Persona
In the world of PersonaMUSH, a select few are able to channel a supernatural strength from within themselves. The powers take the form of a figure of myth or legend that has a personal connection to the user. As the self grows in strength and purpose, the Persona truly becomes the armor and the blade by which that person overcomes the hardships of the world. This is the power known as Persona, and those who utilize it are the Persona-Users.
In this file, we will discuss the basics of what a Persona is, as well as some of the mechanics and considerations.
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Overview
In Jungian psychology, a persona is a kind of mask or armor, the social face of an individual. People wear many masks in their lives, picking them up and discarding them according to the situation. In truth, these all represent facets of their personality, all of them reflecting a portion of the whole. Jung also posited the idea of the collective unconsciousness, a concept that things are shared on an unconscious level between all of humanity. Certain ideas he termed archetypes have particular weight and are repeated from culture to culture in various forms, including such constructs as the mother goddess, the trickster, or the wise old man.
PersonaMUSH draws from these ideas in the concept of a Persona. A Persona is a reflection of a significant part of one's self rather than any true manifestation of this deity or that historical figure. No one mask can encompass the whole of one's self, but a Persona signifies what has the greatest amount of weight for a particular person. Derived from the collective unconsciousness of humanity, the identity of that Persona is one of countless figures that may resonate with a person's self. It's from the metaphorical donning of one of these masks that a Persona is born, a part of the self given shape and form.
To phrase the above more simply, a character's Persona is a part of them, and it takes on the form of a particular mythological, historical, folklore or literary figure that suits the character's personality.
While it is not considered IC information for the most part, Personas and Shadows are one and the same: a Persona is a controlled Shadow, and a Shadow is an uncontrolled Persona. It's entirely possible for someone to lose control over their Persona and thus risk it eventually reverting into a Shadow, as well as for someone to integrate and accept their Shadow as a part of themselves and gain a Persona. Someone who gains a Persona by facing their Shadow within the Midnight Channel (see NEWS SHADOWS2 and NEWS PERSONA-GAINING4) may in fact notice that there are some general visual similarities between their Shadow and their Persona.
Persona Selection
A Persona can have its origin in a variety of sources. Mythology, particularly concerning gods, is a common source, but so are literature, folkore, and cultural and historical figures. Whatever source they draw upon, they always have a close tie with the character's personality.
In OOC terms, the only restrictions on a Persona is that first of all, historical figures must have died before 1900; mythological or fictional entities must have been published or popularized before 1900. The sole exception to this rule is the Lovecraft mythos, and these choices will be highly scrutinized since some of the entities are unsuitable as Persona due to their vastly inhuman nature which runs counter to the theme of a Persona. For example, Azathoth is never a good choice for a Persona. Secondly, certain high-powered entities from Shin Megami Tensei and related spin-offs are similarly out of bounds, such as Lucifer, Alice, Satan and Lilith.
Generally, it is suggested that players try not to pick the same Persona as someone else for the sake of their own uniqueness. It is not disallowed, though. Most figures have several names, so if that perfect Persona has already been taken, consider using it under a different name. Check +personamasterlist if you are interested in seeing what Personas have been taken. Some Personas may exist as generics here -- that is, Personas that anyone can freely summon if they meet the requirements (see NEWS SOCIAL-LINKS). If a Persona you are interested in exists as a generic, you will need to prefix 'True' to the name of your Persona or use another name if one exists. For example, if you wanted to have Phaleg as a Persona, your Persona would be named True Phaleg to distinguish it from the generic form.
Usage
After awakening to the power, a character automatically understands perfectly what they must do to bring it forth, though they may not know what they are bringing forth. There is not necessarily part of the process that names the Persona specifically for what it is; it is possible to mistake a Persona for a guardian angel or spirit before one better understands what they are doing. The Velvet Room (See NEWS VELVET-ROOM) will provide a character with the basic information that they need and more, should they find their way to it, though other characters can certainly perform the process of explaining what a Persona is. The summoning itself is straightforward, and depends on what mechanism the character used to gain their power, be it brandishing a tarot card and calling for their Persona to come out or aiming an Evoker to their head and pulling the trigger. Regardless of method, the underlying principle is the same: focusing the mind and bidding their other self emerge into reality. See NEWS PERSONA-GAINING for specific details on summoning methods.
Their appearance furthermore is usually marked by light. An brief blue aura is present around the person in some cases as it emerges, or a bright blue light just beneath their feet. A Persona, when summoned, is typically insubstantial outside attacks or other abilities that require it to be otherwise; they may freely make physical contact with their summoner. A Persona is an extension of the self and does exactly as its summoner intends. Commonly, they may appear and disappear as part of attacking, or they may remain out to offer defense as well; this depends on the situation and the Persona-user. 'Support Persona'-users such as spotters are the ones most likely to have their Personas remain out through an entire battle (see NEWS SUPPORT-PERSONA for details).
When a Persona fails to obey commands and acts on its own, which may entail summoning itself, refusing to be banished, or behaving contrary to its summoner's will, though, is typically an ill omen that suggests the character's control over their Persona is slipping. See NEWS CONTROL for more details on this phenomenon.
A Persona, as stated is an aspect of one's self. This still doesn't mean that it can't be directly addressed; after all people can and do talk to themselves. The difference with a Persona is that there can be words--or the impression of words--in reply. This provides no great insight or unveiling of hidden universal truths: a Persona only knows what their summoner knows. Furthermore, no one else can hear a Persona but the summoner themself. Additionally, a Persona possesses a vague personality, present only as the way the Persona-user 'feels' their other self. Someone with the Persona True Ares may have the impression of a wild and bloodthirsty force resting within them.
What a Persona can do includes the following. A Persona can attack whomever it is directed to attack by their summoner, using any of the abilities it has access to. Typically they are directed to attack other people, demons or Shadows, but it is possible to direct a Persona to attack another Persona. A Persona may also briefly be used for certain difficult and heroic shortlived feats as an extension of oneself, such as gaining enough strength to pry open a door for a few seconds, or pulling up a falling person into arm's reach momentarily.
A character, as they develop ties and connections with other characters, develops the ability to summon additional Personas. These are termed generic Personas, and aside from a few that exist for free use as well as the first of the character's own arcana, they develop through social link points (see NEWS SOCIAL-LINKS for details). Accessed and 'equipped' in the Velvet Room by Persona-users, the generic Personas may take the form of physical tarot cards with their images or be directly drawn into the extra space within the character's being, they can later be summoned for use in combat or other situations where their use may be needed. This is the reason why new Personas cannot be equipped while in the middle of combat, the characters must go to the Velvet Room. See NEWS VELVET-ROOM for more information. Shadow-Possessed characters naturally use a slightly different method of accessing their generic Personas, as detailed in NEWS SHADOW-POSSESSED.
No one can be forced to use their Persona abilities. Ultimately, what one does with this power is their own responsibility, and no one else's. Therefore, a Persona-user cannot be forcibly coerced into using their Persona against their will, not even by powerful supernatural entities, though trickery is always fair game. Use of one's Persona is always a personal and free-willed choice; though of course, you can be fooled into choosing wrongly. Neither can a Persona be lost by any method but choice, though again they may be mislead, no matter the power of the entity attempting it. The sole exception to this would be the situation of those who have received an experimental Persona (see NEWS PERSONA-GAINING5) and have had their implant removed against their will.
Gaining a Persona
The methods and paths towards gaining this power are varied, and are covered in the file NEWS PERSONA-GAINING.
