ɢᴏʀᴏ "ᴘᴜɴᴋ-ᴀss ʙɪᴛᴄʜ" ᴀᴋᴇᴄʜɪ

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Player
Name: Michelle
E-mail: sweetstacking@gmail.com
Preferred Contact: sweetstacks @ plurk
Timezone: PST
Current Characters in Victory Road: None

Character
Name: Goro Akechi
Series: Persona 5
Timeline: Rank 10 Confidant
Canon Resource Links: Persona Wiki

Personality: CW FOR SUICIDE AND CHILD ABUSE
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER SPOILERS ABOUND

Everything about Goro Akechi is a lie.

... for the most part, anyway. Akechi, as he's most commonly known, seems pleasant on the outside. He's polite and intelligent. He speaks quietly, calmly, never really raising his voice. That's expected of him as an ace detective who works very closely with the Tokyo police, all of whom are adults. There's a reason he's known as the Charismatic Detective, after all--it's a title well-earned, and which has garnered him a faithful, almost obsessive following. He's easy to get along with, and he treats many people with respect. He has a slightly self-deprecating sense of humor, and as he's fairly young, he connects with his fans quite easily. Behind the charm, wit, and intelligence, Akechi is still just.... a kid. He's young, and so he seeks out friendship with the protagonist (who'll be referred to as Akira Kurusu), even going so far as to visit his caretaker's business, Leblanc. He spends hours drinking coffee, and making conversation with Sojiro Sakura and Akira. Interestingly enough, Akechi has a tendency to show up when he's most needed, to insert himself into conversations. Akechi knows what is expected of him, and he delivers, seemingly willingly. After all, he wants to pursue justice, and so he's agreeable and easy to get along with. Often, his meetings with the Phantom Thieves are pleasant, even if they think something is off.

So, when he proposes a deal with the Phantom Thieves, they agree... even if Akechi dangles blackmail above their heads. Still, it's good to have an ace detective on their side, and Akechi is smart and a valuable asset. He freely compliments his teammates on their performances in battle: He appreciates them for having his back, and he wants to make sure they know that. Akechi fits in well, a valuable asset in a particularly difficult palace. He has a wide range of abilities and his ability to think ahead and plan for anything is extremely valuable. It's almost scary how he manages to twist the rules of Sae's palace, and he does so without anyone really noticing. For all intents and purposes, Akechi is on their side, and he proves it time and time again. After all, he works toward pursuing justice.

It would be picture-perfect... if it were genuine.

In reality, Goro Akechi is angry. He's insecure. Akechi has had a brutal childhood: His mother committed suicide, and his father was never in the picture, which resulted in Akechi's being passed around the foster system; thus, Akechi started to believe that he was worthless, and so he became determined to prove that he was worthy of love. His insecurity is one of the reasons he hates Akira; he doesn't know why "attic trash" like Akira has all the things he never had. Why should someone who's a criminal have friends, people who love him, a better life than he ever had? It makes no sense to Akechi... and likely he's been obsessed with these thoughts ever since meeting Akira. His jealousy leads him to actually try to kill Akira. (It doesn't work, but he thinks it does.) For all intents and purposes, after murdering the person he's most jealous of, he's eliminated the source of his insecurity... and solving the Phantom Thieves case will bring him even more love and adoration.

As a further result of being in the system, Akechi has become hardened and essentially, any sincerity is snuffed out. He wants revenge on his father--Masayoshi Shido, a politician, and the man for whom Akechi works and who left his mother after she got pregnant with Akechi--and any other goal is useless and pointless. Akechi yearns for affection and attention. He wants to be the best, he wants to be loved, he wants to be acknowledged. While he is smart, he's also terribly manipulative. His reputation is built on a lie, and he stubbornly hides away the truth for fear of everything falling apart. Because everything hinges on his ability to hide the truth about himself, he wants to protect that... even at the cost of any relationship that might just be a touch healthy. Goro Akechi is an ace detective. Goro Akechi is a persona-user.

Goro Akechi is also a murderer who uses the Metaverse.

Consumed by the desire for revenge and acknowledgement, Akechi flung himself into the Metaverse. He initiates mental shutdowns by killing a person's Shadow, and then solving the case. Akechi knows that detectives, and good ones, can be well-respected and loved. And at his core, that's what he wants more than anything. Akechi is bitter, fueled and driven by hatred, and interestingly enough, he seems to, at some level, accept that he won't be truly loved. Yet he still works toward that goal. Funnily enough, Akechi desires love and approval, but he's also distant, unwilling to change his tune when he spends time with people who, even though they're aware of his possibly betraying them in some way, seem to really enjoy his company. They accept them, but Goro Akechi is first and foremost selfish. Anyone who gets in his way is a threat to be eradicated, and Akechi has the means to do so. Unfortunately, Akechi is still a tool; he's chained to Shido, and even though he hates Shido desperately, he is far from innocent. After all, Akechi was the one who sought out Shido and offered his services... as an assassin.

Akechi's far from innocent. He knows what he's doing, and he does it to further his goals.

And then he meets the protagonist. Akechi is further consumed by rage and jealousy that Akira has what he never will, what he never has had. He hates him so much, in fact, that he wants to kill him. Akechi is obsessed with Akira, despite genuinely liking him and feeling a connection to him. Akechi is dangerous, then, prone to hyper focusing on a person and unable to see anything else. It's an interesting trait to have in someone who touts himself as an ace detective, and it's likely Akechi doesn't realize how singleminded he can be. Akechi even goes so far as to impulsively enter the Metaverse to confront the Thieves, because he can't bear the thought of losing. This translates to his overthinking things; there are often pauses in his speech as he tries to sort out the answer people want to hear. It's another characteristic of his compulsion to lie. No one truly sees Akechi's true self, and he prefers to keep it that way.

Akechi might be self-absorbed and a terrible person, but in the end, he is plenty capable of self-awareness. (It's worth noting that in the spinoff Persona Q2, Akechi's experiences with the other Persona users opens his eyes to how unpleasant he can be.) Unfortunately, it takes someone slapping him in the face with what he's missed in his singlemindedness. Akechi knows what he's doing is wrong, but he really doesn't care as long as he gets what he wants. Of course... that's not to say that Akechi isn't capable of regret. He is. When he faces death, he likely on some level knows he's in the wrong. He realizes his actions are foolish, and that if he were to survive, he would be ruined.

So Goro Akechi sacrifices himself to save the Thieves. Because having the world see him as a fraud would essentially be the end for him.

But it also might be that he really does care for Akira Kurusu. After all, Akechi genuinely enjoyed the time he spent with the Thieves. It was the first time he could be a kid, could be himself--without all the baggage and issues. Akechi feels some sort of affection for the Thieves, because they once accepted him despite knowing his plan: kill Akira, ruin the Thieves, take the credit for solving the Thieves case. Akechi's affection for the Thieves, short-lived and surrounded by a web of lies though it was, doesn't excuse what he's done. It just makes him a little more human, and provides a bit of insight into what could have been, if only Akira and Akechi had met a few years earlier.

Pokémon Information
Affiliation: Trainer
Starter: Cubone
Password: Atomic Fireball

Samples
RP Sample: with roxas

Victory Road Sample: yikes: the thread

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