2nd ♫ | come on let go of the remote

[astrogony]

THE PERSONA 4 MEME

→ Step 1: Post as your character with their name and canon and a description of your character's Shadow and their dungeon, their Persona, their Arcana and Social Link... Go into as much detail as you want! You can either AU your character into the P4 setting, or leave them as they are in canon and simply play out their dungeon as it would happen there!
→ Step 2: Others respond, and you tag around to others!
→ Step 3: Play out P4 themed interactions -- either braving a dungeon, to rescue a friend from their Shadow, playing out Social Link rank ups, the works.
Go wild!

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Kakyoin Noriaki | JJBA: Stardust Crusaders | spoilers for a 25 year old series jsyk

[lapidarius]

Arcana: The Hierophant

'The Hierophant is a symbol of education, authority, conservatism, obedience to rules and relationship with the divine. The definition of a "hierophant" is a person who interprets sacred mysteries or esoteric principles, and the term was originally used to name ancient Greek priests who did so.' For Kakyoin, what this basically boils down to is that he's the smart one of the group; the tactician and strategist, able to work any bad situation into even a minor victory through staying calm under pressure and thinking logically.

Persona: Hierophant Green

...he predates Persona and Stands are the exact same thing, don't look at me.

Dungeon: Something like a network of crystal caves, but made entirely of emerald. It's expansive, cold, and above all else empty.

Shadow: The only visible differences between Kakyoin and his Shadow (apart from eye color) is that the latter wears a long white scarf draped over his shoulders. Shadow Kakyoin is skittish and afraid, pleading with anyone that finds him 'don't kill me, I don't want to die'. He also pushes others away, declaring that they can't possibly understand him if they can't see his 'real self'. When angered, he turns into a marionette version of himself that fights by extending his scarf like a whip as well as weaponizing the emeralds growing out of the walls like projectiles.

Social Link: Kakyoin's Social Link focuses mainly on his own isolation; a second-year in high school, he keeps entirely to himself. Despite having a kind personality, he simply doesn't make any friends. After his dungeon and Stand Persona awakening, the ranks of his Social Link involve Kakyoin gradually learning just how to open up to people and make actual friends.

Mid-level ranks involve him talking about his parents, who despite being deeply caring individuals never really understood why Kakyoin refused to befriend others. Higher ranks find Kakyoin spending a lot of time in the school's art room; showing a surprising amount of talent in painting and admitting he might want to pursue a career in it after high school. The last rank involves Kakyoin admitting the protagonist was the first friend he'd ever made and that he'll fight with them until the end with no regrets. The end of his Social Link grants the Wooden Marionette, allowing the protagonist to fuse Kohryu.

social links u with a tiny high school sonico

[muusou]

[ she doesn't remember entering the tv world, barely remembers leaving it and everything else in between is a giant blur.

she remembers the important parts though. the yellow-eyed girl with her face who'd known every inch of her heart better than Sonico did, words that hit too close to home about how she's worthless useless no good to anyone just a burden just a burden just a burden and screaming denial back in return.

everything after that is a big fat cut to black until she'd woken up surrounded by unfamiliar faces, all similarly concerned. she remembers the yellow-eyed girl's face, sullen and sulky, warming into a smile of relief when Sonico had said that yes, you're me and I'm sorry.

It's been a few weeks since then -- she's been at home, shivering and weak with an illness that isn't quite a cold and it's only her second day back at school after the whole disaster. but she'd asked around and managed to put a name and a year to one of the faces who'd turned up to save her.

so, then. when you come out of class today, kakyoin, there is a very short and probably familiar pink-haired girl waiting next to the door, with a big ol' bento box in her hands, carefully wrapped up with a handkerchief.

what do. ]

oh no it's the tiniest pink anime

[lapidarius]

[Truthfully, Kakyoin very nearly walked past her. People didn't wait around for him, didn't really associate or even talk to him--which the second-year student had grown to accept as the natural order of things.]

[But the pink hair struck a chord of familiarity that caused him to hesitate in mid-step, trying to put a name to the face that wasn't lit by yellow eyes.]

It's...Sonico, isn't it?

THE TINIEST

[muusou]

[ she lets out a little squeak of alarm once he addresses her and her face floods red. she'd been rehearsing this in her head the entire time but now that he's actually here she's more than a little tongue tied.

she does, at least, manage to swallow and then give a nod. ]

Y--yes... I'm Yamamoto Sonico. I'm in the first year.

[ okay. breathe in. breathe out. you're off to a good start. ]

I--I, um-- I w--wanted to say thank you for-- f--for... what happened.

AND THE PINKEST

[lapidarius]

Yamamoto, then. It's a pleasure to meet you properly--my name is Kakyoin Noriaki.

[Kakyoin answered with a hesitant smile, though his voice was notably more even than Sonico's. He was excellent at maintaining a reasonable poker face, but inwardly he was managing to end up pretty confused. How had she even tracked him down--no, actually a 5'10" redhead with cherry-shaped earrings was really not hard to notice in a crowd. So then the question was 'why' instead of 'how'.]

Oh-- [He presumed gratitude was the right reaction to have here, but the accompanying embarrassment on her face was completely mystifying.] You didn't need to go out of your way for something like that.

[muusou]

B--but I do! If you and the others hadn't come to find me, I--I would've...

[ died. probably. she's still not sure how that other world even works, but she knows how sick she'd been when she'd gotten home. who knows what would've happened to her if she'd been on the other side for too long.

she swallows hard and shoves the bento out towards him, bowing her head. ]

H--here! P--please take these!

[lapidarius]

Wh--

[Startled, the student in green paused before accepting it, like he had no earthly idea what was even going on anymore.]

Wait a minute, you-...really went to all this trouble just because of that? But I didn't-

[So much for the poker face.]

I only did what was right. There really isn't any need to thank me.

[muusou]

Y--yes there is! I--I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for you, s--so--

[ and then all of a sudden, she bows, right at the waist, as formal as it gets. ]

Th--thank you very much for saving me!

[ ... and of course this little drama is still going on right in the middle of the hall next to the classroom. um. ]

[lapidarius]

. . .

[It was about then that Kakyoin began to realize this looked really weird to any of the number of onlookers they were gathering.]

Y-Yamamoto...we should probably be talking about this somewhere a little less open, don't you think?

[muusou]

...

[ oh my god there's people staring and she's belatedly starting to realize this probably looks and sounds like some kind of anime confession bullshit and haha wow if you thought she was red before, that's nothing compared to now. ]

Y--yes! Y--yes we should, I'm sorry, I d--didn't mean to d--do this in front of everyone...!

[lapidarius]

[they are both literally turning the color of the other's hair at this point]

It's fine. Come on, there's an empty classroom down the hall.

[the art club uses it for storage. and he is an art nerd.]

[muusou]

R--right... I really am s--sorry about all this...

[ she's already caused so much trouble, the last thing she wants is to cause even more and she falls into an embarrassed silence as she follows along after him. ]

[lapidarius]

It's okay, Yamamoto. You don't need to apologize. [He led her into the slightly cluttered room down the hall, sliding the door closed behind them and carefully setting the bento box on a desk.]

Now, where were we?

[muusou]

... w--well, I--I was wondering if you could tell me more about... w--what happened.

I... remember bits of it... the other me and I remembering waking up back over on this side, but... I didn't understand a--any of it.

[lapidarius]

Ah--right, of course.

[Naturally, it was a lot to process--but 'what the hell was that' was a reasonable response.]

Where should I start?

[muusou]

... what was she? The--

[ not the thing that looked like her, that's wrong and she knows it. ]

-- th--the other me. Where did she come from and... w--why was she even there to begin with...?

[lapidarius]

Well, the short version is that she was what's called a Shadow--a personification of one's repressed self. Where she came from is...a little more complicated.

[and here we go]

People like us, who have the power to control a Persona, can travel to another world through television screens as a gateway. That world is where Shadows come from, and being there without that ability draws out one's own personal Shadow itself.

[muusou]

[ ...

she may be just. staring at you right now, with an expression that quite clearly telegraphs her inability to work out if he's fucking with her or not.

... but. the other girl had said something like that, hadn't she? she'd heard it, just before she'd passed out. I am a Shadow, the true self. ]

Your Shadow is... you...?

S--some of the things she said were... th--they were things... I used to think. Still think. B--but I always used to pretend it didn't bother me at all.

Is that why s--she was... saying it all...?

[lapidarius]

It's okay--I mean, I had one too. I know this is...hard to process, to say the least.

But essentially, that's what a Shadow is. Things you've thought, but refused to acknowledge.

[muusou]

[ there's a fleeting moment where she almost asks what his Shadow had said and then common sense practically snaps into place and silences the question before it can leave her mouth. she's not about to ask him to share something so intensely personal, even if he had seen her Shadow. ]

S--so, what happens when it... d--disappears? When I told her I was s--sorry... she smiled and then it looked l--like she'd disappeared...

[ ... furrowing her brow... ]

W--was that my Persona... like everyone else has...?

[lapidarius]

That's right.

[the funny thing was, all things considered he'd absolutely have answered honestly. It was only fair, after all.]

Which...that isn't to say you have to fight like the rest of us. No one's going to ask that of you, obviously. But you could, if you wanted to learn to control it.

[muusou]

... N--no, I...

[ she'd never even thought about fighting until he brought it up -- but now that it's an option, there really is no question, is there? it'll be... scary. it'll be really scary. but if she has some kind of power, if she can help people, then what kind of girl would she be if she refused? ]

I--I want... to fight. I might be a burden and I m--might not be much help--

[ and then GOD SHE'S BOWING AGAIN ]

-- P--please let me fight with you!

[lapidarius]

...Are you really sure about that? I'm not going to force you or talk you into it--this kind of thing is dangerous. It's easy to get hurt or even killed.

[muusou]

I--I nearly died once already. I'm only alive now because there were people who could h--help me.

S--so, yes. I'm sure. If... if I can be any help at all, then I'll do my best.

[lapidarius]

There's not going to be any discouragng you, is there?

[Laughing, he held out his hand for a handshake.]

Welcome to the team, in that case. I'm sorry you've gotten involved in something overly complicated.