Stand Depersonalisation

**Stand Depersonalisation** (スタンドの離人症 *Sutando no Rijinshō*) is a name given to a procedure done by Lab Rat and Melodeon using the ability of Devil's Train with the intent of using the results in the Weird Science experiment.

## Process

In Stand Depersonalisation, the first step is that the target either 'signs away' their soul, their Stand, willingly or unwillingly in a deal, or the target's soul is forfeit by other, often incapacitative means.

`For example, in Stella's case, she succumbed to exhaustion, which Lab Rat and Devil's Train saw as a forfeit.`

The second step is holding the target captive to give Devil's Train time to examine and bond to the target's Stand to prep a "vessel" contained in its back, in the form of a syringe. The third step is the surgery, in which the target is put under anesthesia or is just knocked out, and restrained as they perform what equates to open-heart surgery or a vivisection to get to the heart.

The third step is extraction. For this process, a vessel in the form of a syringe is obtained from Devil's Train after it has finished processing the target Stand's specifications. This syringe is used to withdraw from the target's heart. Due to the nature of the syringe's existence, it does no damage to the actual heart, and instead, the sole purpose of this action is to extract their soul, or, in other words, their Stand.
Then they have to deal with the Stand itself. Once the Stand is extracted, it may be contained long enough for the scientists to stitch the target back up, or they may move on right to beginning the procedure on the Stand itself, especially if the Stand is particularly fierce or otherwise hard to contain.

The fourth step is the procedure on the Stand itself, in which they may take certain, often desirable traits or parts from the target Stand and "surgically" remove them. This step also includes the process of attaching these traits or parts to Weird Science.
After this section of the procedure, they may hold on to what's left of the Stand, otherwise contain it, such as in a cage, or they may find a way to dispose of it.

`In Stella's case, they did indeed hold on to Labyrinth, keeping it contained in a cage on a desk.`

The fifth step may vary, depending on the situation. Assuming this is just the Stand Depersonalisation and not dismemberment or mutilation for the sake of science, the fifth step is the target's 'recovery'. It is partially concurrent with step four, and is a process that is somewhat gradual. If the procedure is done correctly, the target will awaken, and will regain all or close to all functionality of themself over a course of 1-3 days, generally depending on the individual. The target may be treated with unexpected courtesy during this recovery time, and then they will be turned loose, and if they made a deal with Lab Rat and Devil's Train, they will get their end of the bargain.

`In Stella's case, this process was interrupted. Despite their precautions to keep her from running, they were unable to keep hold of her. With Devil's Train therefore being unable to maintain its function of this part of the process, Stella fell comatose instead of recovering and relied on outside forces to awaken.`

## Aftermath

As the procedure removes a person's Stand, or their soul, from their body, a targeted individual will be affected in the long term. They, of course, lose all ability to use their Stand, and all ability to see Stands, or anything else that having a Stand allowed them to see. Being with a vital 'part' of their soul absent, they'll have a diminished capability to feel emotions in a proper way, and they will always feel a sense of emptiness and something missing. Some completely forget they had a Stand to begin with, leaving them clueless as to the source of the emptiness. In some cases, it may leave a target utterly hopeless and in despair to they point they have no energy to continue trying. Although anyone who made a deal with Devil's Train gets their wish fulfilled, they may have a hard time enjoying it.

These effects can be influenced by factors later on. Although they will always feel an emptiness, the affected target may still be able to return their mental state closer to normal.

This process was also noted to have happened to Maruko between the events of the stories “People” and “Come, Vent Your Deep-Seated Grudge”.

## "Etymology"

The real-life psychological concept of Depersonalisation refers to a state in which a person feels a mental, emotional or spiritual sort of detachment from themselves, possibly even a complete loss of identity, or a feeling of being a detached observer of one's self. It is oft attributed to a dissociative state.

In this context, it relates to the *actual* **physical** detachment of one's self from their body; in that a Stand is a part or reflection of the self or the soul.