Tropes Media Browse Indexes Forums Videos Ask The Tropers Trope Finder Media Finder Trope Launch Pad Tech Wishlist Reviews Tools
Cut List New Edits Edit Reasons Launches Images List Crowner Activity Un-typed Pages Recent Page Type Changes Changelog
Tips
Creating New Redirects Cross Wicking Tips for Editing Text Formatting Rules Glossary Edit Reasons Handling Spoilers Word Cruft Administrivia FAQ
Tropes HQ
About Us Contact Us Advertise DMCA Notice Privacy Policy Report Bug
Go Ad-Free Changelog
  • Show Spoilers
  • Night Vision
  • Sticky Header
  • Highlight Links
 

Follow TV Tropes

Following

Characters / Persona: Ascend

Go To

A list of characters in the Persona fanfic, Persona: Ascend. For canon characters, only list tropes that appear in the fic.

    open/close all folders 

The Paranormal and Occult Studies Club

A college club operating out of the Camus Institute of Higher Learning who command Personas in an expedition across the ruined civilisation of Agartha.

    In General 

  • Achilles' Heel:
    • Shouma's weaknesses vary depending on his equipped Persona, though Musashi is weak to wind and electricity.
    • Piers is weak to water.
    • Juniper is weak to ice.
    • Daigo, much like Shouma may switch out his Persona, although Kojiro is weak to water.
  • Action Girl: Juniper.
  • Badass Cape: How their Personas manifest while in Agartha. They're summoned by throwing them off.
  • Combination Attack: Fusion Spells, returning from Persona 2. The party is able to use their Personas' abilities together to form these moves.
  • Conspiracy Theorist: The cover story for the club. As far as the rest of the university knows, they're all just kooky believers in cryptids, aliens, and the like.
  • Contrasting Sequel Main Character: Compared to the teenage protagonists of the main games (with the exception of Eternal Punishment), the main characters of 'Ascend' are college-age adults.
  • Enlightenment Superpower: Just like in the main games, reaching a sense of clarity allows one to call upon their Persona in battle.
  • Multinational Team: Shouma and Daigo are both from Japan, Juniper and Lucas are American, and Piers is from Jamaica.
  • Red Baron: Each of the team's Personas has titles given to them.
    • Musashi - The Sword-Saint
    • Kojiro - The Swallow Swordsman
    • Anansi - The God of Stories
    • Seshat - She who Scrivens
    • Atash Behram - The Fire of Victory
  • Tarot Motifs: It's a Persona story, so this is a given. Each character has one of the Major Arcana based on their personality.
    • Shouma, as the protagonist, is The Fool. The card represents beginnings, free-spiritedness, and possibility. The story begins with him moving to Los Angeles and a new beginning, as well as his powers as the Wild Card allowing him to use multiple Personas.
    • Juniper is The Priestess: representing hidden knowledge and untapped power, as well as her role among the heroes as The Smart Guy.
    • Piers is The Magician, meaning confidence, talent, and taking action. It was Piers that helped Shouma track down Daigo, Juniper, and Lucas, as well as his eventual decision to help them despite his fear that allowed him to awaken his Persona Anansi.
    • Lucas is The Hierophant, meaning authority, wisdom, and a relation with the divine. It's still unknown how Lucas fits this.
    • Daigo is The Tower. The card represents revelations, sudden change, and pride before the fall. Daigo's entire modus operandi had to drastically change when Shouma inserted himself into the Agartha case. And while he clearly loves his brother, he still treats Shouma like a kid.
  • Wake Up, Go to School & Save the World: Downplayed. All the club's members are college students, allowing them greater flexibility with their schedules, but they still have to study and show up to the occasional lecture.

    Shouma Tashiro 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shouma_transparent_5.png
"I'm done with being fucked around with by everyone." note 
Arcana: 0. The Fool
Age: 18
Persona: Musashi, among others
Weapons: Swordbreakers
"...I have several questions. Don't answer any of them."

The protagonist. Shouma is a college student studying liberal arts that transferred to Los Angeles from Osaka to move in with his father and brother. He's a hot-headed man who acts first and thinks later, and will throw himself into any conflict he thinks he can help solve.

As the story's protagonist, Shouma is aligned with the Fool Arcana. His initial Persona is Musashi: a ronin from the late Sengoku and early Edo period of Japanese history who amassed over 60 wins in as many duels, before retiring as a Buddhist monk, where he would write the Book of Five Rings: a book on various techniques with multiple weapons, as well as a treatise on Buddhist philosophy and Bushido. As a Persona, Musashi appears as a blue-haired swordsman whose lower face is obscured behind a demonic mask, wielding a wooden katana resembling a boat oar and a jitte.

  • Abusive Parents: Averted with his father, who loves him despite their complicated relationship. But it's implied his mother wasn't the nicest person he knew.
  • The Ace: Averted. Shouma's first trip to Agartha has him get beaten to a pulp, set on fire, and stabbed before passing out from exhaustion at the end.
  • Attack! Attack! Attack!: His fighting style has barely any form or strategy to it, and could best be described as wildly swinging his sword around like a madman until whatever's in front of him stops moving.
  • Always Someone Better: While he's not resentful towards Daigo, Shouma feels inadequate in comparison to his older brother and like he has to live in both his and their father's shadows.
  • Badass in a Nice Suit: Shouma is dressed in a black blazer and pants as opposed to the school uniforms of canon protagonists.
  • Big Brother Worship: Shouma is very fond of Daigo, in part due to being separated from him for eleven years.
  • The Chains of Commanding: As POSC's vice-president and field leader, he often worries about the safety of the other members of the club.
  • Character Tics: Shouma will sometimes play with his watch when he's bored.
  • Chronic Hero Syndrome: Shouma will often run into situations without thinking, usually endangering himself in the process.
  • Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: Shouma dresses in mostly black compared to Daigo, who's dressed mostly in white.
  • Contrasting Sequel Main Character: According to Word of God, Shouma was designed with the intention of contrasting to Makoto, Yu and Ren.
    • To all three of them, while all transfer students all transfered to places in Japan (Tatsumi Port Island, Inaba and Tokyo respectively). Shouma conversely moved from Japan to Los Angeles in the United States of America.
      • He also acts as the Choleric to Makoto's Melancholic, Yu's Phlegmatic and Ren's Sanguine.
    • While both Makoto and Shouma are somewhat rude and standoffish, Makoto is more reserved and apathetic, while Shouma is angrier and perfectly willing to fight others. Makoto also avoids making friends and takes a while to warm up to them, while Shouma conversely is quite sociable provided you don't get on his bad side.
    • Both Yu and Shouma are white-haired protagonists dressed in black investigating a kind of mystery. However, Yu is The Stoic and was instantly respected by the other members of the Investigation Team while trying to solve a murder mystery, while Shouma is a hot-head that was distrusted by Daigo, Lucas and especially Juniper while exploring a lost civilisation. And while both Personas originated from Japan, Izanagi comes from Shinto, while Musashi was a real person who verifiably existed.
    • Shouma lacks Ren's charisma and playful bravado, being more blunt and straight to the point. Also, despite them both moving to the big city, Ren moves to Tokyo because of his criminal record, while Shouma moves to L.A. to reunite with Daigo and his father.
  • Dark and Troubled Past: His childhood with his mother in Osaka isn't something he looks back on fondly.
  • Dual Wielding: Musashi wields both a katana and a jitte at once.
  • The Hero: The main character of the fanfiction.
  • Heroes Prefer Swords: Zigzagged. Swordbreakers are actually a type of dagger used in dueling meant to be used as an offhand weapon to catch blades. Shouma's swordbreakers however, resemble actual, full-length swords.
    • Played Straight AND subverted with Musashi. Musashi was one of the greatest swordsmen in Japanese history, and pioneered the Niten Ichi-Ryū style of swordfighting. The Persona based on him wields a wooden katana, though he also uses a jitte in reference to his father, who was a master with the weapon.
  • Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The foolish sibling to Daigo's responsible.
  • The Good Chancellor: Of sorts. He was appointed the position of POSC's vice president by Daigo and their father, and does everything in his power to protect his friends.
  • Heroic Mime: Averted. Unlike the protagonists of the games, Shouma has a set personality and dialogue.
  • Hot-Blooded: Especially in combat.
  • The Idiot from Osaka: Downplayed. Shouma is by no means stupid, though he has a reckless streak. He's also from Osaka.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Downplayed. It's not hard to stay on Shouma's good side, but he has a hair-trigger that can explode if you push him far enough.
  • Making a Splash: Musashi specialises in Aqua skills.
  • Meaningful Name: Shouma's name contains the kanji "聖", meaning holy, priest, sage or saint; and "真", meaning reality and truth, fitting as his Persona Musashi would become a Buddhist monk who would write on the meaning of life later in life. His surname "Tashiro" is made up of "方", meaning path; and "白", meaning white.
  • New Transfer Student: To the United States of America, no less.
  • The Nicknamer: When he and Daigo met Igor as children, they both named him "Tengu-san".
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red oni to Daigo's blue oni
  • Serrated Blade of Pain: Double Subverted. While swordbreakers have "teeth" on their blade, it's for the purpose of catching blades in them, not to inflict more pain. Shouma however didn't get the memo.
  • Trademark Favourite Food: Ginger and Shrimp Okonomiyaki.
  • Tsundere: Shouma often comes off as rude and abrasive to some people, but he truly cares about the wellbeing of others.
  • Wooden Katanas Are Just Better: Musashi, being based on the Trope Codifier himself wields one such sword. Both based on the sword he wielded in his first duel against Arima Kihei, and also the one he wielded in his final duel against Sasaki Kojiro.
  • Sibling Yin-Yang: The Yang to Daigo's Yin.

    Daigo Tashiro 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/daigo_transparent.png
"A team is only as strong as the one leading it. You need to keep that in mind."note 
Arcana: IVI. The Tower
Age: 21
Persona: Kojiro, among others
Weapons: Nodachis
"I want you two to know something right now: My brother is not a burden."

Shouma's older brother, president of POSC and a third-year college student of archaeology who moved to L.A. eleven years before the start of the story. Much calmer and more refined than his brother, Daigo is popular with many students at the Camus Institute and has been a Persona-user for far longer than Shouma.

Much like his brother, Daigo is a Wild Card. His initial Persona is Kojiro: a swordsman from the Sengoku and Edo periods of Japan that specialised in the Ganryū or "Great Rock style" of fighting. He's famous for his rivalry with Miyamoto Musashi and their eventual duel in 1612 on Ganryū island that saw Musashi claim victory against Kojiro in front of both their students. Kojiro appears as a swordsman clad in red and white with a swallow-themed helmet and wielding a nodachi chained to its scabbard.

    Piers Fils-Amie 
Arcana: I. The Magician
Age: 18
Persona: Anansi
Weapons: Revolvers

A student from Jamaica studying at the Camus Institute who meets Shouma at a terminal. A kind and laid-back, yet playful young man who's traveled the world before finally settling down in L.A. to pursue higher education. He always makes sure to look out for his friends.

His initial Persona is Anansi: the spider-god of trickery and stories from the folklore of the Ashanti people of West Africa and brought to the Carribbean via the North-Atlantic slave trade. Anansi is famous for his ability to defeat and outsmart people, beasts and gods larger and more powerful than him; including the sky-god Nyame, where he took all the stories he was hoarding and gave them to the world. Anansi appears as a slim, pitch-black being with six eyes, multicoloured markings on its body and four spider legs behind its back dressed in gold and red garmets.

    Juniper Black 
Arcana: II. The Priestess
Age: 18
Persona: Seshat
Weapons: Bo Staves.

One of the founding members of POSC, a student at the Camus Institute and one of Daigo's closest friends. Juniper is an intelligent woman dedicated to her studies to gaining a lucrative career to the exclusion of most else, and comes across as cold and abbrasive to others; especially Shouma, whom she doesn't trust one bit.

Juniper's initial persona is Seshat: the seven-horned Egyptian goddess of knowledge, writing, maths, astronomy, architecture and many other domains related to scribing. She created writing itself and oversaw the many functions of the royal court of the Pharaohs. Seshat appears as a blindfolded woman made of marble with a third eye, seven horns on her head, paper hair and various runes from multiple languages over her body, as well as a halo of papyrus hovering around her and holding a palm stem.

  • Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Even more than Daigo to some extent. Juniper distrusts people she sees as amatuers (particularly Shouma), and rather they not get in her way.
  • Badass Bookworm: Juniper is often studying for college when she isn't exploring Agartha with Shouma and the rest of POSC. But when she is with them, she can kick serious ass.
    • Seshat appears, in some parts of her body, to be made out of paper herself.
  • Blow You Away: Seshat specialises in Garu skills.
  • Expy: Seshat is modelled after Adenine from Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
  • Horned Humanoid: Seshat has seven horns on her head, referencing her second name: "Sefkhet-Abwy" ("Seven-Horned").
  • Kung-Fu Wizard: Leans more on the "wizard" side than the "kung-fu" one as opposed to characters like Chie, but her skills with a bo staff would still make most martial artists jealous.
  • The Resenter: She trusts Shouma about as far as she could throw him. She views him as just an amatuer who barged in on the Agarthan expedition without thinking and yet somehow became the club's vice president over her, and she is not shy about voicing this.
  • The Smart Guy: Juniper is often the smartest one in the room at any given time, and is the one who comes up with the strategies that POSC uses against shadows.
  • Third Eye: The only eye of Seshat's that isn't behind a blindfold is a third eye on her forehead.
  • Tomboyish Baseball Cap: Juniper wears a blue cap with the Yankees logo on it.
  • White Mage: Seshat is a dedicated healer, that knows most healing skills.

    Lucas Damon 
Arcana: V. The Hierophant
Age: 21
Persona: Atash Behram
Weapons: None

One of the first members of POSC, a student of Cognitive Psience and a close friend of Daigo's. Describing himself as a "professional slacker", Lucas is a lazy and sarcastic young man who says whatever is on his mind, damn be the consequences, though is far smarter than he lets on.

His initial Persona is Atash Behram: the highest and most sacred grade of fire in Zoroastrianism, lit by combining fourteen very specific fires into one, where it is looked after by Magi for as long as it keeps burning. Atash Behram appears as a floating platform with white lotus-like flames emanating off of it. As a navigator persona, it isn't able to directly hurt enemies, though can heal and buff allies.

  • Deadpan Snarker: While most other members of POSC have shades of this, none do it as frequently as Lucas.
  • Mission Control: Is the navigator of the party, not unlike Fuuka, Rise or Futaba.
  • Obfuscating Stupidity: Despite his claims to the contrary, making into Camus's Cognitive Psience course requires knowledge and dedication one wouldn't expect from someone like him.
  • Put on a Bus: Went to visit family in Seattle as of Chapter 4.
  • The Slacker: Claims to have perfected being one to an art form.

Social Links

    Jerome Allenby 
Arcana: IX. The Hermit
Age: 38

The owner of a seedy weapons store known as Valhalla Weapons and Firearms.

  • Arms Dealer: Of the dubiously-legal variety.
  • Black Market: It's implied most of his merchandise doesn't exactly come under Californian regulations.
  • Friendly Shopkeeper: At first subverted, as he doesn't particularly trust most people. But he refers to Shouma as his protege due to him seeing the value in weapons.
  • Tarot Motifs: The Hermit. Jerome withdrew from the world and closed himself off from the world in order to run his business.
  • The Knights Who Say "Squee!": He often finds himself in awe of the craftsmanship of the weapons he sells, and knows more about any given weapon than most people will in their lifetime.

    Joseph "Joe" Vega 
Arcana: XI. Strength
Age: 20

The captain of the Camus Institute's boxing team.

  • Cross Counter: Quite fond of this manuever.
  • Expy: Not in his attitude, but he's named after Joe Yabuki from Ashita no Joe, is a boxer like his namesake and even performs the cross counter on Shouma.
    • Also one to Akihiko, as they're the captains of their respective school's boxing team.
  • Gratuitous Spanish: Accidentally slips into Spanish during his sparring match with Shouma in Chapter 7.
  • Tarot Motifs: Strength. Joe is in total control of his actions and is the captain of the boxing team, over which he has a stabilising influence.

    Susie Goldman 
Arcana: XIX. The Sun
Age: 56

Shouma, Daigo and Wataru's neighbour in the same apartment complex.

  • The Dreaded: Played for Laughs. She terrifies both Shouma and even Daigo.
  • Lethal Chef: Subverted. Her food, particularly her Butterscotch love cookies, has a habit of looking terrible. But it often tastes okay, if unremarkable.
  • Maiden Aunt: Susie has no children, though often dotes on her nephew, as well as both Shouma and Daigo.
  • Scatterbrained Senior: Somehow she doesn't notice that both the Tashiro brothers are deathly afraid of her.
  • Senior Creep: She somehow manages to scare both Shouma and Daigo just by existing. Shouma in particular.
  • Tarot Motifs: The Sun. Susie remains a cheerful and optimistic woman in the face of everything she goes through in life.

    Wataru Tashiro 
Arcana: XX. Judgement
Age: 53

Shouma and Daigo's father, chairman of POSC, a researcher of Cognitive Psience and lecturer at the Camus Institute. He moved from Osaka to L.A. with Daigo eleven years before the start of the story, leaving Shouma behind, but is now determined to truly reconnect with his youngest son.

  • Action Dad: Averted. Despite serving Mission Control while Lucas is gone, he doesn't possess a persona.
  • Disappeared Dad: Towards Shouma until the start of the story, where he now wishes to spend time with his son.
  • Good Parents: Attempts to be this to Shouma.
  • Meaningful Name: Wataru's name contains the kanji "渡", meaning to ferry or migrate, as he and Daigo (and later Shouma) are Japanese immigrants to the United States. His surname "Tashiro" is made up of "方", meaning path; and "白", meaning white.
  • My Greatest Failure: According to him: leaving Shouma behind in Japan while he and Daigo lived in the United States.
  • Science Hero: Wataru is a leading researcher of Cognitive Psience that was paid by the American government to move to the US to help them understand the field better, mentioning that he works off the findings of the Kirijo Group and Wakaba Isshiki.
  • Solomon Divorce: When he left to the US with Daigo, he left Shouma behind with his mother back in Osaka.

Other Characters

    Walton 
Arcana: ??. Unknown
The newest attendant of the Velvet Room and Igor's assistant. He's quite protective of Igor and is confrontational towards humanity, particularly Shouma.

Agartha

A long-lost ancient civilisation that somehow ended up in the cognitive realm. Agartha is a mysterious place where the laws of reality seem to apply differently for some reason.

    In General 

  • Advanced Ancient Acropolis: The four towers and the castle Shambhala fit this well, all being equipped with advanced defense systems and teleportation terminals for quick travel along each tower.
  • Empathic Weapon: Created several of these, the Guardians for an unknown task. They still protect what's left of Agartha even after all this time.
  • Meaningful Name: The civilisation is named in-universe after the fictional civilisation made up by Rudolf Steiner, and each of the Guardians are named after the Four Zoa and their emanations in the works of William Blake.
  • Phantom Zone: Due to being stuck in the cognitive realm, not only can personae be summoned in Agartha, but colour seems to not exist there and a gravity-defying upside-down castle constantly looms over the skyline.
  • Precursors: Agartha is an ancient, yet technologically-advanced civilisation that fell millenia ago due to unknown reasons.

    Guardian Enion 
The first Guardian found at the base of Tharmas Tower.

Previous

Index

Next

  • Show Spoilers
  • Night Vision
  • Sticky Header
  • Wide Load

Important Links

Ask The Tropers Trope Finder Media Finder Trope Launch Pad Tech Wishlist Reviews Go Ad Free!
Crucial Browsing
Resources
Top