makejapangreat

come at me

Roomies!!

I'm sure nothing terrible will happen in here.

Pls designate date in header.

OOC Information

Player name: Rui
Player age and gender: 25/F
Player Contact: gradient | Rui#4474
Any other characters in game? 0

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IC Information

Character name: Shido Masayoshi
Character canon: Persona 5
Canon point: Post Change of Heart
Physical Description: old asshole, can u believe this dude's 53, kukuku, technically this is his shadow but u get the jist
Height: 6'0"
Age: 53
About the Character: If I don't steer this country, who will?!

A frightening tyrant of a man who can order the execution of even an extremely well-known, high profile person, all without raising the slightest suspicion that he's behind it. He had a dream of becoming the Prime Minister of Japan and tearing it down from the ground up, reforming it into a glorious country that could stand toe-to-toe with the greatest nations of the world— and maybe even surpass them. His brutal, means-justify-the-ends mentality meant there was nothing he wouldn't do in order to secure his position. He manipulated his opponents and had many killed off. Taking advantage of his son, Goro Akechi and his ability to use the Metaverse, he forced many of those opponents to have psychotic breakdowns, causing their inhibitions to be removed, allowing them to effectively destroy their own reputations by taking actions and saying things they never would otherwise.

It's possible that once upon a time, this meant something, and that once upon a time, there was a righteous feeling of justice in Shido, angry at perceiving Japan to be failing in multiple areas and wanting to wipe everything clean so he could start over fresh. But there was an anger at the populace, as well, for not taking more steps to correct what was going on. According to his Shadow, the useless masses wished for an easy life without the burden of working hard to get that life. In fact, his Palace, the physical representation of his mind, at large suggests the mind of a man who trusts only himself and expects that every other human being is only working to benefit themselves, while wearing a mask that's most appropriate for the situation. Of course, he has no qualms with using that to his advantage, promising, bribing and threatening others all into doing what he wants— but it's pretty lonely at the top. Maybe that's part of why his methods of coping include copious amounts of alcohol and pressing himself onto unwilling women?

If that disgusting behavior isn't enough, there's even more evidence of his blatant disregard for individual human lives: he's slept with multiple women throughout his life and has even caused one of them to conceive, with evidence pointing strongly towards two, and even more likely more that are forever nameless. He wouldn't dream of holding off on his career to be a father or investing money into a child and wife, so those women were left as single mothers to fend for themselves. What's more, well, it wouldn't do to have these women or his children outing him as an irresponsible, illegitimate father, would it? That could very well sour his reputation. It's only said in the game that Akechi's mother took her own life, but Shido has had a rather frightening amount of influence for a long time. Who's to say that he didn't set it up to look like a suicide? At the very least, it's exactly what he did to Futaba's mother, Wakaba Isshiki... and if it works so well the first time, or the first few times, why not do it again?

And it's not just women who he has a blatant disregard for. Indeed, he ruins the reputation of many men, has many who directly oppose him snuffed out, and manipulates and threatens others into compliance. Perhaps the most notable of all is his relationship with his own son, Goro Akechi. In fact, from the moment he met him, he suspected that he was the child of a certain woman (a rather interesting fact to note, since he finds most people so insignificant that he forgets who they are... and this particular woman made enough of an impression to last a little over a decade and a half), but was careful to conceal his suspicions effectively enough that Akechi believed he didn't have the slightest idea who he was. Akechi then offered his services to him— his powers and ability to go into the Metaverse.

And here's where shit gets really fucked up.

Akechi had known how to cause psychotic breakdowns in people, but what he didn't know was that he could go one step further. By destroying a person's Shadow, he could effectively destroy a person's mind and send them into a permanent coma— a mental shutdown, and it was Shido who taught Akechi how to do this... how to teach his own son how to kill, all for the supposed greater good of the country. What's more is that he then trapped Akechi in his clutches, threatening to kill him should he dare try to turn against him. He even suspected Akechi's true intent in wanting to kill him when he finally became Prime Minister, and in turn, decided that he would have Akechi eliminated once he rose to position.

When the Phantom Thieves came about, he came up with a brilliant plan: he could pin the blame on them for causing the mental shutdowns that he had been perpetrating with Akechi. Heh, nevermind the fact that his son had gotten attached to them... Expertly, he cultivated the Phantom Thieves' rising popularity, then at the height of it, had their statistics manipulated to point to the president of Okumura Foods. Once they had done their thing, he had Akechi enact a mental shutdown. Not only that, but he set up a plan to essentially manufacture a Palace within one of the Thieves' sisters, Sae Nijima, so that they would be drawn in, a police force would be sent in while they tried to steal her treasure, and Akechi would kill him in the real world while setting it up to look like a suicide.

Safe to say, Shido is a pretty reprehensible man. And then his heart was changed.

A Change of Heart does an interesting thing where all your distorted thoughts are removed and you see reality for what it truly is. It strips you of the justifications you use to reassure yourself that you're not a bad person— this is just the way things work. The world is a cruel place, and you just happened to get out on top, that's all. A Change of Heart says "lmao no you're just a really fucked up person" and leaves you going "Oh god I'm a really fucked up person". It's a pretty startling and shattering revelation that has those affected often immediately breaking down into tears and subsequently confessing their sins so that they can be appropriately punished for their crimes.

Shido was no different. Upon waking up from the drug-induced temporary death he'd made in a last-ditch effort to ruin the Thieves' efforts, he was in shock, taking several moments just to get his bearings and figure out what the hell had just happened to him. Suddenly, everything... everything that he had done hit him like a brick wall. "What have I done?" he whispered in horror, right before being reduced to guilty, humiliated tears. So wrapped up in the weight of everything he had done settling down on him, he didn't even pay mind to his subordinates, who were desperately trying to figure out how to cover this whole debacle up.

There's very little to go off of what kind of man he's been transformed into, as we really only see that man in the scene where his heart was changed, and then subsequently in his inauguration speech. He starts out fairly innocently, thanking the people for electing him into position. And then it all goes to hell: he confesses all the terrible things he had done, believing that the people had a right to know. Curiously enough, his subordinates look alarmed and start frantically waving to cut the news feed off— suggesting that Shido had used his skills of manipulation and acting to make them believe that he was going to perhaps read from a script instead of confessing. Of course, everyone is too shocked to do anything, and the whole of Japan is made aware of his atrocities.

It's a far cry from the man who thought of the people as the "useless masses"— there really does seem to be a genuine appreciation for them when he thanks them at first, and a real belief that they deserve to know the truth about what he'd done. And now, he understands exactly the depth of what he'd done. He states that "I am a true criminal that can be tried for any crime, and it still wouldn't be enough!" In fact, he begs for the public to pass judgment on him, for him to atone with his life— after all, all of his crimes, especially to use them into get into such a position of power, would certainly warrant a capital punishment. He's incredibly passionate while he talks... his sense of justice has been renewed, and now, he wishes to uphold that justice by convicting one of the greatest criminals he knows: himself.

While he's had a few days to sort himself out, having a change of heart is... kind of traumatic, in a way, and he's still reeling from the consequences of it. He doesn't entirely know who he is anymore; only that he's wronged thousands upon thousands of people, and that he is a heinous man who has committed countless crimes and sins. The guilt weighs on him like several tons, and prior to being taken to another world, his plan was to get what money he could, make repayments to those he'd wrong, and do as much good as he could before he was ultimately executed, as he should be. But now his world has been turned upside-down once more, and now, he has more time to figure out exactly who he truly is— whether he wants to or not.

Character abilities:
- This guy is hella charismatic. Literally, that was his whole thing that had him very nearly win the election as the next Prime Minister of Japan (you know, besides all the awful manipulation and murder).

- He's also a fantastic public speaker, which ties into another reason why he came so close to winning the election. He knows what people want to hear, and how he can manipulate that to suit his needs.

- He's incredibly organized and actually makes a pretty damn good leader. He knows what matters need the most attention, how things can be used to their advantage, and how to delegate resources to maximize his benefits. This comes in the form of strategizing, as well— he used his knowledge of the metaverse to create a plan on how it could be used to trap and capture the Phantom Thieves.

- He is also authoritative. The way he carries himself, his demeanor, and overall personality demands respect and obedience. Less so after the Change of Heart, but it stands a good chance of resurfacing.

- He is intelligent and observant. He's good at reading people, figuring out what they want, and using that to his advantage.

Inventory: The clothes on his back, his glasses. Maybe a nice watch. His smartphone.

Samples: TDM Top and Tag Out