Goro Akechi (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
undyingcrow) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
dorking2024-12-28 08:31 am
undyingcrow) wrote in dorking2024-12-28 08:31 am
Entry tags:
App for Route 666
Player: Mega (Dorked is also fine)
Contact: Dorked @ plurk and discord
Age: 32
Other Characters: N/A
Name: Goro Akechi
Canon: Persona 5 Royal
Canon Point: Post-Royal (true end, "Akechi lives" ending.)
Age: 18
Backstory: Link!
Personality:
Having discarded the pleasantries of the Detective Prince, Akechi carries himself with a curt, aloof demeanor. While still polite enough around strangers, he no longer wears his TV smile, showing a more jaded and cynical side. Moreover, he's more inclined to show his dark sense of humor to the people he trusts, such as when Joker takes him to Jazz Jin in the third semester. In battle, he's aggressive, ruthless, and eager to tear through enemy Shadows. He fights with an almost feral ferocity, laughing wildly as he eviscerates his foes.
His interests include philosophy, jazz music, bouldering, and cycling, and intelligent conversation, and he's a highly competitive individual who hates losing.
Even in his liberated state, he remains keenly intelligent, philosophical, and refuses to sugarcoat his feelings for the sake of others. Outside of combat, he's level headed, perceptive, and focused on his goals. If Akechi dislikes someone or finds their behavior grating, he will point it out. He can be cold, rude, combative, and passive aggressive. He has little patience for hotheaded types like Ryuji and tends to distance himself from others and put up walls, with Joker as one of the few people he trusts and confides in enough to let down some of those walls.
Theirs is a complicated bond. On one hand, Akechi resented everything that Joker had. Friends, success without having to trample over others and dirty his hands. Joker, despite his harsh circumstances, rose above them. Akechi did not. Yet, at the same time, Joker is the one person who Akechi could be genuine with, taking him to places like Jazz Jin and opening up about his early childhood at the bathhouse. Somehow, Joker struck a chord with him, equal parts alluring and infuriating, giving Akechi doubts, to a point where he even alluded to the upcoming betrayal during his Rank 7 event, yet when the time came, he made a grand spectacle of it, with a crooked smile, pulling the trigger to sever that connection.
But because Joker lived, he was later able to lament about Joker's freedom, and how he wished they had met before Akechi had given in to his rage, his hatred, and became Shido's assassin. He tried so hard to tailor his appearance to appease others, to be liked, successful, and needed that he compromised on the childhood justice and dreams of heroism that once burned brightly in his heart. Yet, in what he assumed were his final moments, he entrusted Joker to stopping Shido in his stead. On Christmas Eve, he was ready to face his crimes, repaying Joker for upholding the deal, and though he was infuriated when the police let him off easy, he immediately turned to Joker to pursue the truth behind Maruki's reality.
He's not someone to stop and languish over uncertainty, when he can take direct action. In general, he tries to conceal any signs of weakness or vulnerability that others might take advantage of.
Deep down, he's someone who was beaten down by the cruelties of society since his childhood, between the stigmas against illegitimate children, his mother's former status as a sex worker and subsequent suicide, and the pervasive loneliness that followed him through the foster system until his rage and resentment boiled over and made him the perfect pawn for both Yaldabaoth and Shido. As a young, naive child, he dreamed of being a hero. Then reality stomped out those dreams, and with nothing left to believe in, he surrendered to his circumstances.
Akechi is not proud of his crimes, even though he made excuses to try and justify them in the engine room for a brief time. There are missable text messages in the game that betray his true feelings: a lack of pleasure in his kills and awareness that he was being controlled, but at the time, he was so set on his end goal of revenge that he didn't let himself ask for help. When he learned about changes of heart, he was genuinely uneasy, as if he had known how to perform them, perhaps he would have walked a different path. Yet another privilege that the Thieves had over him, which further fueled his resentment at the time.
Many times, we see his regrets, though often subtly. We know he regrets killing Wakaba Isshiki, between his anger at Sae threatening to revoke Sojiro's custody, and the way he laments Wakaba's refusal to work with Shido, when it could have saved her life. While it's doubtful he shares the same remorse for every person he's targeted, he is fully aware of the weight of his actions, believing he is unworthy of mercy after all he's done. Despite this, his true wish to Maruki was for a world without his crimes, where he could atone for his actions alongside Joker and his friends.
But he rejected that wish, because he knew it was a hollow fantasy, and that he and everyone else, would be puppets at the whims of Maruki. Freedom means a great deal to Akechi, now that he's come to terms with his sins and how little agency he truly had both before and under Shido. It's so important to him that he was willing to die if it meant finally, truly embracing his own freedom, making his own choices, and ensuring that others could do the same.
However, since this is an Akechi who lived through the collapse of Maruki's reality, he's now rather aimless. At the end of Royal, we see him walk by with strange men in suits, a sign of the harsh world he's returned to. Arriving to the Convoy would leave him equal parts irritated and enticed. A new world, a fresh start. The aimlessness would persist, and the monster transformation would likely reinforce his ideas that he's too far gone to deserve love or redemption. Still, there's liberation in such an honest reflection. No need for masks anymore.
Powers/Abilities:
Persona - Akechi wields the Persona Hereward, who has immune to Curse/Dark magic, a resistance to Psychic, and a weakness to Bless/Light magic. On a base level, this would influence Akechi by granting him immunity to any dark type skills and a resilience against mental manipulation, while rendering him weak to anything holy.
Eigaon - Single target, heavy Curse damage.
Megidolaon - Severe almighty damage AOE spell. It's 38 SP in Persona 5 Royal, making it a spell that he can't spam too much without it taking a toll on him.
In addition to his Persona skills, Akechi is a skilled swordsman and marksman due to his time fighting in the Metaverse. Due to the treacherous nature of Palaces, he's had to learn how to move stealthily and ambush enemies without being caught. He boulders for a hobby and often rides a bicycle around Tokyo, giving him solid stamina and strength despite his lean build.
Despite his most prolific detective cases being fraudulent, he's extremely intelligent and adaptable, as shown by his Tanaka Taro gambit in Sae's Palace, where he tricked his way through a rigged system. He has a keen eye for detail, despite occasional slip ups (see: delicious pancakes), and he's spent a great deal of time observing people and sweet talking his way through social situations. When necessary, he can be fairly manipulative as well, such as the time where he used photos proving the Thieves' involvement in the Metaverse to blackmail his way on the team.
He's also quite adept billiards, darts, chess, and academics, despite his detective work keeping him fairly busy. He can get sloppy, especially when enraged, or when his hubris gets the best of him, however, so even his smarts aren't foolproof.
Inventory: His school uniform, gloves, cell phone, and his attache case containing a laptop, some snacks and water, and case documents that hold no meaning in a place like this.
Game Plans: I'd really like to explore Akechi in a setting where it's a true blank slate. Removed from the burdens of his crimes, his past with Shido and his conspiracy, he'll likely be incredibly lost at first because he's so unaccustomed to having freedom. Everything he was, everything that defined him no longer applies, which means he'll have to reevaluate who he is as a person and discover who he wants to be, now that he has that luxury.
The monster transformation may reinforce some of his negative self image, but it may also provide its own form of liberation, as mentioned in the personality section. On the other hand, it'd be a change forced upon him, which when combined with the Sigil would leave him deeply suspicious and determined to find the answers.
Monster Choice:
Chimera - Drakonis in general suit Akechi rather well, but I think the Chimera really encapsulates the many masks Akechi has worn throughout his life by virtue of the different animals in a chimera's makeup. Their chaotic nature fits well with Akechi's volatile behavior, especially in battle, but also through Call of Chaos, a power that severed chains and inhibitions, often rendering its targets chaotic. Symbolically, I think there's a lot of potential here.
Gargoyle - Initially, I was leaning toward harpy for its more overt bird motifs, with Akechi being associated with birds and crows in particular, but I think gargoyle embodies his character more, between its strength, ferocity, and sense of honor. Akechi's sense of justice was his guiding principle, even if it grew warped over time. I believe a more avian-themed gargoyle could still evoke both his bird imagery but also lean into his dark, imposing attributes as the Black Mask and his renewed ideals in third semester, most embodied through Hereward.
Some bird-like wings in favor of bat ones and bird features mixed in with gargoyle traits would be a fun mix, especially since bird-like gargoyle statues do exist.
Nekomata - The thing that stood out to me with Nekomata was their affiliation with vengeance, a trait that drove Akechi forward for the longest time, combined with the propensity for chaos. As Akechi was the other trickster, paralleling Joker, the trickery of yokai feel appropriate, especially when combined with illusion magic and how Akechi once hid his true identity as Black Mask from the thieves.
Vehicle Choice: A fast motorcycle. :)
Sample: Sample 1, Sample 2
Contact: Dorked @ plurk and discord
Age: 32
Other Characters: N/A
Name: Goro Akechi
Canon: Persona 5 Royal
Canon Point: Post-Royal (true end, "Akechi lives" ending.)
Age: 18
Backstory: Link!
Personality:
Having discarded the pleasantries of the Detective Prince, Akechi carries himself with a curt, aloof demeanor. While still polite enough around strangers, he no longer wears his TV smile, showing a more jaded and cynical side. Moreover, he's more inclined to show his dark sense of humor to the people he trusts, such as when Joker takes him to Jazz Jin in the third semester. In battle, he's aggressive, ruthless, and eager to tear through enemy Shadows. He fights with an almost feral ferocity, laughing wildly as he eviscerates his foes.
His interests include philosophy, jazz music, bouldering, and cycling, and intelligent conversation, and he's a highly competitive individual who hates losing.
Even in his liberated state, he remains keenly intelligent, philosophical, and refuses to sugarcoat his feelings for the sake of others. Outside of combat, he's level headed, perceptive, and focused on his goals. If Akechi dislikes someone or finds their behavior grating, he will point it out. He can be cold, rude, combative, and passive aggressive. He has little patience for hotheaded types like Ryuji and tends to distance himself from others and put up walls, with Joker as one of the few people he trusts and confides in enough to let down some of those walls.
Theirs is a complicated bond. On one hand, Akechi resented everything that Joker had. Friends, success without having to trample over others and dirty his hands. Joker, despite his harsh circumstances, rose above them. Akechi did not. Yet, at the same time, Joker is the one person who Akechi could be genuine with, taking him to places like Jazz Jin and opening up about his early childhood at the bathhouse. Somehow, Joker struck a chord with him, equal parts alluring and infuriating, giving Akechi doubts, to a point where he even alluded to the upcoming betrayal during his Rank 7 event, yet when the time came, he made a grand spectacle of it, with a crooked smile, pulling the trigger to sever that connection.
But because Joker lived, he was later able to lament about Joker's freedom, and how he wished they had met before Akechi had given in to his rage, his hatred, and became Shido's assassin. He tried so hard to tailor his appearance to appease others, to be liked, successful, and needed that he compromised on the childhood justice and dreams of heroism that once burned brightly in his heart. Yet, in what he assumed were his final moments, he entrusted Joker to stopping Shido in his stead. On Christmas Eve, he was ready to face his crimes, repaying Joker for upholding the deal, and though he was infuriated when the police let him off easy, he immediately turned to Joker to pursue the truth behind Maruki's reality.
He's not someone to stop and languish over uncertainty, when he can take direct action. In general, he tries to conceal any signs of weakness or vulnerability that others might take advantage of.
Deep down, he's someone who was beaten down by the cruelties of society since his childhood, between the stigmas against illegitimate children, his mother's former status as a sex worker and subsequent suicide, and the pervasive loneliness that followed him through the foster system until his rage and resentment boiled over and made him the perfect pawn for both Yaldabaoth and Shido. As a young, naive child, he dreamed of being a hero. Then reality stomped out those dreams, and with nothing left to believe in, he surrendered to his circumstances.
Akechi is not proud of his crimes, even though he made excuses to try and justify them in the engine room for a brief time. There are missable text messages in the game that betray his true feelings: a lack of pleasure in his kills and awareness that he was being controlled, but at the time, he was so set on his end goal of revenge that he didn't let himself ask for help. When he learned about changes of heart, he was genuinely uneasy, as if he had known how to perform them, perhaps he would have walked a different path. Yet another privilege that the Thieves had over him, which further fueled his resentment at the time.
Many times, we see his regrets, though often subtly. We know he regrets killing Wakaba Isshiki, between his anger at Sae threatening to revoke Sojiro's custody, and the way he laments Wakaba's refusal to work with Shido, when it could have saved her life. While it's doubtful he shares the same remorse for every person he's targeted, he is fully aware of the weight of his actions, believing he is unworthy of mercy after all he's done. Despite this, his true wish to Maruki was for a world without his crimes, where he could atone for his actions alongside Joker and his friends.
But he rejected that wish, because he knew it was a hollow fantasy, and that he and everyone else, would be puppets at the whims of Maruki. Freedom means a great deal to Akechi, now that he's come to terms with his sins and how little agency he truly had both before and under Shido. It's so important to him that he was willing to die if it meant finally, truly embracing his own freedom, making his own choices, and ensuring that others could do the same.
However, since this is an Akechi who lived through the collapse of Maruki's reality, he's now rather aimless. At the end of Royal, we see him walk by with strange men in suits, a sign of the harsh world he's returned to. Arriving to the Convoy would leave him equal parts irritated and enticed. A new world, a fresh start. The aimlessness would persist, and the monster transformation would likely reinforce his ideas that he's too far gone to deserve love or redemption. Still, there's liberation in such an honest reflection. No need for masks anymore.
Powers/Abilities:
Persona - Akechi wields the Persona Hereward, who has immune to Curse/Dark magic, a resistance to Psychic, and a weakness to Bless/Light magic. On a base level, this would influence Akechi by granting him immunity to any dark type skills and a resilience against mental manipulation, while rendering him weak to anything holy.
Eigaon - Single target, heavy Curse damage.
Megidolaon - Severe almighty damage AOE spell. It's 38 SP in Persona 5 Royal, making it a spell that he can't spam too much without it taking a toll on him.
In addition to his Persona skills, Akechi is a skilled swordsman and marksman due to his time fighting in the Metaverse. Due to the treacherous nature of Palaces, he's had to learn how to move stealthily and ambush enemies without being caught. He boulders for a hobby and often rides a bicycle around Tokyo, giving him solid stamina and strength despite his lean build.
Despite his most prolific detective cases being fraudulent, he's extremely intelligent and adaptable, as shown by his Tanaka Taro gambit in Sae's Palace, where he tricked his way through a rigged system. He has a keen eye for detail, despite occasional slip ups (see: delicious pancakes), and he's spent a great deal of time observing people and sweet talking his way through social situations. When necessary, he can be fairly manipulative as well, such as the time where he used photos proving the Thieves' involvement in the Metaverse to blackmail his way on the team.
He's also quite adept billiards, darts, chess, and academics, despite his detective work keeping him fairly busy. He can get sloppy, especially when enraged, or when his hubris gets the best of him, however, so even his smarts aren't foolproof.
Inventory: His school uniform, gloves, cell phone, and his attache case containing a laptop, some snacks and water, and case documents that hold no meaning in a place like this.
Game Plans: I'd really like to explore Akechi in a setting where it's a true blank slate. Removed from the burdens of his crimes, his past with Shido and his conspiracy, he'll likely be incredibly lost at first because he's so unaccustomed to having freedom. Everything he was, everything that defined him no longer applies, which means he'll have to reevaluate who he is as a person and discover who he wants to be, now that he has that luxury.
The monster transformation may reinforce some of his negative self image, but it may also provide its own form of liberation, as mentioned in the personality section. On the other hand, it'd be a change forced upon him, which when combined with the Sigil would leave him deeply suspicious and determined to find the answers.
Monster Choice:
Chimera - Drakonis in general suit Akechi rather well, but I think the Chimera really encapsulates the many masks Akechi has worn throughout his life by virtue of the different animals in a chimera's makeup. Their chaotic nature fits well with Akechi's volatile behavior, especially in battle, but also through Call of Chaos, a power that severed chains and inhibitions, often rendering its targets chaotic. Symbolically, I think there's a lot of potential here.
Gargoyle - Initially, I was leaning toward harpy for its more overt bird motifs, with Akechi being associated with birds and crows in particular, but I think gargoyle embodies his character more, between its strength, ferocity, and sense of honor. Akechi's sense of justice was his guiding principle, even if it grew warped over time. I believe a more avian-themed gargoyle could still evoke both his bird imagery but also lean into his dark, imposing attributes as the Black Mask and his renewed ideals in third semester, most embodied through Hereward.
Some bird-like wings in favor of bat ones and bird features mixed in with gargoyle traits would be a fun mix, especially since bird-like gargoyle statues do exist.
Nekomata - The thing that stood out to me with Nekomata was their affiliation with vengeance, a trait that drove Akechi forward for the longest time, combined with the propensity for chaos. As Akechi was the other trickster, paralleling Joker, the trickery of yokai feel appropriate, especially when combined with illusion magic and how Akechi once hid his true identity as Black Mask from the thieves.
Vehicle Choice: A fast motorcycle. :)
Sample: Sample 1, Sample 2