lostgemini (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lostgemini) wrote2024-05-13 08:55 pm
lostgemini) wrote2024-05-13 08:55 pm
Entry tags:
Kou's backstory
Short version: The older twin of Goro Akechi. Kou acted as "Goro Akechi" in order to create alibis for them both, and keeping the public and Shido unaware of their status as twins. Survived the engine room where Goro didn't, and is currently on parole under the supervision of Sae Niijima. He's completely off-balance without his brother, and mostly goes through the motions of day-to-day life without much of a goal in mind. He promised his brother to live in his stead, but he's not sure what that means yet...
Long version: Born to a young woman who was in no way prepared for one child, let alone two, Kou and Goro lived in poverty for the first few years of their lives. Their mother tried to make it work, but her health, both mental and physical, steadily worsened over the years, and when they were both seven, it became too much. Kou found their mother dead in her bed, suffocated in her own vomit as she'd downed an overdose of the painkillers she'd been taking to take the edge off. Not knowing what happened at first, both boys would try to wake her up, only for it to fail. They spent days panicking and scared, begging for their mother to wake up, until finally, a neighbour called the police, and they were taken away from their small but (in their own minds) happy home. Put into an orphanage, and passed from shitty foster home to shitty foster home, they clung onto each other like their lives depended on it, because at times, it did. They were each other's only comfort, and as a result of their harsh childhood in the foster system, grew horribly codependent. While they learned to function by themselves, they needed to see one another again after a few hours, sharing exactly what happened and making sure the other was okay. This did not make things easier, and would result in more abusive situations, which in turn, would result in them clinging to each other even harder.
At age 14, due meddling of Yaldabaoth, they both ended up in the Metaverse, and awakened to their Personas; Goro to the ones we're all familiar with, Robin Hood and Loki, while Kou awakened to Wilhelm Tell and Thor, who are essentially an inverse of Robin Hood and Loki element wise: Wilhelm Tell is curse-based, while Thor is bless-based. In an accident, they each respectively used their Personas to induce a rampage incident on their current foster parents. Not long after, they would recognize Shido as their father when the man appeared on TV, and formulate a plan to get their revenge on him for cursing their mother with their existence.
It was decided that only one of them should approach Shido, and that they should keep their existence as twins a secret. That way, if one of them wasn't available for one reason or another, the other could step in. Not to mention, the reveal would be so, so very satisfying, simply imagining the look on Shido's face when he realized that there were not one, but two of them who had helped him to the top, but would now make it crumble from below, was amazing
And so, they did exactly that. They built themselves up as "Goro Akechi", and at age 15, managed to strike up a deal with Shido. Unbeknowst to them, Shido very quickly figured out that there was not one, but two brats acting like a loyal dog but clearly hoping to stab him in the back later. Still, he was amused by their idiotic actions, and as long as they did what was asked of them... heh. He'd leave it be. Their first kill in Wakaba Isshiki was nothing short of promising, after all.
Years went by, Kou and Goro built up Goro's reputation as the second coming of the Detective Prince (with no small part of that being pushed by Shido), and induced mental shutdowns and rampage incidents. They had become something horrific, but they convinced themselves and each other that it would all be worth it once they got their revenge on Shido. As always, the other was all they had, growing ever closer as they each played the part of the charismatic Detective Prince, Goro Akechi, while at the same time, the other was causing havoc in the Metaverse.
Then, the Phantom Thieves showed up, and everything played out pretty much as the story we're all used to, barring the fact that, in the privacy of their own home, Kou and Goro were different people. Goro accidentally revealed himself by talking about pancakes, engaged the Justice Social Link with Ren, and hung out with him. However, some of the outting withs "Goro" were actually Kou playing Goro, though really; at this point, they were close enough that one could describe it as two bodies, one soul. Since Kou and Goro agreed that the outtings with Ren were enjoyable, and they shared everything they did, Ren was able to rank up the Justice confidant by hanging out with either, though he didn't know there even was a "second" Goro Akechi. In actuality, Kou has his own arcana: the Karma, though this confidant would not be unlocked proper until the confrontation on Shido's ship. Unknowingly, however, the Karma confidant was being ranked up slightly even while Kou acted as Goro.
Kou kept to the Shadows while Goro joined the thieves, pretending he'd awakened when being accidentally pulled into the Metaverse by them, and joining in infiltrating Okumura's Palace. They'd planned to make Goro look innocent while Kou sniped Okumura's Shadow as his heart was being changed, and it went off without a hitch, providing Goro a solid alibi. However, as the pancake debacle still happened, the Thieves knew something was fishy, and they discovered the plan to set up the Phantom Thieves and kill Ren when Futaba bugged Goro's phone. They had not yet realized Kou existed, however, as the twins kept their phone for contacting Shido and entering the Metaverse firmly separate from the myriad of burner phones they used to keep in contact with one another.
The plan was still put in place, Ren was still arrested, and "killed" before they got Shido's name during a phone call with Goro, and started exploring his Palace. When Kou and Goro realized what had happened, they both went after the Phantom Thieves at the same time, intent on catching them off-guard. Goro confronted the Thieves first, but the Thieves did manage to defeat Goro and Robin. When that happened, Kou revealed himself, and surprised them by attacking from behind with Wilhelm Tell, though the Thieves did manage to block him off. Both Goro and Kou changed into their black mask outfits, using their respective abilities, and attacked the Thieves in a wicked pincher attack. Despite it all, the Thieves managed to emerge victorious, leaving the brothers exhausted and injured on the opposite sides of the room.
As Shido had known that "Goro Akechi" was, in fact, two people, two cognitive versions of him showed up on Goro's side. Too injured to go help his little brother, Kou was unable to stop Goro when he locked himself in the engine room with the cognitive Akechis and the Shadows. Fury turned into panic turned into more fury turned into emptiness; despite his best efforts, neither he nor his Personas could get through the door, and all he could was listen to his little brother plead for the Phantom Thieves to end Shido's crimes; for Kou to live. Reluctantly, Kou teamed up wth the Thieves again, throwing himself into changing Shido's heart in order to keep himself from thinking about the horrible emptiness his brother left behind. This, then, finally split the Karma arcana from the Justice arcana, leaving the former at ran 5 while the latter was at rank 10.
The events of Christmas Eve played out almost the same, except now, Kou was there too. When Sae showed up to ask Ren to turn himself in, Goro showed up too, and both Kou and Goro went with Sae, determined to never let his brother out of sight again.
Still, there was a nagging feeling beneath the sheer joy... he was sure Goro died, so how...?
In Maruki's reality, Kou quickly realized that Goro was, in fact, dead, and it was only his wish that brought him back. He couldn't bring himself to bring it up around the Thieves, however, arguing with Goro about it in private. He finally had his brother back, but... was the cost worth it? Upon Goro's insistence, Kou agreed that it would be unbearable to live in a manufactured, fake reality, though it was with great pain in his heart. They formally agreed not to tell the Phantom Thieves, especially not Ren, who seemed to have grown very close to both of them during the year, and they didn't want it to hinder their choice. Of course, on 2/2, Maruki revealed the truth, and they both confronted Ren to make sure he made the choice to continue on. Goro, because he needed to know for certain Ren would respect him and his wishes, Kou, because if Ren wasn't able to keep his promise to him and his brother... he wasn't sure he could take that. Ren confirming that he would fight, despite arguing with Goro about it (and Kou keeping to the side, unable to voice his own reluctance), brought him both immense relief and dread to lose his brother once more. However, the relief won out, and Kou's ultimate Persona, Palnatoke, was unlocked alongside Goro's Hereward.
When reality returned to normal, it was only Kou who was in prison now. He fully expected to spend his entire life there. However, both with the intervention of the Phantom Thieves and Sae Niijima, as well as Shido attempting to keep him out of his confession by implicating that he himself caused the mental shutdowns (something that frustrated Kou greatly, though in the end, they did find evidence that he was an accomplice to Shido, even if not exactly what kind of accomplice), he was released on parole instead of having to sit out his full jail sentence. In may, 2017, he got picked up by Sae, and was offered a room in the Niijima household, since Makoto was moving out anyway. The pain of his brother still raw, he didn't know what to do with his newfound freedom, and spent the first few months he got out of prison in his new room; the guest chamber in the Niijima household. Depressed, horribly off-kilter, mourning. He'd once again lost the one person in the world most precious to him, the one person in the world who made it possible for him to function.
Sae Niijima forced him to get his ass in gear by fall, and signed him up for online schooling, determined to make him finish his final year in high school. Remembering that he had promised Goro that he would live for both of them, he reluctantly followed along with her meddling, and is currently finishing up his third year. Online schooling was chosen since, while he isn't exactly a celebrity anymore, he still gets recognized here and there as Akechi Goro; just one more painful reminder. He hasn't gotten over the death of his brother, and while he's made an effort to "live"... it's still hard, and he often doesn't know what to do other than study, do schoolwork, or other menial tasks that keep him from thinking too much. He staunchly refuses to see a therapist or counselor, despite both Sae and the few Thieves who actively come to see him insisting.
- His associated arcana is the Karma (an alternative name for the Justice).
- Used to wield Wilhelm Tell and Thor as Personas. They have since fused into his ultimate Persona: Palnatoke.
- Kou wields the ability "Pure Furies", an ability that makes its target hone in on one singular thought and/or emotion, and as a result, drop everything in favor of that thought/emotion. Similar to Call of Chaos, but not quite the same.
- His version of Thor was of the Karma arcana rather than the usual Chariot.
- A failed Wildcard. Can, if wanted, recruit Personas of the Justice and Karma arcana, but has no idea it's a possibility.
Long version: Born to a young woman who was in no way prepared for one child, let alone two, Kou and Goro lived in poverty for the first few years of their lives. Their mother tried to make it work, but her health, both mental and physical, steadily worsened over the years, and when they were both seven, it became too much. Kou found their mother dead in her bed, suffocated in her own vomit as she'd downed an overdose of the painkillers she'd been taking to take the edge off. Not knowing what happened at first, both boys would try to wake her up, only for it to fail. They spent days panicking and scared, begging for their mother to wake up, until finally, a neighbour called the police, and they were taken away from their small but (in their own minds) happy home. Put into an orphanage, and passed from shitty foster home to shitty foster home, they clung onto each other like their lives depended on it, because at times, it did. They were each other's only comfort, and as a result of their harsh childhood in the foster system, grew horribly codependent. While they learned to function by themselves, they needed to see one another again after a few hours, sharing exactly what happened and making sure the other was okay. This did not make things easier, and would result in more abusive situations, which in turn, would result in them clinging to each other even harder.
At age 14, due meddling of Yaldabaoth, they both ended up in the Metaverse, and awakened to their Personas; Goro to the ones we're all familiar with, Robin Hood and Loki, while Kou awakened to Wilhelm Tell and Thor, who are essentially an inverse of Robin Hood and Loki element wise: Wilhelm Tell is curse-based, while Thor is bless-based. In an accident, they each respectively used their Personas to induce a rampage incident on their current foster parents. Not long after, they would recognize Shido as their father when the man appeared on TV, and formulate a plan to get their revenge on him for cursing their mother with their existence.
It was decided that only one of them should approach Shido, and that they should keep their existence as twins a secret. That way, if one of them wasn't available for one reason or another, the other could step in. Not to mention, the reveal would be so, so very satisfying, simply imagining the look on Shido's face when he realized that there were not one, but two of them who had helped him to the top, but would now make it crumble from below, was amazing
And so, they did exactly that. They built themselves up as "Goro Akechi", and at age 15, managed to strike up a deal with Shido. Unbeknowst to them, Shido very quickly figured out that there was not one, but two brats acting like a loyal dog but clearly hoping to stab him in the back later. Still, he was amused by their idiotic actions, and as long as they did what was asked of them... heh. He'd leave it be. Their first kill in Wakaba Isshiki was nothing short of promising, after all.
Years went by, Kou and Goro built up Goro's reputation as the second coming of the Detective Prince (with no small part of that being pushed by Shido), and induced mental shutdowns and rampage incidents. They had become something horrific, but they convinced themselves and each other that it would all be worth it once they got their revenge on Shido. As always, the other was all they had, growing ever closer as they each played the part of the charismatic Detective Prince, Goro Akechi, while at the same time, the other was causing havoc in the Metaverse.
Then, the Phantom Thieves showed up, and everything played out pretty much as the story we're all used to, barring the fact that, in the privacy of their own home, Kou and Goro were different people. Goro accidentally revealed himself by talking about pancakes, engaged the Justice Social Link with Ren, and hung out with him. However, some of the outting withs "Goro" were actually Kou playing Goro, though really; at this point, they were close enough that one could describe it as two bodies, one soul. Since Kou and Goro agreed that the outtings with Ren were enjoyable, and they shared everything they did, Ren was able to rank up the Justice confidant by hanging out with either, though he didn't know there even was a "second" Goro Akechi. In actuality, Kou has his own arcana: the Karma, though this confidant would not be unlocked proper until the confrontation on Shido's ship. Unknowingly, however, the Karma confidant was being ranked up slightly even while Kou acted as Goro.
Kou kept to the Shadows while Goro joined the thieves, pretending he'd awakened when being accidentally pulled into the Metaverse by them, and joining in infiltrating Okumura's Palace. They'd planned to make Goro look innocent while Kou sniped Okumura's Shadow as his heart was being changed, and it went off without a hitch, providing Goro a solid alibi. However, as the pancake debacle still happened, the Thieves knew something was fishy, and they discovered the plan to set up the Phantom Thieves and kill Ren when Futaba bugged Goro's phone. They had not yet realized Kou existed, however, as the twins kept their phone for contacting Shido and entering the Metaverse firmly separate from the myriad of burner phones they used to keep in contact with one another.
The plan was still put in place, Ren was still arrested, and "killed" before they got Shido's name during a phone call with Goro, and started exploring his Palace. When Kou and Goro realized what had happened, they both went after the Phantom Thieves at the same time, intent on catching them off-guard. Goro confronted the Thieves first, but the Thieves did manage to defeat Goro and Robin. When that happened, Kou revealed himself, and surprised them by attacking from behind with Wilhelm Tell, though the Thieves did manage to block him off. Both Goro and Kou changed into their black mask outfits, using their respective abilities, and attacked the Thieves in a wicked pincher attack. Despite it all, the Thieves managed to emerge victorious, leaving the brothers exhausted and injured on the opposite sides of the room.
As Shido had known that "Goro Akechi" was, in fact, two people, two cognitive versions of him showed up on Goro's side. Too injured to go help his little brother, Kou was unable to stop Goro when he locked himself in the engine room with the cognitive Akechis and the Shadows. Fury turned into panic turned into more fury turned into emptiness; despite his best efforts, neither he nor his Personas could get through the door, and all he could was listen to his little brother plead for the Phantom Thieves to end Shido's crimes; for Kou to live. Reluctantly, Kou teamed up wth the Thieves again, throwing himself into changing Shido's heart in order to keep himself from thinking about the horrible emptiness his brother left behind. This, then, finally split the Karma arcana from the Justice arcana, leaving the former at ran 5 while the latter was at rank 10.
The events of Christmas Eve played out almost the same, except now, Kou was there too. When Sae showed up to ask Ren to turn himself in, Goro showed up too, and both Kou and Goro went with Sae, determined to never let his brother out of sight again.
Still, there was a nagging feeling beneath the sheer joy... he was sure Goro died, so how...?
In Maruki's reality, Kou quickly realized that Goro was, in fact, dead, and it was only his wish that brought him back. He couldn't bring himself to bring it up around the Thieves, however, arguing with Goro about it in private. He finally had his brother back, but... was the cost worth it? Upon Goro's insistence, Kou agreed that it would be unbearable to live in a manufactured, fake reality, though it was with great pain in his heart. They formally agreed not to tell the Phantom Thieves, especially not Ren, who seemed to have grown very close to both of them during the year, and they didn't want it to hinder their choice. Of course, on 2/2, Maruki revealed the truth, and they both confronted Ren to make sure he made the choice to continue on. Goro, because he needed to know for certain Ren would respect him and his wishes, Kou, because if Ren wasn't able to keep his promise to him and his brother... he wasn't sure he could take that. Ren confirming that he would fight, despite arguing with Goro about it (and Kou keeping to the side, unable to voice his own reluctance), brought him both immense relief and dread to lose his brother once more. However, the relief won out, and Kou's ultimate Persona, Palnatoke, was unlocked alongside Goro's Hereward.
When reality returned to normal, it was only Kou who was in prison now. He fully expected to spend his entire life there. However, both with the intervention of the Phantom Thieves and Sae Niijima, as well as Shido attempting to keep him out of his confession by implicating that he himself caused the mental shutdowns (something that frustrated Kou greatly, though in the end, they did find evidence that he was an accomplice to Shido, even if not exactly what kind of accomplice), he was released on parole instead of having to sit out his full jail sentence. In may, 2017, he got picked up by Sae, and was offered a room in the Niijima household, since Makoto was moving out anyway. The pain of his brother still raw, he didn't know what to do with his newfound freedom, and spent the first few months he got out of prison in his new room; the guest chamber in the Niijima household. Depressed, horribly off-kilter, mourning. He'd once again lost the one person in the world most precious to him, the one person in the world who made it possible for him to function.
Sae Niijima forced him to get his ass in gear by fall, and signed him up for online schooling, determined to make him finish his final year in high school. Remembering that he had promised Goro that he would live for both of them, he reluctantly followed along with her meddling, and is currently finishing up his third year. Online schooling was chosen since, while he isn't exactly a celebrity anymore, he still gets recognized here and there as Akechi Goro; just one more painful reminder. He hasn't gotten over the death of his brother, and while he's made an effort to "live"... it's still hard, and he often doesn't know what to do other than study, do schoolwork, or other menial tasks that keep him from thinking too much. He staunchly refuses to see a therapist or counselor, despite both Sae and the few Thieves who actively come to see him insisting.