OOC Intro Meme and Choice Babbling

[kokuyoyo]

Hey there everyone! It's the start of Persona Recursion, and what better way to kick off things in the OOC/Meme comm then with a Intro Meme? With a twist- you also have the option to babble about the choices behind your character's Personafied changes! All you have to do to participate is Fill in the handy form provided with as much or as little information as you want to and reply here. Then, go about responding to other people as well. The choice babbling is totally optional!

<b>Name:</b> [your name] <b>Contact:</b> [any contact info you want to share] <B>Interests:</b> [any favorite series and hobbies here!] <b>Character:</b> [who are you playing?] <b>Canon:</b> [where are they from?] <b>AU:</b> [either a link to their AU toplevel, or a quick summary about them!] <b>Anything Else?:</b> [???]

If you want to babble about your AU choices, the feel free to copy this too, and fill out or erase whatever you like. If you just want to talk about your demon choice, that's fine too!

<b>Demon:</b> [name] <B>Why?:</b> [yeh] <B>Branch:</b> [Combatant or Navigator?] <B>Why?:</b> [yeh] <b>Type(s):</b> [physical, fire, ice, etc] <B>Why?:</b> [yeh] <B>Style(s):</b> [healer, protector, buffer, negotiator, sorcerer] <B>Why?:</b> [yeh] <B>Passive:</b> [offensive, defense, dual] <b>Why?:</b> [yeh]


EDIT: Now a Discord Server is up!

Comments

[kokuyoyo]

Name: James
Contact: trilies at plurk, and trilies#1501 on discord!
Interests: current intense fandom is KHR, I am working on both fanfic and an original piece, and I'm currently binging (very slowly) the entire Fatal Frame series because that's how I am as a person. Also when I need white noise, I put on Escape From Bug Island.

Character: Chikusa Kakimoto
Canon: Katekyo Hitman Reborn
AU: fun fact this series uses the phrase "world's seven strongest babies"

Anything Else?:

[kokuyoyo]

Demon: Astaroth
Why?:
I'll be honest, it took me forever to figure out a demon for Chikusa. Like, by the time apps opened, I had literally the entire app written out EXCEPT for demon choice. In the end, it was tied between three demons in particular: Stolas, Paimon, and Astaroth here. Stolas for his connection with poisons and his owl form (the person Chikusa is canonly dedicated to has an owl partner, sort of), Paimon for his loyalty to a charismatic leader figure (Lucifer) and also sciences, and finally Astaroth.

In the end, I asked a friend, and she helped nudge me towards Astaroth. The reason why is because of the phrase "seduces people into sloth and laziness". Out of his original group of criminal shitteens, Chikusa is by far the quietest, and, despite being pretty damn tall (six feeth straight at 14, wtf chikusa), it's hard to realize how much so because of his atrocious slouch. He also expresses a distaste for too much movement that might make him 'sweat', and often says things are 'troublesome'. The snake attribute also aligns nicely with Chikusa's penchant for poisons.

(As an aside, I headcanon Chikusa suffers from depression among a host of other things, so 'sloth of body and mind' lends itself to him far too well.)

Branch: Navigator
Why?:
I had to debate on this one a little, because I didn't want to lend to an overabundance of a branch that's supposed to be uncommon. (But it's all worked out nicely so whoo!) However, I felt that Navigator really suits Chikusa.

In his original canon group, Chikusa is the odd one out- he possesses no notable powers. His partner has the ability to gain different animal attributes, and their leaders has a smorgasbord of different powers with the notable ones being possession and illusions. Chikusa's only distinction are that he has poisoned needle yoyos and has a tendency to get back on his feet. His most successful 'win' is when he takes out someone from a hit-and-run assassination, as none of his upfront fights really go that well.

Along with that, Chikusa demonstrates a good analytical eye when not directly in the combat himself. While observing a fight, he was able to correctly identify the kind of (weird and magic) bullet used, how fast it was fired off, and carry on a conversation at the same time.

The only thing that would hold him back from being a decent Navigator is that he's more of a follower than any kind of commander. However, in playing him, I've come to realize that so long as he has a motivation, Chikusa can be pushed into doing more than he'd really prefer, and in this game that motivation will be trying to find out a way to get back to Mukuro and Ken.

Type(s): Nuclear
Why?:
Chikusa is a child experiment from an outcast mafia Family. Thus, it seemed appropriate to align him with an element that has a strong association with being a manmade weapon. (Keep in mind that I know nothing about Persona and if this interpretation is canonly correct.)

Style(s): Healer, Sorcerer
Why?:
From the start, I was always pretty sure that I'd have Chikusa take on the much tiresome role of Healer. It would be a good counterpart to his skillset as a poisoner, especially since it's canon that he keeps antidotes on his person. However, for his second style, I waffled a bit on it, since I felt like I could see him in a lot of the other roles, and strongly leaned towards Negotiator. However, it felt like a lot of people were choosing that for the TDM, so in the end, I went with Sorcerer. Its focus on ailment spells, well- poisons, again, ha ha.

[catchthishand]

Name: Gray
Contact: graycalls
Interests: Anything and everything, I am not kidding. I just watched an episode of The Handmaid's Tale, and tonight I'm marathoning MHA.

Character: Okuyasu Nijimura
Canon: JoJo's, AKA: big buff guys fighting with invisible head monsters and totally not being gay for each other, no really
AU: My toplevel is over here!

Demon: Marchosias
Why?: Partially because I didn't realize there would be an entire wolf pack, partially because once I did realize, I loved the idea of a wolf pack too much, and partially because Okuyasu is a good punch boy who punches good.

Branch: Combatant
Why?: Punch boy who punches good

Type(s): Pure Phys
Why?: I joke about the punch boy thing, but really, Okuyasu has what's pretty much considered to be one of the most powerful Stands in the entire series, and he uses it to bring people closer to him so he can punch them.

An element would be wasted on Okuyasu, he would never use it.

Style(s): Buffer
Why?: Because then, you see, he and his friends will be able to punch better.

Passive: Offensive
Why?: See everything above.
Anything Else?:

[torching]

Name: Coco
Contact: amplitude
Interests: I'm deep in Yuri On Ice, Persona 5, and Legend of Korra hell.......also getting into MHA! Other than that I like to draw and stuff.

Character: Mako
Canon: Legend of Korra
AU: Here! Also, Sakuma's his little bro, and they've taken in Minako as their exchange student!

Anything Else?:

[torching]

Demon: Vassago
Why?: because show him your true form

Branch: Navigator
Why?: Mako's pretty tactical in canon, serving as the voice of reason and the man with a plan in Team Avatar.

Type(s): Fire
Why?: He's a firebender in canon and I'm not original

Style(s): Protector, Negotiator
Why?: why not

Passive: Offensive
Why?: to match his fiery personality. haha. get it

[sociallyarcward]

Name: Erica
Contact: bouncyerbear#9190 @ discord | bouncyerbear
Interests: SO MUCH TO LIST GAH! Obviously RWBY...I also enjoy Steven Universe, Fullmetal Alchemist, Marvel/DC nonsense, ALL THE BOOKS -- especially YA, comedy/sitcoms, and a lot of stuff. Probably the only nerd thing I'm not really into are video games, mostly lack of talent, though I am super into Kingdom Hearts and Pokemon games...and know nothing about Persona lolwhee

Character: Jaune "Vomit Boy" Arc
Canon: RWBY
AU: Welp...here are the babblings. --> Though this is changing a bit as I talk with others.

Anything Else?:

this is also not crack but canon, be prepared for me to try to get crossdressing AND dancing to happen in game

[sociallyarcward]

Demon: Eligor
Why?: I needed Jaune to have a warrior/knight demon so I went through and looked for all the demons that had a mention of that in their description. Eventually I narrowed it down to Eligor because of the lance and predicting the tide of battle. Jaune's a strategist and has had some bad luck in his canon battles -- so this seemed appropriate.

Also, Jaune's version of Eligor will be more feminine in appearance. Jaune is named for Joan of Arc so I wanted to bring some of her imagery into the demon.

I totally don't have an idea written up here....

Branch: Combatant
Why?: While being strategic, Jaune kinda hates the idea of sitting back and just giving direction (I did briefly consider navigator for him). He would prefer combatant and being more of a sword/shield guy that's where I put him.

Type(s): Physical and Light
Why?: Jaune doesn't have any known special abilities in canon yet so he relies mostly on bashing things with his sword/shield. However, it's been mentioned off hand that he has a powerful aura, it was white when we saw it, and glowed. Not to mention he's named for Joan of Arc -- holy lady knight -- so I figured the light would be appropriate.


Style(s): Protector
Why?: Did you SEE how many times I mentioned knights? Yeah. Also he has a shield.

Passive: Dual
Why?: Jaune wields a shield and sword, so this seemed right...

[onlythankyou]

Name: Letty
Contact: SilverStilletto, crossfortunes#5626 on Discord
Interests: Persona (duh), Inazuma Eleven, Pokemon, Etrian Odyssey, Assassination Classroom....a handful of other canons? Too many. Theater kid?????

Character: Jun Kurosu
Canon: Persona 2: Innocent Sin
AU: His canon sure does sound cheery, huh? His AU is basically the opposite of that. Charmed life, wealthy family, popular, beloved, sports star, stellar grades, literally nothing to complain about aside from oops he has no room in his schedule for literally everything he cares about. That and gardening club is about all I have thus far! First year in the higher cycle, because he's smart and maybe skipped a grade somewhere.

Anything Else?: Guess who's taking suggestions for a Cards Against Humanity deck.

Demon: Oroan NEVERMIND PIX FORGOT TO TELL ME A THING EDIT: SHAX
Why?: ...Soooorta maybe started as a dumb joke. I helped out with some of the pre-announcement testing, so I had the plans for Jun's demon in place ages ago. Except now my plans must shift - Oroan used to be on the list, he was the demon of the eclipse, but the list has changed since then and I only just found out, so I'm gonna explain the reasoning for that instead while I figure out who his demon actually is! Originally it was going to be Och, demon of the sun, also no longer on the list. Because the demon is a heart Persona, and Jun's boyfriend's arcana is The Sun, so it'd be like saying the Sun (his boyfriend) is always in his heart. But then the eclipse was more thematically appropriate. And now I need to figure out a new demon so THAT'S A THING..............

/points at eyes, points at pix

EDIT: Shax is "A lying, treacherous demon who takes the form of a stork. He can rend someone blind, deaf, and unaware of their surroundings so that he can rob them of all they have." I am an awful person, and it says the demons are the parts of themselves they don't want people to see....so I found the one that most sounds like Joker (basically Jun's Shadow, it's complicated) that's actually on the list!

Branch: Combatant
Why?: Because honestly after everything that happened in canon, he'd nope right the hell out of leading others as much as a navigator needs to in a scenario where not everyone has navigational abilities, and that wouldn't be the most fun thing for me.

Type(s): Wind/Light
Why?: Wind is his canon element! And Light's the other element in his signature skill - and also he's actually the villain for a good chunk of his canon and his second form in the bossfight is angelic and has light-based skills.

Style(s): Healer
Why?: Because despite everything, Jun is still incredibly kind and wants to care for others. He will always put himself last and even at his lowest, his kindness was the last thing to go.

Passive: Dual
Why?: Because his whole character is a balancing act of extremes - so it felt right to get a bit of his hateful/angry side and a bit of his scared/protective side in there.

[dendranthema]

Name: Heron
Contact: copperprism
Interests: VNs, video games, reading, various things? I'm making a garden it's pretty sweet

Character: Kaltz
Canon: Lamento: Beyond the Void
AU: toplevel here

[dendranthema]

Demon: Saleos
Why?: "A gallant, handsome demon who wears the crown of a duke. He is a pacifist who spreads love rather than war." Kaltz will fight if he has to, but hesitantly, and he's one of the kinder characters in his canon. Additionally I figure Kaltz's most rejected part of himself is basically the idea of himself being a good or kind person....... which, Saleos seemed pretty decent for a demon, so.

Branch: Combatant
Why?: He's a melee type in canon and definitely wouldn't make a good navigator

Type(s): Ice/Dark
Why?: Ice because that's his canon power set, dark because he's a devil

Style(s): Healer
Why?: He has the closest thing to healing powers of anyone in canon - they're barely existent, but still - and he uses them without expecting anything in return.

Passive: Offensive
Why?: He can fight perfectly fine but defending himself is, uh, not his strongest point.

[transient_specter]

Name: Matt
Contact: atrypical, Discord: Matt#6266
Interests: Toku, Shin Megami Tensei (especially Devil Survivor), tabletop gaming, Pokemon, yelling about politics, yelling about work, Jojos, Animorphs... a lot of random stuff.

Character: Makoto Fukami
Canon: Kamen Rider Ghost
AU: Still noodling things.

Anything Else?:




Demon: Marchosias
Why?: Because I have an AU World of Darkness Makoto who is a wolflike Changeling. - I mean that as well as the fact that he's loyal and sticks to people he trusts, doesn't back down, and pretty much snarls at people when he feels like it.

Branch: Combatant
Why?: Because he is a punchy/kicky person and can be even more 'run into battle' than the protagonist.

Type(s): Physical, Nuclear
Why?: Physical because punches and kicks. It was a tossup between fire (which would be more Takeru's element), wind, and nuclear. Wind because he has a flying form and one of his forms has wings, nuclear because just look at those wings on his ultra form. I eventually went for cool factor over anything else.

Style(s): Protector
Why?: Makoto tends to be a person who prefers fighting on his own, and also he's been known to dive in front of people to absorb hits like the shounen idiot he is.

Passive: Offensive
Why?: FIGHT ALL THE THINGS.

[seigikan]

Name: Bennu
Contact: himewako Discord - bennu#5513
Interests: So many! My main fandom for a long time has been Sengoku Basara and a lot of what I'm into tends to be Sengoku era adjacent somehow. (Aoharu x Machinegun counts in its own way, actually.) Other than that, there's a ton of other stuff like Magi (guess who was responsible for the demon list here), Rage of Bahamut, assorted sports anime...etc etc...
Character: Hotaru Tachibana
Canon: Aoharu x Machinegun
AU: Here!

Demon: Leraje
Why?: Partly because he's depicted as an archer and Hotaru's thing is guns. Partly because I wanted to use a demon that was used as a Djinn in Magi and Kouha's seems like the perfect match for her.

Branch: Combatant
Why?: Because EVILDOERS MUST BE CONDEMNED

Type(s): Physical/Light
Why?: Physical because she's the sort who punches holes in walls on her own, so... Light because of the whole JUSTICE fixation. And because the spell she'd get is actually called "Kouha." Sorry, anyone who may ever want to app a Ren sibling...

Style(s): Sorcerer
Why?: I wanted the status effects because they fit with the theme of her demon! Poison arrows and all.

Passive: Offensive
Why?: I'm pretty sure she actually says "the best defense is a good offense" at some point.

[extremelycute]

Name: Rune
Contact: I'm ForestTemple at plurk, but ask before adding! I'm also Rune#8539 on the Disco.
Interests: UH...I watch a lot of TV. Riverdale and Superstore are my trashy current loves. Nintendo and JRPGs are my other areas of expertise. Kind of digging Fire Emblem, Ensemble Stars, and Trails in the Sky right now as well.

Character: Miu Matsuoka
Canon: Strawberry Marshmallow
AU: hit me up fam

Demon: Baalberith! But Miu will be using 'Beall,' which is an alternate name for the demon since I think other people have chosen it.
Why?: It said something about only speaking in lies, plus being a warrior on a horse. So her Persona probably looks like the Pink Ranger riding a tiger.

Branch: Combatant
Why?: She's way too active to be anywhere other than the front lines.

Type(s): Psy, Ice
Why?: I picked Psy because Miu is a little out of sorts herself, and I picked ice because water is a creative element. I think versatility is one of Miu's strengths, so ice made sense to me.

Style(s): Sorcerer
Why?: I can't wait to do a log where she "accidentally" poisons someone on her team.

Passive: Offensive
Why?: It makes the most sense with her personality.

Anything Else?:

[onlythankyou]

I've never met anyone else who knows Strawberry Marshmallow and when I saw your app I just about screamed.

Nice to meet you!

[superstylishsquid]

Name: Jess
Contact: firebenderjess
Interests: Drawing, obscure video games from days gone by, goofy 90s action shows...

Character: Alastor
Canon: Both Viewtiful Joe and Devil May Cry
AU: Details here.

Anything Else?: Prepare for incoming ham.



Demon: Andromalius
Why?: Because it's a demon known for bringing criminals to justice, and I just can't not highlight the fact that Alastor has a heroic nature.

Branch: Combatant
Why?: He's an aggressive warrior type who would just chafe at the idea of hanging back as support.

Type(s): Electric/Physical
Why?: Because he's the electric sword devil. Electricity is his primary element in canon, and flashy sword techniques are kind of his thing.

Style(s): Protector
Why?: Despite his aggression, his natural inclination is to defend others. Sometimes to his own risk...

Passive: Offensive
Why?: He's much more about offense than defense, often neglecting the latter when he isn't deliberately showing off.

[mutesician]

Name: Gray
Contact: graygriffin
Interests: I love a lot of more obscure books/stories. The ones that people might be more familiar with are Young Wizards and Guardians of Ga'Hoole. I also like Pokemon a lot, and am currently playing through S/M. (No spoilers please, I've barely begun)

Character: Louis
Canon: The Trumpet of the Swan
AU: Call him Professor Louis

Anything Else?:


Demon: Paimon
Why?: Art, mainly

Branch: Combatant
Why?: Swans will fuck you up

Type(s): Phys/psy
Why?: Swan wings can break bones, and psy feels closest to a "sonic" element.

Style(s): Buffer
Why?: His weapon is a trumpet, makes sense for him to be a bard

Passive: Defensive
Why?: More bard jokes

[princessofsociallinks]

Wind would also work pretty well for sonics, but oh god.

Do not mess with swans.

Just no.

[connivingbird]

Name: Alec
Contact: mwingzero
Interests: Kamen Rider (OOO, Decade, Ghost, W, Ex-Aide, I can go on), GARO (especially Goldstorm Shou), GACKT, VIXX (I am not ready), music, books, kdramas, phone games (I will rant about them), video games, jdramas, and so on.

Character: ANKH
Canon: Kamen Rider OOO
AU: top level here!

Anything Else?:

[connivingbird]

Demon: Andrealphus
Why?: Ankh is naturally a showy, dramatic bird-like creature that is actually a sly little plotter of the plotting sort that makes all his fellow Greeed so mad at him they all attempt to kill him. It also doesn't help that Ankh is siding with the humans but really, the demon fits.

Branch: Navigator
Why?: As these things goes, Ankh is prone to be standing on the sidelines shouting out orders and shifting tactics for his human partner then actually fighting. He is capable of fighting and does it a lot, but, well, he is very much aware of how his squishy human ride is squishy.

Type(s): Fire
Why?: Each Greeed is tied to a certain element when they were formed. Ankh was tied to fire and his color was red, so I just went with the same theme because any other element is just wrong.

Style(s): Negotiator/Sorcerer
Why?: Going with the themes from above, he is one who plans out his moves and his attacks, using whatever he can to gain a foothold in the battles that the Greeeds have going on, from giving the King's Seal to Eiji at the beginning of the series to later on taking the Medals of other Greeeds in an attempt to heal himself. His shifting loyalties also means that he will find out a weakness and exploit it for his own purposes, which fit in with the roles of these two styles.

Passive: Offensive
Why?: He's not going to stand by and just act defenseless. He is quite willing to hit back, or burn people up and he is not above tying people or smacking them or dumping water over their heads. He may not be the first to jump into a fight, but he is certainly not going to take a step back and ignore someone trying to hit him either.

[umbral_idol]

Name: Waku
Contact: Reisen, Discord is Waku#1727
Interests: ...Weird japanese things? That's an oversimplification of course, but... It works well enough?

Character: Elizabeth Bathory/the Red Lancer (as opposed to the Blue Lancer and the Lancer of Red)
Canon: Fate/Extella
AU: Here

Anything Else?:

[umbral_idol]

Demon: Baal
Why?: "Loud, charismatic demon". That is why. I really like this option now, though, and have been adjusting the Persona to make it more... "Baal-like" in its own unique way.

Branch: Combatant
Why?: This one's kind of obvious, I think... She fights! It's what she does! Navigator? That's what a Master does, so rejected!

Type(s): Phys/Electric
Why?: This one is also kind of simple... She's a Lancer and she's descended from a storm dragon! There we are, Physical/Electric!

Style(s): Negotiator
Why?: ...This basically comes down to "what does she specialize in in the games?" The answer is, a mixture of buffs and debuffs, so! Negotiator seemed right.

Passive: Dual
Why?: Because... That's how she is in the games, yes. She's neither specialized in offence or defense, and has a few boosts to both. That being said, her passive set would change based on which version of Elizabeth was used, but since I'm just using plain Elizabeth, I just went with Dual.

[princessofsociallinks]

Name: Bliss
Contact: BlissAuthority#4698 @ Discord, BlissAuthority@plurk
Interests: Ponies, Persona, other DW games (Synodiporia mainly), tabletop games

Character: Twilight Sparkle
Canon: My Little Pony: FiM
AU: Lucia Knightley, introverted honor student taking AP courses in preparation for a Social Psychology major

Anything Else?: She's going to come after a pit stop to the Mirror Universe, so her true form looks like this:


Demon: Orobas
Why?: It was going to be one of the ones that looked like a horse or had horse accessories just as a joke, all of which were appropriate - if not Orobas then probably Amdusias. Then I found out that Orobas is all about whispering magical secrets into your ear and also found the Floraverse version of her, which is the pinkest, fluffiest, most cheerful demon. Please imagine this thing cheerfully babbling about the most FUN ways of utterly laying waste to your enemies, like unto a thing that's been laid waste to.

Branch: Combatant!
Why?: As much as she could have been a navigator, she is way too hands on - hooves on? - not to get up close and personal with combat spells.

Type(s): Psi/Light
Why?: THAT'S TELEKINESIS, PINKIE. Between rainbows and the CYMK monstrosities of Persona 5 psi spells I had to choose these. I also could NOT take Physical, because Twilight is a twig and fights exclusively with magic.

Style(s): Buffer
Why?: When fights break out in the show and movies, her job is to be a force multiplier. Encouraging and empowering her friends between TK-blasting or rainbowing the hecke out of people.

Passive: Defense
Why?: Haven't I killed you yet, said all the villains in the show, always.

[repugnant]

it's 3 am here, if i fuck up, holler at me

Name: haru
Contact: niphablepsia, PM, what's a discord
Interests: i'm in jojo hell

Character: dio brando
Canon: jojo's bizarre adventure, phantom blood.
AU: boop and boop

Anything Else?: he's my series' big bad, although he comes from a timeline where that isn't fully established (yet). if for whatever reason you feel uncomfortable with dio, here is my opt out post.

anyway here's some dio pre- and post-awakening



------------------------

Demon: flauros
Why?: because of how single-minded dio is canonically about his goals, it's very important to have a demon that can reinforce that!

Branch: combatant
Why?: i thought of making him a navigator but dio is just figuring things out for himself when he was in phantom blood, because he's so young. a lot of his goals then would be considered short-sighted if you compare him to who he is in pt 3 or pt 6 even. so he's a combatant.

Type(s): ice, dark
Why?: [spoilers] he's got ice powers in phantom blood later on, plus his alignment .... nothing too fancy on this side

Style(s): sorceror
Why?: lots of people in his canon always talk about dio's ability to make them feel special, in addition to looking hot

Passive: defensive
Why?: in his canon he's said to have the devil's own luck!!

given his newfound abilities dio would be very interested in using them on people. could be an interesting plot point, hit me up if you're interested so i can get back to you on that one day.

[lovelledup]

Name: Wei
Contact: Plurk: zeroq1 Discord: nobody#7007
Interests: Pokemon Moon (obviously), Kamen Rider (particularly OOO but expanding into toku everything), visual novels (at the moment Lamento but basically anything especially if it's emotionally painful), science fiction stuff (Mass Effect, Star Trek, etc).... stuff.

Character: Gladion
Canon: Pokemon Moon
AU: I'm collecting AU information here (and my open planning post is here!). Basically he's a much calmer and more obviously good-hearted person having grown up in a family that isn't a mess and lacking all the canon trauma. If anyone wants to add to the AU CR, talk to me! Since it's, you know, conceivable that his AU self actually has solid friends, if not a ton of them.

Once he awakens he'll be pricklier, more guarded, and a ton more ambitious, so I'm way open to people getting to know him while he's still relatively friendly.

Demon: Camio
Why?: Well the immediate reason was the whole talking to animals thing, since he's got a pretty intense connection to his Pokemon. What really decided it for me was poking around for further information about the demon and finding references to it possibly being somehow related to Cain from the Bible (I am not sure related how but whatever, it's an oblique reference I found.) Gladion did not kill a sibling. However, he did completely abandon his sister for two years and leave her to deal with their crazy mother completely on her own, and he's pretty guilty about that at this point. Since that's something his Persona would pick up on, that oblique reference seemed fitting.

Branch: Combatant
Why?: I guess as a Pokemon trainer, navigator would have made just as much sense, but combatant really fits more with the way he views it. He's pretty convinced he has a lot in common with his Pokemon.

Type(s): Physical/Fire
Why?: His main Pokemon, Silvally, is a physical type whose element can change. Since I picked the grass starter in my game, Silvally was fire. And since Silvally is the one he makes comments about being like... well. I also just think fire suits him as an element, between his personality and how red his clothes are when they aren't black.

Style(s): Protector
Why?: As much as his canon lot in life is being a loner who is possibly unhealthily obsessed with improving his own strength, this is actually a big part of his personality. When he ran away from home and took Type:Null (Silvally's earlier form) with him, he was intervening to keep it from being put into cryosleep forever, and there's a few things aside from that to indicate that he legit cares about Pokemon in general and doesn't want to see them mistreated. He also makes a point of taking care of his sister toward the end of the game and even his mom, despite her crazy being the reason he ran away from home in the first place.

Passive: Defense
Why?: Gladion has been through a lot of shit in his life. He does not trust people easily. He also has a persistent fear about not being strong enough to deal with whatever he's trying to accomplish. So it just made sense to me that if his Persona picked up all his darkest pieces, it would have picked up all of his distrust and fears about being weak and made "protect self" a priority.

Anything Else?:

[kouteipenguin]

Name: Cro
Contact: Cro#9572 on Discord, Crobatman
Interests: Dwarf fortress, science, (nature/animals/space/paleontology), Japanese, pokemon.. I always think of about twenty more after I hit post
Character: Yuuto Kidou
Canon: Inazuma 11
AU: Michi Yamashita is the protag Kidou never got to be. Instead of being cold and distant, he's warm and friendly. TLDR here.

Michi Yamashita literally means 'path under the mountain', for that added layer of 'why'. Inazuma 11 is a bit ridiculous with how every single name is either a pun or a summary of the character somehow. There was no way I couldn't continue that here.

Anything Else?: It is very, VERY weird to have to play this guy without goggles. But everything that's wrong with him happened in his backstory for very specific reasons.

[kouteipenguin]

Demon: Eligor
Why?: While 'a dude on a horse' means nothing (and will have to be changed as much as I can get away with), Kidou was raised to be the fearless commander who would take victory at all costs. Thematically, the peerless warlord would represent Kageyama's influence on him and what he's been made into. Especially factoring in that Kageyama's creed is "Losing is unsightly." Victory at all costs is exactly Kageyama's MO, and whatever he's the head of tends to end up with ruthlessly brutal victories.

Branch: Navigator
Why?: Kidou's a playmaker, which is, in soccer, the guy you get the ball to if you don't know what to do with it. He'll command the field and assist with training. He's a tactician who never stops looking for weaknesses to exploit.

Type(s): Dark
Why?: His mentor is Kageyama (Shadow mountain, literally).

I had to debate this some; his element in the games is wind, and the dark-themed shoot he's part of (Death Zone, Death Zone 2) are wood. Then again, while there is a void element in the games, it doesn't seem to exist in the series he's from (All void-element stuff is from Go, not vanilla Inazuma). Things from the original game trilogy that could belong in void go to wood instead. So, I couldn't make that direct comparison.

Given his obsession with being under Kageyama's shadow, and the darker themes in his personality, it seemed fitting.

Style(s): Negotiator, sorcerer
Why?: Above all else, Kidou is about tactics. While he's extremely skilled at soccer, he doesn't have individual shoots. He's about group plays or making a group of people effective. I almost went for negotiator/buffer just so he could alter the values of everything on the field to suit his team, but sorcerer better allows for both altering things and indirectly harming enemies. Status effects can turn a fight around very quickly.

Why not buffer, then? Because while Kidou works pretty hard at making his team effective, he's best optimized for finding weaknesses. He'll find that in his own team and make them overcome it or aware of it. He'll find it in enemies in order to get an edge on them. Creating weaknesses where there aren't, or enhancing them, would be well-suited to that mentality. He's not necessarily someone with positive energy. He's drawn to people that have that, but he himself is more a tightly wound spring of anxiety and paranoia.

Passive: Offensive
Why?: Kidou's all about attack and not really about minimizing damage to himself. He's willing to endanger himself to win or take hits for people, but... defense isn't really a theme with him, nor balance with it. He's just the one who finds a path to attack or getting around something (to attack). Plus, none of the abilities that defensive or dual gave him would really mesh with his styles.

[withoutred]

Name: Skull.
Contact: elimyx + Discord! I'm already in the server, so punch me there.
Interests: Mostly Homestuck, Seacats, anything from Bioware, and MMO's, these days (I'm a big Guild Wars fan!), but I've got other tangential interests here and there. Steven Universe is up there, whenever Cartoon Network remembers it exists. Chances are if it's got customization I enjoy it.

Character: Erika Furudo
Canon: Umineko no Naku Koro ni
AU: Tadaaaaa

Anything Else?:

[withoutred]

Demon: Baalberith.
Why?: It was him or Zepar. Seriously. And not even because the latter is an actual character in Seacats - It came down to Zepar broadcasting her Issues About Love for everyone to see, or Baalberith's matching word-for-word her issues about truth and proof and trust.

Given the latter ties into her journal name (and I got to make a joke about all four types of Seacats Neon Laser Truths!), it won out.

Branch: Combatant.
Why?: Nearly did it, but nobody wants this lying sack of cats as their Navigator. And, while funny, I didn't know how sustainable it'd be for me rping her in a game.

Type(s): Wind/Light.
Why?: A mixture of Erika's gross moveset in the fighting game, and referencing her one and only friend.
Wind - Erika's moveset is awful at damaging things, but has all of the speed buffs and reach moves, including... swinging her scythe like a helicopter in order to fly? For some reason? And double jumping in a 2D sidescroller fighting game. It's really rude.
Light - She's bffs with a literal angel who manages to be the only positive influence in her life, and I wanted to reference that somehow. Plus magic laser fights are kind of Umineko's entire thing, and Erika is the type to stack her Persona with 1HKO's. Someday.

Style(s): Buffer.
Why?: See above!

Passive: Offensive.
Why?: Because she is.

[beastfang]

Name: Re
Contact: pinkparasol#4080 (DISCORD) ll pinkparasol (PLURK)
Interests: Jesus christ we could be here all day Cosplay, five million random fandoms including: Tron, Transformers, Halo, Nier, Drakengard, Okami, Megaman, Inazuma Eleven, Zelda, Resident Evil, Katanagatari, Odin Sphere, Overwatch, Pokemon, Tales of series, Final Fantasy series, Fatal Frame, Digimon, Mass Effect, Tolkein...yeah you get the idea

Character: Koujirou Genda
Canon: Inazuma Eleven
AU: Link Also I know I'm late in replying to everything. Work sorta killed me.

Anything Else?: Can you believe these are actually a bunch of middle schoolers?

Begin the TLDR!

[beastfang]

Demon: Marchosias
Why?: I did an entire psychological breakdown of Genda for this choice just to justify giving it to him. (Because I liked the demon and thus was going to get it somehow damnit.) Basically Genda's entire backstory was used to justify this need for doge demon. Though the final design due to this is less doge and more weird and wrong mashed together like a creature. A pic of it's basic design can be found on my Persona page. Also to avoid just copy and pasting my reasons here. I ramble about the choice and the stylistic choices for the demon Here

Branch: Combatant
Why?: Basically because Genda is a pawn/baby tank/already used to being thrown at obstacles on the orders of someone else. Teikoku is a military type academy and the soccer team was trained to be extensions of their captain and thus their commander (Coach) so Genda being a Navigator would just be wrong for him. Even though he's never fought an actual fight in his whole life, he would adjust to combatant far better then navigator even though he's like the least aggressive personality wise of his team.

Type(s): physical and fire
Why?: Physical is basically because 1) he's not a spell caster type thus would not really know what to do as a mage type. Even if you could justify him knowing how to stay back and behind others due to his goalkeeping career. Personality wise though he would much rather be the one in front of others taking hits then others taking hits for him. 2) He's a soccer player so physical moves just fit into the niche of such reasoning.

Fire: The simple answer: there wasn't an earth element. The longer one is that when the test drive came out I just threw the element he has in the Ina games into his test persona just to have something and after a while it grew on me when I took into account the more positive associations with fire people have. Since Genda is more like a hearth fire or just a light to help you see in the dark. Useful, but most people tend to forget or overlook the source of said heat and/or light and that fits a lot in how Genda is a supportive figure to Kidou and his team, but is mostly there in the background that he gets overlooked easily as he blends into the team.

Style(s): healer
Why?: For a long while I was set on Protector because baby tank and the fact him being a goalkeeper is one of the first and strongest impressions you get about him from canon. But then I stopped and thought a bit and if Genda had to actively choose a style he would choose healer because it would allow him to protect his team a hell of a lot better then if he was in the protector style. Which just made it even more of the obvious choice since he would rather heal his team and endure attacks for them at the same time then to watch them suffer and he barely suffers from the same attacks. Also the fact he got Bloody Destiny right out the gate is just irony of the highest level and was the skill I was hoping he would get because of certain canon reasons that is going to cause a lot of flailing penguins over the implications of such a skill.

Passive: defense
Why?: BABY TANK. No seriously Goalkeepers are meant to endure a lot of shit in Inazuma and considering he somehow survived a match that should have killed him or put him in a coma at the least it shows he has the ability to endure a lot and he's going to need that endurance here since he is going to automatically attempt to tank hits due to said canon instincts. It was also a hold over from when I was first going protector and just was min/maxing to full rpg tank status for him.

[probablynoteren]

Name: Fyre
Contact:
[Plurk] muffyre
[Discord] FFFyre(#)4083
Interests: Lord, I really have too many fandoms, but some special mentions! God Eater, obviously, Fate/Too Many Spinoffs, Dangan Ronpa (I'm brand-new and very late to this bandwagon), various sports anime (YowaPeda is my current big thing though), various MMORPG anime (Log Horizon and Accel World are the faves here), Re:Zero, Rokka no Yuusha (someone please come to this fandom with me there's like 5 people here), etc.

Character: Lenka Utsugi
Canon: God Eater (Anime)
AU: I made a helpful AU writeup post for him! Dashed off some quick CR tracking too, lemme know if I've missed anything or got anything down wrong. :*

Anything Else?: This kid has 2 modes, really. Normal shit.

[probablynoteren]

Demon: Eligor (Design TBD)
Why?: Honestly he's the most stereotypical meat shield that ever meat shielded in some ways, but also a budding command tower. Eligor is also said to curry favor in high places (ahhh, snowflake protags), incite war and strife (bloody-ass battles and neverending cycles of war are a thing with God Eater), and discover hidden objects (he's oddly good at this literally and metaphorically). I waffled on this because a demon is supposed to represent the darker parts of the psyche, but I figure that can go with the design later.

Branch: Combatant
Why?: See above about #meatshieldlyfe. That, and he's much more of a field commander -- he's done remote command before but really could only stay off the battlefield for like 30 seconds. Being a Navigator isn't impossible for him but Combatant is probably the best use of his talents.

Type(s): Wind/Nuclear
Why?: I almost snagged Dark for Reasons, but really he can go with a lot of different elements if we look at the God Eater game's elemental spread (which all characters can use). Since there's no Almighty element, though (also for Reasons), it was Light or Nuclear. Wind I snagged because winds of change... or... something! Also it isn't an element in God Eater so why not go with something new. :Da

Style(s): Protector
Why?: See both answers above, LMAO. Honestly it would be hard to pick any other style for him, though I considered it. Protecting people is literally what he's all about. (Also the skillset works out pretty well too.)

Passive: Offensive
Why?: Partly to balance out Protector and partly just because he's the type to hit it until it stops moving once he decides on a strategy and/or if the strategy goes off the rails. Yelling like a maniac the whole time, of course. (Serious battle is like the only time you'll see him get really loud.)

[1in_perfection]

Name: Kaysper
Contact: kaysper on plurk, Kaysper#5562 on Discord!
Interests: OK, SO. I've been on this Persona train for almost 20 years now. So if you have any questions about the series, odds are I have answers. Or can offer up a whole bunch of tinfoil hat theories if I don't have answers. My favorite games of the series are probably Persona 3 and 5 right now. (GO PLAY 5 YOU GUYS, if you haven't played a Persona game yet it is an OUTSTANDING jumping on point for the series.) I try to absorb as much of the expanded canon as I can... even if I don't necessarily use all of it, or watch all of it right when it comes out. Expect there to be references to the fighting games, the P3 audio CDs, manga, anime and musical when I finally get around to watching said series, etc.

Otherwise I like me some VIDYA GAMES. I'm mostly a JRPG person at heart, but I'll experiment with western RPGs, good platformers, etc. I'll also watch some cartoons on the side, and read way too much YA fiction for my own good.

Character: Mitsuru Kirijo
Canon: Persona 3
AU: Here! Fast version is: French-Japanese transfer student who has a passion for succeeding in everything she does, and some uncomfortable family issues in the closet.

Anything Else?:

[1in_perfection]

Demon: Naberius
Why?: Basically, I like how fluid Naberius is in terms of appearance and mythology. It lends to some cool visual ideas. Also, Naberius is said to restore lost honors and dignities, but only AFTER procuring said loss. Given how Mitsuru starts as a Kirijo heiress but through fake memories and identities becomes and illegitimate child cut off from her fake family fortune and prestige, I think there's something cool to be had there. The fact that Naberius' education specialty is in sciences, arts, rhetoric, etc, all things Mitsuru has an interest in, is icing on the cake.

Branch: Combatant
Why?: Mostly because in her canon, Mitsuru is a front line fighter. While she has SOME pseudo-nav abilities, she isn't the person to go to for that.

Type(s): Ice/Dark
Why?: GEE I WONDER. To elaborate, Mitsuru is the definitive ice queen when it comes to temperament. She’s cold, calculated, distant, and professional. For Dark, I liked the association it gives to Naberius as maybe-possibly-if-you-tilt-your-head-and-squint being Cerberus, guardian of the underworld. Also Mitsuru just came from a canon point where all of her family’s dark secrets have been revealed, so why not go for extra symbolism?

Style(s): Sorcerer
Why?: BECAUSE MARIN KARIN, THAT’S WHY. Also because of Mitsuru’s attitude, a set of spells that aid her in murdering things more quickly will suit her well.

Passive: Offensive
Why?: Because Mitsuru is very, VERY driven in combat to resolve the situation as quickly and optimally as possible. And that optimal solution is that everything is too badly wounded or flat out dead to pose a threat. Offense is the best defense, etc.

[prayed]

Name: Bunny
Contact: litten, PMs
Interests: Current big ones are Magical Girl Raising Project and Nier Automata. Forever fandoms are Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Baccano!, When They Cry, and then some obscure visual novels and RPG Maker games.

Character: Kyoko Sakura
Canon: Puella Magi Madoka Magica
AU: here

Anything Else?:

[seasonsofdeath]

Name: Bookie
Contact: plurk @ bookworm12890, discord @ Bookie#7341 (I'm trying to get better about discord XD)
Interests: Many things! Persona is my main fandom atm, but I'm also into Kingdom Hearts, TWEWY, Ace Attorney, and various other video games. I'm really into board games, and I also sew. I'm heading off to grad school come fall so there's likely to be talk of that on my plurk as well.

Character: Pharos
Canon: Persona 3
AU: Akira is a ten year old boy in the primary cycle (year.... 3, I think??) and he is pretty weird. Mostly hangs out by himself or whoever will let him tag along for a bit and plays with animals and periodically says something really weird or tactless. He's been to the counsellor's office a few times and it is going to get worse.

Anything Else?:

[de_aru_ka]

Name: Arai
Contact: Honnouji, Honnouji#1395
Interests: Samurai Warriors owns my soul (to lesser extent, that Three Kingdoms one and the crossover games too). Also toku, Ghost Trick, Gravity Falls, Utena, Yuri on Ice, TWEWY, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Zelda, Pokémon, Sengoku Basara...

Character: Nobunaga Oda
Canon: Samurai Warriors
AU: Here!

Anything Else?:

[de_aru_ka]

Demon: Barbas
Why?: "A great lion who can both cause and heal diseases and can change both his own and others' shapes." The intro of SW2 briefly features a lion (and Nobunaga's character design in that game features a "mane" of crow feathers for double the animal symbolism). Also, lions are used to symbolize the SW cast in Warriors Orochi (since the DW factions all have their own animals). The "cause and heal diseases" fits his actions in canon pretty well, as does the changing shapes thing, mostly on a metaphorical level but also ^

Originally, it was going to Dantalion ("A demon who can take on the appearance of any man or woman who ever lived. He knows the thoughts of all people and can manipulate them at will.") because I absolutely had to reference the crossdressing, and because the game's Nobunaga is demonstrably a precog and gets played up as a pseudo-omniscient who always gets exactly what he wants when he manipulates others. I changed my mind while writing my app when I remembered how much emphasis gets placed on his versatility and decided everything wasn't really going Just As Planned.

Branch: Navigator
Why?: Nobunaga's as capable of killing thousands as any other payable character in that game, but story-wise, he's the guy who's organizing everything and his retainers are the ones doing most of the actual fighting.

Type(s): Dark
Why?: His in-game element and what his entire fighting style is based around. If he was a Combatant, his other element would be Psy, for obvious reasons.

Style(s): Buffer/Sorcerer
Why?: His special move in-game is a pair of self-buffs. Sorcerer was because the name was fitting more than anything else, but it also seemed like the most violent option.

Passive: Dual
Why?: Of his aforementioned self-buffs, one's offensive and the other's defensive.

[truthkills]

Name: Airdra
Contact: Airdra
Interests: Tokusatsu, mostly Kamen Rider and Super Sentai but I will also yell about Ultraman Orb forever. I also love Digimon and monster-raising RPGs in general, and I collect virtual pets please don't ask me how many Tamagotchi I have and cube puzzles.

Character: Kiriya Kujo
Canon: Kamen Rider Ex-Aid
AU: Got a write-up here!

Anything Else?:

[truthkills]

Demon: Baalberith
Why?: So the blurb on this one mentioned that it lies constantly, Kiriya isn't known for his truth-telling skills, everything all came together.

Branch: Combatant
Why?: This is a man who uses video game cartridges to turn into a motorcycle and later an armored fighter in order to battle monsters, I'm just saying.

Type(s): Electric and Nuclear
Why?: Electric seemed to go well with the whole "turns into a motorcycle using the power of video games" thing he has going, and Nuclear worked in the sense that his canon is violently neon.

Style(s): Negotiator
Why?: It honestly just seemed like it fit with what I was going for.

Passive: Dual
Why?: I'm indecisive and "why not both?" seemed like the ideal option.