Revision as of 16:39, 1 August 2010

"The poor on the borderline of starvation live purposeful lives. To be engaged in a desperate struggle for food and shelter is to be wholly free from a sense of futility."

Eric Hoffer, "The True Believer", 1951

Profile

Men can be pushed in strange directions by what Fate hands to them. Once he was a prominent scientist, with a wife, a home, a life. Once he was working towards the salvation of humanity. Ten years ago, that was all ripped away in one hour of chaos and terror. Now, the broken, lonely wreck that was Kazuo Kagayama skulks in the darkness of Port Island, clinging to the only things he has left: Time and his own pain. He always wanted to make the world a better place, a safe place, and in a weird way, he still does. Even in the grip of his Shadow, he hunts the wicked. But with your eyes clouded by darkness and loss, it can be so difficult to tell who is the predator and who is the victim...

Skills

Tick Tock, Feed the Croc, Fallen from Grace, Ravaged Heart, Shattered Dreams, Pride Goeth, Like Sands Through the Hourglass, Time is Precious, I Can Hear My Thoughts Touching Every Second, Almost An Enemy, Darkness Will Swallow All Life In Its Own Pain, Time is Fleeting, Devourer of the Dead, Moments Lost Though Time Remains, Eater of Hearts, Got Your Scent, Eat Your Bones, Broken, Twice Scourged

Social Stats

• Expression: Crazytalk (1)
• Knowledge: Sage (5)
  • Weird Math: WHAT (5)
• Courage: Brave (3)
• Understanding: p͔̟̭̬̻̼̥̑͗͋͝ŏ̡̢̝̰̲̙̗͇͓̻̪͛͑̈̓t̴͎̙̦̫͚̣̬͕͌̌͡a͕̗͖̝̻̲͚ͧ͑͟t̸̳͎̮͙͚̔̐ͤ̆ͦ͐̕͢ͅó̡̱͔̯͈̫̟̫͖̰͗ͣ̓ͦ̽̄̅͠
• Diligence: Persistent (2)

Contacts

GET IN MAH BELLEH

*bestial roar of hunger*

Strange Math

"It's string based... similar to our Calabi-Yau model, but we failed to factor in the dark energy equations..."

Insane Stare

@_____@

Sympathy

"We are not so very different, you and I..."

Scraps and Shards

This section is designed to be a sort of 'RP-hooks' repository as well as a collection of trivia. Basically a collection of notes to myself. Constant work in progress, suggestions and questions welcome.

• When he's calm or focused, Kazuo speaks in a markedly educated mode.
  • Conversely, if his more 'animal' emotions are in ascension (fear, hunger, rage, etc), his speech loses coherence and cohesion, though is usually still understandable. Usually.
  • On the extreme far end of this, if the Lurker Beneath takes full hold, its speech is remarkably coherent, though it's hardly much of a conversationalist. It has full access to Kazuo's intellect and memories, and applies them directly and brutally to fulfilling its needs (usually hunger).
  • There are times when the damage to Kazuo's mind proves too great even for his Shadow to work through, leaving the man nearly comatose, or beset by delusions and flashbacks. During these periods, if he responds to outside stimuli at all, it is usually in a confused and/or confusing manner.
• Known to frequent the Port Island train station in particular, but has also been sighted at similar facilities around the area. Apparently something about the trains themselves interests him.
• Though the trail has long gone cold, someone with determination and connections might be able to track Kazuo back to the handful of survivors from the Port Island Kirijo disaster.
• Kazuo's Shadow, the Lurker Beneath, is an inversion of the Egyptian demon Ammut. Presumably, if he could be freed from the grip of his Shadow, it would revert to a proper Persona.
  • In Egyptian mythology, Ammut was closely associated (in a subservient role) with Ma'at, the Ancient Egyptian concept of truth, balance, order, law, morality, and justice. In its currently inverted state, this expresses as a fear and avoidance of things enforcing a "lawful" effect (i.e. constraining its hunger), most notably police and similar officials.
• It is a very real possibility that some factions know of Kazuo's existence, if not the details of his condition.
  • Strega, for one, has probably encountered him or signs of him down in the sewers.
  • The NWO may have retained enough interest in him to keep track of Kazuo after the Kirijo Disaster.
  • SEES, by this point, knows rather directly and horribly of his existence, as they were instrumental in removing the Key of Time given to Kazuo. Though they might not have realized just what they were pushing him back into at the time, they certainly do now.

Relationships

At the moment, largely all of Kazuo's "relationships" are more the Lurker declaring this person or another as known threats and/or prey. The only exception to this so far is Hinata Itoh, who he met in nicer circumstances. The fact that the Lurker regards her as something of a threat is causing a bit of dissonance within the man. Also of note is Mitsuru Kirijo, for even more drastic reasons. While Kazuo's conscious and reasoning mind acknowledges the reasons behind her actions, in his current state that part of his mind is rather badly damaged. Which leaves the Lurker to scream and hate her with a rage like the heart of a star.

Resonance

Kazuo's Resonance is of a very dark sort. Dark and heavy and somewhat cold, like the air in a tunnel that is not reached by the sun. Violence lurks around the edges, but also a sort of thin, breathy fear, threaded throughout the whole works. Like the quickened breathing and widened eyes of someone desperately certain that a predator has their trail.

The Lurker Beneath

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The Lurker Beneath

The Lurker is, at its base, a predator. It tends to regard most things as food, and is usually able to make those things see its point of view. The Lurker is a very large part of how Kazuo has managed to survive for the 10 years since the Incident, not only because of its ability to eat nearly anything but also keeping him safe (directly or otherwise) from the predations that many homeless have to fear.

Kazuo frequently has a "blackout" period when the Lurker forces itself to the surface, or hazy memories at best, like one might recall a bad dream. During these periods the Shadow physically manifests through Kazuo's body, assuming a monstrous (and rather large) battle form. These days, some portion of the man recognizes that he is Shadow Possessed, but his mind is so badly shattered that this knowledge does little good most of the time.

Soundtrack

Constant work in progress, suggestions welcome

The Lurker

• Apocalyptica - Path YouTube
• Apocalyptica - Until It Sleeps YouTube
• HalfLife OST - Cavern Ambiance YouTube (The Lair of the Lurker Beneath)
• Jesper Kyd - Wetlands Escape YouTube
• R3FORGED - Omen YouTube
• Sonic Mayhem - Noize Purge YouTube
• Static-X - Night Terrors YouTube

Kazuo

• Assemblage 23 - Infinite YouTube (Past events)
• Mediaeval Baebes - Kinderly YouTube (Look up the translated lyrics, trust us)
• Metallica - Until It Sleeps YouTube
• Nightwish - For the Heart I Once Had YouTube
• Sarah Brightman - Fleurs Du Mal YouTube
• Vast - Touched YouTube (His lost wife)
• VNV Nation - Beloved (Grey Dawn) YouTube (Another one for his wife)

Logs

10/18/2009 (4/20/2010 OOC)

Wataru Hoshimoto gets tossed into the sewers, wanders into the Lurker's territory. Gets closer to death than he probably realizes. Log

10/20/2009 (4/22/2010 OOC)

Kazuo, having scraped together a bit of money, finds the Lucky7 for some actual food, and talks a little with Hinata Itoh. Log

10/26/2009 (4/28/2010 OOC)

Masumi Hayashi has the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and is almost made into a meal for the Lurker. Log

11/16/2009 (5/19/2010 OOC) - Broken Fragments (Cutscene)

News of Lunarvale being tugged away into its own private hell stirs old memories...

11/20/2009 (5/23/2010 OOC)

Masumi finds himself the target of the Lurker's hunt again, but this time manages to get to some help at the Lucky7 in the form of Sayaka Takuma, Hinata and Kanon Itoh. Log

11/25/2009 (5/28/2010 OOC)

Thora Kobayashi encounters the Lurker Beneath, and manages to dissuade it from turning her into a meal. Log

11/30/2009 (6/02/2010 OOC)

Shinjiro Aragaki finds himself the next target of a hungry Lurker, manages to convince it to go elsewhere. Log

12/08/2009 (6/09/2010 OOC)

The Lurker tries to eat the Potential Hitoshi Taniguchi. Initiate SEESbomb! Log

12/27/2009 (6/28/2010 OOC)

Another Dark Hour, another hunt. But this time the prey has some protection... protection that seems a little out of control. Log

12/30/2009 (7/01/2010 OOC)

Mysterious doors start appearing to various people, and what lies behind them are things they'd probably prefer to leave behind. Log

The Door (Cutscene): Things start to go very badly for a few people as the past comes calling.

12/31/2009 (7/02/2010 OOC)

The path is opened, and the outside world discovers the Desert of Time. Log

1/03/2010 (7/05/2010 OOC)

An excursion into Dis finds perhaps more than they bargained on. Log

1/07/2010 (7/08/2010 OOC) *Temporal Ripple Event! Timestream forked!*

A second expedition into Dis that learns firsthand why you do not call up what you cannot put down. Log

Kirijo Group SEES Post

Hinata is missing! More Kirijo Infodump.

Even More Kirijo Infodump!

1/08/2010 (7/09/2010 OOC)

Aigis is feeling a bit out of sorts, so goes to see Dr. Kagayama for a talk and a tune-up. Log

1/12/2010 (7/13/2010 OOC)

The hunt is on for the Keys of Time! SEES Boardpost

A pair of Keyholders have a chance to discuss their situation in peaceful circumstances. Log

1/16/2010 (7/18/2010 OOC)

Aigis confronts the good doctor about his Key and his choices. Log

1/21/2010 (7/23/2010 OOC)

The first of the Keys is taken from its Bearer. SEES Boardpost

1/25/2010 (7/28/2010 OOC)

Kazuo and Mitsuru have a talk... that does not go exactly as planned. Log

Escape (Cutscene): A desperate man takes desperate measures to protect that which is dear to him.

1/27/2010 (7/30/2010 OOC)

Aigis goes to break the news to Kazuo's familyas to just what is actually going on. It goes about as well as could be hoped. Log

1/28/2010 (7/30/2010 OOC)

Kazuo's Key is taken by SEES after a hunt through the sewers and internal friction. Log

1/29/2010 (7/31/2010 OOC)

Timeline resumes normalcy in regards to Kazuo's patch.