OOC INFORMATION Player Name: Pixle
Pronoun Preferences: She/Her/Them
Contact: ![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
pixle Are you over the age of 18?: Y
Invitation Link: Here.
Current Characters: N/A
Link to Permissions: Permissions. (I didn't see a template so I used this)
IC INFORMATION Character Name: Zenkichi Hasegawa
Species: Human
Canon: Persona 5: Strikers
Canon Point: End of game (after Owada is being taken in)
Character Age: 42
CRAU: No
Character Appearance: Here. Powers and Abilities:PERSONA USERAble to wield the power of his other self, Zenkichi is the oldest member of the Phantom Thieves and like the rest of his teammates, not only gets a spiffy outfit, but also goes by a codename: Wolf. His persona is
Valjean, based on the character Jean Valjean of the Victor Hugo play Les Misérables.
Valjean's abilities are listed
here.
Zenkichi's Arcana is the Apostle, presented as an alternate deck (Crowley's) version of the Hierophant that focuses more in the interpretation of the rules/law and compassion compared to the Hierophant's strict rigidity of them.
NERF: If he gains the ability to regain his Persona, it would start only with the innate skills and each regain would go towards his ability to use it. It would also not come with the Fury and Drain modes (see listed below)
WOLF - FURY MODEA rage state that Wolf can activated greatly increase his attack, but constantly drain his HP when he attacks. It also has two Master Arts upgrades which allows either magical damage with his attacks or inflicting critical hits.
WOLF - PASSIVE MODEWhen not using Fury Mode, the passive mode makes it that Zenkichi basically has a life-drain attack that allows him to recover HP (energy). It has a Master Arts upgrade that makes the life drain even more powerful.
FIGHTINGWhile most of his fighting abilities are only when he becomes a Phantom Thief, his work in the Public Sector as an Inspector has given Zenkichi enough skills to be able to easily punch a drunken office worker down to the ground in 'self defence' if need be. Which happened more than once during the game (self-defence he would say)
However it is when he becomes a Phantom Thief that his instincts kick into overdrive. He can move as fast as (quoted by the other Phantom Thieves) "someone half his age", jumping with surprising dexterity and finesse. He also holds a sword that is longer than himself with a single hand along with a pair of pistols.
INSPECTOR (I wasn't sure if this counted, but I put it just in case it needed to be listed)
Unlike, say Naoto Shirogane or even Goro Akechi, Zenkichi isn't a prodigal detective/inspector, nor is he ever presented as one in the game. Rather, he didn't get things naturally as they might have, and to compensate worked hard to keep up with his peers and eventually surpass them. It was his steady work and climbing up the ranks that lead him to where he is, and his years of experience makes him someone you can count on to get to the bottom of a situation. He is not afraid to take unconventional methods, such as when he literally presented himself to the Phantom Thieves as a potential ally instead of trying to stalk them like everyone else had been doing (I mean he was stalking them too, but he was very upfront about it). He's also pretty good at judging a character's personality just by interacting with them for a short while.
Zenkichi also has some keen detective senses, considering that he was able to spot situations that were amiss during his adventures with the Phantom Thieves and save them from being attacked by a brainwashed mob at one point. While he was used as a mouthpiece for the plot at times to explain what was happening, it is presented as him doing the research and his job, so he's very knowledgeable too.
What Did Your Character Wish For? For his wife to be alive
What Potion Did They Receive? Gold
Did They Drink It? Yes
If Yes, What Element/Animal? A Black Wolf (because I'm predictable)
Character Questions: 1. Who is the person your character is most bonded with from their canon, or who is someone they miss the most and why?(CW: Death, Suicide)
Zenkichi has a tween daughter,
Akane who is his entire world, literally and figuratively. For the past two years, they had been on a much more tense relationship due to the death of her mother and Zenkichi's wife, Aoi. Since Akane had witnessed her mother's death by a drunken politician, and his secretary had 'confessed' to the murder before committing suicide, most of the police force had thought this a done deal.
Zenkichi on the other hand had continued to research, but every time he'd find a lead, it would get buried until he got a letter threatening to kill his daughter if he continued. So, unable to do anything, he moved to Kyoto to be close to his wife's parents and waiting for his time that he would have the power to be able to take the politician in question, Owada down. Unfortunately, his daughter thought he had abandoned the case. It didn't help that Zenkichi was avoiding her and put most of his time on work so he would be able to aid his boss rise the ranks where they could take him down together.
Thankfully, the Phantom Thieves were able to aid the both of them reconcile both in the 'real' world and when Akane was used to manifest a Jail (sort of the equivalent of a Palace from Persona 5). Akane's shadow told him exactly how she felt of him and Zenkichi was able to realize that he'd been not only ignoring her, but also that he'd lost focus on what was important and who he needed to fight. This led to triggering his awakening as a Phantom Thief.
During their reconciliation, she told him that she had always found him so cool before the accident and hoped that he could be like that again, which hinted that they use to be extremely close.
2. What are they most afraid of and why? Loosing his daughter Akane like he lost his wife. It is ironic, because, as stated above, he had been avoiding her for the past two years and mostly let her do her own thing and get bitter at him each day, but Zenkichi had promised Aoi he'd do anything to protect her - even at the cost of his own life. It was only when his
daughter's life was threatened that he had stopped his investigation.
Akane being alive is what is keeping Zenkichi sane as his wife's death was already very hard on his psyche. Losing his daughter would be the final nail on the coffin. At that point he might not be able to go on at all.
3. What are their emotional, mental, and physical weaknesses and why? Emotional weakness - Previously, this was probably his guilt at leaving his daughter by herself and the distance that they'd been building and failing the one person he cares the most about, but that has mellowed out somewhat.
He also has a very moral core despite his history of the past two years, such as when he tried to help a child who had lost his parents, and could easily be swayed to help out others or tricked that way (he did protect the Phantom Thieves before they got arrested which led to his own incarceration).
More amusingly, he also hates it when teens call him gramps because it reminds him of his own mortality and age (true
emotional damage).
Mental Weakness - Zenkichi had been under intense pressure during the game both to perform as a Public Security Inspector, but also to navigate the corruption that had been plaguing it. When he speaks to the Phantom Thieves, he tries to keep up a face but he has told them many times that they shouldn't look at things as just black and white but in shades of grey - including himself. He did use the Phantom Thieves for his own needs at time before eventually joining them.
Physical weakness - Apart from the fact that he is forty-two years old and not getting any younger, Zenkichi isn't really anyone super special when it comes to endurance or strength. He does complain more than once about his back or running out of breath. His job demanded many hours and long workdays so he's used to going on little sleep and not having a very healthy lifestyle.
4. What discrepancies are there between their inner self (who they feel they are) and their outer self (how they present themselves to others)? Despite thinking himself pretty good at his job, Zenkichi tends to get dunked on (deservingly) by the Phantom Thieves in the game. He also jokes a lot as a way to disperse a situation; an example is when the protagonist asks him if he'd been stalking them and instead of denying it laughs and says "we'll ain't that a PubSec description if I ever heard one."
For the most part how Zenkichi is on the inside and what he presents to others is the same now that he's had a Persona awakening and admitted his own faults and reaffirmed his convictions. Most would have easily been broken by the string of fates he was forced to endure at the hands of corrupt officials, but the weight of that is hidden away by the facade he presented himself with to the Phantom Thieves as a knight in shining armor who would aid them with a deal (with the initial plan to just use them to aid him in getting Owada eventually).
5. What would make them happiest and why? Since he is from endgame and if we don't consider his wish into consideration (because his wife being alive would make him the happiest, but I feel I keep just saying that), Zenkichi has a lot right now for him to be the happiest he's been for the past two years - a re-connection with his daughter, the politician who killed his wife arrested, the corruption in the force laid out in the open. At this point he probably just wants a long vacation with his daughter, his parents-in-law and nothing supernatural happening for a while.
6. What characteristics does someone need to have to be your character's ideal significant other? While Aoi does not have a portrait, it is easy to see that she was his ideal significant other as he speaks of her very fondly. Since he worked a lot, she would take care of their daughter a lot more than he did, so someone who is good with kids is definitely important to him, as well as cook (he barely does it).
Despite making it sounds like he just wants a housewife, it's more now on the side of "I want someone to teach me how to cook" and also "I don't want someone who hates children and berates them". He likes a partner with a very strong personality, preferably that matches his own. Having lived in a marriage, he wants a connection, Zenkichi really isn't looking for just a fling, as evidenced that he hasn't dated anyone since his wife died two years ago.
7. Would your character make a sacrifice to save someone else and why or why not?Yes, definitely,
especially if the character in question was in a helpless situation. An example in the game is in Akane's Jail, before he awoke as a Phantom Thief.
Since most of the Phantom Thieves had been captured by his daughter's Shadow, he had to sneak into the Jail with just Oracle guiding him. She outright told him that if he was spotted, he had no powers and would likely be killed. Zenkichi told her that he would risk it for his daughter's life and rescuing the rest of her friends.
8. What is one thing they would tell their younger self if they had the chance, or if your character is young, what is one thing they would want their older self to remember?Buy stock He'd tell his younger self to always cherish every moment he has with the one he loves, as, like a wave, it only lasts for a certain time and eventually returns to the water.
As much as he
wishes he could say something specifically, like tell him the exact date and time of his wife's death to try and stop it, he also, deep down, knows that it might cause a cascading series of events that might mean he never helped out the Phantom Thieves and perhaps would have caused the world to end.
If that is true or not, he doesn't know, but Zenkichi would never want to risk it. If he could find a way to make sure it doesn't change anything, that would be his pick.
9. When in dire circumstances does your character fight, flee, freeze or fawn and how does that look? Fight. He had to do that not only a few times during the course of the game, but also just as a detective, he's had his share of dire circumstances he'd had to fight through.
He tends to be able to keep a cool head and analyze first. If all else fails, he will go in guns blazing (literally and figuratively) as he has attacked people threatening the Phantom Thieves, then saying it was merely self-defence. Zenkichi can throw a good punch and mean it. The Police Forces in Japan are required to take either Judo or Kendo during their training and Zenkichi took up Kendo.
10. Why did your character make the wish they did? It's a very selfish wish and he knows it, but he feels his wife was the heart and soul of their family, and he has lost a large part of himself when she died - even worse that she died unfairly to a drunk driver (who was corrupted, adding a heavy wound to it all). If he'd be granted this wish now, yesterday or even ten or twenty years down the line, it would always be the same.
At the very least, he'd want to give her a proper goodbye since he never got to do that either. He needs to weep in her arms at least one last time.
