[ PersonaZero] Shouhei 'EDGELORD' Okano-desu-chan

Hello folks...! I'm finally done my kid for my own group and I wasnt nearly the first one to be done I'm CRYING AAAA--
submitting this in 1 week when the first batch of applicants are accepted qB')

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[ I. G E N E R A L ]

Name | Shouhei Okano [ 翔平岡野 ]
Nickname(s) | Shou... Anything else you might die
Gender | Male
Age | 17
Year | II
Birthdate | November 3rd
Height | 5'10'
Weight | 141lbs

[2] Academics | ★★ {his only saving grace is his incredible memory; otherwise, sitting comfortably near the bottom of the class}
[9] Courage | ★★★★★★★★★ - {reckless beyond measure; throws himself into physical and mental danger at the flick of a wrist}
[5] Understanding | ★★★★★ - {surprisingly... average. side effect of growing up with two siblings}
[2] Expression | ★★ - {everything he says sounds vaguely threatening, even when he tries to be kind}


[ II. P E R S O N A ]

Tarot | XIV. Temperance
Clock | Wristwatch
Weapon | His fists

- words from the fool's mouth will do you no harm -

├ Crimson paints a macabre set of wings, a glint of rusting iron peeks through from tattered robes. Like clockwork; swing upwards, disarmed— impale, another falls. No need for words when such tactless actions build a hero. He wears the title like a decoration; the meaning is slipping further and further away. There is the occasional lilt in his step, a moment of hesitation before the kill. A hero paves a path of change and rebirth; he looks behind himself and sees a trail of blood and endings.

No, no, don't think, just act. ┤

Skewer - Offensive || Shouhei summons Iron Ambassador to lead, pulling all enemies in their path together and skewering them into a little clump. Deals increased damage based on how many targets he skewers.

Sealing Scroll - Defensive ||  Places a protective scroll around himself or ally of choice, absorbing half of incoming damage for ten seconds. After ten seconds are up, the scroll explodes into shreds, dealing all absorbed damage in a small AoE around the shielded target.

[9] Strength | ★★★★★★★★★★ {his punches hurt. a lot. you don't generally want to make him angry, unless you want to stay in the hospital for a few weeks}

[7] Defense | ★★★★★★★ - {his body is getting used to being a punching bag. he'll cringe, but he won't budge}
[1] Magic |★ - {his lack of preparation makes him a poor ability user. if he uses them at all...}
[5] Resistance | ★★★★★ - {it's different from being roundhouse kicked, sure, but the sting of the elements is comparable}
[4] Agility | ★★★★ - {he isn't slow, but his large stature makes him a little less trigger happy on dodging than most people}
[2] Luck | ★★ - {fortune doesn't seem to smile upon him very often}

[ III. P E R S O N A L I T Y ]

Burning red hair, worn gauze over scarred skin, a muscular frame covered in sweat-stained rags; the title printed on Shouhei’s forehead read ‘Street Thug’ in bold. If you cared to look beyond the black undereye circles and minefield of ruptured blood vessels dotting his limbs, you’d find a bleeding heart worn on a young boy’s sleeve. While he wouldn’t admit it, anyone who knew him under his intimidating facade would tell you Shouhei Okano has a heart to match his imposing stature. All he wants is for the people he cares about to be happy, and for transgressors to be brought to justice. Protect or destroy. Simple. He has a hero complex— save those who need protecting by breaking those who harm.  There is a lack of balance in his vision; he has forgotten to stop to consider, what if someone was both? 

However, Shou’s temper is as volatile as a lit match during a gas leak. Combine that with his violent tendencies and the memory of an elephant, and one doesn’t need a creative mind to see why he funtions as a lone wolf. He despises that aspect about himself. His face is often set in the same, mildly irritated frown, and he has a penchant for embarrasing himself anytime he tries to engage in a conversation that lasts for more than two minutes. One might be surprised to find that he actually enjoys conversing with people; he often doesn’t experience it due to his appearance, but he’d love for someone to approach him with a smile and no prejudice. Shou hasn’t found many people like that in his life, and towards those that he has, he is doggedly loyal. He mainly expresses his care and appreciation for them through his actions; making them little knicknacks, baking them sweets on their birthday.

Words were never his forté. When the teacher scolds him for zoning out in class, he’d often be recalling the amount of times that maybe, just perhaps, conflicts could’ve been solved by a smile and carefully phrased requests, but ended in violence. Usually, the blood was the other’s. Sometimes, it was his. Occasionally, it belonged to the one he wanted to protect. The guilt is something he wishes he could forget.

Likes:

+ Cooking. Mostly noodles, since, well, he works in a noodle house
+ Sweets EXCEPT THE ICING
+ His family
+ Cute little potted plants (especially those pastel-coloured cacti). He has a few in the windowsill of his room
+ Cozy, slightly messy environments, with the sounds of people happily chatting away 
+ Coffee, with three spoons of sugar and extra cream
+ Cool scars 
+ Electric guitars
+ Samurais and knights. And swords and shit. 
+ Getting bruises/getting sore from fighting.
+ Cute stationary. Shut up
+ Stuffed animals. Shut the fuck up
+ Little kids

Dislikes:
- Smartasses
- Making people nervous because of his appearance
- Going to school
- Rich people who don't appreciate what they have
- Dishonesty/manipulation/'fake' people
- His poor fashion sense
- Bicycles
- Premature greying in his hair 
- Icing sugar
- Football/rugby
- Fancy restaurants/clothing stores
- Whistling. If you whistle a lot he might threaten to crush your larynx
- Bad puns

[ IV. H I S T O R Y ]

TL;DR: Shou always idolized honourable samurai and knights in his childhood, but his father was sure to remind him that violence isn't always the solution. He tried his best, as a kid, to be a self-proclaimed 'hero' and resolve conflicts, but he always tripped over his words and he found himself watching as the situations would only get worse. When he found out intimidation and physical aggression was the fastest ways for things to 'resolve' things, albeit only temporarily, that became his one and only course of action. 

{Shou's eyes always lit up when he watched those shows with samurai and knights. "Papa! Look, isn't he so cool!!! He just," The boy poorly impersonates the show's protagonist with a ruler, hacking and slashing at the air while making 'fwing' noises, "-and he beats up all the bad guys!"

His father chuckles, sighing and grinding some pepper into a wok. "Yes, Shou, very cool."

"I wanna be like that when I'm older! I wanna be a hero!!" 

Daichi Okano sighs, setting his pan down and glances towards his seven year old son with a smile. "Being a hero doesn't just mean beating up the bad guys; a true hero is able to help the bad guys become good guys." He watches as Shou cocks his head, thinking about his words. "Do you know what I mean?"

"Hm. Yeah. I think so." Shouhei replies, plopping back on the couch.

"You still want to be a hero?"

Daichi doesn't get a response as he's too immersed in his show (there's two nobles talking; probably ambassadors), but the glint in his son's eyes are enough to tell him yes.}
Shouhei Okano had a difficult childhood. His family were the owners of Okano Noodles, a small noodlehouse along the prefecture's rural streets. Even though they were rather popular for their comfort, homemade style of food, they were always in financial straits due to their ill, bedridden mother and raising three children. Shouhei was the middle child, with a very serious, motherly older sister and a cheerful younger sister who was a beacon of happiness in their otherwise somewhat dreary household, even though she was born blind and the whole world seemed against her.

Shou was a bright kid. He did very well in school, and teachers were often pleased to have him as a student. Sure, he was a little rowdy, but what more could you expect from a seven year old boy? When he decided one day that he was going to become a hero just like in the tv shows, he took a deep breath and intervened in an argument between two of his classmates. He asked both of them why they were fighting, and he was able to calmly help them resolve the issue. It made him happy.

This continued on throughout elementary school, but things started to change. A boy his age tugged roughly on a younger girl's arm, his face red with anger and frustration. She looked pleadingly to Shouhei and he was quick to jump in, separating the two and stepping between them. The other boy looked shocked, then ran off on the verge of tears when the other students started staring. Shouhei didn't know that she had just stolen his lunch and he was just trying to get it back. 

Things began taking a turn for the worse. He'd sometimes end up getting involved where he knew too little, accusing the wrong party of doing something villainous. The lines between good and bad blurred, and he was having a hard time trying to convince people to change, to better themselves. However, he believed with all his heart that everyone was good. Some just needed a nudge in the right direction.

When his younger sister began returning home trying to hide bruises and sporting puffy eyes, he felt a burning anger in his chest like he's never felt before. Shouhei decided to accompany her on her walk home, and wasn't surprised to find that her tormentors were waiting for her a block away from her stop, ugly sneers plastered on their faces. He pleaded with them, desperate, trying to convince them to stop what they were doing, asking why, offering help. When one of them lunged towards his sister and twisted her wrist, he found himself making a mad dash towards them with his hands clenched into fists. Before he knew it, his knuckles were covered in blood and the boy was hunched over, nose dripping red. He must've looked mad, breathing heavily, wiping the blood on his shirt, and the three incorrigible bullies fled in terror. One punch was enough to send them running with their tails tucked between their legs; why even bother trying to talk to them if this would have saved his sister from being injured?

He wasn't so quick to spiral downwards with the wrong mindset. His financial situation, the crazy amount of work he had to juggle between school, friends, his family and the noodle shop was taking a toll on his mental health. He found that he would constantly trip over his own words, lacking the neccesary eloquence and tact needed to keep the peace. He would have kept trying, but Shouhei was constantly stressed out, and he began taking his frustrations out through martial arts. He didn't have the time or money to get lessons, but he taught himself things by purposely getting into dangerous fights and watching videos online. If he couldn't beat them with skill, he'd beat them by simply overwhelming them with his strength.

When he started high school, he was already seen as somewhat of a delinquent. He'd been skipping so many of his classes to help during the busy hours of the shop, escorting his sister to and from school, and running errands for his sickly mother. The words his father told him so many years ago lay tucked away in the back of his mind. He still had that same childish vision as his seven-year old self; he wanted to be a hero.

When he looks down at the bruised and battered face of some no-name drug dealer, it becomes hard to convince himself that he is still doing the right thing.

[ V. E X T R A ]

- Has an incredible memory. He remembers way more than you think he would
- He really loves swallows; they're probably his favourite animal. And horses
- The Okano Noodlehouse is on the first floor of their establishment, while he and his family live on the floor above it
- Shouhei has his own room but it's pretty damn small and it's kinda cramped
- He has a PC but it's like the saddest oldest thing in the world and it was only updated to like Windows 7 a month ago
- He dyes his hair red because it's cool, it's kind of intimidating and premature greying makes him look even older than he already does
- Shou has never considered his orientation, but he's probably bi with a preference for girls. 
- While he doesn't get embarrassed about doing nice things for other people, he gets pretty flustered if you try doing anything nice to him. He's a good kid trust me 

[ VI. C O N T A C T ]

Format | Notes, Skype, Discord, GDocs
Style | Paralit, lit, maybe script but EHHH, headcanons
Timezone | EST (-5)
When are you active? | Depends!! Sometimes I'm binge playing a video game, sometimes I'll obnoxiously message you every 2 seconds haha--
RP Sample: TBA LUL