Captain Akira Kurusu (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
captainkurusu) wrote2025-01-15 09:05 pm
captainkurusu) wrote2025-01-15 09:05 pm
Permissions and Info
muse.
name Akira Kurusu
canon Persona 5
setting Brigverse (Pirate AU)
age 22
gender Male
occupation pirate
art credit sicklyjelly
Player.
name Tzvia
time zone CST/CDT
contact ![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
tzviaariella
off-limits topics None
Personality.
To most, Akira presents himself as a charming, good-natured thrill-seeker. He is a compassionate man at heart, with a fierce sense of loyalty to anyone he considers a friend and a strong drive to protect people he views as weak or vulnerable. Beneath his cheerful persona, however, he has a very low opinion of himself, leading him to hide his real thoughts and experiences from other people and to engage in reckless, self-sacrificing behavior. He also has a ruthless side, capable of remorseless, cold-blooded violence toward anyone he deems an obstacle or a threat.
background.
(cw: attempted suicide, attempted sexual assault, physical abuse of a minor, sexual harassment of a minor)
Akira grew up in a small, rural town, the only son of the local shopkeepers. When he was thirteen, his parents secured him a five-year indentured apprenticeship in a nearby port city, training under master blacksmith Munehisa Iwai. Akira spent the next three years of his life living with Iwai, working sunup to sundown in the forge and befriending Iwai’s teenage son Kaoru.
One night, when Akira was sixteen, he came across Masayoshi Shido, the captain of a Madicce Trading Company merchant ship, attempting to force himself on a sex worker. When Akira tried to intervene, Shido dragged him back to Iwai and demanded to be given the remaining two years of Akira's indenture period as repayment for the assault. Akira (mockingly renamed “Joker” by Shido’s crew) spent the next two years as a forced laborer aboard Shido’s merchant ship, the Statesman. During that time, he endured relentless mockery, physical abuse, and sexual harassment from both the crew and Shido’s officers: Kamoshida, Madarame, Kaneshiro, Okumura, and Kobayakawa.
At the end of Akira’s indenture, Shido refused to take him back to his home port, hoping to coerce Akira into joining the crew indefinitely. Akira laughed at his offer and demanded his release at the next port. However, before the Statesman reached port, Kobayakawa caught a group of sailors plotting to overthrow Shido and take control of the ship themselves. Shido offered to pardon the mutineers if they named Akira as the ringleader, then sentenced Akira to 500 lashes (an almost certain death sentence) for his supposed crime. Three weeks into his punishment, Akira attempted to throw himself overboard to escape the torture, leading Shido to maroon him on a desert island and abandon him to die.
Unbeknownst to Shido, the island where he left Akira served as a meetup spot for the crew of pirate ship Yaldabaoth, led by Captain Igor. Sae Niijima, the Yaldabaoth’s boatswain, found the now eighteen-year-old Akira near death and brought him back to the ship, where he was nursed back to health by the captain’s daughter Lavenza and Sae’s younger sister Makoto. Akira refused to give much information about himself, preferring to play up his new image as a lovable rogue with a mysterious past. Once he recovered and joined the crew, the newly nicknamed “Trickster” quickly made a name for himself as both a naturally gifted swordsman and a reckless playboy, racking up body counts in both senses of the term.
One night while on shore leave, Akira befriended a newly homeless Ryuji Sakamoto in a pub and asked Captain Igor to induct him into the crew. Igor agreed on the condition that Akira oversee Ryuji’s training himself, in the hope that giving Akira more responsibility would be good for him. Over time, Akira recruited a dozen more new pirates to the crew, prompting Igor to award Akira a captured sloop, the Phantom, and encourage him to strike out on his own.
As a captain, Akira focused his efforts on providing a refuge for people in need aboard the Phantom and on attacking Madicce Trading Company ships, hoping to one day get the chance to kill Shido and his officers. He succeeded in executing Kobayakawa, now the captain of his own ship, before finally crossing paths with the Statesman again at age twenty-one.
Unfortunately, Akira’s reckless attempt to murder Shido in his cabin was thwarted by Kobayakawa's replacement: Shido’s bastard son, Goro Akechi, who had joined the crew since Akira’s departure. Akira successfully ordered his crew to flee, but he himself was captured and placed under Akechi’s supervision until he could be turned in for his bounty at the nearest port.
Despite Akechi's best efforts, Akira’s relentless charm offensive gradually won him over, and the two became increasingly close during the voyage. When Akira’s crew attacked the ship again in a failed rescue attempt, Akira intervened to save Akechi’s life and ordered his crew to retreat. Akechi then defended Akira from a lynching attempt by the rest of the Statesman’s crew, who blamed Akira for Okumura's death during the attack. Shido, however, ordered Akechi to first flog Akira and then shoot him in the head...and Akechi, to Akira’s horror, obliged.
Although the pistol turned out to be unloaded (Shido intended it as a loyalty test), Akira refused to accept Akechi’s apology and resigned himself to his impending fate. Once on shore, Akira was convicted of piracy, mutiny, and murder charges in a brief trial and sentenced to hang, but he was rescued off the gallows at the last moment by his crew and Iwai, led by a remorseful Akechi. Though Akechi was shot during their escape, Akira carried him to safety aboard the Phantom and forgave him for his previous betrayal. Akechi has been a loyal crewmate (and Akira’s fiercely devoted boyfriend) ever since.
Akira grew up in a small, rural town, the only son of the local shopkeepers. When he was thirteen, his parents secured him a five-year indentured apprenticeship in a nearby port city, training under master blacksmith Munehisa Iwai. Akira spent the next three years of his life living with Iwai, working sunup to sundown in the forge and befriending Iwai’s teenage son Kaoru.
One night, when Akira was sixteen, he came across Masayoshi Shido, the captain of a Madicce Trading Company merchant ship, attempting to force himself on a sex worker. When Akira tried to intervene, Shido dragged him back to Iwai and demanded to be given the remaining two years of Akira's indenture period as repayment for the assault. Akira (mockingly renamed “Joker” by Shido’s crew) spent the next two years as a forced laborer aboard Shido’s merchant ship, the Statesman. During that time, he endured relentless mockery, physical abuse, and sexual harassment from both the crew and Shido’s officers: Kamoshida, Madarame, Kaneshiro, Okumura, and Kobayakawa.
At the end of Akira’s indenture, Shido refused to take him back to his home port, hoping to coerce Akira into joining the crew indefinitely. Akira laughed at his offer and demanded his release at the next port. However, before the Statesman reached port, Kobayakawa caught a group of sailors plotting to overthrow Shido and take control of the ship themselves. Shido offered to pardon the mutineers if they named Akira as the ringleader, then sentenced Akira to 500 lashes (an almost certain death sentence) for his supposed crime. Three weeks into his punishment, Akira attempted to throw himself overboard to escape the torture, leading Shido to maroon him on a desert island and abandon him to die.
Unbeknownst to Shido, the island where he left Akira served as a meetup spot for the crew of pirate ship Yaldabaoth, led by Captain Igor. Sae Niijima, the Yaldabaoth’s boatswain, found the now eighteen-year-old Akira near death and brought him back to the ship, where he was nursed back to health by the captain’s daughter Lavenza and Sae’s younger sister Makoto. Akira refused to give much information about himself, preferring to play up his new image as a lovable rogue with a mysterious past. Once he recovered and joined the crew, the newly nicknamed “Trickster” quickly made a name for himself as both a naturally gifted swordsman and a reckless playboy, racking up body counts in both senses of the term.
One night while on shore leave, Akira befriended a newly homeless Ryuji Sakamoto in a pub and asked Captain Igor to induct him into the crew. Igor agreed on the condition that Akira oversee Ryuji’s training himself, in the hope that giving Akira more responsibility would be good for him. Over time, Akira recruited a dozen more new pirates to the crew, prompting Igor to award Akira a captured sloop, the Phantom, and encourage him to strike out on his own.
As a captain, Akira focused his efforts on providing a refuge for people in need aboard the Phantom and on attacking Madicce Trading Company ships, hoping to one day get the chance to kill Shido and his officers. He succeeded in executing Kobayakawa, now the captain of his own ship, before finally crossing paths with the Statesman again at age twenty-one.
Unfortunately, Akira’s reckless attempt to murder Shido in his cabin was thwarted by Kobayakawa's replacement: Shido’s bastard son, Goro Akechi, who had joined the crew since Akira’s departure. Akira successfully ordered his crew to flee, but he himself was captured and placed under Akechi’s supervision until he could be turned in for his bounty at the nearest port.
Despite Akechi's best efforts, Akira’s relentless charm offensive gradually won him over, and the two became increasingly close during the voyage. When Akira’s crew attacked the ship again in a failed rescue attempt, Akira intervened to save Akechi’s life and ordered his crew to retreat. Akechi then defended Akira from a lynching attempt by the rest of the Statesman’s crew, who blamed Akira for Okumura's death during the attack. Shido, however, ordered Akechi to first flog Akira and then shoot him in the head...and Akechi, to Akira’s horror, obliged.
Although the pistol turned out to be unloaded (Shido intended it as a loyalty test), Akira refused to accept Akechi’s apology and resigned himself to his impending fate. Once on shore, Akira was convicted of piracy, mutiny, and murder charges in a brief trial and sentenced to hang, but he was rescued off the gallows at the last moment by his crew and Iwai, led by a remorseful Akechi. Though Akechi was shot during their escape, Akira carried him to safety aboard the Phantom and forgave him for his previous betrayal. Akechi has been a loyal crewmate (and Akira’s fiercely devoted boyfriend) ever since.
impressions.
visual. Akira is conventionally handsome, with a lithe-but-muscular build. His most striking facial feature is his eyes, which are highlighted by his long, black eyelashes. His movement is very graceful, and he deliberately walks with a swagger to project confidence and good humor. He has some prominent scars, none of which are visible when he has a shirt on: an old stab wound just below his left shoulder, and extensive scarring from a cat-o'-nine-tails whip that covers most of his back.
attire. Akira favors simple, durable clothing in an early-1800s style: linen shirts, wool trousers, boots, vests. He always leaves the tops of his shirts unlaced/unbuttoned, and when he's among people he trusts, he'll seize almost any excuse to walk around with no shirt on at all. He carries two visible weapons (a sword and a pistol) on his belt and several daggers hidden under his clothing, typically in his sleeve and boot.
aural. Akira's voice is surprisingly deep. His default mode of speech is brash and cheerful, but he can sound quite intimidating if he feels the need.
olfactory. Akira lives in close quarters on an early-1800s wooden sloop with no showers and infrequent bathing. His overall smell is probably not great, at least when he first arrives.
attire. Akira favors simple, durable clothing in an early-1800s style: linen shirts, wool trousers, boots, vests. He always leaves the tops of his shirts unlaced/unbuttoned, and when he's among people he trusts, he'll seize almost any excuse to walk around with no shirt on at all. He carries two visible weapons (a sword and a pistol) on his belt and several daggers hidden under his clothing, typically in his sleeve and boot.
aural. Akira's voice is surprisingly deep. His default mode of speech is brash and cheerful, but he can sound quite intimidating if he feels the need.
olfactory. Akira lives in close quarters on an early-1800s wooden sloop with no showers and infrequent bathing. His overall smell is probably not great, at least when he first arrives.
height
5'9"
build
Lean
eyes
Gray
hair
Black
permissions.
backtags
✓
4th-walling
✗
thread jacks
?
assumed cr
?
injuries
✓
death
?
shipping. At this stage in his timeline, Akira is in a committed relationship with his Goro Akechi and fiercely loyal to him. He will not be a romance option for anyone else. (He may, however, drop double entendres and flirty remarks, particularly when interacting with alternate-universe Akechis.)
violence. Akira isn't prone to unprovoked violence, but he won't hesitate to resort to violence if he believes himself or other people to be in danger, even if it means certain defeat. He is also an incorrigible showoff who enjoys friendly spars/duels and teaching others how to fight.
content warnings. Akira's backstory includes suicide attempts, physical abuse, and sexual harassment/attempted sexual assault, but aside from oblique mentions of the physical abuse if asked about his scars, he's very, very unlikely to talk about any of it. Any mention of potentially triggering content will be cleared with partners first and tagged appropriately.
violence. Akira isn't prone to unprovoked violence, but he won't hesitate to resort to violence if he believes himself or other people to be in danger, even if it means certain defeat. He is also an incorrigible showoff who enjoys friendly spars/duels and teaching others how to fight.
content warnings. Akira's backstory includes suicide attempts, physical abuse, and sexual harassment/attempted sexual assault, but aside from oblique mentions of the physical abuse if asked about his scars, he's very, very unlikely to talk about any of it. Any mention of potentially triggering content will be cleared with partners first and tagged appropriately.