#'i always thought i might be bad' honestly yusuke probably thinks he IS bad but kuwa contrasting him might make him feel it all over again

[skrunksthatwunk]

ok i know everyone says "love like you is soooo xyz shipcore" but i need you to know it's kuwameshicore to me. song's got yusuke written all over it arright. in case you don't have the lyrics memorized like i do here they are

[a-nick]

The Final Heist: Chapter 4

Life was busy, so each thief couldn't really agree on a set time. Because of this everyone mostly showed up one by one. This wasn't a detail that anybody minded though, it gave everyone a chance to catch up while they all waited. There was even a point where every thief had arrived, but everyone was so caught up in conversation that they hardly noticed.

First, there was Ren and Ryuji, the group's bestfriend duo. Ren took his place as the barista, making everyone coffee and curry as always. Ryuji was sitting on a barstool, arms stretched over the counter as he lazily flopped foward. "Whats your reason for vistin' Tokyo anyway?" He curiously asked.

Ren half-mindedly washed a cup, he tilted his head back and forth as he thought on an answer. "Life's been a bit hectic, I thought it might be a nice break to see everyone again."

'Hectic,' Ryuji thought. The blond was exeriencing similarities with the going ons of his life as well. He probably needed this too. "I'm with ya there man, collage has been killin' me."

"I don't mean for this to come across as offensive or anything, but I'm honestly surprised you went the collage route," pondered Ren. Out of all the gang, Ren pinned Ryuji the LEAST likely to go to collage. Not that it would have been bad or anything. From what Ren understood, there were plenty of content non-collage routes you could take in life.

"Don't worry about it, I'm honestly surprised too. I think if I never met everyone I probably wouldn't have." Answered Ryuji as he twiddled his thumbs.

Ren did one final head tilt, "oh?" Everything about his position resembled that of a curious cat.

"Life as whole woulda been different without you guys, I don't think I'd be happy." After hearing Ryuji say that feelings of warmth overcame Ren's chest. Knowing that he was able to contribute to his friend's happiniess... Things like that meant a lot to Ren. "How about you?" Ryuji continued, "any plans for a collage life, Ren-Ren?"

Not only did having his criminal record make getting a job or apartment difficult, it also made getting into collage difficult. But Ren's difficulty's weren't ever something he wanted to let on. He just wanted his friends to enjoy their lives in peace. "Haven't put much thought into yet," he lied.

Sitting a gap of chairs past Ryuji was Akechi and Sumire. Sumire had her phone propped up against some of the coffee making equipment so Akechi could see it. "Hi, Goro!" Greeted Sophia from Sumire's phone. "Can I call you Goro? I heard Ren-Ren call you that yesterday."

In some weird sort of remarkable way, Akechi felt like he didn't have it in him to be rude to the sweet little a.i. He couldn't pinpoint why, and it even started to bother him. But shoving down feelings of resistance, Akechi merely sighed. "Do whatever you please."

"It's weird seeing you so tame again, Akechi-san. Did Sophie cause a change of heart in you?" Joked Sumire.

"As a Phantom Thief, changing hearts is my job!" Added Sophia, she had taken Sumire's statement more seriously than intended. Adding onto his previous sigh, Akechi let out a more elongated and annoyed sigh. He knew a fight against the Phantom Thieves cheerful red-heads would be redundant. He simply tried his best to ignore them.

In the booth behind them sat Yusuke and Ann, both had been staring at Morgana sleeping on the table. "Aww," cooed Ann, "he's honestly cute when he's all curled up like that."

Yusuke put his hands up, he did that thing artists do when they make a box with their hands. Within Yusuke's small frame, he framed Morgana. "He'd make an excellent subject for a candid shot."

Morgana's ears flickered as he heard Yusuke hear those weirds. But in his half asleep state he ended up wrongly assuming. "I'm NOT shaving my fur off for a nude portrait!"

"Umm, I don't think that's what he--"

But Yusuke jolted up, interupting Ann's defense of him. "That's a brilliant idea!"

In the booth behind THEM was Futaba, Haru, and Zenkichi. They were all playing Tycoon. And judging by the commotion being caused, it was clear who was winning... Futaba stood up, slamming down a card. She hadn't even noticed Yusuke behind her standing up at the same time. Her hand free of cards, she victoriously cheered, "welcome to beggerhood, Gramps!"

Zenkichi put up his hands in surrender, "in my defense, I'm still not even sure I have a good grasp on the rules."

"Don't worry, Gramps-san! We'll make sure to go easy on you next time!" Cheered Haru with that hauntingly innocent voice of her's.

"Well when you put it like THAT it just stings."

And behind them stood Makoto and Toshiro, the pair had been positioned standing next to LeBlanc's door. They had both been remenicsing on their student counsel past. "I can't believe you had to deal with all the Phantom Thieves while you were president, I had my hands full enough with Eri." Of course, Toshiro meant that lovingly. There was never a dull second with Eri and he loved that.

"It was mostly just Ryuji and Ann who caused me trouble; Ren was pretty studious, to a fault even. The amount of times I caught him dozing off due to exhaustion..." Makoto cast an affectionoate glance Ren's way, "he always did so much for us..."

"I always got that impression from Amamiya, he seems like the type to overwork himself."

"Says you," Makoto snickered in return, "we've been seeing you all over the news, internet, everything. You sure have been putting your all in."

"I have to. After all, I made a promise, didn't I?"

Ren was finally able to take notice that everyone was here. The leader of the Phantom Thieves excused himself from his conversation with Ryuji. He stood just past the counter, in front of every thief in hopes to get their attention. "Now that everyone's here," he called out, "It's time to make a game plan."

All eyes were now on Ren. "We've got a long day ahead of us," he continued, "particularly, we have some investigating that needs to get done." Ren walked fully past the counter so everyone could get a full view of him. "While we don't technically know what it is we're dealing with here, all evidence is pointing to a Palace. Until we get more information, that's the assumption we'll be working off of. The goal today will be to split into groups and investigate where the source of corruption could be."

"In other words," Morgana joined Ren, he'd hopped up on the barstool beside Ren to gain some height. "We're going to look into who could be the possible Palace owner, that way we can find a keyword."

"Actually," Sumire stood out of her own barstool to get Ren's attention. "I was thinking of seeking out Dr. Maruki today, maybe he'd know something?"

"Good idea," Ren nodded.

"As for me," now it was Yusuke speaking, "I can examine for anybcorruption within the art world!"

"I could always check for any political scandals," added Toshiro.

"Leader! You should let me see if I can find the keyword here at the hideout!" Futaba rose out of her seat and began frantically waving her hand around.

Ren grinned at the optimism of the group. "Sounds like you all already know what you wanna do. Okay--" Ren clapped his hands, "now that's settled, we should add onto each group."

"I can go with Toshiro, maybe I can see if I can spot any fashion scandals on the way?" Said Ann as she twirled a picktail.

Ryuji's eyes lit up at the word 'fashion', not because he was into fashion though. Probably for less moral reasons. "I'll join Ann and Pops!"

"I think I'd like to join Yoshizawa, I want to see this Maruki fellow for myself." Leaned Zenkichi back casually.

Makoto and Haru exchanged knowing glances. After doing so Makoto made it a point to say. "Me and Haru will join you two just in case you need backup."

Morgana stood up, yawning and stretching his paws out. "I'll stay back and join Futaba here at the hideout."

"I'd like to join Futaba too!" While saying that, it had completely slipped Sophia's mind that she was still tied to Sumire's phone.

Luckily, Futaba noticed the inconsistency immediately. "Could I borrow your phone so Sophie can join us, Sumi?" Although it was a bit hesitant, Futaba passed her own phone off to Sumire. "You can borrow mine in the meantime for emergency."

"Oh, of course!" The two traded off phones. Now Sophia was in Futaba's hands.

"I'll go with Yusuke on his venture into the art world," Ren hummed. "As for Akechi..." Ren turned his attention the detective's ways. "I think you're better off joining me and Yusuke. I don't think anyone will recognize you within the world of art."

"My favorite part was when you actually let me get a say in it," was only how Akechi replied. But he ended up coming to terms with the situation. Ren was probably the only person here he'd be able to slightly tolerate anyway. "But fine, it's not looking like I have a choice regardless."

"Alright, now that we have a plan. Phantom Thieves..." Ren sprung a dramatic hand to his face, "It's showtime!"

MAKOTO NIJIMA - HARU OKUMURA- SUMIRE YOSHIZAWA - ZENKICHI HASAGAWA

The gang lingered in Shibuya, unsure of where to start. "I will admit..." Sumire began to chew her thumbnail, "I'm not sure where to find Dr. Maruki."

But similar to their convenience of wishing to leave the Metaverse, a taxi pulled up. "Did anyone here call a taxi?" It was...

"Dr. Maruki!" Sumire gasped. She readjusted herself, trying not to seem so flabbergasted at the doctor's appearance. "Umm, well, actually-- We have a few things we'd like to talk to you about!"

Maruki poked his head out of the car. He saw some more Phantom Thieves, including an older man he didn't recognize. "Then we better do it in a more secure place; hop in." And so they did. All three girls got into the back while Zenkichi got into the front. "You're from the Thieves most recent adventure I suppose?"

Zenkichi nodded, "that'd be correct. Zenkichi Hasagawa."

"Takuto Maruki, despite what Yoshizawa-san said, I'm not really a doctor anymore."

"I've heard a few things about you, something about altering reality?" Zenkichi couldn't help but ask.

"That's true--" Makoto chimed in from the back, "but it's honestly a long story."

Haru decided to help with the explanation. "Dr. Maruki created a reality where everyone was happy, people were even brought back from the dead."

"Well," Maruki awkwardly chuckled, "you guys jump straight to the point. But yes... I did do that..." a shameful tone of voice arose in his latter response.

Zenkichi scratched his goatee. The idea itself wasn't entirely awful, but it gave off the same issues as the EMMA incident did. "But I'm assuming humanity no longer had any control."

"Yes... That was the biggest issue," replied Maruki slowly.

Sumire poked her head out from the backseat. "But we're not here to make you feel bad, doctor! I mean, sorta... We just, umm, had a few questions about the Metaverse."

"The Metaverse?" It'd been over a year since he heard that term directly. His surprise at hearing it showed on his face. "Why, did something happen?"

"It came back. We couldn't help but wonder if you were involved." Makoto went straight for the throat with the bluntness of her question.

"Me? No, not this time. I know you don't have reason to trust me, but I can promise you I haven't done anything."

Sumire fell back into her seat, "that's what we were hoping to hear."

"Well, I 'have' been working with someone who has experience with the cognitive world... But I don't think we've done anything to bring it back."

Zenkichi was suspicious of such a response, so much so that he raised an eyebrow. "And who might that be?"

Like another lucky cue, Maruki's phone started going off. "Looks like that's her right now." He leaned over to his phone, which had been tucked away into the glove compartment, and answered it. "Takoto Maruki speaking."

"Maruki!" A chipper voice rang from the other side. A chipper voice that was hauntingly familiar to the likes of Makoto, Haru, and Zenkichi... "Did you have any time to meet up today?"

Zenkichi was outwardly surpirsed. A surprise easy to see when he gasped, "you're working with Ichinose!?"

"Oh? Are those the Phantom Thieves I hear in the background?"

Maruki himself had to do a double take, "hang on, you all know each other?"

"Yes, we met during the EMMA incident of last year," Haru elaborated. Though she conviently forget to mention that Ichinose was the source of said EMMA incident.

"I heard everything about the Metaverse from Sophia, if there's anything I can help you guys with just let me know."

Makoto leaned closer to the phone to say her piece. "If there's any information you have, that'd be great."

Eyes still on the road, Maruki started to speak again. "I don't have any solid evidence to back this up... But I may have a theory." Makoto, Haru, Sumire, Zenkichi, and even Ichinose all opened their ears to hear what he had to say. "Everytime you guys finish a fight, you think that's it, the Metaverse is over. But it somehow keeps coming back, right?"

Makoto gave a hesitant nod, unsure of where the doctor was going. "Yes."

"While it can still mostly dissappear, maybe there's one thing keeping it alive. Somehow one person, thing, whatever it may be, is holding that sliver of the Metaverse within themselves."

The Thieves in the car all kind of felt a resounding "ah" within themselves. The theory sounded plausible, but there was currently no way to prove it. "Any clue what that thing or person might be?" Zenkichi asked.

"I have no idea, figuring out that part would be up to you guys. I myself don't want to go anywhere near the Metaverse again..."

After recalling everything both he and her went through, Sumire understood where he was coming from. "I get that, thank you for helping us though."

"Of course."

"Before we split our ways, I'm curious Ichinose-san-- What is it that you and Dr. Maruki are working on?" Haru politely asked from the back seat.

"Oh! I decided to get the help of a cognitive scientist to help me work on ways to get Sophia out of just one phone!"

"Hey, wasn't Futaba working on something like that?" Makoto pondered, "you two should talk to her about that."

Abruptly ending the conversation was the car making its stop. Feeling like the talk came to its conclusion, Maruki brought the group back to LeBlanc. "I wish you all luck."

The Thieves got out of the car, waving the doctor goodbye. Sumire gave a polite "thank you," at his wish of goodluck. They weren't able to gather much information. But at least it was something.

RYUJI SAKAMOTO - ANN TAKAMAKI - TOSHIRO KASUKABE

Once they got off the train, they strategized just outside the train station. "I will admit, narrowing it down to just one political scandal will prove to be difficult," Toshiro made sure to mention. "First there was everything with Shido, then me and my father, then after that it was last year's Owada."

"But that was all ages' ago, man. Shouldn't we be lookin' at something more recent?"

Ryuji made a good point. If it was anything to cause a Palace to surface NOW, it'd have to be a more recent scandal. Or at least a more recent politician to the political world. "Fair point. But I honestly can't think of any recent scandals."

Ann had been twirling her picktails in thought, but Toshiro's words caused her to stop. "But that's good though, right?"

"Generally, yes. It means our political system is taking a turn for the better. It doesn't help us in our current situation though."

"Excuse me, I couldn't help but over hear you speaking about politics." It had been the older man Toshiro met yesterday. Once again, Toshiro recognized the man, but he still couldn't pinpoint why.

Ryuji recognized the older man as well. "Aren't you that politician guy that Ren-Ren helped?"

It wasn't hard for the older man to figure out that "Ren-Ren" was "Ren Amamiya". "Why, yes, I am. I presume you're his friends?"

Returning to her picktail twirling ways, Ann replied with a peppy, "yep!"

"If you don't mind me asking, who are you?" Inquired Toshiro.

"My apologies, I'm Toranosuke Yoshida."

And there it was, the realization that Toshiro had been desperately seeking out. Yoshida, a man who USED to be one of the political world's biggest scandals. Everyone assumed him to be a fraud, Toshiro among them, but after everything that happened to him, he knew to assume different now. Yoshida had been proven innocent the year prior as well, he was now a Diet member again and climbing the ranks.

"Judging by the way you were all whispering..." Yoshida leaned in closer to whisper, "I'd assume this is Phantom Thief work?"

"Woah!" Ann jolted back, "how did you know!?"

"You're not gonna turn us in or anything, are ya?" Huffed Ryuji, now on the defence.

Yoshida let out a jovial laugh, "nothing of the sort! I simply knew thanks to my time working with Amamiya-kun. If there's anything I can do to help, just let me know."

"In that case..." Toshiro put one of his hands in the other, a look of contemplation on his face. "As someone higher in the ranks of the political world, would you happen to know of any recent scandals?" He had a feeling the question would be a dead end, but it was worth a shot.

"Strangely enough, I can't think of any at the moment. The world of politics has been more peaceful then ever."

"Man, that means we've hit a wall." Ryuji grumbled, crossing his arms.

"Maybe it just means the Palace owner isn't tied to the political world? Mika's doing a shoot around here, I could always ask her about anything going on in the modeling world."

"As in Mika-Rin?! Sounds like a plan to me!" Ryuji replied 'way' too enthusiastically.

"Ugh, I'm not letting you anywhere near her," gagged Ann.

Before going off with the others, Toshiro gave a polite bow to Yoshida. "Thank you for your help."

"Any time, and don't forget what I said yesterday."

Toshiro smiled at the older gentlemen. He prepared to say something in response to him, but was quickly pulled away by Ann and Ryuji. "Come on, Pops! Unless you wanna lag behind?"

So the three swiftly made their way over to a nearby fashion shop that lurked in Shibuya's streets. Ryuji desperately wanted to see Mika, but Ann wouldn't let him near her. Meanwhile, Toshiro lingered back with Ryuji, as he hadn't a clue about the modeling world.

"Ann? What are you doing here, this isn't you're shoot." Practically hissed Mika.

"Don't worry Mika," Ann giggled, "I'm not here to take your spotlight or anything. I just have a question to ask."

"Well, whatever it is, make it quick. Can you not see how busy I am?"

Toshiro, who was watching from afar, found the entire scenario curious. "Are we sure SHE isn't the source of corruption?" He leaned over and whispered to Ryuji.

"Nah, that's just an act Mika-Rin puts on to shield her soft heart!"

"Right..."

Back to Ann and Mika, Ann shot her question. "I haven't been paying much attention, has there been any, like, major scandals in the modeling world?"

"Other than the fact that I'm 'not' on more fashion magazines? No, not that I can think of."

To Ann, that settled that. Most other's wouldn't have, but Ann trusted Mika. Mika had been manuplitive, sure, but she worked hard as a model. And Ann admired her for that. Unfortunately, that also meant they hit yet another wall. As Ann returned to Ryuji and Toshiro, she gave them a defeated shrug. "Nothing."

Ryuji returned her defeated shrug, "I guess we'll just have to report back empty handed."

"If it's alright, I'd like to be heading back soon. I, ah... Well, I have to meet someone for dinner tonight."

Now engrossed in the drama, Ann got all up in Toshiro's space. "Pops got a dinnerdate!? Who's the lucky lady?"

"It's with Eri, actually. After everything that happened, I was able to reunite with her."

"Good for you, Pops!" Ryuji playfully elbowed Toshiro, "you gotta remember to introduce, man."

Toshiro softly chuckled at that, "will do."

MORGANA - FUTABA SAKURA - SOPHIA - ERINA

Futaba felt a sense of resounding defeat in her. After ages of internet hunting, she couldn't find a single clue. "This is so strange, I can't dig up anything on the internet!"

Following along with a melancholy tone, Sophia sighed. "I can't find anything either..."

"I hope Joker and the others are having better luck..." Whined Morgana as he temporarily lifted his head from his paws. It was funny, he slipped into that old habit of calling Ren "Joker," while even in the real world.

"LeBlanc's feeling like a prison while we figure out this whole Metaverse theater thing..." Futaba grumbled.

But surprisingly to them, the next thing they knew that familiar feeling of distortion waved over them. "Waaaah, wuh-- Kitty! What did you say?" Futaba exclaimed, turning on her heel to face the Metaverse form version of Morgana.

"Me? I didn't say anything!"

"I didn't expect to see you guys back so soon!" Both Futaba and Morgana turned to face the voice. It had been Erina.

"Erina!?" The two had gasped in unison.

Morgana followed it up by saying, "I didn't know you could exist in the Metaverse without Toshiro!"

She merely shrugged, "me either, it wasn't a thing until now, honestly."

"I think despite being Toshiro's persona... You're a little bit like me, a being created by human cognition but still one with its own will."

"While I love theorizing--" interrupted Futaba, "I don't think we're ever gonna get a solid answer on Erina's exitisance, we gotta do some investigating into that theater right now!"

Morgana shook his abnormally sized head, "Futaba's right, Erina--" Morgana turned back to face the purple haired rebel, "have you seen anything weird while we were gone?"

Erina put a thoughtful hand to her face, "I 'was' going to charge into that theater, but some weird egg-kid stopped me."

"Egg-kid?" Morgana questioned.

You could see a sparkle form in Futaba's eyes, despite the large goggles obscuring them. "Does she mean Jose!?"

"Hey, guys!" Jose rode in on his little cart. When he hopped off he opened his arms to greet the Thieves. "It's so nice to see you all again!" The egg-like boy tilted his head in curiosity at Sophia, "and someone I've never met, too!"

"Hi, Jose! I'm Sophia, humanity's companion!"

Jose expression contorted a bit at that. His head tilted and his eyebrow raised. "Humanity's companion?" The boy questioned back.

"You know, now that I think about it-- Jose and Sophie had some pretty similar goals, huh?" Futaba outwardly thought.

"Wowwie, first that purple haired rebel lady, and now a companion of humanity. You Phantom Thieves sure are something!"

Erina got a good laugh out of Jose's "purple haired rebel lady" comment. "I'd say that's a pretty accurate description."

Morgana, like always, was the first to get back on track. "Why'd you stop Erina from going inside, Jose?"

"Because it's dangerous in there! The owner of this Palace isn't any normal shadow, he's super strong!"

Erina gave a bit of a confident hair flip, "pfft, I'm sure I would have been fine!"

Instead of letting the conversation derail like usual, Futaba picked up on something specific that Jose said. "Woah, woah, hold the phone! So it's official then, this is a Palace?"

Sophia's display lit up with sparkles. "I've only heard of Palaces, I've never seen one before!"

Erina placed a thoughtful hand on her hip. "Same here, it'll be pretty exciting getting to join in on some real Phantom Thief work!"

"Meh, don't get too excited. Usually Palaces mean there's some stuck up jerk involved," reminded Futaba.

"This one's different," all heads now turned Jose's way. "This Palace owner isn't evil or anything... He's just lost."

That particular sentence seemingly struck a chord in Futaba, as now she had begun sheepishly kicking the ground. "Lost, huh? That sounds a whole lot like mine..."

"Do you know who it is, Jose?" Asked Morgana.

Jose nodded, "I do. But I don't really think it's my place to tell you."

Now that just seemed odd to everyone involved. Morgana, Futaba, Sophia, and Erina just exchanged confused glances with one and other. "Oh, umm, okay. Well thanks for the information you could give us," Morgana finally said.

"Of course! I wish you Phantom Thieves good luck!"

"Should we report back to the others now?" Inquired Futaba.

"I'd say so, yeah. I don't think we can get much more information without going inside, and you heard Jose, it's dangerous."

"Oh... I guess I'll see you guys when you're back," shrugged Erina meekly.

"I can stay here and keep you company, Erina!" Chirped Sophia. She was innocently teetering back and forth on her heels.

Erina gently smiled and laughed, "It's alright, don't worry about me! I've got the weird egg-kid to keep me company."

Continuing her teetering, Sophia replied with, "if you're sure..."

"We'll be back soon, Erina!" Waved Futaba. And with that, the group left the Metaverse. But it honestly felt like they had more questions than answers...

REN AMAMIYA - YUSUKE KITAGAWA - GORO AKECHI

Ren planted a hand on his hip, his head tilted as his eyebrows scrunched up. "So, uh, Yusuke-- Mind telling me what we're doing in Tokyo's backalleys?"

In dramatic Yusuke fashion, the blue haired teen rose a dramatic hand to his face. "There's a specific street artist who's recently arose to popularity, I can't help but wonder if they have ties to any of this."

Akechi bore a sour face, one of discontent and annoyance. "And do 'you' mind telling me what we're doing following the idiot around?"

"Hey-- Yusuke's not an idiot. I trust him with this," defended Ren. Akechi simply rolled his eyes. "About this street artist..." Ren turned his attention back to Yusuke, "What's their name?"

"Their name is Geurnica-- A street artist who paints murals with a heart of rebellion. I can't help but admire their work, it reminds me of what we do as Phantom Thieves."

"Geurnica..." Ren hummed, "why does that sound vaguely familiar?"

"I'm getting the same feeling..." Akechi agreed.

"Well, they are quite well known, that might be why," Yusuke elaborated.

Ren and Akechi exchanged a quick glance. Something about the name felt more familiar to them... But they couldn't pinpoint why.

"What'dya need me for?" Ren, Yusuke, and Akechi all turned around to see a blue haired young woman. She wore simple clothes with a paint splatter design. She placed a hand on her hip, "I don't usually reveal myself out in the open, but something feels familiar about you guys."

"Geurnica in the flesh!" Yusuke's fangirl senses went off. "To think I'd see the day!"

Ren and Akechi both had to clutch their heads as a shot of pain spiked through them. Following this pain was an overflow of memories, memories that the sight of the young woman before them sparked to come back. Yusuke saw this and immediately jumped to Ren's side, completely ignoring Akechi. "Ren, are you alright?!"

As the pain washed away, Ren nodded. "I'm good, but I think...

"The Streets..." Akechi mumbled next to him.

"And Jerri," Ren finished.

Geurnica look terrified by the mention of the name Jerri. Unlike the Thieves, she retained her memories of those events a year ago. "How do you... Are you guys the Phantom Thieves!?"

"Geurnica knows who we are!?" Said Yusuke, completely appaled.

"It was thanks to a little event that occurred over a year ago. It was me, Akechi, and Sumire I think... Now that I think about it-- Everything with Jerri was really similar to Salmael..." Ren trailed off.

"English, please. Who on earth is Salmael?" Hissed Akechi.

"It's nothing, I'll talk about it later with the other Thieves."

Geurnica gawked at Akechi for a few moments. Like she had something to say but didn't know how to say it. Akechi took notice of her sights on him, "do you need something?" He snarled.

"You look a lot like Crow, but you sure don't act a thing like him." Geurnica only got to witness Akechi while he was putting up his princely facade, she wasn't used to seeing him like this.

"Oh, don't worry about it. Crow's just embraced his true self--" Ren cast a quick glance to Akechi before looking back to Geurnica, "--it just so happens that he's feral."

"I will admit, I'm feeling rather behind on the conversation here," confessed Yusuke.

"So I'm assuming you're Joker then..." Geurnica pointed at Ren. "But who's this guy?" She now pointed at Yusuke.

"That's Fox, he's another Phantom Thief that you just haven't met," Ren answered. "And Yusuke, I'll explain everything to you and the other Thieves later."

Yusuke nodded, "I appreciate that, but Geurnica, it seems to me that you have experience with the cognitive world?"

Geurnica just stared at Yusuke confused, "the cogni-what?"

"It's the place within one's heart," explained Akechi shortly. "For example, The Streets."

"Oh, in that case, yeah, I do."

"Fantastic. Have you experienced any more cognitive world relayed oddities?" Continued Yusuke.

"No, at least not that I've noticed. Why-- Did something happen?"

Ren gave a subtle nod, "yeah, but you don't need to stress about it; we'll take care of it."

"This does lead us to a dead end though, and--" Yusuke looked at the setting sun, "it is getting late as well."

"Looks like we'll need to report back to the other Thieves, thanks for the help, Geurnica--"

Geurnica wasn't sure what exactly it was she did to help, but she accepted Ren's thanks anyways. "Anytime, and if you need any more help in the future, you can always come to me."

Ren gave her a brisk but determined nod.

"Someone, please, anyone help!" A voice cried out.

Immediately rushing out of the alleyway, Ren was the first on the scene. Yusuke reached out his hand to stop the leader of the Phantom Thieves, but to no avail. "Whats the matter!?"

Akechi picked up on what was going on, he gave a disappointed head shake and grumbled, "that idiot..!" But of course, he still followed.

Back to Ren, the screaming he followed led him to a neighboring alleyway. Inside was a young woman being assaulted by skinny thug. Despite the visual difficulty, it was a sight all too familiar. The idea of things happening the way they did again got Ren's heart racing. But his own well being was never something he'd put over others. With a final gulp, he got in between the man and woman.

"What're you doing punk? Does this look like any of your buisness?"

"It does when clearly this woman doesn't look like she wants to be touched."

The man may have been skinny, but he was still tall. Using his advantage in height, he loomed over Ren. "You step away, or I'll get the cops involved. Who are they gonna believe, an adult or some punk?"

Technically Ren was of legal adult age, but he bit back on the urge to be witty in light of the serious situation. He simply stood his ground, glaring the thug straight on.

"Luckily for you, the police overheard everything," came a soothing voice. It was a voice Ren recognized, but not one he'd heard in ages. Into the alleyway came the second coming of the Detective Prince himself. Or more accurately, what Ren knew to be the 'persona' of the detective prince.

"Goro Akechi? Ain't nobody seen you in ages!" Replied the thug. But of course the presence of the police, or what he thought was the police, stressed him out.

"I was simply out on undercover police business," Akechi lied. Drawing closer to the thug, he prepared to whisper in his ear. He completely dropped the facade, hissing, "and if you tell anyone of my presence here tonight, I'll make you regret it."

This had successfully intimidated the thug, looking pale as a ghost, he scurried right on out of there. Ren threw his hands up in disbelief, "how come you were able to intimidate him and I wasn't? We've got practically the same build!"

Akechi merely ignored Ren's comment, "trying to get arrested the same way you did the first time, I see. What do you have, some kind of death wish?"

"You know just as well I as I do that I couldn't just ignore someone in need like that."

"And why is that, Amamiya? What is it in that you makes constantly need to play the role of hero?"

The young woman Ren saved, though timid, stepped up, "umm, excuse me." Both Ren and Akechi looked to her. "Sorry to interupt, but I wanted to thank you both, for saving me I mean."

Ren smiled, but the woman left before he could reply. He looked back to Akechi, "and there's your answer."

Yusuke, who'd actually gone after the two, finally caught up. "There you are, I was worried about you!"

"Don't worry about it Yusuke. It's probably about time we headed back, anyways."

But then it happened, Ren felt that infamous phone buzz against his leg.

Toshiro: Hey, guys. Would it be alright if we met back up tomorrow instead? I have somewhere I need to be tonight.

Ann: Hehe, Pops has a date!

Futaba: What!? Since when!? And how come nobody told me the dirty deets?!

Makoto: Ryuji should probably being doing his collage homework, as well.

Ryuji: Whaaaat!? What're you singling me out for!?

Haru: I actually have some homework I need to work on too!

Zenkichi: And I've got some police paper work to fill out.

Ren: Don't worry about it. Meeting up tomorrow is just fine.

Makoto: Try not to forget the information we all learnt today, everyone.

Sumire: I'll make sure to write it down!

Futaba: Suummii, you still gotta stop by so we can trade phone's back.

Sumire: My bad!! I almost forgot!

Ren: See you all tomorrow.

Ren stuffed his phone back into his pocket, looking up to face Akechi and Yusuke who he was sure knew what was going on. He gave a little salute goodbye, "cya guys tomorrow."

Akechi gave a very brisk and subtle nod. But Yusuke returned Ren's warmth with a smile of his. "Very well then, you two rest well."

[faradaykay]

HERE IS MY UP-TO-DATE P5R CHARACTER RANKING bc i think it will be funny if i post this now and then come back when i am later in the game and see that my opinions were severely bad and wrong. also i am doing phantom thieves only (but know shiho would be second if she were in the ranking)

(DISCLAIMER: you cannot get mad at me for my opinion on people who have not showed up yet okay. i have been avoiding spoilers and i know nothing about them so i just know what has happened IN THE GAME SO FAR. also very long post i went off about some people sorry about that)

1. ANN TAKAMAKI - MY GIRL OF ALL TIME. what can i say, i love myself a silly blonde girl. i think my favorite thing about ann is how she’s portrayed as both strong and emotional - she is consistently shown to be resilient, capable, and tough, but she also deals with her emotions in the same way that a teenage girl in her position would. it makes me happy to see that bc not a lot of characters get that right and i hate seeing emotional girls always being the pathetic ones. also i know she’s not canonically sapphic but she does feel very deliberately sapphic to me if that makes sense. having it be canon would be nice, but in a way, the fact that her and shiho have a very sapphic relationship without it being called that reflects what being young and confused about sexuality is like. it’s very common among teenage lesbians, and i know it probably wasn’t the devs’ intention to accurately portray sexuality confusion, but they did a good job of it on accident regardless. anyways i love and adore ann i am hugging her hugging her hugging her and pressing her lips to shiho's as if they're barbies

2. haru okumura - OKAY LOOK. LOOK. i know she hasn't shown up... i know she hasn't said anything besides that one time i saw her in the hallway and she talked about plants to a random teacher for 10 seconds... I KNOW BUT BUT SHE'S SO SKRUNKLY LOOK AT HER. she is so soft looking so silly looking i want to hug her so much. i am reserving this second place spot for her, if it turns out i don't like her as much as i thought then that's fine but nobody knows Girl Of All Time Vibes better than me and she has them

3. yusuke kitagawa - YUSUKE MY BEST FRIEND YUSUKE. I LOVE AND ADORE HIM SOSOSOSOSOSO MUCH... i honestly didn't expect to like yusuke when he first showed up but as soon as he spoke i was like. oh. Oh This Guy. LIKE HE'S SO SILLY he makes me giggle with how he's just so like. WEIRD. but i genuinely don't see how people find him creepy - the fact that he doesn't have any harmful intentions is very clear and he's just a guy who fumbles every social interaction he's ever in and i want to be his best friend for it I LOVE HIM.

4. ryuji sakamoto - I LOVE RYUJI HE'S SUCH A GUY TO ME i love him being best friends with ann and i love his stupid comments he is so funny fr

5. morgana - EVERYONE'S SO MEAN TO MY SILLY KITTY GUY... usually mascot characters like him are super annoying but i fuckin LOVE morgana he's so funny and adorable. i wanna cuddle him THE KITTY EVER

6. kasumi yoshizawa - she's really cute and sweet! the fact that i don't have anything besides that to say about her is why she isn't higher on the list lol

7. akira kurusu - he's a Guy. i like him as a protag, he has dialogue options that don't make me wanna rip my hair out and he had the emotional intelligence to comfort ann without making me want to be like "YOU'RE FUMBLING THIS FR SHUT UP STOP TALKING LET ME TALK TO HER" so i like him. however he's just a guy that exists to me

8. futaba sakura - she's cute! but being a woman in stem is like. every girl i know irl is Like That so she doesn't feel very blorbo to me when she's just An Average Girl In My Comp Sci Class, yk? i might be more interested in her when i actually come across her tho

9. goro akechi - i don't care about him at all i want what he has tho (knows sae niijima personally)

10. makoto niijima - SORRY SORRYSORRYSORRY SORRY. i know this is anti-feminist of me and considering she's so well-liked i am sure i will change my mind on this based on later stuff in the game. but MAN. her attitude is absolutely rancid in the pre-second palace scenes........ LIKE i'm not even mad at her for selling out the phantom thieves bc i get that she's been blackmailed but she said something to akira about how she "didn't know if ann being a victim of kamoshida was all there was to it" naming ANN SPECIFICALLY and not akira or ryuji and like. GIRL WHAT ARE YOU IMPLYING THERE WHY ARE YOU SINGLING OUT ANN i do not like the implications there they're Yucky!!! you can do what you have to do without being nasty to ann and mean Okay Thanks.

[voicesagainstliars]

Any of y'all play D&D in what little down time you get between Palace/Akuma busting? If so what builds?

Futaba: Always wanted to DM. I would, if I had people to play it with... wait.

She and a few other Phantom Thieves get huge grins on their faces.

Kim: Always wanted to play, but the number stuff gives me a headache...

Nino: I hear you on that...

Shiho: Me, Ann and Ryuji used to play with Sakamoto-san. After we drifted apart, though... man, I miss Niskafee.

Ann: Speak for yourself. I don't want to return to my girl Yarm...

Marc: Do you, uh... feel comfortable telling me why not...?

Ann, after looking at the requisite Thieves: ... because Yarm escaped from sex traffickers and joined the party for refuge.

Juleka and Shiho cringe.

Ryuji: What's sorta funny is that Yarm and Koyooki, my character, had a romantic subplot going on with Ma as the DM. I think she was hoping we'd date or something...

He suddenly flinches.

Ryuji: I-I swear she doesn't mind you being with Shiho, o-or gay as shit, or...

Ann: Nonono, it's fine! ... to be honest, I'm honestly revisiting some of that...

Juleka: Really? The most sexuality-confident lesbian on the team?

Ann: This confidence is a recent development... and I'm still sure I'm gray-asexual. I just think I might be biromantic but really prefer g-girls...

Makoto places her hand on Ann's shoulder as tears begin to appear on the blonde's face.

Makoto: You're still valid, you know. Just because you might have got it... wrong in the past? Was that an okay way to phrase it?

Ann: ... I dunno, but I get what you mean...

Makoto: That's good, at least... the point is, it doesn't make you any less valid. You get to decide this stuff for yourself - nobody else.

Ann: ... wow, I'm super lame. I can't even follow my own advice.

Akira: Wait, when did this happen? ... if you don't want to tell us, that's chill.

Ann, after a nod from Makoto: Around the time me and Makoto called it even. The day after Makoto became Queen and all...

As everyone begins talking to Ann, wishing her good luck on figuring that out, a thought occurs to Ryuji.

Ryuji, to himself: Is there some other guy who Ann's attracted to? ... oh, it could be Akira! Ooh, that's tough on her. I like being his one and only, even if 'm poly. Nino and Yuuki are less likely, but I could see it. Probably not Luka... maybe it's Kim?

He shakes his head.

Ryuji: Okay, definitively not Kim. Nathaniel ain't likely, either. I hope it's not Marc or Yusuke, 'cuz that sure as hell ain't gonna be reciprocated. Damn it, who the hell is it?

He takes a few breaths to calm down.

Ryuji: Eh, I can ask her about it later... I guess bein' her wingman ain't too bad for me.

[atopearth]

Brothers Conflict (Passion Pink) Part 6 - Asahina Yusuke Route

Yusuke covering Ema and helping her out on the crowded train was so cute~ Honestly, Yusuke isn't my type but he's so silly and kind that I might like him more than I expect to though hahaha. Lmao at Yusuke blushing at the idea of having matching dolphin straps with Ema as a souvenir from the aquarium. It's so cute how Yusuke tries so hard to hide that they live together (at school) but doesn't want to hurt Ema's feelings haha. I guess Yusuke is like a dog considering how honest he is with his thoughts and emotions, and he's such a happy guy lol. It was so cute how worried Yusuke was when Ema hurt her foot and he carried her hahaha. I love how honestly he loves Ema's food and said that he would eat it even if his stomach explodes hahaha. I think it's really sweet how he always looks forward to her food and happily eats all of it. I think it's really endearing to hear him enjoy her food so much. I kinda like how different Ema is when it comes to wanting to go to Yusuke's room compared to the other guys, she'll literally just go and be like let's play this new game I bought hahaha. I guess that's how it is when you're closer in age and have known each other for a while already haha. It's actually really wholesome how she can just ask to stay over because she watched a scary movie and is too scared to sleep by herself hahahah, I love how chill they are with each other. Anyway, Yusuke's sleeping look is super cuteee~

HAHAHA, I love how Yusuke said he would like beat her up or literally send her flying if she came to school when she had a cold😂😂 He's so considerate in his own silly way. I really like how Yusuke always does his best to protect Ema, and I love how he told her (when she was asleep) that he was really happy that she relied on him, and that as long as she relied on him he would continue to do his best to protect her. Lmao when Yusuke hugged Ema in his sleep and she slapped him awake🤣 The funniest thing was when she was telling him she wasn't Wataru and was Ema, and he was like, must be a dream then so I'm not letting go😂 I actually like how selfish Ema sounded when she was hurt after realising that her dad probably wasn't her real dad and argued with Yusuke saying he wouldn't understand. I think it's nice to see how "childish" Ema can be in this route with Yusuke because they're "closer". I'm glad Yusuke shouted at her and said doesn't she think of them as their real family? Especially when he and his brothers and everyone already think of her as family. It made my heart hurt a bit to hear Yusuke tell her not to say something so sad, especially since it probably hurt him🥺 Lmao when she teased him later repeating his corny/romantic words🤣 

Aww I really liked how Ema helped him study! I totally suck at maths so trying to understand it with my limited Japanese was even more impossible lmao but it was nice that Yusuke understood it hahaha. Too bad Sasakura appearing kinda "ruined" things since Yusuke is trying to hide the fact that they're living together (for a good reason). Lmaoo at Ema saying it was very Yusuke-like to like watching comedies because he doesn't need to use his brain😂 It was so funny when he got mad and then she distracted him successfully with popcorn hahaha. Omgg, Ema said she would want to be the manager of the basketball club to cheer Yusuke on if he joined it, that's so cuteee. She even started thinking about how she would be able to do the jobs of washing uniforms and cheering for the team etc hahaha, it would be cool to see Yusuke a part of a team, but I do think that Yusuke likes to play for fun more than as an athlete like Subaru. I agree with Ema, Yusuke was really cool when he shielded her from some guy bumping into her at the park, I can understand why Yusuke would want to go to the guy and teach him a lesson about manners, but honestly not worth it tbh.

Aww, I love how Yusuke got mad at Ema for waiting for him to finish his supplementary examination out in the cold on Christmas Eve!! She must have been freezing! But he told her to give him her hand as they went to the cafe later as thanks for studying with him, so I guess it's worth it hahahaha. It's so cute seeing them share a parfait together~ I love how Yusuke always gets mad when she does things like this, but he's always too soft towards her, so he tries his best to make her happy by showing he cares in other ways. He's bad with words and rough, but always so kind and I think it's so cute because Ema understands him without him needing to always make it clear, but when he does try his best to express his thoughts and feelings, it's so adorable and it makes me like him even more seeing how hard he tries to tell her what he's thinking when she doesn't understand haha. It's nice to hear Yusuke mention his father because I just realised that no one talks about their father! Especially the older ones who would have known more about him haha. Anyway, it's nice to hear the story of how all the brothers before Yusuke had a smooth childbirth but it was dangerous for him, so his father bought a charm for safe childbirth delivery for Miwa. Afterwards, Miwa gave it to Yusuke to now protect him since they believe that the charm protected him, which is pretty sweet, because he still carries it to this day! It really shows how much he cherishes it for the memories of his father and Miwa. It's so sad to see Yusuke avoid Ema because of the rumours of them dating at school😭 It's his silly way of "protecting" her since he doesn't want people to talk about her blah blah, but seeing her cry because of it makes me so sad, since being avoided really hurts😭 I'm glad Sasakura is a nice guy even though Ema rejected him. It was expected that Yusuke would get into a fight with Sasakura after seeing Ema cry and then get heated up lol, he's too rash, but I'm glad Ema made sure to make him apologise to Sasakura the next day. It was nice to hear him say that he promises he will because he won't do anything that will make her sad anymore🥲🥲 I loved how she also got to communicate to him that she's okay with the rumours and that what hurts her more is Yusuke avoiding her. I love Maho-chan (Ema's friend), not only is she super supportive of her love in every route, but here she helps dispel the rumours by telling people the truth and telling Yusuke off for making Ema sad.

Lmaooo at Yusuke needing to take a minute to breathe in and out when Ema gave him Valentines' chocolates😂 Aww, I like his White Day present to her, he noticed a character she likes from her notebooks and gave her stationery for that character~ It's so funny how Yusuke revealed how he noticed Ema from when they first started schools by knowing she changed her hairstyle since then hahaha, it's so cuteee. Anyway, Minakami's existence is annoying and unnecessary, and I really didn't need her in this ending honestly, like omggg she harassed Ema for like a week or two every single day??? She's very bothered and I can't believe Ema was able to endure that, but I know she's too nice to tell Yusuke but AHHH. And Fuuto was probably busy with work and didn't want to blurt it out since Ema said no, but I'm glad he finally told Yusuke. Like, honestly though, I'm surprised Yusuke never noticed something was wrong, but I guess he's bashing himself on the inside right now for being so close to the one he likes and not even noticing that, especially when he said he would never let her cry and would protect her. I'm glad Yusuke got everyone (Minakami, Fuuto and Ema) up on the rooftop to tell them that he likes Ema and that he won't forgive anyone who hurts her. Considering how shy Yusuke is most of the time, his confession was really sweet and corny hahaha, but very heartwarming🥲 Omgg, when he got into the same university as Ema, and she was like we'll be together for another 4 years, but Yusuke was like, no, we'll be together forever and basically proposed to her, I was like whoaaa Yusuke!! Niceee hahaha! Lmaooo, I love the epilogue where Ema teases Yusuke that if he doesn't study for his exams now and only thinks about playing, he's going to end up having to repeat the year, and then if that happens, whilst he's trying his hardest to graduate, she would be a working adult in a company and might even fall in love with her wonderful boss😂😂 I love how he surprised her with a kiss after that though~~ they might not get to go on a date until after exams but a kiss is still fine!😊😊

Overall, Yusuke really is the classic school romance I never thought I needed. I love Yusuke and Ema's relationship alot because I feel like you really get to see another side to Ema in this route. Since the guys before this were all older than her, I feel like she never got to really show how spoiled or childish she can be or even just how fun she can be with her teasing with someone around her age and that's her classmate. She's still as kind and cute as ever with how understanding she can be, but I guess the relationship was just very "balanced" here because they would help each other out and grow together as two people experiencing the same things at the same time. I really enjoyed seeing how soft Yusuke was towards Ema, and how even though he's really silly and can be really rough with his words, you can tell how much he loves Ema and how he tries his best to communicate with her. Whenever Yusuke is embarrassed but still tries his best to tell her what he thinks and feels, I'm always smiling at how cute he is hahaha. Otherwise, the Minakami stuff and I guess the drama of the route was handled pretty haphazardly with how it all just happens near the end and was quite unnecessary since I feel like, Yusuke really just needed to be resolute and determined enough to tell Ema his feelings, and it didn't need to have the "jealous rival" thing to make that happen. But anyway, all good because Yusuke is so sincere that even if he may be an idiot, he really tries his best to make up for it and really loves Ema, and I guess that's what matters most. I definitely still loved him and his route very much, because it was just soo cuteee!

[ellenripleysbelieveitornot]

What about an Akechi/Joker role swap AU where Akechi is still the detective prince and Joker is still the Shujin delinquent, but the major difference is that Morgana never lost his memories and found Akechi before he approached Shido with his metaverse assassination plot?

Like, imagine Akechi, bitter and jaded, who has just awakened Loki and felt the terrifying and thrilling rush of the berserk power. He's formed a plan to get back at his piece of shit father, even managed to set up a meeting, which he had to set up months in advance, and on the day he's going to present Shido with info on the metaverse, he winds up arriving a few minutes late, because even though he intended to be early, he was accosted by a talking cat (he's been in the metaverse, so he can hear him) on the way over, and in the whole wtf-ery of the moment, lost track of time. Shido, being Shido, refuses to see him and will not reschedule because he doesn't like having his time wasted.

Pissed off, Akechi leaves to find Morgana still waiting for him outside. So he doesn't look like an idiot yelling at a cat on the street, he brings Morgana back to his shitty apartment, where Morgana explains why he had found Akechi and whats up. He doesn't know about Yaldobaoth taking Igor's place, he just knows there's two champions, and Akechi was the one he found first, so he must be Igor's chosen champion. (It is my theory that it doesn't actually matter who was Igor's and Yaldobaoth's champions, it was more about the choices they each made and where they ended up.) 

Akechi has no interest in saving the world, but he knows that if he wants to get back at Shido, he needs to become someone of consequence, so he agrees to undergo Morgana's training, since Morgana clearly knows more about the metaverse than he does, and he can use it to solve cold cases, earning him a place as the Detective Prince. He changes a few hearts, to pacify Morgana, too. It takes a couple years, but during his senior year in high school, he makes it, earning himself the cooperation of the police and the spotlight of the public eye. He's getting so close to making Shido notice him that he can practically taste it. Also, what’s this ‘velvet room’ he keeps dreaming about?

Then Morgana finds Kamoshida’s palace and is like ‘heyo, you thought changing hearts in the metaverse was cool, check this shit out’ and Akechi is admittedly intrigued , so he takes a look. He sees the inside of Kamoshida’s heart and is appropriately disgusted and says to Morgana, ‘hey we should totally kill this guy’s shadow.’ Morgana’s like ‘why is your first suggestion always murder, we don’t know what would happen if we killed his shadow, Igor wasn’t very clear about that bit, we should try stealing the treasure instead’ and Morgana has been useful (and it’s been really nice to have the company these past two years, though he won’t admit that) so Akechi agrees ‘fine, we’ll steal the treasure, but if that doesn’t work, then I’m killing his shadow.’

And that’s when Ryuji and Ann make an appearance (’ohmigawd, goro, be more careful with that damn app, i s2g.’) Ryuji’s mom apparently thinks Akechi is pretty neat and watches all his interviews, so Ryuji knows who he is and is delighted to find out that the lame-ass detective his mom has talked about is actually a grumpy badass in the metaverse, with this shadow that has some kind of insane power, and hey, he helped them bring down Kamoshida (alive,) so maybe he is actually pretty cool, even though sometimes he spaces out and talks about evil twins and some longed-nose dude. He decides then and there that he’s going to be Akechi’s best friend, since he apparently has none, and Ann is all too happy to join in for the ride, and all of Goro’s protests have fallen on deaf ears, and they know about the whole detective prince thing being a facade, so he might as well indulge them for now. 

The ‘Phantom Thieves’ (a name that makes Goro want to roll his eyes whenever he hears it, and why is everyone calling him ‘leader?’) gain fame and change hearts, gaining new members such as this weird-ass artist dude who fights with ice, and oh, god, one Nijima is bad enough, don’t tell me there’s two! and she uses nukes, wtf?!

Around this time, he also meets Shujin’s delinquent, enigmatic transfer student whose talk of hope and justice never quite seem to reflect in his stormy grey eyes, and he and Goro are clearly birds of a feather in a way, he can tell, there’s just something about him, and he thinks this guy might actually be his best friend, but don’t tell Ryuji that, he’d never hear the end of it.

Akechi learns the truth behind Akira’s arrest and Shido’s involvement and he is disgusted to find that he genuinely wants to help this guy, and he can’t do that if Shido’s dead, maybe he doesn’t want his revenge as badly as he thought??? Oh, ew, I have feelings that aren’t anger and it’s all my friends’ fault, I can’t just leave them and go off to get revenge, they’d literally die without me, those lovable idiots. Also, when Ryuji saw his home, he pretty much insisted he stay with him instead, and Ryuji’s mom reminds him of the good times he had with his own mother, and he honestly doesn’t think he has the strength to disappoint her like that. So, he decides to change Shido’s heart, but he knows that there’s no way that this little group of miscreants is strong enough to take on the fucked up bullshit that he’s seen in Shido’s heart, so let’s hit pause on that for now.

Shido had Wakaba killed via completely non-supernatural ways and stole her research, same as before, so Futaba still has a palace. He found out Akira worked at Leblanc a while ago and started dropping by, and then somehow Ryuji found out about it, and now all the Phantom Thieves know, so much for a peaceful place to get away, but he actually doesn’t mind that much, and Akira lets Akechi keep an eye on the shop when there are no customers so he can go out and do errands and Boss doesn’t mind, so they’ve ended up hanging out there as a group from time to time and talking Phantom Thief business, so Futaba knows who they are, and asks for their help.

Okumura’s palace pretty much goes the same, Okumura dies somehow, are we responsible, why does murder actually make me feel kinda bad, stupid friends and their stupid good influence. 

Goro attends the Shujin student fair as guest speaker, whoa, the class president being friends with Akechi does have its perks, doesn’t it? Akira finds them all there together and approaches them, tells them he saw them go into the metaverse, awakened his own persona, and saw a guy in a black mask kill Okumura’s shadow, hey why don’t I join you, you probably need all the help you can get, who’s heart are we stealing next, how about Sae, she knows my probabtion officer and has been giving me hell, plus I already checked, she definitely has a palace.

They agree, and oh, hey, Akira can hear Morgana talk now, but WAIT A MINUTE?! Didn’t he hear Morgana talk before when he told Goro that Leblanc didn’t sell sushi, even though Goro hadn’t asked for any?

They hack Akira’s phone, learn that Shido (Akechi recognizes that voice) will have thugs waiting to capture them when they leave the palace. They plan around it, pull the metaverse switch and manage to sneak a heavily drugged Akechi out of the warehouse Shido stashed him in by traveling through the metaverse. Shido’s lackey’s have written a fake suicide letter from the leader of the Phantom thieves, and the chief of police, under Shido’s orders, delivers a statement confirming its authenticity, and look the plan succeeded. All they need to do know is take down Shido.

Things are going great, until they get to the engine room, where Joker, having realized what happened, is waiting for them. Joker, who lost everything after he transferred, who discovered the metaverse completely alone, who didn’t mean to kill that guy’s shadow, but he attacked him first, and Shido had somehow known, had been keeping an eye on him, had him convicted for a crime that he didn’t commit in the hopes that he would break because he needed an agent in the metaverse, and so far he’s had no luck. Joker, who had nothing left to lose and had accepted the only hand that had reached out for him.

They fight, and when it looks like things are going badly for Joker, he pulls out... a second persona?!?! At least, it looks like a persona, but something about it is off. it looks familiar somehow. And then Akira asks if they knew it was possible to fuse personas and Akechi realizes what he’s looking at. These aren’t the clean executions that Caroline and Justine perform, these are personas that have been ripped apart and haphazardly thrown back together with no thought to form or elegance, look, there’s a Yaksini’s arm, and that bit right there clearly used to belong to a Rangda, and I think that piece might have belonged to a Seiryu, and Akechi should stop listing personas now because Ann thinks she’s going to be sick.

They keep fighting. Joker can’t understand the difference in power between them. After all, aren’t they the same? Unloved, unwanted, soldiers pitted against each other by some bullshit higher power?

When Joker shoots the bulkhead door closed and Futaba reports that she’s lost Joker’s reading, Akechi vows then and there that he’s going to kill Shido after all. And he almost does. He stands there, with his gun pressed to the head of the shadow of his father, his friends can’t blame him, and even Morgana knows better than to try and stop him. But he doesn’t. He remembers Akira’s madness there at the end, and wonders what he would have become of him if it weren’t for Ryuji, who somewhere along the way, he’d realized he’d stopped tolerating and started actually liking. Ann, who shared his woes about being in the public eye and swapped tips with him about how to handle the press. Yusuke, who, although he was still completely bizarre to him, appreciated the beauty in life and didn’t tease Goro for his taste in Grandpa clothes. Makoto, who knew the importance of hard work and who, between herself and her sister, had caused Goro to pick up some healthier coping mechanisms. Futaba, who made fun of him for his food blog, but liked the same nerd bullshit that he did and would bombard him with memes until his day somehow became a little less shittier. Haru, who dreamed of starting her own business and actually cared about Goro’s opinions, and could threaten someone with a smile in a way that even Goro was jealous of. And Morganna, who had reminded him what it was like to not be lonely, and demanded more sushi than he could afford, but always made sure Goro ate his fill, instead of getting so focused on his work that he forgot.

Akechi guesses that he must have turned soft somewhere during the past several months, but after seeing what happened to Akira, he can’t help but be grateful, knowing with certainty that if things had turned out differently, that would have been him. Hey, Morgana, you know that world-saving bs you talked about two years ago? Let’s leave this piece of shit here to rot and focus our attention on that instead.

And you guys know the rest.

Or, at least, that’s how I thought it would go. Feel free to share your thoughts. :)

[foryoumyheroes]

Kuroo’s S/O is a Phantom Thief

[Persona 5 x Haikyuu!!]

A/N: asdfgh I’m sorry Haikyuu has just been taking over every corner of my mind. This is so self-indulgent, this is my own version of emergency requests because today was a sad day and I didn’t do so well on my quiz.😔 It’s been a while since I’ve refreshed a lot of my memory on P5 BUT IM STILL OBSESSED WITH IT , so apologies if I get anything wrong! This also uses Akira as the Protag’s name. 

Warnings: This uses they/them pronouns as usual, but if you are familiar with P5 canon, it does hint that Kuroo’s S/O is afab because of how Kamoshida is and how he acts :// Also, especially if you aren’t familiar with P5, hints of harassment, violence, and sexual assault might come up until the bullet point “Now that the context is over.” There’s nothing explicit, but you guys deserve that warning! 

Here’s some ✨backstory✨: 

He was probably just an huge fan of Kamoshida, your school’s volleyball coach and former Olympic medalist, growing up. So much so that he almost went to Shujin but ultimately decided on Nekoma in the end. 

That’s probably how the two of you met. You were on your school’s vball team and your schools were having practice matches with one another. His eyes probably went 👁️👁️ while his brain went brrr when he first saw you and you spiked a ball in his face because he was too busy staring at you and your form to notice the ball come flying at his nose at 5000 mph. Like oh my god are you an angel. Your form is so fluid yet strong and your jumps take you so high--BAM!  

You two ended up trading contact info as you took him to the nurse’s office and ✨the rest is history✨

Used to fangirl over Kamoshida every time he came to pick you up at your school and got you to introduce him. He got an autograph and hung it up in his room. 

That being said he does think it’s kind of strange that Shunjin Academy has such a weak volleyball team. He’s like asdfghj he feels so bad for saying it, but some of your teammates get knocked back from a single receive and you get bruises all over? At first he thinks it’s because Kamoshida legitimately tries to work you guys to the bone and then as years go by you get more solemn and quiet about your team.  

You do that stubborn Y/N Main Character Thing™ where you keep everything to yourself because you don't want to worry anyone and it drives Kuroo insane. 

He’s the type that tries to take care of the people that he values (as seen when he nags/checks up on Kenma) and seeing you physically hurt or emotionally closed off would honestly affect him personally. He wants to help and he wants you to confide in him, but all he can do is nag you about taking care of yourself the moment you see him because you’re becoming more distant. 

After a while, he thinks that it’s his fault because his parents’ history still affects him. 

Then one day it comes crashing down when you come crying your eyes out to him that you’ve been kicked off the volleyball team because you fought back against Kamoshida and ran off and Kuroo sees red. He’s shaking with anger. 

He’s a scorpio so of course all of his emotions are at full force when he hears you crying loudly on the couch after Kamoshida’s attempt and he’s split between wanting to commit murder on your former coach and comforting you. 

You tell him everything: how Kamoshida abuses the team, how he always molests the girls, how he started out nice to you because of your skills but recently everything escalated and Kuroo’s heart just drops. 

He says, “We need to tell the authorities!! Your principal!!” and that just makes you cry harder because no one would believe you and that your principal is already covering for Kamoshida. 

Kuroo honestly thinks that he failed you because he didn’t do anything earlier. He was expecting something, but never took the first steps and he legitimately ties to make up for it by hovering over you the next few weeks. 

That night he immediately rips up his Kamoshida autograph and throws it in the shredder. 

He moves practice to an hour later to have time to pick you up and take you to Nekoma, he takes you straight to your home every night, and spends his weekends and free time with you. This was routine for several months until tournaments turn up and he has to regretfully spend time away from you.  

Legitimately almost beat up Mishima because he was spreading rumors about you but you held your 188 cm cat back. 

[One day he walks to Shujin and to your classroom because you weren’t at the gates waiting for him strangely? You turn around and he sees you with three other people which puts him on edge because after Kamoshida people in your school avoided you like the plague. 

You just turn when you hear him open the door and you actually smile at him genuinely. 

“Hey, Tetsu, this is Ann and Ryuji -- they’re victims of Kamoshida too. And this is Akira, the new kid. They’re my new friends.”]

Then you spend more time away from him while he busies himself with upcoming competitions and he swears that something’s up, but you’ve promised to be honest with him now and he’s too busy with the Nekoma team to really press it out of you. He’s going to “accidentally” hit  Kamoshida’s face the next time he sees him on the court. 

And then Kamoshida voluntarily publicly admits to his crimes, resigns, and goes to jail and while he thinks it’s strange he celebrates with you. 

Afterwards, Kuroo swears that you’re a new person. Not changed, but definitely different, and he doesn’t complain because you’re smiling again, and you feel more confident and free. As long as you’re happy and your abuser is behind bars, then he’s happy. 

Now that the context is over. 

He doesn’t think much of the Phantom Thieves. He just jokes around whenever people talk about them because he thinks that it’s things out of a fairy tale. Refuses to believe their existence for the longest time while Lev is like :oooo BUT THEY ARE REAL SENPAI!! 

You even try to lay low by agreeing with him that they don’t exist. 

Kuroo: why are kids nowadays talking about these edgy power rangers. 

He feels very bittersweet when you get your new friends. In one hand, he tried very hard to have you get along with his team because in Shujin he knows that you struggled with making friends, but after you made your new friends -- which he’s happy for, he really is!! -- he can’t help but feel like you’re disappearing off the grid? 

Like you’re a lot happier now, and he’s glad that your new friends are able to bring you this freedom, but you’re becoming more busy and he’s :((( 

He suspects that something’s up though. One day he jokingly punches you in the arm and HIS FIST HURT. He thinks that you’ve been going to the gym without him and you could’ve been spotting each other this entire time. 

He gets jealous of Akira the most. Like sure, you get along with the others really well and Ryuji makes you laugh and Yusuke is pretty, you said, but you gush about your team leader the most since he’s the most skilled and Kuroo inwardly feels :/// at the sound of you praising another guy.

You’ve been dropping a lot of dates to fight in the Metaverse and Palaces and so he feels very neglected. He’s mf’ing needy!! He needs attention! 

You guys were already long distance and you’ve made it work so far, but as the Phantom Thieves became more popular as time went on, you spent more time with your friends. He misses you, but he doesn’t want to be seen as the possessive, clingy bf so he keeps his opinions to himself, especially since these were your first real friends in a while. 

Your first big fight happened when you texted him that you were busy at a study group with your friends, but he just so happened to be in the Sangenjaya district for karaoke with the owl and cat teams and as they’re walking home he sees you emerge from the bathhouse with Akira laughing your asses off. 

[”Hey, Kuroo, isn’t that [Name?],” one of his teammates say, pointing across the street at you with Akira. He gulps first and Kenma’s eyes worryingly flash to Kuroo before falling on your figure. Isn’t it suspicious that you were in a bathhouse with another guy after you said you were busy? 

YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND IT WAS FOR THE SOCIAL LINK KUROO 

“Guess you weren’t stressing over your physics exam, huh?” a voice suddenly says, beside you.

“Tetsu?”] 

You guys ended up fighting all night, but it was getting late so per your rules that you established when you first started dating, you both said sorry to each other and went to bed. Yet, the doubt never leaves. 

Honestly, after a while he does think that you might be a better match for Akira because you both lived in the same area, went to the same school, and were both terrorized by the same person. “Birds of a feather” and all that. He loves you but just wants what’s best for you 😢

He’s smart but...yeah. I’m gonna refrain from further comment. It’s that scorpio brain. He would never get that you’re a Phantom Thief until you clearly tell him. 

It either comes out when you guys are fighting again and your relationship is on the line, or you either forgot another date with him and he walks into Leblanc to see you talking with your friends. 

He tries to take your conversation outside, but you guys were discussing really urgent and couldn’t go with him, and then you guys start arguing in front of your friends and that’s ;;; awkward as hell. When it starts to escalate either you end up letting it slip that you’re a Phantom Thief or Ryuji. 

You can practically see the !!!! on top of everyone’s heads when it comes out. 

Everyone scrambles to talk over each other to cover it up but the damage was already done 😔

[Futaba: we can knock him out and pretend that he dreamed up the entire thing!! 

Everyone: Futaba, no 

Futaba yes.]

When it finally sinks in he’s embarrassed af ;;; like the entire time he was doing the provoking act on Akira and for what??? 

Then he feels relieved. He thought that you were bored of your relationship and that’s why you’ve been busier and distancing yourself.

Kuroo: thank god [Name] has just been fighting crime this entire time instead of wanting to leave me. 😊😊 (but if you did want to leave he would’ve let you go he’s not toxic!!)

Your friends were iffy about him at first, but he does prove himself to be a reliable person! They think y’all r so lovey-dovey it’s gross. 

Ryuji: every time he steps into the room for [Name] I feel 10x more single.

If he hears other students of Nekoma try to talk trash about the Phantom Thieves, he’ll legit puff out his chest, walk up to them and go, “HAAAH? WHAT DID YOU SAY?? SAY THAT TO MY FACE.”  

When you try to explain Palaces and Mementos he legit tries to argue with you 🙃🙃

Kuroo: BUT THAT DOESNT MAKE S E N S E WHERE’S THE SCIENCE BEHIND THIS. There has to be an explanation make it make sense!! 

Damn he thought you were hot before now he thinks that you’re a literal GOD ON EARTH. 

[You: [beats up a multi-millionaire in a Palace]. 

Kuroo: [tears up] real hot girl shit.]

Does your homework for you when you’re too tired after fighting Shadows all day. 

He loves Morgana the most out of all your friends!! Because... he’s a not cat. Like c’mon. 

In all truth, he’s so supportive of you!! Yeah, he was kinda disappointed that you didn’t tell him sooner, especially since he was there for you when it first started, but he truly understands your reasoning and why you kept it to yourself. He’s worried every time he knows that you’re going to fight Shadows, but can’t help but feel the sense of pride every time you come back to him. 

Kuroo wants to gloat to his team that he has such a badass S/O so much, but every time he praises you he has to cut so many details out so he just sounds like a crazy person. 

[blackhakumen]

Mini Fanfic #529: Shadow, The Ultimate, Precious Lifeform (SBBU)

9:45 a.m. at the Smash Mansion's Living Room.........

Ann/Haru: Awwwwwwwwwww!!~ So Preciooouussssss!!~

Makoto: (Smiles Softly) That was very sweet of you for what you did for the children last night, Shadow-san.

Futuba: (Smiles Brightly) I know, right?! It was one the best Goodnight Kisses Mona and I ever had!

Morgana: (Smiles Softly) Yeah. I'm honestly kind of glad Futuba talked me into going up to the halls with her.

Ryuji: (Chuckles Lightly) Ah dude! Compared to Ren-Ren over here, you really are the ultimate big brother.

Ren: Aside from that blatantly inaccurate nickname, Ryuji kind of have a point here. (Gives Shadow a Playful Smirk) As a fellow big bro myself, I would like to invite you to the Official " Cool Big Brothers Club" Population.......Just me.

Shadow: (Rolled his Eyes While Blushing in Embarrassment) Appreciate the invitation, Joker......

Sonic: (Place his Arm Around Shadow's Shoulder While Giving him a Playful Smirk) Look on the bright side, faker, at the very least, no one would think of you as an edgelord anymore. Just another softy with a heart of gold.

Shadow: (Glares at Rouge, Who is Sitting Next to Him) I blame you for this.......

Rouge: (Smirks Playfully Towards Shadow While Enjoying her Mug of Coffee) Oh don't be like that now, Shadow. You know just as much as I do that deep down, you're a huge sweetheart.

Futuba: That's right! You maybe a Edgelord to everyone else in the world....(Hugs Shadow from Behind) But you'll be our Ultimate Precious Sweetheart of a Hedgehog!

Shadow: Kind of tired of being called that really......

Yusuke: (Raised an Eyebrow in a Bit if Confusion) "A Precious Sweetheart"?

Shadow: No. It's being called "Edgelord". The more I hear people keep calling me that, the more I feel like the way they used that name as an actual insult to me. It almost feel like being called one in the first place, is the only thing I am to everyone...... Including you guys....

Ann: (Eyes Widened in a Bit of Shock) Seriously?

Haru: (Frowns Sadly) Oh, sweetheart.....We never think of you like that all at.

Makoto: She's right, Shadow-san. We know that you are far more than what everyone else think you are.

Shadow: You.... really mean that?

Ryuji: (Gives Shadow a Reassuring Smile) Yeah, man. I mean....You and your crew always fought for the what all of you believed in.

Morgana: You would always go to extreme and risk your lives to complete a mission and save those who are in harm's way.

Ren: (Smiles Softly) Even when the world itself would always give you a hard time, you never once thought about giving up on them. Even now.

Futuba: (Smiles Brightly) You're basically already a hero!!.....An anti hero, but still a hero!!

Shadow: (Couldn't Really Believe What He us Hearing)......You all really think that highly of me, do you?

Sonic: (Smiles Brightly) Of course we do, man. You're practically an inspiration to everyone at this point. (Gives Shadow a Thumbs Up) That alone shows how way past cool you really are.

Rouge: (Gently Place Her Hands onto Shadow's Cheeks) I already told you, didn't I? (Gives Shadow a Sincere Smile) We love you just the way you are, Shadow. That will never change.

Shadow: (Almost Speechless) W-Wow.....I-I-I....(Starts Blushing)....Had no idea all of you would think of me that way.......

Futuba: ('GASPS') You guys!!! Are you seeing this?!! (Smiles Brightly and Points at Shadow's Blush) He's blushing!!!~

Ann: (Eyes Widened in Surprise) Oh my god, Futuba, you're right!!! (Immediately Starts Gushing Over Shadow) It's sooooooo cuuuuuute!!!~

Haru: And precious!~ Please don't forget about precious!!~

Makoto: (Giggles Softly) Goodness. You really do look adorable, Shadow-san.

Rouge: (Shrugged While Smirking Playfully Again) What can I say, ladies? (Playfully Pinches Shadow's Cheek) This hedgehog here might be the most precious Ultimate Lifeform in the entire universe~ Isn't that right, Shadow?~

Shadow: ('Groans in Embarrassment')

Morgana: (Pat on Shadow's Back Reassuringly) Cheer up, Shadow. Being labeled as cute and adorable isn't too bad......Though, I'm gonna be honest....It's better you than me though.......

Haru: Mommy's gonna pinch your cute little cheeks soon, Mona-Chan!~ Don't you worry!

Futuba: I'mma pinch those cheeks too by the way!!!

Morgana: (Eyes Widened Before Sighing) Should've kept my mouth shut........

Yusuke: (Starts Staring at a Overly Embarrassed Hedgehog) Hmm...A Flustered Ultimate Lifeform.....Now that does sound fascinating already....

Ren: (Smirks a bit Evilly) Bet it makes you wanna make a painting of the whole thing, huh Yusuke?

Yusuke: (Pulls out his Sketch Book Out of Nowhere with a Somewhat Determined Look) Precisely.

Ryuji: (Burst out Laughing) Aha man!! That poor hedgehog gonna have a painting of him being cute and shit! This already too priceless!!

Sonic: (Starts Snickering) I'll do you one better.....(Turns to the Stairs) MOM! DAD! SHADOW IS OUT HERE BEING CUTE AND ADORABLE AGAIN!!!!!

Peach: (From Upstairs) OH MY GOSH!!! REALLY?!!!! YOU SWEETHEARTS WAIT RIGHT THERE!!! MOMMY AND AND DADDY ARE GETTING OURSELVES A CAMERA AND EQUIPMENT!!!

Mario: (From Upstairs) TELL SHADOW WE LOVE HIM!!!

Sonic: WILL DO!!!! (Turns Back to the Gain with a Smirk on his Face) Look alive, folks. We're gonna make ourselves a Photo Album today.

Ryuji: ('Heh' 'Heh') (Gives Sonic a Fist Bump) Nice.

Shadow: I hate all of you with an immense passion right now......

Futuba: (Gives Shadow a Sad Puppy Dog Face) No you don't!!

Ann/Haru: (Give Shadow Sad Puppy Dog Eyes Too) You love us!!

Shadow: ('Sighs in Defeat') Okay, fine. I do love you people......

Futuba/Ann/Haru: (Smiles Brightly Again) Yay!~

Rouge: (Gives Shadow a Small Kiss on the Forehead While Still Pinching his Cheek) We love you too, Shadow. A lot more than you probably never realized

Shadow: ('Hmph') (Looks Away While Blushing a Little) Whatever........... (So.....This is what it feels like being with a group of people you considered as family......Hmph. This.....(Smiles a Little) Actually feels nice.....I like it. A lot.)

@keyenuta

@26shann

@cyber-wildcat

@princeoflions123

@albion-93

@ma-lemons

@italian-love-cake

[twilightknight17]

So I was zoning out during work this morning thinking about how they made a big deal about deviations to Mementos floors being a thing that could happen, but I’ve literally only gotten two the entire game. That one time when they told me about them, I got a whole dark floor full of Treasure demons. And I got a dark floor one other time. I thought it was weird, because I didn’t visit Mementos a lot, but when I was there, I was there for long periods of time. It feels like something that should have happened more often.

I now regret every thought in my head about that subject.

So we’re heading back into Maruki’s Palace to try to route the Treasure, which... I don’t know. I’m not getting the impression that he has a specific Treasure. The whole thing with his fiancee was the instigating event, but...this is clearly not a normal Palace.

Ten Thieves is so many Thieves.

So she wasn’t Ribbon or Midnight. XD I like Violet, but at the same time, it feels like it doesn’t match her overall aesthetic. It fits her, but not how she looks, which means the Thief gear really needs an update.

Being Goro is suffering.

Sumire gets an actual, proper awakening, with actual blood! I knew there was something fishy about there not being any the first time around. I really, really wish her outfit had changed, though. Give her something unique to represent herself as her own person. Not Kasumi, and not Joker’s aesthetic. But okay, fine, be the only person whose gloves don’t match their core element.

Time to shove my whole team into a safe room!

...while I appreciate you not making a scene and understand why you have mixed feelings, I’d also just like to remind you that you were the one who said, “It doesn’t matter where you start over.” He’s...trying, Futaba.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the room...

I guess not being at each other’s throats is as much as I can ask.

So I gasped out loud like an excited dork when I realized that one of the personas you can fuse now in the Velvet Room was Hastur (and it was also something I had to fight in the Palace). I should have figured that if Biyarki was around, the thing it serves wouldn’t be too far behind. Shame Hastur wasn’t the final boss, but I still think this is the first time he’s shown up since Innocent Sin, and even there he was like a weirdly-hidden secret. I’m honestly just nerding out. XDDD

The warehouse areas were fun to climb around in, and the monitoring room was about as unsettling as anything else so far. I do think it’s funny that everything is so sleek and sci-fi and whatnot and then...ceiling fan.

Anyway, we can’t get any further in the Palace here, so it’s off to Mementos. Another day, because god forbid we just go today. But that means I’m finally free from plot prison and all my friends want to talk to me again. I might have enough time to rank up Haru. I probably won’t have time for Shinya, but if I have an extra two days somewhere...

I feel so bad for Sumire.

Makoto has finally directly acknowledged that she plowed in head-first and was kind of stupid.

It would have been funny if her third-tier persona was just Anat riding Johanna, but the new bike is cool, too.

I’ve got four third-tier personas, rank 7 of Sumire, and rank 8 of Haru, but I’ve also got two Mementos requests, so I guess it’s time to go investigate.

...oh dear.

Apparently the Depths no longer exist. Iweleth opens directly into the Grail’s chamber. Which he’s filled with giant security cameras. What is he even looking at?

A whole new area has formed, going up instead of down. I wonder if it’s going to connect back into the Palace. It’s like he looked at Mementos and was like, “I’m going to make a better Mementos. With tentacle monsters and the color white.”

And what requests we have! A mother threatening to kill herself and her kid out of grief and depression, and a teenage boy that wants us to kill him so he won’t hurt his sister again. How dare I assume that utopia means less severe Mementos requests!

(In hindsight, there was one request a long time ago where we just talked down the person. It was the only time we’ve done that. You’d think we’d talk down the kid trying to commit suicide by phantom thief, but nope. He was fucking Yoshitsune and it was a nightmare.)

Please appreciate that I almost launched my phone across the room trying to get a picture of this Showtime activation dialogue before it disappeared. XDDD

So I’m pushing forward through Da’at looking for the next rest area so I can stop for the night, it’s probably two floors away, and my thoughts from this morning manifest to destroy me as we head up the escalator and Futaba announces, “Joker, this floor is dangerous! We need to get out of here as fast as possible!”

Okay, cool. It must be a deviation where all the enemies are the powered-up red-aura kind. I’ll just be ready to floor it around them and it’ll be---

...what’s that noise?

Watch out for the what?

So I haven’t seen the reaper yet. I’m pretty speedy in Mementos. And apparently there’s a deviation floor where he’s just there from the start. Stalking you around as you open treasure chests and scream and drive like a maniac. He almost cornered me in a dead end and if this was remotely realistic I’d have crashed the bus swerving around him. X’D

Thank goodness the safe floor was in fact two floors up.

Bonus:

Went to run around in the Den and spend more coins, and...

Iwai’s shop is...where, Akira?

I’ve got Shido’s statue and Yald’s statue around to bait Goro into commenting on them, and it finally paid off. XD He hates the big gold lion.

Yusuke says that he’s probably being a bit narrow-minded, and Goro shrugs him off with, “You probably felt the same about Madarame.”

Yusuke says that he understands that Madarame was not always a terrible person. Something distorted him into what he became. Goro doesn’t care that Shido was probably the same.

Which, all things considered.......fair.

[it-will-not-last-the-night]

PQ2 - The P4 cast

As someone reading can tell I got back into PQ2. I played up to Junessic Land initially, then Three Houses came out and I got distracted by it, then Code Vein came out and I got distracted by it, but now I’m back on PQ2 and into the third area.

So I have some experience now with the P4 cast in this game so far and, as I have literally no other knowledge on P4, wanted to comment on it.

I’ve enjoyed them so far for the most part and they seem quite friendly and cooperative. I’ve heard before many say the group has a lot of ‘beat on the guys’ in their dynamic in their own game so I don’t know if this is downplayed just in PQ2′s better writing, or if what I was told was being overdramatised.

So this is my thoughts on them in order:

Yu: Sadly, as with Joker, I just struggle to connect with a self-insert protagonist. Even here, where Yu is a bit more of a character because the player exclusively controls Joker, Yu feels...kinda boring compared to his friends. He’s soft-spoken, calm under all situations, competent at almost everything, like a lot of depictions of Joker it simply isn’t something that attracts me or entertains me. What I will say, though, is he’s very kind to all his friends and I appreciate that. He is supportive of all of them, and never really insults or teased them, which is nice.

Chie: She is hilarious and loveable, but she isn’t among my favourites like Naoto, Yukiko and Yosuke. Chie is fun, lots of fun, and I think she works well to add levity to scenes and interactions, but compared to the three I consider best, she seems a bit more one-note and pigeon-holed. At least so far, as always this is just with the knowledge of PQ2 up to the third dungeon. I had heard she bullies Yosuke a lot but, at least so far in this, I haven’t really felt she was harsh or badgering or unfair to him. Certainly at times she’s a bit teasing but, again, I don’t know if maybe PQ2 just has improved writing in general on this, like how the PTs are less bullying to Ryuji in this game as well.

Kanji: Kanji is like Chie for me in that I enjoy his character, think he’s likeable and well-rounded but...he feels a little more underdeveloped compared to Yukiko, Naoto and Yosuke. Now, again, this could just be PQ2 not giving him his full due, or that there are Special Tickets still to come developing him more. For example IIRC Kanji has appeared, by far, the least on any Special Tickets to this point, appearing only on the Ryuji one. 

Teddie: Teddie is for me a character who like Kanji and Chie feels a little more one note but I have to admit that whilst Chie and Kanji are still, respectively, humorous and engaging, Teddie can feel a little annoying at times. Only at times though. I do, however, like the way he isn’t afraid to express his emotions for his friends. He is, by far, the most vocal of the P4 group in his concern and affection for any of the other members and that is very touching. For that alone he’s rather cute, and I enjoy that there’s a party member at last who isn’t shy to hug his friends. I’ve been told he has a lot of ‘pervert’ tropes in the main game but this isn’t so prevalent here. Beyond noting that a female character is pretty here or there, or expressing attraction to them, he doesn’t do much else. I don’t know, though, if PQ2 maybe just downplayed all the tendencies of such characters in this game and, if it did, I’m grateful for it as it makes them far more likeable and palatable.

Naoto: Along with Yosuke and Yukiko, Naoto is my favourite of the P4 crew so far. I enjoy her commentary on most missions, she’s competent but at the same time she’s not arrogant and constantly deriding of other people for not being up to her level. This is a big problem I have with certain moments for characters like Morgana, Futaba and Akechi where, at points, they can come across like jerks to anyone they consider not up to their intellectual levels. Naoto is intelligent, gives useful input, but also never comes across as if she’s telling everyone who isn’t as smart as her they’re dumb. I do wish she and Akechi had more interaction. Beyond their special ticket together they seem not to talk much which is a pity since I imagine there is a wealth of scenes you could do with a pair like that. 

Yosuke: Has the most explicit character arc of the P4 cast since it’s mirrored in Yosukesaurus and, at the end, Yosuke just outright states his character arc from his game to us. This automatically helps him feel a little less one-note since we get presented straight away with an analysis of his own character. He also expresses a combination of cockiness with a guilt at having been found later, having an entire event in which he expresses he feels he let the team down because he was without them so long. From this what we get is that Yosuke is cocky, definitely a show-off, but also very aware, almost too aware, of his place within a group. Which fits into his stated issue of having always felt the need to conform to appease a group and the P4 cast finally being a place he can be true to himself. Indeed; a theme for the P4 cast seems to be that they all hid their true feelings and then only when they came together ceased pretending to be different to how they were. I do like how this contrasts them from the P5 cast. Ryuji and Yosuke are both ‘partner’ characters but they are very different. Ryuji wears his heart painfully on his sleeve, to the point that even when an entire school ostracized him and made a pariah of him he just became more obstinate in his ways. Yosuke, by contrast, explains he was a methodic conformer exactly because he feared ever being in conflict with the majority. It’s nice cause it clearly differentiates the characters with similar roles. Like with Teddie again, also, I must add that I had heard a lot about Yosuke’s ‘pervert’ tendencies, but this seems to be enormously toned down in this game and neither Chie or Yukiko honestly seem unfairly harsh on him most of the time.

Yukiko: Probably my favourite of the P4 cast so far, but that might just be because I’ve enjoyed her interactions with Yusuke and Haru enormously. Yukiko also has a situation where she’s someone who hid her true feelings but, whereas with Yosuke it comes across as if he still to an extent flits between his old insecurities and his newfound comfort with his friends, Yukiko mostly comes across purely as if she has dropped her façade and her somewhat kooky, prankster-ish, attitude is her true self. I love and adore her friendship with Yusuke in their combined event and think the two make an amazing pair, platonically or romantically, they feed of each other’s energies and sort of ‘synch’ in their eccentricities wonderfully. Yusuke and Yukiko’s event together is probably still my favourite so far.

Rise: I feel Rise just hasn’t been given much attention yet, sadly. Of all of the P4 cast she’s the one I have the least feeling for. She’s not annoying or bad, but her character, her arc, feelings, motivations, just feel unexplored. She also hasn’t had many development moments to her, so she comes across as one-note and has relatively few speaking lines that aren’t just her providing information as a Navigator. She seems cute, sure, but even that, I’m surprised at how little her idol status is used for character interactions. Ryuji is known as a fan of the Idol Rise, yet he’s not had a single conversation with her beyond mundane pleasantries, Futaba too comes across as a fan yet the two navigators rarely seem to speak beyond navigator duties. Maybe more will come, and it isn’t as if I dislike Rise, but so far I just feel she’s been given the least actual character content of the P4 cast in the game. 

[hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger]

Spider-Man: Fake Red Chapters 1-3 Thoughts

Well this is new, in more ways than one.

 I don’t think I’ve ever posted thoughts on a manga before, Spider-Man or otherwise.

I’ve read precious little of the medium so I’m not overly familiar with a lot of it’s tropes and mannerisms, thus my post here is coming at it from a mostly Western perspective. For instance I can’t honestly say if the art is good or bad or mediocre. It seemed fine to me. Apart from one action scene I could always tell what was going on and even in the action scene in question I simply might not have been experienced enough reading right to left to follow it all.

And of course we need to account for stuff being lost in translation. I am uncertain if the intention was truly to have as many F-bombs in this manga as wound up being there.

The highly serialized nature of manga can make doing posts like this difficult as you are so often seeing a tiny slice of the story. Truth be told I’m not sure if I will be doing more posts like this in the future at all, though I do intend to keep up with this manga when I get the chance, but it’s lower on the reading list after current 616 stuff.

Anyway how about the story.

The story is interesting.

Basically rather than being about Peter Parker it’s about this teenager called Yuu. He got into a good school but struggles to keep up with the work and also has no friends, as such he skips school at times to hang out at a bouldering gym where he can practice climbing which makes him feel like Spider-Man. One day after refraining from helping a fellow student getting beaten up in an alley he finds a discarded Spider-Man costume and upon examining it at home learns it is the real Spider-Man’s costume complete with web-shooters.

Whilst wearing it in public one time citizens mistake him for the real thing and direct him towards a burning building where he helps save a young boy. Later on after seeing a classmate called Emma (whom he has a crush on) perform a particularly difficult climb at his gym (and crashing hard when talking to her) Yuu again dons the costume when Emma is kidnapped by a group of criminals. He barely survives and the next day at school Emma notices Yuu has cuts on his arm just like Spider-Man did.

Whilst all this is going on Yuu is wondering where Spider-Man has gone and Mary Jane is doing the same about Peter Parker. Her worries are alleviated after getting a phone call from a mysterious individual who seems to be pretending to Peter whilst watching the real McCoy on a video screen. Peter is in fact wandering the sewers as Venom!

I found the story pretty interesting as an AU goes. A lot of that has to do with seeing a Japanese spin on Spider-Man but one that isn’t really reinventing the wheel for the character.

Spider-Man of course has a history of Japanese interpretations. The most famous is the 1970s TV version (referred to as Supaidāman) who beyond the suit and powers bore little resemblance to the canon character. But there was also Spider-Man from the Mangaverse (a 2000s imprint that tried to capitalize on the anime and manga boom of the early-mid 2000s) and even an older 1970s Spider-Man manga which I hear was pretty bad.

I’m only vaguely familiar with all three I must admit, but from what little I know what makes Spidey Fake Red stand out is that it is not attempting to portray the world of Spider-Man from Spider-Man’s own POV and reinventing who he is as a result.

Instead by having the protagonist be an original character (with certain vague similarities to early days 616 Spider-Man) the author Yusuke Osawa can present for us a version of Spider-Man that cuts closer to the 616 version whilst still allowing himself the freedom of embellishing the story however he wants.

In a sense Fake Red is more about the broad idea of Spider-Man as opposed to specific nuances of Peter Parker but it still uses those elements to add some sparkle and intrigue to the story.

This makes a lot of sense as, and maybe I’m wrong on this, the primary audience for this manga is Japanese people and their access to translated Spider-Man comic stories I imagine isn’t that great. I mean even in America and other primarily English speaking territories we don’t have legal access to the majority of Spider-Man issues, whether they be in trade or digital format. So I’d guess the average person likely to check out this comic in Japan probably doesn’t have just general knowledge about stuff like One More Day or Superior Spider-Man.

Jump back to the 1970s though and that state of affairs would be even worse. No internet, probably no translated Marvel comics at all and with Spidey being less than 20 years old and not yet the icon he is today you can see why the original manga and TV show opted to make something mostly different from the canon to essentially introduce the character to Japanese audiences.

In 2019 though that’s not the case. Thanks chiefly to the movies Spidey is a global icon to the degree that everyone has SOME knowledge about his lore even if it is via osmosis alone.

That’s the smart thing about how the manga plays with Spider-Man lore, it has some subtle winks to deeper lore for fans but mostly it uses stuff that just about everyone knows.

Peter Parker, Aunt May, her house, Mary Jane, Jameson, the Bugle, Venom. There is even a reference to the Life Foundation and the first shot seems to be evoking the famous Spider-Man 3 image of Spidey crying on the church.

All that stuff is either present in the majority of Spider-Man media, present in recent Spidey media (the Life Foundation was in Venom 2018) or present in famous enough Spidey media. The latter would be the Spider-Man 3 reference and not for nothing but Spider-Man 3 both broke box office records and had it’s premiere in Japan so maybe it was something Japanese audiences could be relied upon to remember well enough.

In a sense by being about the idea of being Spider-Man this manga is sort of similar to Into the Spider-Verse but still very, very distinct. Yuu lacks powers, Peter Parker isn’t dead but rather missing and is set up as at least one of the major antagonists of the story.

It’s all quite different and very interesting to most AUs...and it bears mentioning much more interesting than Abramazing Spider-Man has been thus far.

I think what’s most compelling to me is that we’re seeing in a sense a typical Spider-Man status quo but with the focus shifted onto a stranger. This isn’t reinventing Spider-Man as having a giant robot or as a kind of douchebag or as a sort of ninja. Spider-Man is mostly Spider-Man, he might not live in New York (it’s unclear where this is set) and the city might generally love him (which is a situation more to make Yuu’s journey dramatic) but it’s really not a million miles away from current Spidey or 1970s Spidey or Raimi movie Spidey even.

As such the drama I think lies less in just enjoying the insanity of something so far away from canon Spider-Man or seeing how the canon will be reinterpreted and more in the tension of knowing what Yuu is going to go up against.

And I don’t just mean Venom, because there is that mysterious guy impersonating Peter. I suspect it’s Mysterio, not just because he was in FFH but also because a street sign referenced ASM 13 which was his first appearance. And this would fit in with his abilities and M.O.

So yeah this was fun and I’d recommend checking it out.

[vulpcsglaciei]

⊰ send a heart for a specific kiss! ⊱

@kindcstguardian​ && futaba said:  Send 💔 for a interrupted kiss.

        lately something seemed OFF. there were certain things that yusuke couldn’t understand, mostly feelings. the ones that he usually SUPPRESSED as he never really felt strong emotions for something that wasn’t directed to art. however, when even his mind was focused on something, or rather someone, he knew that something was definitely WRONG. it was simply because he didn’t notice it earlier, but upon checking his own sketchbook he finally understood what might being going on. it was that little and annoying yet cute gremlin---

         he found out that he had being sketching futaba a lot, his mind directs towards her, thinking if she is okay, what she is doing, if they are going to see each other. even focusing in school was HARD, something that yusuke never had an issue with it before. so yeah, that was supposedly what was called a... crush? yikes. why futaba from all people?! he wondered, but didn’t question it for real. they would spend a lot of time together, and he felt like futaba was able to FULLY understand them, as well as he did with her. after all, he immediately felt the need to help her and being there for her. occasionally he would hold her hand with the EXCUSE that she could get lost, even though he knows that her PANIC is not as bad as before, but it was still there and that was the perfect way to disguise WHATEVER he was feeling ( that he didn’t realize until now ).

         moving forward to the present, there she was. yusuke fully emerged into his thoughts, trying to tie the pieces together and understand himself. he felt COMFORTABLE around her and it was only normal, correct? in all honestly, he had no IDEA of what he felt as it was TRULY the first time he experimented this feeling. and it was her own VOICE the one that took him out of his thoughts. arguing again, huh? he forgot what they were talking about, finding himself deeply staring at her. yeah, he had to admit she was ANNOYINGLY cute. her voice, the way her eyes lit up whenever she talked about something she liked. everything about her was cute, even when she would argue with him puffing up her cheeks and pouting, the only thing that he wanted to do was to pull her closer and NEVER let her go. and that was exactly what he did...

          pulling her into a hug, first testing. a surprised futaba was what he expected as he wasn’t exactly paying attention, and he though beforehand that she could COMPLAIN about it, but he only thought about his next move. kissing her cheek, second testing. no negative response, probably she was surprised. probably she was trying to digest the situation or maybe she is just FROZEN. he doesn’t know, but she is not moving. “can i...?” he tried asking, but deep inside he knows that it’s useless. a BOLD move coming from him, impulsive as always, a rush of passion moving his body and taking control over it. and decisively, what he was YEARNING for so long; his lips softly pressed against hers, a soft and quick peck that was basically a third testing. but he couldn’t help himself, and even if his cheeks were a mixed shade of pink and red, his ears felt hot and his heart was basically beating out of his chest, he found himself not being able to stop. pulling her closer than before giving her a LINGERING kiss, softly, carefully, shyly moving his lips. and he was trying to INTENSIFY it as only god knew how MUCH he was wanting to do this.

          yet, it seemed like today wasn’t yusuke’s LUCKY day, as an ‘ahem’ could be listened at the back of the room. that voice... familiar, deep---- SOJIRO.

          ‘am i interrupting something?’

          well, boss. clearly you are. the artist thought, but he actually VALUATED his own life, so he startled, pushing futaba aside and DYING of embarrassment. sojiro wasn’t supposed to find them, and what even is he going to tell him?! his face was probably as red as before, and he didn’t even realize that he REFLEXIVELY was holding futaba’s hand ( who was probably so embarrassed wishing for the earth to swallow her alive ). yusuke bowed in front of sojiro, and for real he was so embarrassed that he could KNEEL and BEG for forgiveness.

         “i-i can explain!” he didn’t even know WHAT to say. this was a situation that OBVIOUSLY he never foresaw. but hey--- at least he finally kissed the girl of his dreams.

[yyh-revival]

Alot of people draw parallels between Kurama and Kurapika, Hiei and Killua, Yusuke and Gon, Kuwabara and Leorio But no one comments on how Karasu is this weird hybrid of Ilumi and Hisoka. ( Also Sensui and Chrollo)

Wish I could help you there, but I only saw I think two seasons? Maybe one season. *shrugs* I could never get into Hunter x Hunter. I have a few theories for why, I think, but it’s all super subjective. One of my friends is the exact opposite, obsessed with HxH and unable to enjoy Yu Yu Hakusho.

If you are a fan of HxH, I strongly advise you don’t read this. These are my personal opinions on why I cannot stand the show, not a detailed analysis of the show itself or objective view of its merit. Will be under cut.

Also I am sleep deprived and potentially tipsy so this will likely not be coherent. *finger guns*

Anyway, for me, HxH always felt… too on the nose? Too Naruto-like, in a way? Here, meet Gon, he’s a super nice and friendly dude, but oh no, he has a tragic past because his dad is missing… And now he wants to be just like his dad, who is missing, so why is he emulating a dude he doesn’t know? And here, meet Killua, he’s a psychopath and he’s like 10. Instead of getting this kid a therapist the older characters around him are going to encourage him to go kill people. Oh yes, these children are also murderers. Meet Kurapika, the Kurama of the group, who is also a bishie, is low-key scary, intelligent, caring, and also has a tragic past! Yay… And Leorio… I confess I don’t know shit about him. But he probably has a tragic past.

Okay, I am probably being too harsh on this show. I know it’s beloved by many people. But the constant pushing of “tragic!! So sad!!” and “child murder! Yay!” Is just not my cup of tea. 

YYH did this way better, in my opinion. The tragedy is there, but it’s layered on slowly. Hiei, who arguably has one of the most tragic childhoods a shonen character ever experienced, doesn’t actually tell us what happened to him until the show is almost over. We get to learn who he is, what makes him tick, we get to love him, ponder about his past, get invested. Then we are given the sad. But HxH is like Naruto in the fact that it just shoves it into our face, as if to say, “hey, this character had a bad childhood, you should feel sorry for them and love them.” I just hate that. 

And Gon… that friendly optimism is just… weird? He feels 2-d to me, not like a real child. Whereas the imperfect Yusuke acts exactly as you’d expect a child in his position to act. He has daddy issues because he never had a father. He has issues with authority because his mother was awful and he never felt safe or comforted by the adults around him. He gravitates towards male role models and at the same time rejects them. He respects only one authority, Genkai, because she is the first adult who taught him what he found useful. His kindness, his empathy, all that is earned. When Yusuke tells Genkai he cares about her, when he cries over her death, we believe it and we feel it, because we saw what he was like when he didn’t care, when he didn’t have an adult to turn to. It’s like a child that had been neglected all his life who was suddenly thrust into a foster home or an orphanage where one cranky lady is done with life, so she’s honest and raw and doesn’t throw platitudes into his face, and he respects that. He gravitates to it the same way 9th grade students do to the teacher who uses swear words in class and isn’t afraid to show the Romeo and Juliet movie that has the *gasp* boobie in it. His relationship with Genkai is realistic and earned, and genuine like crazy, and when he mourns her, the first and only adult he respected, loved, and felt safe with, we all mourn with him…

But Gon? I don’t know. He just put me off from the start. He doesn’t seem to have a reason for being so damn friendly. He doesn’t seem to act like a normal human being at all. He’s just this weird 2-d cartoon that tries to kill with kindness and be just like his missing dad instead of, ya know, doing the realistic thing and having a complicated relationship with him. Like, Yusuke doesn’t hate Atsuko. But he sure does blame her for lots of things. I can interject my own childhood here, because my feelings toward family are also complicated. I know the “missing parent” thing really well because my parents lived in a different county for half of my childhood, and I can tell you, while I understood why they did it, and loved them, and appreciated with all my heart the sacrifices they made… I still did, and still do, blame them for robbing me of a normal childhood. Of robbing me of a relationship with them. Of robbing me of that mother-daughter best friend dynamic, of being able to tell them all my secrets and feel like they’re part of my life and not just distant parental figures I respect and love the way the religious love and respect their gods. And Yusuke is the same. His relationships with all the adults in his life, even some of the other kids, are complicated and layered and realistic. He knows his mother had a raw dealing having him at what, 15? But he also blames her for not doing more… Hiei, how does he feel, knowing that his mother died, instead of leaving the Glacier Village during her pregnancy or right after birth to go look for him? How does he feel knowing she stayed there, and died there? It wasn’t her fault. She was heartbroken, she was exhausted from giving birth, and she was weak and scared and alone… it’s even implied she committed suicide. And if she did, don’t you think Hiei might still feel complicated about it? Don’t you think he might feel like she should have been stronger, for him, for this small child that didn’t deserve his fate? She should have lived and left the village and searched for him! She should have looked even if she knew he was dead, if nothing else then to bury him! That’s the sort of thoughts I bet once ran through his mind…

But Gon? Nothing. Just… love for mom and idealizing dad. It’s boring, unrealistic, and I hate it.

Killua, my friend’s favorite shonen character (if not favorite anime character) of all time is literally one of my least favorite, and the only character I might have liked, Kurapika, was clearly ripping off of Kurama, whip and all included. So I just could never finish the show.

As for the Karasu question, technically, he came first, so those other characters are based on him. But from what I did actually see of Hisoka… he’s like an evil pedo (right?? I heard something like that??) clown. That’s what he is. How is he threatening? This isn’t even a rhetorical question. Creepy, maybe. But I’d just feel slightly uneased by him and then call the police if he came near me. If Karasu had his eyes on me like he did on Kurama, I’d probably shit my pants, let’s be real. 

Karasu was a sadist. He was thrilled by the “intimacy between murderer and victim.” And the scariest shit of all? You can sorta understand him. When you murder someone, you are the only person in the world to see what happens to them. You have complete control over that person. You are their god, deciding if they are worthy of life or death. It’s an urge you can theorize about, can talk about, can even understand to a degree. But Hisoka? He uh, wears clown clothes and chases Gon? Or something? He makes scary faces? Karasu doesn’t have to even show his face to be terrifying. He just has to talk about his hobbies and his beliefs. Hell, the moment she shows up you feel something is up. I saw Hisoka like, at least 10 times and I still don’t know shit bout him. Karasu had like, 3-4 speaking scenes and they all made him fucking scarier with each one. I felt like each scene with Hisoka added absolutely zero to the show. Not to mention how fucking slow it was…

I feel like having a character target your young protagonist and make creepy faces at them is just lazy. Dude is, and I know Naruto came after, but that’s the show I saw first and actually know a thing or two about (till whenever shippuden started). So dude is just like Orochimaru. Now I was never scared of that guy, I just thought he was a total creeper. To me, there were way scarier moments. Hell, even Gaara’s brother, when he like, trapped a guy inside a puppet and then blood dripped out? Was that him? Anyway, that moment was way freakier than anything Orochimaru did. Karasu’s like 3 scenes were way more psychologically scary than all of Orochimaru’s scenes put together. And I got the same vibe from Hisoka as Orochimaru. The, he’s creepy and these kids should definitely find an adult asap, and not “holy fuck that’s a mass kidnapper/rapist/torturer/murderer and holy hell I am fascinated and also terrified and holy shit Kurama run run run!” 

*shrugs* Karasu is honestly probably the scariest villain in YYH, too. Only because he enjoys torture and murder, and he explains why. And the explanation makes fucking sense and its so terrifying that I can’t

and he also doesn’t look like a clown. That’s a major plus. I’m not and never will be scared of clowns. Like… its a clown. Its colorful and does weird shit. How is that scary? No, demonic looking motherfuckers with long ass ink black hair and eyes that glow purple with glee at the thought of ripping blood curling screams out of someone in front of a giant ass audience, and lamenting that they wish they could fucking keep him and I dont know fucking fuck his corpse is that what he meant cause holy fuck!??! 

Anyway, Karasu gives me nightmares and I love him and I don’t care for HxH and I need sleep and love you all very much please don’t hate me for disliking this show I really did give it like, three separate chances. *shrugs*

- Mod Lola

[no-mo-rules]

38. “Why can’t you appreciate my sense of humor?” prompt for yusuke?

You’re not so sure this is a good idea anymore.

A gently crumpled piece of paper sits on your lap,overturned, folded, unfolded, and then re-folded again. On it is the title‘couple strengthening exercises’ and several points beneath are listed andcrossed out: go to a place you’ve never been before, cook something together, say something nice, and finally (one of the only points that is yet to be crossedout) give them something to improve on.

Yusuke has the same piece of paper in front of him.

“Surely there must be something you think I could improvein,” he says, and sure, you can thinkof some points, but you know what he’s like with criticism; you don’t want tospend the next couple of days on an adventure to improve the shortcoming youpoint out. He can be quite a perfectionist, after all, and he holds a lot ofstake in your relationship. Nothing less than perfect will suffice.

“Hm, nope. Nothing’s coming to mind.”

Yusuke sighs and brings a finger to his chin.

“When I proposed this exercise, you seemed veryenthusiastic. May I remind you these couple strengthening activities are animportant part of cultivating our healthy relationship? It would be a shame togive up before we’re finished with them.”

You nod, because you appreciate that he’s taking yourrelationship so seriously, it’s just –

“A lot of relationships that end prematurely do so becauseof a failure to communicate. I wouldn’t want our relationship to end in thesame way,” he explains. It feels a little touching, because you realise theonly reason he’s going to such lengths in the first place is because he cares somuch about you.

With a drawn-out sigh, you give in.

“Well, maybe you could appreciate my sense of humour alittle more?”

There’s a pause, and Yusuke returns to being deep inthought.

“I – I see. I think I might need you to elaborate,” he says,after thinking about it. You resign yourself to spending the next couple ofdays reassuring Yusuke that ‘it’s not a big deal’ and that he ‘you were just exaggerating’.

“Well, a lot of the time you just don’t laugh when I wantyou to. Sometimes I feel like you don’t even realise I’m joking.”

He’s thinking again.

“I see. That is entirely possible,” he mumbles. “Perhapsbefore you make a joke, you should make some sort of loud noise? That way, I’llknow to laugh at the end.”

You laugh.

“Not sure that would work, Yusuke.”

Out of the corner of your eye, you see him fiddling with thesheet of paper nervously. It makes you feel bad, because you know for a fact he’staking this a hundred times more seriously than you could ever hope to.

“Is there anything else you could suggest? I’m willing totry any of your ideas as long as they have a chance of removing obstacles fromour relationship.”

“Don’t worry about it Yusuke, it’s not a big deal.”

His face scrunches in a way that looks no less anxious thanhis hands.

“But if there’s something to improve, surely we should beginwork on it? It seems unfair to ask you to overlook such a flaw for the courseof our relationship.”

“Honestly, it’s really not that important. I’ve come toaccept that some jokes are just harder for you to pick up on.”

Suddenly, he shuffles forward and grasps your hand in-betweenboth of his.

“It is important,” he says resolutely. Determination flaresin his eyes in a way that’s equally as endearing as it is overwhelming andintimidating. “I refuse to overlook anything that has a chance of puttingdistance between the two of us.”

If you had to pick an emotion to describe the way he’s holdingonto your hand, it would probably edge around ‘frantic’ and ‘desperate.’ It’srare that Yusuke doesn’t shower your conversations with sincerity when theytrail off like this, but it always manages to surprise you. He’s got the futurein mind when it comes to you, that much is clear. Still, you can’t help but laugh.

He recoils from you a little like he’s not sure what’shappening, but you pull him back. You use your other hand to clasp his own, andlean into him to give him a kiss that he returns gladly, if not withoutconfusion.

“Don’t be stupid. As if I’d ever leave you over something asstupid as that,” you say, honestly.

He’s inclined to believe you.

[atopearth]

Brothers Conflict (Passion Pink) Part 2 - Asahina Kaname Route

Okay, I'm not the most interested in Kaname since he feels like such a pervert lmao, but we'll see I guess loll. LOL I hate it when Kaname makes everything become so sexual, but I really like his voice so I'm confused😭 It's so cute how Ema is becoming more snarky with her responses to Kaname because he's so over the top with what he says lol. I love how Ukyo is the one who scolds Tsubaki and Kaname for troubling Ema with their incessant flirting, like geez to them lol! I love how Ukyo told Kaname to like get away from her forever😂😂 Anyway, I think I'm already kinda warming up to Kaname, just because on the dates, he's not so "crazy" about her and acts normal lol, but still really loving and sweet. I liked how he held her hand when she got a bit cold after the dolphin show, he probably knew she would be uncomfortable if he hugged her, so he did that at least and I think that was quite considerate of him considering how he usually acts haha. Lmao when the right option was to say that she wants to be like Kaname (kind and attentive), it was kinda cute how he laughed and thought she was cute for saying that hahaha.

Aww I love the zoo one where Ema doesn't go check out Tsubaki and Azusa filming because it's a day out with Kaname and she wants to properly spend time with him because of that. Lmao when Ema got turned off on going on the rollercoaster after Kaname said it would be wonderful to hold her hand and kiss her when it gets to the highest part on the ride lolll. Well, he didn't explicitly say her but he might as well have😂 Aww, even though I thought Ema was really reckless to overdo it looking for Wataru in the rain, but I think alike Kaname, it was really nice to see that she cares so much for the brothers that she was so obstinate about finding him before caring about herself. I would have loved to see Kaname hug her~~ I agree with Kaname though, there's something about listening to the waves at night, seeing the sky and the ocean kinda merge together, and you start to think about how vast everything is and how small other things are. It really helps to calm you down, but I guess at the same time it can be unsettling though haha. Kaname is such a sweet talker to say that he would save her before she would even get scared or cry hahaha. I definitely love the more serious Kaname, there's something really mature and alluring about him when he's not joking around haha. LOL when he went over to the water and tripped over seaweed😂😂 It was so cute how he pulled her into the water too for laughing at him. OMG I DIDN'T EXPECT THAT!! I knew he was going to be corny and say that love is mightier than the pen and the sword but I honestly didn't think he would kiss her so suddenly!!! The CG is so beautiful btw. Something I wish Masaomi's route had was something like a kiss CG though, that would have been so nice, they were just so polite with each other all the time, it was kinda sad we never got to see anything more romantic, it was still cute though of course but yeah~ I'm really enjoying Kaname's route now.

Okay, I died when Ema fed Kaname her Bento when they went to the park, like omggg that's so cute. Honestly though for Ema, regardless of whether she likes Kaname or not, I think it's a bit hard to act normal with him after he kissed her like that on the family holiday lol. Omggg, Kaname was pretty pushy, but honestly him asking if he could kiss her again and stuff was pretty hot lolll! Especially when he licked or kissed her ear or something loll omg. He's moving wayy too fast for Ema's innocent mind haha. But at least even though he's pushy, he's never really forced her to do anything, and the drive to the night view was something she was okay with going to with Kaname. But she did trust him to not overdo it and he did push her past her boundaries a bit so yeah...it was hot but also I felt bad for Ema. Okay, Kaname apologised to her, that's good. I guess her avoiding him and Iori telling Kaname how down she seemed helped him realise he might have gone a bit too far lol. Omgg when drunk Subaru pushed Ema down though, like it was hot, but I felt so bad for her because she was scared, I think Azusa comforting her after he saw them though was what made my heart melt. He's so sweet, I love Azusa😭 Anyway, ever since I checked Kaname's VA and realised that it's Suwabe Junichi (VA for Archer from Fate/stay night), I was like, no wonder why I love his voice!! Hahaha, and yes, now I like Kaname even more loll. I'm so glad Ukyo was there to hit Kaname at the cultural festival, lmao at the things he says sometimes, like seriously, super inappropriate lol. But lmao at Kaname announcing to her classmate that he's Ema's boyfriend loll.

Honey in cafe au lait?? Is that a thing??🤔 Anyway, I usually hate it when the guy is jealous and possessive, but honestly when Kaname got jealous and mad, I couldn't help but feel a bit happy because it was kinda..cute? Hahaha. On the other hand, Azusa being a bit "mad" that Kaname took Ema away was cute too, I love him loll. It's kinda interesting how Ema always thinks Kaname is playing around with her and isn't serious at all, but then she does stuff like stay over in his room hahaha, anyway, it's cute how he always says good morning to her~ When Ema asked if they could sleep together (since she couldn't sleep), I knew Kaname would find it difficult to hold himself back, but dangg, the kisses🥰🥰🥲 Awww Kaname let her use his arm as a pillow, that's actually really cute. Anyway lmao I find it hilarious that Juli the squirrel is calling her pitiful for spending Christmas Eve playing games hahahah. It's kinda cute how hardcore Ema is when it comes to games though lol. Lmaoo at Yusuke and Tsubaki's new year's wishes, they're so silly😂 It was kinda interesting to see both Ema and Kaname bury the kitten, mainly because it was nice to hear that the idea of the dead's souls/hearts returning to the side of those who think about them is a nice way to view death? Honestly though, I really want to like Kaname but his "romantic scenes" have been irking me quite a bit, especially the last one sleepover CG(?), like I really like how hot he sounds and I alwaysss get enraptured by his voice but seriously, he needs to stop lol. Like, if Ema was more receptive to his advances, I think I wouldn't be as uncomfortable but she's always telling him no and to stop it, but he just continues and says afterwards that he held himself back already. Like excuse me dude, if you held yourself back, you wouldn't be practically forcing yourself on Ema and touching her without her permission especially when she says no. Like seriously, he's the adult here! Anyway, yeah I feel like the only time I liked him was around the kiss scene lol. On the other hand, I find it interesting that Ema still thinks Kaname is just playing around with her when he's kissed her and stuff. To be fair though, he's always teasing her and he's never seriously told her his feelings in a way that she would understand as not playing with her so I'd say it's more his fault, especially since she's younger and more naive, and she considers him her brother so...

Very Kaname-like to give Ema perfume for White Day and then tell her to only use it when she goes out with him haha. HAHAHA, I just realised I missed out on a funny zoo date where Kaname asks Ema what animal she thinks he would prefer compared to Juli, and she said it probably doesn't really matter to him because he likes human girls the most😂😂 I mean, it's nice that Ema finally realised her feelings when she saw Kaname with another girl and Tsubaki and Yusuke said he always does that and is never serious about any girl, but it was pretty random and sudden tbh lol. I feel like it could have been done better especially since most of Kaname and Ema's recent scenes have just been him "attacking" her lol. I'm glad that Tsubaki who is usually as playful as Kaname is, is now shouting at Kaname telling him to stop playing around with her if he isn't serious, because really, if she doesn't understand and think so, there's no point if he thinks he is serious. Oh wow, did Kaname just break his phone to prove that he's serious about her and won't talk to other people? Lol! Whaaat! Kaname quit being a monk and went to his mother's company?? Honestly though, I'm rather suspicious of this monk thing, like was he actually a host all along? Lol, I mean, we never actually got to see him do anything related to his work this whole entire route lol. Anyway, the kyodai/brother ending is really weird considering the flow of events and how Kaname kissed her and stuff for alllll those months, like that doesn't make sense!! Lol anyway doesn't matter. Btw, Kaname in the epilogue(?) is sooo hot in a suit, and omggg at Ukyo discovering their relationship in the worst way especially with how Kaname says stuff lol. Otherwise, the CG was niceeee 🥰

Overall, I loveee Suwabe Junichi's voice and I really think he made Kaname a better character than he actually was lmao. Honestly, I really enjoyed the beginning of this route and I really thought I'd love their relationship because of how forward Kaname is, but I think from the middle onwards, I lost a lot of interest because of how clunky the flow of events were, and the events themselves were rather disappointing I guess. Most of the events that happened after the kiss was mostly just Kaname "teasing" Ema and a lot of them were more uncomfortable than sexy even though his voice really made me love and hate it lolll. My heart was confused haha. Kaname does a lot of things that are a bit over for me especially since Ema isn't very receptive towards it and tells him to stop but he really doesn't and touches her quiteeee a bit, so yeah I didn't like it all that much, but at the same time I could never really understand Ema either? Lol. Like, she seemed so confused throughout the route about Kaname and I feel like she only liked him because I "chose" him through the dialogue options than because she really liked him lol. I think a lot of it was just awkward, especially her revelation that she likes him, like lady, you saw him with Hikaru before too lol, but anyway their "confession" of love to each other was also pretty underwhelming considering how frustrating their relationship was throughout the route lol. Otherwise, I loved Kaname's voice and if you ignore how much he touches Ema and says so many inappropriate crap, he's actually pretty sweet and loving. I definitely prefer Masaomi overall though haha.

[hopeful-introvert]

Late Night Calls

Something just for you guys. Its honestly just a cute night call with a bit of fluff. So yeah enjoy my late night writing!

Pairing: Shukita

—–

It was late at night and Akira was still awake from his bed. The thought of school tomorrow really kept him on edge, and he couldn’t comprehend what on earth he was going to do tomorrow.

Since it was technically Sunday today, Akira thought through on what he could do later on. He could go shopping, maybe buy a new book, get some upgrades, watch a movie, probably beat that damn burger challenge, all of the things he would do to make sure him and his team were set for their next palace. Whenever that was…

Akira sighs. Being a leader is tough work. He could just text Ryuji or Ann to get some things for them so he can enjoy making some hot coffee. Or maybe getting a decent sleep? Ah heck, he’ll just roll with it, like always.

Suddenly, his phone vibrates in his pocket.

Morgana perks his head up at Akira, his hazy eyes blinking from sleep, 'Oh who could that be now?!’ says Morgana.

Ignoring Morgana’s complaint, he clicks his phone and sees the bright screen with Yuskue’s name on it. He’s calling me?

‘Ugh. Why is Yuskue calling you at this hour?’ asks Morgana, a strain of annoyance evident in his voice.

Not wanting to show his smile, Akira turns his body away from Morgana and shrugs, ‘Hm,’ says Akira, ‘Maybe he can't sleep?'

‘Well… whatever it is, can you tell him that I’m trying to get my beauty sleep? A cat’s gotta sleep too, you know.’

Rolling his eyes, he presses his screen and brings the device to his ear, he smiles, ‘Mushy mushy?’

He hears a soft chuckle on the other end, his stomach doing weird twists again, 'When will you stop with that remising welcoming, Kurusu-kun?’ Yusuke.

Hearing his voice sends multiple shivers through Akira’s body, his voice reminding him how metallic and soft it was. Something he could listen to for ages. And since him and Yusuke have only been seeing each othen, its still rare to hear his voice so deep like this.

Akira laughs, 'Uh until it isnt funny anymore, I guess? And what is so wrong with my warm welcoming?’

He could hear Yusuke pouting at the thought, 'Hm, well… nothing I suppose. I thought I had awoken you up from your slumber. Because well, it is almost 2 in the morning. So if I’m disturbing you or anything, please don’t feel the need to stay up for me. Sorry I do apologi-

'What? Oh no no, you’re not disturbing me at all.’ In the corner of his eye, he can see Morgana’s head slowly rising from his bed sheets. He’s so going to get him after this. 'What’s wrong? Everything alright?’ asks Akira, grabbing his pillow to protect himself from Morgana’s creeping claws.

He could hear yusuke sighing, 'Oh yes! Everything is fine, thank you. I just… wanted to hear your voice. That’s all.’  

If Akira wasnt already wide awake, he would have sworn he was just hearing things. But since he already knew what he was feeling for Yusuke, and the fact that he just wanted to hear his voice, made Akira’s chest tighten with nerves. 'R-really?’ asks akira, his voice lower than he expected.

'I-is that weird?’ says Yusuke. He sounds so small when he’s questioning himself.

Morgana was now right behind Akira, and knowing him, he’s most likely going to strike after this phone call. But Akira ignores that thought and grins to himself, ’….No. No not at all. Its uh, its… I think its nice to know someone likes hearing my voice, Yusuke. Quite a romantic gesturer, wouldn’t you say?’

Smirking to himself, he hears Morgana sighing in annoyance, pushing Akira’s back for being a total idiot. 'You’re such a tease.’ whispers Morgana. Wait can he hear them right now? Oh who’s he kidding? The cat practically always reads his damn messages anyways.

Akira waits for Yusuke’s reply, already regretting his choice of words as he hears Yusuke swallow. 'Well… I. Perhaps that might be the case. You’re voice is a symbolic melody that I cannot stop listening to.’ whispers Yusuke, his quiet voice sends a soothing wave through Akira’s mind. He almost lets out a small groan, but holds back as he covers his smile again.

‘Spoken like a true artist.’ says Akira, his blush creeping more prominently then before.

A deep chuckle, along with a sigh from Yusuke rang through, and Akira could tell he was also feeling the same way, ‘Am I now? Hah ha, well, I cant always describe my favourite masterpieces, unless he’s willing to…’ Yusuke pauses. And for a while to.

What is he going to ask? I’m starting to get sleepy.

Akira’s eye lids were starting to fall, and he could hear his and Yusuke’s slow breathing in the hollow room. ‘He’s willing to, what?’

Yusuke takes a couple more breathes, before clearing his throat and saying, ‘…If the most intriguing, knowledgeable, alluring, nasty crime boy student of Shujin High, and charming leader of the Phantom Thieves become my model for my next exhibit?’ 

He didn’t realise he started laughing half way through Yusuke’s request. It didn’t even sound like a request, more like a proposal even! And here Akira thought he would end up with someone else, someone unlike Yusuke. A passionate artist, who’s vision of the world sparks through other peoples eyes by his smooth brush strokes and wild colours. Somebody who over came his fear for his sensei, somebody who he thought was once a good man. And now his own true self. His fox. His everything.

And now that his thoughts were full of Yusuke, he couldn’t imagine a life without him.

‘I thought you’d never ask.’

*THIS IS SO BAD WHY DO I WRITE SO LATE*