Rumormongers
Individuals who hold metaphorical court within Sumaru City's culture of Rumors, these information brokers get to decide which rumors spread far and wide and which never go further than them. Each has their own reasons for participating, and not all of them necessarily understand the supernatural weight that comes with being an information broker.
Some just think spreading rumors about the occult is fun! Others act as Rumormongers entirely on the internet, primarily on the Dark Side of Sumaru. Whatever their reasons, everyone knows: if you want the latest rumors, you go see a Rumormonger.
The Official Rumormongers
- Rumormonger Toku - Hirasaka Ward - An older homeless gentleman who hangs out in Izakaya Shiraishi with the implicit permission of Ma'am, the woman who runs it. (Considering the rumors about her being an ex-spy and/or manhunter on the side, one can understand the benefits.) He offers his rumors to individuals who can give him rumors he hasn't heard before; otherwise they'll have to offer something of value for his services.
- Rumormonger Toro - Rengedai Ward - Kenta Yokouchi, nicknamed Toro, is a portly salesman in his early twenties who calls St. Hermelin High School his alma mater. He's supernaturally in the know due to his Persona, which he admits isn't suitable for combat but makes his information-gathering skills second to none. Holds court at Gatten Sushi as the 'Baron of Sushi' in a group of local connoisseurs known as the 'Sushi Nobility', and typically can be bought for the price of a meal, so long as it's fish fin, his favorite.
- Rumormonger Chikarin - Yumezaki Ward - Chika Ueda, nicknamed Chikarin, is a first year student of Seven Sisters High School who works with the school newspaper as its hottest new journalist. She is known most of all for her speed on getting information faster than anyone and an incredibly positive attitude, but has a reputation for being a tad sloppy. Despite all this, she can be easily frightened away from rough locations that would be dangerous for a high school girl to investigate, often recruiting other people to do it for her.
- Rumormonger 'Master' - Konan Ward - The proprietor of Jolly Roger Restaurant at Seaside Mall, the 'Master' claims to be a retired pirate captain. Whether this is true or not, he's often the least sought-after Rumormonger because his sunken, shadowed eyes and emaciated skin is rather off-putting. Regulars of his place, however, find him to be a man who keeps his anecdotes of his pirate days close to the chest, instead possessing an insightful knowledge of human nature and a melancholy wit that undercuts his ghoulish image.
- Rumormonger Sumaru Genie - Konan Ward - The titular fortuneteller of Sumaru Genie at Seaside Mall, who once was said to have great supernatural power within her fortune-telling but now states that her fortunes have stopped working. That doesn't stop her from keeping her business open as one of the most well-known Rumormongers of Konan Ward.
- Rumormonger Baofu - Aoba Ward - The administrator of The Dark Side of Sumaru and owner of Double Slash, a net cafe on Aoba Ward's Aoba Way. Baofu rarely meets people in person, instead communicating mostly online. A ruthless pragmatist, everyone who works with him might gain the impression that all he does is simply a means to an end, an impression he does absolutely nothing to dispel. He's started working in person with Maya Amano, but he isn't advertising this just yet.
- Rumor-Lovin' Bartender - Narumi Ward - The eloquent bartender of the high class Hotel Pleiades Sky Lounge, Ebony, is known for her love of rumors, and her unwillingness to part with her name under any circumstances. She is, after all, a consummate professional.
- Rumormonger Lucky Cat - Aoba Ward - The rumormonger of Kuzunoha Detective Agency, an enormous golden lucky cat statue that requests money be inserted into it and sometimes offers the latest rumors to those who persistently insert enough to please it. Apprentice Detective Tamaki Uchida and Chief Daisuke Todoroki tend to just shrug all this off, stating that's the power of rumors in Sumaru City and offering to spread those rumors for the right price. Lucky Cat is nobody suspicious, meow~
- Rumormonger Moriae - Online - Rumormonger Moriae is the online pseudonym for Jin Shirato, Strega's Rumormonger with an aggressive personality whose down-to-business attitude online puts most people off. Nevertheless, he's willing to offer rare information to those who are looking to push the boundaries of their supernatural abilities. Discussions of morality need not apply.
Other Personalities
There are other individuals out there that despite not calling themselves 'Rumormongers' still engage in Sumaru City's culture as part of their job. Some may be information brokers, while others may just work in 'acquisitions' for anonymous parties.
- Suspicious Man - Paulownia Mall - Club Escapade - This man holds court in the back of Club Escapade, offering no details of who he is, merely what he has to offer. Need to find the Revenge Site's URL? Find videos that even the Black Market refuses to carry? He's your man, for a price. He seems to know about Sumaru City and will spread rumors too, if you can afford his fee--though who can say what his true thoughts are on culture there?
- Trader Sakai - Tokyo - Kichijoji - No one knows if Sakai is his real name, only that he's able to trade valuable items in exchange for whatever his client is looking for at the time. While he's focused on this trade, he always seems to know the latest rumors about the Phantom Thieves or Sumaru City's affairs. Trying to pry into his affairs is always shut down, but perhaps for the right price, he might be persuaded to spread rumors of an item you're looking for to the right ears for it to become reality.
Player Rumormongers
Players are welcome to submit requests to staff by email to list player characters as Rumormongers if you intend for them to participate in the Rumor culture of Sumaru! (Note that this is if they want to actively gather and disseminate rumors and other information; someone who "buys" rumors from Rumormongers, even in exchange for other information and rumors, would not necessarily be a Rumormonger themselves.)
As a Request, please submit this as Requests - Character - Character Name to velvetroommush@gmail.com
In the body of the request, utilize the following format for us to post it to the wiki: Name - Open/Hidden - Location Where they Monger Rumors - A brief blurb about them.
Example:
Rumormonger Shady - Hidden - Online - A mysterious individual whose online avatar is definitely just President Tanaka of Tanaka's Amazing Commodities wearing sunglasses. Rumormonger Shady openly criticizes Rumormonger Baofu as wasting the potential of The Dark Side of Sumaru and discusses opening his own rival site to capitalize on the black market. Rumormonger Shady mostly trades rumors of the business world and openly solicits confidential information for insider trading.
Player Rumormonger List
- Rumormonger Merry - Open - Hirasaka Ward - While posing as a book and card store in Hirasaka Ward, the Cardboard Dragon is the front business of the Baengnyong, a small intelligence agency led by Rumourmonger Merry, who seems to have rumours and hot gossip that convinces one that they'd have to be indulging in illicit means to gather. In contrast to rumourmongers that operate online, Merry largely operates on an in-person basis, more akin to traditional private eye services.
- Rumormonger Alyss - Hidden - Unknown - An uncommonly seen but highly regarded personality on the Dark Side of Sumaru, Rumormonger Alyss is a figure of some mystery, speculated to be a highly talented Persona User given their insightful comments on the supernatural, Personas and Cognitive Spaces. After Rumormonger Chikarin asked for their identity in order to trade rumors in person, Alyss threw down the gauntlet to the entire Dark Side of Sumaru forums by replying. 'And you call yourself a Rumormonger? Whoever proves themselves by solving the mystery of who I am, will receive the full complement of my services any time they should desire them.' This has caused a flurry of activity, wherein the various Rumormongers have begun attempting to prove their mettle by trading intelligence on their true identity. As of yet, some have claimed victory, but none have been able to prove it.
- Rumourmonger Hibari - Open - Kasugayama High - A third-year student at Kasugayama High, Hibari Aoki is Kasugayama's rumourmonger, information broker, gossip station, and occasional counselor - she's considered more trustworthy than the adults by some students. She collects secrets, and has a strict policy of not sharing information given to her in confidence - which doesn't mean she doesn't have plenty to trade! Much like Chikarin, she also knows about the supernatural and will trade information and rumours about it, but claims not to have a Persona herself if asked. Still, she's surprisingly knowledgeable about a wide variety of topics, both supernatural and mundane.
- Rumormonger Nielsen - Open - Good Evening, Sumaru - A talk variety show on network television in Sumaru. The show goes into rumors, gossip, entertainment news with a panel of guests who are of some note to what's trending. Sometimes they might even talk about something Paranormal if its juicy enough. Rumormonger Nielsen tends to pick up his rumors via the internet but he can meet up in person for the right fan. He tends to be very abrasive to talk to despite always having a smile on his face.
OOC Note
- Being a played Rumormonger does not give someone special status in making their Rumors come true. Just like everyone else, you must submit a request for Rumors! A Player Rumormonger does however convey a certain in-character status to the character in Sumaru City, and offers you a multitude of scene hooks.
- To check current Rumors that are Active, see Active Rumors.