Anonymouswizard's Astoundingly Assonant Random Banter #240

[Rater202]

Mom picked me up some sugar-free dark chocolate and dear god this is the good ****. Nice and bitter.

Local Texan.

Persona's a bit of an interesting setting, its basically urban fantasy but without drawing upon mythology and folklore the same way say, Dresden Files, Iron Druid Chronicles or World of Darkness does. its supernatural elements all relate back to the mind of individuals rather than anything shared or older- its all personal. at least, according to what I know of the Metaverse, which is admittedly not a lot. its very focused on the now rather than some spooky things from the dawn of time.

I mean, kinda? While PErsona very much focuses on the big personal issues, the Big Bads tend to be mythological figures taking advantage or instigating such things for their own long term ends.

Persona is also a subset of the Shin Megami Tensei series, which is ultimately about the cosmic conflict between Order and Chaos.

And the thing with the Collective Unconscciounsess makes it a bit of a chicken and the egg situation whether these beings inspired the mythology or the mythology inspired them but, I mean... At the end of the day does it matter where the God came from?

And apparently, every instance of a specific figure is an extension of the same entity—Alice the demon and Alice the Persona are the same entity, even if Alice the Persona is also part of Alicia the girl who has to struggle with regulating her repressed sadistic tendencies but has taken the first step by acknowledging that they're there and part of her, which sort of complicates the issue somewhat.

[LaZodiac]

Persona, and the Shin Megami Tensei series as a whole, is a very difficult series to like, really get clear and concise answers to, especially because Persona literally can only exist so long as Raido Kuzunoha stops Rasputin, which inadvertantly stops American Military Business Tycoon Thor from nuking Japan.

But also every SMT game kinda can't take place with the other ones (Except for the second game which is a direct sequel) because they all kinda exclusively involve roaming a different varient of a demon infested Japan.

Even the things that seem sensible, like what you said about Persona's being demons... isn't actually true 100% of the time. In P1 they kinda are the real demons, in P2 they explicitly both are and are not the real demons (long story), in P3 they aren't, in P4 they very much aren't and in fact the main antagonist is describably "just one regular high level boss from SMT's side of the universe proper", and in P5 they... are the demons, but explicitly human conceptions of those demons (which is slightly different from the metaphysical hell that all the actual demons come from that is birthed by the human consciousness).

Or in other words (and in my reading of it), Persona are what YOUR personal demons are (My Inari would look different than P4's, for example), while demons are what the collective humanity sees as them (up to and including beings that are just the same guy seen from two different groups being two different people). The reason why the protagonist of these games (and the main cast in P1 and 2) are able to use demon-like entities from the human collective consciousness because they're Jokers, beings with open souls able to take on the masks of others for a variety of reasons (students who are at the cusp of finding out who they are so much to the point they don't have a concrete reality, students who had their memories so borked by a demon that they have an empty space for extra headmates, you're the chosen sacrifice of Death Itself, you're the mirror that drew Izanagi out of hiding and she's angry about it, and you're someone capable of completely compartmentalizing parts of your brain so you just can do it you special little crime boy you).

[Rater202]

Or in other words (and in my reading of it), Persona are what YOUR personal demons are (My Inari would look different than P4's, for example), while demons are what the collective humanity sees as them (up to and including beings that are just the same guy seen from two different groups being two different people). The reason why the protagonist of these games (and the main cast in P1 and 2) are able to use demon-like entities from the human collective consciousness because they're Jokers, beings with open souls able to take on the masks of others for a variety of reasons (students who are at the cusp of finding out who they are so much to the point they don't have a concrete reality, students who had their memories so borked by a demon that they have an empty space for extra headmates, you're the chosen sacrifice of Death Itself, you're the mirror that drew Izanagi out of hiding and she's angry about it, and you're someone capable of completely compartmentalizing parts of your brain so you just can do it you special little crime boy you).

It's tied to Jungian psyhcology.

The Persona is the mask you wear to get through the day, the role you play. It's born from your Shadow, the parts of yourself that you dislike or are in denial of about yourself but that non the less need to be accepted in order for you to be a proper person. That's most clear in P4, where you actually have to defeat a shadow leading to somoene accepting it for them to gain the persona, but...

There's also a distinction between Shadows and Demons: Whether a Shadow is a reflection of a given person or just reflection of ideas from the collective subconscious it's still a Shadow.. Even if it's on and the same with an Established Demon.

...But I don't know what the difference is other than "in this game they're Demons and in this game they're either Shadows or Persona" but there seems to be a correlation between families of demons and the major arcana—a demon of one family with be a shadow or persona of a given arcana.

...Personally, I'd rather not be the Wild Card. Don't have to deal with that crap and since I wouldn't have Protagonist Powers I wouldn't have to deal with the fact that my powers level up based on plot beats. Developing our Ultimate Persona just in time to release Holy Hell on the Big Bad is cool but I'd rather level up via character development like everyone else.

[LaZodiac]

It's tied to Jungian psyhcology.

The Persona is the mask you wear to get through the day, the role you play. It's born from your Shadow, the parts of yourself that you dislike or are in denial of about yourself but that non the less need to be accepted in order for you to be a proper person. That's most clear in P4, where you actually have to defeat a shadow leading to somoene accepting it for them to gain the persona, but...

There's also a distinction between Shadows and Demons: Whether a Shadow is a reflection of a given person or just reflection of ideas from the collective subconscious it's still a Shadow.. Even if it's on and the same with an Established Demon.

...But I don't know what the difference is other than "in this game they're Demons and in this game they're either Shadows or Persona" but there seems to be a correlation between families of demons and the major arcana—a demon of one family with be a shadow or persona of a given arcana.

...Personally, I'd rather not be the Wild Card. Don't have to deal with that crap and since I wouldn't have Protagonist Powers I wouldn't have to deal with the fact that my powers level up based on plot beats. Developing our Ultimate Persona just in time to release Holy Hell on the Big Bad is cool but I'd rather level up via character development like everyone else.

Yeah, being a Wild Card would suck...

=====

Anyway, like I said: NaNoWriMo begins! And with it, the first chapter of the story I'm doing. Weird west modern fantasy, the kinds with gunslingers and sand storms and trans women that can breath fire.

Here is a link. I hope you all enjoy.

[Rater202]

...also, he kept hitting on Velma and she was not receptive. The joke, of course, is that nobody is receptive to it, but, you know, 25 years later...

...I don't know why this thought popped into my brain, but I want a JB revival, that crosses over with Scooby Doo again, and when Johnny hits on Velma she just says outright that she bats for the other team and Johnny switches tracks and asks if she wants to hang out and pick up chicks later.

[DataNinja]

and trans women that can breath fire.

Wait, are you telling me that that's not a normal thing that trans women can do? Methinks some friends have some explaining to do.

[BisectedBrioche]

Most of us can only double jump (as outlined in the documentary Celeste), but you get some outliers, like just being really good at using yoyos, or being a tiefling.

[Anonymouswizard]

Anyway, like I said: NaNoWriMo begins! And with it, the first chapter of the story I'm doing. Weird west modern fantasy, the kinds with gunslingers and sand storms and trans women that can breath fire.

Urgh, it's day 2 and I'm not even 200 words in! Stupid work.

I'm going for an alternate present cyberpunk LGBT romance thing. Hopefully I can use my day off to catch up.

Wait, are you telling me that that's not a normal thing that trans women can do? Methinks some friends have some explaining to do.

It tends to depend on how hot last night's curry was

[LaZodiac]

Wait, are you telling me that that's not a normal thing that trans women can do? Methinks some friends have some explaining to do.

It's a highly unique skill, we don't all have that one sadly/thankfully (answer depends on your degree of flamability).

Most of us can only double jump (as outlined in the documentary Celeste), but you get some outliers, like just being really good at using yoyos, or being a tiefling.

Yeah, that's the one! Makes getting to work much easier.

Urgh, it's day 2 and I'm not even 200 words in! Stupid work.

I'm going for an alternate present cyberpunk LGBT romance thing. Hopefully I can use my day off to catch up.

Good luck!

And oh, neat. That sounds good!

Also I hope you all enjoyed what I wrote, if you read it. It's fine if not though.

[DataNinja]

Most of us can only double jump (as outlined in the documentary Celeste), but you get some outliers, like just being really good at using yoyos, or being a tiefling.

Ah, I seeeeeeee. Makes sense.

...wait, I'm not sure if it does.

[LaZodiac]

Ah, I seeeeeeee. Makes sense.

...wait, I'm not sure if it does.

Maybe it's a regional thing. You can double jump if you're from Canada! Fire-breathing is more of a mid-west thing.

======

Oh hey on that note Chapter 2 is out now. You can find it here.

[theangelJean]

Maybe it's a regional thing. You can double jump if you're from Canada! Fire-breathing is more of a mid-west thing.

======

Oh hey on that note Chapter 2 is out now. You can find it here.

Colour me intrigued.

Spoiler: Cursed World: Mist and Fire

Show

Loving it so far. Enjoying the breadcrumbs, especially on second read.

Their love of plant life matched their love of humans

You know your readers ;)

Took me a while to figure out the Friar's explanation, even after the callback. You have a good balance between playing off familiar tropes and sprinkling in world-building, most of the time (the entrance to the tavern was particularly good) but the callback was the point where the amount of unfamiliar geography tripped me up. Maybe that's the idea - I can see how you're supposed to take it at face value and then go back looking for clues - but when I did, I couldn't quite figure it out. Will this story have a map?
I think it's the elision and overloading of "they" in that paragraph, actually. I wonder if it can be clarified without giving it away.

Are you going to polish it once the month is over? Do you want a copy-editor? Not that I'm the best person for that, and you probably already have one, it's just my grammarian fingers twitching.

Are we leaving the Friar behind? Can I speculate on his story now?

[LaZodiac]

Colour me intrigued.

Spoiler: Cursed World: Mist and Fire

Show

Loving it so far. Enjoying the breadcrumbs, especially on second read.


You know your readers ;)

Took me a while to figure out the Friar's explanation, even after the callback. You have a good balance between playing off familiar tropes and sprinkling in world-building, most of the time (the entrance to the tavern was particularly good) but the callback was the point where the amount of unfamiliar geography tripped me up. Maybe that's the idea - I can see how you're supposed to take it at face value and then go back looking for clues - but when I did, I couldn't quite figure it out. Will this story have a map?
I think it's the elision and overloading of "they" in that paragraph, actually. I wonder if it can be clarified without giving it away.

Are you going to polish it once the month is over? Do you want a copy-editor? Not that I'm the best person for that, and you probably already have one, it's just my grammarian fingers twitching.

Are we leaving the Friar behind? Can I speculate on his story now?

I'm glad you're enjoying!

Spoiler: Mist and Fire talk

Show

I'll probably construct a snippet of map to show the exact trail the story takes later, but here is a full world map if you're curious... though with the caveat that this map is a hundred years later. Dehali is roughly near the foot of the Walking Mountains, and back then the roads wouldn't be there. The coastal city mentioned would be south east of Dehali, and closer to it than Markaz-amn is.

I imagine I will polish the story later, once Nanowrimo is done, I'm just not sure when. I'm mostly taking this as a break from Hidden Embers work so I can refresh myself, practice just getting the story out, and so on. In the future I may appreciate it!

This is probably the last time we'll see the friar, he's just meant to be our first taste/reminder of "hey, this is the Cursed World setting; there's gonna be demons and supernatural stuff hidden in plain sight, because they're Just People here" and not a recurring character. That said, absolutely speculate, I love reading stuff like that!

And since I've apparently left it a bit unclear, I'll explain the idea of what all happened here, for those who want to know directly:

Spoiler: Zodi rambles

Show

the idea is that Exova sent a ship of soldiers and engineers to Trestaria, to try and build a train tunnel through the Walking Mountains. Felisians from the north-west spread downward, and exploratory scouts (really more glorified hit-squads) found the men in question, and tore them to pieces. The future friar and three of the engineers survived, thanks to the fact that said friar isn't human (something that was kept from the others). With no real way to contact home- Felisia has all but taken Trestaria so it's likely any ships trying to hit the coast would be stuff- the four turned to banditry to survive. But something about exploiting a kid to make money broke the friar's spirit, and he's tried to make ammends... as much as one can.

It's a messy story, and honestly a bit more rushed than I'd typically do this sort of thing, but I put it in my head that I shouldn't linger too much in the opening for this one. This is a story about Saila and Noble adventuring across Trestaria, it shouldn't stay too long in Dehali.

[Form]

I've managed to pass the AZ-204 certification exam and on the first attempt at that. I figured I'd fail the first time, plug the gaps in my knowledge based on my exam performance, and then go in a week later for a second attempt or possibly move things to January/February next year, but it's really nice that I won't have to do any of that. Burning away a good chunk of my free time has paid off and now I won't have to do that anymore. So next Friday I'll actually have the entire day off.

Now I get to play video games and drink beer.

I'm glad you're enjoying!

I've got a question about the world you've built, if you feel like expanding on it. I think you said the river delta in Kaiga is artificial and the Kumo-no-sui creates it? Why does Kaiga do that and what is the cultural and/or religious significance of the Kumo-no-sui? I'm curious as to what that place looks like. Should I imagine the Kumo-no-sui as a temple, industrial complex, city or something else?

[Mystic Muse]

I've managed to pass the AZ-204 certification exam and on the first attempt at that. I figured I'd fail the first time, plug the gaps in my knowledge based on my exam performance, and then go in a week later for a second attempt or possibly move things to January/February next year, but it's really nice that I won't have to do any of that. Burning away a good chunk of my free time has paid off and now I won't have to do that anymore. So next Friday I'll actually have the entire day off.

Now I get to play video games and drink beer.

Nice! Enjoy your time off


I was feeling the same way about MS-900. Glad I passed first attempt.


Hopefully MS-100 in December goes as well!

[LaZodiac]

I've managed to pass the AZ-204 certification exam and on the first attempt at that. I figured I'd fail the first time, plug the gaps in my knowledge based on my exam performance, and then go in a week later for a second attempt or possibly move things to January/February next year, but it's really nice that I won't have to do any of that. Burning away a good chunk of my free time has paid off and now I won't have to do that anymore. So next Friday I'll actually have the entire day off.

Now I get to play video games and drink beer.

I've got a question about the world you've built, if you feel like expanding on it. I think you said the river delta in Kaiga is artificial and the Kumo-no-sui creates it? Why does Kaiga do that and what is the cultural and/or religious significance of the Kumo-no-sui? I'm curious as to what that place looks like. Should I imagine the Kumo-no-sui as a temple, industrial complex, city or something else?

Congrats! And have a lovely time celebrating your victory, you earned it.

Yeah, that's correct. Kaiga did that in part because of pressure from Felisia- historically blood has always been kinda bad between the two and it eventually hit a point where "we may not be able to meet our agricultural needs without making a work of it" and they started working on diverting the river that comes from Mt Shizukaze in places. It was a slow, gradual process, and while it did work (turning some decent farmland areas into highly successful farmland areas) it was only with the dawn of modern technologies that they were able to set up the full system, to better regulate and control it, leading to the mess of islands we have today. The Kumo-no-sui was likely built into a river town, said town getting a massive influx of residents who were working on the damn thing (pun intended).

Culturally, the Kaigan god is an artist and patron OF artists, and for much of its history Kaiga was a divinely righted shogunate, so as a result the actual tributary facility has an artistic flare to it. It's an industrial building, but designed to look good. And of course during war times, due to the face that it IS a very large and sturdy building, it likely served a dual purpose as a forward base as well, so the river town (and the facility itself) probably have a "city and castle" feel to them.

The Kumo-no-sui is seen by most to be a pretty important landmark in Kaigan history. It's a very big social work project that looks good and helps their nation prosper, it shows how they have complete dominion over the land their god painted for them. I imagine in war times it likely featured in propaganda pieces, and during the time of the Shogunate it likely held some weight as a second home.

Nice! Enjoy your time off

I was feeling the same way about MS-900. Glad I passed first attempt.

Hopefully MS-100 in December goes as well!

Good luck love! I'm cheering for you!!

[Beeftank]

I did the helo-dunker this week. Having to unbuckle and escape from an upside-down and submerged helicopter was neat, but my sinuses got filled with pool water of questionable cleanliness and my body is not here for it.

[Peelee]

I did the helo-dunker this week. Having to unbuckle and escape from an upside-down and submerged helicopter was neat, but my sinuses got filled with pool water of questionable cleanliness and my body is not here for it.

That sounds pretty dang neat, except for the sinuses part. Bytheway, I was going to go look up your old posts to reply to in here to let you know I got a 50 minute mile swim tonight! I was pretty ecstatic about it.

[LaZodiac]

I did the helo-dunker this week. Having to unbuckle and escape from an upside-down and submerged helicopter was neat, but my sinuses got filled with pool water of questionable cleanliness and my body is not here for it.

Impressive! Sucks about the full body revulsion of pool water jamming you up.

That sounds pretty dang neat, except for the sinuses part. Bytheway, I was going to go look up your old posts to reply to in here to let you know I got a 50 minute mile swim tonight! I was pretty ecstatic about it.

Oooh, awesome!

While we're posting our wins, I'd just like to note that I got the job at the new law firm! I am now sitting pretty for the forseeable future!

[Rater202]

It seems that a conga-line of congratulations is in order.

...I'll see myself out.

[theangelJean]

*joins the conga line*

...and-a-one and two and threeee-kick! And-a-one and two and...

[Form]

I did the helo-dunker this week. Having to unbuckle and escape from an upside-down and submerged helicopter was neat, but my sinuses got filled with pool water of questionable cleanliness and my body is not here for it.

That sounds so goddamn cool. The only way it could be cooler is if the helicopter exploded behind you whilst swimming away.

While we're posting our wins, I'd just like to note that I got the job at the new law firm! I am now sitting pretty for the forseeable future!

I'm glad to hear that. Here's to hoping for some real long term stability.

[Manga Shoggoth]

While we're posting our wins, I'd just like to note that I got the job at the new law firm! I am now sitting pretty for the forseeable future!

You get seats?? In my youth you had to sit on your forms!

None the less, Congratulations! That's one bar cleared.

To further confuse you all, amongst a host of other meanings a old-fashioned meaning of form is a long bench; co-incidentally, lawyers make extensive use of forms, and also work in front of the bench whilst being at the bar. There's nothing sinister going on here, but I think the puns are getting out of control.

[Peelee]

While we're posting our wins, I'd just like to note that I got the job at the new law firm! I am now sitting pretty for the forseeable future!

HUZZAH! Hope you enjoy it!

That sounds so goddamn cool. The only way it could be cooler is if the helicopter exploded behind you whilst swimming away.

While he's still in the water? No. Nonononononono. Bad. Very bad. Extremely bad.

[Beeftank]

While we're posting our wins, I'd just like to note that I got the job at the new law firm! I am now sitting pretty for the forseeable future!

Nice, glad to hear that worked out for you.

Also good job with the mile swim Peelee, that’s an impressive feat.

Also an exploding helicopter while I was in the water would liquify my organs if I was nearby. The “walk away without looking back at the exploding vehicle” isn’t something I’ll learn until later.

[Form]

Also an exploding helicopter while I was in the water would liquify my organs if I was nearby. The “walk away without looking back at the exploding vehicle” isn’t something I’ll learn until later.

That's why you put on the shades right when the explosion happens. The coolness protects you from the explosion, you know. *sagely nod*

[LaZodiac]

HUZZAH! Hope you enjoy it!


While he's still in the water? No. Nonononononono. Bad. Very bad. Extremely bad.

I think I will! I'll certainly enjoy being paid what I'm owed, for one

That sounds so goddamn cool. The only way it could be cooler is if the helicopter exploded behind you whilst swimming away.

I'm glad to hear that. Here's to hoping for some real long term stability.

Fingers crossed! It's a salaried position so it should be... and this could be a good way to get my foot into a cushy government job so I could be set for life.

You get seats?? In my youth you had to sit on your forms!

None the less, Congratulations! That's one bar cleared.

To further confuse you all, amongst a host of other meanings a old-fashioned meaning of form is a long bench; co-incidentally, lawyers make extensive use of forms, and also work in front of the bench whilst being at the bar. There's nothing sinister going on her, but I think the puns are getting out of control.

That's a good one and I'll be sure to use this knowledge wisely. Might make a good joke later down the line.

EDIT @Beeftank who I coulda swore I quoted: Thanks for the well wishes! If you're glad, think about how I feel, haha!

======

Oh hey, Chapter 3 time. Here's a link for y'all to enjoy!

[Peelee]

That's why you put on the shades right when the explosion happens. The coolness protects you from the explosion, you know. *sagely nod*

In the air. Not in the water. Water is cool enough to overwhelm that protection. And is incompressible.

[Rater202]

So as of the recent DLC for Resident Evil 8, Rosemary Winters is, basically, everything that the project that mad the Wesker children(and, in particular, everything Abert Wesker wanted to be) and probably without that being anyone's intent.

Her powers are completely natural two her and her parents being infected by the metamucyte was the result on an unplanned outbreak. No one experimented on her, and she was raised to be a person first and a weapon not at all.

I can't help but appreciate the irony.

[Bartmanhomer]

Hey everyone. This Thanksgiving my older brother will cook dinner as usual. He's going to cook:

Turkey
Stuffing
Cranberry Sauce
Ham
Ribs
Corn beard
Meatloaf
Rice
Potato Pie
Pumpkin Pie
Apple Pie
Yams
Spinach
Broccoli
Collard Green
Pig's Feet

And many more. The Ultimate Soul Food. 😃👍🏿🙂😈