Persona Roleplay Interest Check

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Vaspian

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Shin Megami Tensei Persona I: Mirror/Mirror
​

The year is 2016, in the city of Shinimugen, Japan. It is a depressing locale, its looming skyscrapers and endless steel infrastructure choking the minute traces of sunlight that begs to shine through the perpetually gray clouds, its people scrambling to continue their meager existence.

Highly industrious and surprisingly well-kept despite the dreary atmosphere it emanates, Shinimugen is a rather popular tourist location and business epicenter, inviting a range of outsiders into its shadowy embrace, offering a host of various activities and opportunities.

However, crime is also an unfortunate fact of life within the city's borders, and with a surge of criminal activity infesting the streets, the citizenry is understandably on edge. Murders, kidnappings, people losing their minds. The world inside the city walls seemed to be falling apart...


Our story begins with the disappearance of one Jin Kurama, aged CEO of technology tycoon Tech Firm Japan, whose sudden vanishing leaves behind no clues as to the nature of his indisposal; police find no signs of a struggle, no note, or anything for that matter. It was as if the man simply vanished into thin air. The story made headlines all across Japan, with speculation that this situation was part of a scandal Kurama was allegedly involved in.

The case seemed uninteresting and unimportant; you just switched off the TV. His wasn't the first story to involve a disappearance in Shinimugen, and probably wouldn't be the last. It was late, and you had school in the morning. You decided to head to bed early. You hadn't been sleeping well the past few days; you didn't understand why. As your head hit the pillow, though, a rush of relief coursed through you.

Perhaps you'd get that rest you so desperately needed.



Then, suddenly, the dream started to invade your sleep...it was a dream, right? You remembered it extremely vividly: a room coated from ceiling to floor in a striking, deep blue. Sitting, across an old oaken table, from where you were was a rather unattractive old man, bearing a long, pointed nose. "Welcome, to the Velvet Room!" he exclaimed. Next to him was a smiling, pale-faced woman with blank, orange-yellow eyes that shone like headlights on a dark highway.

"Are you ready to begin?" the old man asked.

As soon as the words left his mouth, a searing pain ripped through your skull, your screams echoing in the azure-colored surroundings. Suddenly, there appeared before you a mirror, with a horrendous-looking abomination reflecting in the spot where your image should have been, its piercing gaze meeting your frightened stare.

'Thou art I, and I am Thou.'

The voice in your head was strangely familiar…

---
​
Alright, so, this is just the basic hook I had to introduce my idea. Although this doesn't convey everything I envision (it can't really, without invoking spoilers), I feel it gets the point across nicely.

What I'm going for here is a darker (by Megami Tensei standards) Persona-based roleplay. I'd really like to see some dynamic, flawed and/or (emotionally) broken characters who interact with each other in unique and interesting ways. At the same time, I am developing a plot that will reinforce the darker nature I am going for, serving to tip our characters over the edge to find out just what their true colors are when the chips are down.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Persona series, but find yourself interested anyway, you can follow this link to read up a bit on the series and the concept of Personas themselves.

That's what I have so far, and that is subject to change pending new thoughts and formulations of ideas. Let me know what you think, and if this has piqued your interest, don't hesitate to give me a shout.

Thanks for reading.​
 
As I mentioned before, I've an incomplete character who would be perfect for this.​
 
I am interested.... Let's make a fucked up, repressed little character and let absolute bonkers shit happen to them. XD
 
Glad to see this idea has gotten interest. Alright, maybe we should wait on a few more people and we can get the ball rolling.
 
Can't wait to shoot myself in the side of the head! Oh wait... yes... yes that very much so can wait..... XD
 
Potatocat said:
Can't wait to shoot myself in the side of the head! Oh wait... yes... yes that very much so can wait..... XD
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Not going to be using Evokers this time around, sorry. I have my own idea for how the characters will summon their respective Personae. :p
 
The Afterman said:
Not going to be using Evokers this time around, sorry. I have my own idea for how the characters will summon their respective Personae. :p
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Some other thing that seems horrendously violent? I want something seemingly violent, come on! Its one of the mainstays of the series! XD
 
Potatocat said:
Some other thing that seems horrendously violent? I want something seemingly violent, come on! Its one of the mainstays of the series! XD
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'fraid not. Going to be something a bit more tame. Don't worry though, I have plenty acts of horrendous violence planned for the roleplay proper.
 
The Afterman said:
'fraid not. Going to be something a bit more tame. Don't worry though, I have plenty acts of horrendous violence planned for the roleplay proper.
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Darn. I really liked the idea that in order to invoke your persona you had to "kill" yourself so that it could take your place. Not a deal breaker though...
 
Well, I'm glad the lack of mimicking suicide hasn't swayed you. :p
 
"I am the hole that remains when everything else has gone. The emptiness shaped like God."​

GENERAL STATISTICS
designation: NCC-13 'Proxy'
gender: Male
age: 17
date of birth: March 23
birthplace: Ipswich, Massachusetts

PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES
appearance: Most often he wears nondescript clothing, anything that fails to stand out alone or in a crowd. Most telling are the myriad silver talismans adorning heavy pants and coat, so numerous as to jingle while he walks. A deep hood overshadows his face, large headphones shutting out noise form the world around. Often too he wears a surgical mask, further isolating himself. Beneath the bulky clothing he could easily be called malnourished, though this is not really the case. In fact, he holds a great passion for food, this being one of his few areas of true, happy expression.
height: 5' 7"
weight: 132 lbs
build: Sickly
hair texture: Wavy
hair length: Short
hair color: Black
eye color: Pale amber, almost yellow
facial attributes: Long and narrow, accentuated cheekbones and hollows matched by a thin nose match the rest of his body.
distinguishing marks: Occult symbology tattooed, burnt and carved into his flesh.
bearing: Stiff and awkward, he avoids eye contact when able.
skills/training: Largely self-educated, his learning goes beyond that of his current level of schooling and also encompasses deep occult secrets.

HISTORY
Early Years:
8 - 12: Upon entrance into middle school, he developed an obsession with the nature of reality beyond common perception. In delving too deep he became so preoccupied that his behavior began to suffer. Study of the sciences eventually diverged into occultism and upon attempting a ritual of calling found within the pages of an old and wretched volume he was caught and sent to the Robert M. Price correctional institute. However unsuccessful, his efforts had a telling effect as he became the venue through which an abominable presence might emerge into the world.
14 - Present: At first it was little more than a whisper but more and more it began to grow, feeding off his peers. All the while he did what he could to affect an appearance of reform and normalcy, even as the institute began to unravel. Blamed for the increasing disorder that seemed to be slowly eroding the community, his parents packed him up and left the country.

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE
Intelligent and creative, he appreciates artistic expression while denying such in himself. In light of his perceived station and despite the human condition he sees himself as little more than a tool for the tulpa's expression. An affectation of aloofness notwithstanding, he is highly empathetic to the thoughts and feelings of others with a clear sense of what is right. This is largely overshadowed by the tulpa's influence and his own preoccupations. It is because of this that he distances himself as much as possible, reluctantly feeding its endless hunger only when there remains no choice and condemning himself a coward in the process.
Ostensibly due to the trauma of his experiences he has been diagnosed a selective mute, in truth he sees little point in communication and instead elects for silence. When unable to avoid the act or as a show of trust he communicates chiefly through text, only speaking on rare occasions and with excessively short statements. This disaffected nature lends him a cool head in most situations, allowing a calculated approach devoid of interpersonal distraction. Regardless, he is young and though resigned to his station may at times be overwhelmed by life.

ABILITIES
Effects of the tulpa's feeding, any so afflicted show progressively worsening signs of sickness, the symptoms of which begin to manifest as nosebleeds, fever and short bouts of amnesia. These are soon joined by exhaustion, aches and pains, ocular trauma in the form of redness and burst vessels, coughing and vomiting. Further mental ataxia manifests in the form of deja vu as paranoia largely overtakes the sufferer's personality. Later, swallowing becomes increasingly difficult and breathing painful as bloody discharge appears in vomit and when coughing. Convulsions and major amnesia mark the final stages, resulting in coma and eventual death. Curiously, signs of radiation sickness become prominent throughout, only serving to exacerbate other symptoms.
A rare instance of drawing upon the tulpa's influence, specifically that it exerts over time and dimension. When stalking potential prey the unfortunate will find that they cannot flee without finding its proxy already waiting around every corner or even that an environment seems to wrap in on itself or connects with entirely different spaces and times. This ability does take its toll however as reality attempts to assert itself and thus is used only to guarantee a feeding. This same influence can be used in a lesser fashion to gain access to a victim's personal effects such as their home or even identity, tapping into assets and accounts with all that they offer. Further, the tulpa's influence has a minor to catastrophic affect upon any attempts to record both it and its proxy, ranging from mild distortion to outright irreversible corruption.

EQUIPMENT

NOTES
A thing of abstract existence, brought to focus through the medium of its proxy in the physical world: a tulpa or thought-form. As a creature not of physical form existing completely on the plane of thought, it can be perceived only by those possessed of sensitive minds or mechanical eyes that see the cascades of ether flowing throughout the framework of existence. Possessed of no true form, its shape is instead an interpretation of the viewer but some details remain constant. Spectral shapes swarm across a miniature sun, opening, extending, folding inward and crossing one over another in endless layers of indistinct motion. Everything blurs into a coiling haze, vast quasi-wings thrashing outwards at incredible speeds, slicing through matter like flailing ghosts. Their immense numbers hide subtler limbs that shuffle close to the body, a nest of dim and deadly insect arms tipped with curving blades. From within the whirling miasma, bright fires sometimes spray forth while all around this vision of chaos orbit burning, near-transparent eyes that fly free in the air with fanged mouths as pupils.
Unfettered by physical laws, it seems nonetheless to be held aloft upon its hundred wings, vast pinions set at every angle across the beast's vaguely vermiform body. These thrash about, cloaked in ordered rows of long, pseudo-feathers, the smooth edges of which are as bladed diamonds. Hidden by this sharp-edged plumage lie folded bone scythes, killing claws the immense swiftness of which is greater even than that of the wings.
The monster bears an instinct that fills its mind completely, one of vast and alien intelligence that might imagine infinitely convoluted schemes for the sake of achieving that single, all-important goal. For this is not even a true member of its kind, rather it is only an immature hatchling still seeking the substance by which it may advance into its next life. So it wanders among all the deep vortices of time and dimension, its unliving body possessing no need for mortal meat. Instead its flames and razor eyes devour the abstract substance of the mind and suck dry the perfection of the soul.​
 
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Renegade Proxy said:
"I am the hole that remains when everything else has gone. The emptiness shaped like God."​

GENERAL STATISTICS
designation: NCC-13 'Proxy'
gender: Male
age: 17
date of birth: March 23
birthplace: Ipswich, Massachusetts

PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES
appearance:
height: 5' 7"
weight: 132 lbs
build: Sickly
hair texture: Wavy
hair length: Short
hair color: Black
eye color: Pale amber, almost yellow
facial attributes:
distinguishing marks:
bearing: Stiff and awkward, he avoids eye contact when able.
skills/training:

HISTORY
Early Years:
- : Upon entrance into middle school, he developed an obsession with the nature of reality beyond common perception. In delving too deep he became so preoccupied that his behavior began to suffer. Study of the sciences eventually diverged into occultism and upon attempting a sacrificial ritual he was caught and sent to the Robert M. Price correctional institute. However unsuccessful, his efforts had a telling effect as he became the venue through which an otherworldly presence might emerge into the world.
- Present: At first it was little more than a whisper but more and more it began to grow, feeding off his peers. All the while he did what he could to affect an appearance of reform and normalcy, even as the institute began to unravel. Blamed for the increasing disorder that seemed to be slowly eroding the community, his parents packed him up and left the country.

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE
Intelligent and creative, he appreciates artistic expression while denying such in himself. In light of his perceived station and despite the human condition he sees himself as little more than a tool for the tulpa's expression. An affectation of aloofness notwithstanding, he is highly empathetic to the thoughts and feelings of others with a clear sense of what is right. This is largely overshadowed by the tulpa's influence and his own preoccupations. It is because of this that he distances himself as much as possible, reluctantly feeding its endless hunger only when there remains no choice and condemning himself a coward in the process.
Ostensibly due to the trauma of his experiences he has been diagnosed a selective mute, in truth he sees little point in communication and instead elects for silence. When unable to avoid the act or as a show of trust he communicates chiefly through text, only speaking on rare occasions and with excessively short statements. This disaffected nature lends him a cool head in most situations, allowing a calculated approach devoid of interpersonal distraction. Regardless, he is young and though resigned to his station may at times be overwhelmed by life.

ABILITIES
Effects of the tulpa's feeding, any so afflicted show progressively worsening signs of sickness, the symptoms of which begin to manifest as nosebleeds, fever and short bouts of amnesia. These are soon joined by exhaustion, aches and pains, ocular trauma in the form of redness and burst vessels, coughing and vomiting. Further mental ataxia manifests in the form of deja vu as paranoia largely overtakes the sufferer's personality. Later, swallowing becomes increasingly difficult and breathing painful as bloody discharge appears in vomit and when coughing. Convulsions and major amnesia mark the final stages, resulting in coma and eventual death. Curiously, signs of radiation sickness become prominent throughout, only serving to exacerbate other symptoms.

A rare instance of drawing upon the tulpa's influence, specifically that it exerts over time and dimension. When stalking potential prey the unfortunate will find that they cannot flee without finding its proxy already waiting around every corner or even that an environment seems to wrap in on itself or connects with entirely different spaces and times. This ability does take its toll however as reality attempts to assert itself and thus is used only to guarantee a feeding. This same influence can be used in a lesser fashion to gain access to a victim's personal effects such as their home or even identity, tapping into assets and accounts with all that they offer. Further, the tulpa's influence has a minor to catastrophic affect upon any attempts to record both it and its proxy, ranging from mild distortion to outright irreversible corruption.

EQUIPMENT

NOTES
A thing of abstract existence, brought to focus through the medium of its proxy in the physical world: a tulpa or thought-form. As a creature not of physical form existing completely on the plane of thought, it can be perceived only by those possessed of sensitive minds or mechanical eyes that see the cascades of ether flowing throughout the framework of existence. Possessed of no true form, its shape is instead an interpretation of the viewer but some details remain constant. Spectral shapes swarm across a miniature sun, opening, extending, folding inward and crossing one over another in endless layers of indistinct motion. Everything blurs into a coiling haze, vast quasi-wings thrashing outwards at incredible speeds, slicing through matter like flailing ghosts. Their immense numbers hide subtler limbs that shuffle close to the body, a nest of dim and deadly insect arms tipped with curving blades. From within the whirling miasma, bright fires sometimes spray forth while all around this vision of chaos orbit burning, near-transparent eyes that fly free in the air with fanged mouths as pupils.
Unfettered by physical laws, it seems nonetheless to be held aloft upon its hundred wings, vast pinions set at every angle across the beast's vaguely vermiform body. These thrash about, cloaked in ordered rows of long, pseudo-feathers, the smooth edges of which are as bladed diamonds. Hidden by this sharp-edged plumage lie folded bone scythes, killing claws the immense swiftness of which is greater even than that of the wings.
The monster bears an instinct that fills its mind completely, one of vast and alien intelligence that might imagine infinitely convoluted schemes for the sake of achieving that single, all-important goal. For this is not even a true member of its kind, rather it is only an immature hatchling still seeking the substance by which it may advance into its next life. So it wanders among all the deep vortices of time and dimension, its unliving body possessing no need for mortal meat. Instead its flames and razor eyes devour the abstract substance of the mind and suck dry the perfection of the soul.​
​
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Well, obviously some edits will need to be made in order to make this fit into the lore of Persona's universe, but I really like the premise here. Not sure if you'd be going for a protagonist or antagonistic role, though, but either way could work.

Nice job. :)
 
That ambiguity is exactly the point.

What edits.
Admittedly, this character was not intended as one from a Persona setting but it fits from what I can tell.
Of course, an outside perspective is always welcome.​
 
Renegade Proxy said:
What edits.
Admittedly, this character was not intended as one from a Persona setting but it fits from what I can tell.
Of course, an outside perspective is always welcome.​
Click to expand...
Well, from how it's described, the entity that lives within them would need to be more akin to a Persona, or possibly a Shadow infesting the host's body, depending on which way you'd wanna go. His abilities will need to correspond to that entity's identity as well, in the form of abilities from the Persona series itself. Additionally, he'll need an Arcana for his entity to be a part of.

Nothing too game-breaking, just some stuff that would help them mesh into the universe.

Edit: I can help walk you through the process if you need me to. :)
 
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"A Persona is a manifestation of a person's personality in the Persona series, referred to as a "mask" for an individual to use to face hardship."

The tulpa is just that, a manifestation of the abstract singularity at the center of all existence from which all being is derived.
Defined like that, all such notions, persona, shadow, they are merely extensions of the same thing: reality.
But, I don't want to explore that in OOC.

The very reason it was called into being was a logical conclusion, arrived at through scientific study and realized through occult practice when faced with nature and human civilization.
Both being inherently malicious while also capable of benevolence.
Being a realist, the need for protection becomes paramount, thus the ritual was attempted.

The Arcana is the Hanged Man, as represented by the sigil you see to your left.

Abilities will require research, but will hopefully conform in spirit at least to what I have already described.
 
Renegade Proxy said:
"A Persona is a manifestation of a person's personality in the Persona series, referred to as a "mask" for an individual to use to face hardship."

The tulpa is just that, a manifestation of the abstract singularity at the center of all existence from which all being is derived.
Defined like that, all such notions, persona, shadow, they are merely extensions of the same thing: reality.
But, I don't want to explore that in OOC.

The very reason it was called into being was a logical conclusion, arrived at through scientific study and realized through occult practice when faced with nature and human civilization.
Both being inherently malicious while also capable of benevolence.
Being a realist, the need for protection becomes paramount, thus the ritual was attempted.

The Arcana is the Hanged Man, as represented by the sigil you see to your left.

Abilities will require research, but will hopefully conform in spirit at least to what I have already described.
Click to expand...
Alright. I'd say you have yourself a character, good sir. :p

I'll gladly help you out any way I can, if you need me to.
 
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