to remind you of that, I'm sorry. You were in a sorry state, though, and I've seen you slowing down even after that. I do care about you, Alina, you know?' she uttered, hugging the girl affectionately. 'I want you to do your best work, and why not get help from somebody close to you?' Well, that did make sense when she considered it... she shrugged the arms away as they continued walking, they'd been there a while now.

Alina stiffened up a bit as she stopped. Close to her? She cared about her, the hugs? She- no. No way. How had she not seen it before?

'...Mary?'

'Yeah?' Mary asked, already sensing something was up in Alina's head.

'Do... do you have a crush on me?'

Mary's expression fell like a rock. Or rather, it expanded like a cloud. Or an explosion? The point being, it went from smiling and slightly worried to pure, unadulterated panic in less than a second, and less than a second after that-

'Wait a minute-!'

'OKAY I'LL SEE YOU IN CLASS ALINA BYEEEE!' Mary yelled behind her as she sprinted, full-speed, into the building and out of sight, leaving her on her own again. Then either the very thought of being attracted to Alina was deeply disturbing; or Alina was exactly right, and Mary was crushing on her something bad. She suspected the latter, and sighed deeply over the idea.

'Well, shit.'

Persona - Soldiers of Fortune

Wheel of Fortune: Alina Sanford

Humanity

Name: Alina Sanford
Age: 20
Arcana: X - Wheel of Fortune
Appearance: Alina is not an especially intimidating figure. She is short even for an adult woman, with a very delicate frame and rather pale skin, accompanied by bright jade eyes and black hair running down past her shoulders. The impression is furthered by a slight slouch, and a general lack of life to her expression in most situations; it is as though she is, not strictly attempting to avoid notice, but rather not motivated to make herself noticed. Her outfits, usually sharing a monochromatic and/or washed-out tone, only heighten this impression.
Personality: Alina is a relatively quiet person. She keeps to herself, she does her work, and she socialises as necessary. It is, however, hard to suggest she has very many true friends - she's an introvert, and not inclined to large gatherings, or even small gatherings realistically speaking, with only one person she regularly speaks with. She does, of course, have her interests, but they are largely personal - reading, video games, playing the guitar, studying European history, that sort of thing. As it happens, her true passions are history, and especially music; it is something she has dreamed of mastering for years, taking her talents to the world with her expert string skills and vocal talent! What a way to live!
But this is not what she is doing. Part of her feels she cannot do so - that she would just fail, that she's not good enough to become famous in that way, and she'll never succeed if that's the path she chooses. Even so, she enjoys it far more than what she's taken as her course in university, but in a way finds herself trapped by that, that she has to follow that path now that she's taken that course. That she has no choice, and no control, a defining feature of her life it seems - and a highly depressing one, at that.
Bio: To say Alina's life has had little control on her part is somewhat accurate. More precisely, she has rarely been given the chance to make decisions for herself - even as her older brother Jonas was given more leeway. It is likely that her grandparents had a large part in this, over-present in their children and grandchildren's life as they were: on her mother Marigold's side, Nicholas and Arthricia Hadleigh were always very traditional, insisting that the kids had to do things "the good old-fashioned way", even if these were less effective than modern methods; whilst from her father Marcus' side, Grandad Oliver was somewhat soft-souled, a poor counterbalance to Granny Edith's controlling behaviour, and a trait that ultimately affected her father's attitude too.
Suffice to say, the three eldest forced their opinions on Marigold, Marcus, and ultimately Alina and Jonas a lot, the Hadleighs often contradicting the Sanfords and vice versa. It never came to physical abuse, but where Jonas, already seven by the time their influence ramped up, found he resisted their commands at every turn (subtly supported by his mother, it transpired), Alina, only two or three, turned out to be far more like her grandad - kindly in theory, easily pushed around in practice. In the end, she didn't get a say in her middle school, high school, or even her college qualifications. And after all, "Those artsy-fartsy lessons don't mean anything in today's world." "You need a real technical degree to find work." "You're not skilled enough in music to play in a band." "You only have so many years, and you need to use them effectively."
"Never give up on your dreams." The only positive influence she had was not enough in a tide of nay-sayers and manipulators to make her better, nor enough for her university education to be anything less than scientific. But with his passing and the associated grief, it was just enough for her to insist upon a university far from the rest of her family - all the way down in Texas, as a matter of fact. Yet with Thanksgiving gone, she has yet to find any enjoyment in her subject of choice.
Scars: Three of her four grandparents have been historically controlling, demanding, and ultimately detrimental to her will and motivation. She goes the way she's been told, because that's what she's been machined into; she's worthless and interchangeable if she does, yet she's bound to fail and fall if she doesn't. Cogs cannot escape the machine of their life's course - she was born without control, she cannot gain control, and so she'll die without control. Or so she's been led to believe, at least.

Metaverse

A proud warrior in his youth, and keen to be fawned over in his age, the King lost everything and gained it back as the winds of fate threw him between his daughters.

Persona - Soldiers of Fortune

So, I might use a character from another Persona RP, which Lugs and I discussed a little bit earlier - Wheel of Fortune tarot with Leir of Britain as the Persona, generally rather down on herself, probably kind of jerked around by her circumstances. With that in mind, would it be okay if I had an external Awakening based on one or more of my character's relatives?