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[[caption-width-right:350:Lasciate ogni speranza, voi ch'entrate.]]

''Persona Rebirth'' is a PlayByPostGame forum loosely based off the ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' series of video games. The game has run consistently since 2010, and depicts an original plot taking place in the Persona universe, using the same mechanics as its source material. The site can be found [[http://persona-rebirth.com/index.php?act=idx here]] if you're interested or just want to read through all the topics. Be warned though: it's been known to dip into [[NightmareFuel some scary stuff at times]].

In 2003, a mysterious, supernatural disease tore through the city of Nagashima before suddenly disappearing as quickly as it appeared. In the same year, the people working in a laboratory investigating the disease all disappeared, apparently killed by an unknown force.

Ten years later, groups of people begin to wake up in the [[AbandonedLaboratory ruins of this same laboratory]] after seeing a vision of a golden butterfly. Since the incident that brought an end to its use, the laboratory has [[EldritchLocation become twisted]] and infested by Shadows. Shortly after waking up in the laboratory, these people awaken to the power of Persona -- a projection of their inner self -- and begin to fight against the Shadows.

Now, the Persona users of Nagashima have to find the answers to what lies within the ruins of the laboratory, while simultaneously facing their own [[BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind internal conflicts]], and those brought by Persona users with [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity less than good intentions.]] But even as they struggle to control the shadows within themselves and hide their identities from the public, the creeping threat of the laboratory's ruins still remain... and with the newfound knowledge that they only have a year to solve it, their struggles are only going to intensify.

'''NOTE:''' Website/TVTropes upkeep is not treated as a particularly high priority by Rebirth users. Some tropes listed may not be accurate to current events on the site, while others are only applicable to the pre-reboot version of the site and will be noted when that is the case.

'''A Note To Editors: Please place all character related tropes on the [[Characters/PersonaRebirth Characters]] page instead of the Main page!'''

!!Tropes related to Persona: Project Rebirth

* AbortedArc: Happens sometimes, since [=RPers=] come and go for various reasons.
* AbandonedArea: The Ruins is two distinct flavors of this, mixed into one area:
** AbandonedHospital
** AbandonedLaboratory
** GhostCity: The Inverted World at the bottom of the Ruins, a copy of Nagashima that looks just a bit... [[EldritchLocation off]].
* AcademyOfAdventure: Taiyoutono High and Reitaku High both serve as this, since the majority of Persona users hail from the two schools, and both have their own connections to the Ruins.
* AlienSea: The Primordial Sea at the bottom of the Ruins is a pitch black ocean filled with the building blocks for Shadows.
* AllMythsAreTrue: The number of mythologies serving as sources for Personae is staggering.
* AlternateUniverse: [[http://persona-rebirth.com/index.php?showforum=48 There's a subforum for it.]] The topics range from full on alternate versions, mini-[=RPs=], and ForWantOfANail scenarios.
* AuthorAppeal: Of varying degrees. Comes with the territory of being a roleplaying website.
* BigBad:
** Yoko Yamaguchi, a human scientist-turned-Shadow, was the main antagonist for much of the story, until it was discovered that she wasn't so much a villain as the linchpin keeping the Ruins from spilling out into the real world.
** Several threads have revealed that there's ''something else'' in the Ruins that has been manipulating events both within and without the Ruins, and may or may not cause the end of the world in a year. Characters have taken to causing this "the Entity."
** Aleksandria Fyodor was this for the first player-created board arc. However, her character and the results of her influence have gone by the wayside due to the reboot.
* BodyHorror: Pretty much a staple of Monster form. A good lot of Shadows also showcase this.
* BrokenMasquerade: Played straight pre-reboot with the Park Incident. Post-reboot, this was narrowly avoided due to the Park Incident happening at night instead, but Nagashima's Persona users are constantly fighting to keep this from happening, even as more of the Ruins leaks into town.
* CaptainErsatz[=/=]{{Expy}}: Very common character types.
** More specifically, Masao Mori, the Wild Card of the 2010 group, is clearly based on the archetype of the standard ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' protagonist, down to him being a NewTransferStudent and romancing all of his female Social Links. [[DeconstructedTrope It doesn't end well for him or his companions]].
* CityOfAdventure: Nagashima, the setting of the story, sits next to an abandoned laboratory full of horrors and is populated by a myriad of Persona Users who delve that same laboratory to keep the city safe.
* ContinuityNod: The [=RP=] takes place in the same world as the rest of the ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' franchise, so nods to events that took place in those games happen occasionally. However, the setting's fully removed from the events of those games, so no one in the [=RP=] knows the truth of what happened in them.
** It's been discovered that Matsumoto Technologies, the company responsible for the Ruins, stole some information from the [[VideoGame/{{Persona3}} Kirijo Group]] and was sued out of existence for it.
* ContinuityReboot: In 2018, the RP had to move to its own forum because of Zetaboards being acquired by Tapatalk. The user base took this as an opportunity to {{retcon}} away parts of the plot that didn't make sense, didn't fit in anymore, or were deemed too edgy. The focus of the plot also moved away from conflict between the Persona Users and the anti-User vigilantes and more towards exploring the Ruins and fighting its residents.
* CreatorsCultureCarryover: Though a few [=RPers=] try to avoid this, things that are undeniably American tends to pop up every now and again. The large number of American characters could be related to this as well.
* CreatorsFavorite: Many roleplayers tend to use one of their characters more than the others, if only because they feel more comfortable or confident roleplaying them.
* CurbStompBattle:
** Salome famously gave one of these to Ren after he tried to challenge her.
** Some of the Qlippoth fights have turned into these (from both sides), due to their unique weakness. Not everyone who encounters one has a Fusion Spell to fight them with, but they tend to fall quick when one is available.
* DarkerAndEdgier: The regular ''Persona'' games aren't all sun and rainbows, but ''Rebirth'' tends to dial things up a bit. There's a notable SurvivalHorror influence in ''Rebirth's'' setting and how information is doled out, and some of the player plotlines and characters can get into some dark material.
* DemonicPossession: Many Persona users begin to suffer from varying degrees of this, ranging from their Persona simply influencing their actions to it actually taking control of their body.
* DidWeJustHaveTeaWithCthulhu: Most of the Ruins Residents are now on friendly terms with the Persona users, but Mana Kogane especially tends to make this trope literal -- most conversations with her involve sitting around a table and snacking on some food.
* DidYouJustRomanceCthulhu: Possibly delves into this regarding [[ShipTease Treo and Mana Kogane]], although she seems to be teasing him more than anything.
* DysfunctionJunction: Persona users in Nagashima tend to be troubled but functioning at best and crazy at worst.
* EldritchAbomination:
** Shadows in general. Even the lowliest Maya is a walking (well, slithering) violation of natural law.
** Whatever "the Entity" is, it's probably one of these.
* EldritchLocation:
** The Ruins might have once been an underground medical facility, but the Eversion has since transformed it into a sprawling maze infested by Shadows, and there are parts of the Ruins that do not conform to natural laws (known as Tableaux by the users.)
** No Man's Land is a formless space that changes based on the thoughts of those entering it, often becoming perverse copies of locations in Nagashima with ''something'' wrong about them, whether it be classrooms turned on their sides with no change in gravity, or Chinese restaurants whose dragon mascots have suddenly grown to coil around the whole building. Space doesn't seem to work the same way in No Man's Land as it does outside it, as traveling through it allows you to go to places that you logically shouldn't be able to within the Ruins.
** The Inverted World is a rusted out, [[GhostCity abandoned copy of Nagashima]] populated by yellow-eyed copies of everyone who lives in the city, with signs that some [[AfterTheEnd great disaster]] was the cause of its state. Floating in the sky above the city in a constant rotation are masks that match up with the masks of the Qlippoths, and beyond those, a mysterious shining orb.
* EnigmaticEmpoweringEntity: The Golden Butterfly, presumably. It renders specific individuals catatonic, and guides them into the ruins, where they awaken their persona. Entering the ruins without being guided does not enable awakening.
* EnlightenmentSuperpowers: Half of the time, this is what Ascension means, at least in comparison to "normal" Persona users. Note that "Ascension" does not mean ascending to a ''good'' Persona: one can ascend ''wrong'' and gain a very different Persona with accompanying worldview. Most Users who "Ascend wrong" are also {{Enlightened Antagonist}}s.
* EnsembleCast: A given, due to the nature of the game. The number of characters involved is currently in the hundreds.
* EvidenceDungeon: Since the Ruins were destroyed while they were still functioning, the place is just chock full of extremely incriminating documentation of the violations of medical and scientific ethics that went on there. Since Matsumoto Technologies, the company bankrolling the lab, has gone bankrupt, and the only survivor who could really be charged for anything has since become a [[HumanoidAbomination Shadow]], it's unlikely this could actually lead to any legal repercussions.
* GameFace: When someone dons their mask, it is generally a signal that a fight is imminent.
* GeographicFlexibility: No one really knows where Nagashima is, beyond that it's on an island in a river on the west coast of Japan.
* GuardianEntity: While Personas generally help their users, that doesn't necessarily make them good or evil.
* HamToHamCombat: This is almost a given, considering most of the cast.
* HouseOfBrokenMirrors: The bathrooms in ruins all have broken mirrors, for some reason. No one's really sure why.
* HowWeGotHere: Played with. The very first document found on the site was an audio log from the moment of the Eversion, stating that the events that happened were the faults of the scientists there. Much of the focus since then has been on finding out what happened before that day that led to that moment.
* HumanoidAbomination: Several, due to how varied Shadow forms can be and the origins of what Shadows are.
** The Ruins Residents are a group of [[WasOnceAMan once-human Shadows]] that, in almost all cases, were present in the Ruins on the day of the Eversion and survived by being transformed into Shadows. Though all of them have [[AFormYouAreComfortableWith a human form]], it's just a cover for their more monstrous Shadow form.
** Qlippoths look like holes in reality wearing a Shadow's mask -- it's just that most of them happen to have humanoid forms. The Tower Qlippoth, notably, does not, instead taking the form of a ziggurat made of human hands.
** Multiple enemy Shadows that can be found in the Ruins have humanoid form, with some explicitly looking like people.
* InvincibleBoogeymen: Qlippoths, assuming you don't have a Fusion Spell. You can slow them down, but they can't be permanently defeated without one.
* InVinoVeritas: Salome clearly believes this, as she tends to get her guests boozed up while she advises them.
* LateArrivalSpoiler: Due to the fast pace of the forum, the large backlog of topics and events, and the [=RPers=]' love of discussing character arcs and ideas, things tend to end up being spoiled to new users fairly quickly before they can even read the relevant threads.
* LighterAndSofter: The 2018 reboot, in comparison to the pre-reboot setting. While Nagashima is still a bit dysfunctional and quirky, it's no longer a [[WretchedHive hive of criminal activity with a corrupt police force and teenage vigilantes running around]]. In addition, the incident where a Persona User went berserk and trashed Ruwashi Park now happened at night, had a far smaller body count compared to the {{masquerade}}-breaking tragedy of the pre-reboot Incident, and didn't result in the creation of an anti-Persona-User vigilante militia.
* MaskOfPower: With the acquiring of one's Persona, one also receives a mask. If he/she would like to summon their Persona, they must be wearing the mask.
* MeaningfulName: Played straight with a lot of characters.
* {{Metafiction}}: There is a forum within the forum, called "Bedlam."
* MisfitMobilizationMoment: The Persona users are a rather disparate group, but several events and the creation of a forum they can use to convene and inform each other of problems has led to several instances of this. There were several scattered events prior to this on a less organized scale, and there's no sign of this trend stopping.
* MindControl:
** [[StatusEffects Charm]] spells like Marin Karin can have an effect like this, though the effects wear off quickly enough and direct orders can be easily resisted. More often, they're used to endear the user to the victim and make the latter more suggestible.
** Mana Kogane has suggested that she's under some form of this, but has refused to elaborate as to how it happened.
* MoodWhiplash:
** One of the most defining traits of the forum. There are just as many topics involving wacky hijinks and the sillier side of the setting and characters as there are topics looking into the darker sides of people's pasts and neuroses.
** Shadow designs in the RP vary wildly: on one hand, they can look [[OurMonstersAreWeird absolutely ludicrous]] (a demonic baseball player, flying cats, a floating gym sock), on the other, they can look horrifying (a chimeric monster made of fused-together corpses, necrophiliac zombie mermaids, eyeless snail-human hybrids).
* MutualKill: Famously in the pre-reboot era, Nana Samurakami and Aleksandria Fyodor, ending the StoryArc that began with the actions of the latter.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: The 2010 Persona User group came very close to wiping the Ruins off the map and saving the day, preventing the events of Rebirth from even happening at all. But because their interpersonal drama tore the group apart, they never defeated the BigBad, allowing the Ruins to grow and new Persona users to awaken en masse in Nagashima.
* NotSoImaginaryFriend: Played with; while Persona users will come to recognize others' Personas through joint combat, the Persona talks to only its user and the trope is invoked if they appear as an hallucination, same with most Shadow Selves. Justified as Personas/Shadow Selves are the representations of one's psyche.
* OrderVersusChaos: It's implied that Salome and Elijah are supposed to be opposite ends of this dichotomy, but the two tend to muddle the lines in their interactions with Persona users.
* PerplexingPlurals: Based on the Greek, the plural of "Persona" would be "Personae", but the games tend to prefer "Personas" for their plural. Most users just go with what they prefer.
* PersonalityPowers: Note the definition of the word ''Persona'' and guess what it implies about the titular powers.
* PersonOfMassDestruction: Almost every named character, PC or NPC, can be considered this on some level.
* PlayByPostGame
* PlayingWithSyringes: Found in the backstory of the setting, and the cause of Mana Kogane's transformation.
* PowerBornOfMadness:
** Those who have "descended" are often considered this.
** When a character tries to use their Persona while under a lot of emotional stress, they turn instead into their monster form. This usually happens for RuleOfDrama.
* ThePowerOfFriendship: Bonds between Persona-users allow them to use [[CombinationAttack Fusion Spells]]. The stronger their bonds, the more powerful their spells can be. Unbreakable bonds also allow the users to gain access to more potent spells.
* RedHerring: In the early days of the site, Yamaguchi was almost always presented as the BigBad, and several documents seemed to imply that the "she" they referred to (who was responsible for most of what went wrong in the Ruins) was her. However, as Yamaguchi's true intentions became clearer, Mana began to act more suspiciously, and the first hints of the Entity began to appear, it became more and more obvious that Yamaguchi was not responsible for everything bad that happened in the Ruins. This was finally outright confirmed during the trip into the Enveloping Phantasy, where it is outright stated that Mana is "the core of this tragedy", though what that exactly means is still unclear.
* RPGMechanicsVerse: Much of the IC lingo mirrors how the meta-game of the ''Persona'' series is discussed, such as strength ranked by spell tier, scanners for analysis users and recent recognition that messing up your relationships is a bad idea in the Persona battles.
* TarotMotifs: A carryover from the ''Persona'' games, and explicitly invoked with the Qlippoths, which each represent a Major Arcana.
* TeensAreMonsters: Since most of the characters are under twenty, this pops up from time to time.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: The entire modus operandi of personal Shadows is to give these - what makes them dangerous and hard-hitting is that, most of the time, they contain elements of truth.
* TransformationTrinket: Upon ascension, Persona users gain access to what is known as [[{{Toku}} Armored Form]], turning their masks into this.
* WasOnceAMan: Every Ruins Resident was once human.
* WeHardlyKnewYe: A meta example. It's not uncommon for people to sign into the forum, make a character, post a thread or two with them, and then disappear forever from the forum. The forum does have a decently large and active community, though.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatPerks: Some Persona users, upon getting their powers, started using them to improve their lives in little ways, down to using them to run a forge for weapons and trinkets.
* {{Yakuza}}: Though they're not as ubiquitous as they were pre-reboot, there's still a yakuza presence in Nagashima. Some Player Characters are members of it.
* YouWakeUpInARoom: The most common premise for awakening threads, threads where player characters get their Persona.