Shin Megami Tensei: Persona (Sheets/OOC)

[digiexpert]

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona
https://www.iwakuroleplay.com/threads/shin-megami-tensei-persona-jubilee.54518/
We have opened! EDIT: Back down to the Minor Arcana only slot.​

Welcome to this tale. Las Vegas, Nevada is where we make our story. A city of desire, of night life, of every excess capable by humans. But it's also a place people live. A city where people work and go to school. A city where lives are started and ended. And it is here, in sin city, where a group of people will gain the power of Persona and be thrust into a battle between two cosmic forces for the very fate of humanity itself.

What's a persona?​

Persona is the power of the human mind. It's a manifestation of our psyche, of both our true selves and the face we put on to face life. While everyone has the potential to have a Persona, that potential must be unlocked. This can be done directly or indirectly through one of two forces, Philemon, guardian of humanity and overall force of good, or Nyarlathothep, the crawling chaos. Certain groups have forced their Persona out through other methods, but they were still granted the ability by one of these two groups or one of their agents. Persona are sorted into groups called Arcana, named after the major and minor suits of the Raider-White Tarot. Someone's life and personality will reflect that Arcana, and the meanings it holds in tarot. Persona manifest using mythological archetypes. So someone of the fool arcana, which represents potential and unpredictability, might manifest their persona as Loki, Susano-o, or Ose, while someone of the Hierophant arcana, which represents firm guidance might bring forth Jupiter, Omoikane, or Thoth.

Setting info​

The world of our story is virtually identical to the real world. People drive cars, use cell phones, have debates over which next-gen console is the best, go to school, and so on. In fact, for all but a small handful of people, the world is exactly identical to the real world. But there are shadows in this world, shadows that only that small handful of people will see. A great cosmic struggle rages on between Philemon and Nyarlathothep, two extraordinarily powerful agents. They, bound by certain rules, select great creatures and promising humans to fight as proxies in a long, complicated game.

Character profile​

Name:
Appearance: (Picture or description are fine)
Backstory: (Paragraph minimum, remember that they're normal if a bit eccentric people.)
Traits: (What are they like? What do they like? What do they dislike? What are their skills? What are they bad at? These kind of things go here)
Arcana: (http://megamitensei.wikia.com/wiki/Arcana , Major and Minor only, only one of each arcana)
Persona: (Who is your Persona?)
Persona strengths: (What can they do? Do they have an affinity for a particular element? Any special abilities? Any resistances?)
Persona weaknesses: (What are they bad at? Is a particular element effective against them? Do they have some supernatural weakness?)
Other: (Anything special to tell us about your character?)

Ready? Then place your bets.

 

[digiexpert]

Name: Gergana Illiev

Appearance: Gergana is an eighteen-year-old girl of clearly Slavic descent, showing in all of her features from the pale tone of her skin to her facial features. She has generally thin features, including long, thin fingers. Her hair is black and kept trimmed, about to mid-ear level with trimmed bangs. Her eyes are narrow and brown. She never goes anywhere without one of the two pieces of clothing she inherited from her late grandfather, his brown pageboy cap he'd had for all his life. She tends to dress very casual and loose, but on cooler days goes with the second piece of clothing she inherited, her grandfather's old dirt-brown naval jacket.

Backstory: Gergana's parents immigrated from the former Soviet Union before she was born and before the union dissolved. She has spent her entire life living in the states, most of it spent in Las Vegas. Even with the recent economic downturn, she's never really known too much in the way of scarcity. Even when food has been lacking, it's been there. As a whole, her life has been about average. She was always close to her grandfather, who got out shortly after her parents did. Even now, several years after his death, she still misses him and always remembers the anniversary of his death in October.

Traits: Gergana is a girl who tries to always be the top in the situation. She receives high marks in school, more due to hard work than actual talent. Which is not to say she's dumb. She's intelligent if reckless at times. She also can never stand for someone to show her up, always seeking she is the better one.

Arcana: Tower

Persona: Yog-Sothoth, appearing as a collection of iridescent orbs floating in mid-air.

Persona strengths: Yog-Sothoth has affinities for the elements of lightning and Ice, as well as decent strength. His staying power is average, neither fragile nor incredibly sturdy. He is resistant to, but cannot use, Dark skills.

Persona weaknesses: Yog-Sothoth has weaknesses to the elements of Fire and Light, and he is not very fast at all. Many things are faster than he is. His actual skill with magic is low, as well, but not incredibly.

 

[Xylime]

Name: Miles Elliot Walsh

Age: 16

Appearance:

Obviously Irish, Miles' bright orange hair and green eyes stand out. His hair is pretty straight, mainly because he brushes it, unlike most boys his age. His green-framed glasses match his eyes, and he rarely takes them off. During hot weather, Miles prefers to wear simple t-shirts and jeans with his old pair of black converse shoes. In cold weather, he wears baggy sweaters and jeans, as well as a warm puffy jacket.

Backstory: Delilah Walsh gave birth to a baby boy in Las Vegas. This baby, named Miles, was born mute. However, he was lucky that being unable to speak was his only problem. His parents were a unique case of being completely unrelated by blood but having near identical genes. This caused a birth defect, and Miles' vocal cords didn't develop properly. Miles not being able to make a sound was dreadful for his parents, since he couldn't cry. However, his parents toughed it out, and eventually Miles grew to an age where he could use his body to communicate.

With his family problems out of the way, new problems arouse with the children his age. They claimed he was faking it, or that he must be too stupid to speak. There was constant teasing, but there was nothing Miles could do, and he certainly couldn't say anything. Years of bullying later, Miles was finally able to write, and communication with friends became much easier. However, he still had a hard time with children claiming he was stupid.

Along with writing, Miles took up sign language to more easily converse with his family. Aside from the occasional bully, the young Irish boy couldn't complain too much about his life. His family was by no means rich, but there was always food on the table, and every year he got at least two nice gifts. One gift he received was piano lessons when he was eight, and Miles soon found himself playing the piano more than spending time with friends. Creating music was a unique way that Miles could communicate his feelings, and he wanted to master it. In fifth grade, when Miles was ten, he joined his school's band. He chose the flute, believing its sound was the closest to singing than any other instrument. Though he still kept up with his piano lessons, most of Miles' time was now spent learning to play the flute, for Miles' dream was to be able to sing and this was the closest he could get to realizing that dream.

Nowadays, Miles has a smartphone that has a text to speech app. However, he much prefers to use sign language if he knows a person can understand him. He also isn't allowed to use his phone at school, so he always has a tiny notepad and pencil handy. Miles still gets teased by some of the more immature of his classmates, but he just ignores them. At the moment, Miles' goal in life is to become a musician.

Traits:
Miles is a generally nice kid. He is an amazing listener, though he really doesn't have much of a choice, and he will offer advice if he can. Secretly, however, Miles is a closet pervert. One good thing about being mute is that he never has to worry about blurting out any of the perverted thoughts that cross his mind. When at school, Miles enjoys sitting with friends and listening to their conversations. However, when he is out of school, he prefers to go straight home and practice the flute, play the piano, or even write music. Though he doesn't want to admit it, Miles has a deep-seeded resentment of his condition. He finds himself despising people who flaunt any kind of singing or speech talent.

Skill-wise, Miles is fluent in sign language. He can play the piano with ease, and can play the flute even better. His writing skills aren't too bad, though he prefers to write music rather than stories. Miles has a knack for cooking since his mom insisted that it would be an important life skill to know. Miles is pretty resilient to warm weather compared to most guys and you'll never see him complain about the heat.

Along with things he can do, there is plenty that Miles can't do. Due to his less than luxurious childhood, Miles isn't very knowledgeable about technology. He can do simple things involving music and technology, but take out the music part and he's borderline useless. Miles also isn't the best at socializing, for obvious reasons. He finds typing and writing boring, so he has a tendency to just give up on conversations. He has yet to win an argument, due more to the fact that he gets tired of typing and writing than because he's wrong. Miles sometimes has a hard time concentrating around girls because his pervy thoughts distracting him. Miles despises the cold, and it's not uncommon to see him shivering in 50 degree (Fahrenheit) weather, even if he's wearing a sweater.

Arcana: Magician

Persona: Hua Po

Hua Po

According to scripture Zi-bu-yu in Qing dynasty, Hua Po is a kind of tree spirit said to be formed from the disembodied souls of dead humans when three or more people hang themselves from the same tree. They appear as beautiful young girls that are dressed in white clothes but are much smaller than the average human. Although they cannot speak, it is said that they make sounds that are as beautiful as those of songbirds.

Persona strengths: Hua Po's affinity is fire. She can block fire and burn enemies to a crisp. Magic and Agility are her strongest stats. Her Luck is average.

Persona weaknesses: Ice will destroy Hua Po. She also has little Endurance and completely lacks any sort of Strength.

Other:

- Miles is left-handed.

- Miles has yet to have a true girlfriend, mainly because most girls he's asked so far have rejected him. He doesn't count the two girls that pity dated him. Having lost his confidence, Miles has stopped trying to get a girlfriend.​

 

[Angel of Castiel]

Name:
Abbey Caito
Age:
17
Backstory:
Abbey was born into a very successful family of casino owners. The infamous Caito Casinos are her families. From a young age, her parents were teaching her how to win without too much fuss. They enforced the idea that the only way to win was to cheat or blackmail someone. Even as a young child, they prided a dishonest child more than an honest one. Only if she was in trouble was she supposed to tell the truth. Even then, it had to be a half lie. Her parents made her the compulsive liar she was in kindergarten. So technically, it was their fault she got into so much trouble at school. Not that it mattered. Her family would flash some green and all problems were forgotten. Or fired. One of the teachers that was fired because of her was her fifth grade teacher. The one that made her start changing. She had lied about stealing the class pet. But it was obvious that it was her, especially with the small hamster crawling out of her bookbag. Her teacher scolded her, not for stealing but for almost killing the poor hamster. It was going to die before she got home by getting squished between books.
Her actions affected other people. Not just her. And they affected them in a negative way. She tried to lie less, but it was hard. Extremely so. People made it too easy, and she is very selfish. As much as she won't admit it, she knows that she is. Plus her family made the truth to be a terrible thing. Her friends began to thin out until she had none. There was only people who wanted what she had. Who wanted her money. Despite this, she found herself in art during high school. It was something that couldn't lie. What she felt was on the paper. Her parents disapprove. They want her to continue the family business, take the easy route. She wants to be an artist.. But it's like a compulsive lair trying not to lie. It's hard to do.
Traits:
Despite how lonely she feels at times, she seems to always be happy. Always smiling and joking around with everyone, flirting with boys. Regardless of who they were. People gravitate toward her, and she entertains them. Even though everything they hear is most likely a lie. Almost everything is a lie. It's something that just comes out. She doesn't mean to do it all the time. In fact, despite her trying to tell the truth, her brain turns it into a half lie. Something that is true but muddle with false facts that you can hardly see it.
The girl could talk on and on about things that never actually happened, places she had never been, people she had never met in such detail that it would seem that it was real. But that is just years of coming up with these stories that have made them so real. Maybe that is why people listen to her. Because it was so well told that it might as well be real. Just like her paintings. Speaking of which, those are things that are the only honest thing about her. When she talks about her paintings, a spark shows in her eyes and she becomes happier. Though if someone were to compliment her on them, she would get flustered, as if it was the most embarrassing thing in the world. Maybe because it is the only thing she has never lied about.
Arcana:
Lovers
Persona:

Ishtar

Persona strengths:
Ishtar affinity is recovery, where Abbey is healed a little bit every few seconds. She completely blocks electricity and is mostly used as the healer of the party with it's status cures and healing skills. Her highest stats are luck, strength, and agility. Magic is average.
Persona weaknesses:
Her weak point is wind attacks. Her endurance is also poor at best.
Other:
- Abbey dresses oddly on purpose.
- She gets cold easily so she is constantly wearing a jacket, she also hates the cold.
- Abbey has never been in a relationship before, no matter how many times she has said that she has had fifteen boyfriends within the past three months.
- She is actually really smart, since she has no friends to really hang out with, she spends most of her time reading.​

 

[Relish]

I've still got the Star arcana on reserve.

I'll have it up tomorrow.

 

[digiexpert]

@Xylime Approved. Interesting take on Magician. Also what is with Magician and being redheads.

@Angel of Castiel Approved. I never would have thought to take Lovers that way, but it oddly fits.

 

[Angel of Castiel]

Well the lovers is about hesitation to choose from the easy way and the right way. I know, because I had to look that part up again. Plus it goes with Yukari in P3FES/P3P. :3
Thank you though.

 

[driftingstar]

Name: Erica Lawrence

Age: 16

Appearance:

Spoiler

Erica's overall clothing style is feminine and casual, yet never something that pushes the boundaries of proper dress for her situation. Even in cooler weather, she's likely to wear a light jacket or sweater over a sleeveless top; it's only when it's hot that she shows much skin. Her hair is brushed neatly, but she does tend to play with it while thinking unless she remembers to clip it away from her face. Though she shows a blend of traits from various races, she knows her maternal family is largely French with other European influences.

Backstory: Lawrence is her mother's maiden name; the identity of her father is something Erica's never known. She knows that her grandparents knew about him, but also that they disapproved of the relationship, and she can't recall her mother ever talking about him in detail. She was raised by her mother during the early years of her life, but when she was about 4 years old, she went to live with her grandparents. The reason was supposedly so she had a chance at entering a better school district the following year.

As time went on, however, she began to see less and less of her mother. Regular visits turned into the occasional phone call on holidays and her birthday. Now it's been nearly a year since she's heard from her single parent at all, and more since they've spoken face to face. The change was never one that she was happy with; her mother had never been a great parent, but they should still have some kind of relationship. When she asked about it, her grandparents would always change the subject...

Other than her questionable parental history, she's had a pretty normal upbringing. Though far from wealthy, her grandparents are not truly poor, and have provided the best for her that they could manage. Erica was always encouraged to study hard and work smart if she wanted to achieve greater things. Non-academic areas of study were always for "being well rounded" rather than anything to spend any significant time on, so she doesn't know if she has any talent in the arts or not. She does have a curfew, but it's rare that she's tempted to break the rule; it's been more trouble than it was worth in the past. Any restrictions on dating are self-created; she knows she wasn't a planned child, and she knows all about the problems that can come from that. (It's one of the things she was lectured about extensively when she neared puberty.) So she's careful about who she dates.

Traits: The type to quietly watch and observe before she acts, Erica keeps to herself much of the time. Studious at school, reliable at home, good at keeping a promise or a secret, she's often called a 'good kid' by adults. She finds value and importance in being someone that others can rely on. In the past she's had issues with people taking advantage of this trait - usually because she lets them give her all the work to do - and struggles with putting her foot down when she sees this happening. Around others (adults especially) she tries to look like she always has everything under control.

Erica actively tries not to think of others as 'bad people'. Her preferred view is that most are 'good people who do bad things' instead. While she's not so naive to think that everyone has her best interests in mind, it does mean that she assumes that someone is good (by her own definitions) until they do something that proves otherwise. She quickly finds herself out of her element in situations that require street smarts or just familiarity with acting outside of the rules.

When she's alone a more free-spirited and energetic side reveals itself. She enjoys dancing and can sometimes be caught doing so in the middle of other tasks. Drawn to water ever since she was little, she loves to swim; the ocean is one of her favorite places. Even something as simple as a rainy day spent with a good book will restore her spirits. She dislikes heat, large crowds, and being the center of attention - though she can hide the latter a bit if she's prepared. In an attempt to relieve her grandparents from work around the house, she's become good at some cleaning tasks...but she can't fold a shirt decently to save her life, and is likely to cut herself or burn something if cooking anything complex.

Arcana: Priestess

Persona: Sarasvati

Spoiler

Persona strengths: Sarasvati naturally resists and uses the ice element. She also learns an assortment of recovery skills. With various methods of removing status - both negative status on allies and beneficial status on enemies - she can attack or support when needed. Her strength lies in the use of magic, while her agility and luck are both fair.

Persona weaknesses: Fire is a particular weak point for this persona; electricity is not as much of a risk, but still can become an issue with stronger attacks. Sarasvati lacks physical skills and the strength to back them up, so in a situation where magic is blocked or resisted, her options are greatly limited. Her endurance is another weaker area, better than strength but not by much.

Other: Erica struggles with academics more than she reveals, largely because she grasps topics quickly but isn't great at memorization. She's allergic to cats and dogs despite really liking them. Her goal is to become an oceanographer.

 

[Angel of Castiel]

Seychelles~

 

[Xylime]

Thanks for the acceptance digiexpert! Don't be afraid to give thoughts on whether something fits or not. (I don't mind)

Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I was planning a text/color scheme to make it easier to differentiate what Miles is doing (writing, speaking with his smartphone, signing) I will do my best to remember to specify in words what he's doing, but in case I forget, this was my planned guide:

Thoughts = Italics in the color orange
Writing = "In quotation marks, underlined, and in the color white"
Signing = "In quotation marks and in the color green"
Speaking Through Phone = "In quotation marks, bold, and in the color grey"

If you don't like the guide (think I'm using too many colors, it's confusing, etc), let me know and I'll rethink it. If you do like it, then I'll add it to the bottom of my CS as a reference for everyone.

 

[Angel of Castiel]

@Xylime
Can I just say that your character is adorable.

 

[Relish]

Let me know if there are any issues and please let me know what you think!



Name: Antonio Herz. Insists people call him Tony.

Age: Recently turned 18.

Appearance:

Blond hair, light skin and blue eyes, Tony is a fourth generation American with German roots. His wardrobe consists exclusively designer clothes that his father couldn't sell. Typically Tony wears jeans, a t-shirt and a light jacket regardless of the weather. His hair is wild and messy; seeing little care outside of showering.

Backstory:

Antonio was born an only child to a moderately wealthy middle class family. His father runs a high end fashion boutique in the city and as a result of this, Tony has been wearing designer clothing since infancy. His mother, Muriel has always been a stay at home mom with his dad working at the shop. By only being a simple family of three, the Herz family has continuously generated a stream of expendable income taking at least one large vacation a year.

Antonio himself has lead what many people can agree on as an interesting social life. Since grade-school he's had an unending desire to be the center of attention and there was little he wouldn't do to achieve that in his early days. In his elementary school ears he was nightmare incarnate for the teachers. Frequently, he pulled antics like releasing the class's pet gerbils, hiding other student's school supplies and was just a nuisance in general. None of this stems from anything like not getting enough attention from mommy; he has just simply always wanted to be the life of the party.

It was much the same in middle school. It was easier to get away with things and it wasn't until high school where he really shaped up. Some of the kids he went to middle school with still refer to acting out as "pulling a Tony." Now a high-school senior, Tony is very open about himself and willing to be friends with anyone. He doesn't take anything anybody says seriously and fully expects people to do the same with him. Still, he has yet to learn that he doesn't have nearly as many friends as he thinks he does. Once he graduates he plans to learn management and take over his father's store.


Traits:

Antonio has always thought of himself as the "funny guy of the group." Antonio knows no bounds when it comes to his "humor" and often his jokes are borderline offensive or tasteless. He doesn't put a lot of thought into anything he's about to say and everything he does say is completely justified in his mind under as good fun. Frequently, he makes snarky comments to get a rise or a laugh out of his closest peers almost always at their own expense. There's very little he enjoys more than taking someone out of their comfort zone with a well placed awkwardly personal question or joke.

Unfortunately, his idea of "closest peers" literally encompasses everyone and anyone. This means he treats everybody like a close friend and is completely comfortable being brutally honest about what he thinks. It doesn't matter if he doesn't even know the person's name or if they hate his guts, as far as Antonio is concerned everyone's his friend. This means that Antonio is very comfortable around anyone and he has no qualms asking very personal questions to complete strangers. He doesn't seem to grasp the fact that he comes off more obnoxious than funny.

Always smiling, Antonio is perpetually motivated to do something and always ready to make light of any situation. He is an overly optimistic and perpetually filled with boundless levels energy. For the people who understand his constant teasing and taunting are all in good fun he is just a miniature ray of sunshine.

Antonio frequently makes a spectacle of himself. There have been times where he has come to school wearing odd things such as a full wizard outfit, a ninja costume or fake fox ears and a tail (things he wore for comic-con). Wanting to be the center of everybody's attention, he doesn't care how other people think of him.

Arcana:
Star

Persona:
Gandharva

Spoiler

Gandharvas are male nature spirits that are said to be the husbands of Apsaras. They are said to be part animal, usually a bird or horse. They guard the soma, the ritual drink of the gods, and are said to make music for the gods in their palaces.

Persona strengths:

Gandharva's affinity is in its own physical prowess. Boasting hugely impressive levels strength, endurance and agility it can easily shrug off most physical attacks. In addition Gandharva can diminish the abilities of nearby enemies with crippling debuffs. His luck is poor and magical skill is non-existent.

Persona weaknesses:

Gandharva is severely hampered by its lack of any type of elemental skill; if an enemy is immune to physical attacks then he is stuck playing support. Gandharva is highly vulnerable to both wind and electric affinities. Antonio himself is very susceptible to statuses like fear, rage, panic or charm.

Other:

• In freshman year he hit on another boy as part of a joke. It's up for debate if he actually is gay.

• Despite always being motivated to do something, it's seldom he actually sees things through to completion and leaves them unfinished.

• He has a strong dislike for dogs but he absolutely adores cats.

• Tony drives a really old (and ugly) sedan that his father bought him for passing his driver's test. Riding passenger in it is anything but pleasant.

 

[Angel of Castiel]

@Relish
I can see Tony and Abbey either butting heads or being the best of friends.

 

[Relish]

@Angel of Castiel

That really depends on Abbey :L

Tony wouldn't mind all the little lies. He's not exactly the type who would take things seriously. If she doesn't mind him calling her on some of her fibs I think they'd get along pretty well. If not then she probably will just find him annoying.

 

[digiexpert]

@driftingstar Approved. I really can't think of something to say about this one even though I'm trying to comment on everyone's. Don't take that as an insult, it's still a good character.

@Relish Approved. Also an interesting take on Star, given as all canon examples have been a bit stuffier. Also, is that avatar Kakyoin or am I just confusing it?

 

[Relish]

@digiexpert

Of course it's Kakyoin, who else poses like that? :L

I have a question though, are we going by persona animation rules where the persona user is hurt along with the persona?

 

[digiexpert]

I don't understand why not, what with 1) Persona 2 working exactly that way, and 2) Persona being Shin Megami Tensei's Bizarre Adventure.

 

[Angel of Castiel]

It also makes sense since your Persona is you. If they go down, you should to.

 

[digiexpert]

Well, I'm handling it a lot like a Persona Break in Arena, though once the adrenaline wears off, you'll probably be really tired and kinda depressed. Kind of like a temporary Apathy Syndrome. but like in Persona 2, you could send the Persona away a bit to do things for you.

 

[driftingstar]

That makes sense; it's a useful ability (and required for some things) but it has drawbacks and limits. The mental side effects of losing seem fitting for something that's linked to the self, too.