Fandom Persona: Shadow Investigations - Interest Check

[xAlter]

Midnight Paragon Fixed it. Should work now.

 

[Midnight Paragon]

Justin93Daniels
What I mean is that it would be like him ordering another person to do attacks, defend, heal or whatever he needed. Essentially, the spirit form of him acts like a robot that carries out his commands. That will make him as close to a Persona as we can allow.

To answer your other question...well, it is dependent on the source material you look at, but a majority of it can be summed up as a 'mirror world' of the real world: All the buildings and stuff will still be there, but it is a place only inhabited by Shadows. It's...like the collective mind of humanity, and the appearance of the Shadow World reflects that.

 

[Justin93Daniels]

Ah... not sure if I can work with his "Spirit Form" being turned into a "Mindless Robot" that only functons by his physical commands... sorry. Would just conflict with his previous encounters... and practically strip him of one of the things that made him... y'know... "Him". Was kinda hoping he'd control it by "Falling Asleep" in the real world and only being able to control it that way... ah, well. Guess it just can't be done. Segregation against Crossovers rises once again...

But speaking of "Crossovers", I do have to say this, before the Hammer of Judgement is used for good... there HAS been another person who entered the Megami Tensei world before, as well... just thought I'd throw that one out there, as well. '

 

[piichivy]

pardon me if i seem rude or anything, im just curious,
but why are you joining a persona roleplay if you're going to forego the persona aspect entirely ?

 

[Justin93Daniels]

pardon me if i seem rude or anything, im just curious,
but why are you joining a persona roleplay if you're going to forego the persona aspect entirely ?

Nah, it doesn't seem like a common thing to do, so nothing rude about your question. '

In truth, I was thinking of getting the Persona Series when I can afford it, but figured it might be a bit more interesting to learn it through "RP" within this site, while also studying up a bit more on it on the Wikis and stuff. <_<

 

[Midnight Paragon]

Justin93Daniels
Oh god, don't even bring up Dante. It will be a cold day in hell when I accept any arguments that Dante in SMT is canon.

Well, if that's the way it is, then that's the way it is. I can't really budge any more on that front: there are cases, such as Fuuka, who can use their Personas even in the real world, but they play more of a support role than a combat one, and i'm just not sure how a 'spirit' would interact on its own. At that point, you start to cross the line of villian territory where the Shadow and the person are one, and for someone who hasn't played Persona, that might be a little difficult to write.

Okay, this is the ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM of pushing it, but...if you still want to use this character and have the whole 'spirit' thing, then...you could say that he uses his 'spirit' thing in the real world, and whatever appears in the Shadow World could effectively be his Persona. BUT- and this is a rather big but (heheh)- his power from whatever world he came from will be effectively cut into half, maybe even a fourth of what it usually is, and the longer and farther he goes in the Shadow World, the weaker he becomes. Over time, his power will return, but he will most likely not return to full, or even three quarters, until the end of the RP. Do those terms sound agreeable to you?

 

[Justin93Daniels]

Justin93Daniels
Oh god, don't even bring up Dante. It will be a cold day in hell when I accept any arguments that Dante in SMT is canon.

Well, if that's the way it is, then that's the way it is. I can't really budge any more on that front: there are cases, such as Fuuka, who can use their Personas even in the real world, but they play more of a support role than a combat one, and i'm just not sure how a 'spirit' would interact on its own. At that point, you start to cross the line of villian territory where the Shadow and the person are one, and for someone who hasn't played Persona, that might be a little difficult to write.

Okay, this is the ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM of pushing it, but...if you still want to use this character and have the whole 'spirit' thing, then...you could say that he uses his 'spirit' thing in the real world, and whatever appears in the Shadow World could effectively be his Persona. BUT- and this is a rather big but (heheh)- his power from whatever world he came from will be effectively cut into half, maybe even a fourth of what it usually is, and the longer and farther he goes in the Shadow World, the weaker he becomes. Over time, his power will return, but he will most likely not return to full, or even three quarters, until the end of the RP. Do those terms sound agreeable to you?

Whoa, hold the phone, I think we're getting a bit of a "Lost-In-Translation" situation here... I never said anything about being a "Villain", first of all. I was kinda under the impression that the "Personas" are manifestations of a person's emotions... and seeing how he's a Paranormal Hunter, I figured a "Sinister Look" would be relevant, despite him having a "Protective Personaltiy".

And I wasn't saying that his spirit would interact with the Physical World, either. That's how it normally worked, but I was thinking more along the lines of his spirit getting Ejected into the "Shadow World", or... basically wherever the hell Personas go, and while doing so, his spirit transforms into a Persona taking the shape of a reflection of his exploits across the Paranormal Worlds, then wander around within it, but with him controlling it directly, while his physical body remains in the real world, seemingly "Asleep", as he'd make it appear... if that makes sense... I mean, I saw that the way to summon Personas is by shooting yourself in the freakin' head, so... a bit of an explanation on how the hell you can command ANYTHING with a bullet lodged into your skull would be quite helpful right about now... <_<

I can probably agree with the whole "Farther into the Shadow World" thing weakening him, but I was kinda-sorta thinking/hoping to go more along the lines of "He needs to remain close to his body" approach, instead... y'know, to balance it out a bit, without hindering progress.

For Example: The farther away from his physical body he gets, the weaker his Persona becomes, forcing him to automatically Recall back into his body once his Persona has either taken too much damage, run out of energy, or if he wanders too far away from his body, which would make his "Persona Form" have to rest up for a few hours... or in this case, it forces him to stay awake for an extended period of time, since... y'know... his body shuts down in order for him to Astral Project in the other worlds.

Anyways, I don't know what else to say, really. I'm trying to figure something out that could work, but so far I've been thrown alternatives that would just completely change too much to make him a proper "Crossover Character". I get that some characters are just too different for something, but when I check online for Persona Lore and Guides, I see "Highschool Students Battling Demons, Shadows, and S&@t", and think "Hey, that's what my character does for a living, so maybe he'll fit right in!"

Then I'm basically getting s**t-canned because he is apparently not qualified, or something like that, for being too non-canon in an RP Session containing OCs for a series I've been trying to figure out before buying, so I don't get too lost in the games, themselves... <_<

And, uh... about his "True power getting cut". You... do realize he's basically got "Human Strength", right? And his Spirit Form's almost the same, perhaps only a close-half or doubled amount, which really isn't that much, either, when comparing to Demons and stuff. So, cutting it one-fourth would just make him... idunno... useless at that point. He ain't Saitama, dude.

But look, no guides are helping me anywhere, so I'm asking for it here.

Spoiler: Questions (More may rise later once brought up.)

In the real Persona World, do people even see the Shadows?

If not, then do the Shadows interact with them in any way?

Are the Shadows sticking to where their relevant "Human" is, or are they wandering in their own spots?

Are Personas even in the Shadow World, or some other one entirely?

If so, what is it, so I can just correct my Profile to lean towards his Spirit going there, or something?

Personas are controlled by Humans, right?

If so, how are they controlled when I saw characters shooting themselves in the head?!
- Do they just "Stand back up" after getting blammed?
-- If so, then what the hell was the point in shooting themselves in the head to begin with?!

Are Personas appearances determined by a character's emotions, or something else?

If Something Else, then what?

 

[Midnight Paragon]

Justin93Daniels
Alright, that's a lotta text. Let's see, where to begin...

Starting out, no one here is shit canning your character. I personally think it could be a very interesting addition to the RP, but in order for him to make sense, some things have to be tweaked or changed in order for him to fit the format. If that comes as hating your character or rejecting him at every turn or something, I apologize, but i'm just trying to make it so that it's not this convoluted thing and the other players can make sense of it as well.

As for what you said about your characters powers, that was exactly what I meant. Your character wouldn't, like, lose all their muscle mass or anything like that: they would still retain their regular combat strength. When I said cut his power in half or something, I was talking about the skills you listed for him in his bio: if that was not communicated well, I take the blame for that. Essentially it would be your character just regaining the ability to use their skills as the RP goes on: it wouldn't do to have some spiritual hunter man around if he couldn't do anything to help, right?

I wasn't calling your character a villain either: I was merely stating that there had been villains previously where they and there Shadows were 'one', and to me, it was starting to sound like that's what you wanted your character to be like. Once again, I probably did not clarify this well, so I apologize. I was trying to steer your character AWAY from the villain route.

How he uses his Persona is exactly what you said and what I was thinking: the farther his Persona gets from his body in the real world, the weaker it gets, until it eventually must be forced to return or he suffers physical or mental trauma or something like that. Basically just a penalty for keeping it out for an extended period of time in his 'weaker' stages.

So, to answer the questions you have:

In the real world, people do not see Shadows: Shadows are only visible in the Shadow World.

Certain types of Shadows can interact with each other or follow the commands of a greater Shadow, but they cannot interact with humans in the real world. Humans that find themselves in the Shadow World are a different story.

Shadows don't always stick in the same place, but some Shadows have an affinity for staying a general area based upon the person they are created from. Example: A person who loves hanging out at the arcade would more than likely have their Shadow hanging around there as well.

Personas exist only in the Shadow World: This is because Personas are born from your Shadow, and only when you have adopted an ego, or forge a contract like in 5, can they be summoned.

Personas are controlled by the Humans who they are a part of. How they control them is different through out the series. What you saw was Persona 3's rendition of summoning Personas: they aren't actually shooting themselves in the head. What they use in 3 is called an Evoker, a tool that 'keeps their minds close to the fear of death' or something like that, and it is how they summon their Personas. How Personas are summoned varies throughout the series: 3 has Evokers, 4 simply breaks a Tarot Card, and 5 rips a mask off their face.

A Personas appearance is based on the cognition of the person it belongs to: sometimes these are historical figures, deities, gods, angels...but they can also be animals, objects, or even plants. It is a representation of your ego, and depending on the type of person you are in your mind and heart, it will form to reflect that.

Does that help at all?

 

[Justin93Daniels]

Justin93Daniels
Alright, that's a lotta text. Let's see, where to begin...

Starting out, no one here is shit canning your character. I personally think it could be a very interesting addition to the RP, but in order for him to make sense, some things have to be tweaked or changed in order for him to fit the format. If that comes as hating your character or rejecting him at every turn or something, I apologize, but i'm just trying to make it so that it's not this convoluted thing and the other players can make sense of it as well.

As for what you said about your characters powers, that was exactly what I meant. Your character wouldn't, like, lose all their muscle mass or anything like that: they would still retain their regular combat strength. When I said cut his power in half or something, I was talking about the skills you listed for him in his bio: if that was not communicated well, I take the blame for that. Essentially it would be your character just regaining the ability to use their skills as the RP goes on: it wouldn't do to have some spiritual hunter man around if he couldn't do anything to help, right?

I wasn't calling your character a villain either: I was merely stating that there had been villains previously where they and there Shadows were 'one', and to me, it was starting to sound like that's what you wanted your character to be like. Once again, I probably did not clarify this well, so I apologize. I was trying to steer your character AWAY from the villain route.

How he uses his Persona is exactly what you said and what I was thinking: the farther his Persona gets from his body in the real world, the weaker it gets, until it eventually must be forced to return or he suffers physical or mental trauma or something like that. Basically just a penalty for keeping it out for an extended period of time in his 'weaker' stages.

So, to answer the questions you have:

In the real world, people do not see Shadows: Shadows are only visible in the Shadow World.

Certain types of Shadows can interact with each other or follow the commands of a greater Shadow, but they cannot interact with humans in the real world. Humans that find themselves in the Shadow World are a different story.

Shadows don't always stick in the same place, but some Shadows have an affinity for staying a general area based upon the person they are created from. Example: A person who loves hanging out at the arcade would more than likely have their Shadow hanging around there as well.

Personas exist only in the Shadow World: This is because Personas are born from your Shadow, and only when you have adopted an ego, or forge a contract like in 5, can they be summoned.

Personas are controlled by the Humans who they are a part of. How they control them is different through out the series. What you saw was Persona 3's rendition of summoning Personas: they aren't actually shooting themselves in the head. What they use in 3 is called an Evoker, a tool that 'keeps their minds close to the fear of death' or something like that, and it is how they summon their Personas. How Personas are summoned varies throughout the series: 3 has Evokers, 4 simply breaks a Tarot Card, and 5 rips a mask off their face.

A Personas appearance is based on the cognition of the person it belongs to: sometimes these are historical figures, deities, gods, angels...but they can also be animals, objects, or even plants. It is a representation of your ego, and depending on the type of person you are in your mind and heart, it will form to reflect that.

Does that help at all?

Thanks, that actually does help explain a hell of a lot more than those darn guides did! xD

Now, before I edit the CS, lemme see if this would be a bit more acceptable...

Basically, he's spent a majority of his life hunting Paranormal Creatures, of varying shapes and sizes. As such, it's left him with a strengthened resolve, but had taken its toll on his mind, and his Persona would reflect it as such.

He would almost look like a Shadow, but he would, in fact, be one of the "Good Guys"... which he would prove by telling them... or their Personas... whichever way communication between the Shadow World and Main Characters works.

... Can Shadows talk to humans that are inside the Shadow World? Can humans even enter the Shadow World, or do they control their Personas through another method, like that "TV" thing I read about from Persona 4... however that works...?

He would be this in the real world:

However, he would be this in the Shadow World (or rather, his "Persona Form" would look like this in the Shadow World).

His skin would take on a pale hue with a bunch of scars adorning it here and there, reflecting the constant amount of "Deaths" he's endured. His eyes would be blackened with blood red pupils, indicating the "Darkness" he has hunted in for so long, and his mouth, with numerous fangs inside it, would reflect the amount of "Predators" he's slain. He would still fight in a fashion he does in the real world, (Pipe Wrench and Shotgun) but his shotgun would be fueled by his "Spirit Energy", or basically he'd grow weaker as he continues firing shots out of it, until he's forced to "Recall", meaning he'd have to deal with using the Pipe Wrench more often.

The amount of time he spends inside the Shadow World starts off very little, of course, and he can't really go much more than, say, about 100 square yards away from his body within the Shadow World (about the size of a Football Field), or he'd be "Recalled" instantly. This would be due to "Disorientation" caused by the Fog teleporting him into this new world, as well as the changes made to his "Spirit Form", or as he'd later come to call it, his "Persona Form". However, as he spends more time training, he'd be able to travel farther, fire more shots from his Shotgun without tiring out, and eventually grow stronger later on down the road, until he's practically "100%" again.

Until then, though, he'd be restricted to three abilities (Shadow Wrench, Shadow Shotgun, and Soul Recall, since the first one's basically his "Melee", second one's his "Power Attack", and the third's his "Evasive Action") at the start, but over time, he'd regain the "Dark Crucifix" and "Keen Instincts" again, with the former being when he's gotten more in-tune with the new world (more familiarized with the customs of the world), and the latter when he's gotten more familiar with the Shadow World (he'd be having to study the Shadow World as if he were back at "Day 1" of his Slayer Training in his own world)...

... Umm... does that sound a bit more reasonable, or did I leave something important out? '

 

[Midnight Paragon]

Justin93Daniels
The Persona User must be present to summon the Persona in most cases, yours being an obvious odd exception. They do not speak: not in any real way, at least. They say little tidbits to the protagonist when they are summoned but thats about it.

The TV World in 4 is pretty much just the Shadow World or the Dark Hour. Shadows can talk to humans, but most of the time they simply choose not to. But yes, Humans can enter these worlds: that's pretty much the plot for every Persona game.

If that is how you wish to portray his appearance, then I see no harm in it. It basically just needs to be a manifestation of his ego: how he views himself and his personality. The Shadow versions of people look just like regular people though: the only difference is their shining yellow eyes, so keep that in mind.

It sounds a little more reasonable, but I would have to ask you either remove S. Shotgun and Recall from the list of starting moves, or remove one of the said three starting skills and add some Persona-themed skills, such as Zionga or Agidyne. I forgot to mention this, but your Dark Crucifix skill sounds a lot like Mudoon or Mamudoon: so, to implement in here, I would need it to be changed to so that is has a chance to kill, not a definite kill upon use: it can be a higher chance than Mudoon, but it still needs to be a chance.

Oh, and also, the RP starts on a island, not in Tokyo just yet: you may want to adjust your bio and maybe reread the first post on this thread just in case.

But other than that, it sounds fine now if thats the character you want to use. Edit him up, and if you have any more questions, ask 'em.

 

[Felis]

Just wanted to make sure - are you still accepting more people? In that case, I'd start making a character.

 

[Midnight Paragon]

Felis
Yup.

 

[Felis]

Okay, great, I'll get to it, then! Thanks!

 

[Midnight Paragon]

piichivy BriiAngelic Katakon xAlter Felis
Good news! An In Character tab and an OOC tab have been created! Since your characters have been accepted prior, you may began posting in the IC whenever you can! You can find the links at the bottom of the first post.

 

[Midnight Paragon]

Gaius Danius Griinia
Whoops, almost forgot you, pal.