“Have to say, I really like that Robin Hood is noted in one of the...”
I actually really like getting into Akechi debates, specifically when his Persona's are called into question. What exactly makes you think that Robin Hood came first? I mean, I know the theming calls for 'Literary Figure' -> 'Trickster' but I honestly think that Akechi reverses that theme. It just seems weird to me that someone with such a garbage reputation Akechi used to have as a bastard would result in a Persona based on Robin Hood. That's why I personally believe Loki came first.
Well, it isn’t just that it follows the rule of Literary Figure first, but precisely what that represents as a rebellion for that person. After all, Joker is a Trickster even before his ultimate Persona, so this doesn’t even apply to him.
It’s hand in hand with how Personas are evoked to begin with- through facing hardship, and accepting an ideal mask to project onto the world. Robin Hood is a hero figure, and Goro idolised those. He’s a kid through and through, impoverished at that. He was unloved by adults and shunned by other kids, so what if he became their hero?
Plus.. his related Crow outfit. There’s no way he could have faked it, since it acts naturally when he’s in the Metaverse with the others. Which ties in perfectly with the lore, as has been consistently given. Which leads me to believe that he had to be the first (also notable is that he makes a point of going to you in the Crow outfit, not the Black Mask.. an odd choice to make, if that was really his truest self)
On the flip side, the Black Mask is something that has to be summoned consciously, in part by summoning Loki. The way it manifested, as well as the ‘cognition’ aura it has is bizarre.
The Black Mask also, is symbolised as the Knight to the King, as opposed to the Prince, aka the son. A circumstantial thing, not an inherent part of his existence. That dark outfit heavily ties into Loki, so it stands to reason that these both resulted from getting involved with Shido.
Given Loki’s theming of Black and White Justice, aka Reversed Justice, revenge, all of that... I find it hard to believe that Robin Hood appeared after that, because that would imply that it was evidently tempered when he arose. More likely, he already had that good in him - that Upright Justice - that simply went skew-iff when things went even further south. It fits in with his character overall- someone who had become warped, but was ultimately good inside.
He resented, definitely, but wasn’t hell-bent on revenge before he met Shido. At least, not to the extent you meet him for the last time.
I mean, it’s undeniable that Goro’s lot became exponentially worse after getting involved with Shido. Not only was he an unloved bastard child with years of abuse and stigma to contend with, he was a hitman, and forced into the role of a public figure, while keeping on his toes. Nonstop. He not only had to work hard to appease adults, he had to diminish his own self, and control his own emotions to an extent that is frightening.
It ties into his sin of ‘Emptiness’, in that he had to become a puppet for the public, and his father. What greater ‘emptiness’ is there, than a shapeshifter for a Persona? And for that matter, one that has the ability to drive the host and others to run wild? One that manifested an ability as if it were a cognitive drug to save his sanity?
I do believe the potential for Loki was there from the moment Goro awoke the first time, but the conditions for that particular awakening weren’t met. This I believe is something that Yaldabaoth exploited, driving Goro through the ground as an experiment to reach his ‘maximum potential’. Engineering fate to the worst outcome to trigger the amount of stress needed to evoke a Persona (Labrys, much?).. sounds like a manipulative-God-like thing to do.
There was no coincidence in how things panned out at the beginning, after all.
