![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
π expiation
Player: ghost
Contact: ghosthotel#0287
Age: 35
Current Characters: n/a
Character Name: Akira Kurusu
Character Canon: Persona 5 (Royal+Strikers)
Canon Point: Post-Strikers, Royal-Compliant
Age: 18
Crime: Nasty crime boy has come to town-- mods, I am paralyzed with indecision, please designate him something. It can be serious or absolutely memey, he's probably done it at some stage.
Background: Wikia, please ignore that they call him Ren Amamiya, he suffers the Two Names Curse of Persona Protags. I'll be operating with the original manga name of Akira Kurusu.
Personality: Akira is shown with everyone he interacts with to be attentive and a good listener. He follows a classmate he overhears having a stressful conversation to ensure her safety, sits with her in a diner while she cries about the situation, and then bring her on board a team to fight the injustice she's facing. He calls upon the for-hire maid service of his homeroom teacher because she needs money for an unfortunate situation in her life. He listens to and understands the trauma-dumping of a teenage celebrity without pitying him, instead aiming to find a means to help him despite knowing he was set to betray the Phantom Thieves.
Contrarily, he becomes nearly obsessive with listening and helping others. All the bonds he has are "Confidants", deals made to further his ends within the Metaverse, allowing him to advance through the game. Despite going through many hardships, often times with the very Confidants he's sought to befriend, he never turns the tables and becomes the one complaining. He is literally detained by the police, beaten and drugged in a plan his friends put together at his behest, and never complains or expresses to any of them if he found the situation stressful or upsetting.
This video is how you are first introduced, both to Royal as a whole, and Akira as a character. While being chased by authorities, he deliberately taunts them before breaking through a large glass window to keep their attention as he "escapes". This is more common for Joker, the moniker he takes on as the leader of the Phantom Thieves, but gradually becomes commonplace for him just as Akira, as well. This persists well into Strikers, which occurs the summer after the events of the core game, wherein at one point he is literally captured by Metaverse cops and restrained, only to make saucy comments at the head honcho who had him captured. Akira frequently throws himself full force into situations as they come at him with a devil-may-care attitude. He is quoted reckless by his teammates multiple times-- for making himself the participant in a clearly rigged "game" battle without concern for his own well-being in the Casino Palace, for volunteering to be the decoy in an escape plan from the same, and for his showy exit through the glass windows. All of these instances happen within the same night, in the same game dungeon, and they are all done while fighting alongside a teammate he knows full well is going to betray him. His teammates frequently mention that once he puts his mind to something he can't be talked out of it, whether it's a well-thought plan or, more frequently a reckless one. Early in the game, Morgana shows up to he and Ryuji outside the Metaverse as a talking cat, and decides he's going to live with Akira while in that form since it's harder for him to get around. Despite knowing it could get him kicked out of his housing situation for sneaking a cat into the attic loft of a coffee shop, he does it anyway. When presented with a detective who is clearly doubting the justice of the Phantom Thieves, Akira has the option of saying publicly that the Thieves "are justice itself", despite knowing the danger of going against someone working with the police and investigating their identities.
This guy also doesn't really think his decisions through overmuch, perhaps even less so than your average teenage boy. When he and Ryuji enter the Metaverse the very first time, their high school presents itself as a Castle. Rather than stop and question the situation, he follows Ryuji without hesitation. When in the same palace he is confronted by his Persona, a demon representing his spirit of rebellion, he doesn't hesitate to forge a contract with it to gain the power to save Ryuji, despite having not even learned his name at the time. Arguably most, if not all, of Akira's confidant advancements could be considered impulsive, since they are frequently rather sudden judgement calls, from agreeing to take an unmarked bag from a shady guy running an airsoft shop who later turns out to be former yakuza, to pretending to be a friend's boyfriend so she can go on a double date to make sure another classmate's boyfriend isn't taking advantage of her. The very reason for his involvement in the game in the first place is also impulsive, in that he chose to defend a woman who was being forced into a car by a drunk man, and when the man fell and hit his head Akira was falsely accused of and sued for assault.
Abilities: Protag Problems: So there seems to be approximately nothing this kid can't manage to do passably, if not master. He cooks, he makes coffee, he's an excellent student, he memorizes food orders without writing them down, he's fluent in hanakotoba, he's good at shogi, he has the medical fortitude of a rhinoceros, he plays darts and billiards, he has to be taught by a child how to play video games well but gets pretty good! He's good with daggers from the start and later becomes good with guns, he dances in a memey way in Royal and extremely proficiently in the dancing game (which is "not canon" as it's meant to be a dream, but it's still a skill I like to consider). A literal jack of all trades, though his specific points of mastery are curry, coffee, and being a confident booger while wearing a domino mask that has no business looking as good on him as it does.
Third Eye: Separating this one from Protag Problems because it's a weird specific thing he does that allows him to hone in on key items. This extends to things useful to advance the plot, treasure chests with items to steal/that are empty (and being able to tell the difference), trails for specific trajectory to get places in a certain order for puzzles, and some form of night vision. How and why does he have this? Just Persona Protag Things. For the purpose of not allowing this to become game-breaking, I'm happy to do away with its use entirely, or have it work approximately like a cat seeing something that grabs its entire attention and makes its pupils go impossibly wide. Is what he just saw useful? No, it's probably just a laser pointer.
Wildcard/Persona Problems: This is basically an extension of Protag Problems and I hate that. Due to being the protagonist of a Persona game, he has this nifty ability to basically house a bunch of monster souls in his head and utilize their powers by swapping between their respective masks. He can carry up to ten at a time (this number varies from Vanilla to Royal to Strikers, but in Strikers it is only ten), swap between them at will, and as their user takes on their strengths, weaknesses and other affinities in battle. Ten he could theoretically have along being pulled from post-Strikers:
β ArsΓ¨ne: Akira's first Persona and initial awakening. Curse-forward of the Fool Arcana. Inherits/resists Curse, weak to Ice/Bless.
β Queen Mab: Fire/Ice forward of the Magician Arcana. Inherits/blocks Fire, resists Elec, weak to Wind.
β Sarasvati: Heal and Buff-forward of the Priestess Arcana. Inherits Heal, blocks Ice, resists Elec, weak to Nuke.
β King Frost: Ice-forward of the Emperor Arcana (can Summon Jack Frost). Drains Ice, null Bless, weak to Fire.
β Forneus: Psy-forward of the Hierophant Arcana. Inherits/absorbs Psy, blocks Ice, weak to Elec.
β Thor: Elec-forward of the Chariot Arcana. Inherits/blocks Elec, resists Phys/Bless/Curse, weak to Wind/Psy.
β Metatron: Bless/Almighty-forward of the Justice Arcana. Inherits Bless, absorbs Psy/Nuke, blocks Wind, weak to Elec/Curse.
β Kurama Tengu: Wind-forward of the Hermit Arcana. Inherits/blocks Wind, resists Bless/Curse, weak to Gun/Ice.
β Orthrus: Nuke-forward of the Hanged Man Arcana. Inherists/resists Nuke, absorbs Fire, weak to Ice.
β Seth: Phys/Gun-forward of the Tower Arcana. Null Fire, drains Wind, weak to Bless.
Given all of these Persona have strengths and weaknesses, leading them to kind of nerf and buff themselves interchangeably, but I'm absolutely open to any further changes or depowering the mods deem fit. :>
Inventory: His standard outfit, complete with a white and blue over-shoulder bag (sadly no Morgana), containing the following: his yukata and a bunch of (small) accessory items gifted to him throughout the game: a 1:20 Candlecutter sword keychain, a seashell necklace, a Salvia charm, a Feather Red mask, a red scarf and matching pair of gloves, a sketchbook full of drawings, a protective charm reading "Safe Family", a keychain of the Phantom Thieves logo, a floral teaspoon, a magnet of the Yokohama skyline, a police baton keychain, and a single right-handed leather glove. Not in the bag but on his person are a watch and handmade bracelet on his left wrist, and he would have had his smartphone in his pocket.
Samples: TDM, and the Duplicity TDM bc it's the only thing that isn't locked from the game, RIP. Warning for eventual NSFW in the Duplicity thread, but it's pretty far down.
Key Items
Wooden Bear Statue A gift from Sapporo. The bear is holding a salmon in its mouth. - Talk to Futaba in Odori Park, Sapporo on 8/13
Shiisaa Ornament A gift from Okinawa. They come in a pair. The left is female, the right is male. - Complete request, "Okinawan Art Appreciation"
Mini Umbrella A gift from Kyoto. A cute Japanese umbrella given to you by Akane. - Received on 8/15 at Noon
Ramen Bowl A gift from Fukuoka. Serves as proof for getting five refills. - Received on 8/20 at Night Decoration from Royal
Takoyaki Cushion A gift from Osaka. It's not edible, but it looks so tasty... - Talk to Ann in Dotonbori, Osaka on 8/24
Cityscape Magnet A gift from Yokohama. Reminder of all the good memories from your trip. - Talk to Ann in Ocean View Park, Yokohama on 8/28
Yokohama Party Items
Morgana and Sophia - Phantom Scarf (bright, luxurious scarf, Phantom Thieves signature color) and Custom Gloves (fine embroidered leather gloves, complement the scarf) Scarf: Reduce Wind Dmg Gloves: Reduce Bless Dmg
Yusuke: Filled Sketchbook (Yusuke is especially proud of the Shiisaa, some pages are blank) Reduce Ice Dmg
Futaba: Futaba's Charm (Omamori, "Safe Family". She used to have it in her room, brought it for the trip. Gives to to Akira, wtf wholesome.) ST Gauge Rate Up
Makoto: Phantom Keychain (PT logo merch charm, two were given to her by Akane by way of Zenkichi-- she kept one and gave the other to Akira) Reduce Nuke Dmg
Haru: Haru's Teaspoon (teaspoon with a floral pattern, bought in Sapporo. Mari's favorite brand-- the flower is called both salvia and sage, [or a tulip??] it represents familial love) Reduce Psy Dmg
Ann: Ann's Bracelet (colorful bracelet-- she made one for everyone. Make a wish when you put it on, when it falls off the wish will come true) Reduce Fire Dmg and Cityscape Magnet (large magnet, cartoonish Yokohama Cityscape)
Zenkichi: Baton Keychain Reduce Phys Dmg <-- counts as a Yokohama/final item bc he gives it to Akira before he splits from the party.
Bonus AC Regains